This is only a rough guide, aimed at beginner to intermediate mountainbikers. The advice is still relevant to other types of bike, but for now, let’s look at 10 steps to setting up your new bike.

New bike setup begins with an ‘M Check’

The ‘M Check’ is a two-minute method for checking over your bike before a ride (it’s a routine I use often when mountain biking in Scotland, where terrain and weather can often catch you out, or play havoc with your equipment).

If you haven’t seen it before, it’s worth learning because it will help you get to know your mountainbike better. And it’s probably not much of an exaggeration to say the M Check could save you a trip to A&E, or worse. By encouraging clients to do an M check, I have avoided wheels coming off, tyre blowouts and non-functioning brakes.

the M Check could save you a trip to A&E, or worse

If your mountainbike is second hand, or you have just given it a beating, it’s worth noting that an M check should also reveal obvious damage to your frame or forks. But you’re going to have to do a more thorough inspection if you want to spot something scary like a hairline crack in your frame.

Give your wheels the attention they deserve.

Your wheels are, ultimately, the component connecting you to the ground. Just about every aspect of them will have a noticeable effect on your ride.

Is the wheel size different to what you are used to? For example, have you gone to a 29er from 26 inch? Is it your first fatbike? Or a mullet setup, even? Certainly, a new wheel size is going to handle very differently from what you are used to.

When you set up a new or used bike, you should really give the wheels a check over. Ideally, there should be two of them. Rims should be reasonably true and spokes should be tensioned evenly. If it’s an older bike with V brakes and the rims aren’t really scoured and pitted, then there’s still some life left in them.

Carbon rims (especially used ones) need to be checked carefully for cracks. Give the wheel a spin and listen: it should spin pretty smoothly and quietly.

Wheels are mostly held on with either quick release levers or bolts. If these have been bashed, bent, worn or just not done up tightly, then you could have problems. For example, your wheel might either not come off when you want it to, or come off when you don’t. Some quick release levers can be adjusted for tension using a tiny screw or ratchet. Check axle bolts for damage and tightness.

Changing your tyres is probably one of the most cost effective upgrades you can make to a bike. The tread pattern, width, casing and compound all hugely affect feel and performance. Even tyres on brand new top-of-the-range bikes rarely suit all riders everywhere. If your secondhand bike arrived with worn tyres, this is a good opportunity to give it new lease of life. Be prepared to experiment with tyre pressures until they feel right for how and where you ride.

And if your tyres look good but have innertubes, have you considered converting to tubeless? This has some big advantages, but it’s not necessarily for everyone. Depending on a variety of factors, you might find this an easy-peasy gamechanger, or a complete PITA. Check if your wheels are ‘tubeless ready’. If not, try a conversion kit. Just beware, some tyre and rim combinations will just never work tubeless, whatever you try.

Don’t break your brakes.

Brakes are as personal to you as your saddle. And a fault with your brakes is likely to have more serious consequences compared to say, your gears.

lube on your disc brake rotors can turn your brakes into an expensive, noisy, friction-free nightmare.

If you have new brakes (or have just replaced the pads), they will usually require a ‘bedding in’ process to get the most out of them. This consists of frequent, sharp braking at high speed, in order to heat up the rotors and deposit brake pad material on them.

Check if a ‘bleed block’ was provided with the bike. This small plastic spacer fits between your brake pads, making wheel changes after maintenance or transport much easier. You can even improvise one using old bank or store cards.

If working with hydraulic brakes is new to you, just remember to treat them VERY carefully. Accidentally splashing lube onto your disc brake rotors can turn your brakes into an expensive, noisy, friction-free nightmare.

Some mountainbike riders choose to bleed their brakes when they set up their new bike, hoping to get better lever ‘feel’. While this can certainly help, it’s a job that definitely requires the right tools, chemicals and skills. Take it to your local bike shop if you are unsure. The brake pads themselves come in different flavours, eg resin or metal. You might find that changing the type might be a far cheaper route to braking happiness.

And if you still have V brakes? As long as the rims and blocks have plenty of thickness, they should still be OK. But, really, consider whether now is the time for you to move into the next century 🙂

The suspension set up should complement the rider.

The vast majority of mountainbikes are now either hardtails (front suspension only) or ‘full sus’. Set up bike suspension with care and it will actually help you ride your best.

Obviously, there are many designs of suspension out there, all with different capabilities. Setting up your mountainbike forks or shocks usually takes alot of experimentation. But for now, check your ‘sag’ is set properly for your weight.

When set up correctly, the suspension on your new bike should compress around 20-30% of its travel when you sit on it. This ‘sag’ setting varies with style of riding and whether it’s the fork or shock, but if you’re in that range then you’re good.

Assuming you have air suspension, then check you’ve got a dedicated shock pump before you start tinkering! The pump you use for your tyres almost certainly won’t cut it.

Set yourself up to be a bike driver, not just a bike rider.

Lets assume the geometry and size of your new bike is bang on for the kind of rider you are. A few significant adjustments can turn you from a passive bike rider to more of an active bike ‘driver’.

A tweak to the saddle angle can stop you sliding about and better distribute your weight. Dropper posts have massively increased our manouverability on mountainbikes, but they do need care during set up. Their internally routed cable must be carefully fed through the frame to avoid kinks when setting them up first time.

Are your bars in the best position for you? Adding or subtracting spacers, rotating the bars and swapping the stem are all simple ways to improve comfort and control.

Dial in your cockpit setup

Your mountainbike has a cockpit. It consists of brake and gear levers, dropper post remote and maybe a suspension lockout. If you’re on an ebike you will have power controls too. During the set up of your new bike, you can adjust the positions of these controls to get them in exactly the right positions for you.

Your brake levers are probably the most tunable controls, with most offering lever angle and reach adjustment and bite position available on higher spec models. The angle of your brake levers alone can have a big effect on your comfort and confidence.

Remember that as new cables settle or brake pads get worn, your controls will need further adjusting to compensate. And if you’re rocking wireless controls or an ebike, you’ll need to keep an eye on their charge levels.

And how about navigation? Tiny GPS-equipped computers are a breeze to fit now, compared to setting up the magnet-equipped devices of yesteryear. Or if you use your phone, a great option is a decent bar mount, combined with the Trailforks app.

A new bike means new (or old) contact points

These are the places where your body interfaces directly with the bike. These are therefore crucial aspects of new bike set up to get right.

First, you might hate your new saddle. Assuming it’s still in good shape, you can almost certainly swap it for your old saddle.

Your new handlebar grips may be really comfy, worn down or just the wrong colour. Current ‘lock on’ grips are much easier to change than messing around with WD40 and hairspray, as was the case previously.

A brand new mountainbike may come with very cheap pedals, or none at all. This allows you to fire on your old ones, or treat yourself to a new set. In your excitement, remember to put a little grease on the threads and not to cross-thread those alloy cranks!

Give your new bike’s drivetrain some TLC

The crankset, chain and gears are exposed to such high loads and dirty conditions, it’s no surprise they need some TLC to keep them working well.

A brand new bike should come with a perfectly smooth drivetrain and you will be in gear-shifting heaven – for a while. In my experience, the new 12 speed drivetrains have such tight tolerances that even the odd rough gear change or minor impact is enough to impair your shifting. Treat your rear mech gently and consider buying a hanger alignment tool if you ride hard.

Second hand bikes can, unfortunately, come with some nasty drivetrain surprises. Chains and cogs all wear each other out and bearings have a limited lifespan. If maintenance has been lacking, or if things just aren’t smooth, then you may decide to strip it all off for a clean and inspection (or get your bike shop to do it).

A chain checker tool costing only a few quid will tell you instantly if your chain should be replaced, hopefully saving expensive damage to your cogs. But sometimes, simply replacing the gear cable can be enough to make your gear shifting feel brand new.

If it’s all running smoothly, but just a bit dated, you may even start thinking of changing the gearing, for example converting a 3 x 10 to 1 x 11. That can become expensive, although there are some cheaper workarounds.

The frame is the foundation of a new bike.

Your frame isn’t as intricate as the brake or gear systems, but it is the foundation of your whole bike. It deserves some respect.

You might want to get a frame protection kit if it’s a brand new bike. There are several kinds, all consisting of self adhesive clear patches that cover your paintwork. Some bike shops will even apply it for you if you haven’t got the patience. These kits are even more important if you have a carbon fibre frame.

A minimalist front mudguard is great for deflecting spray and debris from your paintwork, suspension, dropper post and face.

When you set up a new bike, consider fitting a bottle cage. This will result in better hydration and a lighter pack for you. Strap-on and minimalist options exist if your bike doesn’t have cage mounts, or your frame is a weird shape.

Self adhesive rubber mastic tape is a great way of protecting your chainstay and downtube from impacts from the chain or stones.

You may want to look out some kind of frame bag or saddle bag. There are now tons of different designs of bags, made to fit just about any part of any mountainbike. Or you may choose to go enduro and just use a frame strap!

You might even want to have your bike microchipped, just like your dog. Check if your local police offer this service.

Set up loose bits loose and tight bits tight.

It’s all very well fiddling with your gears, suspension and saddle, but that won’t matter if you skip on the basics.

First, make sure your chain and mech receive lube appropriate to your style of riding. Neglecting this will undo alot of your hard work in getting other adjustments right.

Second, the tools you use make a big difference. Probably none more so than a torque wrench. The lightweight alloy components on most modern bikes sometimes experience massive loads.

Using a torque wrench will prevent expensive components snapping or coming undone at the worst possible moment. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a torque wrench. Some bikes are even supplied with one.

Mountainbike manufacturers often display the torque settings either on the component, in the instructions or online. But try a get into the habit of using a torque wrench if you can.

Summary: A new bike will thank you if you set it up right

Mountainbikes are very personal machines and that’s the beauty of them. Clearly, there are plenty of ways you can tinker with your new bike to get it running how you want.

As has been mentioned a few times already, head over to your local bike shop if you are at all unsure. If they supplied your bike, then they should be perfectly happy to help you modify it. Even if they didn’t, then a five minute chat or booking a service should still be possible.

These steps also form a great ‘bike health check’ before heading off on a trip. If you choose to go mountain biking in the Scottish Highlands, for example, you will definitely benefit from following the steps above, since you can end up riding in some very wild places! If you take the time to get this right, your relationship with your mountainbike should be off to a healthy start.