[Closed] "improved" products that make **** all difference

Were moving all our bikes to tubeless as default rather than tubed (currently the lowest end are tubed) because it's so much less hassle than fitting tubes irrespective of any other benefits

I thought they were much more hassle to fit than tubes

Compressor or track pump to get them seated etc

front and rear maxles definitely make a difference. I run a Trek Remedy and I've tried a QR rear end and a maxle rear end, with everything else the same, and you could easily tell the improvement.

What I think is a duffer is split gear cable outers. Why not run a full length? This is what I now do on all my bikes and it's tons better.

External bb designs
Press fit bottom brackets
Press fit headsets
1 x 10 or 11 dedicated chainsets
Mahoosive rear rings the size of a traditional big ring
Electric shifting
Enduro specific saddles

On the positive side, things that I think are a good thing are and a real improvement

Wider rims
TRP Cable disc brakes
Wider handlebars

Cheers

Sanny

stuff that annoys HR
-press fit BBs
-customisable geometry (e.g. anglesets)
-tubeless
-super thin inner tubes
-15mm and 20mm hubs. I have a wheelset for each, qould prefer just one

stuff that pleases HR
-external threaded BBs
-marzocchi suspension
-regular inner tubes
-bolt thru axles

[img]

if you don't notice the improvement with tubeless, your pressures are wrong.

Used to run 25f/30r psi with tubes, any lower and I would be at serious risk of pinch flatting/denting rim, now I've gone tubeless I run 25f/30r, any lower and I would be at serious risk of denting the rims.

Christ, I could take my bike on Antiques Roadshow.
I don't even have QR skewers, nutted axles here. No suspension, 25.4 bars, straight steerer, skinny steel frame, threaded BB, & my brakes work via a cable.
I need to get with the in-crowd. 😀

Used to run 25f/30r psi with tubes, any lower and I would be at serious risk of pinch flatting, now I've gone tubeless I run 25f/30r, any lower and I would be at serious risk of denting the rims

I struggle not to see the adadvantages, I used to find dozens of thorns when seasonally changing my tyres in lincs and now in the peaks I spend my time either getting bitten to death my midges in the summer or freezing my as off in the winter waiting around for people with punctures.

From my experiance in the last 5 years I have only had one puncture and that was when I was using a spare wheel with a tube in it.

I feel genuinely sorry for all the bike component designers and manufacturers if this is what their customers actually think of their efforts. These people actually put a lot of passion into making great products so we can have more fun for longer.
Luckily you lot just represent a small section of luddite curmudgeons.
Its all about incremental gains, each small thing seems like not much, but when you add together modern geom and components you get incredible bikes.
If you put Fabien Barel on a bike from 2005 and one of todays wonder machines he would be light years faster on the new bike.

There's a balance to be made between a technically perfect solution; one that can be manufactured at a reasonable cost; one that is maintainable and one that is usable.

The first attempt at something is rarely perfect, I can think of only one product in that category that I've used (the Petzl Zoom headtorch) and it's hardly changed in 30 years. Any changes have been down to consumer feedback rather than marketing hype.

Every manufacturer would like their product to become the standard, ideally of course with everyone else paying them royalty fees to use it. Unfortunately while they are all jostling for position we, the consumer, are left in the fall out zone. Some changes are [b]hard[/b] in that you can't retro-fit them to an existing bike/frame: tapered headsets would be an example. Others are [b]soft[/b] in that they require little change on our part: tubeless tyres; wider handlebars.

Unless we, the consumer, say "hang on, this is a pile of .." then the cr*p will prevail.

I feel genuinely sorry for all the bike component designers and manufacturers if this is what their customers actually think of their efforts. These people actually put a lot of passion into making great products so we can have more fun for longer.

I want to see whoever it was who decided we needed another front axle standard (15mmx100mm instead of the 20mmx110mm that's been around for yonks) put in the stocks. I'd also like to see the waste of a job who's now decided that we need 15x110 front axles - remember that 20mmx110mm is going to be stiffer - removed from the industry in disgrace.

I don't mind new standards and improvements if they genuinely bring benefit, however just lately we're having things foisted upon us that are extremely cynical attempts at planned obsolescence at worst or extremely poorly contrived marketing at best. No-one wins, least of all the likes of Giant, Trek and SRAM who are on my "avoid" list.

[quote=Northwind ]And honetly I think for most riders, a sticker that says "STIFFER" will make just as much difference to the ride

Yeah, and a sticker which says "COMFIER" on hardtails.

Regardless of the size (I have both 15mm and 20mm), screw through, quick release axles are a vast improvement on QRs. Stiffness is a secondary issue IMO.

Mate with a new bike with press fit BB.

me: "what's so good about it?"
him: "It's stiffer so you get better power transfer."
me: "So, can you tell the difference?"
him: "Err, no"

Emperor's new clothes ...

Some of these things work better for me, personally than others. Not saying it's true for everyone!

* tapered steerers - I'm riding around on a 160mm fork that weighs as much as a cross-country fork from 2005 and as stiff as a downhill fork from the same era. If the tapered headset is an enabler of this, I'm in!

* thru-axles / maxles (front or rear) - all good with me, it's a much better engineered system. No longer do I get that 'zing-zing' of the disc rubbing at the back. No stupid little spring to lose if you accidentally undo the QR too far when changing a puncture on the trail.

* external BBs - I'll take the trade-off reduced life-span for for the simplicity in fitting. No-more crank pullers, no risk of the mounting surface wearing and the crank constantly coming loose. I spend many times more every year on tyres than I do on BBs.

* tubeless - again, another win for me personally. Almost never puncture these days, where I used to get a lot of thorns.

Not a fan of push-fit BBs. Doesn't seem to be any longevity advantage and replacing them is terrifying.

Tapered? Works well for me +1 for mtbtom's comments about 160mm forks out performing old DH for old XC weights.

Thru Axles? Simplicity of them is great though the 1/4 turn one in the Manitou is taking a bit of getting used to. 15mm? Works fine for me too

Ext BB's moving on from Shimano to Hope has removed any of the wearing out problems.

Tubeless? Slow to get to but never going back, real TR rubber and real rims make a difference.

My bars are wide and stiff, it feels much better than the pokey 680mm bars I had, if I hadn't tried them I wouldn't be able to appreciate how much better they are.

Dropper posts - no brainer

1x with a 10-42 range it hits what a lot of bikers need and want.

It's all going well for me.

any lower and I would be at serious risk of denting the rims.

Are you riding on road bike tyres?

Nearly everything in this thread is of huge benefit to cycling.

Especially tubeless.

Shit, even press-fit BB's. Yes, they lower manufacturing costs. Yes, they require an additional special tool to remove/affix. Yes, they reduce wear and tear on BB's so they last longer. Yes, your new bike is now cheaper to buy as some of the manufacturing costs saved are passed on to the buyer. How do you think that is a bad thing you moron?

I feel genuinely sorry for all the bike component designers and manufacturers if this is what their customers actually think of their efforts. These [s]people[/s] companies actually put a lot of [s]passion[/s]time and marketing into making [s]great[/s] slightly different products so [s]we can have more fun[/s] they can make more money for longer.

These people companies actually put a lot of passiontime and marketing into making great slightly different products so we can have more fun they can make more money for longer.

On the disc brake road / cx thing, bolt through front is one solution, the other is simply mount the brake on the right hand leg, forward of the fork instead, like Cotic used to do. IMO it's a neater solution and gives a cleaner cable run also.

I've never actually heard of a front wheel being ejected under braking force, but don't want to experience one. Through axle front on a CX looks like a PITA compared to a Shimano skewer and sensible design, to me...

Yes, they reduce wear and tear on BB's so they last longer.

Nope. I've killed the press fit BB on my new Stumpy in fewer than four months.

I even managed to eke out longer from a Race Face BB, which hitherto set the brown standard in BB longevity of five months. Shimano XT BBs last me upwards of eighteen months.

Nope. I've killed the press fit BB on my new Stumpy in fewer than four months.

I even managed to eke out longer from a Race Face BB, which hitherto set the brown standard in BB longevity of five months. Shimano XT BBs last me upwards of eighteen months.

Guys! Listen! I'm one guy in a mass of satisfied customers! If I had a problem it has to be the norm! My opinion is important!

Think about it for one second. The same bottom bracket can be made to press fit into a shell as one that screws in. The only thing that changes is where the BB is mounted. In one, it is away from muck, sand, water and shit - on the other, it is right in the firing line.

Still a moron.

im feeling happy no one has said anything bad about my fattie within the first few posts yet

I think if there's one thing you can't say about fatties it's that they 'make **** all difference' 🙂

I thought most BB issues came down to care (pressure washing) or installation?

I've had no real issue with RF or Shimano external bb's, and when the plastic pressfit in my Zesty finally gave up way after everyone said it would, I got a Hope PF, although I know there are others with similar metal not plastic solutions for this.

Garmin software updates...

strava off road. all it has done is show land owners the routes we use when possibly we should not

Press fit BB's. Anyone who thinks they're good has never owned one.

vincienup - Member

I thought most BB issues came down to care (pressure washing) or installation?

You must not have owned a Truvativ BB

48h Deodorant not any better than claimed 24h stuff.

[i]Press fit BB's. Anyone who thinks they're good has never owned one[/i]

[shrugs]

there's one on my Shan. I've not noticed any change over my last ext.BB. genuinely can't get bothered about it.

Jordie's been watching too much Dave Gorman.

Tubeless is great - noticably faster for me. And no more trouble than tubes IF you have the right setup.

I actually insisted on 15mm maxle for the bike I just built up. Would rather have the extra security now it's available.

Nope. I've killed the press fit BB on my new Stumpy in fewer than four months.
I even managed to eke out longer from a Race Face BB, which hitherto set the brown standard in BB longevity of five months. Shimano XT BBs last me upwards of eighteen months.
Guys! Listen! I'm one guy in a mass of satisfied customers! If I had a problem it has to be the norm! My opinion is important!

Think about it for one second. The same bottom bracket can be made to press fit into a shell as one that screws in. The only thing that changes is where the BB is mounted. In one, it is away from muck, sand, water and shit - on the other, it is right in the firing line.

Still a moron.

Not sure why I'm a moron - is it because I've killed a bearing in four months, or that I don't happen to agree with your expert analysis of the engineering superiority SRAM PF30 bottom bracket?

For the record, the bearing is held in place with a plastic retainer, which flexes - hence the well known issues of creaky cranks and bearing wear.

Or of course, you could have used Google

[url= http://forums.mtbr.com/29er-components/sram-truvativ-pf30-bottom-bracket-failures-768131.html ]Here, for example.[/url]

And yes, when I've spent upwards of £2.5k on a bike then I do feel that my point [i]does[/i] matter especially when it seems to be shared with a number of individuals.

Unlike you, I'll refrain from personal insult, so I sincerely hope that your experience with PF/BB30 is better than mine.

I'm amazed how few of you have mentioned 650b. That seemed an obvious choice for me.

Or is it just that not many have actually tried it yet? 😉

benpinnick - Member

Were moving all our bikes to tubeless as default rather than tubed (currently the lowest end are tubed) because it's so much less hassle than fitting tubes irrespective of any other benefits.

As a relative newbie to the forum, the one thing I've gleaned is that tubeless can be the biggest PITA going.
It may be different for you as a company using combinations of rims and tyres that work well with compressors that the average punter will not own, but plenty of people seem to struggle.

PS. I like your bicycles, will the zero be available in any other colours? I'm a massive tart but can't afford to change my entire wardrobe. 🙂

It may be different for you as a company using combinations of rims and tyres that work well with compressors that the average punter will not own, but plenty of people seem to struggle.

As a punter I've had no real issues, some tyres need a compressor but these have all been non tubeless tyres on non tubeless rims. On the real stuff I've had no issues at all.

As a punter I've had no real issues, some tyres need a compressor but these have all been non tubeless tyres on non tubeless rims. On the real stuff I've had no issues at all.

This + a million. It's amazing what happens when you use the correct kit. Stuff works!

Anybody who has bodged non-tubeless stuff together as tubeless and hasn't been able to get it to work well, has absolutely no right to whinge. It'd be like throwing a car together out of various bits of fiestas and metros, slapping a Ferrari badge on it then claiming all Ferraries are rubbish.

Still, I don't really see how people can say it's simpler than tubes tbh. Not for the home mechanic anyway. I'm a tubeless fan, with proper tubeless rims and tyres, and a compressor- I still think it's easier to fit a tube.

I may not be typical but 15mm has made a real difference to my bike. Having just bought a set of Rebas off here (thanks Grant) I fitted them to my '98 Hei Hei and fast off cambers are much improved although this may have something to do with riding a 16 yo Ti frame which needs all the help it can get.

Tubeless ready schwalbe ice spikers on bonty rims with a bonty rim strip went up with a track pump and sealed immediately.

A little more faff than fitting a tube maybe, maybe not.. But the results are easily worth it.

I still think it's easier to fit a tube.

Yep. Sometimes your tyres don't go up, sometimes you spill the latex... But sometimes you nip the tube putting it in, sometimes you accidentally fit a punctured one.. Sometimes the valve rips off.. And sometimes you puncture.. And sometimes you run out of tubes on a ride...

How do you nip a tube putting on a mountain bike tyre?

Actually, I tried to fit a tyre on a set of Stans rims once, disbelief retracted.