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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
00:05leads 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 of
01:14the features that you will find on top-end shorts. That being a more tailored fit, better feeling
01:20fabrics and a higher quality chamois and an overall more durable build quality. Riding in shorts that
01:27really 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 to
01:49pop up more often than not. That being sunglasses, which imitate those that tend to cost a whole lot
01:56more. Cheap Oakley jawbreakers are what I succumbed to in my early years of racing. However, I quickly
02:03realised that maybe they weren't the best idea. My pair of glasses had set me back about 10% of the cost
02:10of those of a genuine pair. But it was after a friend who was wearing a similar set of glasses,
02:16then 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.
03:23But of course, 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
03:36that there are literally hundreds of them out on the market, picking through them can be a real
03:41mission. Some cost a few pounds, while others land in the hundreds of pounds. And the biggest
03:47problem which I've found is some of the really cheap lubes really do suffer from just simply washing
03:53off of your chain. You can have one slightly wet ride and your chain is left absolutely bare.
03:59Alternatively, some lubes seem to go black after two or three dry rides, even when applied to a
04:04properly decontaminated chain. Of course, this then means another degrease and re-lube, which takes up
04:11time and means you'll go through your workshop fluids a lot faster. My advice would be to opt for
04:17a wax-based lubricant and something that certainly does not contain PTFEs. A personal favourite is the
04:24squirt lube. The best way that I have found to apply it is to run the chain through an ultrasonic
04:29cleaner, let 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
04:39and wipe off any residual excess. So far, treatments like this last far longer and are much more resilient
04:47into water. Yes, 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
05:05your components, 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
05:30when you'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.
05:44As 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 problems
06:38and ones which absorb time and energy. Of course, if you did get a gash in your tyre and the tyre
06:44needed replacing, the cost implication is the same no matter the method of inflation. Latex tubes don't
06:51really fall into the realms of being a false economy as it wasn't created to be a better
06:57value 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.
07:27The bikes obviously have a very cheap list price, but do remember that the bikes could cost less
07:33than 50% of the retail price to build. So, to enable such markups, the components used will be
07:40of a very poor quality. Now, I can understand that some people may not want to or can afford
07:46to go out and spend more money on a new bike. However, in this instance, I would heavily suggest
07:52that by spending the same amount of money on a second-hand bike, you'll be able to find something
07:56that serves you far, far better. The cheap parts found on these incredibly cheap new bikes may mean
08:03that the braking and shifting performance isn't of an acceptable level. They're likely to be prone to a
08:08shorter 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,
08:20it will be heavy, have a less optimized geometry and it certainly will not be very forgiving.
08:27If you were to purchase one of these types of bikes with the intention of getting into cycling,
08:31then you will be going about it in the wrong way. Bikes like this will actually do the complete
08:36opposite and make riding a lot less fun. For some, bikes at this level will serve a purpose and that
08:44may just be completing short journeys to get from point A to point B. However, even if the purpose
08:50really is that simple, I would still recommend spending the same amount of money in the second-hand
08:55market. You'll get something which will have originally costed a whole lot more and you'll be
09:00giving a bike that already exists a new lease of life. And if parts break or things do go wrong,
09:05then 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 the one that
09:18fills up with random keys, batteries, takeaway menus, and obviously all of the spare parts and tools
09:24that come from flat pack furniture builds. I must have collected about 10 different styles of Allen keys,
09:31all ranging from 4mm to 5mm to flat heads to phillip head screwdrivers. And it got me thinking,
09:38why have I never used these cheap tools on my bike? Well, it's for one very obvious reason.
09:44Cheap tools have the ability to wreak more havoc on your bike than you may otherwise imagine. And it's not
09:50just the free tools you get from furniture, but just poor quality, cheap tools altogether. They're
09:55often made of poor quality metal, which hasn't been hardened or treated in a way which means it will
10:00maintain its shape when under load. Since they tend to be softer, they can change shape. And then when
10:07you go and use that same tool, you should not be surprised if that tool goes and strips the head of
10:12the bolt. Also, 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 correct amount
10:22of torque to that bolt, meaning it could work loose. My recommendation is that if you do intend
10:29on working on your own bike, then always opt for a reputable brand of tools and then slowly add tools
10:35as and when you need to complete new jobs. Alternatively, leave the maintenance of your bike
10:40to a professional or ask to borrow tools from a friend if you don't want to go out and purchase them
10:46yourself. Sports nutrition is something that I really do sit on the fence with. Again, not strictly
10:57a false economy as I don't believe any brand is claiming that their products are made to save you
11:02money, but it is something which is very costly, especially when you compare something like an energy
11:08bar and the cost of something that you can make at home. The differential is huge. However, there are pros
11:15and cons to both. First, sports nutrition comes in more formats than you may otherwise be able to
11:22create at home. For example, gels, chews, powdered drink mixes, protein bars. That's why buying those
11:29products can make a lot of sense and you can often buy multi-packs to reduce the cost per unit and you'll
11:36have a wide variety of flavors 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
11:48also you can practice your feeding schedule to figure out what works well for you. However, in my
11:54mind, this is one of the few places where dedicated sports nutrition justifies the increased cost.
12:00For a normal day's training or just went 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 flavors that otherwise you might not find
12:15elsewhere. Bananas, flapjacks, jam sandwiches and fruitcake are some of my favorite things to carry
12:21on the bike. And when I get home, I'll always try and get my protein from as many real foods as
12:26possible and only adding in protein shakes when I need to up the levels to cater for an increased
12:32training load. The convenience of sports nutrition is undeniable and that's why I utilize those products
12:38in the run-up to and during events and races, but opt for homemade food the rest of the time.
12:44As I said, this isn't strictly a false economy as defined at the start of the video, but I wanted to
12:51include it so that people are aware that you really don't need to eat exclusively branded sports
12:56nutrition when cycling. Making and taking homemade treats will be far more satisfying and will of
13:02course, save you a whole lot of cash. Let me know down in the comments what you think some of the
13:08biggest false 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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