How about something more positive than the "things that are a bit shit" thread? What have you bought, bike or otherwise, no matter how mundane, that has been better than you expected? Or has simply been amazing?
I'll start with Rema puncture repair kits. Still running the same two inner tubes after six years and many patched punctures. I didn't have much confidence in them and figured they were just enough to get me out of a tricky spot, but there we go.
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😆 @ binners!
Waterproof shorts. God send. Thank **** I took them to the Alps this year!
aldi merino riding jersey/jumper absolutely superb
I have just received an On One ultralight cnc stem and i must say its well made and light and very cheap.
From the For Sale Forum I've got a full suss Marin frame for £25 and an iPod touch for the same amount.
Extremely pleased with both.
Cheap (like, really cheap) Geax tyres from On One have surprised me in a few ways - they hold air, grip well, last OK, and most significantly they really were in stock and did actually get delivered
Decathlon/Quechua sportwool base layers.
cheap as chips and as good as icebreaker.
Narrow wide chainring, 9 speed so no clutch mech. Wasn't expecting it to work really. It works really rather well!
Conti Baron: a lot of superlative user-reviews, but very little else made me suspicious. They really are magic on wet roots and rocks though.
Dropper posts, generally.
Mid-table, modern, RS forks: light, work well and last forever.
My Commencal AM2 29er. I know I was recently close to selling it. But it's just absolutely outstanding ! I've ridden over/down/through stuff I never thought possible before.
A Decathlon bike stand. Expected it to be useful, didn't expect it to be quite as much of a game changer as it was.
Kona MinUte cargo bike. Bought on a whim from a PSA here. It now does more journey's than any other bike in my garage. Shopping trips, pub trips, gentle ride into town, take the Mrs to the gym, all have been done by this mighty machine.
Shimano 520 pedals. They're £20 so they're going to be a bit crap aren't they. No, they last forever and are as good as stuff costing 4 times as much.
A road bike. Bought on Cycle2work in a vague hope of getting me fit. I now have more road bikes than MTB's and it has reignited by love for all things 2 wheeled. And yes, it does still get used to commute on.
Saracen Kili flyer 12x frame. Built up really easily and rides superb. Not sure what I was expecting but it's way better than that.
Specialized Purgatory tyres (Brilliant in the Peak District)
Endura Dexter gloves (Everyone tells you Endura stuff drops to bits).
800mm bars (Planned to cut em down but love them now).
N/W set up with 42t at the back.
On-one chunky monkey front tyre, took a punt on one at £17.50 and it has been a permanent feature on the front of my 6" bike ever since. Also very impressed with the £2.99 socks from aldi and the lidl bike stand.
2008 Giant Trance, a 100mm travel one and the 2011 Revelation 140mm Revelation fork it now has .
Of the original entry level trance 3 bike , only the frame , rear shock and crank arms are in use now, but six years on and anything from 25 to 100 off road miles a week since new, it's truly been fantastic , particularly when financial constraints have been at an epically high level for almost 5 years now and I've been unable to travel to surf, so mtb has become my default sport, it will remain so when things gat back to normal, next year too. I'll probably still ride the Trance too,even if I will be able to update it.
Spin off benefit has been that I have learned to fix things myself; change bearings , service fork etc and can even notice when things aren't quite right !
arrow wide chainring, 9 speed so no clutch mech. Wasn't expecting it to work really. It works really rather well!
+1
Was expecting lots of issues using worn chain & old 9sp rear mech, I keep trying to ride down stuff to fetch it off but in 12 months it never has. Got 10sp stuff to replace it too but 9sp refuses to die
Inbred frames. 26er and 29er. Just properly good for so little money.
Shimano square taper bb's. They work, last for years and cost peanuts.
Another for narrow wide chainrings. Possibly the simplest and most effective cycling innovation in recent times.
Ss lights.
Army camo Gortex waterproof over trousers. Bought in 2007 after a wet week in Morzine and still going strong.
Specialized Command post, just does what its supposed to. We now have them on all the bikes.
Charge spoon, <£18 Comfiest saddle I've ever used, seems to last for ever even the white version
Love this thread! Was really impressed with the Park Tools plastic multitools, they all use them at my lbs, my heavy, heavy duty crank bros one was wearing out so finally bit the bullet, added on to my order for a fiver on bike-discount, weighs a third of my crank bros and feels so much better to use!! Love it 🙂
SSC HT2 BB - I bought it because it was cheap and purple. I expected the bearings to last a couple of rides before a thermonuclear detonation requiring a rock to repair after which I'd put some decent bearings in.
I've been sorely disappointed and it's still going strong 4+ years later.
And not even a whiff of octopus.
Deda white(!) carbon effect bar tape. It's white, it's fairly cheap (£6) and it does what bar tape does. That it's white (have I mentioned that) and can get filthy on my cx bike but with a quick wash can look near enough new is just silly. And it lasts ages unlike most cork type tapes.
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Conti Tubes (bog standard ones)
6000km, 2 punctures, for an expenditure little more than a tenner
OneUp Rad cage. Really does make everything shift perfectly. I didn't diosconnect the cable when I removed it, so just popped it on, bolted the mech back up, and put the B-tension back to normal, and everything worked just perfectly.
My Banshee Rune - for a silly, 160mm trave bike it climbs really well. In fact, this aspect has impressed me more than anything else because I was expecting it to be a pig.
My Zee rear mechs - cheap at £40 and work much better than the Sram Type 2 jobbies (and that's coming from a Sram fan boy).
Another vote for the narrow wide rings - brilliant. No more noisey chain dervices here.
My Easton Havoc wheels - mine have been tough, reliable, easy to sort bearings our, easy to run tubless despite a big flat spot and various dings. Nothing like the interest made them out to be.
ODI Rogue grips - just so comfortable and grippy
Rubber Queen Black Chili tyres - wear excellently and so grippy
Fizik Gobi saddles - just suit my behind
Joplin and Lev dropper posts - unobtrusive and just great as I never used to lower my saddle at all and this makes riding a lot more comfortable
Formula The One brakes - unbelievable modulation and power that make later, better braking possible and really help when on the super-steep tricky stuff!
Waterproof shorts - no more soggy bottoms and less misery!
Wind proof gilets - right clothing for so much of the year!
My Genesis Io singlespeed.
I bought it as a reasonably cheap gap-fill to do both commuting duties (I'd had to retire my knackered commuting bike) and off-road (my Cove Stiffee needed new forks and a load of other bits) for a time.
Turns out I liked riding it so much, I sold my Cove when it was fixed and haven't ridden a geared or suspended bike since.
I bought another Genesis - a Fortitude SS for offroading and still use the Io for commuting and the odd road ride.
Oakley M frames - I bought in 1995/6 - cost a lot at the time but multiply by number of years I've used them, bargain and still the best you can have to protect your eyes from rain/mud/grime.
@mindmap
Apologies for the thread-hijack, but I'm really keen to hear more about the Rune - am currently looking at one.
What size, wheel setup etc?
As you all were...
It's always the little things...after years of running SRAM gears I've jumped ship to XT and am massively impressed. They just work and the ergonomics are spot on.
60mm uno stem for £12 off eBay.89 grams and stiff.
Bloody bargain.
Onone thicky socks
Montane minimus - just an awesome waterproof jacket that packs to nothing.
Aldi winter gloves
Aldi s/s jerseys
Planet x socks (thin & thick)
On-One lock on grips, less than a fiver!...limited colours but just go for black anyway, lasted over a year so far.
Wellgo V8 copies, an eBay buy, cheap as you like but still on the bike 12 months later with no noise, play etc
Deore brakes, cheap and excellent, the latest M615s on my bike even have a nice progressive build up to their maximum power, no grabbiness.
Anything bars, seatpost related by FUNN, usually cheap from CRC and excellently made, strong, look good (just about every colour you can think of).
2014 Revelations, pumped them up to the pressure recommended on the fork leg....came over all sceptical as i'm a bit of a luddite preferring a coil spring set-up....went for a ride, superb small bump compliance ramping up nicely for the bigger stuff and using all but the last 5-10mm of travel without bottoming out....changed my perception of air forks after some Fox items left me a bit disillusioned by the concept.
Maxxis tyres, lovely soft grippy compounds in just about every tread configuration you could want/need...usually cheap too.
Hawes & Curtis shirts.
Incredible quality for the money, as long as you're happy to buy 4/5 at a time, depending on the current offer (usually about £100).
I've probably had about 30 odd over the last 5 years and only one has ever shown any signs of wear.
@mindmapApologies for the thread-hijack, but I'm really keen to hear more about the Rune - am currently looking at one.
What size, wheel setup etc?
Mine is a size large and feels spot on (I'm a shade under 6 foot) and weighs in at just over 32lbs (Devilles, Reverb, Havoc wheels, 1x10 etc) but rides like a much lighter bike. I'm running it on 26 inch wheels at the me. It is currently for sale due to the impending arrival of mini me which will curtail my riding for a bit so I'm thinking of going back to a hardtail for shorter rides.
To save takkin over this thread, feel free to drop me an email - sam_t_courtAThotmailDOTcom with any questions.
Fake Troy Lee shorts.
Been awesome for 28 quid.
Singular Swift. It's simply brilliant.
XT Brakes too (for above), run hopes on my other ride, but these are great too & saved me a few quid.
My Kinesis Sync frame. Not cheap, and I expected it to be good. It's way better than that!
F-Fusion suspension forks. A good bit cheaper than most of the alternatives and only basic external adjustments on all but the high end stuff, but they just work so damned well!
Geax tyres, specifically the Goma and the Saguaro. The Goma looks like it should be ok as a front tyre, if not the grippiest. It grips like a Minion, but it's really fast too, and seems to last an age despite the sticky compound. The Saguaro looks like it will be fast, but doesn't look like it will grip all that much. It grips way better than you would expect, so far I've found only deep mud really phases it, and that it's excellent as a rear tyre.
Deore brakes, cheap and excellent, the latest M615s on my bike even have a nice progressive build up to their maximum power, no grabbiness.
Good call.
Mine are fantastic and feel better than the XT's on my other bike. For £80 they are fantatsic things - they also seem to deal with crashes better (no raised lettering to get ripped off).
Zee Rear Mech, just faultless on both my MTBs (with a 40t T-rex on the FS).
On-one Merino arm warmers. I think they cost a fiver, they are superb and do the job.
2" Maxxis Beavers. Whilst I love the Hans Dampfs on my FS, I put Beavers on the HT for winter riding. They are lightweight but grippy and I just keep them on all year round.
661 Sub Gear - it's saved me from a few light knocks, but isn't stupidly bulky. I bought it just for uplifts, but wear it more often for bumpier pedally riding.
On One Scandal - frame was £125 I think and everything about it is just right.
Deore DX SPDs. I have a set from 1992 and they still work, despite minimal maintenance.
Mammut air pillow, it's very tiny, but gives such a good nights sleep when camping.
A kinesis tripster Ti.. Haven't ridden my mtb for 3 months
Imac
Audi tdi
Knock off all stars
sonos
beetroot in bags
Gin and tonic in little tins
High rollers
Paramo Gilet
GP4 seasons
Mackeral Pate
Rocket Rons
Whyte 29c
Torq gels
North Wave celcius GT boots
Fenwicks foaming chain cleaner
Caselli Nanoflex arm and knee warmers
Marzocchi 150mm Z1 FR Forks. I've had them for 9 years, had them serviced twice, I think, and they are still going strong. I've lost count of the number of bikes they have been on during those years.
Dialled Alpine Mk 1 frame. Bought it on a whim when they first came out and have loved it from the word go. It now has the aforementioned Z1s on it, and what a great combination they make.
Gore Bike Wear cos it keeps me warm and dry especially in challenging weather conditions thus enabling me to ride all year round.
Shimano Shoes.
Montane waterproofs and softshells - especially a Dyno and Krypton.
Patagonia base layers and waterproof trousers.
Orange ST4 (until I snapped it..)
Why a Premier subs to this 'ere mag. 8)
Marzocchi 150mm Z1 FR Forks. I've had them for 9 years, had them serviced twice, I think, and they are still going strong. I've lost count of the number of bikes they have been on during those years.
Great forks - I'm running a pair of 10th Anniversary Z1's on my Stanton and they keep on going. They don't have fancy damping but they're tough, plush and orange!
High Rollers fit and forget tyres for the damp.
Maxxis Ignitors - High Rollers for dry conditions that still work when it accidentally tips it down.
Stans tubeless conversion kits.
My fatty.
The Marea I bought, unseen, off ebay one night while I was at the pub. It took 120000 miles of redline-all-the-time driving to finally kill it. Even then I could have saved it if I'd been in the car. How I miss that motor.
[i]Deda white(!) carbon effect bar tape[/i]
Gonna get me some of that to replace the mucky stuff on my roadie.
Talking of which..
£130 off Merlin for one of these
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Superb for the commuting roadie.
And, of course my Yeti 575. Who'd a thunk I'd still love it 8 years later...
a BETD bearing replacement - turned an outrageously shitty raceface bottom bracket into a rock-solid bit of kit that is still going strong 3yrs later. The fact that I was able to send it in the post and they sent it back about 4days later was the icing on the cake. No way would I buy hope etc I just don't need to
Hawes & Curtis shirts.Incredible quality for the money, as long as you're happy to buy 4/5 at a time, depending on the current offer (usually about £100).
I've probably had about 30 odd over the last 5 years and only one has ever shown any signs of wear.
Strange - I bought one and was very disappointed by the speed at which collars and cuffs started to show wear. Usual purchases range from Gieves & Hawkes, Pink, to Debenhams own brands so I don't think my expectations are unrealistic from a shirt.
I'm also not keen on their BS pricing with, as you say, always some sort of multi-buy deal - the flip side of which being that if you just want to buy [b]a[/b] shirt, you feel like you're being robbed, or forced to buy a few.
My stumpjumper is still going strong eight years in.
Branstons pickle (in Asia it's £4 a jar - worth every penny).
XT disc brakes. W(hy)TF was I a HOPE fanyboy?
Mountain biking socks. I'd always worn normal sports socks. What a difference!
One of these *looks around for some pig to cook* much better than the little kettle jobbies
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Ibis Ripley - awesome bike.
Lightbicycle carbon hookless 29er rims.
2015 Fox 36's.
Stunning
And the Spesh Enduro 29er. Absolute Weapon
Saracen Ariel.
Thought it'd be good, but it's chuffin' great.
A polartec fleece buff for my bonce in the winter. Cheapest, bestest bit of out eva!!!
Superstar sintered Pads, surprisingly good!
2 modern mtbs.
Di2.
Planet X super roubaix tights
Bluetooth speaker from a Spanish market for 20 euros. Excellent sound and takes a micro sd card so you dont even need a phone. Well cbuffed. [img]http:// [url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3864/15062931958_3ab0dd3763_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/111593614@N07/15062931958/ ]IMG_20140915_192311[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/111593614@N07/ ]creagbhan[/url], on Flickr[/img]
Specialized tyres. The 2bliss butcher, purgatory and ground control are excellent and at £25 -£30 a bargain
Shimano SPD pedals
SLX brakes
Park Tools Allen Key Set. Still going strong after 17 years.
Funn Hyperion Ti Seatpost @ 35% off from CRC, the clamp is rock solid.
[img] http://chainreactioncycles.scene7.com/is/image/ChainReactionCycles/prod91571_Titanium_NE_01?$detailImage$ [/img]
Narrow/wide as well- it's just all a bit uncanny.
My Carrera Kraken- It generally gets rebuilt about once a year with whatever's lying around the garage, I always forget what a good frame it is- wee bit overstiff but lovely geometry.
My Magicshine MJ-872s... I think I knew they were a cut above the entry level tat but I think this is their third winter, one of them's had a new battery but otherwise they're still kicking ass. I really didn't expect that from a £70 light.
Lidl tinned curry.. You would think that they are going to taste of shit but are suprisingly good
Stans flow wheels - nice and wide, pretty light, brilliant tubeless
Stans tubeless - with schwalbe tyres a complete game changer. Nice low pressures, more compliant bike,better grip and never have to worry about pinch flats that have plagued me for years
Reverb - changed biking for me
Magic Mary front tyre - wow, unlimited grip
Narrow wide chain ring and t rex. Single ring, all the gears I need, low maintainance and no noise
Solar Storm x2 light. Brightest light on the last shop ride. £15 and still had 50-80% battery (2 green leds) after 2 hours. Absolute bargain. Yes the battery may explode but for now it works a treat
Xt 785 brakes - awesome, cannot do better for the money
Saint 820 brakes - like xt but more power and nicer levers
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Not tried the lemon one but the chocolate one is nomnomnom!
Russian bride. Looks just like the pictures which was not my experience with other mail order brides (Thia).
Expected
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What I got.
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52 plate Mondeo TDCi.
Bought 5yrs ago with 130k on the clock.
176k now, it's fast, comfy & does 45mpg+.
Can park it anywhere & chuck dirty bikes in.
Still a lovely car to drive.
LSD.
Stooge frame.
Cotic Soul - just a great-handling bike
Condor Tempo - beautiful bike to ride
All Gore Bike Wear kit I've ever bought
Stooge frame.
+1
My bright pink 456 awesome cheapness
My mondeo estate 100,000+ miles and six years in my ownership and still doesn't disappoint as a mile munching family and bike lugger
Deore brakes
Powercal HR/Power meter
I use it for commuting and off-road. Better than it has any right to be!