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
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 have
02:44been an impossibility. Forgetting the technological benefits that come from buying eyewear from a
02:51reputable brand, for the sheer safety aspect alone, this really is a no-brainer. You also don't need
02:58to buy eyewear from a brand that sponsors a big world tour team. Safe, good quality glasses can be
03:04found from reputable manufacturers for only a little more money than what I paid for my knockoffs.
03:10As 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
03:25clean, freshly 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 them
03:37out on the market, picking through them can be a real mission. Some cost a few pounds while others
03:44land in the hundreds of pounds. And the biggest problem which I found is some of the really cheap
03:50lubes really do suffer from just simply washing off of your chain. You can have one slightly wet ride
03:56and your chain is left absolutely bare. Alternatively, some lubes seem to go black after two or three dry
04:02rides even when applied to a properly decontaminated chain. Of course, this then means another degrease
04:09and re-loop, which takes up time and means you'll go through your workshop fluids a lot faster. My advice
04:16would be to opt for a wax-based lubricant and something that certainly does not contain PTFEs.
04:22A personal favourite is the squirt lube. The best way that I have found to apply it is to run the
04:28chain through an ultrasonic cleaner, let it fully dry and then refit the chain to the bike. I then
04:33coat the inside of each roller with a drop of the lube and then let it soak in overnight. And then in
04:38the morning, I'll come back and wipe off any residual excess. So far, treatments like this last far
04:45longer and are much more resilient to water. Yes, chain wax or wax-based lubricants are more
04:52expensive to purchase up front. However, you'll get so much more life out of it and you'll have a
04:57smoother running drivetrain that doesn't attract nearly as much gunk and grime, which of course,
05:03most importantly, prolongs the life of your components, but also saves you from giving yourself
05:08a dreaded fourth cat tant. 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
05:34cancelling your indoor training subscription 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
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.
07:27The bikes obviously have a very cheap list price, but do remember that the bikes could cost less
07:32than 50% of the retail price to build. So, to enable such markups, the components used will be of
07:40a 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 optimised 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
08:43may 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
09:18that fills 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. Cheap tools
09:44have the ability to wreak more havoc on your bike than you may otherwise imagine. And it's not just the
09:50free tools you get from furniture, but just poor quality cheap tools altogether. They're often made of poor
09:56quality metal 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 correct
10:22amount of torque to that bolt. Meaning it could work loose. My recommendation is that if you do
10:29intend on working on your own bike, then always opt for a reputable brand of tools and then slowly add
10:34tools as and when you need to complete new jobs. Alternatively, leave the maintenance of your bike
10:41to 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,
10:56not strictly a false economy as I don't believe any brand is claiming that their products are made to
11:01save you money, but it is something which is very costly, especially when you compare something like
11:08an energy bar and the cost of something that you can make at home. The differential is huge.
11:14However, there are pros and cons to both. First, sports nutrition comes in more formats than you
11:20may otherwise be able to create at home. For example, gels, chews, powdered drink mixes,
11:26protein bars. That's why buying those products can make a lot of sense and you can often buy multi-packs
11:33to reduce the cost per unit and you'll have a wide variety of flavours from multiple different brands.
11:39Foods like these can be really useful on event days or during races as you can accurately track
11:45what you're putting into your system, but also you can practice your feeding schedule to figure out
11:51what works well for you. However, in my mind, this is one of the few places where dedicated sports
11:57nutrition justifies the increased cost. For a normal day's training or just went out riding for fun,
12:03either batch cooking a whole bunch of energy bars or cakes are always best to carry with you. It's
12:08much cheaper, does the same job and because you can make it yourself, you can create flavours that
12:13otherwise you might not find elsewhere. Bananas, flapjacks, jam sandwiches and fruitcake are some of
12:20my favourite things to carry on the bike and when I get home, I'll always try and get my protein from as
12:25many real foods as possible and only adding in protein shakes when I need to up the levels to
12:30cater for an increased training load. The convenience of sports nutrition is undeniable and that's why I
12:37utilise those products in the run up to and during events and races, but opt for homemade food the rest
12:43of the time. As I said, this isn't strictly a false economy as defined at the start of the video, but I wanted
12:50to include 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 biggest
13:08false economies in cycling are. If you enjoyed the video then please do drop it a like, subscribe to
13:14the channel for more content and I will see you again very soon.