I’d never heard this phrase before seeing it in the On-One newsletter today – is it a northern thing? It struck me as a nice little turn of phrase, so in the interests of further sharing it with the world, what are your best examples of counterproductive penny-pinching (bike industry or otherwise)?

*Or sheep if you prefer

Virtually every entry level bike is spoilt by cheapo undamped forks,to get the all important SLX/XT mech on………
You even see £1500 bikes with Alivio shifters but a higher spec rear mech.If you are going to penny pinch shouldn`t it be the other way round?

Orange 5 Pro at £2,800 and fitted with a £10 open cage headset.

…and probably a cheapo cassette on a Pro 2 freehub.

I think it’s a naval or nautical thing rather than Northern, but is certainly very well embedded as a cultural saying.

The way money is saved on bikes is eminently sensible; stick a fancy derailleur on and it’s a low cost selling point, no point putting a fancy BB in because no one would notice.