Bottle cages!
I use the same cage on all my bikes, the Bontrager carbon SL has been faultless. However I needed another cage on the hurry up. So whilst placing an order I bought a Tacx jobbie thinking a Taxc would be okay.
First outing the bottle fell out on the road, and looked like it would fall out on any mildly bumpy road. I put up with it.
Next time I tried bottles in it and used the one that fitted the best. During the ride it was pointed out that my bottle wasn't in properly, all day it kept trying to come out.
Turns out that there is no side support. In fact you can tilt a bottle in the cage and almost pull it out from the bottom.
Anyway, it's not the cost or hassle, but when someone designs these things do they ever actually try them out and then think whoa this is rubbish?
Panaracer Rampage SC:
Highly recommended by all...
Punctures at the mere mention of a bramble. Also lasted about 100 miles.
This is going to sound really anally retentive but... it also depends on which bottles you use as they can vary in size slightly. I've used tacx tao cages for years now in spite of them being a bit loose with normal bottles, but they're rock solid with the camelback bottles I prefer, also seem to be virtually indestructable too.
I use Tao cages with Spesh bottles, never lost one in my life!
Tao cages are great as you can manipulate the shape in order to get a good grip on most bottles.
Panaracer Rampage SC
I loved mine, plenty grippy at the front and with a decent amount of feel.
The Rampage I had on the back tore on loose flint though, unbeknownst to me I'd managed to cut through the ply in two places. Whilst inflating the tyre a 3" square piece detached, taking the inner tube with it and the resulting explosive spray of Fenwicks sealant ensured that our porchway was duly redecorated.
Mrs PJM was a tad unhappy.
This is the offending article.
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Should have bought the cheaper Tao.
Hope QR seatclamp (won't tighten then snaps)
Hope skewers (comes undone)
Hope Vision lights (not sure what the latest reason for mine failing again is)
Haven't got the lights but my Hope clamps and skewers have all been fine.
Iv'e got Hope lights & seatclamp & had skewers. No problems at all with any.
enfht - MemberBlah blah etc
Hope Vision lights (not sure what the latest reason for mine failing again is)
Not being Toutified?
Hydrapak quantum clip. Utterly useless.
Marins
Those DH shorts with MASSIVE bits of plastic.
One Industries especially.
Why.........?
What no Crank Brothers?
What no Crank Brothers?
Yeah but everyone know CB kit is awful...
[img] 
[/img]Scott waterproof spds shoe things. "heater" is the model.
Scott Heater shoes. Absolutely rotten. I got drawn in as they were going cheap, but definitely a case of "buy cheap buy twice".
The issue, as far as I can tell, is that the outer isn't at all breathable or drained. Water gets stuck between the goretex liner and the outer making them very hard to dry. This also creates a festering layer of water and mud so they smelled like a 2 week old road killed badger after a few rides.
tom - OT but get something like this:
http://www.tiso.com/shop/sidas/drywarmer/?gclid=CjgKEAjwzcWcBRCat43fy9e5i3ASJADXOBwuu4yyUiQdbv2Wxh9vipWsFF_uD0vVcfUoNBTo5tHe6_D_BwE
Wet winter shoes (and festering smells) are a thing of the past.
As you were, carry on!
tom - OT but get something like this:Wet winter shoes (and festering smells) are a thing of the past.
As you were, carry on!
Cheers for that, although I have a proper wall mounted hot air shoe drier. It can dry a normal pair of walking boots in a couple of hours. With the Scotts, the water was trapped between the layers of the shoe. So they would feel dry insider and out, but after a few hours would feel wet again as the trapped water would permeate out. I've never had this problem with any other set of shoes or boots. They're absolute baws.
Ah. That reminds me. I've had my drywarmers running in my winter shoes for about 4 months now, should probably switch those off
Hope QR's are the best! I've had a couple and they are the best I've ever used.
Latex tubes - after 20 years of wondering if they are worth it I got some for my road bike. Felt no different to normal tubes but deflated themselves overnight, so they can't even do the one job they are supposed to. Cack.
nemesis, I didn't know that product existed and have needed it in my life for the last few years. Just purchased, a thanking you.
I know - I was given a set as a present for skiing and realised how useful they'd be for mtbing (and road riding..)
Camelbak antidote bladders. Two for two have leaked at the hose qr and Google suggests I'm not alone. They've not improved over a few years yet they still seem to keep selling the bloody things.
Sealskinz waterproof socks or gloves.
I love my Sealskinz socks, wouldn't be without them. Now Gore's waterproof socks, those are proper shit. They might be good at the waterproof part but they're no good at being socks.
Hope QR's are the best! I've had a couple and they are the best I've ever used.
Shimano QRs are the best.
Shimano XT QR +1
They just work, especially on my Swift with rigid forks.
All to do with internal cam.
Hope ones would undo on their own on rough stuff. Fail.
Shimano QRs are the best.
+1.
Hope's are pretty but fundamentally shite and always will be until they start using an internal cam...
Marins
Some of the newer ones are a bit pants, but my 2009 bike is great. Nothing has fallen off, worn out or flexed. If I'm being really fussy I'd say that the top tube is a teeny bit short and that the paint is too thin but that's about it.
Oh and Shimano QRs absolutely rule.
Gloves with seams in the tips of fingers.
For bottle cages, the cheap ali ones are best, just bend to fit as tight as you like.
Any sort of winter glove with a lining that turns inside out! We should take them all, make a bonfire out of them and throw the designers on top.
Amen, Northwind. Once spent 15 minutes cursing my Endura winter gloves in the middle of a ride having taken one off and then not being able to get it back on and trying to get the lining back in with freezing hands was a nightmare.
Please to say that my latest Endura gloves don't have this issue.
Sealskinz waterproof socks or gloves.
+1,utter 5hite !
Any sort of winter glove with a lining that turns inside out! We should take them all, make a bonfire out of them and throw the designers on top.
In theory they're supposed to enable you to dry gloves faster. It sort of works but putting them back the right way around makes me want to hurt people.
Any sort of winter glove with a lining that turns inside out! We should take them all, make a bonfire out of them and throw the designers on top.
This. x1000
Not bike kit, but related: the valve that connects the tube to the bladder on the Salomon backpack I use for running. Absolute nightmare to use, it's far too stiff.
Interesting that there are 3 products listed that I've used long term and had no issues with whatsoever.
Panaracer Rampage SC - check. ok they slip a bit when its gets mucky
Hope QRs - check. never had mine slip or undo.
Sealskinz Soaks - check. keep my feet dry and warm
Conti Vertical tyres, more like horizontal if you ask me.
Tacx chain tool, bought in an emergency. There is not enough of the tool to hold and get the leverage required for it to work correctly.
[img] https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT0-9DB326Eanqfjb5YWSnNZJFmkDgBpXZlrA_u5xmnUvDcAOD9 [/img]
Tacx chain tool, bought in an emergency. There is not enough of the tool to hold and get the leverage required for it to work correctly.
Yes absolute pish! It's great so long as you have two big adjustable spanners in your back pack. Amazed that they still make that, given that other compact tools like the park one and the topeak one work really well.
Any chain tool where the vice body is cast, or worse, sintered. In fact, make that any tool made those ways. Topeak: you're the worst offender here.
The bleed nipple and seals on crankbros 50/50s, designed to work against each other. Usually the nipple wins and destroys the seal.
Any bit of RaceFace kit that contains a bearing.
edit: damn almost forgot - Ardents.
bigyinn - Member
Interesting that there are 3 products listed that I've used long term and had no issues with whatsoever.
Panaracer Rampage SC - check. ok they slip a bit when its gets mucky
Hope QRs - check. never had mine slip or undo.
Sealskinz Soaks - check. keep my feet dry and warmConti Vertical tyres, more like horizontal if you ask me.
You'll never guess what tyre I fitted when the RSC's wore out...!
I did like the way the Panaracers rode, but they just got too many punctures. Seriously, 3-5 a day in Cornwall. Frustrating.
If you like Rampages, why not just get Nevegals- the tyre Panaracer copied badly to make the Rampage?
OK - I'll look into it, Ta.
On a side note - try walking into a Panasonic shop and asking them to order you some bike tyres, always causes an amusing outcome.
I broke a bottle cage on my road bike last year and popped into a shop mid-ride to get another one- a Blackburn one I think it was, all light and skinny.
It just wobbled to the point where I was basically waiting for it to break. Didn't seem to be up to the job of holding a full bottle at all- it really surprised me that such a thing would exist and have made it onto the shelves, especially from a big-name brand. Came straight off when I got home.
enfht - MemberHope Vision lights (not sure what the latest reason for mine failing again is)
I've had 5 years of weekly night rides out of mine with the cable pulling out of the light twice in that time. Hope repaired FOC and serviced the lights FOC when they did the most recent repair. They also give a better spread of light than the cheap Chinese lights, the mounts don't wobble and most essentially for a light that's used regularly in all weathers, they are reliable! My recently bought C&B Seen 1200lm lights are definitely second best in comparison even taking into account the price difference.
Another vote for sealskinz socks from me too - tried them once and they didn't really work.
My Hope seat clamps have been OK to be honest. The wheel QR's have been a bit hit and miss and do seem to die and end up as key rings. My Race Face BB's have been Ok too amazingly.
My Charge Knife saddle was rubbish - on one the leather just split despite not being crashed and the rails on the replacement creaked at the first sign of water.
- Xpedo spuds
bushings made of brie. Lasted about 200 miles before going sloppy.
- Not so much 'kit' but I'm surprised exposed gear cables didn't die a death much earlier. Full cables are simply loads better.
- I also thought ESI grips were poo, although I admit some love 'em.
- Middleburn rings too. Lasted okay but mine never shifted well at all (and I destroyed a 456 frame with chainsuck as a result...).
I also thought ESI grips were poo, although I admit some love 'em.
Best grips ever! In chunky variety (Though grips are a very personal thing..)
ESI grips would be teh bestest evars if they didn't fall apart quite so fast. As it is, I use 'em, they're good but they do annoy me.
ESI's are fantastic unless you're the sort of person that loves having a good look at the ground at high speed.
My ESI's have been fine, they are a little fiddly to install but once they are on they don't move.
My Hope QR's have been fine also, no problems with them coming loose.
I did have one of those steerer tube/top frame bags, around a fiver from Amazon, but it didn't even last one ride! The straps fell apart, but I guess it's a case or buy cheap buy twice.
My ESI's have been fine, they are a little fiddly to install but once they are on they don't move
Squirty IPA and grip strength! Rarrrrrr!
ESI's are fantastic unless you're the sort of person that loves having a good look at the ground at high speed.
Echo that - they also don't like being caught on low fence posts at 15mph
Hope QR's here too...have tried them all over the years. The seat post clamp seized and eventually snapped. The Wheel QR's kept undoing on rough terrain.....totally crap.
The Avid bladder master cylinder system would get my vote too - nightmare to bled properly and you always seem to leave a small pocket of air behind that finds its way into the system at an inopportune moment....like at the top of your first run down Glentress after a 3 hour drive, for instance.
I have 2 sets of Hope Vision 1 lights. 1 set has been perfect but the newer set has been nothing but trouble. They have been back to hope once for an issue and now they are turning themselves on whenever they feel like it! I assumed they were haunted so not sure whether they need to go back to hope or I should give them to a priest to excorise.
Avid Juicy 3 brakes. Mine were terrible, overheated and leaked.
Mondraker Foxy before forward geo, maintenance heavy, flexy rubber frame and geometry that puts your centre of gravity somewhere over the front wheel.
Hope Pro II 10mm bolt on's - never stay done up, especially when you seem to be descending an alpine trial at speed 👿
Hope brakes (apart from the older 2-piece stuff - they were awesome), the first generation Hope headsets, Nukeproof headsets, Hope QR seatclamps, Hope Hed Doctors, Race Face Deus cranks, Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres, On-One steel rigid forks, the pinch bolts on Shimano HT2 cranks...
What no Crank Brothers?
Sure it's been posted already but here is another classic from Team Robot:
[img]
[/img]Crank Brother's wise for me it had to be their ridiculously soft brass cleats that don't last 2 minutes.
Sealskinz waterproof socks or gloves.
Ha! My Sealskinz gloves have the waterproofing qualities of a damp sponge. Totally and utterly useless.
Marins
Some of the newer ones are a bit pants, but my [s]2009[/s][b]1995[/b] bike is great. Nothing has fallen off, worn out or flexed. If I'm being really fussy I'd say that [s]the top tube is a teeny bit short and that the paint is too thin[/s][b]it's a bit heavy[/b] but that's about it.
Marins
Some of the newer ones are a bit pants, but my [s]20091995[/s]1993 bike is great. Nothing has fallen off or worn out before its time. If I'm being really fussy I'd say that [s]the top tube is a teeny bit short and that the paint is too thinit's a bit heavy[/s] the rear triangle is a little flexy but that's about it.
Hope qrs again. Had to zip tie mine to the fork lower to stop them auto undoing.
Marzocchi ATA. You might start a downhill run with 160mm of travel, but by the end you'll be down to 120. Ended up zip-tying the adjuster in place. All that did was cause the cartridge to unscrew itself from the crown.
Avid Juicy 3 brakes. Mine were terrible, overheated and leaked.
Thought this thread was for rubbish kit that slips under the radar?
Avid brakes are well and truly on most peoples radars as being cack!
Tacx Tao brilliant and as light as they are cheap. I have done tens of thousands of miles on and off road, and never lost a bottle yet.
Lezyne kit, any of it, but particularly their glueless patches, tyre levers and self destruct bags with permeable leaky bladders
Like Crank Brothers French relatives
Sealskins socks rubbish
Bought a set of bling hope qr's to replace the cheapy on one set I had, don't really do a better job and the springs have partially worked their way into the space between the axle and skewer. Not what I was expecting from a company that I normally like.
Am I the only one surprised at all the issues with Hope QR's? I mean, I know I suffered from them but until now had only heard of one other person suffering from a snapped seatpost clamp. Hope didn't want to know when I complained about my skewers endlessly coming loose.....haven't bought anything from them since and don't intend to.
Just a bit surprising given how everyone loves their stuff in magazines etc to hear that so many are having issues.
Had a couple of duff bits of royal clothing , but I keep falling for it on the chain reaction Xmas sales
These ultralight ti skewers (various brands):
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Weeny little clamping force. Small climb, easy gear, I once had one spit the back wheel out and twist the brake side dropout. Lucky the frame was steel.
Replaced it with Hope, no problems since (you're not the only one oliwb). I've been told any QR needs to be tight enough it leave a mark on your palm when you close it, and doing that it's held up for a few months without ever loosening during a ride.
Edit:
These Sealskinz gloves:
[img] 
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Waterproof membrane inside, cotton cover on top. Too hot for most seasons, and in winter the outer part soaked through in the rain then my hands froze.
I like Hope seat QRs... They don't feel great on first use, like say Salsa, but they feel just the same after a few years as they did on day one. Never had a problem with them other than sometimes getting kinda stuck closed and needing a screwdriver to loosen.
Alligator cables and KCNC stuff.
Lezyne kit, any of it,
Except their Alloy-Drive pumps.
Mine have worked faultlessly for years.
Sealskinz socks have been great!
Now Salsa Anything cages, them nearly killed me.
Hope QRs here too, replaced with shimano xt which are far superior. The issue is that hope QRs bind as you tighten them making you think you've put on loads of force but you haven't.
In the same vein as duir's post on the last page regarding CB's products - another amusing one from Team Robot:
[url= http://theteamrobot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/breaking-news-from-team-robot_20.html ]Crankbrothers revamps aging wheel lineup for 2014...[/url]
No problems with Hope QR's and lights. Their head Dr is a good idea however the bolt snaps too easily. No problems with my sealskinz socks.
For me it would have to be Endura clothing. Don't think I own a piece that hasn't come away at the seams