I ride alone and people in my immediate circle are not into cycling. Consequently, there is no peer pressure or competition to attain the newest cycling trinkets. It makes for a more pleasant experience.
I have been riding mountain bikes at a high level for 30+ years. And here is the simple truth! the most important purchase factor is reliability, meaning it takes a licking but keeps on ticking. For me that is Shimano SLX or XT. Unless you are a racer XTR is a waste of money. Electronic shifting? I am trying to escape technology not have more of it on my bike! I am not a Sram user but i am sure the same rule applies.
I purchased a BMC Timemachine. A low weight carbon fibre rocket. Then I drink 5 beers after a ride and put on more bloated weight in beer carbs than any weight saving I made with the bike. Losing a few inches on my beer belly is the best upgrade I could ever choose.
BINGO! You can save a lot of money on road bikes by rejecting being a weight weenie. I have never, ever seen anyone lose a bike race because of the weight of their bike. 😊 In the past I’ve showed up at some local races on a 20 year old Cannondale just to mess with my opponents heads. LOL
@@Mottleydude1 I use to race with a dude from Uganda named Ivan Mukasa. Funniest mf'r on our team and just an absolute beast. I swear you could have given that guy a single speed that Major Taylor raced with and he still would have beaten guys on pro level bikes. I truly believe he was destined for amazing things but sadly passed away just after we graduated high school. I think about him often and really wish he was still around to ride with.
Yes, but the day you decide to cut your bodyweight, the bike will still be there and weigh the same, giving you even more advantage. If you can afford it, a good bike is not a bad investment.
So true. As a data person I get caught up sometimes with weight savings but then realize I gained 25 pounds of weight so what is a few grams saving lol
I see so much ridiculousness on the trails every week. I have to try and keep my mouth shut but its starting to get to the point where our rides are being hindered and they are obviosly more interested in whats on the bike over actually riding. For example, most of my mates are clydes like me (190cm/108kg) who could lose 10-12kg pretty easily, yet they rock up every week with new carbon derailleur cages, superlight cassettes of ebay which implode, carbon pulley wheels, Ti stem bolts and carbon stem/post/bar, preload cap removed, three rotor bolts removed, Ashima superlight rotors, 3c maxxgrip 120tpi paper tyres on a 160mm dually and more. I'm the only one that can get through a single ride without three flats and a broken mech cage.
yeah it really gets out of hand quick. and I'm totally for people customizing bikes and doing whatever the hell they want to it but you should probably at least have a purpose or reason behind it other than "well this is hot tech". A lot of higher end stuff can require such special care to properly maintain it that you run in to situations like what you're describing because the general rider doesn't have the tools or expertise to keep it functioning correctly.
Used to race with downtube index shifter against a field of new stuff, and always thought ,if I can't win with this, then I can't win!😊😊 and I won alot!!!😊😊
That's not totally true. I ride both di2 and downtube. If 2 riders are equally good,the one with downtube shifters will for sure lose out. Just think about sudden attacks and having to shift or having to shift while riding out of the saddle.
@@arthurmchugh5184 face it and stop being delusional and lying to yourself. I've ridden dowtube index, downtube friction, modern mechanical,and di2 and any half decent cyclist worth their salt would know that modern shifting fares far better than downtube shifting. Put 2 equally good cyclist,one on di2 and one on dowtube shifting, the one who's good the di2 will outride the other.
Unless my frame breaks, I'm buying nothing except chains and tires for the next 5 years. If manufacturers want my money they need to work for it, those greedy bastards.
In the same vein as the expensive pulley bearings and wheels . I also include the very pricey brands of seatposts, stems, bottom brackets, and headsets. (thompson, chris king, etc). Not only will you not know the difference, the basic std quality ones will last as long, if not longer.
Some will be "grey market" unbranded factory seconds or _smuggled out_ finished product (please consider that as criminal activity) but there's no shortage of substandard copies of established designs.
I honestly regret buying mine. I ended up getting some of the plastic version of the exact same cages and they look better and weigh basically the same.
Saw a bunch of Ceramic Sheet pulleys on the 2nd hand market these last months... makes me laugh every time. I'll be honest... I've been lurking for years at a certain handlebar, it would look awesome on my bike, but i've been holding strong!
I wore my first gel seat pad one out. The seat looked new underneath. I have been happy with the second one. There is a reason there is padding in many bike shorts.
I can't be bothered with all this derailleur decorating buffoonery cause I got speaker cables to buy with that 2 grand that look like a deal in contrast. For that kinda money I would expect these oversized pulleys to convert Transformers style into a crack pipe.
I’m a metal frame, frame pump having dinosaur. I warned him not to “upgrade” to carbon bars. But he didn’t listen to daddy. He dumps it hard, breaks the bars and started walking.
and like I get the science of it having less friction in the system but honestly for most of us it's not really going to make any sort of impact other than having to explain to your significant other why you just spent $2000 on something so small lol
I'm very very curious about those and definitely want to pick one up to test out. The Easton would be a little more expensive, about $30-40 from most of what I'm seeing and about 8-10 grams heavier for a 100mm. The claimed weight is low for the UNO but I'm seeing some real life weigh ins where it's coming in a little over that at about 111g which really isn't a big deal at all and the Easton claims 120g but I'm curious to see if that goes over too. I'll be ordering both soon so I can put them through the paces and see which I end up liking more! Thanks for the comment, I think that'll make a good video to look into the benefits or drawbacks of either.
For 20+ years I have done what I can to sell a comfortable saddle to any rider I meet* with those squishy seat caps. 89% (or better) success rate. *in the context of work, mostly - but sometimes you chat with riders in the wild and get asked for support😊
If you want better comfort in the saddle, spend a few extra dollars and get six hour or greater rated chamois pants or bibs. It makes a bigger difference in ride comfort than any thing you get in terms of seat or saddle. Every cycling short should have a chamois hour guide in the description.
Definitely agree there, I'm working on a part 2 for this video that is the best things you can spend your money on for your bike and that will be something I touch on.
OTOH, if you do have a saddle that fits you, riding with regular pants and underwear _will_ be fairly comfortable, too. With my Specialized Power saddle, I can ride for hours without padded shorts, though if I go out on a fast ride, I'd still prefer padded shorts for extra comfort.
I have on my road bike the oversized derailleur wheel from my competition days but know that bike sits on a trainer and does nothing for zwift riding🤣🤣 but looks cool.
No one at any level needs any of this crap. No pro elite racer is winning because of any of this crap. UA-camrs from Fastfitnesscoach to Hambini bust all of the watt gain bullshit these companies spew. FFC showed at best a gain of up to a watt per 1k spent on Ceramicspeeds catalogue of bullshit. Hambini goes into the reality of the whole ceramic bearing bullshit. At every level every day its the rider not the bike when the bike is capable and appropriate for the riding being done. If you want to see actual improvement in your riding hire a cycling coach, trainer and a nutrtionist. But yeah, thats actual work. Hard work. Or, take a vacation and do a training camp with professional coaches and improve your riding skills. Most of this stuff looks cool so if you get it cheap maybe buy it. If you really need the OS pulley style buy cheap ones because those CS gains are bullshit in the real worl with real dirt and water. Me? I ride 26r mountain bikes. Im the limiting factor not any quality trail bike in good working order I could throw a leg over. Spend money your bike for regular maintenance and repairs. Our groups laugh at people who pull up with this ridiculous crap on their bikes expecting to impress us.😂
I'm waiting for a buddy of mine to come chime in here because he's all about them lol I'm with you I think they're so dumb and no one really NEEDS them. I really want to do a test myself of putting one on my 10 year old Tarmac and watch it be exactly the same as without. So if anyone wants to send me one I'll take that cause I'm not paying for one lol
I agree in everything you say and yes it's a waste of money but let me just say that your group is different from another group. There's a group such as yours that enjoy simply things that works great. Then there's a group that enjoy the newest and greatest fancy waste of money marketing BS from media. To me its the poison from both friends/groups and media marketing that creates these purchases "justified" in their own world.
You keep pumping out the best UA-cam videos! Now I'm a total fan of your channel! BTW, I thought I'd been wrong when I heard you say "Ray-fah" in your previous video. I started saying like you did, and then people were like "What?" 🤣
Being that I'm a mountain biker I love x1. No idea if there are performance improvements from a roady perspective, but the ease of use for me is a hugey. All I have is one trigger to think about gearwise, i love it! If i ever (god forbid) buy/build a road bike it will have x1 for sure.
@@bebopman5 I think this one falls hard in the personal preference area. Like I probably wouldn't do a 1x on a road bike but hey some people love it so ride what you love!
@@iffy_too4289 You need a big ring for high speed and a small chainring for climbing hills on a road bike. For off road MTB, Gravel and Cyclocross. You can get away with 1x since you are mostly riding on low gearing anyway. For road you’ll just end up spinning out a smaller 1x chainring without going any faster. Then if you choose a big 1x chainring. You’ll just end up suffering to pedal the cranks at high resistance when climbing up hills.
I don't think more padding on your saddle is gonna help you much in terms of comfort, most of the comfort is from the chamois inside of the shorts. For saddles I would look more toward shape and less toward padding.
nope, just headset bearings. 500 bucks for headset bearings. The one thing I haven't changed on my bike was the headset bearings because, theres no point. the ones in there are still functioning properly so I'm staying with those until they die or I get a new bike.
The Bill Austin, CEO of Schwinn left the bicycle industry for a while and was CEO of a housewares company because of a non competitive agreement. He then started "Giant" brand in the US partnering with Giant in Taiwan.
A stem is a short, rigid tube with a clamp at each end so about as simple as it gets mechanically. No-one should be expecting any performance difference or paying more than a trivial amount of money for one regardless of what it's made of. Also, I've put a carbon fibre seatpost, saddle, integrated stem/handlebar, pedals and even QRs on my bike - all cheap af, all from AliExpress and have never had even a hint of a problem with any of them.
I ride alone and people in my immediate circle are not into cycling. Consequently, there is no peer pressure or competition to attain the newest cycling trinkets. It makes for a more pleasant experience.
I have been riding mountain bikes at a high level for 30+ years. And here is the simple truth! the most important purchase factor is reliability, meaning it takes a licking but keeps on ticking. For me that is Shimano SLX or XT. Unless you are a racer XTR is a waste of money. Electronic shifting? I am trying to escape technology not have more of it on my bike! I am not a Sram user but i am sure the same rule applies.
Anyone paying $600+ for a ceramic speed oversized pulley wheel is incredibly stupid. 🤦🏻♀️
I purchased a BMC Timemachine. A low weight carbon fibre rocket. Then I drink 5 beers after a ride and put on more bloated weight in beer carbs than any weight saving I made with the bike. Losing a few inches on my beer belly is the best upgrade I could ever choose.
BINGO! You can save a lot of money on road bikes by rejecting being a weight weenie. I have never, ever seen anyone lose a bike race because of the weight of their bike. 😊
In the past I’ve showed up at some local races on a 20 year old Cannondale just to mess with my opponents heads. LOL
@@Mottleydude1 I use to race with a dude from Uganda named Ivan Mukasa. Funniest mf'r on our team and just an absolute beast. I swear you could have given that guy a single speed that Major Taylor raced with and he still would have beaten guys on pro level bikes. I truly believe he was destined for amazing things but sadly passed away just after we graduated high school. I think about him often and really wish he was still around to ride with.
Yes, but the day you decide to cut your bodyweight, the bike will still be there and weigh the same, giving you even more advantage. If you can afford it, a good bike is not a bad investment.
So true. As a data person I get caught up sometimes with weight savings but then realize I gained 25 pounds of weight so what is a few grams saving lol
I see so much ridiculousness on the trails every week. I have to try and keep my mouth shut but its starting to get to the point where our rides are being hindered and they are obviosly more interested in whats on the bike over actually riding. For example, most of my mates are clydes like me (190cm/108kg) who could lose 10-12kg pretty easily, yet they rock up every week with new carbon derailleur cages, superlight cassettes of ebay which implode, carbon pulley wheels, Ti stem bolts and carbon stem/post/bar, preload cap removed, three rotor bolts removed, Ashima superlight rotors, 3c maxxgrip 120tpi paper tyres on a 160mm dually and more. I'm the only one that can get through a single ride without three flats and a broken mech cage.
yeah it really gets out of hand quick. and I'm totally for people customizing bikes and doing whatever the hell they want to it but you should probably at least have a purpose or reason behind it other than "well this is hot tech". A lot of higher end stuff can require such special care to properly maintain it that you run in to situations like what you're describing because the general rider doesn't have the tools or expertise to keep it functioning correctly.
Just ride.... New doesn't mean faster. 😊
Used to race with downtube index shifter against a field of new stuff, and always thought ,if I can't win with this, then I can't win!😊😊 and I won alot!!!😊😊
I'm trying to buy back my old Fuji with down tube shifters from the friend I sold it to lol man I miss that bike
@dobbscycleworks I was at a guys house and he had a TELADYNE TITAN BIKE ¡!!!
That's not totally true. I ride both di2 and downtube. If 2 riders are equally good,the one with downtube shifters will for sure lose out. Just think about sudden attacks and having to shift or having to shift while riding out of the saddle.
@@jeremyemilio9378 well you were lucky you didn't race with me!!!!
@@arthurmchugh5184 face it and stop being delusional and lying to yourself. I've ridden dowtube index, downtube friction, modern mechanical,and di2 and any half decent cyclist worth their salt would know that modern shifting fares far better than downtube shifting. Put 2 equally good cyclist,one on di2 and one on dowtube shifting, the one who's good the di2 will outride the other.
Oooh, upsetting the Rapha apple cart 😮❤ These people spend a lot of money to advertise that brand 🤭
Then they can afford to pay their garment workers more.
I got padded seat covers and i found them useful, as saddle protection/dust cover while storing my bikes 😅
Unless my frame breaks, I'm buying nothing except chains and tires for the next 5 years. If manufacturers want my money they need to work for it, those greedy bastards.
No new bearings? 😬
In the same vein as the expensive pulley bearings and wheels . I also include the very pricey brands of seatposts, stems, bottom brackets, and headsets. (thompson, chris king, etc). Not only will you not know the difference, the basic std quality ones will last as long, if not longer.
I did buy a pair of ( They said was Shimano.) SPD-SL cleats from Temu when the supply chain was low. Still using them today.
Some will be "grey market" unbranded factory seconds or _smuggled out_ finished product (please consider that as criminal activity) but there's no shortage of substandard copies of established designs.
carbon bottle cages have to be up there.... negligible weight savings, inferior material for the job, for just 3-4x the price
I honestly regret buying mine. I ended up getting some of the plastic version of the exact same cages and they look better and weigh basically the same.
Saw a bunch of Ceramic Sheet pulleys on the 2nd hand market these last months... makes me laugh every time. I'll be honest... I've been lurking for years at a certain handlebar, it would look awesome on my bike, but i've been holding strong!
I use the saddle padding when I commute to work. Haven’t been able to find a good saddle.
Used padded seat covers on different bikes for several years. They work great.
I wore my first gel seat pad one out. The seat looked new underneath. I have been happy with the second one. There is a reason there is padding in many bike shorts.
I can't be bothered with all this derailleur decorating buffoonery cause I got speaker cables to buy with that 2 grand that look like a deal in contrast. For that kinda money I would expect these oversized pulleys to convert Transformers style into a crack pipe.
The use “bufoonery” in a sentence makes me happy.
I’m a metal frame, frame pump having dinosaur. I warned him not to “upgrade” to carbon bars. But he didn’t listen to daddy. He dumps it hard, breaks the bars and started walking.
Anything carbon or aero is typically bs or only benefits pro cyclists.
I don't know, i recently brought a Trek Emonda, and I can ride hills much better than I did on my Allez ( I really miss my Allez)
@@willisix2554 Probably has to do with the frame geometry or bike fit. You should check what has changed of those two.
@@QoraxAudio It's definitely the Geometry, when I first sat on the Emonda I noticed that it was not nearly as Aggressive as my Allez
Ceramic Speed Oversized pulley wheels. Biggest waste of money in history.
and like I get the science of it having less friction in the system but honestly for most of us it's not really going to make any sort of impact other than having to explain to your significant other why you just spent $2000 on something so small lol
They look good , And I'd like to have it but I'm definitely not spending that much money
@@willisix2554 for sure, like if someone gave me one then sure I'd put it on my bike. But I'm not spending my own money on one lol
I feel that way.. but my tri bike has one cause the previous owner put it on there and I got a STEAL on that bike lol
Is that aluminum Easton stem lower weight then the well known and much cheaper UNO stem (105 grams in 100mm)?
I'm very very curious about those and definitely want to pick one up to test out. The Easton would be a little more expensive, about $30-40 from most of what I'm seeing and about 8-10 grams heavier for a 100mm. The claimed weight is low for the UNO but I'm seeing some real life weigh ins where it's coming in a little over that at about 111g which really isn't a big deal at all and the Easton claims 120g but I'm curious to see if that goes over too. I'll be ordering both soon so I can put them through the paces and see which I end up liking more! Thanks for the comment, I think that'll make a good video to look into the benefits or drawbacks of either.
Darn ENVE carbon stem, what a waste. Regret 😒
For 20+ years I have done what I can to sell a comfortable saddle to any rider I meet* with those squishy seat caps. 89% (or better) success rate.
*in the context of work, mostly - but sometimes you chat with riders in the wild and get asked for support😊
Carbon cassettes fall into the same category as the carbon chainrings.
Actually paddle seat cover is good for riding in cold winter, it protect warmth of a butt
i meet a person who made a bike with ton carbon include chainring. it only 4.7kilo weight. and he never ride it
If you want better comfort in the saddle, spend a few extra dollars and get six hour or greater rated chamois pants or bibs. It makes a bigger difference in ride comfort than any thing you get in terms of seat or saddle. Every cycling short should have a chamois hour guide in the description.
Definitely agree there, I'm working on a part 2 for this video that is the best things you can spend your money on for your bike and that will be something I touch on.
OTOH, if you do have a saddle that fits you, riding with regular pants and underwear _will_ be fairly comfortable, too. With my Specialized Power saddle, I can ride for hours without padded shorts, though if I go out on a fast ride, I'd still prefer padded shorts for extra comfort.
chamois 'hour guide' rating?? sounds like you drank the koolaid.
Also, don't forget the "aero" front derailieur guard is a definite must have. At around $100 you can save 2 to 5.8 watts
just imagine what I could do with all that extra savings!!!
@@dobbscycleworks Also, the "hip factor" when you show up on a ride, is worth the price alone.
@@tomruth9487 "Hip Factor" saves 15 watts lol
😋@@dobbscycleworks
The only place i would think a carbon chainring make sense is a hillclimb championship
I have on my road bike the oversized derailleur wheel from my competition days but know that bike sits on a trainer and does nothing for zwift riding🤣🤣 but looks cool.
Buy NTN bearings. Enjoy the benefits at a fraction the cost
I ment cad8 and wheels and tyres
Carbon everything is a thing that is too expensive because lightweight alloy can be as light as that, is more robust and cheaper.
I love overtaking people with all pointless upgrade on there bike when I ride acadd8 with Batter shills and just laugh
No one at any level needs any of this crap. No pro elite racer is winning because of any of this crap.
UA-camrs from Fastfitnesscoach to Hambini bust all of the watt gain bullshit these companies spew.
FFC showed at best a gain of up to a watt per 1k spent on Ceramicspeeds catalogue of bullshit.
Hambini goes into the reality of the whole ceramic bearing bullshit.
At every level every day its the rider not the bike when the bike is capable and appropriate for the riding being done.
If you want to see actual improvement in your riding hire a cycling coach, trainer and a nutrtionist. But yeah, thats actual work. Hard work.
Or, take a vacation and do a training camp with professional coaches and improve your riding skills.
Most of this stuff looks cool so if you get it cheap maybe buy it. If you really need the OS pulley style buy cheap ones because those CS gains are bullshit in the real worl with real dirt and water.
Me? I ride 26r mountain bikes. Im the limiting factor not any quality trail bike in good working order I could throw a leg over.
Spend money your bike for regular maintenance and repairs. Our groups laugh at people who pull up with this ridiculous crap on their bikes expecting to impress us.😂
I'm waiting for a buddy of mine to come chime in here because he's all about them lol I'm with you I think they're so dumb and no one really NEEDS them. I really want to do a test myself of putting one on my 10 year old Tarmac and watch it be exactly the same as without. So if anyone wants to send me one I'll take that cause I'm not paying for one lol
I agree in everything you say and yes it's a waste of money but let me just say that your group is different from another group. There's a group such as yours that enjoy simply things that works great. Then there's a group that enjoy the newest and greatest fancy waste of money marketing BS from media.
To me its the poison from both friends/groups and media marketing that creates these purchases "justified" in their own world.
You keep pumping out the best UA-cam videos! Now I'm a total fan of your channel! BTW, I thought I'd been wrong when I heard you say "Ray-fah" in your previous video. I started saying like you did, and then people were like "What?" 🤣
lol thanks for the support! yeah and of course it would be the first video of mine to get a lot of attention haha oh well
Swapping nuts and bolts out for titanium.
oh yeah that's a good one
Well, if you invest in the copper paste and use it effectively, sure....
The dumbest so-called upgrade for a road bike is changing to a 1X drive train.
yeah hard pass. 2x works just fine for me.
Being that I'm a mountain biker I love x1. No idea if there are performance improvements from a roady perspective, but the ease of use for me is a hugey. All I have is one trigger to think about gearwise, i love it! If i ever (god forbid) buy/build a road bike it will have x1 for sure.
I’ve had 0 problems on my 1x drivetrains. Then, again, it wasn’t an upgrade, more so, I just built it up that way. I just despise setting up FDs.
@@bebopman5 I think this one falls hard in the personal preference area. Like I probably wouldn't do a 1x on a road bike but hey some people love it so ride what you love!
@@iffy_too4289 You need a big ring for high speed and a small chainring for climbing hills on a road bike.
For off road MTB, Gravel and Cyclocross. You can get away with 1x since you are mostly riding on low gearing anyway.
For road you’ll just end up spinning out a smaller 1x chainring without going any faster. Then if you choose a big 1x chainring. You’ll just end up suffering to pedal the cranks at high resistance when climbing up hills.
what about the innovativ "classified cycling" transmission ?
oh god I forgot all about that thing! lol
What about carbon underwear?
YEP i 🤔 you've hit the nail on the head with the dumbest so called bike upgrades
If it makes you happy then that is a point.
You can lose more than 10 grams by getting a haircut.
And don't listen to the pronunciation police, say it how ever the hell you want!!!
there are carbon chain rings that just have bonded alloy teeth, just like shimano does
I enjoyed that.Straight forward and no bollocks. Subscribed. 👍
Yes a bottle of water is 1kg.
Sign me up for a shirt!
BS gadgets that fill your addiction while draining your budget
But then what in the supply chain does not include Chinese labour?
I bought that aero derailer cover thinking it was for my penis while riding. Worked ok I guess. I’ll send it back, appreciate you!
You totally have to post an anonymous pic of this on social media and tag the company in....🫢😆❤
number 6: box of kleenex beside computer???
Carbon chaintings.... waste of money.... invest it on something else..never carbon things.
I don't think more padding on your saddle is gonna help you much in terms of comfort, most of the comfort is from the chamois inside of the shorts. For saddles I would look more toward shape and less toward padding.
Question? Is that one of those $1000.00 subscription rings that monitor all your movements? Must be a nice upgrade.
nope, just headset bearings. 500 bucks for headset bearings. The one thing I haven't changed on my bike was the headset bearings because, theres no point. the ones in there are still functioning properly so I'm staying with those until they die or I get a new bike.
The Bill Austin, CEO of Schwinn left the bicycle industry for a while and was CEO of a housewares company because of a non competitive agreement. He then started "Giant" brand in the US partnering with Giant in Taiwan.
A stem is a short, rigid tube with a clamp at each end so about as simple as it gets mechanically. No-one should be expecting any performance difference or paying more than a trivial amount of money for one regardless of what it's made of. Also, I've put a carbon fibre seatpost, saddle, integrated stem/handlebar, pedals and even QRs on my bike - all cheap af, all from AliExpress and have never had even a hint of a problem with any of them.
the dumbest upgrade ever put on a bike was Lance Armstrong