Poll--Worst bike part you've ever tried

[chrisroph]

To carry on the mindless amusing discussion started by fodo with the seatpost thread, what is the worst part/frame/etc you've ever tried?

The worst tire I ever tried was a crappy $6.00 wobler (sic) sewup that I won for blundering into third place in a cat 4 race 30 years ago that blew up within one mile of its maiden voyage.

The worst saddle I ever tried was a brand new brooks professional that I endured for a couple weeks. I beat on that thing for hours with a big rubber mallet but it never felt like anything other that a king size rawhide doggy chew bone stuck on the top of my seatpost. Obviously, YMMV.

[Tailwinds]

Saddles with holes in them imho.

[woolly]

Sigma computer wireless mount. It no workee.

[Fixed]

bro free 1200 gram wheels from a local co that feel apart everyother ride.

[e-RICHIE]

cnc-ed alloy stems

[72gmc]

clincher tires from M*xx*s that seemed to come from the factory with glass shards as a futuristic tread compound.

[eddief]

Shimano Flite Deck over engineered computers, and recently not too fond of my Topeak pressure gauge.

[aach]

Cannondale 2.8 aluminum with aluminum fork. stiff unforgiving!! but light

[Rapid Tourist]

way too expensive piece of crap Polar heart rate monitor/cyclocomputer. Way too much study and brainwork necessary to use the thing. Piece of crap imho.

[d_douglas]

Bought it because it seemed like a lightweight, hi tech version of the classic Rolls saddle, but it immediately sent my 'nads to a' sleepin'. It was like riding on a rock.

I got rid of it within two days to some other poor sap who thought it was a cool looking saddle too. I felt kind of guilty, like I should throw it out and spare everyone the agony of trying it out.

[mwos]

Saddles with holes in them imho.


I agree!

[wwtsui]

I know they have their fans, but I got sick of fighting with mine...

Also, the Armadillo tires that the LBS put on my first bike -- though to be fair, I never got a flat, and they're now on the trainer still going strong -- 4 years later...

[Jeff N.]

Zipp carbon crankset. IMHO, a POS of unprecedented scope. The worst POS EVER marketed, bike componentry or otherwise. To this day, it has soured me on ANYTHING made by Zipp, regardless of the good reviews their stuff may get. Jeff N.

[Louis]

For me this is easy: Control Tech seatpost. I can't believe lawsuits didn't take that POC off the market (or maybe they did for all I know).

Louis

[Kirk Pacenti]

Bought it because it seemed like a lightweight, hi tech version of the classic Rolls saddle, but it immediately sent my 'nads to a' sleepin'. It was like riding on a rock.

I got rid of it within two days to some other poor sap who thought it was a cool looking saddle too. I felt kind of guilty, like I should throw it out and spare everyone the agony of trying it out.


Agreed! I love my Rolls and Regal saddles... the Rolls Due on the other hand, OUCH! :no:

[cycleman_21]

Sigma computer wireless mount. It no workee.


here, here and I know there's a lot of fans here of the B-17 saddle but man am I glad that came with a money back guarantee, refunded the proofride too.

Ron C

[Sandy]

Mavic Elite Square bicycle wheel. Very rough riding with 4 distinct thuds on each rotation of the wheel. Never could figure out the problem. :)


Square Sandy

[Dekonick]

worst :Specialized Epic.

Best for the $$ :Surly Cross-Check.

[IXXI]

hello?! no setback post.

[David Kirk]

Boy this is a tough one.........would it be?

Keywin pedals?
early Spinergy 4 spoke wheels?
an early ( 80's) cannondale?
Ad****s plastic BMX chainrings (anyone out there remember these)?
Bullseye hubs?
first generation indexed Campy downtube shifters?
Shimano positron?
etc..........

Is it possible for a bunch of things to suck equally or does one need to pick the suckiest?

Dave

[DRZRM]

I have to say, after giving it a lot of thought, the Biopace ovalized chainrings that came on my first Gary Fisher Mt. Bike. Who ever thought those were a good idea?

Close second was the USE titanium seatpost that snapped off ten miles into a 25 mile ride, I'm just glad the end didn't wind up in my leg (or anything near that).

And third was my first clipless road pedals, these lightweight Sampsons that you simply could not walk a step in. They were also nearly impossible to clip into, they may still be in the bottom of my gear box somewhere.

[zank]

Kooka Kranks. Broke two pair. They looked all cool, but my 145# (at the time) was apparently too much for them.

[MRB]

Saddles with Aluminum rails like my old Concor saddle, that broke during a race.

Specialized welded Aluminum bottle cage that broke (at the weld) during a race.

Clement Futurox (Future Blowout) sew-ups.

Anything that breaks during a race sucks imho

JA

[maryluke]

USE carbon seatpost, evry time I would adjust it the allen heads to the very small screws would strip

[Serpico]

Sella Era Lux saddle--serious *** hatchet

specialized mini-pump (What was I thinking?)

[Grant McLean]

There were a pile more mtb frames and parts that sucked hard.

99% of road stuff works well for someone.

-g

[coylifut]

Cane Creek headset. Every time I got up out of the saddle, it tightened up.

[dsimon]

ciclosport hac4" took an engeneering dagree to figure it out and once you had it set it would eat batteries it had like three and trying to figure out which one sh$t i gave up and went back to my cateye wirless

[Elefantino]

And third was my first clipless road pedals, these lightweight Sampsons that you simply could not walk a step in. They were also nearly impossible to clip into, they may still be in the bottom of my gear box somewhere.

I loved the Sampson Stratics. Got rid of them after almost a decade and went to Looks; big mistake for my knees. Now I'm on Speedplays, but I miss the Sampsons. (Yes, the pedals were impossible to walk in!) I rode the other day with a guy who still rides them and buys replacement pedals from Sampson, who still makes them. He swears by them, as I used to.

Worst part is subjective, but the one part that caused me the most grief was a Terry Liberator Ti Race saddle. Imagine two of the old Wilkinson Sword razor blades, one on either sides, nestling into your nether regions. Still wouldn't hurt as much as the Terry.

Close second: Any Continental tire.

[znfdl]

1st generation campy 10 speed chains, used to snap one every 500-800 miles.

early spinergy 4 spoke wheels

bullseye crankset

specialized body comp saddles

descente cycling jacket which had an aluminized inner lining and no vents and I was stupid enogh to buy one.

[Ahneida Ride]

Conti Tires

Too many Sidewall issues.

[pale scotsman]

Coda cnc'd cranks on my Creakindale F1500.

Tioga Farmer John Tires

Plastic Huret shifters

1st Generation Headshock - air type... What a nightmare.

[ShockTreatment]

Onza mountain bike pedals with the elastomers. Bicycling magazine recommended them at the time, but the pedals were worthless in the mud and bearings were crappy.

Performance aluminum waterbottle cages that were glued together.

[bulliedawg]

Koobi saddles. Tried three of them (two were replacements) and the rails on all three broke after about one month. I weigh 180 lbs. Koobi thought it might be a problems with my seat post, until I emailed a photo to them. The problem was just flat out bad design.

[saab2000]

In no particular order......

- Araya CTL-370 clincher rim
- Specialized latex inner tubes
- Coombe pedals (though these had potential for greatness)
- Suntour XC Pro mountain bike groupset
- Cinelli Eubios handlebars
-

[nobrakes]

MKS mountainbike pedals-death traps. Hard to clip into, impossible to ever get out of.

Any Suntour group that wasn't Superbe Pro (Which was excellent)

Manitou elastomer front forks (actually, anything using that spring-medium)

Early Vittoria clinchers, you know, orange sidewall, blow off the rim when inflated to recommended pressure. They fixed them later.

Early Aussie-made rims.

The Very Worst: Sachs 8-spd. screw-on Freewheel (it never did)

[LegendRider]

I'll "third" the Rolls Due - absolutely horrendous. Even worse however was the T-Bone saddle (???) - a first generation cut-out saddle. I couldn't sit on it for more than 5 minutes.

[bironi]

Bio-Pace chain rings - great idea Shimano
mid 80's Modolo side pull breaks - blame the Italians for these beauties
A pair of Vittoria tires that lost their tread in one week - ditto
Crank Brothers mini pump - American crap
Conti tires from the years of vulnerable sidewalls - Yes, the Germans can error

[taz-t]

Onza mountain bike pedals with the elastomers. Bicycling magazine recommended them at the time, but the pedals were worthless in the mud and bearings were crappy.

You beat me to it - those Onzas were bad. Couldn't tell if you were clipped in or not.

Let me add Force 40 snail cams instead of canti cable hangers (and stops!). Could never keep brakes adjusted with these.

Had both on my Cannondale F1000 (circa '95). And did I mention the air/oil cartridge in the Headshok? Interestingly, Cannondale replaced all three the next model year.

- Taz in Atlanta

[Kahuna]

Easton ct1 carbon seatpost. The one with the flat edge. Can you say "water in the frame". :crap:

Rolf Vector Pro wheels. Harsh as a schoolbus and god forbid you bust a spoke like the time one of those high tension suckers let loose on me. :no:

Michelin carbon black tires. If you ride in the wet, make sure you bring along a box of Second Skin and some antiseptic. You're gonna need it. :butt:

Prolink Gold chain lube. Might as well sell me a can of spray-on rust instead. :confused:

Rocket 7 shoes. This may be unfair but my experience with them was nothing short of excruciating not to mention expensive and dissapointing. I'm sure their fitting method has been vastly improved since the bizarre cast method they used on me. Also Brian is a saint to work with. Despite my poor initial exerience, I could be tempted to try them again at some point. ;)

[PBWrench]

Campy ErgoBrain
Enervit energy gel -- ugghhhhh!

[mflaherty37]

Performance Bike Lunar Lioght Tubes. Guaranteed to pop within 10 miles.

[chrisroph]

-Specialized body comp saddle. Ugghhhhh!
-Weyless hubs. Why when there was campy?
-Some of the castelli winter tights I've owned. Too tight over the knees so they were unuseable. They drove me to assos. Much cheaper because they work and last.
-Latest generation time pedals. I love the previous 3 generations and have multiple sets of impacts. The newest pedals do not work at all for me.
-Mavic Ksyrium skewers. Garbage. When the plastic breaks, there are lots of good replacements available.
-Carbon seatposts. An answer without a problem.

[yim]

ITM Adiustable stem.
Slipping all the time and broken later.

[gdw]

Saddles
-The Rolls Due - add me to the list. Absolutely terrible.

Components - hubsets
-Hugi 240 - terrible seals and the star ratchet system once allowed me to see how comfortable a 10 mile hike along the scenic sandy Kokapelli Trail could be in Sidi Dominators.
-WTB Momentum- poor quality control. The cassette body started to pull away form the hub body on a short steep climb.
-Maillard Heliocomatic - seals? garbage.

Pedals
-Onzas - I liked them until the pedal body came off the spindle one ride.

Seatpost
-Control Tech - worthless

[Fixed]

bro i'll 2 nd the bio-pace chain rings I sometimes get a junk work bike that has them I pretty much hate them .cheers :beer:

[Big Dan]

RED CLEATS....... :eek:

[GoJavs]

:crap: Equation Aero Wheels - shake, shake, rattle and roll!

[SoCalSteve]

My Fondriest Carbon Lex....very disappointing for all the big $$$ I spent on it.

Then to top it off, I had Campy Record gear on it AND the dreaded Campy ErgoBrain...Talk about crap! And it was never meant to work with all the tight tolerances of the Fondriest...

Steve

Long Live Colnago C-50's!!! (with Shimano)

[Brian Smith]

Syncros Pro Series front hub.
Adjustable bearing feature was bunk, locknut-locknut spacing was over-wide, and after zero miles of riding, the flange broke apart.
They had decent customer service, but that product should never have been released.

Nuke Proof titanium cassette hubs. Coarse thread brass SAE axle nuts, rounded off, I kid you not, from the factory, despite that I'd paid substantially extra for the polished Ti centers over the carbon centered version. Spent a boatload more for replacement TNT ti/alu axles that I was assured were "much nicer" than the Nuke equipment....which turned out to have a novel bearing spacer adjustment practice - use your own red loctite or Napa bearing retaining compound to resist the thrust of your QR skewer against the bearings. ARGH! At least I got a few time trial miles out of those, as compared to the Syncros hub...

When Shimano can produce something that gives such decent performance, longevity, and service life for so little money, you shouldn't have to give up ALL of those things for a small weight savings.

[j.p.rich]

My first road bike, a 2000 Trek 5200, came with several "winners" component-wise:

As already mentioned, those old Rolf wheels have a brutal ride. Anything feels smooth compared to those. And having deep section rims on your first road bike certainly became entertaining when in crosswinds.....

The Bontrager anatomic bars were an abomination and the newer versions I have seen appear to be little better.

Its Continental Ultra 3000 tires had the flimsiest casings I have seen to date, by far.

Those are all that I can think of in my road experience, but I have more mountain bike candidates:

Sun "blow off" rims. :butt:
RS Sid "do I have a loose headset?" shocks.
First year RS Judy front shock. Lost count of how many cartridges I replaced.
Old Suntour indexed shifting. Why Shimano started their domination.
New Shimano Dual Control. Why Shimano is losing said domination in mtb's.
Rapid rise rear derailleurs. If it's such a good idea, why not for Dura Ace?
Biopace. At least Shimano had the intelligence at the time to dump this one.
Those old Scott wrap around handlebars. Dumb idea (yeah I bought one) and broke "just riding along" (really).
Intense Spider VPP frame. Very disappointing.
Any early generation full suspension design.

[bcm119]

Specialized Armadillo tires. They made any frame ride like a department store bike. And I got more flats with them.

[vaxn8r]

19cc tires.

1985 Cannondale shod with 19cc tires.

Giordana Tenax shorts. I know some love 'em but they chew my butt to a bloody shred no matter how much Assos cream applied beforehand. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

[Ti Designs]

If you're placing bets, the smart money would be on the Modolo Kronos group. Carbon down tube shifters that broke off at the cable attachment point and brakes that never worked. The group came with a note that suggested that you not use the bottom bracket that comes with it...

Running close behind: Sampson pedals. Most Ringle components. Nuke Proof parts...

For a few years there was a big push in mountain bikes to have the "all american made" bike. A few american companies (machine shops) made derailleurs. Any part on a mountain bike shouldn't need a 6mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3mm, 2.5mm and 1.5mm allen wrenches and a tweezer to install. It took an hour to get the things to work and they only worked for about 5 minutes. And they were expensive too!

[Marron]

In over 35 years of riding only one part stands out as truely disappointing; Camps Delta brakes. When I finally got a pair the contrast between their gorgeous appearance and awful performance proved that beauty is only skin deep.

[Jeff N.]

In over 35 years of riding only one part stands out as truely disappointing; Camps Delta brakes. When I finally got a pair the contrast between their gorgeous appearance and awful performance proved that beauty is only skin deep.Delta Brakes. Absolutely. Almost forgot those! Apply the brake...cruise through the stop light! But darnit, they sure looked good, didn't they? Jeff N.

[Ti Designs]

In over 35 years of riding only one part stands out as truely disappointing; Camps Delta brakes. When I finally got a pair the contrast between their gorgeous appearance and awful performance proved that beauty is only skin deep.

You used them all wrong! That's like saying that stock certificates don't make good paper airplanes! You purchase delta brakes when the Record extra (normal brakes) came out at a good price, keep the box in a clean, dry place, sell 'em on ebay over a decade later for no less than 5 times what you paid.

Does anybody want to buy a pair of Modolo Kronos down tube shifters? Unbroken and (need I say?) unused...

[Hard Fit]

I'll second the vote for the Silca floor pump. How the heck do you use these things? Expensive, but I finally just threw it out.

Another disappointment was a Hind jersey I got a long time ago. It soaks up water and never gets rid of it. You can wash it and it takes forever to dry. It is like wearing a wet sponge.

[ericspin]

DEDA MAGOO STEM

I paid in excess of $300.00 for this stem. I wanted it because I felt it to be an aesthetic match for my DEDA Spectrum bars (one of my all time faves until I became afraid of carbon bars). My first ride with the MAGOO was supposed to be an epic ride with all my favorite buds on a glorious Spring day. About 3 miles from my friends house we cross a RR track and I hear SNAP!!!! Thank God I didn't have much pressure on the bar because it was swinging in the breeze after my magnesium stem broke.

WHY WOULD ANYONE OVER 100 LBS NEED A MAGNESIUM STEM??? SEE eRICHIE RANT ABOUT LIGHTWEIGHT UNSAFE BITS.


Also, agree with VAX on the Giordana Tenax bibs. Itchy Itchy

[Ti Designs]

I'll second the vote for the Silca floor pump. How the heck do you use these things? Expensive, but I finally just threw it out.

I don't get this one. I bought a used Silca floor pump 25 years ago and I'm still using it - it's almost too simple not to work! The plunger is a leather gasket, grease the thing once in a while and replace the gasket every half dozen years. The [good] chuck is just as simple, it's a big brass thing with a push-on rubber gasket - there's nothing to go wrong there! OK, there's the newer, smaller, made to work with everything (works on nothing) chuck, but that goes back to Sandy's "Is newer always worse" thread. I've had to replace the hose on mine, but with hose barbs on both the pump and the chuck it was a 5 minute fix (2 minutes if I wanted to put down my beer). Even the pressure valve is simple, it's a spring and a ball that's accessed from the side.

[Ozz]

all latex tubes

20mm tires....and my fat arse.

aluminum bottle cages....yuck up bottles

Vetta cycling computers (circa 1994)...

[OldDog]

DK mentioned the early Spinergy wheels. My buddy was riding a pair, the one with 4 spokes on each side laminated up at the rim. Had them as demo wheels that just came into the shop, delaminated on a decent at speed from brake heat.

My Silca pump is 20+ year old. A new rubber gasket each spring with some grease on the leather and a rebuild twice in all those years. Works fine.

[jerk]

the jerk is cheating here because he's pretty stuck in his ways and really doesn't ever use stuff that he doesn't know is really good or at least works. that being said, he has used some gems that were pretty awful.

1. cinelli alter stem. looked really tough and stiff and was pretty heavy. despite this, it was really flexy and awful in practice. all this was made up fro however by the abiltiy to install pictures of pin-up girls on it.

2. gay bars. ok so the jerk never actually used them for more than the five seconds it took him to convince himself how awful they are. but still anatomic handlebars are brutal.

3. that new assos chamois. nothing really needs to climb up there like that....ever. and the rest of their stuff is so nice. good thing giordana is around.

4. methamphetamines. you think the jerk is a jerk now? don't ever accept "vitamins" from a fat man holding a chalkboard. still missed the break, and spent the rest of the race talking endlessly in a language the jerk hardly speaks about the 87 reasons we missed the break...to the chagrin and amusement of the rest of the group.

5. clincher tires. why?

6. bad tubular tires. why?

7. zero setback seatposts and short stems!

jerk

[Louis]

The [good] chuck is just as simple, it's a big brass thing with a push-on rubber gasket - there's nothing to go wrong there!

Ti,

The chuck is the problem. The rest of the pump is great.

Because it only relies on friction between the gasket and the valve body, with no mechanical way of amplifying the force, the chuck tends to work for only a short period of time. When you first start to use a new gasket it’s incredibly hard to press on / remove. After a while the gasket wears down to the point where the force is reasonable. Unfortunately, it soon wears a little more and from then on you need a third hand to hold the chuck on because as soon as the pressure gets above say, 50 psi, the chuck blows right off the valve.

I’ve tried a number of replacement gaskets, but none have worked well, and as a result, I have a perfectly good Silca gathering dust in the basement. One of these days I’ll get a “real” chuck, not just a hunk of brass, and will once again be able to use the pump.

Louis

[Mud]

Funny how people react to the same thing.


Onza pedals should have come with a government warning about being hazardous to your health. :no:

Spinergy wheels with 4 spokes. Try and get service from them after they warped. :crap:

Any saddle with a love channel. I tried them all. :confused:

AC hubs on a mountainbike. :crap:

Ksyrium wheels, too expensive, too stiff, too heavy for the price you pay.

I am sure I could think of a few more but I am old and the memory is not as good.

Ask me what I think the best money spent is besides my bike:

Brooks saddle :banana:

Handbuilt wheels :banana:

Ti Eggbeater pedals :banana:

[inthegutter]

Ksyrium wheels, too expensive, too stiff, too heavy for the price you pay.

:bike: :bike: :argue: :rolleyes: :banana: :no:

[Mikej]

Just thinkin' about those cranks creakin' ticks me off. Crrrrrreak, crrrreak. You know what I'm sayin'?

[dirtdigger88]

Just thinkin' about those cranks creakin' ticks me off. Crrrrrreak, crrrreak. You know what I'm sayin'?

had the ti dyed ones on my Zaskar- wore all the color off in one ride

they sure looked cool in the day though-

Jason

[merckx]

Assos time trial tether doo- hinkey. It had a belt strap at one end that you fastened around your waist and a clip at the other end of a two foot rope that you fixed to your stem. This was something the Italians dreamed up to prevent your machine from getting away from you when turning the 56 X 11. I may or may not have used one in the mid-80's when chasing my Olympic dreams.

[michael white]

Still use my Silca pump everyday, no problems. I want a new one, so I've been leaving it outside the past 15 years or so, and now it's all rusty and the wooden handle is badly cracked from the weather. Still works fine, though.



Probably the worst bike item for me would be the usage of ball bearings in a headset with aluminum cups. Widespread in the industry for decades, along with the phenomenon of "index" steering, this was a downright idiotic misapplication of materials imho, and thank god for cartridges and needles bearings which helped me leave that curse behind.

[avalonracing]

Aftermarket aluminum pulleys (I think mine were Control Tech). I've seen complaints about about the Control Tech seat post but I rode the hell out of one on my MTB in the early '90s without any problems.

[michael white]

yeah that too. I'm looking right now at a Control Tech seatpost which has served me well on my mtn. bike for at least ten years, no problem, no plans to replace.

[shinomaster]

I would have to say speedplay frogs are MP.

[Marcusaurelius]

Bio Pace chainrings
Campagnolo index down tube shifters
Cannondale 2.8 road frame (nut buster)
Giant Excursion (knee breaker)



Oddly enough I've always liked the the silca pump.

[gasman]

Lambert bicycle-
I bet few of you have even heard of them. I bought one used in 1974 or so because it weighed only about 20 pounds. Lots of drilled out aluminum bits and an aluminum fork. The cranks were Al and the BB spindle was square steel-resulting in the crank/spindle interface deforming and giving a distinctive thunk with even pedal stroke. Hammered on a couple sheet metal shims to tighten that sucker up and sold it to the first buyer who picked it up and said "I'll take it" Got my investment back and bought a used PX-10E that I rode for fun for 22 years.

Runner up for worst-my Brooks Pro saddle on said Peugot-never really broke in after 22 years but I was too stubborn and cheap to give it up.

[Wayne77]

FS: Sadly, I need to part ways with my "dream bike". All reasonable offers accepted:

58 cm Cannondale 2.8 frame
Modolo Kronos gruppo
Spinergy 4 spoke wheels with Specialized Armadillos (or I have a pair of 1200 gram wheels from a local co.)
Kooka Cranks w/ Biopace rings (schweeet!)
Control Tech post, Deda Magoo Stem w/ Bontrager anatomic bars
Onza pedals
Saddle - not sure what kind but it has a hole in the middle
purple Ringle ti skewers


Any takers?

[palincss]

Ti,

The chuck is the problem. The rest of the pump is great.

Because it only relies on friction between the gasket and the valve body, with no mechanical way of amplifying the force, the chuck tends to work for only a short period of time. When you first start to use a new gasket it’s incredibly hard to press on / remove. After a while the gasket wears down to the point where the force is reasonable. Unfortunately, it soon wears a little more and from then on you need a third hand to hold the chuck on because as soon as the pressure gets above say, 50 psi, the chuck blows right off the valve.

I’ve tried a number of replacement gaskets, but none have worked well, and as a result, I have a perfectly good Silca gathering dust in the basement. One of these days I’ll get a “real” chuck, not just a hunk of brass, and will once again be able to use the pump.

Louis

Interesting. I think in 30 years of using these pumps I've had to replace gaskets in the chucks maybe 4 times. So in my case, "a short period of time" works out to something like 7 years per gasket.

[stevep]

Lambert bicycle-
I bet few of you have even heard of them. I bought one used in 1974 or so because it weighed only about 20 pounds. Lots of drilled out aluminum bits and an aluminum fork. The cranks were Al and the BB spindle was square steel-resulting in the crank/spindle interface deforming and giving a distinctive thunk with even pedal stroke. Hammered on a couple sheet metal shims to tighten that sucker up and sold it to the first buyer who picked it up and said "I'll take it" Got my investment back and bought a used PX-10E that I rode for fun for 22 years.

Runner up for worst-my Brooks Pro saddle on said Peugot-never really broke in after 22 years but I was too stubborn and cheap to give it up.

the lambert ws revolutionary in many ways. they tried to do it on the cheap though so none of the stuff held up or worked.
light tubing, cartridge bearings, alloy fork ( nother story there- all defective, snapped off)
ended up bought out by someone else and finally by yamaha and then folded.
revolutionary products though. many in use today. a lambert would make an interesting product study these days. very forward thinking engineer but dismal execution...
like campy syncros or delta...hahah grant.touche'

[sspielman]

Interesting. I think in 30 years of using these pumps I've had to replace gaskets in the chucks maybe 4 times. So in my case, "a short period of time" works out to something like 7 years per gasket.

+1

The Silca pump chuck is designed to inflate quality tubulars and tubes. A common design characteristic of these is that the shaft of the valve is SMOOTH as opposed to threaded the entire length. Those el-cheapo threaded valve stems do cause problems with premature wear on the pump chuck gasket. Using a Silca pump on such a valve is the rough equivalent of putting 87 octane fuel in a Ferrari....it's cheap...it works for a short period of time...but eventually it causes problems...

[William]

Anything with Campy on it....like campy syncros or delta.











William ;) :D ;) :D ;) :D ;) :D

[merckx]

Bio Pace chainrings
Campagnolo index down tube shifters
Cannondale 2.8 road frame (nut buster)
Giant Excursion (knee breaker)



Oddly enough I've always liked the the silca pump.

I have Campy 10 spd down tube shifters on my Merckx MXL. They are the bomb. Never a missed shift and sexy!

[merckx]

the lambert ws revolutionary in many ways. they tried to do it on the cheap though so none of the stuff held up or worked.
light tubing, cartridge bearings, alloy fork ( nother story there- all defective, snapped off)
ended up bought out by someone else and finally by yamaha and then folded.
revolutionary products though. many in use today. a lambert would make an interesting product study these days. very forward thinking engineer but dismal execution...
like campy syncros or delta...hahah grant.touche'

Was, or did that become Viscount? A rowing buddy in highschool had one of those in the 70's. Light as *****, but everytime you looked at it, it cracked. Same one? Despite the obvious safety issues, i still wanted one.

[stevep]

Was, or did that become Viscount? A rowing buddy in highschool had one of those in the 70's. Light as *****, but everytime you looked at it, it cracked. Same one? Despite the obvious safety issues, i still wanted one.

yep, it was viscount. couldnt drag the name up.
viscount sold out to yamaha who quit the bike business after 1/2 a season.
they realized how small an industry it really is. not worht the bother.
i think they make motorcycles now or something.

[stevep]

Anything with Campy on it....like campy syncros or delta.

William ;) :D ;) :D ;) :D ;) :D

william,
where the 'ell is grant?
his alarm did not go off?
i heard that he had a campy disrespect alarm built into his computer that rang every time you or i posted.
jayssus, g, you better get the thing checked...
campy sgr pedals?
campy mt bike group?
oye vey.

[old_school]

C-Record index shifters :crap:

From that point forward, I have never bought first year/generation anything.

[sspielman]

william,
where the 'ell is grant?
his alarm did not go off?
i heard that he had a campy disrespect alarm built into his computer that rang every time you or i posted.
jayssus, g, you better get the thing checked...
campy sgr pedals?
campy mt bike group?
oye vey.

Careful, now...somebody might bring up Dura Ace AX...or Biopace....

[Serpico]

selle era luxe

nuff' said

[dbrk]

In the mountain bike boom, when I honestly tried to love mtn bikes, and there were a million companies...some of them made some pretty terrible stuff: Ringle, Kooka, Onza, SRP, the list goes on. I'm with DK on this one: suckiest is hard to nail down. I will say that after Simplex put out the Retrofriction downtube shifter I gleefully abandoned all of the Campagnolo NR shifters and never, ever went back. Of course, I thought those shifters have never been improved upon.

fewer and fewer bouts with modernity,

dbrk

[stevep]

Careful, now...somebody might bring up Dura Ace AX...or Biopace....

hey w,
double ss's alarm went off!
yeah? campy stinks.
shimano is great.
william will be at your hse in 20 minutes with his sticks...you better beat feet.

[Grant McLean]

campy sgr pedals?
campy mt bike group?
oye vey.

even Van Morrison did some bad albums.
just makes the good stuff sound that much better.

:)

g

[sspielman]

hey w,
double ss's alarm went off!
yeah? campy stinks.
shimano is great.
william will be at your hse in 20 minutes with his sticks...you better beat feet.

It must be that Grant's calls are being forwarded.....my alarm is usually set on "tubular defense" mode.....

[stevep]

thanks boys.
its snowing like shiite here so you had better both be on call all day as im not going out of the hse.
s

first snow weve nad this year...
dbrk, you dont know what tis like to be stuck inside the house for 1/2 a day!
5 inches already!
like the f'ing yukon.

[Big Dan]

In order to use the Campagnolo Syncro shifters you needed patience and a lot of luck...........

:eek:

[DarrenCT]

time carbon shoes - terrible fit and very cheaply made. (not a part but they still suck)

specialized tri-cross bike - seatpost got stuck in the seat tube for NO REASON

elite small carbon cages - special bottles to fit? what a joke!

profile karbon lite cages - bottles fell out all the time

[dauwhe]

I would have to say speedplay frogs are MP.

my favorite pedals :)

Dave

[sspielman]

I generally like French bike parts.....but in the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell this story (again)...Back about 1980, Mafac was really feeling the pressure...first for being a specialty parts maker (primarily brakes only) and also for steadfastly sticking with centerpull designs when the rest of the world was using sidepulls. They relented and produced a top of the range model, the LS. The several pro teams that they supplied asked for this model and they were officially in use in the pro peloton. The unfortunate part was that they didn't work very well...as a matter of fact, they were TERRIBLE. They were so weak that it quickly became culture for riders with the Mafacs to grab hold of another rider's saddle at the top of a descent...and simply announce, "mafac"....This was a signal to the other rider that he would be doing the braking for BOTH on the descent. Eventually, Mafac modified the pad compound for their sidepull brakes, but by this time it was over for the company (sadly) Pretty cool, eh? By the way, both Phil Anderson and Stephen Roche HATED these brakes....

[MartyE]

Gassman,
I had a Viscount (later incarnation of Lambert) complete with death fork,
got the bike down to sub 20lbs.

worst components?
Campy syncro I shift system.

Tufo gluing tape (not the extreme), in texas heat leaves
a nice gooey oozy sticky mess on your rims, major MP

marty

[Benjamin]

In the mountain bike boom, when I honestly tried to love mtn bikes, and there were a million companies...some of them made some pretty terrible stuff: Ringle, Kooka, Onza, SRP, the list goes on.

And anything related to early suspension technology.

The Girvin flexstem?

Scott Unishock fork? (pogo stick!)

The oil-spraying RockShox Mag 21?

The Proflex all-elastomer bike?

or how about...

Scott AT-4 pro bars? (how do you get your Gripshifts on these things, anyway?)

Gripshifts?

[rpm]

French stuff from the bike boom days:
Pivo handlebars--broke in half (at low speed)

Velo-Solex bike--531 tubing bought as a travel bike. So flexy that the big chainring hit both sides of the front derailleur.

Other:
Hi-E pedals--Had ergonomic dropped platform made possible by stubby axle, which literally exploded going uphill.

Campagnolo Grand Turismo derailleur--tortured shifting and weight of, oh 5 lbs or so. On the plus side, you could take it off the bike and pound tent pegs in with it.

Conti 2000 tires--made it a whole 2 hours on them before the first sidewall cut.

[AgilisMerlin]

modolo carbon friction downtube shifters. looked cool in the garbage can :crap:


amerlin

[swoop]

zipp carbon wheels in a crit.
speedplay pedals
gen. 1 campy index shifting
USE seatpost seat clamps
Nokon cables
Rudy Project helmets from 3 years ago
Most of the functions of the typical cycle computer.

[zap]

Ti frame from the carbonello folks.
Cannondale Jekyl.
Cane Creek brakes.
AC rear hub.
PI bibs.
Mavic 330 rims.
Latex inner tubes.
Shimano DA brifters
Veloflex pave

[labratmatt]

Conti 2000 tires. Went through three of them in a few months before calling it quits. Sidewalls kept blowing out.

[Chad Engle]

Moustache bars, you pick the brand.

Browning BMX two speed. $$$$

[obtuse]

the jerk is cheating here because he's pretty stuck in his ways and really doesn't ever use stuff that he doesn't know is really good or at least works. that being said, he has used some gems that were pretty awful.

1. cinelli alter stem. looked really tough and stiff and was pretty heavy. despite this, it was really flexy and awful in practice. all this was made up fro however by the abiltiy to install pictures of pin-up girls on it.

2. gay bars. ok so the jerk never actually used them for more than the five seconds it took him to convince himself how awful they are. but still anatomic handlebars are brutal.

3. that new assos chamois. nothing really needs to climb up there like that....ever. and the rest of their stuff is so nice. good thing giordana is around.

4. methamphetamines. you think the jerk is a jerk now? don't ever accept "vitamins" from a fat man holding a chalkboard. still missed the break, and spent the rest of the race talking endlessly in a language the jerk hardly speaks about the 87 reasons we missed the break...to the chagrin and amusement of the rest of the group.

5. clincher tires. why?

6. bad tubular tires. why?

7. zero setback seatposts and short stems!

jerk


this guy sucks but i agree with him a year later.

obtuse

[stevep]

this guy sucks but i agree with him a year later.

obtuse


brain lag.
common actually.
never had it myself...
i have the opposite... i fire away before the brain interprets the data...
wrong 2/3 of the time.
but the 1/3 of the time i am a genius.
ill live with it.
so far, anyway.

[CalfeeFly]

I join others with the original Specialized Body Comp Saddle...pain that was unbelievable...I literally cycled to my bike shop and bought a new saddle...

When Nashbar was independent they had an outlet store near Youngstown, Ohio. The bargains were unbelievalbe and it was a fun stop. For example I bought my first Goretex jacket for 15 dollars. There was a very small hole that made no difference whatsover.

What does that have to do with the saddle you ask? Well...I should have known there was a reason why they had a box of them returned that must have had at least 30 saddles in it. At least it was cheap...$10 I think it was...

[catulle]

Selle San Marco Aspide ain't nice to my butt.

[mjb266]

Okay, anyone have the first generation CODA brakes. I was wrenching in a shop and we felt so guilty sending people out saying that they'd burn in after 30 hours of riding or so...they never did.

The carbon tubed aluminum lugged Specialized Epics 10-15 years ago that they were giving away on e.p. was crap. 74 angles all around and a wobble for everyone who bought one as soon as they took their hands off the bar.

How about a 32 hole GL280 build up as a rear wheel (I was 17 and thought it might work)

Those horrible Verdistein Cross tires/mud magnets

Specialized Umma Gumma Tires!!! I don't think I'll ever descend as fast as I did before getting the ****e scared out of me on a wet descent. This is definately # 1 for me.

[Kevan]

Alien CF seatpost.

Liked the looks and concept but its function was a poor leader to its form.

[big shanty]

I had a full-suspension Cannondale that featured some of the worst parts known to man....entry-level grip shifters (yuck!), CODA everything else, and a leaky HeadShok. What a piece of crap. Serentity now......

[Frustration]

any Super Light Zero Padding Carbon Saddle...

Ever.

[Avispa]

Me, a freaking ISIS BB from Stronglight. Actually I got TWO and they turned out a mess. Never again I will go with those type of BB's.

I replaced them for an American Classic BB, but I think the design is just no good!

[sspielman]

Me, a freaking ISIS BB from Stronglight. Actually I got TWO and they turned out a mess. Never again I will go with those type of BB's.

I replaced the for an American Classic BB, but I think the design is just no good!

Really?...I'm using two on different bikes with no issues.....actually, they are amazingly smooth...assemble these things with plenty of anti-seize compound (and not grease) wherever metal meets metal...I've found them to be durable stuff....

[CalfeeFly]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Onza Brakes...they were the "in" thing to have until they started to crack...they ranked right up there with their pedals...

[dave thompson]

Aztec Powerline brake and shift cable kits. A close second goes to Nokon for the same dealios. What a giant waste of money!

[Wayne77]

Can you say "Pogo Stick"?

boing....boing...boing..boing..

[Benjamin]

the original neon yellow magura hydraulic brakes.

[Peter P.]

Sella Italia Max Flite Saddle. I was hit by a car. Only thing damaged was the seat was torn off the rails. Up until then I only rode "practical" saddles-Turbos and Turbomatics.

Insurance ponies up the cash to replace my saddle. I get this bright idea; I want to try one of those Flite saddles that had been the rage for several years. I thought the standard model had too little padding so I chose a Max Flite.

I gave that saddle almost a year and 5k miles to feel comfortable. All I remember of that time is PAIN.

Ritchey Comp seatpost. That single bolt clamp couldn't hold a thought let alone a saddle.

Helmet mounted bicycle mirror: Good for one position; useless while in the drops.

Swix Lobster Mitt style winter gloves. Bought them for commuting 'cause I couldn't find the Pearl Izumis I so loved and besides; a company that specializes in cross country ski gear knows how to make winter wear, right?
WRONG. Wore them ONE DAY, at thirty degrees, and sent them back.

[DarkStar]

In no particular order......

- Araya CTL-370 clincher rim
- Specialized latex inner tubes
- Coombe pedals (though these had potential for greatness)
- Suntour XC Pro mountain bike groupset
- Cinelli Eubios handlebars
-
Still have the XC Pro thumbshifters, yet to see anything better. My opinion of course.

[classic1]

3ttt Morphus quill stem. The bars slips and the clamps have a tendancy to break. Everything you could possibly ask for in a headstem. :rolleyes:

Galli cranks like breaking too.

[Tony Edwards]

Some of these picks are very surprising to me - I actually liked my Onza pedals and loved the Suntour XC-Pro group that came on my Bridgestone MB-0. I actually still use the front thumbshifter on my Serotta mountain bike (with an XT RF+ rear).

The worst ones for me:

- Sampson Stratics ti BB - this one nearly killed me when the spindle snapped on a fast MTB descent - what an underengineered POS

- Sampson cranks - they sent me these to replace the Deore DX cranks I bent when I snapped my BB, and they too really sucked

- Dia-Compe 986 and 987 brakes - they SEEMED like a good idea in that the pads could be adjusted with only one wrench, but as a practical matter they sucked hard and were very tricky to set up

- Conti Grand Prix 3000 tires - I have had these last as few as 10 miles before they received a major, disabling sidewall cut

[gasman]

the lambert ws revolutionary in many ways. they tried to do it on the cheap though so none of the stuff held up or worked.
light tubing, cartridge bearings, alloy fork ( nother story there- all defective, snapped off)
ended up bought out by someone else and finally by yamaha and then folded.
revolutionary products though. many in use today. a lambert would make an interesting product study these days. very forward thinking engineer but dismal execution...
like campy syncros or delta..hahah grant.touche'

Wow-will wonders never cease.
Can't believe you knew about these POSs stevep-I also can't believe anyone could use revolutionary and Lambert in the same sentence. But what you say does make sense-very light bike, very poorly executed.

[michael white]

Some of these picks are very surprising to me - I actually liked my Onza pedals and loved the Suntour XC-Pro group that came on my Bridgestone MB-0.

as I recall, you just had to replace the elastomers in the Onzas sometimes. I didn't see it as a major deal.

I remember liking those DiaCompe 986 brakes, I had them on my Bridgestone, too, but yeah, set-up was a tricky.

[stevep]

Wow-will wonders never cease.
Can't believe you knew about these POSs stevep-I also can't believe anyone could use revolutionary and Lambert in the same sentence. But what you say does make sense-very light bike, very poorly executed.

we sold them in the shop i worked at the time.
it was a pretty remarkable product. they made many of their own parts, hubs had cartridge bearings, bbs also, a very light bike, thin cro mo steel.
just badly done but totally cutting edge in concept.
i would love to look one over now that is original.
would be very interesting.
3 pounds lighter than a colnago w/ record probably and they sold for ( i forget , but something like $300 )

[davids]

this guy sucks but i agree with him a year later.

obtuse
What ever happened to that guy? Probably left the industry?

[Serotta PETE]

Ellen,,,,if this you?????? Smiley and the Fly have been rubbing off on you ;)

way too expensive piece of crap Polar heart rate monitor/cyclocomputer. Way too much study and brainwork necessary to use the thing. Piece of crap imho.

[weisan]

Conti Ultra 3000 - had them for three years, no sidewall blowups, little or no issue, just ride em' till they expire.

[regularguy412]

Ritchey Pro Peloton Road Pedals ,,,, DANGEROUS

There is NOTHING holding the pedal body on the spindle. It's a press fit. First time standing outta the saddle,, right pedal came off the spindle. Gonads on the top tube. Cut my knee on the big ring. Did NOT crash, however. Walked the 1/10 mile back to my house.

DO NOT BUY THESE. If you have them,, BEWARE.

Mike in AR

OH,, I weigh 170 lbs.

[catulle]

Some of these picks are very surprising to me - I actually liked my Onza pedals and loved the Suntour XC-Pro group that came on my Bridgestone MB-0. I actually still use the front thumbshifter on my Serotta mountain bike (with an XT RF+ rear).




I still have an MB-0 (MB Zipp or something) hanging from my garage. Lovely bike.

[BillyBear]

As noted above world class POS bad...at least I didn't pay for them :argue:

[DRZRM]

Wow, two MB- Zips on one thread. Those things are real collector's items now, both of you guys have them huh? I lusted after one of them for years.

Sweet bike.



I still have an MB-0 (MB Zipp or something) hanging from my garage. Lovely bike.

[Tony Edwards]

Wow, two MB- Zips on one thread. Those things are real collector's items now, both of you guys have them huh? I lusted after one of them for years.

Sweet bike.


I don't have mine anymore. I bought it when they folded Bstone US, in 1994 or so. They did an inventory closeout, including then-NOS MB-0s. I was working in a shop and bought it for $550. It was a great bike, actually, albeit pretty flexible. I ended up replacing it with my Serotta ATi after badly denting the top tube.

[Elefantino]

What's really bad?

Posting on this thread a year ago, then not remembering that you posted on this thread a year ago.

At least the part I hated then is still the same part I hate now.

[michael white]

I had one of the gorgeous MB-1s with the Tom Ritchey crown. It was my second B'stone. This will sound funny, but it was stolen three times in different ways, in different states. The third time, I didn't get it back. I know that sounds like I must've been negligent or something, but that's how it is sometimes. Anyway, a real favorite bike, The frame wasn't as flexible as the zip, but the fork was probably a bit too flexy for hard riding downhill, though I did a fair amount of it anyway. Brake shudder.

[tys]

Green Tyre solid rubber tires. Perhaps a world record for rolling resistance?

[chrisroph]

got another one, challenge mac slick clincher, ride like a garden hose, mount like an unstretched sprinter tubular and about as durable as no tire at all.

[TMB]

Boy this is a tough one.........would it be?

Keywin pedals?
early Spinergy 4 spoke wheels?
an early ( 80's) cannondale?
Ad****s plastic BMX chainrings (anyone out there remember these)?
Bullseye hubs?
first generation indexed Campy downtube shifters?
Shimano positron?
etc..........

Is it possible for a bunch of things to suck equally or does one need to pick the suckiest?

Dave

This is funny.

Going through a box in the basement looking for a part I "know" I have, I came across not only a set of those 1st gen campy levers but also ........

....... still in the "presentation box" a set of Keywin pedals.

I sat there and looked at those for a while.

Can't remember where I got them or why, or what on earth I would do with them.

Put them back in the box.

[rustychisel]

Wow, this thread has come back from the basement... so what exactly is wrong with Keywin's I ask, unless you're talking the very first generation which were a bit average. I have 3 sets, the oldest still going strong after 5 years... they're light, secure, cleats wear well, well engineered...

Number 1 bad guy: Suntour Cyclone downtube friction shifters. The word 'friction' was a hint they shouldn't have made the retainers and travel limiters out of tinfoil.

[WadePatton]

Sorry I missed first round.

One of my happiest cycling days ever: selling the C'dale Delta-V with the Headcrap and Coda junk.

Replacement pin chains! Started running Sachs chains when shizmatto did that.

[saab2000]

Not as many lamea$$ parts anymore because I only really invest in what I know works for me. Gimick parts are usually exactly that.

[Simon Q]

Rocket 7's. Freaking disaster. They tried several times to get it right but not even close. I gave up and had some custom orthotics for my Sidis. The Rockets are sitting in my shed gathering dust.

[TACSTS]

USE Ringo Starr. just awful. Unless of course you like a loose headset about every 20miles. Then it might be awesome.

[dannyg1]

Just read the whole thread through, from beginning to end and I'm perplexed by a few choices:

Campagnolo downtube shifters. I've never run Syncro 8 shifters but for one testride. In that they seemed perfectly fine. But why harp on the standard version? I've ridden these for eons and other than loosening up every once in a blue moon, they work perfectly; like forever.

Zero set-back seatposts: Contrary to the modern 'riding your kids bike' sizing craze, I like to feel a bit spread out across my bike. Ialso like to change up my riding position depending on how I feel day-to-day (and how my knees feel when powering up a hill). Nothing gives me more seat placement options than a zero setback post.

Delta Brakes: Set these up correctly (the thickness of the pads is critical, so worn pads need spacers) and there's no better brake of the period, possibly no better ever. There's only one other brake, that can lock a front wheel that is, That I trust implicitly under panic stopping conditions and that's the modern Ti2. With the Delta's, you can really apply emergency power to the front brake and not worry that you're going to over-do it. You stop as fast as is possible and don't crash/burn unexpectedly.

My votes for worst?:

Schwalbe Stelvio tires. Too light to last a week in NYC.
Continental latex tubes. Just plain garbage.
Tektro mini-V brakes. Unstoppable.
Schwinn and Raleigh machine built wheelsets of the 80's.
Ideale leather saddle: Leather so thick, so stiff, a 300pd man could'nt break it in.
Simplex resin derailleurs. Plastic garbage
1st generation Dura Ace Sidepulls. Horrible
Dia Compe Aero G brakes: Horrible
Campagnolo and Dura Ace 9 and 10 spd chains: Stretch within 3 months and cost big $ at the LBS.
Modolo brake pads: The braes themselves are mostly fine.
Carbon face plates on RD's: A word to the manufacturers: Carbon doesn't enjoy life on pivot points. If you're going to put carbon on an RD, mount bearings at the pivots.
Carbon FD cages: What are they thinking?
Bushings as pedal bearings: Typically press fit and irreplaceable. Idiotic.

And on the more personal side

Carbon frames: If locking your QR lever too tightly can destroy your frame, it's a poor material choice.
Carbon forks: If it can fail catastropically at a rate far worse than steel, why would I consider using it?
Aluminum frames/forks: Also unsafe at any speed.

Danny

[AgilisMerlin]

anything MODOLO..................and i am sErIoUs' ............. :crap:

[BobC]

Not exactly the worst bike part, but a true story that involves bad bike parts.

Sponsoring bike shop picks up Giant as a product and wants to push Giant bikes. Over the winter, sponsoring bike shop owner offers the ole’ team a stupid good deal on these first year Giant aluminum sloping downtube road bikes (Frame, fork, headset and seatpost). So we bite.

Well first, as we are getting a good deal and not paying retail, we get back ordered –until APRIL. OK, so Christmas arrives 120 days late, but they show up in mid-April and I pull the proverbial Friday all-nighter, putting the bike together to ride Sat. Week later, Sponsoring bike shop owner calls up team captain, muttering something about the forks being recalled. Sweet. So, I pull another all-nighter, pull the fork off, swap the components back to the bike that I was racing originally. Couple weeks later, new forks show up, and I faithfully put the Giant BACK together. But then, the steering starts to act funky as if the bike is possessed. I want to go one way (as in turn left), the bike wants to continue to go another way (as in go straight). OBTW, super fun in crits – makes you real popular. Talk to the guys on the team, same problem. Seems that Giant went with a first generation integrated headset and the bearings and cups ain’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye. Call Giant and -- presto! -- couple weeks later new bearings show up.

But the piece de resistance happens 2 weeks later at 5:15 am as I riding into work. I start to hear this horrible screeching sound, starting quietly and getting louder coming from the bike, near the cranks. The bike starts to change gears randomly and I am asking myself, “***O? This cannot be happening.” I get to a place where there is some light and inspect the bike. Come to find out seat tube has cracked in half and the only thing holding it together are the water bottle cage & bolts. Had maybe 500 miles total on the bike.

Went back to the sponsoring bike shop owner, handed him the bike and told him he could keep it and that I probably wouldn’t be a good person to talk to about Giant bikes if he wanted to sell any.

[false_Aest]

Mavic Cosmic Equipe.

I've never had a set of factory wheels that required my bike shop to lock-tite each and every effin' spoke.

Even the first set of wheels I built up (I, incidentally, first "weaved" the spokes instead of doing a triple-x. Had to de-lace the whole wheel and start over.) lasted longer than these POS.

[Fixed]

a.c. wheels

[Dave Wages]

I had the misfortune of buying a set of these little devils during my early racing days. I was looking for a bargain and got more than I bargained for. Impossible to get into, almost as difficult to disengage and walking around with the too tall cleats was comical. Then to top it off the cleats would split down the back after about a month. Worst Part Ever!!! :no:

[Kervin]

Suntour Cassettes on a montain bike - I've never had teeth break off of a cassette before or since

DynaDrive pedals - The did feel great, but the 2mm between the two bearing races wasn't enough to support the rest of the pedal. The races would get pitted in a few months of riding.

Look plastic pedals - The big old ones. If the hit in a corner, the pedal would explode.

[Samster]

modolo. but the brakes looked cool.

[M.Sommers]

The orange flag attached to the back of my first ten speed. It had an orange six foot, fiberglass pole. Went for a spin, friends made fun of me. Next ride the pole wound up snapped in half and told the folks, "I must've hit a tree branch". :confused:

:beer:

[saab2000]

modolo. but the brakes looked cool.

Synterised brake 'pads'. Nothing like having sandpaper for brakes.

[giordana93]

I had the misfortune of buying a set of these little devils during my early racing days. I was looking for a bargain and got more than I bargained for. Impossible to get into, almost as difficult to disengage and walking around with the too tall cleats was comical. Then to top it off the cleats would split down the back after about a month. Worst Part Ever!!! :no:
good example of how experiences can vary. I put 20,000 miles on my sampsons and never had the problems you did, except the tall cleat. they were bad for walking; hard to engage when full of mud, but I didn't walk in them, I rode. never split a cleat, got clipped in as fast as any of my riding partners, never had an accidental release, never had problems getting out. ymmv
worst part I tried was when I was 10 and tried to brake a chromed steel rim in the rain. yikes.

[saab2000]

worst part I tried was when I was 10 and tried to brake a chromed steel rim in the rain. yikes.

Shoulda tried some Modolo Synterised sanding block brake pads! :beer: They woulda rubbed the chrome right off those Schwinn Approved rims.

[chrisroph]

Shoulda tried some Modolo Synterised sanding block brake pads! :beer: They woulda rubbed the chrome right off those Schwinn Approved rims.


i still have a set of those on a bike i haven't ridden in 15 years. didn't they work ok in the rain?

[saab2000]

i still have a set of those on a bike i haven't ridden in 15 years. didn't they work ok in the rain?

I owned some Modolos with the Synterised pads back in the '80s. They looked kinda cool but I didn't know what was good and what was bad. I didn't realise how crappy they were until I got my Campagnolo Record Deltas, which were basically fine.

Then I got some Record dual pivot brakes in the early '90s and have never looked back since.

The Modolos worked but not that well. They improved greatly though when some rubber pads were installed.

[giordana93]

weren't the modolos supposed to resist fade (or melting!) on really long descents? that's what I seem to recall. too rich for my blood, I was running dia compe's or weinemann's (sp?)

[ndoshi72c]

Rivendell Ribit cantilever brakes: so disappointing

SPD-R pedals

Soma leather toe straps: break in a month

[avalonracing]

I rode my bike with my old SPD-R pedals today and thought to myself "These are one of the most-bomb proof parts that I have ever owned".

[MarinRider]

First generation. Cannot get the stem cap tight enough to hold it in place under spec.
Came loose during state TT. Lost by 4 seconds! Tighted down a bit more before the next TT. Cracked it. Used it for 3 races: $600.

[maunahaole]

Regina SL chain with the hollow pins, first generation Campy Athena "brakes"

[AgilisMerlin]

Regina SL chain with the hollow pins, first generation Campy Athena "brakes"


re: Athena,

i purchased that gruppo when it came out. The indexed shifting sucked bigtime, and is worthy of making this list. Absolutely horrible. :crap:

[R2D2]

1st generation Easton EC90 stem with collet. And to add insult to injury, the f'ng stupid beartrap headset adjuster.

[junior2189]

specilzed allez frame for 2003-2005
latex tubes
19c tires
s bend aero bars
carbon bars,stems, seat posts
shimano shoes
renn disc wheel

JUNIOR

[palincss]

we sold them in the shop i worked at the time.
it was a pretty remarkable product. they made many of their own parts, hubs had cartridge bearings, bbs also, a very light bike, thin cro mo steel.
just badly done but totally cutting edge in concept.
i would love to look one over now that is original.
would be very interesting.
3 pounds lighter than a colnago w/ record probably and they sold for ( i forget , but something like $300 )

If anyone ever wanted proof of the adage that "if it looks too good to be true, it probably isn't" they need look no farther than the Lambert. On paper, simply unbelievable for the money. BTW - did you mention their forks, that broke?

[dvancleve]

Michelin Dynamics. Mine were 28mm, looked nice on my Rivendell, felt nice and cushy and very inexpensive. Everybody on the iBOB list (my main hangout) loves them. I couldn't have gotten more flats by intentionally hitting every piece of junk in the road. I actually lost money giving them away (underestimated postage).

The old Selle San Marco Concor. My only seat for years, nearly instant numbness, why did I ever ride it? I guess I thought it was the price of admission...

Doug

[GuyGadois]

I love this thread. I have used many of these parts!

Here is my contribution: aluminum nipples. Why do people risk the savings of a gram or two for a significant reduction in saftey

Guy

[Bob Loblaw]

Guy loves to talk about his nipples.

I can still hear the "pting" sound of chainring bolts breaking on those old Stronglight cranks. After a while it became a joke among my riding buddies. Somehow it even manage to destroy Campagnolo and Shimano chainring bolts. That was truly engineering at its finest.

If I rode within five feet of a thorn or piece of glass on Avocet tires, they would chew my inner tubes into swiss cheese.

A reviewer of the Vitus carbon/aluminum bike I rode back in the 80's, trying to excuse its dismal handling, said "You might lose 30 seconds on the descent, but you gain three minutes on the climb." Actually, I gained 40 seconds on the climb and lost almost two minutes on the descent. The good thing is that trying to keep up in races on that bike really sharpened my descending skill, and to this day people sometimes wonder how I go downhill so quickly. "Well," I tell them, "It all started on a chilly February day in 1985..." Adding insult to injury, the clamp-on shift levers would slide down the the down-tube because you couldn't tighten them enough to get them to stay put. Likewise the water bottle and front derailer.

Bob Loblaw, esq

[GuyGadois]

Bob, welcome to the forum (I see that was your first post).

After reading your post I would have to add the Vitus/Pegeut carbon bikes. Very whippy with a hair-like trigger. Have your will updated before mounting.

Mr. Loblaw, are you an attorney?

Guy Gadois

[Kevan]

bikes seem to be "the better mouse trap" magnets.

[csm]

I didn't realize at first how old it was; was seeing posts from the jerk, erichie, saab, etc. then I saw the dates.

[palincss]

Lambert bicycle-
I bet few of you have even heard of them. I bought one used in 1974 or so because it weighed only about 20 pounds. Lots of drilled out aluminum bits and an aluminum fork. The cranks were Al and the BB spindle was square steel-resulting in the crank/spindle interface deforming and giving a distinctive thunk with even pedal stroke. Hammered on a couple sheet metal shims to tighten that sucker up and sold it to the first buyer who picked it up and said "I'll take it" Got my investment back and bought a used PX-10E that I rode for fun for 22 years.

And to think, you missed out on the best part: Lambert forks broke off while you were riding. And there was more.

Here http://www.re-cycle.com/History/Lambert.aspx is a web page about the Lambert.

[Needs Help]

Giordana Tenax shorts. I know some love 'em but they chew my butt to a bloody shred no matter how much Assos cream applied beforehand. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

I had the same problem initially(with the blue chamois model), but then I got used to them. My problem with the Tenax shorts is that the stitching on the seams wore out after only one season. I bought two more pair(with the red chamois), and after one season the stitching on those came undone too. Apparently, the stitching is not durable enough to withstand the saddle rubbing on it.

I also bought an expensive pair of Giordana tights--the ones that are made out of that wet suit material. However, they are so tight and stiff that I can't bend my knees. I finally figured out that if I pulled the bottom of the tights 3 inches up my shin, that would create a baggy spot around my knees allowing me to bend my knees. They are also supposed be warm in the coldest weather you can tolerate, but in my experience they feel cold in 50 degree weather.

As a result of those experiences, I won't buy anything made my Giordana again. Sorry jerk.

And another vote for Nokon cables. The creaking was unbearable.

[tys]

Green Tyre airless tires. :crap:

[johnnymossville]

I had a set of modolos back in the day also. The sinterized F1 style brake pads weren't great cold, but they didn't fade like normal brakes when hot and seemed to be ok in the rain. That's good for a couple times a year at most. hehe

They did look cool though. I think my brother is still using them on his cannondale.

[kipjac]

To carry on the mindless amusing discussion started by fodo with the seatpost thread, what is the worst part/frame/etc you've ever tried?

The worst tire I ever tried was a crappy $6.00 wobler (sic) sewup that I won for blundering into third place in a cat 4 race 30 years ago that blew up within one mile of its maiden voyage.

The worst saddle I ever tried was a brand new brooks professional that I endured for a couple weeks. I beat on that thing for hours with a big rubber mallet but it never felt like anything other that a king size rawhide doggy chew bone stuck on the top of my seatpost. Obviously, YMMV.
My worst product was a pair of plastic ear noise deadeners that retrofitted onto the straps of my belmet. The theory was they would reduce the wind noise by deflecting the wind away. All they did was flap as I rode and actually made the noise worse, not to mention the banged against my helmet straps continuously. Stupid.

[Bob Loblaw]

I'm not an attorney, but I play one on TV.

Accolades:
"Bob Loblaw Lobs Law Bomb!" - NY Times

"Bob Loblaw Law Blog Clocks Law Bog!" - LA Law

"You don't need double-talk! You need Bob Loblaw!"

Bob, welcome to the forum (I see that was your first post).

After reading your post I would have to add the Vitus/Pegeut carbon bikes. Very whippy with a hair-like trigger. Have your will updated before mounting.

Mr. Loblaw, are you an attorney?

Guy Gadois

[mikki]

Worst ever...a seat that looked like rattan furniture with holes in it. I thought it looked "airy" and would be ultra comfortable. It was airy alright; for an airhead!! It was so flexible that I bounced up and down with each pedal stroke. Makes me laugh to think about it.

[Samster]

selle italia tt saddle in suede. god did that hurt. did i post this already?

[Jeff N.]

Once more: Anything ZIPP. Jeff N.

[skatzman]

This is going back about 15 years, but they used to advertise a noseless saddle in the back of cycling mags that had a split sitbone support. Each support was hinged to provide "comfort". The ads made the saddle sound very appealing so I bought one. What a POS!!! I had a hard time riding one-handed long enough to shift my downtube shifters. Without the saddle nose there is nothing to stabilize the bike and it gets pretty wobbly. Scary too! That lasted for one 30 minute tryout ride.

Fortunately there was a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and I sent it back for a full refund. Probably lost a few bucks on shipping. I can imagine that there must have been a lot more of those suckers coming back for refunds.

Honorable mentions:
Conti road tires prior to the GP-4000 due to flaking sidewalls
Steel rims
Aluminum spoke nips
Dura Ace aluminum seatpost - press-in clamp swivelled in the post
Rolf Vector Pro wheels

[csm]

I wonder how that saddle would work now with brifters?

[skatzman]

I wonder how that saddle would work now with brifters?

It would still suck! Eventually you would need to take a hand off the bars to get a water bottle or adjust something. Surprisingly, as long as you had both hands on the bars, stability wasn't much of an issue. I didn't even try to ride no handed - that would have been pushing my luck.

[kerrycycle]

Shimano Wheelset WH-7701...you know the 9-spd "Dura Ace" ones with paired spokes. I had trouble keeping them true after only two weeks...& I kept these things for 3 years!

Michelin ProRace tires (first Gen). Tried these instead of my tried & true Vittorias. Compared to the Vittorias I normally use, these cornered terribly. I now use Vittoria exclusively for all my wheels & bikes & have no complaints.

[Ahneida Ride]

OEM Campy Brakes Pads ....

After 800 miles, there was black crapola over my rims ....

Switched to Kool Stop Salmon and never looked back.

[flickwet]

Athena index 7spd, have run it friction since new works great that way, Scintered Modolo brake pads work great on Roval sew up wheels that are hard anodized without machined brake surface. I like my vredensteins 28mm(sp) but they are not my mud tires. My vote for worst part is...any "smiling Bob" stem ugg they look awfull pointing toward the sky, maybe they look alright with the huge padded sheepskin seat cover, I feel mean tonite.

[Dekonick]

Probably already posted this -

Specialized Epic - 1992 I think - carbon crap.

[rounder]

Tuffy tire liners or whatever they were called. I bought them years ago when i first started road riding and had a few flats. They were super clunky and weighed on my mind. Then i got rid of them and decided to go light with latex tubes. Every ride, had to pump them up from 20-30 psi because all of the air had escaped.

[Flat Out]

Vittoria Evo 55g tubes. They blow out when you just look at them.

[avalonracing]

The Rolf Vector Comp wheels that came on my 2000 Klein sucked. They came with loose spokes, went out of true right away, and continued to do so after a good tightening/truing and got so many flat spots that they were almost round again.

[rustychisel]

the thread... that... will not... ... ...die. :banana:

[Needs Help]

polar CS200CAD

Serenity now. Serenity now. If this is the state of heart rate monitor technology, I'm pretty disappointed. Some days it works. Other days it reads 230 the whole ride--no matter how many times I turn it off and on or unbuckle the chest strap to try and reset it. The front fork sensor died(which doesn't have replaceable batteries), so all I use the unit for is heart rate.

The only dependable thing seems to be the cadence.

[konstantkarma]

Selle Italia ERA Saddles, or any saddle that has mounds of stitching on the place where your sit bones contact the saddle. What were they thinking?

I had one that came stock on my Klein. Swapped it out after one ride.

[Bob Ross]

The only things that immediately come to mind are:

- whatever those Aero/Ergo handlebars that come stock on an S-Works Tarmac are. I tried a test ride on that bike, barely made it around the block before I had to get off...just could not find a single place to put my hands where they were comfortable.

- Selle Italia Mundialita saddle. It's actually not all that bad to sit on in terms of shape & how/where it presses on yer bits&pieces, but for some reason (hmm, gee, perhaps because it's made of ultrasuede?) it gets unbearably hot, to the point of being dangerously uncomfortable. Like, Spontaneous Combustion dangerous.

[GuyGadois]

polar CS200CAD

Serenity now. Serenity now. If this is the state of heart rate monitor technology, I'm pretty disappointed. Some days it works. Other days it reads 230 the whole ride--no matter how many times I turn it off and on or unbuckle the chest strap to try and reset it. The front fork sensor died(which doesn't have replaceable batteries), so all I use the unit for is heart rate.

The only dependable thing seems to be the cadence.

You think that is bad try the Polar100CAD. It actually broke last week during a road race because the street was too bumpy. I looked down and it was hanging on by a thread. I had to put it in my pocket for the rest of the race. Now, the computer is attached to my bike by velcro. I don't even want to go into the details about how bad of a design the computer is. That is a whole other post.

Guy