Bad Stuff argument

by schmalz

What was your worst?

Today’s argument is short and sweet: what’s the worst piece of bike equipment you’ve ever owned?

 

128 Comments

Anonymous

(1)Rearview mirrors on helmet – if you cannot turn around to see what’s behind you, one shouldn’t be riding a bike
(2)Topeak, portable bike stand – ask your friend to hold the bike instead.
(3)Sidi’s foot warmer
(4)Carbon bar/stem – one crash or a bad fall, it’s done. Not worth the cost or weight savings
(5)Cervelo P3C – I am a Cat 4, and I used it 4 times last year. Not worth it unless I am going Tri. $6,000 sitting in my closet. Will be posted on Craig’s list later this week.
(6)Disc wheel – ditto.

Anonymous

mid-range sidi shoes. haven’t ever bought the really high end $500 models because of the ridiculous price, though i have heard they are sweet. the ones that cost as much as a normal top o’ the line shoe from another brand (300 range) are over-priced garbage.

Anonymous

Look kind of cool but the 1st generation model has shitty rubber that is too soft, and too loose on the lever. Also tear easy when removing. Not worth $35

Anonymous

Lickton’s Superlink III for Campy UN Chains – got one of these on a rcommendation worked well until about 3K miles where it was worn and time to change it. WOuld not come off bike! Asked Imbert, his reply “you can’t get these off man, nobody can” Went on message board found out most people have to cut them off with Jaws of Life clippers (ok maybe just bolt cutters)

That and ALL F_cking mini pumps – if there is a mini pump out there that lets you put more than 80lbs please let me know,

Anonymous

Got his house jacked while at TOC!
He’s missing both cars, stereo system, and his adorable collection of dolls.

Anonymous

They have stepped up their game since the beginning but I had a pair of Champ Sys bibs that the chamois fell out of.

Andy

Crank Brothers? I like the egg beater. I got one of those integrated bar/stem (Deda something) once and got rid of it right away. Couldn’t deal with not being able to tweak the angle.

Anonymous

I actually love my carbon bars, and believe firmly (though others will try to dissuade) that they dampen vibration. Also, Ive crashed twice (not Indy 500 style or anything, but the bike def went for a trip and landed hard) and all is well. I do have them covered with that crazy invention, bar tape, with bar ends too. It does protect them.

Anonymous

1- Pearl Izumi race socks with “gripper” bottoms (circa 1994) They had sticky logos on the bottoms so that you didn’t slide in your shoes. But the only thing they did, was trip you while you were walking on wood floors!

2- Speedplay Frog MTB pedals (first generation). It would take 10 tries to click-in and then another 10 to click-out.

3- Cytomax. Couldn’t stomach it full or even half strength.

JE

Anonymous

Paid the $110 for fancy eyewear, and the nose rubber things have come off within a year, leaving me with the hard plastic dimples to sit on my nose. Nice high end glasses! Now I rock the $25 types and they work great – cant tell the diff from the fancy ones at all. Sheesh, they are all plastic anyway. Lenses less fancy, but who cares since they all get sweaty after an hour anyway.

Anonymous

My first bike was a beautiful Serotta steel frame with awesome paint job. It was a size or two too big, but I ignored that because I just loved the paint job. Not cool. I ditched the bike within a year once I realized I was just too small for the frame. Never take fashion over function. Period.

Andy

Cytomax made me fart like crazy. Not that stinky, but unbelievable volume. I have a little tendinitis in my elbows, if I ride aluminum bars I feel it in my elbows afterwards, so I do believe in the carbon bar fairy.

Anonymous

SRM Cranks. They suck. They kept displaying 150w when I KNOW I was sprinting at at least 1500w. I’ll bring them to CP this weekend if anyone wants to buy them… I’ll be in the Cat 5 race on the dope Seven with Lightweight wheels and a huge beer belly.

Anonymous

had some bad ‘roids from my dominican connection back in early ’01 or thereabouts, and while my central park lap time went down about 8 seconds to 16:32, my neighbors complained that i sang show tunes in the shower more often than usual.

Anonymous

A pair of bib shorts and a shirt from them were so ill fitting as to be unusuable.

Oh, and the CRCA bibshorts by Champion have a great chamois, not.

Anonymous

Can you spell saddle sores.. now I use a Vitamin E lotion from CVS. Cytomax = upset stomach and I fart a lot anyway.

Anonymous

Four different sets FSA cranks over the last 5 years have had to be warrantied or had to be replaced at my cost….Some of the issues have been the outboard BB having some issues and the steel spindle rusting after one fall season, others have been more major like de-lamination to the point where the crank was not usable and needed to be sent back

Long live Shimano cranks!!

Anonymous

I bought a solidly built heavy-duty pedal wrench from Nashbar (it was branded by Nashbar too). Turns out that the thing had too small of an opening to fit around any pedals… by a lot. Too much to even file the opening bigger.

Anonymous

Agreed. Way too small, but I was able to file it so that it is usable (I have a bench vice to hold it for filing).

Anonymous

wrf … two guys out there buying nashbar wrenches and trying to file them down … only on nyvelocity. you guys should go bowling together.

Anonymous

what a piece of crap – BB bearings went to shit in about a month, forever after I was dealing with strong clunk coming over the top of the pedal stroke, followed by a loud screech. Major play in the system that couldn’t be tuned out.

Thank god those guys are out of business – hopeless stuff. These kind of experiences make you love stock Shimano and Campy.

Anonymous

I DID buy the polar power meter – it was complete crap and i sent it back after three days.

As for Sidi “mid-range” shoes… I bought the Genius road shoes about 4 years ago for around $250, and it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Anonymous

yea, that was the salmonella talkin’ to you there – lucky the runs was all you got. notice lots of peanut butter bars, etc aren’t on the shelves anymore? hard to find nowadays, and if you do – run!

Anonymous

I love the cycling Shoes and high end bibs that Fiordifrutta used last year. This type of issue is specific to the persons body shape and foot size/width.

Anonymous

“and if you do – run!” -> and if you don’t – runs!

polar power meter – was that the one measuring chain tension? always struck me similar to the iBike … cool theory, totally impractical.

DvB

Funny, I use both and I think they’re both the best. Maybe I don’t just ride enough.

My biggest disappointment has been Tufo tubular tape for CX tires. A close second is Performance-brand cork handlebar tape.

Anonymous

POS came with my ‘cross bike. Left arm came loose after 300 miles, then every 10 miles after that. Total garbage.

Anonymous

you clever monkey – you directed us to turn our hate on products, and therefore no one started flaming each other, or calling each other bagsanders, even once today. this is a nyvelocity first.

i’ll foil your fiendish plot though by calling anon 11:08 a sagbander.

also, anon 11:08: if u still have those man boobs on offer i’ll take them off your hands (provided you shave them first). combined with my noxema i think i can find a good use for them when the wife is away

Anonymous

These were considered very cool at the time and were only intended to satisfy the helmet rule (no one seriously thought they would protect you) so no illusions, but still…

Anonymous

i had a “skid lid” helmet, and have lived to tell about it…

slightly more effective in head protection than big hair superfan’s afro…

Anonymous

. . . chain lube discussion. I mean, shit, you could use 10W40 motor oil if you wanted. Amazing to think it’s good enough for cars that cost $25,000+ but not good enough for a bike chain? Please. Just depends on how often you’re willing to wipe and clean your chain.

Anonymous

i prefer tuscan extra virgin olive oil for my custom serotta meivici’s chain.

actually i prefer extra virgin for just about everything.

–donald trump

Anonymous

I found a Zipp 404 at Prospect Park a couple years ago that some doofus left behind. Thing smelled like K.C. Masterpiece BBQ sauce and had a sticker of a dog humping a cat. Rode it for a week, threw it in the trash.

Anonymous

world class failed me miserably. the rear hub would break spokes (new ones) constantly. after numerous rebuilds, i just sold them for salt.

Anonymous

I bought this hot new version of EPO, used it and rode fast, and THEN found out that the anti-doping police already knew how to test for it. WTF?!

Andy

Who owns a Ruby shock? And didn’t Museeuw ride a full sus Bianchi road bike at PR? Mektronic was so doomed. Electronic rear and friction front shifting. Wonder if DA electronic will make it.

Anonymous

another great idea. i’ve never seen anyone who uses them get any better than they were before they started the freak show.

Andy

In an altitude tent, with less oxygen, isn’t it just a more expensive form of auto erotic asphyxiation? Anyone with a tent care to chime in?

Andy

Well, you’re sleeping in the tent, so you’d be doing whatever you’d be doing in your bed, just with less oxygen. If that happens to be jerking off, then you’re probably a single guy who doesn’t need a tent since you can train all you want.

Anonymous

“Auto-erotic asphyxiation (AEA) is the term used to describe the practice of cutting off the blood supply to the brain through self-applied suffocation methods while masturbating to orgasm. “

Anonymous

I bought a bento box at some shop downtown and it didn’t give me a faster bike split. When I went in to return it they pulled a Jedi-Trigeek-mind-trick on me and I bought 4 years worth of $15,000 per month coaching, something called the “Wall Street Bailout Special”. I’d try to get out of the contract but I would hate to give up my first born.

Anonymous

andy @ “Wonder if DA electronic will make it.”

I g’tee you: in <=5 years the entire peloton will be on electronic. can't gtee - but hope - that the idea of a bike having to be a "double triangle" design goes out the window soon. it's an anachronistic and totally idiotic / baseless design constraint. and because the masses follow what is UCI legal, the vast majority of people ride a bike design which is demonstrably inferior.

Alex R

first time vittoria made clinchers they were a bit big and would not stay on the rim. I had to send them back and got store credit. A real PITA.

Addidas Bassano shoes, way too narrow for normal feet.

All so called ‘bicycle lubes’. They are mostly motor oil with a color added, along with quadrupling of the price. So called dry lubes are wax in a solvent. Again, you can duplicate this at home for less than 1/4 the price.

Magic Motorcycle cranks. Great ideas, they had outboard bearings and oversized BB spindles way before others, but not that durable. I broke two of these, one MM and the other CODA 900. Luckily they made plenty of noise and I stopped using them before they broke.

Air-B latex tubes. Unless you like working your upper body by pumping up your tires before every ride, I would pass on these.

Park tool 10mm offset brake wrench. I broke two of these while
using them for their intended use.

Modolo brifters. They worked with both Shimano and Campy derailleurs. Unfortunately they had a habit of breaking springs
that rendered them unusable.

Mavic Zap. Worked until the humidity went above 50%.

I don’t see why anyone would complain about the Sidi low end, is there really such a thing, shoes and rave about the pricier ones. They all use the same lasts and lorica/mesh uppers. You only pay ridiculous amounts of extra money to get fancier buckles or tacky shiny colors.

I’m not surprised that Keos are wearing out quickly. Anyone who has had Look pedals knows that they wear right in the middle. Carbon, or any other plastic, will not last long in a high wear area.

I’d like to see a thread on the best stuff you have ever owned.

Anonymous

they combine all the disadvantages of both types of tire.

honorable mention: HEED energy drink, ‘subtly’ disgusting in all flavors.

Anonymous

Never buy these bikes..Cannondale, I have had 5 in one year..Please do not race them..But if you go Superweek don’t worry your be rolling on a spare bike the hole time..Cervelo make sure you get a bike two size to small.Because the head tube is way to big. There made for super fat old guys..And Zipp wheels. There the biggest piece of CRAP..We went though 10 sets in 4 months..I’m good friends with Bobby J. He said They use a new set very race.

Anonymous

5 bikes in one year? you sure that had anything to do with the manufacturer? the kind of riding required to trash 5 of any kind of frame in one year makes me leery of taking advice from you. sorry, it just seems over the top. how many collarbones?

Anonymous

5 bikes in one year? Are riding with tires mounted to your rims or just rockin the rim, railroad-style? And hey, everyone is buddies with the BJ.

Anonymous

It’s a good thing that Cannondale has an excellent warranty/replacement program. Luckily, I’ve never return one, all the way back to my early ’90s 2.8 which I still ride.

Anonymous

Bobby Jindal? Doesn’t he just get an exorcism for the Zipps when the hubs start making noise? I wouldn’t trust him with wheel advise.

Anonymous

all speedplay pedals suck. it’s like riding on ice with all that float, and the cleat gets fucked up really easily

Anonymous

I’ve never bought a bad product — I research like the NIH, poll like Gallup, pounce with razor-honed intuition. The bike area in my apartment is a frickin’ Hall of Fame.

Anonymous

10:41 – hilarious.

And yes. Museeuw won Roubaix in 96 (97?) with a suspension fork – everybody had them the next year, and then… i never saw them again, except for the occasional delivery guy.

Anonymous

broughted over rock shox road forx to PR.
Bauer had the “Chopper”
Johan had his Bianchi FS
Tchmil won on grit
Guesdon lucky sprint
When riders were on Colnagos he refused to allow the ugly forx on his bikes and thus began the return of steel/carbon forks to the classics…
class dismissed…

Anonymous

you bought a meal plan?! that is sad. hiring a coach to tell you how to plan a season is one thing, but you can’t plan your own meals? most of it is common sense.

Anonymous

Spent big$$$ on powermeters and wheels with those ugly hubs and became obsessed with the data and analysis. Saw some improvements but lost the fun of cycling. Bought an Endurance Meal Plan from a nutritionist for $299 last December and have dropped 12lbs and have my body fat % in single digits. I feel better and stronger and my power output has also improved.

Anonymous

but i owned a first-generation bell aero helmet complete with visor. like eric heiden rode while with 7-11 in the tour. it weighed about 45lbs. and made your head heat up to 150F. i was 16 and dumb[er]. i preferred my cinelli hairnet, actually.

everybody rode them, but regina cassettes kinda sucked.

i imploded a set of bontrager race lites last year after 1000mi of relatively easy training. i weigh 135lbs and ride on good roads. absolute crap.

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