Year after year equipment & bike manufacturers come out with ideas & product of what they feel makes your life better.
I shop like anyone else, looking for the silver bullet of what’s gonna be that perfect piece of equipment, be it bike, components, etc. I’m also curious what other riders/racers experiences have taught them. Not the “endorsement” answers of how great something is justified because a rider put down a whole lotta dough so they feel obligated to call it great. Or a sponsored rider who for all intents & purposes had better say the stuff he/she rides is great.
What’s the real experience?
No one, no matter how much they ride, has the all extensive answers of what works but I thought to share some my own experiences given the probably 50,000 miles I’ve put on equipment over the past decade.
I judge a product all the way around but if I had a bias it’s for something that doesn’t require much if any maintenance & is durable… bikes can be fun to fix & work on… but they are made for riding. And no one these days seems to have an excess amount of time to always take care of bikes.
What sticks out?
--Saddles: At the cost of my own dime, I’ve had amazingly great experience with italian saddle maker Fizik . Introduced to them after a bike fitting & analysis of my riding style after a bad case of patella tendonitis in my knees. The curvature & design supports proper hip & back alignment when riding better than any other saddle I’ve had. My suggestion never underestimate the value of a great saddle for your riding, training or racing. If you have problems that are directly or indirectly related to the saddle you’re riding, I’d not hesitate suggesting giving Fizik saddles a try. Everybody’s backside is shaped differently of course but don’t discount how much the right saddle can improve your biking experience.
--Wheel hubs: What makes my list here my come at a surprise... Cycleops Powertap hubs – for all the componentry, electronics you’d think it’d take a lot of T.L.C. to keep them running smoothly. On the contrary, it’s been one of the smoothest, low/no maintenance wheel/hub ever! You get spoiled having to do almost nothing with it. It costs a bit, but you would have power metering device, and save time & money in the long run in my opinion.
--honorable mention on wheelsets: would go to Bontrager Race X lite wheels, older model hubs (read into this..DT Swiss made ones) pretty long lasting & durable. Wheels/rims can stay true year after year after year. I’ve not had luck with the new carbon ones yet however.
--Brakes (hydraulic): For low to no maintenance, sorry SRAM/Avid product fans… it ain’t you. Shimano & Haynes have given me the best experience in that department. To the point even if SRAM improves their product..I’m not overly interested in trying them again. I think that’s a hugely point that important for manufacturers to consider before sending a product out. You give a cyclist a bad or less than satisfactory experience with a product if not once but certainly twice, it’ll be hard to pull them back to giving it a try again.
--Shifters/cables: I think shifters come down to personal preference and you can’t do them wrong. However cables? Do yourself a favor, when you need to replace some… put on Gore Ride On cables -- they are a sealed cable, super smooth, and a huge probability they are the last set of cables you’ll ever have to replace on the bike. (Again back to my bias… get it down once & never have to deal with it again… leaves more time to ride.) Sure they cost more, but this is one thing where I say if you’re not going to regret spending more on. Ever.
Nothing much else comes to mind right now… Fizik saddles, Cycleop Powertap hubs & Gore Ride On cables…. very good stuff.
This year I’ll be giving two or three new products a try. Including Quarq Power meter cranks, possibly a Enve Carbon MTB tubeless wheelset.
Another day I’ll lean more into what I’ve not had such good experience with. Right not I got a tooth to fix……“bling is the thing”…
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