An MRP 1X chainguide - came with the tiniest, furthest from stainless bolts that I've ever seen. And the whole thing was flexy enough to not function as a guide, the chain just went wherever the hell it wanted to.
Schwalbe Racing Ralph/Rocket Ron tyres - I loved the grip, the low rolling resistance and the light weight, but the sidewalls were like paper, even on the snakeskin versions. I ripped 3 of the bastards over one race weekend.
Apple Airport express - couldn't set it up properly (and still can't), although their apple tv works great
Bioncon c.guide - shite. One fell apart on the south downs way, after coming loose
specialized gloves - fell apart, but still comfortable
cheap fenix torch light - waste of time and batteries lasted 20 minutes, went exposure in the end for 4 times the price
Just about everything I've bought with an Endura label. Buy local they say.
Hayes stroker brakes
Formula the one brakes
Maxxis tyres
2014 Fox 34 fit forks. Kashima factory of the same year are awesome however.
Hope enduro tech wheelset
Rocket Ron tyres from the days before i ran tubeless. 5 pinch flats descending the rangers path. Didn't matter how hard i pumped them up they'd be going flat within 2 mins of riding
on one 456 summer season. hated it.
All the 5-10's I have ever owned. terrible.
loads of things are rubbish.
A pet challenge puzzle for my greedy cocker spaniel puppy, you know the sort move this slider and it exposes a treat, lift this little door etc etc.. As soon as he whiffed there was treats inside he ragged the whole game apart in about 10 seconds ate the treats and looked at me as if to say "whats for tea"
Bike wise: my stumpy FSR carbon 29er. Its nice geometry rides ok, but compared with my zesty that came before it, the build quality and component quality is awful
2 Chris King headsets - constantly worked loose, clicked and creaked, and started chewing a nice groove into my steerer tubes. Both had damage to the bearings from being ridden loose. Evolution Imports would not offer warranty support but kindly offered to sell me new ones despite both being less than 2 months old. Replaced with FSA Pig Pro at £30 each and no problems for 2 years until bearings went rough.
Shimano XT disc hubs - the rear hub would not stay tight, no matter who tried to set the cones. Annoying, as I'd had 2 sets of wheels built with these hubs.
Specialized All Condition Armadillo road tires. Yes, they were puncture "proof" as you'd spend more time in the hospital than riding, as they were super slippery death treads - watch out for wet roads, drain covers or cobbles.
Specialized Tricross bike - rubbish on the road, rubbish off road. Most pointless bike I've ever owned. Sold on quickly.
Tioga XXL DH saddle. Land slightly wrong and the rails either bent or snapped. Went through 5 as local shop selling them off at £5 each, before seeing error of my ways.
Azonic DH saddle - with aluminium alloy rails (!!) = snap. Wades were kind enough to warranty 2 and then gave me a refund on the 3rd.
Marzocchi Junior T fork - worked ok until you went over 20 mph and hit some bumps and then it turned rigid. Sold and replaced with Super T Pro which was a revelation to say the least.
One industries shorts on sale from on one. Shit. Shit shit shit shit.
The *ing poppers are so weak you have to keep stopping to pull your shorts up. No belt loops. Pockets so small you can't get your keys in.
Total utter *ing shit.
Avoid one industries kit, it's designed by brainless idiots.
Royal glove. Literally fell off my hands in a matter of weeks. Got a refund from those top chaps at skyline. Never bought anything made by them since and never will.
Raceface aquanot jacket again... Cr*p zips, just cra* cra*.
shimano dx pedals, bearings of cheese
Anything from superstar.
Non bike, worst car was a BMW 1 series, run flat tyres, bloody awful horrible ride. What were BMW thinking?
B +Q own brand paint, absolute tosh, watery poor quality pish.
None back chilli Rubber Queens....lethal things. They were so bad that they last two rides before bring chucked and I refuse to entertain any of their tyres.
Hans damfs. I wanted to like them. I so wanted to like them. Everyone else liked them. They were the draggiest, slowest piece of dung I have ever used.
I really like mine, but then I used to ride High Roller single ply DH tyres.
Maxxis Minions. Awful things. Hate mine with a passion.
Charge saddles. Crap, especially the Knife. I've been through a few on warranty due to the leather splitting in weird places and the bloody creaking. Sheesh.
Hope headsets. My tapered one is hopeless. Crud gets past the seals all the time and it creaks like a mofo.
Shimano chains. Rubbish.
Norco hardtail....hateful thing that I didn't keep for long.
Any Manitou product with SPV damping. Why did they do it? The TPC system was pretty good.
Marzocchi AM1 forks. Dire. They spent more tine getting fixed under warranty than they did on my bike.
I'm sure there's more too.
oh, yeah, I do have a marzocchi 66slATA fork
I didn't really dislike it but plenty of folk did
This vvv 😆
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Oh god, URT suspension. Why?
The Orange X1 a friend had was utter poo.
Saint pedals
Giant Trance
RaceFace jackets as mentioned utter shit zips.
Orange P7 Think mine must have been welded by a blind monkey.
Sram x9 rear mechs
The original Michelin Wildgrippers.
High Rollers:
Many tyres can maintain edge grip without sacrificing grip at shallower angles.
Very, very poor rear grip when climbing.
Overpriced.
Madison D'Arc glasses:
Made me feel like I'm floating a foot over the bike.
Constantly fell apart.
EBC mitts - Velcro strap too short to close properly, lasted only months. Previous Spesh lasted years.
Orange Clockwork:
Delivered with different length crank arms, the wrong colour, the wrong bars and stem.
Rode like a pig, hated it.
The best thing about it was the SunTour Microdrive transmission.
Hope chain guide. Didn't work at all.
FOG - Member
Giant Trance
POSTED 50 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
Really? I adore mine. I've ridden a shitload of bikes in my time and my 2008 giant trance is such a sweet ride that I spent the money I was going to use to buy a Norco sight on a full rebuild of the giant.
Anything made by Hope
Some of the stuff mentioned above I really like ( Nobby Nic tyres, hope and endura stuff).
Worst thing so far has been a solarstorm x2. Very bright for 10 mins then the battery is flat.£12 though so what do I expect!
skinny boy,- it's the 29er which has a very low BB which means every time you go round a bend or through a rut you ground the pedals. I moaned about this on a different post and was told it was my pedalling style! All I can say is I don't ground anything riding the same trails on my HT which doesn't have a particularly high BB. Very annoying because in a straight line it is great.
Some fake nutella I found in a Colruyt supermarket in france
...was a bit shit? 🙂
Ahhh i see Fog me old china. I've heard that too about the 29er version. I think all the 29er models had this flaw, a mate has the Anthem and that has a shockingly low BB. on the other side of that colin, I had a MC Fury and that was BB clearance heaven but made you feel like you were riding a grand national horse!
dingabell - MemberXT wheels with 'fabulous' cup and cone bearings.
If they're so great, how come no one else uses them?
Cup and cone is more expensive to make than cartridge (essentially cartridge moves cost from the manufacturer to the customer), and most people are too incompetent or lazy to maintain them so disposability has become a selling point.
Just noticed a few people mentioning XT disc hubs. I've just had a rear let go: the cones were forever coming loose, no matter what I did to try and keep them tight.
The cassette-side came loose, the cone wound itself in and jammed the rear wheel going down Dai Hard at BPW. Needless to say, the bearings & cup/cone were ruined.
Solarstorm front light. Battery wouldn't recharge after first use.
Smart Lunar rear lights. A few raindrops and they stop working.
Aldi track pump.
I wasn't expecting big things but had only used a hand-pump before so figured it would be better than that at least. It wasn't, and broke the second time I tried to inflate my tyre with it.
I do think the cycle clothing from aldi is OK though.
Stans yellow tape £7 a roll and free duck tape works better !
SLX brakes.
Chiba gloves, lasted one month before there was a hole in the leather palm.
Endurance clothing, stitching and trim problems with every single piece.
Shimano winter boots (MW81) 2 pairs have had the neoprene cuff fail allowing wet and cold feet.
Egg beaters
numerous Fox & Poc Gloves.
Endura singletrack shorts & humvee 3/4
petrov vodka (tastes like the name suggests and gave a similar hangover)
Charge Duster - some might like it, but I always preferred my slot drop 26 inbred and will swap it as soon as I can find someone to buy the darn Duster. :/
lezyne 'screw on to the value' pump - removes the damn valve core every time I take the head off the valve POS!
crotchrocket - Memberlezyne 'screw on to the value' pump - removes the damn valve core every time I take the head off the valve POS!
"Lezyne: Terrible ideas, beautifully executed"
A fatbike 😯
Orange ST4
Although the Trek Fuel EX9 I bought in 2009 was far from a disappointment, the Jones XR front tyre was frankly terrifying. First ride was a bit wet and I was constantly stopping, checking stuff wasn't loose and came back a bit gutted that my new bike was a bit shit and had absolutely no front grip!
Then I saw a Jones Big Earl Wet in the shop, big and knobbly, exactly what I wanted and I feel in live with the bike. Really rated the XR rear, but the front...
* Hans Dampf tyres.
* An Aldi chain cleaning kit.
* A Tesco spoke key.
* Muc-Off chain lube.
* Shimano wheels.
* Muddy Fox clear bike glasses (couldn't figure out why I was crashing into stuff until I realised the lenses shifted everything slightly up and to the left.)
lezyne 'screw on to the value' pump - removes the damn valve core every time I take the head off the valve POS!
Yes! This! ^^
Most ANNOYING thing in the world.
Fenwicks foaming chain degreaser is a pretty shite.
The canti's that came with mid-90's bikes, pre-V-brakes
Elastomer suspension and/or RST forks
Tesco's tea towels
McDonalds 'food'
Most of the really cheap stuff from Ikea that was acceptable when you were a student
Timbuk2 messenger bag, the quick clip is poorly executed as is the stabilising strap, and the corners stick out and collect rain. The reality is it is at best rather basic yet incredibly expensive. Every time I see them getting recommended on here my face falls into my palms and I sob.
Just cannot get on with my Osprey Raptor. Great build quality but I find it uncomfy and the layout frustrates me.
Renthal Grip bolts disintegrated upon installation.
I like my Hans Dampf's and my high Rollers. Pretty much the only tyres that I'll use.
I bought some Rock Shox Judy XC's in 1997...they were awful. Also had some Psylos which were the worst forks that I ever bought and I've never forgiven RS for those forks.
A CD of nightfreak and the sons of Becker by The Coral.
Bought in gatwick when travelling to Italy for work. I liked it so much that halfway through its first play the CD became a handy drinks coaster on my desk for the 18months duration of my work secondment.
Nobeerinthefridge - Member
Hans damfs. I wanted to like them. I so wanted to like them. Everyone else liked them. They were the draggiest, slowest piece of dung I have ever used.
POSTED 20 HOURS AGO #
+1
Fenwicks foaming chain degreaser is a pretty shite.
+1 to that.
_tom_- What's your beef with SLX brakes? I ask because mine took a bit of getting used to but I'm pretty happy with them now.
Landrover Freelander.
Schwalbe Racing Ralph .
One worked very well off-road , but suffered mechanically. Often.
The other was bloody appalling off road. Actually, bloody appalling.
Aldi track pump - hose snapped off.
Aldi cycling gloves- fell to bits
Specialized Enduro (2010)
Magura Thor forks
Fox 36van r's
Are you using the chain scrubber sponge with the Fenwicks mousse?
I've found they work well together..
Each to their own with what lasts or works
Have found Fenwicks foaming degreaser to be one of the best products i've used over the last few years, changed the way I clean the bike, as it's quick & easy, far easier than using a chain cleaner device, have used several, and never found one that worked well..
Have found Aldi gloves last well, yes they fall apart, but only after a lot of use & several years, far better VFM than On-one gloves which just fall apart (although they are nicer while they last)
This bloody Nokia cant do a thing, you type stuff, by the time you post and read it you realise its gobbledy gook, no capital letters and you cant actually edit the post because the cursor sits blinking at you with mo way of moving it
Pretty much everything with Endura written on it.....except for their knee warmers. Odd.
Katadyn Water Bottle. Barely a drip comes out no matter how hard you squeeze the damn thing. Utter tripe!
I wonder how many of these hates are user error. Although the Hans D's are pure emperors clothes. Utterly shit tyres yet constantly raved about clearly by people who have no clue!
All my Endura stuff has been brilliant. The only reason I'm going with a new brand this year (DharCo, Aussie brand) is I fancied a bit more colourful kit than the muted camo colours of the Endura stuff. Saying that, Endura have more colours in the 2015 range.
My custom Chas Roberts frame in '97 was soooo nice, but really really shit.
Maxxis Minions. Awful things. Hate mine with a passion.
Ride it harder.
Timbuk2 messenger bag, the quick clip is poorly executed as is the stabilising strap, and the corners stick out and collect rain. The reality is it is at best rather basic yet incredibly expensive. Every time I see them getting recommended on here my face falls into my palms and I sob.
I've used mine daily for the last 12 years it's never let water in & is so much more comfy than a "back pack"
Although the Trek Fuel EX9 I bought in 2009 was far from a disappointment, the Jones XR front tyre was frankly terrifying. First ride was a bit wet and I was constantly stopping, checking stuff wasn't loose and came back a bit gutted that my new bike was a bit shit and had absolutely no front grip!
It's a summer tyre, absolutely brilliant fast rolling tyre in the dry, you were using it it the opposite conditions for which it was designed
I think this year's timbuk2 addresses the open corner issue.
American classic race29 er wheels........4 months of old bloke mincing and the rims are well dinged plus there's a load of bulges below spoke holes in rim wall......I'm 180 pounds and run 25-30psi......LBS currently fitting Ryde Trace Enduro 32mm new rims........maybe our cross country/trail stuff is a bit too aggressive for them or I've developed massive radness
Although the Trek Fuel EX9 I bought in 2009 was far from a disappointment, the Jones XR front tyre was frankly terrifying. First ride was a bit wet and I was constantly stopping, checking stuff wasn't loose and came back a bit gutted that my new bike was a bit shit and had absolutely no front grip!
It's a summer tyre, absolutely brilliant fast rolling tyre in the dry, you were using it it the opposite conditions for which it was designed
Of course Rocketdog, but it was a little disappointing all the same. What I don't understand is that I have kept XR rears ever since, all year round! Snow, mud, anything and it's fine!
Sadly on my last stockpiled one now...
Hated my singletrack shorts. Funnily thry outlasted everything. Retired them last week as theyve shrunk too much and replaced them with..
Singletrack II.
The humvees were binned. Awful heavy things.
Zipp 303 wheels. Crap tolerances on the rear axle mean the bearings don't sit tight so the wheel rocks from side to side. Grabby, pulsating braking in the dry. Absolutely terrifying lack of braking power in the wet. Supremely expensive; yet supremely disappointing.
May I add Cyclo workshop tools to this list? Among a long list of shiteness, I have found:
Bottom bracket facing tool guide with a hole too small to get the shaft of the cutting tool through.
Headset facing/reaming tool with a set of guides too big so you can't get them into the head tube until after you have reamed it - but you can't ream it without getting the guide in!
Crown race facer too small so after cutting the crown race was a slack fit
Sloppy bushings on a rear mech hanger straightener and a plastic sliding holder for the ruler that cracked and broke after a handful of uses
Headset press with plates so large that they pressed a dent into the underside of the down tube on a steep-angled steel frame bike.
How I hate them.
Hope hubs for the last 20 yrs (i keep giving the 'british engineering' a chance but 6 months in, its grumbly bearing time).
Hope brakes (had 4 different versions, & gave up on them in 2000).
All riding packs apart from the lumbar res ones.
Phew, where do you start ? Best to avoid mentioning old girl friends so lets stick with mountain bikes.
2002 Spesh Enduro Pro provided my first taste of hospital food.
Any thing made Chris King, over priced and badly designed.
Intense 6.6, cost me a fortune and so was so badly aligned it was funny, they refused to believe me even though NWMTB agreed so I sent them a video clip and then they agreed to exchange it but then took over three months to ship out the new one. Intense is up there with CK as being over priced American crap.
Egg beaters - whats the point to them ? Ditto Whyte bikes
Any Push tuned shock, more emperors clothes !
A loft full of tyres, sooo many I honestly cannot recall their names.
But lets end on a positive note, my American Classic 29" wheels and my Campy Shamal Ultra 2 Way wheels are both outstanding examples of money well spent.
Orange X2 frame. Utter tosh. I just wanted to get into the FS thing too hastily. URT design is pointless. Pivots kept coming loose on every ride.
Every BB I've had since square taper (so about 50 then....)
Hope Vision 1: rubbish mount kept falling forwards, even on gentle commutes.
Exposure Flare: Crap design keeps getting knocked sideways, can't be adjusted up or down and the rubber band broke after 2 weeks, switch broke after 4 weeks. Also uses the worlds most expensive batteries
Formula disc brakes: Off or On sir?
Smartphones
The fancy green Michelin Wildgrippers.
Those Onza pedals with elastomers instead of springs.
That first year (97?) of RS forks that did away with the stanchion covers.
Most Schwalbe tyres I've ever tried.
Orange P7 frames (actually, I didn't buy that one).
VW T5 Kombi, worst vehicle I've ever had.
Avid Juicy 5 brakes, why make it so hard to replace the pads (or was it just me)?
Racing Ralph tyres, just didn't suit my riding style.
Any Altura clothing, only seem to last a few weeks before stitching starts coming apart (however their bags are great).
First and foremost have to be the RaceFace X-Type cranks I bought a few years back. The bearings died in four dry, summer months and within eighteen months the spline interface bit the dust.
Then there were the Mallet pedals that ingested a bearing after less than a year.
Northwave SPDs where the mesh uppers has "disolved".
Too many seatposts to remember (all broken).
Castelli Mitts that disolved in under a year.
DHB gillet zip went in under a year (am I too fussy?)
Lapierre OEM handlebar 2011 now corroded all over.
Oh, and the super thin SRAM chainring that bent almost double with a dollop of awesome power!
Can I please add Lupine lights circa 2007, £400 even after discount for yet another hyped product whose customer support was utter shit,Howies merino, the clowns used to stitch in labels that then caused huge holes in the said merino and last but not least planet x titanium quick release skewers.
In my opinion they are the most dangerous biking product I have ever used, on my Spesh road bike every time I went close to or over 30mph (this required a descent of some sort 🙂 ) the speed would produce a violent front wheel speed wobble and on 23mm tyres dressed in lycra thats not funny, its very similar effect to when you see a caravan thats being towed start to go crazy. I had this happen 6 times and every time I re ran the event in my head trying to figure out the cause of the problem. Every bloody component was double and tripled checked.Only when I exchanged these skewers for some normal ones did the problem go away. I can only conclude that at speed the skewers flex enough to cause the wheel to momentarily lose contact with the road surface and induce the wheel wobble and its only a matter of good luck that one of these did not result in me smashing my head in to the tarmac at high speed 😕 Thanks planet x !!!!
Forgot to mention the Crank brothers headset that rusted on the outside after about 10 not terribly wet rides.
Forgot Hope seat collar QR's.
Had two - they work poorly then they break.
They do look nice though. 🙂
KMC Chain
Michelin XC something-or-other tyres (although could be ace for 2 wheel drifting on a towpath)
I had them Michelins.... for 1 ride.
Mondraker Dune Frame - Do they have tape measures in Spain, or threadlock, or bearings larger than those used in matchbox toy cars ?
SealSkinz waterproof socks - let water in but not out - yay balloon feet
Formula RX brakes - rubbish power - pump up - requires one set of uber expensive pads per ride.
Shimano bottom brackets - available from the cheese counter at most supermarkets. (everything else by Shimano is ace)
Crank brothers foam lock on grips - having heard bad things about almost all their products I have steered clear.... but grips - surely grips would be OK! Nope - fell apart in a week
That's not bad actually considering the amount of stuff Iv bought over the years.
Although the Hans D's are pure emperors clothes. Utterly shit tyres yet constantly raved about clearly by people who have no clue!
For those of us who get on with HD's, what should we be using oh wise one?
Forgot about Crank Bros headset - I bought one really cheap from CRC thinking, how bad could it be? Just as bad as people said...it was replaced without question and now sits in its box. If they spent as much time designing the product as they did the packaging, they'd be pretty good.
QR20 has got to be up there too - it was a pain in the bum and the little clamps used to break all of the time.
My Hope seat clamps haven't been too bad, but the wheel skewers suck. Hope XC4 brakes were dire too.
For those of us who get on with HD's, what should we be using oh wise one?
haha no idea matey, I tried to love them, tried them in all conditions and I just hated them. Choose wisely young padawan for the trails are alive....
Have to agree with the Crankbrothers sentiment. Nice stuff visually, but utter tripe performance wise. Seatpost clamp that doesn't clamp, silk screen printing that rubs off with your fingers, terrible wheels that are virtually disposable.
My Hope hubs have survived 2 Welsh winters and are still going strong (and as noisy as ever) but the QR skewers are useless. I want them to release when I'm removing a wheel, not at some random point during a ride.
I bought a Fat Spanner external bottom bracket tool that won't fit the bottom bracket properly.
Endura baggy shorts and gloves fall to pieces (the jerseys and bib shorts I have a great though).
Zipp Service Course CX bar tape that fell to bits after about 5 dry road rides!
Charge saddles (Spoon/Knife) are great value and comfy but creak horrendously after not a great deal of use (Scope is going pretty well so far though).
And after finally trying something else after nearly 3 years of mtb’ing I've decided that Nobby Nics are pretty shit.