I've never wasted a cent on cycling. I've wasted money on cars, lavish holidays, gone over the top with the kid's Christmas presents, but every cent spent on my bikes has been money well spent because it keeps me fit and happy. I've recently bought a new Specialized Roubaix, and I'm loving it. Loving the bike motivates me to cycle, and that can only be a good thing.
I like Adam Savage's guide to buying tools. Buy the (second) cheapest version of a tool you can find. If the crappy quality irks you, and you use it frequently then buy the best one you can afford. You never really know how much you're gonna use a tool until you have it, but spending the big bucks right away is a huge waste most of the time.
I went tubeless on all my bikes without having to use tubeless ready wheels. Just used the original wheels and sealed it with Gorilla tape and muc off sealant and haven't had any issues in the last 4 years
Based on 40 years of using tools I completely disagree. Soooo many times I've had to rescue jobs that people have started with cheap tools. Generally, buy the second dearest.
Buying my wife a bike is my biggest waste. It was just a little path/hybrid bike. She didn’t want it because it was “too fast”. That’s when I knew we would never ride together.
I’ve thought about doing this from the very first time I rode a “proper” bike. I loved it instantly and thought everyone must too. My wife wasn’t very interested, but I keep thinking, maybe if she rides a nice, light, comfortable bike it’ll stick. But I don’t think it will.
Hi GCN. I live in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada, In 1990 my father, who had ALS, was at the hospital to get fitted for an ankle brace. He tripped and fell against the corner of a counter, breaking his upper arm. None of the staff would touch him, instead they called for an ambulance. The ambulance left the emergency entrance of the same hospital, drove to the front entrance, brought in the stretcher, loaded him on it, put him in the ambulance and drove to the emergency entrance. They then sent a bill for the ambulance ride. This was when ambulance services were still private in the province. This service was owned by the hospital he was in.
Getting hit by an ambulance and then being charged by said ambulance is the most American thing ever. Someone please save me this place is a nightmare.
It sounds mad, but the ambulance drivers don’t get to decide who to charge. The company does, and the billing for the ambulance ride is a separate issue from the liability associated with hitting the cyclist.
@@fallbrightt9223 Not when the accident is someone else's fault. Not in the US. Usually you can get a LOT of money for things like Pain and Suffering that far outweigh the cost of your dollar value and any decent lawyer will pick up the cost from those monies. Not to mention the fact that a EMT driver is supposed to be trained not to hit civilians so they have a lot to loose in that case. If lawsuits were so expensive, then why do you think there are so many commercials for law companies on TV and streaming and on billboards. Yes, they make a lot of money, but they have to provide a service that people who are down and out can afford. Corp law is expensive... that is different.
@@litespud You may be right, but I am sure if the billing department talked to the liability department and they got together on this and decided to waive the billing fees, their total costs might end up being a little lower because they might not piss people off so much. Either the rider or the people on the jury.
Regarding expensive purchases, I think the crucial thing is being honest with yourself as to why you’re buying it. Don’t try and justify buying Dura-Ace or an oversized pulley wheel for performance gains as a medium-ability amateur, but if you have the means and it really makes you happy every time you ride your bike, then that’s a completely different matter.
I can see the appeal of getting away from traffic, especially in countries with aggressive anti-cyclist sentiment, but here in Japan a) everything has been paved or concreted anyway and b) gravel is so slippy and slidey and sucks away so much of your power.
So sorry to hear that. It's my favorite. I'm thinking about buying a road bike, but I'm afraid that I won't like Road cycling (I use my gravel bike for commuting and long touring, so I mean that fast, performative cycljng with a crew).
Biggest waste of money is not buying quality cycling clothing. I bought crap off Amazon when I started cycling, but after buying my first pair of quality (and expensive) bib shorts I knew it was money well spent.
The handlebar illumination hack is genius! When I regularly cycled at night I was only focused on making myself visible at all. These days when I encounter cyclists at night on the road while driving, my biggest challenge is figuring out exactly where they are on the road so I can give them the right amount of space. Shining a light on where their wheels meet the road makes this process way easier. Next time I ride at night I'm trying this too!
The trick with commuter bikes is to build them yourself from old parts (memories), they run well and don't look nice anymore (thieves)..... I love them just as much as my "beautiful" bikes....❤😊 I don't have a trick for fenders, except for one very practical reason, my ass stays dry....😊
I think my biggest waste is the gear - I'm closing on many dozens of shorts, pants, jerseys, gloves, socks, t-shirts and everything in between and all I actually wear is the same thing again and again because I like it the most.
I bought a ton of kit to be able to fully load a 8kg washing machine. So I spend probably somewhere around 1000€ if not more on kit to save about 10cents on water and 15 cents on electricity when I wash my cycling gear compared to a half load. I kind of wondering if the math is mathing ;-). A bit in my favour is that gear wears out over time and I would have to buy most of the stuff at some point anyway. I still own my first cycling shirt from Aldi though, the shirt is totally stretched out but it still works. Shirts tend to wear much slower in my opinion. It tried to spend the money somewhat reasonably; I splurged on pants and saved on shirts since my behind is way more sensitive.
Thanks for covering the subject of wasted money (or expensive bargains). I’m 69, and have “been there/done that” many times. Some examples: 3 sets of 1999 Morati one piece, titanium MTB bar stem combos, 3 different lengths, over $400 each. Broke one in a crash on a training ride, never raced any of them. 1997 Paul “Sweet Wings”, 2 piece, hollow chrome molybdenum steel, hydro-formed, welded crankset and bespoke BB. At the time, the lightest and stiffest cranks on the planet, $799, broken after 6 months while bunny-hopping off a curb in Dallas, Texas. This one is different, because it didn’t break, it was (partially) purchased at a reduced price, and I still enjoy it over 25 years later: 1998 Basso Gap, steel-framed sprint framset (French threaded BB, $425), with full Dura Ace 7700 groupset ($1,298, plus $400 for Wheelsmith built Mavic “Open Pro” rims laced onto my Dura Ace hubs), 3ttt stem, Cinenlli bar, Selle Italia Ti saddle (more $$$), and a set of Mavic Cosmic Elite 20-spoke aero wheels ($800). It has at least 20K miles on it, is still beautiful in its original “Td’F Maillot Jaune” yellow, weighs only 20.5lbs (9.3kg), and is still very fast. Moving from Dallas (very flat terrain) to the montains of west Texas (and aging from my 40’s into my 60’s) required a switch to XTR cassettes and rear derailleur, but it is otherwise a time capsule. Sadly, it will only accept tires up to 23mm: otherwise it would still be my primary road bike. These days, I let other people buy the expensive stuff, then buy it second hand a few years later for pennies on the dollar/pound/euro. Doing it this allows me to have a fleet of bikes 😮😊
for most of us, a super aero, high performance bike is a waste of money. Let's face it, most of us aren't racing, we ride with people that aren't dropping us, we aren't flexible to get ourselves into an aero position, etc. And do you really need to save 50g on that component if you have a few extra pounds around your waist? Put your upgrade money into things that will make you more comfortable, and you will go faster. I'm a small guy, so for me that was narrower bars, short crankset, a new saddle, and big wide tires.
My biggest waste was buying a bottom bracket facing and tapping tool. I purchased a “Cyclus” BSA tool from Germany, because it was cheaper than UK, but after paying import duty it was about £60 dearer. It took 3 weeks to arrive. So one last squeaky ride before tapping, facing and fitting a new bb. It just so happened I cleaned my £350 Lake cycle shoes with leather soap the night before. Yep you guessed it no more squeaking!!!!! It was the horrible Lake shoes all along. So that’s the best part of £1,000 down the drain. 😢
That's goofy. Facing rarely needs to be done and if you use square taper its useless. Tapping, if you can screw it in by hand it doesn't need it, rare a bike needs it nowadays.
I wish Sir Mark a happy retirement. He deserves it. Unfortunately he’ll probably see Tadej Pogacar beat his TdF stage record in the next 10 years, but there’s nothing he can do about that.
Tadej has to stay healthy; part of Cav's greatness (and luck) is that he was able to stay at the top level so long. I remember when Tiger Woods seemed like a lock to break Nicklaus's record for most wins in the major golf tournaments. But bad luck and bad choices doomed that -- and cycling is a more dangerous sport that golf.
When commuting from Harlow to north London 15 years ago, I attached a 200 lumen flashing light to my right hand drop bar. The light would flash very fast 3 times at one second intervals and was pointed a metre to my right on the tarmac. Initially done to increase visibility, but soon realised that drivers would not encroach on the pool of light. Been telling people this for years, so very nice to see it mentioned here.
The biggest waste of money for me over the years was purchasing components that were inappropriate for me (female cyclist here) too wide handlebars, too long cranks, close ratio cassettes etc etc. Things admittedly are slightly better now but only marginally. When will the cycling industry start selling bikes that aren't just imitation pro bikes.
I don’t want one-piece handlebars. I change the stem throughout the year as my fitness changes, and/or my goals change, ie narrow, long & low for aero; or wider & more upright for touring or off-road.
I'm not sure if this counts as wasting money on cycling stuff. I bought some new forks for my hardtail mountain bike. I didn't have a crown race seating tool. So I bought one. Then I bought one. Only to find out it didn't work on the 1.5" crown race on the tapered steerer. So I bought a crown race seating tool that did work with the tapered steerer. I couldn't get the crown race off the original forks. So I bought a headset that has a split design crown race. So I didn't need it after all. The first crown race tool. Will work with my road bike and hybrid. Except I don't use my road bike due the god awful rim brakes. I am also not likely to use it on my hybrid. As that bike has a Chris King headset. Which has worked perfectly since it was fitted over 10 years ago. My full suspencion bike, could fall in both useful as a ride it allthe time. But I also bought it for the custon paint job. With does nothing except make easier to find when there are alot more Orbea Rallons by mine. As I am the only person I know with an Orbea Rallon. The having a pink and green paint job does nothing to help me jump it. Skills lessons would.
My biggest waste of money was some front forks that I had hand built. This was about 30 years ago I had a second hand Eddy Merckx, which was a beautiful bike, but it had aluminium forks which I didn't like. So I had some custom forks hand made, and they were beautiful. So initially these forks weren't a waste of money because not only did they look good but also the ride handling was just as good as you would expect from an Eddy Merckx. But then I went wide on a corner, and ended up on some gravel which my 20mm tires didn't really grip that well, and I ended up head on into a stone wall. The impact bend the brand new forks back so much that my front wheel overlapped with the down tube and I couldn't point the front wheel forwards. So I had to use force to bend my new forks back so that I could actually ride home. Then I had to go back to the same frame builder to ask him to swap out the knackered forks that he had crafted beautifully and put on the old aluminium ones. Before I destroyed them these new forks were absolutely beautiful and worth every penny, but after my encounter with a stone wall at speed, they were a waste of money.
Dan was hilarious this week! The comment about Si's face illuminated by his cycling lights, and teasing him about thinking cars would avoid him was pure comedy gold.
My biggest waste was actually not a waste of my parents' money. In '71 I really, really wanted a Schwinn Krate, any color, but when I rode another kid's Krate, I didn't like its bouncyness and I was happy to ride the wheels off my basic String-Ray for another four years. 😀
If you have the passion and the money, I say go for it! But also, don't look down on others who can't afford the top of the line gear...especially if you're new to the sport! Just because you ride Dura Ace doesn't make you fast!
New cycling jerseys: if you sign up for events and/or cycling holidays you often get a jersey with them, and most cycling jerseys last several years (my oldest ones that get regular use are 8-9 years old).
Not surprised by Dan's take regarding frugality. I was inspired by him to make my own chain whip and it's served me wonderfully the 2 times I've used it over the last 4 years.
RE: wastes of money, I once bought a 3-bag pannier pack for bikepacking the C2C. By the time I got to Keswick, the zip holding the top bag broke and I had to bodge together a strap out of old bungee cords just to hold it together long enough to cancel the ride altogether when storm conditions blew in and made it too dangerous to go on, regardless of how secure the bungees were
Biggest waste: paying $1200+ to transport my $2500 bike back to Australia from Copenhagen after a euro tour. It flew with me to Europe as checked-luggage at no extra cost. But my route back was more logistically challenging. I thought it was costing $700 but that got out of control once on the docks in Australia. All sorts of handling and release fees. I almost had the bike back when quarantine found a dead bug in the shared container so then I had to pay for fumigation as well, despite having cleaned my bike meticulously before shipping .And the whole process took three months! It would have been cheaper to FedEx it, and it would have got home before me. Never again. I do love that bike though. We've had great times.
Paying the increasing prices for races (that I just Ride, not race) on roads that I could ride for free before or after the event seems like a waste yet I still do it.
Waste of money: Two bike chains I bought on Amazon that were being sold at a great price. Figured I'd burn through them eventually so I bought two of them. Both chains turned out to be counterfeit Shimano chains. No-brand cycling shorts on Amazon - good for 10 miles but after that the chaffing was so bad, I was bleeding. The way the pad was sewn in left the edge of the fabric cutting into my legs. Back to Pearl Izumi shorts and never tried to save $ on cheap shorts ever since.
For some (or many?), it may seem a waste of money: replacing all possibble steel screws by titanium screws, and now (at least with the M6 ones) replacing them by hollow-drilled M6 screws (stem/steerer clamping and the clip-on tt bar), including brake bolts (on single-pivot Campagnolo Veloce Skeleton, to shape of 3grams and come close to 100gr per brake). Another waste of money: buying lightweight parts ( in my case tires and a TT base bar), and now being to afraid of using them: a TT base bar from Aliexpress (should I really trust a 40 € Carbon fibre bar?). The tires (4) are discontinued Tufo Calibra lite (23mm/150gr), as I already made a bad experience with a 23mm Tufo Calibra Plus (180gr), it went flat by a tiny litlle piece of glass which wouldn't have had the slightest chance to flatten a 23mm Conti 4000 (the 5000 was not released at that point of time).
Wasted money is usually on trying a different branded kit because it it in the sale. Love the fit of Castelli shorts for example. Tried Assos on a mate's suggestion after they had a sale and hated the fit - but he loves em. Moral - if you find a kit that fits, stick with it
Biggest waste of money for me was an "all the bells and whistles" Tacx Neo 2T trainer that projects the lights for your zones on the floor and vibrates to provide road feel feedback. I found those features more distracting than enjoyable at the end of the day and ended up selling it to buy two Elite trainers in its place. All they've done for the past three years is provide a straightforward training experience for me in both my homes going back and forth between continents. There's a pleasure in knowing you have what you really need, but not more
Hopefully the customer service at Orro improves with the new owners. Sadly the reason I have only one Orro bike is the lack of communication and support on small items.
Biggest waste of money was buying a rowing machine last fall. It was a 2 month wait until delivery and in that time I started watching GCN and heard about this thing called Zwift. So I got an indoor trainer, connected my bike, and had absolutely no desire to use the rower once it arrived. It sat around for a year until I sold it last week.
Si, Pinarello '82, on a turbo trainer. A gift from my, since passed, father in law. Columbus and the works. Was updated in 2000 with the Campagnolo Veloce 2x9 speed gear ;D Not sure about its safety on the road anymore ;D
Biggest waste of money: Inappropriate tyres. I bought some GP 4 seasons for commuting, had loads of punctures, so went to marathon plus's, which worked wonderfully but felt horrible. Put some gravel tyres on to try and deal with wet leaves better in autumn, had 2 rides on them, got 3 punctures, which was particularly spectacular, so put the marathons back on. Basically, buy the right tools for the job.
In the late 80's as a 15yr old I saved up and bought a pair of latex inner tubes, because they must be better in some way... I put them on my road bike and cycled the same poor pavements, tracks and roads for about 15 minutes before a puncture came. I spent more time fixing punctures than riding with them😂.
Bought a used bike complete for $875, and the only thing that's original now is the frame, fork, headset, brake calipers, and seat mast topper. I didn't end up spending too much on the drivetrain and cockpit and wheelset upgrades, but none of the stuff I removed is really worth much on the used market. It feels a bit wasteful in that sense, but the frameset alone would have been at least $500 so $875 for the whole bike seemed more attractive at the time of original purchase.
For me, biggest waste was not studying enough about my bike and buying wrong parts. The best spending I did was buying low end but legit Shimano parts for daily commute. It is cheap, but it works reliably on my daily travels. I don't use it for flying around ramps and technical trails. but for 3 years my 30USD groupset and 40USD MT-200 never failed me.
@5:38 I completely agree. I've made so many "cheap" purchases to "save" money. Just to replace the item or get the better brand in the end. That's where the saying goes "Buy it nice or buy it Twice". Cheers!
Surely I can't be the only one giggling like a schoolboy at the bondage tape hack/bodge, especially the kinky change in sound effects. 😂😂 I believe it is similar to plumber's tape which is a silicone self-amalgamating tape. Also, the theme could have continued in to the next hack/bodge because the word "cockpit" was a 17th century nickname for the vagina.
In the USA, the proper side to shine the "pothole" light is the left side. This could be a great topic for Dr. Olie and Alex to explore. Think of the possibilities: How many lumens are effective? How far to the traffic side of the bike is optimal? How to effectively mount the light without obstructing view, etc.
I agree with trying to save money by buyng a cheaper option. I bought legwarmers to wear under bib-shorts, thought it would be a good way of keeping warm in the winter. Nope. I couldn't get on with them at all - they looked awful and wouldn't stay up! I ended up buying some full length bib-tights. If only I'd spent the money on them in the first place! As my son says, "buy it cheap; buy it twice!"
I got some leg warmers from Decathlon. They fit well, but were too warm - guess I just run hot. But in fairness to Decathlon, the fit and quality for the price was excellent.
The trick is to wear them under the bib shorts - then the shorts keep them up. If you wore them under and they slid anyways - it's more your bib shorts to blame, than the warmers themselves. If you wore them over the bibs - unfortunately, you did it wrong, and yes, it will look terrible. But that's not the way they're designed to work :)
I wore them under of course. They rolled down before I could even get the shorts on - one of the perils of being female and, ahem, slightly on the large side, but short too, and having super-dry skin that the silicon doesn’t stick to!. And I couldn’t get things straight under the shorts either. I should’ve known really, everything rolls like this. That’s one of the reasons I wear bibs, rather than waist shorts, so the waist doesn’t roll down, so they’re more comfortable. 😳😳😳
@@Katcycle the bibs are always the way to go - even on skinnier cyclists the waist shorts dig into skin, and pads stick out. What's important is to keep cycling ;-)
@@dtsybulskyi That’s for sure! One thing I’ve learnt about kit, is that I’m better off buying one quality item and looking after it so it lasts , than buying several cheap versions that simply don’t perform well. That’s the key for me, and keeps me cycling.
Waste of money - a mid range pair of carbon wheels. Freehub let go 40km into All Points North, I was riding as a pair with my partner, who then carried on on her own. It rained most of the race. Then, a 1000km Audax in the Scottish borders, again supposed to ride with my partner, she carried on. Then in TPR a front spoke broke descending the Col du Tormalet, with 24 hours still to ride. I made the wheel as good as I could with the remaining 27 spokes, but it made the rest of the ride terrifying, especially the 40kmph aero bar run in to the finish.
Biggest waste: GoFundMe attachment to rear wheel to drive power for lights, phone. It's a waste because it's still in the box years later. Also a waste: those 21mm tires I bought on closeout, but not planning to use. Net: if it's just taking up space in the garage, it was a waste.
On the 15th of October Decathlon wrote a nice post celebrating Ben O’connors time at the team, and wishing him well in the future. Still waiting for Quickstep release on Julian Alaphilippe;)
We went from about 15 years ago where bike fit was really getting dialed in for even casual club riders, to an era where now you have to fit to the bike due to these one-piece cockpits. It is f*cking stupid that the bike industry is pushing this crap on often unsuspecting consumers.
It's great to see that Hank will be back! He adds an essential element of the cycling experience - the fun, the crazy willingness to do things that are a bit extreme. I hope the rest of you stop making fun of him, as you've mostly stopped making fun of Ollie, and perhaps he'll stay with GCN and perhaps even start doing more videos again!
Love this episode. My biggest and most expensive mistake was buying a bike online that was not really my size because it was on sale. It was a Pegoretti Fina Estampa, beautiful bike, but it was a size bigger than my size. Big mistake. It was like wearing a shoe that is smaller than your feet. It was uncomfortable. My back hurts, buttocks, legs, arms, neck after every ride. I tried fixing the ride quality by adjusting the handlebar height, saddle height, but the frame was just too big. I ended up selling the bike at a loss after six months. Lesson learned: buy a bike or bike components/accessories that you can afford, fits you perfectly, fits your needs perfectly and you just love to ride or use. In short, it is fun and makes you happy. Don't buy anything that makes you anxious, stressed out, causes pain, and just plain miserable. Cycling is one of the most fun and positively, life transforming, joyous activity known to the human race.
Charging the man that was struck by the ambulance for the ride is like the homeless guy washing your car with “whatever the hell that cloth was” and then demanding money
Any talk of "waste" is a conversation around practicality. In such conversations, we should exclude talk of things that are bought as "jewelry". So for someone who doesn't race, is a DuraAce groupset a waste of money? That depends on why they bought it. Did they buy it because they think it's cool? Then it's not a waste. Did they buy it to be faster? Then it's a waste.
'Cheap' is almost always 'expensive' (later on), but sometimes 'expensive' is outright CR@P, like 'Assos' $120 'Ultraz' winter gloves. I'll never forget that.
I love bike tech and going fast, but my “fast” gets quotes 😊. Biggest waste of money I could imagine for me would be electronic shifting. When I finally replace my 10 year old Ultegra mechanical bike, I’m looking for 105 or GRX mechanical, as they look like the best fit to my budget and cycling aspirations.
There are zippties with metal clips and high strength nylon to even outlast those jubileeclips/hose clips, this as the metal jubileeclips can vibrate lose and rust depending on the quality.
Hello there, greetings from Belgium. I believe the biggest waste of money is all the "connected" equipments. I get rid of all of them. I jusr keep a very simple speedometer counting my km. Doing so you go back to the basics of cycling: enjoying the ride. Stop measuring everything: FTP, Wahoo routes, power meter, sharing you data and routes on Apps, Strava ... stop looking at your screens and enjoy the view :) :)
On the note of integrated bar and stems. Absolutely agree, they are an aftermarket piece after you have dialed in fit. But for myself, I've been healthy and fit for many years, and my bike fit isn't going anywhere, so i can confidently buy from new, and then it becomes cheaper, as I'm not buying multiple bars and stems.
I grew up in Denver, and it's actually one of the best cities in the US to ride a bicycle. And I don't mean that in the sense that it's not as horrible as Atlanta or Houston; it's honestly a great place to ride a bicycle, full stop. It's not that bad for walking, either. If you like to walk.
The "bee in my bonnet" is about extra money spent modifying my bike because I am 5 feet tall. Cranks, handlebars, and extra accessories to make up for the fact that bikes are not made to fit smaller adults. i'm sure it's the same on the other end of the spectrum.
Need to acknowledge the distinction between performance and fit/feel/fun improvements. Electronic shifting - feels great, easier maintenance, don’t care it doesn’t make me faster. Dura Ace weight saving over Ultegra - not bothered.
Best cycling investment was a proper bit fit. Cycling that is uncomfortable is awful. Before you upgrade your equipment I urge you to get properly fitted to your bike
of all the bikes I own, the process was simple . Spend no more than 1200 new, and when something wears out, replace it, if you can, with a better quality part.That meant better tires and rims for my 700 dollar commuter bike, new wheels for my 300 dollar Marinoni racing bike, and better tires for my mountain bike. Don't ever buy more bike than you need. I'm not Jonas Vingegaard, and he doesn't pay for his bike anyway. My race bike is 18.5 pounds, but I will never care if I can't beat the best, even the best for my age. Contentment with what you have is far greater wealth than constantly wishing you had something better. Cycling lowers my blood pressure, helps my immune system, and lowers my heart rate. It helps my mental health and saves me from having to repair and insure 2 cars. That is why I really own bicycles. I don't want or need more, that is reason enough. BTW, that cheap used racing bike is how I Zwift for less.
13:55 mudguards 😂 and a complete bike check 🙈 (≈ 100€). I own a gravel bike (Bergamot Grandurance RD 7) at the time that I bought it in 2018 I the road edition with light (dynamo) and mudguards came with 38” tires. Only 1 or 2 years later they changed the mudguards to allow what was already possible without mudguards - to mount wider tires (≈100€). As I use the bike for everything (I don’t own a car) riding without mudguards was never an option. I also use the bicycle for holidays, meaning bike packing in November because I can’t take my holiday between spring and autumn for work reasons. Which also means fairly heavy luggage because I refuse to sacrifice some comforts, such as clean and dry clothes or a hot midday meal (small 400ml and 500ml thermos). I ordered the new mudguards in January 24, had to wait until June for them to arrive and had to pay about 200€ for them. Could I have bought cheaper mudguards? Definitely! Would they have looked as good and been as sturdy? Probably not. At the same time I got my bicycle fully checked for the tour this November, only to find out that the derailleur or something else wasn’t tuned properly because 4 consecutive gears above the smallest were slipping through and making a lot of noise when riding up the Brocken (1.141 m, Harz, Germany) in August. Which meant that I had to ride all the way up (Wernigerode, Drei Annen Hohne, Schierke, Brockenstraße) in the smallest gear 😣😭 I had to divert to a different bike repair shop because my regular one had no free slots before my holiday started. But instead of checking for the problem they exchanged the chain and cassette (≈150€). When I road the bicycle from Geneva (Switzerland) to Huesca (Aragon, Spain) I encountered the same problem again 🤬🤯🤬 It was my fortune that the ViaRhona is mostly downhill and flat. It took until Montpelier where I found a bike shop who could help me as it turned out to be a problem with cable tension 🙈. I’ll invest in a repair stand next which will allow me to repair my drive in the future myself. It can’t be that difficult to learn how to fine tune that and it will save me a lot of money. That will leave my bicycle shop with the annual check of the hydraulic disc breaks and centering wheels, if needed.
A point that is brought up is spending money on something that expensive, dura-ace, ceramic bearings, over-sized pulley wheels, the list is long, and smirking at the same time. I see nothing wrong with spending money on expensive things if you can afford it. It doesn't affect me the least and I would say go for it. I happen to be in the other camp. I believe everything I own is either bought used or from AliExpress (or similar). This is not to say that I haven' wasted money. Before my partner got fed up with me for hogging half of the bedroom, I had six stems, five saddles, four handlebars, three pairs of pedals and a two pairs of shoes. All this in addition to what I was actually using. You could say that this was a waste of money as some of that stuff I hardly used.
Upgrade to carbon wheels, barstem, light and comfortable saddle a good investment Groupset and it’s upgrades (like carbon chainrings or OSPW) is a total waste of money. If you have 105 or Rival already, skip upgrading. Put money to good set of wheels & tires and good saddle.
You nailed why people fly business and first…. Because you CAN sleep. You get to your destination refreshed and ready to perform in your (presumably) demanding job.
Is there anything we missed out on that can be deemed a waste of money? 💰
Buying a vintage bike to convert into a beautiful single speed covered in gold parts...only to get it nicked in Bristol Centre a few day's ago!😢
@LooseGooseFarm oh no :-(
Every Pinarello
Every UK sportive, except maybe the Fred
non metallic brake pads. if it isn't metal i don't want it
I've never wasted a cent on cycling.
I've wasted money on cars, lavish holidays, gone over the top with the kid's Christmas presents, but every cent spent on my bikes has been money well spent because it keeps me fit and happy. I've recently bought a new Specialized Roubaix, and I'm loving it. Loving the bike motivates me to cycle, and that can only be a good thing.
Amen to that
Agreed!
Agreed 100%! Exactly my mindset.
I like Adam Savage's guide to buying tools. Buy the (second) cheapest version of a tool you can find. If the crappy quality irks you, and you use it frequently then buy the best one you can afford. You never really know how much you're gonna use a tool until you have it, but spending the big bucks right away is a huge waste most of the time.
you are talking to an obsessed tool buyer right here!
I thought it was use it until you break it, then buy the best you can afford. If you don’t break it you don’t use it enough to replace it
I went tubeless on all my bikes without having to use tubeless ready wheels. Just used the original wheels and sealed it with Gorilla tape and muc off sealant and haven't had any issues in the last 4 years
Based on 40 years of using tools I completely disagree. Soooo many times I've had to rescue jobs that people have started with cheap tools. Generally, buy the second dearest.
@@tonysadler5290 hasn’t thought of this. Good to know. Thank you
Buying my wife a bike is my biggest waste. It was just a little path/hybrid bike. She didn’t want it because it was “too fast”. That’s when I knew we would never ride together.
I’ve thought about doing this from the very first time I rode a “proper” bike. I loved it instantly and thought everyone must too. My wife wasn’t very interested, but I keep thinking, maybe if she rides a nice, light, comfortable bike it’ll stick. But I don’t think it will.
Hi GCN. I live in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada, In 1990 my father, who had ALS, was at the hospital to get fitted for an ankle brace. He tripped and fell against the corner of a counter, breaking his upper arm. None of the staff would touch him, instead they called for an ambulance. The ambulance left the emergency entrance of the same hospital, drove to the front entrance, brought in the stretcher, loaded him on it, put him in the ambulance and drove to the emergency entrance. They then sent a bill for the ambulance ride. This was when ambulance services were still private in the province. This service was owned by the hospital he was in.
Getting hit by an ambulance and then being charged by said ambulance is the most American thing ever.
Someone please save me this place is a nightmare.
Nah, just sue the company and get much more money back.
It sounds mad, but the ambulance drivers don’t get to decide who to charge. The company does, and the billing for the ambulance ride is a separate issue from the liability associated with hitting the cyclist.
@@michaellynch1132 You do realise lawsuits cost money, right?
@@fallbrightt9223 Not when the accident is someone else's fault. Not in the US. Usually you can get a LOT of money for things like Pain and Suffering that far outweigh the cost of your dollar value and any decent lawyer will pick up the cost from those monies. Not to mention the fact that a EMT driver is supposed to be trained not to hit civilians so they have a lot to loose in that case. If lawsuits were so expensive, then why do you think there are so many commercials for law companies on TV and streaming and on billboards. Yes, they make a lot of money, but they have to provide a service that people who are down and out can afford. Corp law is expensive... that is different.
@@litespud You may be right, but I am sure if the billing department talked to the liability department and they got together on this and decided to waive the billing fees, their total costs might end up being a little lower because they might not piss people off so much. Either the rider or the people on the jury.
Regarding expensive purchases, I think the crucial thing is being honest with yourself as to why you’re buying it. Don’t try and justify buying Dura-Ace or an oversized pulley wheel for performance gains as a medium-ability amateur, but if you have the means and it really makes you happy every time you ride your bike, then that’s a completely different matter.
My biggest waste was buying a gravel bike and then discovering I didn't like gravel.
Haha! This hasn’t half made me chuckle. 😂
Put some road tires on it and you have yourself a roadbike!
I can see the appeal of getting away from traffic, especially in countries with aggressive anti-cyclist sentiment, but here in Japan a) everything has been paved or concreted anyway and b) gravel is so slippy and slidey and sucks away so much of your power.
So sorry to hear that. It's my favorite. I'm thinking about buying a road bike, but I'm afraid that I won't like Road cycling (I use my gravel bike for commuting and long touring, so I mean that fast, performative cycljng with a crew).
Same but I changed my aspero to a supercommuter with road wheels and road pedals 😊
29:44 to the editor who chose the whip crack sound effect, chef's kiss. 😂
This week the segment should have been called "Hacks and Bondage".
Biggest waste of money is not buying quality cycling clothing. I bought crap off Amazon when I started cycling, but after buying my first pair of quality (and expensive) bib shorts I knew it was money well spent.
Don’t Go cheap on shorts! It’s the clothing which gets most stress and where u get the most comfort from
I ride in jeans 150 miles a week you are just soft. Men discover they like wearing tight lycra in public, it's a sexual thing.
The cheap saddle can be a bib destroyer too.
Si and Dan have the best rapport. Don't ever leave.
They are GCN
The handlebar illumination hack is genius! When I regularly cycled at night I was only focused on making myself visible at all. These days when I encounter cyclists at night on the road while driving, my biggest challenge is figuring out exactly where they are on the road so I can give them the right amount of space. Shining a light on where their wheels meet the road makes this process way easier. Next time I ride at night I'm trying this too!
29:46 Well done to the video production team for incorporating whip cracks for the “Hack”s on the bondage tape frame protection segment.
The trick with commuter bikes is to build them yourself from old parts (memories), they run well and don't look nice anymore (thieves).....
I love them just as much as my "beautiful" bikes....❤😊
I don't have a trick for fenders, except for one very practical reason, my ass stays dry....😊
I think my biggest waste is the gear - I'm closing on many dozens of shorts, pants, jerseys, gloves, socks, t-shirts and everything in between and all I actually wear is the same thing again and again because I like it the most.
The problem is you never know up front what you will like the most.
This hits close to home.
I bought a ton of kit to be able to fully load a 8kg washing machine. So I spend probably somewhere around 1000€ if not more on kit to save about 10cents on water and 15 cents on electricity when I wash my cycling gear compared to a half load. I kind of wondering if the math is mathing ;-).
A bit in my favour is that gear wears out over time and I would have to buy most of the stuff at some point anyway. I still own my first cycling shirt from Aldi though, the shirt is totally stretched out but it still works. Shirts tend to wear much slower in my opinion.
It tried to spend the money somewhat reasonably; I splurged on pants and saved on shirts since my behind is way more sensitive.
Thanks for covering the subject of wasted money (or expensive bargains). I’m 69, and have “been there/done that” many times. Some examples:
3 sets of 1999 Morati one piece, titanium MTB bar stem combos, 3 different lengths, over $400 each. Broke one in a crash on a training ride, never raced any of them.
1997 Paul “Sweet Wings”, 2 piece, hollow chrome molybdenum steel, hydro-formed, welded crankset and bespoke BB. At the time, the lightest and stiffest cranks on the planet, $799, broken after 6 months while bunny-hopping off a curb in Dallas, Texas.
This one is different, because it didn’t break, it was (partially) purchased at a reduced price, and I still enjoy it over 25 years later: 1998 Basso Gap, steel-framed sprint framset (French threaded BB, $425), with full Dura Ace 7700 groupset ($1,298, plus $400 for Wheelsmith built Mavic “Open Pro” rims laced onto my Dura Ace hubs), 3ttt stem, Cinenlli bar, Selle Italia Ti saddle (more $$$), and a set of Mavic Cosmic Elite 20-spoke aero wheels ($800). It has at least 20K miles on it, is still beautiful in its original “Td’F Maillot Jaune” yellow, weighs only 20.5lbs (9.3kg), and is still very fast. Moving from Dallas (very flat terrain) to the montains of west Texas (and aging from my 40’s into my 60’s) required a switch to XTR cassettes and rear derailleur, but it is otherwise a time capsule. Sadly, it will only accept tires up to 23mm: otherwise it would still be my primary road bike.
These days, I let other people buy the expensive stuff, then buy it second hand a few years later for pennies on the dollar/pound/euro. Doing it this allows me to have a fleet of bikes 😮😊
for most of us, a super aero, high performance bike is a waste of money. Let's face it, most of us aren't racing, we ride with people that aren't dropping us, we aren't flexible to get ourselves into an aero position, etc. And do you really need to save 50g on that component if you have a few extra pounds around your waist? Put your upgrade money into things that will make you more comfortable, and you will go faster. I'm a small guy, so for me that was narrower bars, short crankset, a new saddle, and big wide tires.
My biggest waste was buying a bottom bracket facing and tapping tool.
I purchased a “Cyclus” BSA tool from Germany, because it was cheaper than UK, but after paying import duty it was about £60 dearer. It took 3 weeks to arrive.
So one last squeaky ride before tapping, facing and fitting a new bb. It just so happened I cleaned my £350 Lake cycle shoes with leather soap the night before.
Yep you guessed it no more squeaking!!!!!
It was the horrible Lake shoes all along. So that’s the best part of £1,000 down the drain. 😢
That's goofy. Facing rarely needs to be done and if you use square taper its useless. Tapping, if you can screw it in by hand it doesn't need it, rare a bike needs it nowadays.
Love it.
Look pedals by chance? Those things always squeaked for me so I went Shimano and solved the mystery.
@
Yep, you got it in one. Thanks for the advice I’ll give it a go.
Ahhhh I’m glad Hank is on an epic ride. We seem to see less and less of him and what we need is more and more of him. Brilliant lad.
I wish Sir Mark a happy retirement. He deserves it. Unfortunately he’ll probably see Tadej Pogacar beat his TdF stage record in the next 10 years, but there’s nothing he can do about that.
Cav was also a pretty competitive 6-day racer, but that incessant schedule might have led to then getting sick a couple of years.
Tadej has to stay healthy; part of Cav's greatness (and luck) is that he was able to stay at the top level so long. I remember when Tiger Woods seemed like a lock to break Nicklaus's record for most wins in the major golf tournaments. But bad luck and bad choices doomed that -- and cycling is a more dangerous sport that golf.
When commuting from Harlow to north London 15 years ago, I attached a 200 lumen flashing light to my right hand drop bar. The light would flash very fast 3 times at one second intervals and was pointed a metre to my right on the tarmac. Initially done to increase visibility, but soon realised that drivers would not encroach on the pool of light. Been telling people this for years, so very nice to see it mentioned here.
Wouldn’t you put it on your left hand side?
@martinvera4567 not in the UK sir.😉
#CaptionCompetition "UCI: 'No aero helmets.' Mark Cavendish: 'Hold my beer.' 🎩🚴♂"
The biggest waste of money for me over the years was purchasing components that were inappropriate for me (female cyclist here) too wide handlebars, too long cranks, close ratio cassettes etc etc. Things admittedly are slightly better now but only marginally. When will the cycling industry start selling bikes that aren't just imitation pro bikes.
I don’t want one-piece handlebars. I change the stem throughout the year as my fitness changes, and/or my goals change, ie narrow, long & low for aero; or wider & more upright for touring or off-road.
All this talk about bondage tape…looks like Si will be the first subscriber to #OnlyDans
The biggest waste of money is the ceramic headset bearings. They give you no improvement on your bike whatsoever and they cost an arm and a leg.
I'm not sure if this counts as wasting money on cycling stuff. I bought some new forks for my hardtail mountain bike. I didn't have a crown race seating tool. So I bought one. Then I bought one. Only to find out it didn't work on the 1.5" crown race on the tapered steerer. So I bought a crown race seating tool that did work with the tapered steerer. I couldn't get the crown race off the original forks. So I bought a headset that has a split design crown race. So I didn't need it after all. The first crown race tool. Will work with my road bike and hybrid. Except I don't use my road bike due the god awful rim brakes. I am also not likely to use it on my hybrid. As that bike has a Chris King headset. Which has worked perfectly since it was fitted over 10 years ago. My full suspencion bike, could fall in both useful as a ride it allthe time. But I also bought it for the custon paint job. With does nothing except make easier to find when there are alot more Orbea Rallons by mine. As I am the only person I know with an Orbea Rallon. The having a pink and green paint job does nothing to help me jump it. Skills lessons would.
Just get a bolt and screw one off aliexpress its like 2 dollars.
My biggest waste of money was some front forks that I had hand built.
This was about 30 years ago I had a second hand Eddy Merckx, which was a beautiful bike, but it had aluminium forks which I didn't like. So I had some custom forks hand made, and they were beautiful.
So initially these forks weren't a waste of money because not only did they look good but also the ride handling was just as good as you would expect from an Eddy Merckx.
But then I went wide on a corner, and ended up on some gravel which my 20mm tires didn't really grip that well, and I ended up head on into a stone wall. The impact bend the brand new forks back so much that my front wheel overlapped with the down tube and I couldn't point the front wheel forwards. So I had to use force to bend my new forks back so that I could actually ride home.
Then I had to go back to the same frame builder to ask him to swap out the knackered forks that he had crafted beautifully and put on the old aluminium ones.
Before I destroyed them these new forks were absolutely beautiful and worth every penny, but after my encounter with a stone wall at speed, they were a waste of money.
A story filled with love, happiness, discovery, loss, pain, and finally acceptance. Great story-it has it all 👏
Dan was hilarious this week! The comment about Si's face illuminated by his cycling lights, and teasing him about thinking cars would avoid him was pure comedy gold.
My biggest waste was actually not a waste of my parents' money. In '71 I really, really wanted a Schwinn Krate, any color, but when I rode another kid's Krate, I didn't like its bouncyness and I was happy to ride the wheels off my basic String-Ray for another four years. 😀
Thanks Dan , Si and crew . Caption contest "New POC aero headgear revealed "
Cut-corners and cheap stuff has been usually the biggest waste of money I was in my bike shop days.
The banter between you two after the bondage tape reveal was absolutely priceless!
Haven't even watched it yet and already know it's too late...
already spent tons of money on useless things
which is your biggest regret?!
My biggest cycling purchase regret is not buying the top spec initially, also not buying a second bike when i had the money
If you have the passion and the money, I say go for it! But also, don't look down on others who can't afford the top of the line gear...especially if you're new to the sport! Just because you ride Dura Ace doesn't make you fast!
Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels, marketed as bombproof but cracked across the threaded spoke holes in the rim
New cycling jerseys: if you sign up for events and/or cycling holidays you often get a jersey with them, and most cycling jerseys last several years (my oldest ones that get regular use are 8-9 years old).
Not surprised by Dan's take regarding frugality. I was inspired by him to make my own chain whip and it's served me wonderfully the 2 times I've used it over the last 4 years.
RE: wastes of money, I once bought a 3-bag pannier pack for bikepacking the C2C. By the time I got to Keswick, the zip holding the top bag broke and I had to bodge together a strap out of old bungee cords just to hold it together long enough to cancel the ride altogether when storm conditions blew in and made it too dangerous to go on, regardless of how secure the bungees were
Biggest waste: paying $1200+ to transport my $2500 bike back to Australia from Copenhagen after a euro tour. It flew with me to Europe as checked-luggage at no extra cost. But my route back was more logistically challenging. I thought it was costing $700 but that got out of control once on the docks in Australia. All sorts of handling and release fees. I almost had the bike back when quarantine found a dead bug in the shared container so then I had to pay for fumigation as well, despite having cleaned my bike meticulously before shipping .And the whole process took three months! It would have been cheaper to FedEx it, and it would have got home before me. Never again. I do love that bike though. We've had great times.
#captioncompetion: Big hats off to Sir Mark on an amazing career.
Paying the increasing prices for races (that I just Ride, not race) on roads that I could ride for free before or after the event seems like a waste yet I still do it.
Riding on closed roads with hundreds if not thousands other cyclists is a very different feeling though
#CaptionCompetition: Romain thinking: "Still beats a Team Visma-Lease a bike helmet"
That was my first thought 😄
Waste of money: Two bike chains I bought on Amazon that were being sold at a great price. Figured I'd burn through them eventually so I bought two of them. Both chains turned out to be counterfeit Shimano chains. No-brand cycling shorts on Amazon - good for 10 miles but after that the chaffing was so bad, I was bleeding. The way the pad was sewn in left the edge of the fabric cutting into my legs. Back to Pearl Izumi shorts and never tried to save $ on cheap shorts ever since.
For some (or many?), it may seem a waste of money: replacing all possibble steel screws by titanium screws, and now (at least with the M6 ones) replacing them by hollow-drilled M6 screws (stem/steerer clamping and the clip-on tt bar), including brake bolts (on single-pivot Campagnolo Veloce Skeleton, to shape of 3grams and come close to 100gr per brake). Another waste of money: buying lightweight parts ( in my case tires and a TT base bar), and now being to afraid of using them: a TT base bar from Aliexpress (should I really trust a 40 € Carbon fibre bar?). The tires (4) are discontinued Tufo Calibra lite (23mm/150gr), as I already made a bad experience with a 23mm Tufo Calibra Plus (180gr), it went flat by a tiny litlle piece of glass which wouldn't have had the slightest chance to flatten a 23mm Conti 4000 (the 5000 was not released at that point of time).
Wasted money is usually on trying a different branded kit because it it in the sale. Love the fit of Castelli shorts for example. Tried Assos on a mate's suggestion after they had a sale and hated the fit - but he loves em. Moral - if you find a kit that fits, stick with it
Caption comp: “When you’re cycling for glory but also prepared for a tea party at the finish line!”
Biggest waste of money for me was an "all the bells and whistles" Tacx Neo 2T trainer that projects the lights for your zones on the floor and vibrates to provide road feel feedback. I found those features more distracting than enjoyable at the end of the day and ended up selling it to buy two Elite trainers in its place. All they've done for the past three years is provide a straightforward training experience for me in both my homes going back and forth between continents. There's a pleasure in knowing you have what you really need, but not more
Also coming up this week, a new, black clad, and slightly shaky new table! Now the question is: would covering it in bondage tape make it more stable?
Hopefully the customer service at Orro improves with the new owners. Sadly the reason I have only one Orro bike is the lack of communication and support on small items.
Biggest waste of money was buying a rowing machine last fall. It was a 2 month wait until delivery and in that time I started watching GCN and heard about this thing called Zwift. So I got an indoor trainer, connected my bike, and had absolutely no desire to use the rower once it arrived. It sat around for a year until I sold it last week.
Si, Pinarello '82, on a turbo trainer. A gift from my, since passed, father in law. Columbus and the works. Was updated in 2000 with the Campagnolo Veloce 2x9 speed gear ;D Not sure about its safety on the road anymore ;D
#captioncompetition Chapeau to Cavendish for a great career
Biggest waste of money: Inappropriate tyres. I bought some GP 4 seasons for commuting, had loads of punctures, so went to marathon plus's, which worked wonderfully but felt horrible. Put some gravel tyres on to try and deal with wet leaves better in autumn, had 2 rides on them, got 3 punctures, which was particularly spectacular, so put the marathons back on.
Basically, buy the right tools for the job.
In the late 80's as a 15yr old I saved up and bought a pair of latex inner tubes, because they must be better in some way...
I put them on my road bike and cycled the same poor pavements, tracks and roads for about 15 minutes before a puncture came. I spent more time fixing punctures than riding with them😂.
Bought a used bike complete for $875, and the only thing that's original now is the frame, fork, headset, brake calipers, and seat mast topper. I didn't end up spending too much on the drivetrain and cockpit and wheelset upgrades, but none of the stuff I removed is really worth much on the used market. It feels a bit wasteful in that sense, but the frameset alone would have been at least $500 so $875 for the whole bike seemed more attractive at the time of original purchase.
For me, biggest waste was not studying enough about my bike and buying wrong parts. The best spending I did was buying low end but legit Shimano parts for daily commute. It is cheap, but it works reliably on my daily travels. I don't use it for flying around ramps and technical trails. but for 3 years my 30USD groupset and 40USD MT-200 never failed me.
@5:38 I completely agree. I've made so many "cheap" purchases to "save" money. Just to replace the item or get the better brand in the end. That's where the saying goes "Buy it nice or buy it Twice". Cheers!
Surely I can't be the only one giggling like a schoolboy at the bondage tape hack/bodge, especially the kinky change in sound effects. 😂😂 I believe it is similar to plumber's tape which is a silicone self-amalgamating tape. Also, the theme could have continued in to the next hack/bodge because the word "cockpit" was a 17th century nickname for the vagina.
In the USA, the proper side to shine the "pothole" light is the left side. This could be a great topic for Dr. Olie and Alex to explore. Think of the possibilities: How many lumens are effective? How far to the traffic side of the bike is optimal? How to effectively mount the light without obstructing view, etc.
I agree with trying to save money by buyng a cheaper option.
I bought legwarmers to wear under bib-shorts, thought it would be a good way of keeping warm in the winter. Nope. I couldn't get on with them at all - they looked awful and wouldn't stay up! I ended up buying some full length bib-tights. If only I'd spent the money on them in the first place!
As my son says, "buy it cheap; buy it twice!"
I got some leg warmers from Decathlon. They fit well, but were too warm - guess I just run hot. But in fairness to Decathlon, the fit and quality for the price was excellent.
The trick is to wear them under the bib shorts - then the shorts keep them up. If you wore them under and they slid anyways - it's more your bib shorts to blame, than the warmers themselves.
If you wore them over the bibs - unfortunately, you did it wrong, and yes, it will look terrible. But that's not the way they're designed to work :)
I wore them under of course. They rolled down before I could even get the shorts on - one of the perils of being female and, ahem, slightly on the large side, but short too, and having super-dry skin that the silicon doesn’t stick to!. And I couldn’t get things straight under the shorts either.
I should’ve known really, everything rolls like this. That’s one of the reasons I wear bibs, rather than waist shorts, so the waist doesn’t roll down, so they’re more comfortable.
😳😳😳
@@Katcycle the bibs are always the way to go - even on skinnier cyclists the waist shorts dig into skin, and pads stick out. What's important is to keep cycling ;-)
@@dtsybulskyi That’s for sure! One thing I’ve learnt about kit, is that I’m better off buying one quality item and looking after it so it lasts , than buying several cheap versions that simply don’t perform well. That’s the key for me, and keeps me cycling.
I too bought a sensible bike for commuting - called it the Cardigan Bike - then sold it a few months later and bought an Omnium cargo bike 💪🏼
Buying a commuter bike was my best buy ever. Cheap and easy to maintain. Mudgards, rack, dynamo lights and can be parked everywhere.
Foam inserts for tubeless tyres. Can't get the tyre on with the foam fitted. Solution was to seal the tyre properly with a good sealant.
Waste of money - a mid range pair of carbon wheels. Freehub let go 40km into All Points North, I was riding as a pair with my partner, who then carried on on her own. It rained most of the race. Then, a 1000km Audax in the Scottish borders, again supposed to ride with my partner, she carried on. Then in TPR a front spoke broke descending the Col du Tormalet, with 24 hours still to ride. I made the wheel as good as I could with the remaining 27 spokes, but it made the rest of the ride terrifying, especially the 40kmph aero bar run in to the finish.
Biggest waste? A GoPro. Doesn't record long enough to make it worth while. Fortunately, it does work for SCUBA diving. So, a loss, but then a win.
Biggest waste: GoFundMe attachment to rear wheel to drive power for lights, phone. It's a waste because it's still in the box years later. Also a waste: those 21mm tires I bought on closeout, but not planning to use. Net: if it's just taking up space in the garage, it was a waste.
On the 15th of October Decathlon wrote a nice post celebrating Ben O’connors time at the team, and wishing him well in the future. Still waiting for Quickstep release on Julian Alaphilippe;)
We went from about 15 years ago where bike fit was really getting dialed in for even casual club riders, to an era where now you have to fit to the bike due to these one-piece cockpits. It is f*cking stupid that the bike industry is pushing this crap on often unsuspecting consumers.
It's great to see that Hank will be back! He adds an essential element of the cycling experience - the fun, the crazy willingness to do things that are a bit extreme. I hope the rest of you stop making fun of him, as you've mostly stopped making fun of Ollie, and perhaps he'll stay with GCN and perhaps even start doing more videos again!
Love this episode.
My biggest and most expensive mistake was buying a bike online that was not really my size because it was on sale.
It was a Pegoretti Fina Estampa, beautiful bike, but it was a size bigger than my size.
Big mistake.
It was like wearing a shoe that is smaller than your feet.
It was uncomfortable.
My back hurts, buttocks, legs, arms, neck after every ride.
I tried fixing the ride quality by adjusting the handlebar height, saddle height, but the frame was just too big.
I ended up selling the bike at a loss after six months.
Lesson learned: buy a bike or bike components/accessories that you can afford, fits you perfectly, fits your needs perfectly and you just love to ride or use.
In short, it is fun and makes you happy.
Don't buy anything that makes you anxious, stressed out, causes pain, and just plain miserable.
Cycling is one of the most fun and positively, life transforming, joyous activity known to the human race.
Charging the man that was struck by the ambulance for the ride is like the homeless guy washing your car with “whatever the hell that cloth was” and then demanding money
Any talk of "waste" is a conversation around practicality. In such conversations, we should exclude talk of things that are bought as "jewelry".
So for someone who doesn't race, is a DuraAce groupset a waste of money? That depends on why they bought it. Did they buy it because they think it's cool? Then it's not a waste. Did they buy it to be faster? Then it's a waste.
'Cheap' is almost always 'expensive' (later on), but sometimes 'expensive' is outright CR@P, like 'Assos' $120 'Ultraz' winter gloves. I'll never forget that.
Denver is great for biking:) I live here and enjoy my daily commute on Cherry Creak:)
The Alps to Ocean Trail is Awesome!
I love bike tech and going fast, but my “fast” gets quotes 😊. Biggest waste of money I could imagine for me would be electronic shifting. When I finally replace my 10 year old Ultegra mechanical bike, I’m looking for 105 or GRX mechanical, as they look like the best fit to my budget and cycling aspirations.
There are zippties with metal clips and high strength nylon to even outlast those jubileeclips/hose clips, this as the metal jubileeclips can vibrate lose and rust depending on the quality.
Hello there, greetings from Belgium. I believe the biggest waste of money is all the "connected" equipments. I get rid of all of them. I jusr keep a very simple speedometer counting my km. Doing so you go back to the basics of cycling: enjoying the ride. Stop measuring everything: FTP, Wahoo routes, power meter, sharing you data and routes on Apps, Strava ... stop looking at your screens and enjoy the view :) :)
On the note of integrated bar and stems. Absolutely agree, they are an aftermarket piece after you have dialed in fit. But for myself, I've been healthy and fit for many years, and my bike fit isn't going anywhere, so i can confidently buy from new, and then it becomes cheaper, as I'm not buying multiple bars and stems.
Bought a set of deep section carbon wheels and spent 2 years convincing myself they were faster and felt better, they just weren’t and didn’t
I grew up in Denver, and it's actually one of the best cities in the US to ride a bicycle. And I don't mean that in the sense that it's not as horrible as Atlanta or Houston; it's honestly a great place to ride a bicycle, full stop. It's not that bad for walking, either. If you like to walk.
Kasper Asgreen actually got a proper farewell from the Wolfpack. Specifically what you said was unlikely to happen...
Generally speaking, cheapness is expensive. Notable exceptions would be all consumables.
The "bee in my bonnet" is about extra money spent modifying my bike because I am 5 feet tall. Cranks, handlebars, and extra accessories to make up for the fact that bikes are not made to fit smaller adults. i'm sure it's the same on the other end of the spectrum.
Need to acknowledge the distinction between performance and fit/feel/fun improvements. Electronic shifting - feels great, easier maintenance, don’t care it doesn’t make me faster. Dura Ace weight saving over Ultegra - not bothered.
Best cycling investment was a proper bit fit. Cycling that is uncomfortable is awful. Before you upgrade your equipment I urge you to get properly fitted to your bike
of all the bikes I own, the process was simple . Spend no more than 1200 new, and when something wears out, replace it, if you can, with a better quality part.That meant better tires and rims for my 700 dollar commuter bike, new wheels for my 300 dollar Marinoni racing bike, and better tires for my mountain bike. Don't ever buy more bike than you need. I'm not Jonas Vingegaard, and he doesn't pay for his bike anyway. My race bike is 18.5 pounds, but I will never care if I can't beat the best, even the best for my age. Contentment with what you have is far greater wealth than constantly wishing you had something better. Cycling lowers my blood pressure, helps my immune system, and lowers my heart rate. It helps my mental health and saves me from having to repair and insure 2 cars. That is why I really own bicycles. I don't want or need more, that is reason enough. BTW, that cheap used racing bike is how I Zwift for less.
I was wondering what Dan's and Simon's safe words would be: my thoughts - alcohol and ankles
"where do you stand on expensive trinkets like Alex Paton's rear derailleur?" For expert guidance ask Ile Iserbyt
13:55 mudguards 😂 and a complete bike check 🙈 (≈ 100€). I own a gravel bike (Bergamot Grandurance RD 7) at the time that I bought it in 2018 I the road edition with light (dynamo) and mudguards came with 38” tires. Only 1 or 2 years later they changed the mudguards to allow what was already possible without mudguards - to mount wider tires (≈100€). As I use the bike for everything (I don’t own a car) riding without mudguards was never an option. I also use the bicycle for holidays, meaning bike packing in November because I can’t take my holiday between spring and autumn for work reasons. Which also means fairly heavy luggage because I refuse to sacrifice some comforts, such as clean and dry clothes or a hot midday meal (small 400ml and 500ml thermos).
I ordered the new mudguards in January 24, had to wait until June for them to arrive and had to pay about 200€ for them. Could I have bought cheaper mudguards? Definitely! Would they have looked as good and been as sturdy? Probably not. At the same time I got my bicycle fully checked for the tour this November, only to find out that the derailleur or something else wasn’t tuned properly because 4 consecutive gears above the smallest were slipping through and making a lot of noise when riding up the Brocken (1.141 m, Harz, Germany) in August. Which meant that I had to ride all the way up (Wernigerode, Drei Annen Hohne, Schierke, Brockenstraße) in the smallest gear 😣😭 I had to divert to a different bike repair shop because my regular one had no free slots before my holiday started. But instead of checking for the problem they exchanged the chain and cassette (≈150€).
When I road the bicycle from Geneva (Switzerland) to Huesca (Aragon, Spain) I encountered the same problem again 🤬🤯🤬 It was my fortune that the ViaRhona is mostly downhill and flat. It took until Montpelier where I found a bike shop who could help me as it turned out to be a problem with cable tension 🙈. I’ll invest in a repair stand next which will allow me to repair my drive in the future myself. It can’t be that difficult to learn how to fine tune that and it will save me a lot of money. That will leave my bicycle shop with the annual check of the hydraulic disc breaks and centering wheels, if needed.
What's going on with Si's hair? Going for the Christopher Reeves Superman curl?
A point that is brought up is spending money on something that expensive, dura-ace, ceramic bearings, over-sized pulley wheels, the list is long, and smirking at the same time. I see nothing wrong with spending money on expensive things if you can afford it. It doesn't affect me the least and I would say go for it. I happen to be in the other camp. I believe everything I own is either bought used or from AliExpress (or similar). This is not to say that I haven' wasted money. Before my partner got fed up with me for hogging half of the bedroom, I had six stems, five saddles, four handlebars, three pairs of pedals and a two pairs of shoes. All this in addition to what I was actually using. You could say that this was a waste of money as some of that stuff I hardly used.
My First and only marriage, in the end ,was my biggest waste of money. Anything cycling that's makes me happy is the best way to spend money.
Upgrade to carbon wheels, barstem, light and comfortable saddle a good investment
Groupset and it’s upgrades (like carbon chainrings or OSPW) is a total waste of money. If you have 105 or Rival already, skip upgrading. Put money to good set of wheels & tires and good saddle.
The bondage tape had us rolling with laughter
I loved the comment that if you NEED Dura Ace then someone will give it to you.
Watching the short clip of Hank's recumbent I see what you meant by "What on earth"...
You nailed why people fly business and first…. Because you CAN sleep. You get to your destination refreshed and ready to perform in your (presumably) demanding job.