Brand loyalty

Never had much brand loyalty with the bikes. I get what I can afford: 2 x Specialized, 2 x Scott, 1 x On One, 1 x Planet X, 1 x Cannondale.

However practically all of my kit that I’ve paid full price for is Endura. Apart from the “poppy catch” blip on the short a couple of years back it has never let me down.

What are the constants in your life?

Planet X / On One socks – usually bought to push an order into freepost and I have so many that I’ve started wearing them day-to-day as well as for riding.

Nice and easy to pair-up too. Win-win.

Shimano gears. Tried SRAM but TBH, Shimano is just better.

ODI ruffian Grips

Oh yeah, and Shimano groupsets.

Specialized gloves, Northwave Shoes and Pearl Izumi shorts – all the way.

Bikes from all over the place over the years, but there’s been a lot of On One frames in there.

Oh yeah, and Shimano groupsets.

+1. And pedals.

Turners. Been on them since 1997. Had a blip with a Marin and a Specialized but soon went back, had 5 of them now.

Also a fan of shimano groupsets and shoes

Time pedals. Am fairly open about anything else, but clipless pedals are Time.

I seem to have a fair bit of Endura clothing (apart from some sealskinz socks). Another one for Shimano groupsets here.

Orange bikes with Shimano since 1992. Mistakenly got a GT XCR around 1999 but soon went back.

Shimano drivechain and brakes for preference.

Turner, Hope, Miele, Shimano, Fox, Thomson, ODI, Some hand picked Sramness based on 1×11.

I can’t imagine a better bike for me than my current Czar. Had a few SC and enjoyed some Salsa stuff too.

Time pedals, Rudy Project prescription cycling glasses, assos, swisstop brake pads, Hope disc brakes, Fi’zik saddles, Campagnolo Chorus, SRAM x0, rapha…

Time pedals, although my current are crank bros as they were on stupid cheap. Not as good as time though

Time pedals, hope brakes, ibis frames, mavic wheels

Anything else is a mix and match of whatever is about.

Clothing: Almost all Endura and Gore (both fit well, are robust and comfortable)
Drivetrain/Brakes: Always Shimano. (it bothers me that fewer manufacturers fit it a standard these days)
Saddles; Specialized BG 143 (although Spoons are a cheaper, if not so long lasting alternative)
Pedals: Cranks Brothers (controversial)
Walking shoes/boots: Salomon (the last just happens to fit my feet well)

Cove, Thomson, ODI, SDG, Maxxis, I like Shimano and SRAM equally but for different reasons, Rockshox.

Shimano brakes and pedals
Met helmets
Spesh BDG gloves and shoes.

And until this year (s/h Canyon Nerve), er a fleet of On-Ones 😳

Always Shimano. (it bothers me that fewer manufacturers fit it a standard these days)

Big factor when buying my last bike. The Shimano equipped one won.

Gore Bike Wear and Hope.

Both ducati and KTM. I have owned 40 bikes in last 7 years, 14 of them have been one or the other, I never quite feel right unless I have one or the other, happily for me, I currently have both!

Turner frames, Hope hubs and brakes. Easton bars. Everything else is open to consideration.

Alfa cars…

Quad power amps

Turner frames

Middleburn cranks

Hope hubs

Endura Hummvee shorts seem to be the only thing with a reasonable run of consistency in my cycling history (prefer the old style Hummvee with chunky clip). Oh and my collection of On One frames Geared Inbred, Scandal and C456 (current ride)

Endura and Gore for clothing
Shimano for brakes and transmission
Maxxis for tyres
Used to be hope for hubs, BB and headsets but not so much nowadays
RaceFace for bars and stem
Rockshox for droppers and rear shocks

I love Chromag frames and I have one I doubt I will ever sell. Their bars saddles and stems are my favourite by far too. I guess I’ve owned more Yeti frames than I should of too.

Time pedals, Hope discs, Giro helmets.

ODI Rogues for me on the fleet. Bikes , used to be Konas , many moons ago. Now a variety, although liked something off the mainstream, seem to had gone back to them, with 3 Cannondales, although have 3 On Ones, a pipedream, Dolan road bike. I hated Shimano for being where they were, so bought british while I could, although I have almost emptied the Hope (less) stuff now and stick with Shimano , including pedals, which I used to use Times.
Used to use Sidi shoes , which I still have one pair, but as I get older and my feet get fatter, Italian shoes are getting tighter, so again Shimano win there with their wide ones.

Shimano drive and braking parts, other than that most of my purchasing decisions are driven by budget more than brand…

Turner frames I’ve had since 2003 tried an Ellsworth for a while but went back to turner had about 5
Usually a VW or 2 in the drive.

Time pedals
Shimano cranks
Giro helmets (they fit)
Fox forks and shocks (I like em, no other reason)
Crossmax wheels (same reason as Fox)
Stans fluid (everything else I’ve tried has been shit)
Hope and Formula brakes (I can bleed and fix em and make em last an age)

If you ride in the UK, then Endura just seems to be the choice that consistently ‘just works’. Never the coolest brand, but after experimenting with others, i keep coming back to Endura stuff 😉

For mtb… (Currently in use)

Santa Cruz frames (x3)
Easton carbon bars (x3, up to about a dozen over the years)
Thomson stems (x3)
Rockshox forks (x4)
SRAM 1×11 (x4)
Shimano brakes (x3 pairs)
Maxxis tyres (x3 pairs)
Reverb stealth (x3)
Hope hubs (x3)
SDG bel air (x2)
Troy lee xc gloves (lost count)

For road, my 2 bikes have 4 brands between them.
Trek frames/bontrager finishing kit/wheels
Shimano gears/wheels/pedals
Continental tyres
Fsa headsets

Clothing wise my cycling wardrobe is like a collaboration collection between Rapha and morvelo, with a few token TLD DH pjs

I knows what I likes and I likes what I knows

Easton bars – road and MTB
Shimano pedals – all bikes
Shimano groupsets – all bikes, including disc brakes on MTBs
Gore waterproofs
SDG saddles – all bikes
Specialized BG gloves

Everything else is a bit mix and (mis)match

Shimano brakes, drivetrain & pedals
Cane Creek headsets
Shimano (PRO) finishing kit

Middleburn cranks, front rings and spiders (3 sets). Shimano pedals and drivetrain and shifters.

Cotic, they make great bikes and they’ve gone way above and beyond for me, several times in fact.

Mostly though, is it loyalty? Formula brakes, DT hubs, shimano drivetrain, specialized and maxxis tyres, rockshox forks but I buy them because they work, not because I have any affection.

Hope Hubs.

It occurred to me this month while ordering a Vaude backpack that in 20+ years I’ve never used a hydration pack other than a Camelbak. That’s probably as loyal as I’ve ever been to any brand, bike or not.

Endura has been mentioned a few times – I’ve never had a huge amount of luck with them. Local shops stock it and so I’ve had quite a few bits over the years but I don’t like it much. (Poppers don’t work, seams come apart, holes develop in the merino tops in random places..)

3x ENVE Bars
3x ENVE Seatposts
2x ENVE Stems
1x ENVE MTB Wheelset
1x ENVE Road Wheelset

1x Empty Wallet