My policy is that I never buy proprietary components. Always get round seat tubes, round steerer interfaces, standard BB, etc. I swap parts among different bikes all the time -- it all just has to play nice across the board. Standardization FTW.
Exactly, right now, all my bikes are fine, I am just worried for my next purchase (N+1). The best average bike I found with normal easy maintenance parts was the (Decathlon) Van Rysel - EDR AF 105, my daughter has one. It is similar to my Kuota Alu Shimano 105 bike. If I can't fix my bike by myself, I won't buy it. I am not diving in all the nonsense, carbon wheels, disk brakes, tubeless tires, Shimano Di2, weird bottom brackets. If I were sponsored and had bike mechanics working for me, I wouldn't mind all the way too expensive gadgets. Even if I am 32 seconds late after 100km, I don't care, I just know that I can fix a flat tires in less than 5 minutes, my rim brakes, my rear and front mech has never taken me more than 1 min to adjust, why would I change that ? no need to think about my batteries being charged.
@@michaeldesrosier1068 For me, fixing or upgrading a bike is fun. I like to anaylyze each part of the bike and make sure that is easy mainteance and solid. The last time I asked a bike mechanic for help was 10 years ago for my Mavic Kysrium Equipe rear wheel loose cassettes. I checked how to fix it on the net and I didn't want to mess with the bushing and little parts that fly everywhere when you remove the freehub. I have never bought Mavic wheels again, I know I could have replaced the shitty bushing with an aluminum adapter, but I don't support design flaws.
@@gmsvalleyIf you run tubeless, you're not really fixing flats at all. You just have to remember to add more sealant every 6 months (I believe). I one time got a flat because I hadn't added more sealant in like 8 months. When I went to locate the hole, I found so many places where I got a puncture and it sealed itself and I never noticed. Just thought I lost a little pressure and had to add more air. 🤷🏻♂️
Please drop ur fork annually if ur bike is over 10yrs old and inspect for cracks and galvanic corrosion. Your teeth (and maybe much more will thank you)
Oh no, what will I do in this extremely rare and even impossible scenario where my 2023 bicycle suddenly has a catastrophic failure of components for absolutely no reason?
Fully integrated cables on various brands. You have to take the bike to bits to change the headset bearings. Also the gear cable is routed through housing all the way through the bike so it adds more friction .It's also hard to adjust the reach on the bike as they have 1 piece handlebars and stems , this is also a problem if you sell the bike as you can only sell it to someone with the same body proportions . Why oh why ?
I don't know why cyclists like this or want this. It's baffling to me for doing the most simple adjustments, now need to take to a shop cause it will take hours to do something that once took 5 minutes. Why do people like this again?
@@irfuel That was just 1 example though but I don't think limiting the serviceability on bikes is a good thing just to save a few watts. It is also creating more waste when they should be doing the opposite.
To be fair, you *could* build proprietary parts that are super easy to work on, but these are all proprietary with performance as the only consideration.
@@matt.3.14 as a rider I'm less concerned with the complexity of working on them (because I don't work on bikes all day), I'm more concerned with whether a replacement can be sourced a few years down the line, and at what cost. Something as simple as a stripped seat clamp bolt can be a major headache if your bike has a proprietary seat post only available from the frame manufacturer. This stuff is perhaps more forgivable on high end race bikes where the performance Vs practicality trade off is heavily implied. Having stuff like the future shock on mid range bikes is just baking an expiry date into them.
It's insane what companies will do just to not have maintenance as a consideration at all. It's almost so bad, you would think they're willing to take a loss on sales just to make bikes as difficult to upkeep as possible. Like some literal lunatic in the C-Suite is mandating this for literally no other reason than his lunacy.
I think you meant BB90, not BB92 for the Madone. The PF92 BB was used on Treks pre t47 mountain bikes, and does have a Dub BB (My Remedy has a PF92 Dub BB in it right now). BB90 was that stupid design that creaked and didn't have a Dub BB
My partner has a giant with those brakes, and I've got a Dolan TT bike with one on the front and an under BB on the back. Both bikes the brakes work brilliantly, no rubbing, loads of power. Is Nick up to the task? My partner also has a diverge with a head shock. The boot spilt, it got water in it, I serviced it, it's not hard.
I ride a Specialized Diverge Comp E5, IT Has the future shock on the bars aswell. Never had any issues or need to repair, so I guess I got lucky on that part. But anyways, I absolutely LOVE that little suspension.
A redshift stem accomplishes the exact same thing and you don’t have a boat anchor of a proprietary part hanging in your headtube and fork. In addition, Specialized says if you replace your futureshock yourself when it eventually wears out it voids your frameset warranty. Another stupid marketing gimmick idea implemented by Spec. LOL
Everyone wants to get rid of their front derailleurs for some reason. I had a guy who was convinced he needed to convert his mid-level gravel bike to 1x. “What sort of riding do you do?” I want to ride the backroads in the mountains, but I also want to be able to mash back home on the highway. What chainring should I pick?” He made the best case for a wide range double you’d ever seen. In the end we convinced him to leave his bike as-is, since the only benefit he could come up with was “1x looks cool.” Everyone is wearing out their skinny 12spd chains by riding crappy chainlines, stuck with less range than the old 3x8 used to give you!
As someone who owned a gen6 madone: what a crappy nightmare isospeed was. Never worked well, loosened constantly, bushings wore down super fast. Was a hassle to get warrantied. About time they got rid of it. Now that I own a gen7, I can finally ride a comfortable, well performing seatpot
Have the Giant Propel and i can completely agree - Cable routing over the stem is a pain in the ass if your doing any rewiring, etc. Also the brake setup means you have to defalte the tyre every time you want to remove the wheel as you cant release the tension on the areo brake calipers to fit an inflated tyre through.
I worked in a bicycle shop during the 80's when U-brakes became popular on BMX bikes and mountain bikes (there was a picture in the video). They were commonly mounted under the stays or behind the forks. They were a giant annoyance. I think they still use them in the BMX world.
I really like my Giant Revolt gravel bike, but I wish it had a round seatpost and a more conventional seatpost clamp. The D-shaped seatpost means I can't ever put a dropper post on it, and the integrated seatpost clamp doesn't work nearly as well as an old school seatpost clamp. I had to fuss with it quite a bit when I bought it to get it to clamp hard enough so the seatpost wouldn't slowly sink into the frame while riding.
I second this. By applying carbon paste to the seatpost I was able to get rid of the sinking but now the damned seatpost squeaks and creaks every time I put some power to the pedals while seated... Drives me crazy! The D-shaped post fitted into a round seat tube with a shim behind is a terrible idea. Why not just supply a round carbon seatpost with a standard clamp? 😅
I fully agree regarding under-the-bottom-bracket rim brakes. I had those on a Kestrel Talon X and a Specialized Shiv Elite. Road gunk would collect on the cables with the result that the cables would get gritty and not fully release after braking.
Honestly, I think people/companies need to stop using static pictures of bikes to market them. Integrated cockpits, funny profiles for the tubes, 'aero' brake calipers, etc - you're simply not going to notice any of them when the bike's in motion, and it's designed to be in motion! For example my bike has semi-internal cables - they come out of the levers, under the bar tape, then swing around the head tube and enter the down tube near the top, then they exit the down tube at the BB (for the front mech) and chain stays (rear mech and brake). The only exception is the front brake which runs down the inside of the fork instead of the down tube. So it's a little bit of hassle but worth it for the protection of the cables, but the lack of integrated bar/stem means they're so much easier to work on. Yes, while the bike's propped up on the cafe wall it doesn't look quite as slick as some of the others, but that's 15 minutes of a 3 hour ride, and the other 165 minutes you just don't notice it. I don't know about other folks, but to me, aero-schmero! I've got a good 20kg of beer belly and I like biscuits and cakes too much too, I'm not expecting to win any races any time soon because I don't race at all anyway. Sure going fast is fun, but I don't need to be going fast all the time. I ride at the pace that suits me and if I need my speed fix, well, you bet I can shift when I'm going downhill! :D
Love the Roubaix, 5 years trouble free with the Future Shock spring, only recently worn out a bit, my mechanic changed it no fuss, with one of the 3 replacement springs that came with the bike. Sometimes maybe, just maybe, it is the mechanics moaning a bit too much if the job ain't dead easy... 😉😄
It's more like when 99% of the bikes are simple and easy to work on, then it makes the 1% of bikes with proprietary systems that aren't better than other solutions stand out.
@@viet0ne It´s a personal choice, for me it works, takes out a lot of the sting that I experienced with other road bikes. And hey, if it is only 1% of the bikes then mechanics have nothing to moan about, statistically the chances that they´ll have to work on one of those should be pretty low...😄😉
@@roubaix3843 there's nothing wrong with having some dampening, but even before the Future Shock was released, there were plenty of stems that had similar dampening effects that work just as well. So it's no only simpler but more universal to use on other bikes. You not only get the same benefit but it can be more easily replaced if the company doesn't make it anymore.
Totally agree. I've had a Roubaix and now have a Diverge. In 7 years of owning them I've never had an issue with either of them. Rather have that than a weird looking redshift after market stem.
Probably should have watched this before I bought a Aeroad. I also find my foot scrapping against the front tire when making slow speed turns. And maybe it’s just me, but I often scrape the ground with my pedals when leaning into a turn.
Odd that back in the last days of rim brakes (on high end bikes) manufacturers became concerned about integration and making brakes aero whereas now they’ll just slap a massive un-aero heavy disk brake and rotor on bikes but tell us that all the cables need to be integrated instead 😅
Not a specific bike brand, but any bike brand with a single-bolt saddle rail clamp. They never stay in place at the angle you want, never loosen when you need to adjust them, AND they always creak.
never had any moving or creaking with one bolt saddle cramp. or loosening them. i had like 4 of them before moving to proper bikes, and i'm 90 kg. you are probably doing something wrong.
Missed out the Boardman Air, which was similar to the Giant Propel/Trinity but with added fuckwittery of rear brake behind bottom bracket. Had the t9 forks with integrated brakes. Absolute hell to set up. Never stayed centred. Horrible cable routing. Press fit shit bottom bracket. Refused to put it in on ebay. Took it down to the tip and threw it in a skip. Then blocked Boardman on Twitter in disgust. The absolute worst frame I've had in 30yrs.
As a Ribble Ultra SL R owner, I knew it would be on this list! 😂 That being said I love how many bikes are on this list because of proprietary rim brakes.
I did rent a Roubaix with the FutureShock stem once and it was a nice riding bike. It in fact prompted me to buy the Redshift stem, which I still use. If, big if, I ever decide to get a more modern bike than what I have the one thing I still want is my shock stem, but that'll eliminate a lot of bike with integrated bars and hidden cables that goes through them.
I agree completely on the TT bikes. Making even a slight change to extension length or angle is furiously complicated, let alone wanting to drop your risers down by a couple millimeters.
Yes! It's had over 100 years to be refined, so there aren't going to be major advances from year to year. Certainly a 1970s bike isn't going to be as convenient to ride, but there are _tons_ of 1970s bikes still in use today. You can't say that about many things.
The real beauty of a bicycle is its ability to be used for anything. Road racing, trail riding, commuting, long distance travel, not just a basic machine that only suits the needs of casual riders who don't know maintenance.
I've spoken to others that had the brake under the bb (2013 Trek Madone) & it was very location dependant. The people who rode in bad weather regularly hated them but if you lived in good weather they were great!
@@matkrek it's just something to pay attention to. After a wet or particularly dirty ride I'd make sure to clean it up. That bike is still going strong 11 years later! I stopped riding it 7 months ago only because I bought a new bike!
@@dubbct1589I've spoken to people from Washington state, Canada, and the UK that have all had problems with them. A couple of them said the issue was corrosion inside the cable housing causing failure which is why they disliked them. My time with them they've only gotten wet from the occasional puddle, a heavy marine layer, or washing the bike. I personally loved them! The frame already had to be strong there because of the bb, the seat stays were able to be made thinner, & as a weekend warrior I can use any aero advantage to keep up with the bunch 😜
V1r here and I also have a t1500 no issues with the brake , he even said “ they don’t work well at all “ talks a lot of shite this guy ignore half the shit he says , piss poor some of the stuff they come out with ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE ffs 🤦
I've got a Specialized Roubaix SL4, the last model with the elastomers in the forks and seat stays. It's got good compliance and was always comfortable. A riding friend also had one and updated to the new model when they brought out the Future Shock. He thought it was a step backwards. He said it only suspended his wrists and not his saddle. And he could feel all the road buzz through the pedals, which had never been a problem on the elastomer model. Two years ago I decided I was old enough for an ebike and went for the Trek Domane +LT. It has the Isospeed systems under the saddle and in the steerer. The rear isospeed on my bike has a long leaf spring running under the top tube. However, neither isospeed gave me the compliance of the Roubaix, so i put on RedShift suspension stem (easy) and a Redshift suspension seat post (difficult). The Domane is now nicely compliant but getting the suspension seat post fitted into that Isospeed system took some fancy engineering thinking.
I love my Tarmac SL5 but fml internal cables are a pain. I dread every time I have a re-cabling coming up because I need a magnet and my cable hook that I made out of an old spoke to fish then out at the other end. That said, the bike goes like the clappers. That said I'm probably never going to upgrade to a newer tarmac because non-round seatposts can get stuffed
Can confirm that the rear tire is scraping off the inner sides of my 2018 Cervelo S5. Since 2021 I'm running continental tubeless 25mm tires on my enve wheelsets front and back and they strangely seem narrower, but they dont touch the chainstays anymore.
Spot on!! This makes me love my older bikes even more. My 2008 Madone is so easy to work on and it's the newer one of the 4 bikes I own. All four easy peasy!
I ride the Ribble SLR. The narrow bars are actually not an issue to ride at all, and I am mainly a mountain biker with super wide bars. The steering block is a little annoying, but I spend very little time trying to make super tight turns in the car park, so not an issue.
I've worked on the future shock myself and while it is fiddly I do like that system vs redshift suspension stems due to the angle of the stem changing when the redshift moves. The future shock goes up and down straight while the redshift leans forward and down at an angle. But yes it is fiddly.
Have a 2011 Ridley Noah and I had to relegate it to indoor only since not only could it only fit up to 23c tires it had to be specific 23c tires (ie: conti 23c would rub). I broke a few spokes and I couldn't ride it home,so a few sag wagons later I stopped riding it outside. Replaced with a 2021 Trek Emojda (t47 BB and di2). So much easier to maintain.
I have the Ribble Ultra SLR and I do agree with the steering, but honestly, you absolutely get used to it. The only time it ever comes into play is a traffic light track stand. as for the bars, I have the narrower 36cm (at the hoods, 40 at the drops) and they take some adjusting to (I came from a 40) but the bike is incredibly comfortable, with bartape on the drops though!
Last year ive build my first bike (mtb) what i didnt like as much i expected is internal cable routing with those extra soft tubing on top of it , i do prefer to have it just in the bottom tube and under BB and chainstays with zipp ties :D
Ive got a diverge gravel bike with the future shock 1,5 that's been removed now and i fitted a solid machined replacement. I don't mind the future shock to work on but its a heavy part and expensive to replace
My canyon aeroad came with handlebars extended, they weren’t detached or in the narrow position. They fit fine in their shipping boxes that they use for all their bikes. It def doesn’t make shipping easier. Also I have 10k miles on my 2021 aeroad and it doesn’t creak (not the handlebars anyway). The seatpost issue is what pisses me off, thankfully it’s just a noise that can be fixed, but it comes back and you have to keep reapplying grease and carbon paste. I think they fixed the issue in the new 2024 models
This (Ultimate here, same handlebar); plus that it is very comfortable, when packing bike into the hard-case for travel. Just undo screws and dismount the handlebars extensions, and then it just fits the case. Much easier, than with a normal handlebar
I had an orbea avant h30, that was a welded cable guide for the for the front mech which was in the wrong position and the same across all of the cheaper aluminium frames, this made shifting terrible. to the point that it was super stiff and regularly you couldn’t change your front chain ring gear. Ended up having to have the cable rooted pretty much thinner away from the welded bracket. Shocking design. Oh also, the bike that claimed to be a 51 was closer to a 54 that is pretty common nowadays
I recently bought double decker GRAIL and I love it. Lots of space on the handlebar to put a camera, phone and some other stuff. Also gives extra hand position. The thumb lock works great I feel more "locked in" with the thump grips and my hand does not slip at all on the drops. Also I do not have to grip tight on the drops as my thumbs are holding some of my weight. Also the hoods and drops are stiff which helps me a lot when pushing out large power. But yes, there are downsides. First of all the stiffness is not very comfortable on hoods and drops and there is almost no adjustability on the handlebar. I think a new bar would cost around £450 and the fork tube diameter is not standard...
I have a question. So my hub uses jbend spokes right. But the mechanic didnt lace the spokes, instead they did it like a straight pull. Would this be fine? Like in terms of the stiffness and durability of the wheelset? I can see the spokes poking out halfway in the rim hole.
@@sbccbc7471 i dont even know man. I think the mechanic got ahead of himself and jumped to conclusion and think that the spokes were short. I really dont understand how and why he continued with the remaining spokes like he can literally see the spokes poking out the nipple
Here's a POSITIVE one. 1972 Schwinn Varsity. Uses regular hex fasteners. (not socket head) Want the bar higher? No problem, just loosen one bolt and pull it up. Want to change the bar angle? Again, loosen one bolt, re-position it, then re-tighten the bolt. All over the bike, it's the same story. Anyone can work on them. The only challenge is finding parts nowadays.
Another Canyon Aeroad owner here. I am still wondering why nobody is hating on the system arranging the degree of the saddle (is that.... Yaw? Pitch? I don't know). So, I unscrew the screw which keeps it in place and then add a bag of frozen mangos to it, in order to shrink the (and this is where my English runs out) inner metal piece so I can then loosen it and adjust the saddle HATE IT
Owner here too. Love the design but really hate the double decker and handlebars in general as it is really difficult to find any bags/components fitting on it. Also setting it up again when traveling was also troublesome sometimes
I own a rimbrake 2017 Trek Madone, and kinda expected that my bike will be on this list for the reason I also struggled with. The rubbers around the IsoSpeed seatpost is now deteriorated and I can't find a replacement for it 😂🤣
Time ADH Disc will take a measured 30mm tyre width front and rear (just about). Conti GP5000S TR 28s measure 30mm on my 21mm ID rims and so far no rubbing of the fork or stays on my Time. I definitely wouldn't put a 30mm Conti on there though. And there's no margin for error / out of true wheel.
TRP HY/RD brakes the cable pull hydraulic brakes. Had them on my bike and had nothing but problems with spongy brakes and just generallly not working. They ended up practically seizing and had to have replaced with regular cable pull brakes. Theoretically they’re good, but I had so many problems with them.
@@sbccbc7471 Yeah, it's meant to be a sealed system so doesn't need bleeding but my local bike shop did this a couple of times for me, both times within a few months the brakes had gone soft. I didn't use the bike for a few months and then one of them had basically seized. I took to another bike shop and they told me this could be a problem with those and suggested replacing with regular Spyre brakes
A neighbour loves the idea at 10:30 as it offers versatility . I adjust and bleed the brakes or run the brake lines to suit as needed . They don't mind as I do the work .
Really loved watching Moser race when I was a kid. Went from winning on an Alan to solidly NOT winning on the Moser. Went back to a later model Alan and started winning again. Seems that a Moser just wasn’t for me ( but it would have been quite collectable in Giro pink nowadays)
This really made me glad I no longer turn-a-wrench for money!! I'd add to the hate-list ANY bike with cables/hoses/wires running internally through headtube/stem/handlebar. I realize that's most of 'em these daze but that doesn't make 'em any easier to work on. I really feel for the shop techs out there..especially when/if a customer wants a simple change of stem length or bar width...and you know what a nightmare it's gonna be with labor charges to match....but you have to explain it to them....and deal with the blowback.
I keep searing to own a shop called Brass Nipple Square Taper, because its the only nipples we'd use in wheel builds and the only reliable BB is one that has threads.
Hear you there: bikes are such mechanically simple things with few components. The only people who benefit from extra complexity are pro racers and bike companies. It's hard to put together a standard repair cost schedule when there's too much variation in parts. If you can't do that, then you start having to charge higher labor fees or rejecting bicycles.
The Haro 540 air BMX bike had the rear brakes on the bottom of the bb. Grinding with it was a nightmare. Snap off a brake pad or a brake line and not know it til you try to stop going down a big hill. Doing a crank grind would destroy the rim brakes down there.
First Giant MTB started with Calipers at the underside of the rear fork because of its the strongest place on the frame. Worked fine, cleaning was a big job.
I started mountain biking in the very early 90s, with an MBK. That had a U-brake mounted by the bottom bracket, which combined with a triple chainring biopace chain set left no room for mud... With the obvious disadvantages. Awful bike. However, the worst bike I ever bought was one I really wanted and saved for as a kid. The Orange Clockwork, back when it was a rigid bike. It rode like it was mush, it squidged under power and was thoroughly disappointing. Oh well. The best bike I ever owned was a Kona and now they hare going bust. Sad days.
Cannondale slate owner and avid lefty enthusiast here of many years. You have never had to completely remove the front brake caliper to remove the front wheel. Loosen two bolts and the caliper pivots out of the way to remove the front wheel. Matter of fact, every version of the carbon PBR lefty has this feature prior to it being modified for and equipped on the slate. I also have a rigid lefty I swap onto the same frame depending on what terrain I'm riding. With the right tool, an Ernie tool that can be bought on eBay for >$30, removing a lefty is no more difficult than removing a regular fork. I'm not really a fan of Nick. Mechanics like him are the reason I either just do it myself, or drive 30 miles across town for maintenance, vs going to one of the three bike shops close to me. When I walk in with my bike and the guy behind the counter goes on a rant about how much more difficult my bikes are to work on, I immediately lose trust in their ability to get the job done right. Especially since I, an amateur, can remove my lefty nearly as easily as they can a regular fork.
I mean, you’ve made quite a good case as to why it is a bit of a nightmare… If you have to worry about removing two small bolts before you can remove the wheel then it is a pain vs a regular setup. At no point does Nick say the bike’s bad, but from a design standpoint it’s reinventing something for the sake of it and adding needless complication. What does a lefty fork give that a standard fork doesn’t?
@@cwd3bon paraphrasing, Nick made the statement that on earlier versions of the slate, the front caliper had to be completely removed to remove the front wheel, causing the caliper to need to be realigned. This was a completely false statement. At no point has any production PBR lefty fork required such an action. Loosening (not removing) two bolts allows the caliper to pivot out of the way of the rotor so the wheel can be removed without messing up caliper alignment. Something that I wouldn't categorize as "a nightmare". Especially if the owner/mechanic appreciates the engineering that went into it. In fairness to nick, there is a single version of a rigid lefty found on the Bad Boy light pipe lefty, that does require caliper alignment with wheel removal. But his statement, as he said it, was demonstrably false. At no point did I say, he said, it was a bad bike. But he did go on an exaggerated rant on the difficulty associated with working on the bike. Which, if he feels that way then so be it, but that's the kind of mindset that I wouldn't trust when handing my bike off to a mechanic to work on. Because it's really not that hard. He's being dramatic. As far as benefits go for the lefty system, that's as opinion based determination. At the time, the PBR lefty was lighter than any other option on the market, is still considered one of the stiffest options available, and has much lower stiction compared to traditional forks. Even more importantly for me though, is the cool factor. I am constantly being approached by people curious why my fork is missing a leg. It's a great conversation starter. This alone outweighs any cons associated with the system. Innovation is cool. Trying new things and doing things differently is cool. Complaining that every bike manufacturer isn't doing everything the same way for the sake of tradition stifles innovation.
I love my Roubaix. The Future Shock makes a huge difference on rough roads and gravel. However I haven't owned it long enough to need any work done on it.
I've got an Argon 18 Nitrogen, it got the same stupid TRP rim brakes as the Giant Propel. An absolute nightmare to adjust. Ohhh and the max tire width is 25mm.
I have exactly that 2016 Giant propel. Actually those brakes are awesome in terms of stopping power and feedback. They are a little harder to adjust but it's not a big deal really. I love that bike!
Believe me, I could list 50 bikes worse than any on the ones this guy listed here, but most people won’t have heard of them. Shite like the Itera which I always say is the worst bicycle ever made, no question. It flexed in dimensions that scientists didn’t even know existed. I have one in my garage awaiting restoration just so I can remind myself just how bad it is. Then there’s the Strida, a folding bicycle that due to its design, the taller you were the closer you had to sit to the handlebar. People over 5’10” ended up with the handlebar in their crotch. The Sinclair micro bike, a design so bad it was funny. 6” wheels on London roads, for fuck’s sake? You’d go over the bar if you hit a matchstick in the road. It was absolutely lethal. The Softride. A suspended carbon fibre boom instead of a top tube that meant your saddle height could change by about 10cm every pedal stroke. Seriously? That’s just a few off the top of my head. Current favourite shite bike is the Tern GSD electric cargo bike. A great concept ruined by being designed by fucking idiots with no concept of the word “maintenance” and built by cheap labour. Two days ago I had to replace the front headlight on one. It involved removing the entire transmission, dropping the motor and trying the remove the wiring loom through a hole in the main frame that a consultant gynaecologist would have struggled with. It took me 7 hours because the loom ripped and I had to re-wire the whole thing. Today it failed, and I have to do the whole thing again. Fuck you, Tern. But the worst bicycle right now? Anything made by Pendleton. Cheap as shit Chinese garbage with the worst components possible built with all the care and attention of an Auschwitz camp guard and sold by Halfords. That’s all you need to know. Just buy a 531 steel framed fixie. You’ll be a better person for it, trust me. And you won’t hate bikes.
Rear rim brake underneath the bottom bracket is really something that I don’t like. It is always getting dirty and the wheel seems to flex more at this area, so it rubs at the brake pads when standing pedaling.
Mucjas Gracias por tus observaciones. Yo siempre he preferido lo más eficiente, sencillo, económico posible, conservador, y no complicarse la existencia, para ser feliz y dar a los pedales. Aún me resisto a cambiar y tengo una Bianchi y una Fondriest, ambas de acero 10.5 kg, y frenos de cangrejo, con 23 de sección. Y soy feliz en carretera, ya con 45 años sobre una bici de ruta y 60 de vida. Saludos desde México 🇲🇽👋
The bike I hate most is at the same time the bike I love most: the Alpha 7 (which is a velomobile). It is so beautiful, comfortable, quite practical and rediculously fast compared to my road bike BUT its a nightmare to work on. I mean usually everything works fine - until it doesn't. You can't just hang it in a work stand and easily take everything apart. These things are not made with ease of maintainance in mind. But should you figure out what to repair or adjust, how to do it and have the tools, the mechanical and acrobatic skill (and the patience and frustration tolerance) you'll have the nicest ride ever. Actually I want to get rid of ... but somehow I would really like to get another velomobile one day. Am I making any sense?
Anything with fully-internal cockpit cables can die in a fire, thanks. I'm sure the aero gains are so minimal and the headaches they cause - especially for non-electronic shifting are completely unfixable. It's an awful trade-off with huge complications, compatibility, cost, and performance downsides for probably 0.5Watts of aero gains? If you never ever do your own maintenance and have no concerns about vastly increased servicing costs, then sure, I guess they look a bit nicer. For everyone else, what a total nightmare!
The watt savings are multiple times that. The main reason why the sl8 is faster than the sl7 is the cockpit, and that was already without cables. So at speeds where you care about speed, exposed cables do matter a great deal
I have a 2019 Madone SLR, but disc not rim. I'm lucky I found a compatible BB90 bottom bracket that's better than the garbage the Trek sells with the plastic cups -- creaks for days. Other than that, and the weight penalty of the IsoSpeed "compliance" seat post, I set it to the softest setting and forgot about it. Love that damn bike.
haha I knew the foil was going to turn up! Still impressed with Nick for building that bike with imaginable grouppo when my shop struggles to get one of them on there and working well
the Canyon handlebar is not to fix a shipping problem (they are shipped in the same size box as the old handlebar bikes) its a production benefit. the new handlebar can provide for a wide range of people because you can change the size. therefor production cost can be lowered and the price can stay competitive (customer benefit). they don't recommend you to change the width of the handle bar constantly, its just so you can size it right to you and leave it at that size.
I agree. I don't see a problem . If I can do it, so can a pro mechanic. I usually see Roubaix hate levelled at the extra weight of the FS but I'm not concerned by that either. It's a lovely comfy bike which is what I wanted when I purchased it.
I bit of a fiddle stripping the future shock and re-greasing it, but not that hard and it's only about an hour of work. Don't see why you'd ever need to replace it.
I’m assuming he was only considering higher-end bikes. I was first just glad my cheap-as-chips Boardman wasn’t on there and also reassured how many problems there are with different rim brake bikes. Now I’ve owned a few and given I may be in the market later this year for a good quality custom-built bike, this hatred helps!
To fix tire rub, some carbon chainstays can be modified by frame builders / repairers to fit slightly larger tires but that will void your warranty. My Parlee had tire rub with 25mm, but Calfee Design in California modified the chainstays to run 28mm tires with no rub (and no problems).
Campag Chorus 11 speed mechanical - fitting internal cables to a Zipp bar. Not the bar's fault, but the cable routing on the Campag levers was just an absolute nightmare.
How about bike brands that can’t supply parts for their own bikes? See Decathlins Triban semi-integrated headsets, used across loads of their bikes - not available from Decathlon or anywhere else….
Have you tried going to their bike service? Their technicians can order parts that are not listed on their site and if you want to fit it your self, you can say so and they will just sell you the part. Can be a long wait though, I got a rim for one of their fold-able bikes this way.
Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree on your view re Canyon Aeroad. I have the Canyon Endurace with the same handlebar and I do love it with its and because of its flexibility in width setting.
got a cube nu:road with some cube wheels. the free-hub is damaged - it seems it's cube proprietary. neither global support nor local cube dealers would offer to sell a replacement or even tell me what to look for elsewhere 😠
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Drink every time Nic says "absolute nightmare" 😆
Hmm, 20 past two in the afternoon and I am feeling giddy!
Why do you want us dead?
Pretty sure nothing is a nightmare if everything is a nightmare lmao
Got so drunk I bought a Canyon...
I can't cope after 5mins...
My policy is that I never buy proprietary components. Always get round seat tubes, round steerer interfaces, standard BB, etc. I swap parts among different bikes all the time -- it all just has to play nice across the board. Standardization FTW.
Exactly, right now, all my bikes are fine, I am just worried for my next purchase (N+1). The best average bike I found with normal easy maintenance parts was the (Decathlon) Van Rysel - EDR AF 105, my daughter has one. It is similar to my Kuota Alu Shimano 105 bike. If I can't fix my bike by myself, I won't buy it. I am not diving in all the nonsense, carbon wheels, disk brakes, tubeless tires, Shimano Di2, weird bottom brackets. If I were sponsored and had bike mechanics working for me, I wouldn't mind all the way too expensive gadgets. Even if I am 32 seconds late after 100km, I don't care, I just know that I can fix a flat tires in less than 5 minutes, my rim brakes, my rear and front mech has never taken me more than 1 min to adjust, why would I change that ? no need to think about my batteries being charged.
If you take your bike to the bike shop, why do you care? Youre paying for their expertise in fixing these specialized things.
@@michaeldesrosier1068 I do all my own wrenching at home. That's why I care :)
@@michaeldesrosier1068 For me, fixing or upgrading a bike is fun. I like to anaylyze each part of the bike and make sure that is easy mainteance and solid. The last time I asked a bike mechanic for help was 10 years ago for my Mavic Kysrium Equipe rear wheel loose cassettes. I checked how to fix it on the net and I didn't want to mess with the bushing and little parts that fly everywhere when you remove the freehub. I have never bought Mavic wheels again, I know I could have replaced the shitty bushing with an aluminum adapter, but I don't support design flaws.
@@gmsvalleyIf you run tubeless, you're not really fixing flats at all. You just have to remember to add more sealant every 6 months (I believe). I one time got a flat because I hadn't added more sealant in like 8 months. When I went to locate the hole, I found so many places where I got a puncture and it sealed itself and I never noticed. Just thought I lost a little pressure and had to add more air. 🤷🏻♂️
This is why I love my older bikes. Cheap, easy and never break.
100%. Classier, too, than some of these fugly bikes.
Please drop ur fork annually if ur bike is over 10yrs old and inspect for cracks and galvanic corrosion. Your teeth (and maybe much more will thank you)
Thats only because all the weird stupid ones are in the landfill, there were plenty of them!
unless it's a French bike, then you're swimming in a nightmare of French part standards that nobody makes spare parts for anymore
Oh no, what will I do in this extremely rare and even impossible scenario where my 2023 bicycle suddenly has a catastrophic failure of components for absolutely no reason?
Fully integrated cables on various brands. You have to take the bike to bits to change the headset bearings. Also the gear cable is routed through housing all the way through the bike so it adds more friction .It's also hard to adjust the reach on the bike as they have 1 piece handlebars and stems , this is also a problem if you sell the bike as you can only sell it to someone with the same body proportions . Why oh why ?
I don't know why cyclists like this or want this. It's baffling to me for doing the most simple adjustments, now need to take to a shop cause it will take hours to do something that once took 5 minutes. Why do people like this again?
I think few new bikes with integrated cables come with cable gears now.
They even say "wireless only" on the frame for many of them.
If you don't like it, just don't buy it. There are many options out there.
Always moaning about headset bearings. As if they need replacing every 3 months on a road bike ...
@@irfuel That was just 1 example though but I don't think limiting the serviceability on bikes is a good thing just to save a few watts. It is also creating more waste when they should be doing the opposite.
Proprietary components are a nightmare, who'd have thunk!
To be fair, you *could* build proprietary parts that are super easy to work on, but these are all proprietary with performance as the only consideration.
@@matt.3.14 as a rider I'm less concerned with the complexity of working on them (because I don't work on bikes all day), I'm more concerned with whether a replacement can be sourced a few years down the line, and at what cost. Something as simple as a stripped seat clamp bolt can be a major headache if your bike has a proprietary seat post only available from the frame manufacturer. This stuff is perhaps more forgivable on high end race bikes where the performance Vs practicality trade off is heavily implied. Having stuff like the future shock on mid range bikes is just baking an expiry date into them.
Just an absolute nightmare
It's insane what companies will do just to not have maintenance as a consideration at all. It's almost so bad, you would think they're willing to take a loss on sales just to make bikes as difficult to upkeep as possible. Like some literal lunatic in the C-Suite is mandating this for literally no other reason than his lunacy.
Thunk? Really?
I think you meant BB90, not BB92 for the Madone. The PF92 BB was used on Treks pre t47 mountain bikes, and does have a Dub BB (My Remedy has a PF92 Dub BB in it right now). BB90 was that stupid design that creaked and didn't have a Dub BB
This is the BB standard I hate to work with the most.
My partner has a giant with those brakes, and I've got a Dolan TT bike with one on the front and an under BB on the back. Both bikes the brakes work brilliantly, no rubbing, loads of power. Is Nick up to the task? My partner also has a diverge with a head shock. The boot spilt, it got water in it, I serviced it, it's not hard.
I ride a Specialized Diverge Comp E5, IT Has the future shock on the bars aswell. Never had any issues or need to repair, so I guess I got lucky on that part. But anyways, I absolutely LOVE that little suspension.
A redshift stem accomplishes the exact same thing and you don’t have a boat anchor of a proprietary part hanging in your headtube and fork. In addition, Specialized says if you replace your futureshock yourself when it eventually wears out it voids your frameset warranty. Another stupid marketing gimmick idea implemented by Spec. LOL
Everyone wants to get rid of their front derailleurs for some reason. I had a guy who was convinced he needed to convert his mid-level gravel bike to 1x. “What sort of riding do you do?” I want to ride the backroads in the mountains, but I also want to be able to mash back home on the highway. What chainring should I pick?” He made the best case for a wide range double you’d ever seen. In the end we convinced him to leave his bike as-is, since the only benefit he could come up with was “1x looks cool.” Everyone is wearing out their skinny 12spd chains by riding crappy chainlines, stuck with less range than the old 3x8 used to give you!
Tell them to get rid of their rear derailleurs too. And brakes. Embrace the fixed-gear life.
1x are just better for vast majority of cyclist
Biggest benefit for a normal person: less maintenance, less weight. 44t would be fine for mixed gravel and road without sprints
@@krzysztofkolodziejczyk4335 How? It's never crossed my mind that 2x is an issue, at all, in any way lol
1by is great for gravel rides. Don‘t mind the chainline, just ride. Easy and gear ratio is fine at „skinny 12 gear“ too. 🤷🏻♂️
As someone who owned a gen6 madone: what a crappy nightmare isospeed was. Never worked well, loosened constantly, bushings wore down super fast. Was a hassle to get warrantied. About time they got rid of it. Now that I own a gen7, I can finally ride a comfortable, well performing seatpot
I’d agree with 50% if this. Surprised the Evil W reckoning and Cube Stereo weren’t on the list for pivot bearings.
I have a Cervelo S5 (2012) It takes 25mm Hutchinson Fusion5 tyres not rubbing :) All my bikes use 25mm tyres as I find 28mm a bit muddy with handling.
yeah, i’ve found the specialized 24 mm turbos fit perfectly.
Have the Giant Propel and i can completely agree - Cable routing over the stem is a pain in the ass if your doing any rewiring, etc. Also the brake setup means you have to defalte the tyre every time you want to remove the wheel as you cant release the tension on the areo brake calipers to fit an inflated tyre through.
I worked in a bicycle shop during the 80's when U-brakes became popular on BMX bikes and mountain bikes (there was a picture in the video). They were commonly mounted under the stays or behind the forks. They were a giant annoyance. I think they still use them in the BMX world.
I really like my Giant Revolt gravel bike, but I wish it had a round seatpost and a more conventional seatpost clamp. The D-shaped seatpost means I can't ever put a dropper post on it,
and the integrated seatpost clamp doesn't work nearly as well as an old school seatpost clamp. I had to fuss with it quite a bit when I bought it to get it to clamp hard enough so the seatpost wouldn't slowly sink into the frame while riding.
I second this. By applying carbon paste to the seatpost I was able to get rid of the sinking but now the damned seatpost squeaks and creaks every time I put some power to the pedals while seated... Drives me crazy! The D-shaped post fitted into a round seat tube with a shim behind is a terrible idea. Why not just supply a round carbon seatpost with a standard clamp? 😅
I fully agree regarding under-the-bottom-bracket rim brakes. I had those on a Kestrel Talon X and a Specialized Shiv Elite. Road gunk would collect on the cables with the result that the cables would get gritty and not fully release after braking.
Honestly, I think people/companies need to stop using static pictures of bikes to market them. Integrated cockpits, funny profiles for the tubes, 'aero' brake calipers, etc - you're simply not going to notice any of them when the bike's in motion, and it's designed to be in motion!
For example my bike has semi-internal cables - they come out of the levers, under the bar tape, then swing around the head tube and enter the down tube near the top, then they exit the down tube at the BB (for the front mech) and chain stays (rear mech and brake). The only exception is the front brake which runs down the inside of the fork instead of the down tube. So it's a little bit of hassle but worth it for the protection of the cables, but the lack of integrated bar/stem means they're so much easier to work on. Yes, while the bike's propped up on the cafe wall it doesn't look quite as slick as some of the others, but that's 15 minutes of a 3 hour ride, and the other 165 minutes you just don't notice it.
I don't know about other folks, but to me, aero-schmero! I've got a good 20kg of beer belly and I like biscuits and cakes too much too, I'm not expecting to win any races any time soon because I don't race at all anyway. Sure going fast is fun, but I don't need to be going fast all the time. I ride at the pace that suits me and if I need my speed fix, well, you bet I can shift when I'm going downhill! :D
Love the Roubaix, 5 years trouble free with the Future Shock spring, only recently worn out a bit, my mechanic changed it no fuss, with one of the 3 replacement springs that came with the bike. Sometimes maybe, just maybe, it is the mechanics moaning a bit too much if the job ain't dead easy... 😉😄
It's more like when 99% of the bikes are simple and easy to work on, then it makes the 1% of bikes with proprietary systems that aren't better than other solutions stand out.
@@viet0ne It´s a personal choice, for me it works, takes out a lot of the sting that I experienced with other road bikes. And hey, if it is only 1% of the bikes then mechanics have nothing to moan about, statistically the chances that they´ll have to work on one of those should be pretty low...😄😉
@@roubaix3843 there's nothing wrong with having some dampening, but even before the Future Shock was released, there were plenty of stems that had similar dampening effects that work just as well.
So it's no only simpler but more universal to use on other bikes. You not only get the same benefit but it can be more easily replaced if the company doesn't make it anymore.
Have roubaix also. Did 20000 km no problem. Service also no problems
Totally agree. I've had a Roubaix and now have a Diverge. In 7 years of owning them I've never had an issue with either of them. Rather have that than a weird looking redshift after market stem.
Probably should have watched this before I bought a Aeroad. I also find my foot scrapping against the front tire when making slow speed turns. And maybe it’s just me, but I often scrape the ground with my pedals when leaning into a turn.
Odd that back in the last days of rim brakes (on high end bikes) manufacturers became concerned about integration and making brakes aero whereas now they’ll just slap a massive un-aero heavy disk brake and rotor on bikes but tell us that all the cables need to be integrated instead 😅
It's bloody hilarious
Trolling buyers at this point.
Not a specific bike brand, but any bike brand with a single-bolt saddle rail clamp. They never stay in place at the angle you want, never loosen when you need to adjust them, AND they always creak.
On 3 different bikes with a 1 bolt seat clamp never had a single problem. I consider a 2 bolt system doable but also a hassle.
No problems. If it is moving then use some carbon grip grease.
never had any moving or creaking with one bolt saddle cramp. or loosening them. i had like 4 of them before moving to proper bikes, and i'm 90 kg. you are probably doing something wrong.
I've never had a single Specialized single-bolt saddle clamp even budge when torqued to spec.
Try a USE seatpost, never had any of the issues you mention!
Missed out the Boardman Air, which was similar to the Giant Propel/Trinity but with added fuckwittery of rear brake behind bottom bracket. Had the t9 forks with integrated brakes. Absolute hell to set up. Never stayed centred. Horrible cable routing. Press fit shit bottom bracket. Refused to put it in on ebay. Took it down to the tip and threw it in a skip. Then blocked Boardman on Twitter in disgust. The absolute worst frame I've had in 30yrs.
Cool story bro
6:48 I have this bike and i love it but i had to buy a new one for the tyre clearance.
As a Ribble Ultra SL R owner, I knew it would be on this list! 😂 That being said I love how many bikes are on this list because of proprietary rim brakes.
I did rent a Roubaix with the FutureShock stem once and it was a nice riding bike. It in fact prompted me to buy the Redshift stem, which I still use. If, big if, I ever decide to get a more modern bike than what I have the one thing I still want is my shock stem, but that'll eliminate a lot of bike with integrated bars and hidden cables that goes through them.
I agree completely on the TT bikes. Making even a slight change to extension length or angle is furiously complicated, let alone wanting to drop your risers down by a couple millimeters.
Colnago C68, nightmare to route the brake hoses through the handlebars, i built one for a mate (way outa my budget)
the real beauty of a bicycle is it's simplicity.
Yes! It's had over 100 years to be refined, so there aren't going to be major advances from year to year. Certainly a 1970s bike isn't going to be as convenient to ride, but there are _tons_ of 1970s bikes still in use today. You can't say that about many things.
The real beauty of a bicycle is its ability to be used for anything. Road racing, trail riding, commuting, long distance travel, not just a basic machine that only suits the needs of casual riders who don't know maintenance.
I've spoken to others that had the brake under the bb (2013 Trek Madone) & it was very location dependant. The people who rode in bad weather regularly hated them but if you lived in good weather they were great!
Great to know since my Winspace T1550 has those
@@matkrek it's just something to pay attention to. After a wet or particularly dirty ride I'd make sure to clean it up. That bike is still going strong 11 years later! I stopped riding it 7 months ago only because I bought a new bike!
@@joekawasaki My 2016 Rose Xeon CGF has the rear brake in the same place. Never had any problems with it in Irish weather
@@dubbct1589I've spoken to people from Washington state, Canada, and the UK that have all had problems with them. A couple of them said the issue was corrosion inside the cable housing causing failure which is why they disliked them. My time with them they've only gotten wet from the occasional puddle, a heavy marine layer, or washing the bike. I personally loved them! The frame already had to be strong there because of the bb, the seat stays were able to be made thinner, & as a weekend warrior I can use any aero advantage to keep up with the bunch 😜
V1r here and I also have a t1500 no issues with the brake , he even said “ they don’t work well at all “ talks a lot of shite this guy ignore half the shit he says , piss poor some of the stuff they come out with ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE ffs 🤦
I've got a Specialized Roubaix SL4, the last model with the elastomers in the forks and seat stays. It's got good compliance and was always comfortable. A riding friend also had one and updated to the new model when they brought out the Future Shock. He thought it was a step backwards. He said it only suspended his wrists and not his saddle. And he could feel all the road buzz through the pedals, which had never been a problem on the elastomer model.
Two years ago I decided I was old enough for an ebike and went for the Trek Domane +LT. It has the Isospeed systems under the saddle and in the steerer. The rear isospeed on my bike has a long leaf spring running under the top tube. However, neither isospeed gave me the compliance of the Roubaix, so i put on RedShift suspension stem (easy) and a Redshift suspension seat post (difficult). The Domane is now nicely compliant but getting the suspension seat post fitted into that Isospeed system took some fancy engineering thinking.
I love my Tarmac SL5 but fml internal cables are a pain. I dread every time I have a re-cabling coming up because I need a magnet and my cable hook that I made out of an old spoke to fish then out at the other end. That said, the bike goes like the clappers.
That said I'm probably never going to upgrade to a newer tarmac because non-round seatposts can get stuffed
Specialized venge vias rim brake
Can confirm that the rear tire is scraping off the inner sides of my 2018 Cervelo S5. Since 2021 I'm running continental tubeless 25mm tires on my enve wheelsets front and back and they strangely seem narrower, but they dont touch the chainstays anymore.
Yes now that the carbon has worn down no more rubbing lol
@@scottsolomon8537 Seems that you know exactly, what you are talkin' about lol
I had a Madone SLR (rim brake) before I went to the same gen disc version & I agree 1000% about the rim brake option
Spot on!! This makes me love my older bikes even more. My 2008 Madone is so easy to work on and it's the newer one of the 4 bikes I own. All four easy peasy!
I ride the Ribble SLR. The narrow bars are actually not an issue to ride at all, and I am mainly a mountain biker with super wide bars. The steering block is a little annoying, but I spend very little time trying to make super tight turns in the car park, so not an issue.
I've worked on the future shock myself and while it is fiddly I do like that system vs redshift suspension stems due to the angle of the stem changing when the redshift moves. The future shock goes up and down straight while the redshift leans forward and down at an angle. But yes it is fiddly.
Have a 2011 Ridley Noah and I had to relegate it to indoor only since not only could it only fit up to 23c tires it had to be specific 23c tires (ie: conti 23c would rub). I broke a few spokes and I couldn't ride it home,so a few sag wagons later I stopped riding it outside.
Replaced with a 2021 Trek Emojda (t47 BB and di2). So much easier to maintain.
I have the Ribble Ultra SLR and I do agree with the steering, but honestly, you absolutely get used to it. The only time it ever comes into play is a traffic light track stand. as for the bars, I have the narrower 36cm (at the hoods, 40 at the drops) and they take some adjusting to (I came from a 40) but the bike is incredibly comfortable, with bartape on the drops though!
Last year ive build my first bike (mtb) what i didnt like as much i expected is internal cable routing with those extra soft tubing on top of it , i do prefer to have it just in the bottom tube and under BB and chainstays with zipp ties :D
Bottom line is that Nic hates building Francis's bike most 😂😂
Ive got a diverge gravel bike with the future shock 1,5 that's been removed now and i fitted a solid machined replacement. I don't mind the future shock to work on but its a heavy part and expensive to replace
Is the replacement offered by The Bike Sauce?
My canyon aeroad came with handlebars extended, they weren’t detached or in the narrow position. They fit fine in their shipping boxes that they use for all their bikes. It def doesn’t make shipping easier. Also I have 10k miles on my 2021 aeroad and it doesn’t creak (not the handlebars anyway). The seatpost issue is what pisses me off, thankfully it’s just a noise that can be fixed, but it comes back and you have to keep reapplying grease and carbon paste. I think they fixed the issue in the new 2024 models
This (Ultimate here, same handlebar); plus that it is very comfortable, when packing bike into the hard-case for travel. Just undo screws and dismount the handlebars extensions, and then it just fits the case. Much easier, than with a normal handlebar
No thanks, don’t want a creaking nightmare for a handlebar! 😀
@@ivanboesky1520there is no creaking to, zero
Thanks for this video! A new bike might be in my near future, so it's great to know what bikes and what features to avoid.
I had an orbea avant h30, that was a welded cable guide for the for the front mech which was in the wrong position and the same across all of the cheaper aluminium frames, this made shifting terrible. to the point that it was super stiff and regularly you couldn’t change your front chain ring gear. Ended up having to have the cable rooted pretty much thinner away from the welded bracket. Shocking design. Oh also, the bike that claimed to be a 51 was closer to a 54 that is pretty common nowadays
I recently bought double decker GRAIL and I love it. Lots of space on the handlebar to put a camera, phone and some other stuff. Also gives extra hand position. The thumb lock works great I feel more "locked in" with the thump grips and my hand does not slip at all on the drops. Also I do not have to grip tight on the drops as my thumbs are holding some of my weight. Also the hoods and drops are stiff which helps me a lot when pushing out large power. But yes, there are downsides. First of all the stiffness is not very comfortable on hoods and drops and there is almost no adjustability on the handlebar. I think a new bar would cost around £450 and the fork tube diameter is not standard...
I have a question. So my hub uses jbend spokes right. But the mechanic didnt lace the spokes, instead they did it like a straight pull. Would this be fine? Like in terms of the stiffness and durability of the wheelset? I can see the spokes poking out halfway in the rim hole.
I'm sorry, how is that even possible?? The holes on the flanges for the spokes are pointing sideways.
@@sbccbc7471 i dont even know man. I think the mechanic got ahead of himself and jumped to conclusion and think that the spokes were short. I really dont understand how and why he continued with the remaining spokes like he can literally see the spokes poking out the nipple
How do you feel about Surly midnight special frameset?
Here's a POSITIVE one. 1972 Schwinn Varsity. Uses regular hex fasteners. (not socket head)
Want the bar higher? No problem, just loosen one bolt and pull it up.
Want to change the bar angle? Again, loosen one bolt, re-position it, then re-tighten the bolt.
All over the bike, it's the same story. Anyone can work on them. The only challenge is finding parts nowadays.
Easy except that junk Huret rear mech.
Another Canyon Aeroad owner here. I am still wondering why nobody is hating on the system arranging the degree of the saddle (is that.... Yaw? Pitch? I don't know).
So, I unscrew the screw which keeps it in place and then add a bag of frozen mangos to it, in order to shrink the (and this is where my English runs out) inner metal piece so I can then loosen it and adjust the saddle
HATE IT
Pitch is nose up/down, yaw is nose left/right
Latest Scott Foil is a nightmare too. It's a press fit for the saddle angle. Impossible to just untighten and slightly adjust it. Why o why ...
I own a Grail with Double Decker, super comfy, fits me nicely too :)
Owner here too. Love the design but really hate the double decker and handlebars in general as it is really difficult to find any bags/components fitting on it. Also setting it up again when traveling was also troublesome sometimes
I own a rimbrake 2017 Trek Madone, and kinda expected that my bike will be on this list for the reason I also struggled with. The rubbers around the IsoSpeed seatpost is now deteriorated and I can't find a replacement for it 😂🤣
Honestly one of the most watchable people on UA-cam
If it has some advantages, I don't mind stuff that is hard to work on as long as it works reliably after it is all set up (like internal brake hoses).
Time ADH Disc will take a measured 30mm tyre width front and rear (just about). Conti GP5000S TR 28s measure 30mm on my 21mm ID rims and so far no rubbing of the fork or stays on my Time. I definitely wouldn't put a 30mm Conti on there though. And there's no margin for error / out of true wheel.
TRP HY/RD brakes the cable pull hydraulic brakes. Had them on my bike and had nothing but problems with spongy brakes and just generallly not working. They ended up practically seizing and had to have replaced with regular cable pull brakes. Theoretically they’re good, but I had so many problems with them.
If there's nobody in the area with a mineral oil-based bleed kit (not tied to any brake brand), you are indeed better off using something else.
@@sbccbc7471 Yeah, it's meant to be a sealed system so doesn't need bleeding but my local bike shop did this a couple of times for me, both times within a few months the brakes had gone soft. I didn't use the bike for a few months and then one of them had basically seized. I took to another bike shop and they told me this could be a problem with those and suggested replacing with regular Spyre brakes
@@a1white Was the seizing caused by swollen seals?
I wish the Futureshock would be easier to work on, but I need it for my wrists. Crazy that it took so long for these things to exist.
What's the lime green bike in the back?
A neighbour loves the idea at 10:30 as it offers versatility . I adjust and bleed the brakes or run the brake lines to suit as needed . They don't mind as I do the work .
isn't the new specialized futureshock 3.0 service proof?
I own at Scott Foil rim brake...
I don't find the rear BB brake be that bad performance or service wise.
Really loved watching Moser race when I was a kid. Went from winning on an Alan to solidly NOT winning on the Moser. Went back to a later model Alan and started winning again. Seems that a Moser just wasn’t for me ( but it would have been quite collectable in Giro pink nowadays)
LOOK 695 Aerolite had absolute nightmare integrated rim brake in front fork AND direct mount brake behind bottom bracket. I opted for the regular 695
This really made me glad I no longer turn-a-wrench for money!! I'd add to the hate-list ANY bike with cables/hoses/wires running internally through headtube/stem/handlebar. I realize that's most of 'em these daze but that doesn't make 'em any easier to work on. I really feel for the shop techs out there..especially when/if a customer wants a simple change of stem length or bar width...and you know what a nightmare it's gonna be with labor charges to match....but you have to explain it to them....and deal with the blowback.
What do you nowadays?
I keep searing to own a shop called Brass Nipple Square Taper, because its the only nipples we'd use in wheel builds and the only reliable BB is one that has threads.
Hear you there: bikes are such mechanically simple things with few components. The only people who benefit from extra complexity are pro racers and bike companies. It's hard to put together a standard repair cost schedule when there's too much variation in parts. If you can't do that, then you start having to charge higher labor fees or rejecting bicycles.
The Haro 540 air BMX bike had the rear brakes on the bottom of the bb. Grinding with it was a nightmare. Snap off a brake pad or a brake line and not know it til you try to stop going down a big hill. Doing a crank grind would destroy the rim brakes down there.
Love this! So insightful and practical.
First Giant MTB started with Calipers at the underside of the rear fork because of its the strongest place on the frame. Worked fine, cleaning was a big job.
I remember a lot of those 80s MTBs had roller brakes, too!
I started mountain biking in the very early 90s, with an MBK. That had a U-brake mounted by the bottom bracket, which combined with a triple chainring biopace chain set left no room for mud... With the obvious disadvantages. Awful bike. However, the worst bike I ever bought was one I really wanted and saved for as a kid. The Orange Clockwork, back when it was a rigid bike. It rode like it was mush, it squidged under power and was thoroughly disappointing. Oh well. The best bike I ever owned was a Kona and now they hare going bust. Sad days.
That era, even the Spesh Stumpy had a U-brake on the chain stay
Cannondale slate owner and avid lefty enthusiast here of many years. You have never had to completely remove the front brake caliper to remove the front wheel. Loosen two bolts and the caliper pivots out of the way to remove the front wheel. Matter of fact, every version of the carbon PBR lefty has this feature prior to it being modified for and equipped on the slate.
I also have a rigid lefty I swap onto the same frame depending on what terrain I'm riding. With the right tool, an Ernie tool that can be bought on eBay for >$30, removing a lefty is no more difficult than removing a regular fork. I'm not really a fan of Nick. Mechanics like him are the reason I either just do it myself, or drive 30 miles across town for maintenance, vs going to one of the three bike shops close to me. When I walk in with my bike and the guy behind the counter goes on a rant about how much more difficult my bikes are to work on, I immediately lose trust in their ability to get the job done right. Especially since I, an amateur, can remove my lefty nearly as easily as they can a regular fork.
So true. All of it.
I mean, you’ve made quite a good case as to why it is a bit of a nightmare…
If you have to worry about removing two small bolts before you can remove the wheel then it is a pain vs a regular setup.
At no point does Nick say the bike’s bad, but from a design standpoint it’s reinventing something for the sake of it and adding needless complication. What does a lefty fork give that a standard fork doesn’t?
@@cwd3bon paraphrasing, Nick made the statement that on earlier versions of the slate, the front caliper had to be completely removed to remove the front wheel, causing the caliper to need to be realigned. This was a completely false statement. At no point has any production PBR lefty fork required such an action. Loosening (not removing) two bolts allows the caliper to pivot out of the way of the rotor so the wheel can be removed without messing up caliper alignment. Something that I wouldn't categorize as "a nightmare". Especially if the owner/mechanic appreciates the engineering that went into it.
In fairness to nick, there is a single version of a rigid lefty found on the Bad Boy light pipe lefty, that does require caliper alignment with wheel removal. But his statement, as he said it, was demonstrably false.
At no point did I say, he said, it was a bad bike. But he did go on an exaggerated rant on the difficulty associated with working on the bike. Which, if he feels that way then so be it, but that's the kind of mindset that I wouldn't trust when handing my bike off to a mechanic to work on. Because it's really not that hard. He's being dramatic.
As far as benefits go for the lefty system, that's as opinion based determination. At the time, the PBR lefty was lighter than any other option on the market, is still considered one of the stiffest options available, and has much lower stiction compared to traditional forks. Even more importantly for me though, is the cool factor. I am constantly being approached by people curious why my fork is missing a leg. It's a great conversation starter. This alone outweighs any cons associated with the system. Innovation is cool. Trying new things and doing things differently is cool. Complaining that every bike manufacturer isn't doing everything the same way for the sake of tradition stifles innovation.
I,ve had lefty on my flash carbon , i ve had the front wheel off maybe 5 times in 11 years so not much of a deal really.
I have a Slate Force 1 and really like it, except for one thing. When I get out of the saddle, my knee hits the lefty fork.
The tire clearance on cervelos is the main thing holding me back from buying a new one. The p-series allows for 28mm but that's the bare minimum now
I love my Roubaix. The Future Shock makes a huge difference on rough roads and gravel. However I haven't owned it long enough to need any work done on it.
2021 Domane SL6…love it. Front and rear iso, ZERO issues.
Hello what about look 795 Aerolight ?
I've owned the Giant Propel with rim brakes since lockdown. Put 1000's of miles on it & the brakes have been & still are absolutely spot on.
I've got an Argon 18 Nitrogen, it got the same stupid TRP rim brakes as the Giant Propel. An absolute nightmare to adjust. Ohhh and the max tire width is 25mm.
I’ve got two Argon 18’s both with similar rim brakes to the Giant and I hate adjusting them they are a complete nightmare.
I have exactly that 2016 Giant propel. Actually those brakes are awesome in terms of stopping power and feedback. They are a little harder to adjust but it's not a big deal really. I love that bike!
Believe me, I could list 50 bikes worse than any on the ones this guy listed here, but most people won’t have heard of them. Shite like the Itera which I always say is the worst bicycle ever made, no question. It flexed in dimensions that scientists didn’t even know existed. I have one in my garage awaiting restoration just so I can remind myself just how bad it is. Then there’s the Strida, a folding bicycle that due to its design, the taller you were the closer you had to sit to the handlebar. People over 5’10” ended up with the handlebar in their crotch. The Sinclair micro bike, a design so bad it was funny. 6” wheels on London roads, for fuck’s sake? You’d go over the bar if you hit a matchstick in the road. It was absolutely lethal. The Softride. A suspended carbon fibre boom instead of a top tube that meant your saddle height could change by about 10cm every pedal stroke. Seriously? That’s just a few off the top of my head.
Current favourite shite bike is the Tern GSD electric cargo bike. A great concept ruined by being designed by fucking idiots with no concept of the word “maintenance” and built by cheap labour. Two days ago I had to replace the front headlight on one. It involved removing the entire transmission, dropping the motor and trying the remove the wiring loom through a hole in the main frame that a consultant gynaecologist would have struggled with. It took me 7 hours because the loom ripped and I had to re-wire the whole thing. Today it failed, and I have to do the whole thing again. Fuck you, Tern.
But the worst bicycle right now? Anything made by Pendleton. Cheap as shit Chinese garbage with the worst components possible built with all the care and attention of an Auschwitz camp guard and sold by Halfords. That’s all you need to know.
Just buy a 531 steel framed fixie. You’ll be a better person for it, trust me. And you won’t hate bikes.
Rear rim brake underneath the bottom bracket is really something that I don’t like. It is always getting dirty and the wheel seems to flex more at this area, so it rubs at the brake pads when standing pedaling.
Mucjas Gracias por tus observaciones. Yo siempre he preferido lo más eficiente, sencillo, económico posible, conservador, y no complicarse la existencia, para ser feliz y dar a los pedales.
Aún me resisto a cambiar y tengo una Bianchi y una Fondriest, ambas de acero 10.5 kg, y frenos de cangrejo, con 23 de sección. Y soy feliz en carretera, ya con 45 años sobre una bici de ruta y 60 de vida. Saludos desde México 🇲🇽👋
The bike I hate most is at the same time the bike I love most: the Alpha 7 (which is a velomobile). It is so beautiful, comfortable, quite practical and rediculously fast compared to my road bike BUT its a nightmare to work on. I mean usually everything works fine - until it doesn't. You can't just hang it in a work stand and easily take everything apart. These things are not made with ease of maintainance in mind. But should you figure out what to repair or adjust, how to do it and have the tools, the mechanical and acrobatic skill (and the patience and frustration tolerance) you'll have the nicest ride ever. Actually I want to get rid of ... but somehow I would really like to get another velomobile one day. Am I making any sense?
Anything with fully-internal cockpit cables can die in a fire, thanks. I'm sure the aero gains are so minimal and the headaches they cause - especially for non-electronic shifting are completely unfixable. It's an awful trade-off with huge complications, compatibility, cost, and performance downsides for probably 0.5Watts of aero gains? If you never ever do your own maintenance and have no concerns about vastly increased servicing costs, then sure, I guess they look a bit nicer. For everyone else, what a total nightmare!
No more cables doing damage to your frame
The watt savings are multiple times that. The main reason why the sl8 is faster than the sl7 is the cockpit, and that was already without cables. So at speeds where you care about speed, exposed cables do matter a great deal
I have a Scott bike with the rear brake behind the bottom bracket. Weird but no problems so far. More Nic!
Great real world information. Make bikes simple again
great vid, im doing my own mechanics, but i dont fathom how you guys are working on these bikes, YOU ROCK ON , respect Dude
I have a 2019 Madone SLR, but disc not rim. I'm lucky I found a compatible BB90 bottom bracket that's better than the garbage the Trek sells with the plastic cups -- creaks for days. Other than that, and the weight penalty of the IsoSpeed "compliance" seat post, I set it to the softest setting and forgot about it. Love that damn bike.
haha I knew the foil was going to turn up! Still impressed with Nick for building that bike with imaginable grouppo when my shop struggles to get one of them on there and working well
the Canyon handlebar is not to fix a shipping problem (they are shipped in the same size box as the old handlebar bikes) its a production benefit. the new handlebar can provide for a wide range of people because you can change the size. therefor production cost can be lowered and the price can stay competitive (customer benefit). they don't recommend you to change the width of the handle bar constantly, its just so you can size it right to you and leave it at that size.
Agree with all the point EXCEPT future shock.
Low maintenance, do it myself , works beautiful.
Until you need to replace it.
I agree. I love my Roubaix.
I agree. I don't see a problem . If I can do it, so can a pro mechanic. I usually see Roubaix hate levelled at the extra weight of the FS but I'm not concerned by that either. It's a lovely comfy bike which is what I wanted when I purchased it.
@@daniels.2720 Why so? I have removed my FS and put it back and its pretty easy.
I bit of a fiddle stripping the future shock and re-greasing it, but not that hard and it's only about an hour of work. Don't see why you'd ever need to replace it.
I run 28 GP5000 on my 2017 Cervelo S5?
I think Nick should get his own show and Podcast he is very good
I’m assuming he was only considering higher-end bikes. I was first just glad my cheap-as-chips Boardman wasn’t on there and also reassured how many problems there are with different rim brake bikes.
Now I’ve owned a few and given I may be in the market later this year for a good quality custom-built bike, this hatred helps!
To fix tire rub, some carbon chainstays can be modified by frame builders / repairers to fit slightly larger tires but that will void your warranty. My Parlee had tire rub with 25mm, but Calfee Design in California modified the chainstays to run 28mm tires with no rub (and no problems).
I so agree with technology that shouldn’t be passed down without a pro mechanic coming with it!
Any bike that has cables running through the headset/stem 😃
How much are Scott Foils? I want two😅
The Future Shock also has a bolt in the color that strips easily & no one else makes. Specialized doesn’t sell them either.
That’s because if it is stripped they want you to buy a new FS. LOL
Campag Chorus 11 speed mechanical - fitting internal cables to a Zipp bar. Not the bar's fault, but the cable routing on the Campag levers was just an absolute nightmare.
How about bike brands that can’t supply parts for their own bikes? See Decathlins Triban semi-integrated headsets, used across loads of their bikes - not available from Decathlon or anywhere else….
Have you tried going to their bike service?
Their technicians can order parts that are not listed on their site and if you want to fit it your self, you can say so and they will just sell you the part.
Can be a long wait though, I got a rim for one of their fold-able bikes this way.
Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree on your view re Canyon Aeroad. I have the Canyon Endurace with the same handlebar and I do love it with its and because of its flexibility in width setting.
got a cube nu:road with some cube wheels. the free-hub is damaged - it seems it's cube proprietary. neither global support nor local cube dealers would offer to sell a replacement or even tell me what to look for elsewhere 😠
Sometimes hubs are outsourced from other companies, I have no idea if yours are since I've never worked on Cube's parts before.