We Take Walmart’s Surprisingly Good Ozark Trail Hardtail to the Next Level

Many will remember the Ozark Trail Ridge mountain bike review where we were really impressed with the sub-$400 bike’s performance. Ever since, we’ve wondered how much better it might be with a few modest updates. We intended to find out, but rather than throw our credit card at it, we picked a rather modest and realistic budget of $700 to bring the bike to the next level.

We put ourselves in the shoes of somebody who bought a $400 bike in the first place. Chances are, money is tight. Or, perhaps they wanted to give the sport a try and see if they liked it. If that’s the case, we’d stop reading this and buy a nice name-brand bike like the ones you see reviewed at Mountain Bike Action. If it’s a money issue, then read on, because we made some key updates to the Ozark Trail Ridge Mountain bike that really bring it to the next level without breaking the bank. What we ended up with is a fun-to-ride hardtail that lets us take it on the trail with more speed, confidence, control and comfort.

SUSPENSION

One of the biggest things holding the Ozark Trail back is a fork without damping of any sort. Well, that’s if you don’t count the friction in the system slowing things down. We wanted an inexpensive upgrade that introduced hydraulic damping into the mix and found it with Suntour’s X1 32 LO R coil fork. It is an easy swap since it comes with a straight 1 1/8-inch steerer tube and quick-release dropouts, just like the standard-spec fork.

The big upgrade comes in the form of a damper with adjustable rebound and a lockout switch. It is coil sprung just like the original. The difference in comfort and control out on the trail is massive as speeds increase. In places where the stock fork would clunk and clang its way down the trail, the X1 stuck to the ground and felt surprisingly good.

Best of all, the fork only costs $200. However, Suntour has an upgrade program where they will give you a $100 credit towards one of their forks, making it only $100. As far as value goes, this deal can’t be beaten.

DRIVETRAIN

Test riders were shocked by the rather good performance of L-TWOO’s A5 nine-speed 1x drivetrain, but the derailleur lacked a clutch for chain control, and the cassette has limited range. We turned towards Shimano’s new Cues 10-speed drivetrain to add a good dose of shift precision and added range. Instead of having a 42-tooth large cog, we now have a 48-tooth that really makes steep climbs easier.

Shift quality, particularly under a load, takes a quantum leap forward with this upgrade. The derailleur’s clutch not only helped keep the chain put, but really silenced the chain slap on the chainstay over rough terrain, too. The total price of the Cues 10-speed drivetrain is just $192, knocking the value ball out of the park. For more thoughts on this impressive drivetrain.

The crank is an area that we want to upgrade, but it’s still doing its job surprisingly well, so it stays until something bends or wears out. Historically speaking, the crankarm’s square-taper interface is the most likely place for failure, but these forged arms are putting up with a lot so far. When the time comes, this bike will see a Shimano Cues crank upgrade, which costs just $70.

BRAKES

Another weakness of the standard Ozark Trail build is its Radius-brand mechanical disc brakes. The front works fairly well but the rear suffers from cable friction and has a lack of feel and power. We upgraded them to Shimano’s BR-MT420 hydraulic disc brakes, which feature powerful four-piston calipers. They were matched to the stock 160mm rotors, which worked just fine.

The combo delivered an excellent feel and enough power for one-finger braking. These brakes are not terribly inexpensive, coming in at $135 per wheel. If there’s an area that you don’t want to cheap out on, however, it’s the brakes, and we all considered this money well spent, especially after riding the bike.

WHEELS

One of the lowest-hanging fruits when it comes to upgrading a bike comes from better tires and wheels. Rotating mass makes a big difference in ride quality and acceleration, so some might be surprised to hear we didn’t do anything in this department.

The standard wheels that come on the bike are surprisingly decent and have held up to some pretty abusive riding. Kenda’s K1153 tires also roll efficiently and grip surprisingly well.

One could, in theory, convert these to tubeless like we all used to do in the early days of using the tape and valve stem trick, but we can’t recommend a tubeless conversion of non-tubeless-ready components when so many exist in this day and age. We would wait until the tires wear out and the wheels are no longer round to upgrade.

COCKPIT

The Ozark Trail’s cockpit is pretty darn good given the bike’s cost, but there’s lots of room for improvement. Touchpoints are critical when it comes to comfort and performance, so we were prepared to spend some of the budget here.

The first mod came in the form of a Giant Romero saddle to replace the soft and squishy stock seat. The soft top spreads pressure over a greater area, which is fine for shorter rides but less than ideal on longer ones. We needed something that was affordable and had a shape that would put most of our weight over our sit bones instead of soft tissues. Giant’s Romero fit the bill perfectly and costs just $51.

As much as we would love to upgrade this bike with a dropper post, cheap ones are just that—cheap. We would be looking at close to $200 to get something decent, like PNW’s new Range post and lever, so for now, we are doing it the old-fashioned way—using the quick-release lever.

Most thought the stock grips were okay but lacked padding, so they transferred too much of the trail back into the hands. We turned to one of the plushest grips out there—ODI’s Rogue V2.1 lock-on. At $33, they are not what we’d call inexpensive, but grips are not an area we want to cheap out on, and these make a massive difference in overall comfort and bike feel. If the budget is really tight, you could go with a slip-on style like ODI’s Cush MTB grip, which costs just $13.

Pedals are another touchpoint that can’t be overlooked. The Ozark Trail’s standard plastic pedals get the job done, but lack any sort of pins to provide grip, so our feet had a tendency to wander in rougher terrain. We switched to Shimano’s GR400 pedals, which bring the grip at just $55.