As road cycling is a very tech-based sport with countless companies all trying to deliver the most amount of value, it's unsurprising that the race to the bottom can result in substandard products.
So what products should you be avoiding when out looking for a bargain? When is it best to spend a bit more to ensure that you aren't left with something that will cause more pain than happiness?
Sam Gupta lists what he thinks are some of the biggest false economies in road cycling and the cycling products which you should avoid.
So what products should you be avoiding when out looking for a bargain? When is it best to spend a bit more to ensure that you aren't left with something that will cause more pain than happiness?
Sam Gupta lists what he thinks are some of the biggest false economies in road cycling and the cycling products which you should avoid.
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SportsTranscript
00:00According to Google, a false economy is defined as an apparent financial saving that in fact
00:06leads to greater expenditure. Now, in a world where saving money is looming on our minds more
00:11than usual, I turn my attention to cycling and the products that on the surface appear to provide
00:18great value, but when you delve a little deeper, may actually be doing the opposite.
00:22In 2022, we put clothing to the test from three different price points in the market,
00:32and the one thing which I undoubtedly found was that the cheap bib shorts really were no good.
00:38Everything from the fit to the grippers to the chamois were a disappointment. Sure,
00:43they were cheap. If I remember correctly, they cost about £25. However, for cyclists who do
00:49want to take their riding a little more seriously, then investing in clothing which properly serves
00:54the needs of the rider is essential. This really is a prime example of buy cheap, pay twice.
01:02The question you may be left with is, how much should I be spending on a pair of shorts?
01:06Well, here in the UK, I believe that if you spend anything from £50, you'll be able to
01:12bag yourself a set which will come with the majority of the features that you will find
01:16on top-end shorts. That being a more tailored fit, better feeling fabrics, and a higher quality
01:22chamois, and an overall more durable build quality. Riding in shorts that really do
01:28facilitate the act of riding a bike will make it so much more enjoyable.
01:36If you don't know, AliExpress is a retail website and offers a similar experience to that of
01:42Amazon, but it's based in China. And it is awash with cheap cycling products, and there's one which
01:48seems to pop up more often than not. That being sunglasses, which imitate those that tend to cost
01:55a whole lot more. Cheap Oakley jawbreakers are what I succumbed to in my early years of racing.
02:01However, I quickly realised that maybe they weren't the best idea. My pair of glasses had
02:08set me back about 10% of the cost of those of a genuine pair. But it was after a friend who was
02:14wearing a similar set of glasses, then dropped them, and then watched the lens shatter on impact. And it
02:20got me thinking, do I really want lenses that can do that right next to my eyes? My doubts were
02:27confirmed a few months later when I saw a post on Facebook where this very issue had caught out
02:32another racer. They'd come down in a race, their eyewear had shattered, and they ended up with
02:38cuts all around their eyes. Luckily, it seemed like they didn't have any damage to their vision, but
02:44it wouldn't have been an impossibility. Forgetting the technological benefits that come from buying
02:50eyewear from a reputable brand, for the sheer safety aspect alone, this really is a no-brainer.
02:57You also don't need to buy eyewear from a brand that sponsors a big world tour team. Safe, good
03:03quality glasses can be found from reputable manufacturers for only a little more money
03:08than what I paid for my knockoffs.
03:15As we all know, lubing your chain is a very important part of bike maintenance. The benefits
03:19go beyond that of having a smooth, silent, and efficient drivetrain. But of course, having a clean,
03:26freshly lubed chain will prolong the life of the drivetrain components, mainly your cassette and
03:31your chain rings. However, not all lubes are made equal. Given that there are literally hundreds of
03:37them out on the market, picking through them can be a real mission. Some cost a few pounds, while
03:44others land in the hundreds of pounds. And the biggest problem which I found is some of the
03:49really cheap lubes really do suffer from just simply washing off of your chain. You can have
03:55one slightly wet ride, and your chain is left absolutely bare. Alternatively, some lubes seem
04:00to go black after two or three dry rides, even when applied to a properly decontaminated chain.
04:06Of course, this then means another degrease and re-lube, which takes up time and means you'll go
04:12through your workshop fluids a lot faster. My advice would be to opt for a wax-based lubricant,
04:18and something that certainly does not contain PTFEs. A personal favourite is the squirt lube.
04:25The best way that I have found to apply it is to run the chain through an ultrasonic cleaner,
04:30let it fully dry, and then refit the chain to the bike. I then coat the inside of each roller
04:35with a drop of the lube, and then let it soak in overnight. And then in the morning, I'll come back
04:40and wipe off any residual excess. So far, treatments like this last far longer and are
04:46much more resilient to water. Yes, chain wax or wax-based lubricants are more expensive to purchase
04:53upfront. However, you'll get so much more life out of it, and you'll have a smoother running
04:58drivetrain that doesn't attract nearly as much gunk and grime. Which, of course, most importantly,
05:04prolongs the life of your components, but also saves you from giving yourself a dreaded fourth
05:09cat tat. In the last few years, the world has become rife with subscription services,
05:19and in the slightly more uncertain times, when we're all watching how much we're spending,
05:24it might be worth considering how many of them you're actually getting value out of. Since we're
05:29now entering the time of year when you're actually probably going to want to ride outside, perhaps
05:35cancelling your indoor training subscription is prudent, at least until winter rolls around again.
05:45As new innovations hit the market, some old ones really do get shown up as being pretty outdated
05:50and subsequently pretty bad value. Latex inner tubes are such an item. Sure, back in the day,
05:57they provided a much more supple and faster rolling option over and above a standard butyl inner tube,
06:03and in truth, they were never made to be a discount option. Quite the opposite, in fact.
06:09However, they aren't without their faults. They're a pig to install as they pinch incredibly easily,
06:14they lose pressure rather quickly, and they're just very expensive. Today, tubeless has hit
06:20the road in a big way and offers all of the same benefits as latex does. As you may know from a
06:26previous video, tubeless really does have some of its own problems. However, unless you get a gash
06:31in the tyre, the problems aren't really ones which create a financial burden. Instead, it's just faffy
06:37problems and ones which absorb time and energy. Of course, if you did get a gash in your tyre
06:44and the tyre needed replacing, the cost implication is the same no matter the method of inflation.
06:50Latex tubes don't really fall into the realms of being a false economy as it wasn't created to be
06:56a better value option, but it does show itself up as being something which was
07:00of its time and has now been replaced by a better alternative.
07:09Recently, there's been quite a lot of noise over the discovery of quite a few unbelievably cheap
07:14bikes which can be found at various big retailers, be that Amazon, Walmart, or Asda. The saying,
07:21if it's too good to be true, then it probably is, could not ring any truer here. The bikes obviously
07:28have a very cheap list price, but do remember that the bikes could cost less than 50% of the
07:34retail price to build. So, to enable such markups, the components used will be of a very poor quality.
07:42I can understand that some people may not want to, or can afford, to go out and spend more money on a
07:48new bike. However, in this instance, I would heavily suggest that by spending the same amount
07:53of money on a second-hand bike, you'll be able to find something that serves you far, far better.
07:59The cheap parts found on these incredibly cheap new bikes may mean that the braking
08:03and shifting performance isn't of an acceptable level. They're likely to be prone to a shorter
08:09lifespan either due to breakages or just having an innate lack of resilience to the elements.
08:15The biggest weak point from a rider's perspective could actually be the frame itself.
08:20No doubt it will be heavy, have a less optimized geometry, and it certainly will not be very
08:26forgiving. If you were to purchase one of these types of bikes with the intention of getting
08:30into cycling, then you will be going about it in the wrong way. Bikes like this will actually do
08:36the complete opposite and make riding a lot less fun. For some, bikes at this level will serve a
08:42purpose and that may just be completing short journeys to get from point A to point B. However,
08:49even if the purpose really is that simple, I would still recommend spending the same amount of money
08:54in the second-hand market. You'll get something which will have originally costed a whole lot more
08:59and you'll be giving a bike that already exists a new lease of life. And if parts break or things
09:05do go wrong, then any local bike shop will likely be very happy to help you out.
09:13It was only recently that I was clearing out one of my kitchen drawers. That drawer being
09:18the one that fills up with random keys, batteries, takeaway menus, and obviously
09:22all of the spare parts and tools that come from flat pack furniture builds. I must have collected
09:28about 10 different styles of allen keys, all ranging from four mils to five mils to flatheads
09:34to phillip head screwdrivers. And it got me thinking, why have I never used these cheap
09:39tools on my bike? Well, it's for one very obvious reason. Cheap tools have the ability to wreck more
09:46havoc on your bike than you may otherwise imagine. And it's not just the free tools you get from
09:51furniture, but just poor quality cheap tools altogether. They're often made of poor quality
09:57metal, which hasn't been hardened or treated in a way which means it will maintain its shape
10:02when under load. Since they tend to be softer, they can change shape. And then when you go and
10:07use that same tool, you should not be surprised if that tool goes and strips the head of the bolt.
10:13Also, if that tool isn't the right size for the job you're trying to complete on your bike,
10:18you may not be getting the right amount of leverage and potentially not delivering the
10:22correct amount of torque to that bolt, meaning it could work loose. My recommendation is that
10:28if you do intend on working on your own bike, then always opt for a reputable brand of tools
10:33and then slowly add tools as and when you need to complete new jobs. Alternatively,
10:39leave the maintenance of your bike to a professional or ask to borrow tools
10:43from a friend if you don't want to go out and purchase them yourself.
10:52Bolts nutrition is something that I really do sit on the fence with. Again, not strictly a
10:57false economy as I don't believe any brand is claiming that their products are made to save
11:02you money. But it is something which is very costly, especially when you compare something
11:07like an energy bar and the cost of something that you can make at home. The differential
11:12is huge. However, there are pros and cons to both. First, sports nutrition comes in more formats
11:20than you may otherwise be able to create at home. For example, gels, chews, powder drink mixes,
11:26protein bars. That's why buying those products can make a lot of sense. And you can often buy
11:32multi-packs to reduce the cost per unit and you'll have a wide variety of flavours from multiple
11:38different brands. Foods like these can be really useful on event days or during races as you can
11:44accurately track what you're putting into your system. But also, you can practice your feeding
11:50schedule to figure out what works well for you. However, in my mind, this is one of the few places
11:55where dedicated sports nutrition justifies the increased cost. For a normal day's training or
12:01just went out riding for fun, either batch cooking a whole bunch of energy bars or cakes are always
12:07best to carry with you. It's much cheaper, does the same job and because you can make it yourself,
12:12you can create flavours that otherwise you might not find elsewhere. Bananas, flapjacks, jam
12:18sandwiches and fruitcake are some of my favourite things to carry on the bike. And when I get home,
12:23I'll always try and get my protein from as many real foods as possible and only adding in protein
12:28shakes when I need to up the levels to cater for an increased training load. The convenience of
12:34sports nutrition is undeniable and that's why I utilise those products in the run-up to and during
12:40events and races, but opt for homemade food the rest of the time. As I said, this isn't strictly
12:46a false economy as defined at the start of the video, but I wanted to include it so that people
12:52are aware that you really don't need to eat exclusively branded sports nutrition when cycling.
12:58Making and taking homemade treats will be far more satisfying and will, of course,
13:03save you a whole lot of cash. Let me know down in the comments what you think some of the biggest
13:08false economies in cycling are. If you enjoyed the video then please do drop it a like,
13:13subscribe to the channel for more content and I will see you again very soon.