Best bike product

[saab2000]

Alright, we've been here before. But along the lines of the worst thing you ever used, what have people had that turned out to be among the most satisfying? By that I mean most surprisingly good or best value, etc?

I can think of several things that provided much service at a low price and some of which lasted years. Some are just good.

- Peugeot, as seen in the "Bikes no longer in your stable" thread
- Cinelli bars and stem, 65s
- Deda Newton bars and stem (much better than I expected)
- Vittoria CX tubulars (now Veloflex Criteriums)
- Campagnolo Nucleon tubular wheels from here and eBay. Excellent wheels.
- Turbomatic II saddles
- Campagnolo 10-speed stuff has worked very well since I got my first groupset in 2001. No complaints or desire for other stuff.
- Some of my Park tools, especially the spoke wrenches.
- Time pedals, especially the Impact Magnesiums

[seehunt]

Slime Tubes - at least on my mtn. bike tires, I have not had a flat in more than 2 years, frequent flats prior to slime. Hours of dirty, frustrating :crap: aggravating flat fixing eliminated, THAT is satisfying!

[dave thompson]

best bike product? (Ooohh, I'm gonna get it!)... Shimano Dura Ace 9-speed triple components. Bought some when they first came out and a second set shortly thereafter. Easy to set up properly, work extremely well, easy to use and bullet-proof in my experiences.

[Headwinds]

Alll the stuff I currently have on my bike, I don't have patience and can't accept anything that does not work 110% better than my expectations!

For that matter:

Serotta Frames (and the people behind it!)
Campy Record Group (including the chain!)
Chris King headsets (the Phil Wood of headsets!)
Phill Wood Ti BB's (the Chris King of Bottom Brackets!)
Mavic Wheels (most models I have used: Ksyrium, Cosmos, Open Pro rims, Cosmic, etc.)
Topolino Wheels (I sold them, but they were great!)
Fizik saddles
Stella Azzura bars and stems... Ok some of the their carbon stuff has been questionable, BUT that's carbone!
Conti Tires (GP 4000 and Attack/Force)
Michelin Latex tubes
Sigma Comoputers (BC 1600)
Time pedals (RXS Carbon) I was not too happy with the Impacts, the paint would not stay on these pedals!

Cheers!

[Ahneida Ride]

Mr. Kelly Bedford ( The frame designer of our beloved Serottas )
Mr Bedford never receives the credit he deserves ! ;)
Kool Stop Salmon Brake Pads
Brooks saddle ( for many anyway )
TA Zephyr Triple
Campy Record/Chorus 10 shifting.
Phil BB
King HS ??????
Speedplay frogs
Mountain Cycology ... Ludlow Vt.
Dbrk, Uncle William , Smiley, Russ, Sandy and Kevin
and all my good buddies here !
This forum

[The Spider]

black Chris King headset

It's like a good pair of jeans or your favorite winter meal. I seriously wouldn't consider buying some high-end frames because I couldn't get a King into it.

It's our equivalent of women's Little Black Dress!

[Sandy]

Serotta framesets
Dura-Ace 10 brakes, ergonomics, shifting
700x25 clinchers (Sorry Too Tall)
Avocet Air40R saddle
Serotta Forum
STI shifting
Clipless Pedals-your choice
Jeremy's Wheels
Salsa Short and Shallow Handlebar
Cinelli, Bontrager cork tape
Smiley's fit


Serotta Sandy

[Tom]

HID headlight. Around here the weather's OK, it just becomes dark. That thing is great. I only bought one last fall so I'm looking forward to summertime midnight rides too.

[Dr. Doofus]

born warming cream on the manbag





(thanks for the tip --it lit up my life)

[zank]

Ritchey WCS and Pro bars, stems and posts - top-shelf design at great prices.
Polar CS200cad - The best computer I have ever used.
Fizik tape - ultra-thin and its silver!
Nightpro lights - I was blown away by this $80 light's ability to light up a trail.

[Ray]

As discussed in another thread, this hub is the be-all, end-all for fixed gear riding (and I guess ss freewheels too). BETTER imho than horizontal dropouts or track ends. Perfect chain tension and wheel alignment every time with no real effort or 'eye' involved. Eliminates the last good reason for horizontal dropouts and opens up EVERY bike you've ever loved to the perfect potential of fixie heaven!

Just got one a few weeks ago and it's rekindled my passion for riding fixed because I'm doing it on a frame I actually LIKE. I'm kicking myself for not getting one of these pups as soon as they hit the market.

-Ray

[Elefantino]

Hmm. What hasn't been mentioned?

— Mavic Open Pros
— Specialized BG saddles, which replaced my beloved Avocet 02 Air 40Rs
— Specialized Phat Wrap (w/4.5mm pads)
— Ergo handlebars
— DeFeet Air-E-ator socks
— Crossland 12g C02 cartridges at Wal-Mart
— Older steel frames (my '86 DeBernardi, which is being built up again after a JB face-lift)
— Maxxis Detonator folding clinchers
— Voler bib shorts
— My new Record group that I got from Bikeridah

[stevep]

handbuilt wheels
light, strong, cheap(er)

[catulle]

Campagnolo. :D

[sspielman]

Veloflex tubulars...perfection in bicycle tires has been achieved....
Elite Patao cages and Bajiji bottles...the smaller diameter is really "proper" . I thought for a little while that the last thing that we needed was a "non-standard" water bottle size, but after being given one, I decided that it was a better size. By the way, ALOT of bottled water bottles are this diameter...which can be handy at times....

[ergott]

-2000 Record, pedals and all (on their second bike)
-Wheelsmith spokes (the price is right. same quality as Sapim and DT)
-brass nipples
-Veloflex Carbons
-(gotta run, finish later)

[david]

the wheel

[dbrk]

Still Made:
Rapha
Nitto
PhilWood
Brooks
TA
Rivendell RolyPoly
Rivendell 650B Nifty Swifty

Living Builders:
Alex Singer
Toei
Nagasawa
Mariposa
All the Great Americans (you know who you are)

No Longer Made but Should Never Have Left:
Maxi-car (likely the greatest bits ever made of all bike bits)
Best of the Best in Simplex (i.e., the 5500/6600 rear derailleurs, teardrop retrofriction shifters, barends with demultiplicator, etc.)
Rene Herse
Ideale
Cinelli classic bars/quill stems
Super Record, the race bike bits beyond all compare
CSi with TdF lugs and a steel fork with a Serotta debossed crown (stock geos)


dbrk

[OldDog]

If it wasn't for my Stingray I may have never strayed down the street.

[Fixed]

columbus tubes bro .i.m.h.o. cheers

[Smiley]

This one is EASY :

DKS rear suspension system
Alchemy Wheels .... they will change the ride of your bike for the better
Brooks Saddles .... the Swallow production saddle is back
Serotta "Head's Up" head tube extender when they can keep them in stock
Carbon platform shoes ( the climb better with less flex ) any brand

[sc53]

My first "10 speed" bike--a deep maroon Bike Nashbar frame with Shimano 600 components. Very inexpensive and great buy. Rode it for several years till I got the collecting bug.
Also, Campy 8-speed, which I still use and love on my CSI. Still shifts like buttah.

[ergott]

Where was I:

Phil Wood hubs
Phil Wood spoke machine (work of art)
Chris King headsets
Tune bottle cages (light and they do work)

[zap]

PW BB
CK HS
Zero Gravity brakes
Thomson
Campy
AX Lightness
&
A number of frames crafted in the US, Canada & Europe (plus one factory in NA)

[Jeff N.]

Dura Ace 7800 group. The finest in the world.
Selle Italia Turbomatic 4 Saddles.
Mavic Open Pro hoops.
King Headsets
Kestrel forks. Jeff N.

[chrisroph]

cinelli cork ribbon
time impacts
carnac shoes
nucleon wheels
TK framesets
lycra
wool jerseys
max flite trans am saddle, perfect for me
fs mountain bikes

[saab2000]

In my world of products that have exceeded expectations, I must also include Shimano Ultegra sealed cartridge headsets. They are the ones for quill stems. These sort of saved two bikes of mine which were headed for the scrap bin had I not, in a desperate bid for headset bliss, found the Ultegras. I could not, no matter what, get anything else to work properly and not get pitted right away. This worked.

Remember pitted, indexed steering? Anyone who has only ever had good headsets doesn't know what this is. Anyone else will tell you how bad the bad old days really were.

This in my mind counts as one of the true improvements in modern bikes: Reliable headsets.

[David Kirk]

Mavic Paris Roubaix rims
Zero Gravity brakes
Zinn custom cranks
King headsets
Time Pedals

Dave

[crossjunkee]

All very good stuff listed. Not much to add, but I can think of at least one.

King water bottle cages

[Samster]

maybe not the "best thing ever" but it's my latest neato purchase. surly's answer to the pbw.

[PanTerra]

Top ten products that REALLY made a difference in my riding.

(10) Quick release hubs (aided in tire changes, portability, etc)
(9) Cycling shorts (those cut-offs were horrible)
(8) Indoor trainers (corrected my cycling form and helped maintain fitness level during off season)
(7) Cyclo-puter (provided an incentive, as well as to gauge an increase in mileage and general performance)
(6) HID lights (opened up a whole new riding environment)
(5) Colorado concept tubes (Stiffer while compliant - is that some sort of slogan- which kept me in the saddle longer - It’s the tubes, dammit)
(4) Kevlar bead clincher tires.* (Affordable tires that can combine lightness, suppleness, longer wear, lower rolling resistance, sure grip and flat protection. – Michelin Carbon – my favorite) * With this product, my CO2 inflation tool has scrolled off the list to #11.
(3) STI Shifting (closest thing to thought–controlled shifting)
(2) Clipless pedals/shoes (allowed better foot connection w/o those horrible foot-numbing straps)

and the #1 product that REALLY made a difference in my riding is.

(1) Specialized Body Geometry saddles. (No longer have several days to get back all my feeling down there after a century. That was a little scary. No problem after I got that. http://thefamilybiz.org/ezboard/emoticons/banana2.gif

[shoe]

don't forget carbon fiber fenders to make up for the extra weight from putting on your brooks saddle(am i kidding or not)...959 shimano pedals fine for all bikes and wide enough that my sneakers grip on to them perfectly when doing the commute and not wearing a cycling shoe...dave...

[Rapid Tourist]

Things that exceeded my expectations:

$200 used hybrid that I bought out of the paper in 1990. Gave birth to my love of cycling and gave me more fabulous miles than I ever should have put on that thing.

PHil Wood bottom bracket

Plastic cycling clothing. it really does keep you cool.

Super cheap interchangable lens cycling glasses from Performance. Do the job every bit as well as something that costs much more.

Pearl izumi cycling vest. More useful than I ever could have guessed.

Boure cycling tights. They feel great.

[vaxn8r]

There's so many good products but three that made a huge impact IMO were:

Shimano SIS. It worked perfectly. And yes, I know perfectly well how to shift friction. SIS just worked. Every time.

Look Pedals. Wow! This made cycling in my view. No more foot pain, numb toes, pulling out in sprints. I only fell at the stop light twice, I think.

Campy and Shimano brakes which were ushered in their respective 9 sp versions. Here is where brake function took a huge leap forward from speed modulators to stoppers. It's weird to go back and ride my old bikes. Where's the stoppage?

[SoCalSteve]

Brooks saddles

They have changed the way I feel about cycling and changed the way I cycle.

Period.

Steve

[Ti Designs]

Mr. Kelly Bedford ( The frame designer of our beloved Serottas )


Kelly isn't a bike product. If he was, I would suggest that all the other bike companies get one - two if they can afford it!