- 4 weeks ago
From questionable design choices like steering stops that can damage your frame, to bikes that are either too cheap to be good or so expensive they're poor value, we explore the road bikes and tech trends that we think the world could do without.
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00:00In a world where there are hundreds of road bike manufacturers, there will of course be some road
00:04bikes that may not meet the needs of the consumer. From odd spec decisions to bizarre views on
00:10pricing, I've pulled together a bunch of bikes that I wish just didn't exist.
00:19The same generation of bikes that enjoy integrated cable routing, disc brakes,
00:24and fancy carbon shapes seem to have a few occupants that also play host to steering stops.
00:30If you're unaware, steering stops are a mechanical feature often found within the head tube of a bike
00:35which stop the bars turning after a certain point. The theory is that by stopping the bars from turning
00:42excessively, you reduce the risk of causing damage to the brake lines and you also stop the potential
00:48of the handlebars to swing into the top tube. However, there is a reason why steering stops
00:53have been included on this list. And that's because I have seen multiple cases where the
00:59handlebars have been turned with such force that the steering stops have then ripped into the frame
01:05itself, essentially killing it. Now, this rarely happens through normal riding, but instead it can
01:12happen when the wind catches the front wheel, when the bike is lent up and stationary, or when you're
01:17putting the bike in the back of a car and then the fork catches something, or perhaps an overzealous
01:22mechanic may yank on the bar slightly too hard and cause some accidental damage.
01:27Happily, some bikes that did adopt steering stops are already starting to ditch them. For example,
01:33the fourth generation of the Cannondale Super 6 lost them after they were debuted on the third
01:38generation of the bike. Also, as integrated cockpits evolve and cable routing methods improve,
01:44the positioning of those hoses can be threaded in ways that mean that oversteering won't damage the
01:50hoses. My view on this is quite simple. Steering stops should just be a flash in the pan of road
01:57bike tech trends and hopefully in the next few years will eventually disappear. Too many bike frames
02:02end up having to be warrantied after innocuous accidents. I'm sure that when manufacturers start
02:08to realise how much money the steering stops are going to be costing them, they'll be as fast to remove
02:13them as they were to install. Certainly, one innovation to forget.
02:22We recently made a video about the biggest false economies in cycling and in that video,
02:27I discussed the recent upsurge surrounding the incredibly cheap bikes that can be found from big
02:33generic retailers. Now, I'm sure to some, those bikes do serve a purpose, especially for those who
02:39don't want to or can afford to spend any more money on a new bike. However, I'm a strong believer
02:45that
02:46you should spend that same amount of money, but on a secondhand bike instead. You'll get something
02:51that originally costed much more and you'll be giving a bike that already exists a new lease of
02:56life. And should you have any issues, most bike shops will be able to help you out. I believe that
03:02these bikes are awful for the environment. Bikes are supposed to last for many, many years. But the way
03:08that these bikes are constructed and the components that they're kitted out with mean that you're
03:13essentially buying a disposable bike and one which will only last for as long as the rider can bear
03:19to deal with its problems. In my opinion, these bikes should just not exist. And we should all be
03:25buying secondhand bikes when we can, especially if monitoring cost is a large contributing factor to
03:32your purchasing decision. Right on the other end of the spectrum, we are now seeing bikes hit the
03:41market that seemingly cost more than the sum of all their parts. In my opinion, this is a pretty big
03:48problem. I think it also shows that the shop increases in prices are far outpacing the rest of
03:55the price increases that we're seeing in other areas of the industry. And there are a couple of
04:00pretty high profile examples of this. First is the Cannondale Lab 71 Super 6 Evo. It retails at £12,500
04:08here in the UK. But I've been able to create an equivalent build for £11,000. Unsurprisingly,
04:17there are some caveats to that price. Yes, that is by utilising the best prices that I could find
04:23all over the internet for all of the components. For example, I found the Dura-Ace groupset for £200
04:28off at one retailer. Also, I didn't opt to spec the same wheels as the Lab 71 stock build. Instead,
04:36I chose some Zip 303S Firecrest, which some may argue is actually a better wheel set. Also,
04:43I wasn't quite sure how much their Momo handlebars would cost. So, I went for an estimate and did a
04:48worst-case scenario of £600. I did also factor in a £300 labour cost to cover the cost of having
04:55a
04:55mechanic build up the bike in its entirety. The Specialized S-Works Athos is another example.
05:01Here, I'm able to save about £350 over the cost of the stock build. And it's worth highlighting that
05:08on this build, I actually specced some Zip 353 NSWs, which again, some would argue are a much better
05:15wheelset than the Roval Alpinist CLX wheelset that is found on the stock build. Also, I actually added
05:22in the Roval Alpinist integrated cockpit to really take the build to the next level. But if you weren't
05:28to upgrade the components and you were to mimic that stock build, you'd actually be closer to saving
05:33£1,400. In the case of the Lab 71 Super 6, at full retail pricing of all the components,
05:40the build came in at £11,700. And that's still cheaper than the £12,500 asking price of the stock
05:48bike. So, we really have to wonder, what are we getting for our money at this level? In the lower
05:54echelons, it is more like business as usual, where the bike manufacturers are able to pull on their
06:00economies of scale and create bikes, which we wouldn't be able to go out and create for less
06:05money. Perhaps even the bike manufacturers are struggling to buy things for the right price.
06:10We have no evidence to support this, but it would be one explanation as to the obscure situation that
06:17some top-end bikes have found themselves in. While I'm sure that there will be plenty of comments
06:21surrounding the fact that brands are just charging silly money for the sake of it, and you may well be
06:27right, I wouldn't be surprised if they need to sell at those levels just to maintain the margins that
06:32those products need to achieve to make them commercially viable. You cannot forget and disregard
06:37the impact that COVID, Brexit here in the UK, and shipping issues will have had on the cost of some
06:43of
06:43those products. Pair that with a struggling world economy and you can have a little understanding. Plus,
06:50if there are customers out there who want to buy those bikes, who are we to stop them?
06:54While I understand that there could be reasons outside of the control of the bike brands, meaning they
06:59have to charge such high prices, I don't think I'll be a customer for a bike that I know I
07:04can build up
07:05for less money and also enjoy the ability to spec some of my own parts.
07:14As I'm sure a lot of you know, not all bikes are created equally. Some are created by artisan
07:19frame builders who can spend weeks creating a bike which has been handcrafted to perfection.
07:25On the other end of the scale, we have bikes which maybe haven't quite seen that same level of care
07:31and attention. Much like my issue with bikes that are too cheap, bikes which are created without the
07:37appropriate amount of due care should not be hitting the market. They will always have inherent
07:43problems because if strict manufacturing tolerances aren't adhered to, the components that then get
07:48mated to that frame will never operate as they should. Happily, frame facing, which is the process of
07:55removing excess material from a frame to ensure that a flat surface is achieved, is something that
08:01can be done by most mechanics. Frame facing is something that's actually really important to do
08:06anyway because it ensures that when bottom brackets, headsets, brake calipers and the like are bolted to
08:12a frame, they are mated to a perfectly flush surface. Also, the process of re-tapping threads is
08:19something which can be done after a frame has been built if needed. But if the bikes have deeper, less
08:26rectifiable problems, that's when things get serious. The bottom line is when considering the energy and
08:33materials required to produce a bicycle, manufacturers should be ensuring that it does not go to waste.
08:44I love riding on semi-deep carbon wheels for so many reasons. They look good, they're generally pretty light,
08:52they sound cool and of course they help you go everywhere faster. It's rare for a set of these wheels
08:59to
08:59actually make the experience of riding your bike any worse. However, these tend to be wheels that you upgrade
09:05too, rather than having them on your bike from stock, unless you're spending a pretty serious
09:11amount of money. My issue lies in the bikes that come with alloy deep section wheels and I can
09:16understand why the brands want to fit those wheels to stock bikes. I'm sure that the brands would argue
09:22that the profile of the rims do offer a speed advantage over box section rims and I'd be inclined to
09:29agree with them. I'm sure that they also fit them so that the much larger tubes of a carbon bike
09:34don't look quite so unbalanced and odd against the wheel choice. And of course, by fitting alloy wheels,
09:42they can sell the bike looking as they want it, but offer it at a more affordable price. And some
09:47may
09:47see this as a pretty fair exchange. For example, Oro sell the Venturi Evo in a 105 specification with
09:55Fulcrum DB800 wheels. And it's hard to deny that on the face of it, the bike does look fast. But
10:03to be
10:03honest, I would rather opt for a box section rim as it will be lighter and more practical in the
10:09short
10:09term before I have the chance to upgrade the wheels to something that I really want. Plus, the extra
10:14circa 300 grams that you'd have to carry around just to have something that numbs the ride and is
10:20harder to spin up just isn't a good trade-off. Happily though, wheels are easy to change, so the
10:27problem's never terminal. Let me know down below what bikes or trends do you wish didn't exist?
10:34I've no doubt it's going to get pretty feisty down in the comments section. If you enjoyed the video,
10:39then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content, and I will see you again
10:43very soon.
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