Shimano
Specialized (shoes and helmets - noone else's fit)
Mavic historically but tempted by Stans next time round
Beyond that it's buy for a job based on what's around that seems to do it for the right money.
I like to buy British where its up to the job and available from the LBS.
mavic hope 🙂
Like many others:
Selle Italia saddles
Schwalbe tyres
Specialized shoes (though I hate myself for it, as I disagree with the company policy on patents and litigation)
DIY lights 😀
Though apart from the saddle thing, it's more a case of product loyalty - if somebody else came out with a tyre or shoe I thought better I'd switch in an instant (actually my latest bike shoe purchases were Shimano - a company I thought I had inverse brand loyalty to for shoes - and Vans, though I'm using them with Specialized insoles 😉 ).
I suppose I could add Formula brakes given that's the last two sets I've bought over 10 years - but again I'd have bought something different if I thought it better. Brand loyalty sucks.
Chris King
White Industries
Hope
All my forks have been Pace since I started back in the late 80's mainly the RC30 and 31's
I kinda stick with stuff if it works; as much as I love building bikes, there are plenty of times when I don't want to have to be messing about, fiddling with something when I could be out riding (err, like now for example 😉 )
Specialized shoes / BG grips.
Singular frames.
I like all of the QBP stuff I've had too (Surly and Salsa).
Bontrager tires seem to work well for me.
Shimano and Cane Creek stuff - because it just works.
Dawes mountain bikes and Aldi and Lidl for tops and jackets
dialledbikes..for HTs
orange ...for fullsuss
chris king ...for headsets
rock shox...for forks
and dt swiss..for their hubs, lasting ages...
Bell XC helmets - fit me good and cheaper than the competition.
Urge helmets - Love the styling and the Downomatic fits me brilliantly.
No real loyalty, just like stuff that works at the right price.
Having said that, i bought a 2004 Mount Vision and was so impressed with the way it works that when i saw a 2009 Wolf Ridge for sale with a £1000 off list price i bought it 🙂
Shimano stuff simply 'cos it works without having to think about it, apart from that nowt really.
but loyalty can blind you to other good stuff on the market
that^^ whether it's loyalty based on all out i'm gonna tweet this and hit like on farcebook and hit +1 on google+ etc. just to make sure all my friends know what I rave about, or just "I know where I stand with brand XXXXX", and that's the safe default.
The only slight nod is towards SRAM shifting as it just seems to work for me so I don't see the point in buying a new groupset
ditto - but the other way around for me.
Shimano on the road bike and the old MTB, so just made sense to get Shimano for the Cotic and CX bike too. If anything breaks, can swap shifters, mechs, etc. about.
Got SRAM cassettes and chains mostly though.
Spose the only "loyalty" I've got is Endura.
And that is because I know what fits when mail ordering, in an industry where clothing sizes vary a lot from the norm.
Spose the only "loyalty" I've got is Endura.
And that is because I know what fits when mail ordering, in an industry where clothing sizes vary a lot from the norm.
Hmm - I have Endura short liners in S which are larger than a different type of Endura short liners in M. You may want to rethink that one!
Shimano - for all things drivetrain and braking
Specialized - road shoes
Five Ten - mtb shoes
Rock Shox - Forks
In terms of bikes: I've tried boutique brands and they've all had their problems. The one I seem to keep coming back to is Specialized: Their stuff just seems to work. I am also becoming a fan of their tyres too.
IMO it's not about loyalty as such, it's about finding what works for me.
I like raceface and kona clothing.
Bikewise I really like GT's for some reason. Always have.Cannot wait for the Athertons racing.
Love dakine backpacks.
Tyre wise like panaracer and maxxis.
Shimano Shifters and mechs
SRAM casettes and chains
Hope for brakes and hubs
Torq energy gels drinks etc as they actually taste quite nice
Specialized saddles
Every other aspect if cycling is just a case of what ever i fancied