[Closed] Cheap parts on an otherwise expensive bike. What works for you ?

Pig headsets for sure. Pity they no longer make them, they were fantastic!

I'll also go for bottom end shimano SPD pedals, no worse than anything more expensive, just heavier.

And LX square taper BB's, 12 quid or something, last just as long as anything else out there.

What's wrong with that Duntmatter? It's totally worn out after a year, and rather than buying chains throughout the year I wear it all out together.

I do tend to change the bike every year too, so it just means not putting a worn transmission on a new bike, which makes sense to me!

Deore rings on XTR cranks for me. And 50p Tescos electric tape instead of Stans yellow tape.

Pig headsets for me too. So cheap and so reliable that I can't resist, even though I know they're heavy.

PVC tape for rim tape and M-Part seatpost clamp. I'd forgotten I use those until someone else mentioned them.
Practical Matt is the only one to own up to using Bike Hut stuff so far then. 😀
As for clothing, I've raced with 3 pairs for £1 Tesco socks inside £80 North Wave shoes.

Truvativ stems - 40 or 50mm, £20.

I must admit I drew the line at Superstar road pads on £1500 carbon wheels! I fitted them, looked at the bike and scratched my head for a few minutes, then took them out and put some SwissStops in, sure they'd have been fine, but I just couldn't do it!

njee20 - Member

What's wrong with that [s]D[/s]duntmatter?

There's nowt wrong with it. I was just surprised at the difference in our levels of expenditure, and attitudes to how disposable / useable things are.

black insulation tape 😀

I've got quite a lot of Decathlon and Aldi bike clothing, but my bikes tend to be a bit of a bling fest - (Orange 5 SE)

Not 'cheap' as such, but I use ancient M747 pedals on my otherwise fairly bling £3k-ish Anthem X. I just can't find any reason not to use them.

There's nowt wrong with it. I was just surprised at the difference in our levels of expenditure, and attitudes to how disposable / useable things are.

Fair enough, I should say, if you didn't know, that I get my bikes heavily subsidised, use for a year and sell on. Were I paying full price I would a) not buy such expensive kit and b) keep it longer. But the chain/cassette/rings are totally destroyed after a year, so they'd need doing anyway!

And you work in LBS, don't have a mortgage etc?

I was the same in those days, but high end quite different then. Still manage a few treats though (2 new frames last year :oops:)

I've got SLX on my Nomad, which I suppose is a bit ghetto, along with super star pads and grips. However the most ghetto thing on all of my bikes is the tons of gaffer tape - all over them on rub points. I suppose I should spend more to make the bike look less shit, but I just can't bring myself to!

On the M520 SPDs, I just picked up two pairs on Ebay, in beautiful white, for £13 a pop. EPIC.

My single speed has a nos Mavic 231 rim on Deore dx hub 20 quid off ebay

And you work in LBS, don't have a mortgage etc?

Not worked in the LBS for a couple of years, still get cheap kit from them though, pay far too much rent too, think a sensible mortgage would be cheaper!

It's totally worn out after a year, and rather than buying chains throughout the year I wear it all out together.

I'm struggling to think of cheap bits on my expensive bikes - though I have kind of done the opposite. I have Campag Record on a £400 Pedalforce frame.

I've often totted that up in my head though, and I'm not so sure, at least excluding XX where the cassette is silly money.

If you use X9SL chains on XTR cassettes at £40 and £120 respectively. Assuming you use 3 chains in a year, it's cheaper to keep one for the year and replace with the cassette.

I did used to do that before I changed bikes so often, but I'm not so sure it works that well, you spend a fortune in chains and I don't think the cassettes really do that much better. I will almost certainly be getting an X.9 cassette or sommat though!