Best Bargain Components

[Steve in SLO]

There's always plenty of discussion about the absolute "best" of various components.
What about components that the "working cyclist" can afford that are high quality but don't break the bank?

I've got a couple to start off with:

Ritchey WCS Alloy stem:
Light, stiff, 95% as good as the very "best" and relatively inexpensive. As a bonus, being alloy, used ones can be bought cheaply with more confidence than a used carbon stem.

Campagnolo Centaur:
Great trickle-down tech and only marginally heavier than 2 year old Record. seemingly always available for a deal on various websites.

Anyone else?

Steve

[Louis]

Nitto handlebars

[caleb]

Thompson Elite seatposts and X2 stems.

Handbuilt wheels using groupset hubs and Open Pro rims.

Tektro brakes.

[bigman]

Knog Frog Lights
Tacx Cages
Veloflex Roubaix tubulars
5600 brakes

[shinomaster]

centaur
ultegra
rival
ritchey pro
michelin mid tires
etc..

[Oakely-Erik]

Surly and Salsa parts (hubs, bars, stems).

Their frames rock as well but their parts are often overlooked I think

[gdw]

Avid v and mechanic disk brakes
Shimano LX and XT components with the exception of the brakes
Handbuilt wheels
most Sugino cranksets
Shimano 520 and 540 SPD pedals

[WadePatton]

used

[14max]

Both of my bikes are built with a realistic budget in mind. Compared to a typical bike consumed by someone going to a typical Trek-Giant-Cannondale LBS, they're higher end. Compared to some of the rigs I've seen here, they definitely are not. Components choices for me are:

Group - Rival
Pedals - Shimano M520/540
Cassettes/Chains: Ultegra 6600
Wheels - Ultegra R600 and Ultegra 6600/Mavic OP
Tires - Conti GP 4000
Bars/Stem/Post - Nitto
Tape - Performance cork (always on sale)
Saddle - San Marco Rolls and Regal
Cages - King stainless

My Serotta and Kirk will be workingclass hero rides. They're fancy enough but not overdone.

[old_school]

miche track group

[Dan Le foot]

Ultegra. Best price/value imo.
Dan

[johnnymossville]

I'm gonna go with Rival. I'm biased since I just bought some.

Ultegra is a great choice also.

[flickwet]

shimano 105, indestructable and reliable
new cinelli bar tape, hey its like a new bike, for ten bucks or so.
mavic hubs open pros and ma40's cause quality never goes out of style
any front derailleur cause they always work and they are cheap
park bike tools do it yurself and really save
ebay

[benb]

You can't accurately value rival till you've worn it out. I think it's value sucks compared to 105 & Ultegra. (Heck I don't think you can put a good value on any cycling item till it's worn out.)

My Thomson stuff has been good value, both my bikes have them.
I have Ritchey WCS bars, they have been great and I paid <$100 for them, as good as the wicked expensive Easton Carbon bars I once had.

SPD pedals are a good value.. the cleats go forever, and I have a 9-year old pair of SPD pedals on my mountain bike that cost like $60. They are still fine, the bearings are obviously worn, but they still spin great. They have obscene miles on them, and I think I'm only on the second pair of cleats.

Cinelli wrap is my favorite and has usually been pretty cheap. I couldn't get any black Cinelli tape at the LBS last week when I retaped my bars, I got the Specialized "S-Wrap", it was also cheap ($10?) and it is unbeliveably comfortable.. we'll see if it lasts as long as the Cinelli wrap though.

The Shimano flight deck (old one, not the new one for DA 7900) was an incredible value to me. I used the same one on 3 bikes from 2000-2007. Last year when I got SRAM I sold my Flight Deck.. I went through 3 cyclocomputers in 2007 & 2008. The Flight Deck I had was just so dependable.

[Dave]

2009 Centaur 10 or Chorus 11.

Ritchey 4-axis stem. Usually $65 on E-bay.

[d_douglas]

1. I have Record on one bike and older chorus on another, but I would not have a problem putting Centaur on my Vanilla (if that day ever comes).

2. Thomson stuff is beautifully made and 'cheap'.

3. I agree about Salsa stuff - love it.

4. I would add Mavic Cosmos wheels. I had a pair that I gave to a friend, and they are so damned nice! I paid $120 for them on Ebay and they spun beautifully and were used for commuting and crossriding - indestructible.

5. King Headsets. Not cheap, but amortized over its useable lifetime, it costs a few $$ per year, so it's a great deal!


Come to think of it, my Serotta is the only 'bling' item that I have. I have never owned expensive wheels in my life...

[thwart]

I would add Mavic Cosmos wheels. I had a pair that I gave to a friend, and they are so damned nice! I paid $120 for them on Ebay and they spun beautifully and were used for commuting and crossriding - indestructible.
Completely agree. A great wheel. And 1800 grams or so is not too bad.

Cane Creek headsets have served me well, and are frequently dirt cheap on Nashbar.

Both Campy Veloce and Shimano 105 are really great bargains... functionally excellent... but no bling. Oh, yeah, and your bike may weigh 200-400 grams more than the high price spread...

[flickwet]

the spd's, you're right I've abused em but never worn em out we're talking years of cross and thousands of miles of limestone towpath. even have em on my Schwinn Peloton Pro (853 tig welded) don't tell anyone but that is the best used frame out there for the money, beautiful classic steel with colorado type stays and tube set, swaged seat and downtube, made the same time that Serotta was doing Ti Paramounts must have been some input there, I think of it as an early production type off-shore fierte.

[Ahneida Ride]

Kool Stop Salmon Brake Pads ... :D

[tv_vt]

Still using 9 speed DA 7700 brifters, brakes, FR, DR. Great stuff. Ultegra cassettes. Used, but like-new, frames can be great bargains if you get the fit right. Avoid any wheel that costs 4 figures...

T

[Dekonick]

Ahneida bar wrap...

:crap:

[I Want Sachs?]

Brooks B17

[alancw3]

subscribing to the theory "that the best bargain is not always the cheapest price" i would have the include:

speedplay X2 pedals
ultegra grouppo
conti gp 4000 tires
performance store brand inner tubes

[acorn_user]

British frames. From 600$ up. Pity about the shipping, but criminally undervalued.

[dwightskin]

1) Velox Rim Tape
2) Panaracer Pasela Tires
3) Cup and Cone bottom brackets (if you don't mind re-greasing)
4) Used Steel and Titanium frames
5) Half of Nashbar branded components (unfortunatley you don't know which half - which ones are a great bargain and which ones are just junk)
6) Tub of Vaseline

[paczki]

Phil grease
Mavic Cosmos wheels
7800 -- the price is great at the moment for a top-notch group

[Viper]

Epo.

[benb]

Hehe..

Definitely have to agree with the Velox rim tape.. I pretty much tear the tire & tube off any wheel I get or someone asks me to fix a flat on and immediately check to see if it has Velox tape.

If you're going to talk chemicals I have a tub of Castrol synthetic grease I've been using *forever* and haven't used it up. Like 6-7 years of using on all my bicycles (1-2 overhauls per year) and on my motorcycle. And I've only used about 1/4 of it.

Slick Willy Bike Lube (http://www.slickwillylube.com/) is another product I've found to be a great value. It used to only be available locally in the boston area, now you can order it online.. (disclaimer, I'm biased, I used to ride with the guy who makes it)