Hi-tensile steel is heavier but budget-friendly, and what you'll typically find on entry-level completes. 4130 chromoly is lighter and stronger for its weight — most intermediate and all pro-level bikes use chromoly across the frame and forks, worth prioritising as soon as your budget allows.

Headsets are either a traditional A-headset or an integrated, sealed-bearing headset — integrated designs are lighter and last longer with less maintenance.

Browse frames, forks and headsets if you're building or upgrading rather than buying a complete.

Bars are usually multi-butted tubing — thicker at the welds, thinner in the middle — which saves weight without sacrificing strength. They come as 2-piece or 4-piece designs; 4-piece bars are easier to repair (you can replace one side) if you crash and bend one.

See our handlebars collection.

Gearing is expressed as a ratio — sprocket teeth to driver teeth, e.g. 25-9T. A 25-9T ratio is widely considered the best all-round setup on a complete bike, balancing quick acceleration with enough top speed for park, street and dirt riding alike.

Explore drivetrain parts — sprockets, cranks and chains — if you want to change your gearing later.

Look for sealed bearing hubs over loose-ball — they last longer and need less maintenance. The rear hub is either a cassette hub (fixed — the wheel drives directly off the pedals) or a freecoaster, which lets you coast backward without the pedals turning, so you can do tricks like fakies. That choice is about riding style, not brakes.

Whether you can run a brake comes down to the frame and fork, not the hub — they need brake mounts in place, which most complete bikes have even if a brake isn't fitted. Riders who keep a brake but still want to spin the bars freely for tricks add a gyro (detangler), which stops the brake cable winding up.

See hubs and brakes & braking parts.

Cranks are either tubular or branded three-piece units. Bottom brackets are either a U.S. Bottom Bracket (unsealed, more affordable) or a Mid Bottom Bracket (sealed bearings, stronger and standard on higher-end bikes). Pedals are typically plastic on entry-level bikes or alloy on higher-spec builds — alloy pedals grip better but add a little weight.

Browse cranks, bottom brackets and pedals.

Rims are either single-wall or double-wall — double-wall is stronger and worth having on the rear wheel especially, where most of the impact lands. Tyre width varies, but around 2.2" is about average for a do-it-all setup.

Shop wheels and tyres.

Entry-level bikes tend to run a railed or combo seat. Intermediate and pro-level bikes typically move to a pivotal or tripod seat, which is lighter and quicker to adjust or remove — most freestyle riders spend the majority of their time standing on the pedals rather than sitting, so this is a low-priority upgrade for most.

Browse seats.

Grips are a cheap, easy first upgrade for comfort and control. Pegs bolt onto the front and/or rear axle for grinding and stalls — common on street and flatland bikes, less common on dirt.

Browse grips and pegs.