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:
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[/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:
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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
Too complex, too baggy and just not as good as any other baggy shorts I have had: Endura Humvee's
Any cycling glove that's branded waterproof, yet to find one that is. In fact most clothing that's 'waterproof and breathable'
Endura zips - utter shite.
[i]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.[/i]
Latex tubes use some air overnight but they don't deflate fully. Is it not normal practice to top up tyres before a ride, it is for me.
See I do like the fit/style of the Humvee's but they're just poorly made
Gary_M - MemberAny cycling glove that's branded waterproof, yet to find one that is.
Perfect Curve! Well OK, not actually a cycling glove, it's a windowcleaner's glove. But it's incredibly warm, imperviously waterproof, I have terrible circulation so my hands freeze in winter except in these badboys they sweat. And [i]stink. [/i]
Humvee's never had a pair that ever completed a ride. Mine had the wrong size inner short attached. Second pair were the most 'token' attempt at a short. Popper came out. Gave up and wore with my own inners, zip broke that ride.
Lot's of broken KCNC stuff in my garage, including two bits that broke or didn't fit on assembly.
Maxxis Ardents for me. Many love them but I'm pretty sure they were trying to kill me.
Endura use some cheap weak generic version of the press stud, all mine and everyone I know who has 'em has the waistband pop open all the time (and no I'm not chunky, breathing in is enough to do it).
+1000 for gloves with linings that come out with your hand, got some £30 Enduras (possibly a pattern here) that do this, like cheap market stall winter gloves did when I was a kid.
Lezyne pumps are brilliant.
Elite Sior bottle cage. Holds bottle so tightly I was worried I'd strip the bosses out the frame.
Some green michelin DH/FR innertube I bought in Morzine; punctured first ride and found whatever it was made out of patches wouldnt stick to it, so it got binned on its first day 🙄
Aldi track pump. What air did go in on the downstroke got sucked out on the upstroke. Head such a tight fit you risked tearing your valve off with it. And on the 3rd attempt at using it the handle came off. No quibble return policy thankfully.
Shimano QRs are the best.+1.
Hope's are pretty but fundamentally shite and always will be until they start using an internal cam...
+2 .
The basic shimano Qr's beat anything else as do their basic m520 Spd's.
saint PD-MX80 pedals. No wonder they are always discounted. Absolutely love them when they work, big platform and if you remove washers under studs, very grippy.
On my second set due to play developing in the bushing. Stripped down and rebuilt numerous times (one a week now) to make them last.
Problem is not with the cup and cone bearing arrangement - I like cup and cone and easy to adjust in the saint pedals. It's with the crappy seal and plastic bush on the axle I have issue with. The bush wears and the o ring seal pinches on the lip of the axle just before the thread. This allows water ingress and kills the bush. It's a weird size and bonded into the ally pedal assembly.
"puncture proof" goo filled tubes.
Thought these would be a good idea, but totally non-repairable should the goo not do its job (which it never does on a pinch flat)
