[Closed] Bike products that need sorting out

Specialized rear hubs used on the camber/pitch, no idea who made it but it was the single biggest piece of crap ever.

my own gripe is how crap are bar-end plugs?

They never fit, you wrap a load of tape round them and they still fall out randmoly outside a shop or something so you have to go and buy more.

I've the same x-lite ones in for about 7 years.....

front mech adjustment and cable location

cables that don't fray

bearings that just come out

Cable actuated derailleur gears.
Suspension linkage bearings.
Adjustable seatposts.

Joplin seatposts, had 3 of them, all rubbish!

My Reverb is fine - has been since i bought it a year ago.

But the Crank bros products Ive used do seem to fail fast - perhaps its the poor engineering and "not riding in the mud" that seems to go on in the US.

+1 for front mechs. On a mountain bike there position means they are guaranteed to fail.

Suspension bushes that last

never had a f mech fail just PITA to work with

[i]On a mountain bike there position means they are guaranteed to fail.[/i]

Never had one fail yet. Had an XT on the old HT for at least 15 years now.

The re-launch of the Hite Rite is long overdue . 😆

TBH the thread was intended to be about products that just don't work, but could/should...most of the above don't fit that IMO!

cynic-al - Member
There must be millions to be made...my own gripe is how crap are bar-end plugs?

They never fit, you wrap a load of tape round them and they still fall out randmoly outside a shop or something so you have to go and buy more.

the thread was intended to be about products that just don't work, but could/should

Adjustable seatposts

Had an XT on the old HT for at least 15 years now.

Go to the Crank Bros website ........ anything that's on there

Hope bar end thingies are great

XTR front mech approx 9 years old going great

my crank brothers oem smarty pedals with the plastic cage and dodgy reflectors from a few years back have been amazing. i use them daily in all weathers, off and on road, ride DH, drops, jumps, stair gaps, xc the lot. still not bent the axles - they just squeak randomly.

cant vouch for any of their other stuff mind.

sram x7 & x9 mechs would be my vote for something that ought to work fantastic but are just a bit crap.

First thing I do when fitting new handlebar tape is throw away the included end plugs and reuse my ones with a screw in that don't fall out.

What about the bits of supposedly sticky tape they give you for finishing the bar tape in the middle. They are the most unsticky things in the universe. Fit one and turn your back to get the other one out of the box and you can hear it unpeeling itself...

Insulation tape every time.

The stantions on Fox forks ! Not fit for purpose .

as an 'engineering-problem-to-be-solved' - mountain-bikes are done.

most stuff works, and works well.

don't like product X? - just use product Y. it's half the price anyway.

i'm sure that shimano are working on a new 11-speed system, and specialized are working on yet another version of the enduro, and rockshox are working on a new 12mm thru-axle system, and etc.

but really, most 'changes' these days are just guff.

there are a couple of things i'd like to see, but they're just tweaks really.

example: cheap through axle forks from Rockshox, steel stanchions are fine by me, basic damping is fine by me, but QR's belong on road bikes.

Singlespeed chain tensioners.

Why cant someone make a decent light weight version- not really weight weenie (but that would be nice)
but just something less that a huge lump of alloy and massive chromo bolts.

Strong, light, cheap....
In all components, I want all three of these things, not just the two that I'm getting at the moment.

Anything made by Raceface with bearings in them. Kind of similar situation to Crank Bros. Use good bearigns and good seals.

Rucsacs/camelbacks. Why not make them out of waterproof fabric instead of using stupid rain covers?

The whole drivetrain. Why use material that will rust when it gets wet? Why have all the gear-changing gubbbins on the OUTSIDE where it can get damaged?

Bottom brackets. They used to last for years. Now they last for months. (Or less.)

Why have all the gear-changing gubbbins on the OUTSIDE where it can get damaged?

because chains are very efficient.

hub gears aren't. if you still want a hub gear, you can get one, they work very well.

you can even ditch the chain, and use a rubber belt.

see? - all the [i]real[/i] problems have been solved...

franki - Member

Bottom brackets. They used to last for years. Now they last for months. (Or less.)

i get years out of external shimano jobbies, and when they finally develop a small amount of play, i can replace them for £15. i don't even need to use a crank extractor (and the terrifying, delicate threads in the cranks)

i'm going to guess that you're a jet-washer...

Although it's not really a problem, what I'd like to be able to do is replace all the screws and bolts with ones that use the same tool to install/remove. One allen key to fit them all sort of thing. Probably there's some reason it cant be done, but I can never find the size I actually need. (hopes someone has already solved this non-problem)

you can pretty much dismantle any bike with a 5mm allen key...

The riders. Most of them are crap, fall off, faff too much and generally think they are better than everyone else if their bike is more expensive.

if you still want a hub gear, you can get one, they work very well.

you can even ditch the chain, and use a rubber belt.

I have, on both counts 🙂

you can pretty much dismantle any bike with a 5mm allen key...

Not if you've got lock on grips!

Admittedly you can still take the bars off....

Torx bolts on rotors. What exactly is wrong with allen key bolts?

After rounding one out (removing a seized-in bolt to in turn remove a corroded-beyond-rescue rotor from a wheel of a bike I bought) recently, I went online to buy more but could only find Torx heads. I ended up ordering a job lot of allen headed bolts from XYZ Random Bolt Manufacturer off eBay, but found they can only be used on the rear rotor as the heads are to large to fit between a rotor and fork leg. I got round the problem by stripping the very old bolts out of my Hope rotors on my road wheels (with allen heads!) and using 6 in the front rotors on each pair of wheels, with 6 of the new ones in each rear.

Bottom brackets. They used to last for years. Now they last for months

but yes I've had other external bearings that have died within a few months. Square taper used to consistently last ages, external bbs are like disk brake pads sometimes they last years sometimes they die early YMMV.

Mackem has a point, fewer different bolts would be nice and while we're at it 8mm bolts and friction fit should be binned now (part of sq taper I don't miss), hate installing the RF cranks I have, shimano cranks are much better for fitting, maybe a 5mm allen bolt end cap instead of the star thing they have now tho.

Relliot aren't torx supposed to be longer lasting? Less prone to rounding?* but all or nothing would be better, wholesale switch to torx or stick with allen please.

*no idea if either are true

Race Face external BBs - crap incarnate

+1 for anything Race Face that involves bearings, splines or that rotates. Avoid.

Lock on grip bolts which round long before the grips themselves wear out.

Standards...whilst we all reap the rewards of progress there are a proliferation of artificial standards designed simply to prevent two products in the same range from competing against one another. I give you the following:

15mm forks - Why not simply make them all 20mm bolt through?
Headtubes - 1.5 only please. Yes Giant, I'm looking at you.
ISCG - How many standards are required to stop your chain dropping off?
Hub widths - 135mm Maxle works for me.

If we have to have yet another standard, can it be a standardized system of frame sizing?

Torx bolts on rotors. What exactly is wrong with allen key bolts?

After rounding one out...

You just answered your own question.

Hex key is actually a poor design as it puts all of the load on the corners of the hexagon, leading to easy rounding out of both the tool and the bolt. Torx puts the load onto flats of the tool/bolt.

My problem is with the people who use hex bolts on rotors in the first place.

pretty sure I've got some XT external bearings from 2008 still running sweet

yes what he said hex bolts are much better/less likely to strip out

dropper post that are play free

Cleats that dont wear

Tyres for all surfaces

Non clicky ****ing loudly rear hubs that are not cup and cone or the same price as my bike [b]THIS above all else[/b]

Bottom brackets. They used to last for years. Now they last for months. (Or less.)

+ 1. And I don't jet wash my bike.

Admittedly my last one lasted 18 months, but that's still underwhelming. It did finally occur to me what the advantage of external bottom brackets is: no danger of them being in the frame long enough to get stuck.

I've mellowed a little since discovering you can get replacements from bike-discount.de for under €10.

Torx bolts on rotors. What exactly is wrong with allen key bolts?

After rounding one out...

[b]pdw[/b] - [u]Member[/u]

You just answered your own question.

The bolt I rounded out was a Torx.

The bolt I rounded out was a Torx.

The bolt I rounded out was a Torx.

🙂

Oh well... they're not perfect.

The point still stands. Torx bolts are a better design, and in my experience the practice matches the theory and they're much less likely to round out.

my own gripe is how crap are bar-end plugs?
They never fit, you wrap a load of tape round them and they still fall out randmoly outside a shop or something so you have to go and buy more.

I've the same x-lite ones in for about 7 years.....

Depends on the bars I think! I've had 3 dropped bar bikes- the first two the plugs never shifted at all, the one I've got now they just won't stay in for love or money.

Bar end plugs are a product that can and will work perfectly well if not fitted by a clueless tight bodger.

Although handlebars have an external diameter at the grip/controls end of 22.2mm they have many different internal diameters, you simply need to use the correct size of plug. 🙄

My vote goes to every tubeless mtb tyre system so far

Im still waiting to find the perfect multi-tool. When I find it I dont think it will have an integrated chain tool, they always seem to be a bit cr4p

It's a few years since I replaced it but the sealed bearings on the bottom jockey wheel of my SRAM X9 rear mech were shocking. After a pretty short period of time they repeatedly seized after any mildly wet or muddy ride, requiring a full strip. Replacement options were pretty expensive with no obvious third party products (unlike X0). Ended up upgrading to X0. I wished I'd bought XTR and saved money!

I love Fizik Gobi saddles but wish they could make them in such a way that the front edge didn`t wear away.

Race Face x type bottom bracket. Just needs either sorting or deleting.
Nearly good aint good enough.
If it has bearings, and Hope make one, that's where my money goes now, hubs and BB superb.

Suspension linkage bearings.

As a Turner owner I don't get this one... Please explain. Oh, bearings. Not bushings. 😉

Torx disc bolts that have a deeper head. All those I've had are so shallow that the tool can slip out quite easily.

"Bar end plugs"
Lock on grips can sometimes help a bit IME
tbf, bars (Should?) will be same external diameter to fit the grips, but the internal must vary depending on what wall thickness used? So not all bars will be the same?
"Hope bar end thingies are great"
But heavier and as they're made of metal my thought is I dont want to crash on them? granted most plastic ones will probably fail before Im finished falling onto my bars (Ive yet to do so). more BMX 'style' ones that are as fat as the grips maybe stand a better chance of working?

"front mech adjustment"
Follow fitting instructions, dont bend the cage and I dont think Ive had problems?
"on a mountain bike there position means they are guaranteed to fail"
Ive found 'conventional' bottom swing front mechs collect less mud/crud on them/around the pivots and dont develop slop as quickly as top swing types seeminly found most often on MTBs

"cables that don't fray"
Is that fixable? If you tried to 'stick' them all together along the whole length, then it wouldnt bend the same to go around corners.
If there were an easy DIY at home way (not everyone is going to invest in a welder) to put another spot of something once youve trimmed the cable down could be good? Though it'd be better if this 'spot' would fit down the cable outers too

"bearings that just come out "
But then they wouldnt fit properly? When/if the bearing seizes or gets a bit sticky it'd all spin causing wear on where its fitted?

"Suspension linkage bearings"
Not a fix all, but I found my worst ones were non-full-compliment type, meaning when the cage collapsed, the ball bearings went to one side causing a lot of play. Switching to full-compliment (no cage, just ball bearings) meant when worn they cant all bunch up on one side?

"Adjustable seatposts", forks, shocks
Might be better if they were fully sealed (better than some velcro-ed on neoprene), and maybe oil immersed? though much heavier?

"drivetrain. Why use material that will rust when it gets wet?"
Aluminium Rings IME die very quickly by comparison to steel, and take the steel chain and casette with it. What else isnt going to be a lot more expensive?

"I can never find the size I actually need"
You need a toolbox and to remember to put all the tools back in it?

"Lock on grip bolts which round"
2.5mm headed ODIs are a bit crap
3mm WTBs are meant to be a bit better?

"Hub widths - 135mm Maxle works for me"
150mm will give a better spoke angle? I guess will give a better/proper chainline for 83mm BBs (which give more weld space for burly chainstays and downtubes?)
142 IIRC is measured funny and is still sort of 135mm in width? Maybe not, cant remember

"can it be a standardized system of frame sizing?"
I believe 'front centre' is to one to go for, though it doesnt crop up all that much

"Tyres for all surfaces"
I think there must be tyres for every surface i think intense even do one to go on north shore planks ..
Oh, I see what you mean ..

"advantage of external bottom brackets"
the bigger axle (For stiffness), with bearings that last (a bit) longer than ISIS

"Non clicky **** loudly rear hubs that are not cup and cone or the same price as my bike"
+1
And more like 32/36 (or more) 'click's per revolution (rather than 24 of many) would be nice. I like my SLX freehubed XT 6bolt, but its heavy, cup/cone and the freehub can die a bit quick

"Torx disc bolts that have a deeper head"
+1
A torx headed tool that doesnt have rounded edges helps. A 'Y' tool (3 torx sized thing) and/or a socket/ratchet help it not slip out so much too

There must be loads more, but I cant think of them atm

Bottom brackets. They used to last for years. Now they last for months. (Or less.)

+1

Im still waiting to find the perfect multi-tool.

That's a Chain Pup with a set of proper allen keys instead of the silly welded affair it came with.

TOOL

Road bikes, wassat all about....

Wipe the whole ****ing lot of them out.

Non clicky **** loudly rear hubs that are not cup and cone

Absolutely nothing wrong with cup and cone hubs

LOL Gary Extreme, point scoring desparation as ever.

"cables that don't fray"

dab of superglue after cutting

It's like an open goal here Al

use a decent lacquer that resists cable rub without having to use tape everywhere. Fair enough if there is a major tight rub area but most bike paint/lacquer is rubbish.

More on bearings...

http://m.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/saint-gobain-bearings-from-the-future-33388/