Any equipment to avoid?

ghostpedal said:

I love this forum, and get quite a few interesting and worthwhile tidbits on equipment and training. I see a lot of glowing reviews on equipment, and I'm glad that most people are happy with what they own. With this said, I would like to hear about products that should be avoided at all costs and why. I'm sure all of us have some kind of budget, and don't want to waste precious bike $ on useless stuff. Thanks in advance.

Woah, broad subject there, buddy. Might want to narrow that one down as questions come up.

By and large, there aren't too many widely sold examples of equipment to avoid -- you can close your eyes and pick a stem or seatpost out of a catalogue, and there's a 99% likelihood that it's sufficient. That said, people have deep preferences and brand loyalties, so if you were to start up a thread asking, "Should I buy this stem?," you'd probably get plenty of feedback up and down.

It's best to start with what interests you, and go from there. Have fun -- nothing like shopping for bike parts.

I realize this is going to be a broad topic, and will probably get narrowed down by subsequent posts. I was thinking about stuff that just didn't work, or was of so poor quality that it was essentially useless. I was thinking of Nashbar Rodeo pedals as my example. I realize these were cheap to begin with, but they aren't even worth the $20. I bought them for my wife's beater, and refused to even put them on. The bearings (if there even are any bearings), must be square and packed in sand for as smooth as they operated. That is the type of thing I am talking about. I don't feel it was my preference or brand loyalty, but rather a real function issue. Thanks for the reply and guidance.

Fortunately most of the really bad gear is already off the market. I can think of a couple items:

Shimano Biopace chainrings.

The original Onza clipless pedals (with interchangeable elastomers to change the release tension).

ghostpedal said:

I was thinking of Nashbar Rodeo pedals as my example. I realize these were cheap to begin with, but they aren't even worth the $20. I bought them for my wife's beater, and refused to even put them on.

Ooooh, yeah, ok. Bummer about those pedals. As you pointed out, there are exceptions, some items to be cautious with -- particularly generic components that sport mechanical, moving elements critical to their function, like clipless pedals, drivetrain pieces (though Shimano and Campy pretty much dominate the road market with stuff that delivers), headsets, and even some wheel designs.

Luckily, going with your gut tends to work well. I tend to think the budget/generic/house-brand stuff is fine so long as it's not a part which involves precision mechanisms (like high-tolerance bearings or ergonomic pedal-clips), exotic materials (like magnesium or carbon fiber), or is designed to be particularly lightweight. If you want a sturdy seatpost, stem, or handlebar, and you don't try to buy ultralight stuff, Nashbar, Performance, and Supergo stuff is probably fine. Not sexy, no, but highly suitable for a no-frills build.

Once you get up into more traditional price categories and established brands, the truly dangerous or non-functioning pieces are rarities, I'd hope. If you bring up a particular model year of, say, ITM carbon seatposts, you might get some annecdotal information which is disconcerting -- but you'd have to ask for it.

In other words, buy cheaply where you can get away with it, and take fewer chances where important functions (or ergonomics) are concerned.

Anything else I can think up, I'll chime back in...

Without naming any brands I would say to avoid cheap lights/batteries/chargers.
My experience with the cheap lights is they don't last, don't light up anything, and aren't weather resistant no matter what the box claims.

I got some Topeak bar ends with mirrors that slide out of the grip for my hybrid for commuting. The idea was outstanding, the product was absolutely awful. The mirrors are useless - you can't see anything in them as they are so thin and horrendously distorted. They also cost me £30.

Boy do I feel stupid!

Um me too John. I spent more time trying to get them set-up so they actually made seeing behind me a possibilty. When I finally got them set up right I had to stay in that riding possition with no room for movement. That just resulted in having to adjust the mirrors again.

The amazing thing is that this supposed safety item had me paying attention to it & not the road or my surroundings.

wyllisx2 said:

Um me too John. I spent more time trying to get them set-up so they actually made seeing behind me a possibilty. When I finally got them set up right I had to stay in that riding possition with no room for movement. That just resulted in having to adjust the mirrors again.

The amazing thing is that this supposed safety item had me paying attention to it & not the road or my surroundings.

And also, the angle of the mirrors only adjusts in notches of around 10 degrees, meaning they are either to low or too high. I removed them and put my specialized bar ends back on.

Think I'll mail Topeak and tell them that they basically don't work. Can't understand how they ever got as far as production! I'm suprised as Topeaks kit is normally pretty good.

John Picton said:

I got some Topeak bar ends with mirrors that slide out of the grip for my hybrid for commuting. The idea was outstanding, the product was absolutely awful. The mirrors are useless - you can't see anything in them as they are so thin and horrendously distorted. They also cost me £30.

Boy do I feel stupid!

Heh. I always wondered about that product. Seeing it in catalogues, I always thought, "hmmm -- a clever idea from a good company. Wonder how well it actually works?"

Now I know. Bummer.

Well Shimano are not always right all the time - we had the example above of the Biopace (oval...) chainrings which got everyone going for a while back there.

Worse still was the AX aero craze - those centre pull dinky brakes with the tiny oval brake blocks must have had a lot of us sweating as we pulled mightily and hoped something was going to happen.

The pedals were something else too - lower foot position actually meant you had to order a lower frame (but just as long as you had before) to get it right. I wonder how many of those frames are around now.

Then there was the Gian Robert gear... oh let's let someone else have a go...

I have been really happy after having switched to SRAM chains with PowerLink. Especially on a bike like mine with S&S couplers or just one whose chain you want to maintain well. Shimano chains recommend replacing the links after breaking the chain apart. Forget that. And if you want to do maintenance on the derailleurs or take things apart, you've got to find a pin (which are >$1 a piece) replacement.