Is Budget Cycling Apparel And Equipment A False Economy?

Cycling Weekly

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.

Transcript

00:00According to Google, a false economy is defined as an apparent financial saving that in fact

00:05leads to greater expenditure. Now, in a world where saving money is looming on our minds more

00:12than 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. And the

00:32one thing which I undoubtedly found was that the cheap bib shorts really were no good. Everything

00:38from the fit to the grippers to the chamois were a disappointment. Sure, they were cheap. If I

00:44remember correctly, they cost about £25. However, for cyclists who do want to take their riding a

00:50little more seriously, then investing in clothing which properly serves the needs of the rider

00:55is essential. This really is a prime example of buy cheap, pay twice. The question you may be left

01:03with is, how much should I be spending on a pair of shorts? Well, here in the UK, I believe that if

01:09you spend anything from £50, you'll be able to bag yourself a set which will come with the majority

01:14of the features that you will find on top-end shorts. That being a more tailored fit, better

01:20feeling fabrics and a higher quality chamois and an overall more durable build quality. Riding in

01:27shorts that really do facilitate 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 Amazon,

01:42but it's based in China. And it is awash with cheap cycling products. And there's one which seems

01:49to pop up more often than not. That being sunglasses, which imitate those that tend to cost a whole

01:55lot more. Cheap Oakley jawbreakers are what I succumbed to in my early years of racing. However,

02:02I quickly realised that maybe they weren't the best idea. My pair of glasses had set me back about 10%

02:09of the cost of those of a genuine pair. But it was after a friend who was wearing a similar set of

02:15glasses, then dropped them, and then watched the lens shatter on impact. And it got me thinking,

02:21do I really want lenses that can do that right next to my eyes? My doubts were confirmed a few

02:28months later when I saw a post on Facebook where this very issue had caught out another racer.

02:34They'd come down in a race, their eyewear had shattered, and they ended up with cuts all around

02:38their eyes. Luckily, it seemed like they didn't have any damage to their vision, but it wouldn't

02:44have 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,

03:03good quality glasses can be found from reputable manufacturers for only a little more money than

03:08what I paid for my knockoffs. As we all know, lubing your chain is a very important part of bike

03:18maintenance. The benefits go beyond that of having a smooth, silent, and efficient drivetrain. But of

03:23course, having a clean, freshly lubed chain will prolong the life of the drivetrain components,

03:29mainly your cassette and your chain rings. However, not all lubes are made equal. Given that there are

03:36literally hundreds of them out on the market, picking through them can be a real mission.

03:42Some cost a few pounds, while others land in the hundreds of pounds. And the biggest problem,

03:48which I've found, is some of the really cheap lubes really do suffer from just simply washing off of

03:53your chain. You can have one slightly wet ride and your chain is left absolutely bare. Alternatively,

04:00some lubes seem to go black after two or three dry rides, even when applied to a properly decontaminated

04:06chain. Of course, this then means another degrease and re-lube, which takes up time and means you'll

04:12go through 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 with a drop of

04:35lube, and then let it soak in overnight. And then in the morning, I'll come back and wipe off any

04:41residual excess. So far, treatments like this last far longer and are much more resilient to water.

04:48Yes, chain wax or wax-based lubricants are more expensive to purchase up front. However,

04:54you'll get so much more life out of it, and you'll have a smoother running drivetrain that doesn't

04:59attract nearly as much gunk and grime. Which, of course, most importantly, prolongs the life of your

05:05components, but also saves you from giving yourself a dreaded fourth cat tant.

05:14In the last few years, the world has become rife with subscription services. And in the slightly

05:20more uncertain times, when we're all watching how much we're spending, it might be worth considering

05:25how many of them you're actually getting value out of. Since we're now entering the time of year when

05:31you're actually probably going to want to ride outside, perhaps cancelling your indoor training

05:36subscription is prudent, at least until winter rolls around again.

05:40As 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 the road

06:20in a big way and offers all of the same benefits as latex does. As you may know from a previous video,

06:26tubeless really does have some of its own problems. However, unless you get a gash in the tyre,

06:32the 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 of its time

07:01and 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 bikes

07:15which 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.

07:26The bikes obviously have a very cheap list price, but do remember that the bikes could cost less than

07:3350% of the retail price to build. So, to enable such markups, the components used will be of a

07:40very poor quality. Now, I can understand that some people may not want to or can afford to go out and

07:47spend more money on a new bike. However, in this instance, I would heavily suggest that by spending the

07:53same amount of money on a secondhand bike, you'll be able to find something that serves you far,

07:57far better. The cheap parts found on these incredibly cheap new bikes may mean that the

08:03braking and shifting performance isn't of an acceptable level. They're likely to be prone to

08:08a shorter lifespan 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. No doubt it will

08:21be heavy, have a less optimised geometry and it certainly will not be very forgiving. If you

08:27were to purchase one of these types of bikes with the intention of getting into cycling, then you will

08:32be going about it in the wrong way. Bikes like this will actually do the complete opposite and make

08:38riding a lot less fun. For some, bikes at this level will serve a purpose and that may just be completing

08:45short journeys to get from point A to point B. However, even if the purpose really is that simple,

08:51I would still recommend spending the same amount of money in the secondhand market. You'll get

08:57something which will have originally costed a whole lot more and you'll be giving a bike that already

09:01exists a new lease of life. And if parts break or things do go wrong, then any local bike shop will

09:07likely be very happy to help you out. It was only recently that I was clearing out one of my kitchen

09:16drawers. That drawer being the 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 flat heads

09:34to fillip head screwdrivers. And it got me thinking, why have I never used these cheap tools on my bike?

09:41Well, it's for one very obvious reason. Cheap tools have the ability to wreak more havoc on your bike

09:47than you may otherwise imagine. And it's not just the free tools you get from furniture, but just poor

09:53quality cheap tools altogether. They're often made of poor quality metal, which hasn't been hardened or

09:58treated in a way which means it will maintain its shape when under load. Since they tend

10:04to be softer, they can change shape. And then when you go and use that same tool, you should not be

10:09surprised if that tool goes and strips the head of the bolt. Also, if that tool isn't the right size

10:15for the job you're trying to complete on your bike, you may not be getting the right amount of leverage

10:20and potentially not delivering the correct amount of torque to that bolt, meaning it could work loose.

10:27My recommendation is that if you do intend on working on your own bike, then always opt for a

10:32reputable brand of tools and then slowly add tools as and when you need to complete new jobs.

10:37Alternatively, leave the maintenance of your bike to a professional or ask to borrow tools from a

10:44friend if you don't want to go out and purchase them yourself.

10:52Sports nutrition is something that I really do sit on the fence with. Again, not strictly a false economy,

10:58as I don't believe any brand is claiming that their products are made to save you money, but it is

11:03something which is very costly, especially when you compare something like an energy bar and the

11:09cost of something that you can make at home. The differential is huge. However, there are pros and

11:15cons to both. First, sports nutrition comes in more formats than you may otherwise be able to create

11:22at home. For example, gels, chews, powder drink mixes, protein bars. That's why buying those products

11:29can make a lot of sense. And you can often buy multi-packs to reduce the cost per unit. And you'll

11:35have a wide variety of flavours from multiple different brands. Foods like these can be really useful on

11:42event days or during races, as you can accurately track what you're putting into your system. But also,

11:48you can practice your feeding schedule to figure out what works well for you. However, in my mind,

11:54this is one of the few places where dedicated sports nutrition justifies the increased cost.

12:00For a normal day's training or just when out riding for fun, either batch cooking a whole bunch of

12:04energy bars or cakes are always best to carry with you. It's much cheaper, does the same job,

12:10and because you can make it yourself, you can create flavours that otherwise you might not find elsewhere.

12:16Bananas, flapjacks, jam sandwiches, and fruitcake are some of my favourite things to carry on the

12:21bike. And when I get home, I'll always try and get my protein from as many real foods as possible,

12:27and only adding in protein shakes when I need to up the levels to cater for an increased training load.

12:33The convenience of sports nutrition is undeniable, and that's why I utilise those products in the run-up

12:39to and during events and races, but opt for homemade food the rest of the time. As I said,

12:45this isn't strictly a false economy as defined at the start of the video, but I wanted to include it

12:51so that people are aware that you really don't need to eat exclusively branded sports nutrition when

12:57cycling. Making 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.

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