Crappiest bit of Cycling Tat You've ever wasted your money on?

[GrahamG]

SKS track pump with no gauge and a hose barely 40cm long - that soon got exchanged!

 

[bonj2]

talking of wilko's -onething I've got from there that isn't crap is tyre levers, I've got two sets of 3, and they're great. (Although I'm not really sure how difficult it can be to make a tyre lever. it's just a piece of moulded plastic. )


But, what's the game here then?? !

this wasn't from wilko's - guess where it was from ...

 

[Abitrary]

this wasn't from wilko's - guess where it was from ...

deflated that's a tough one... you couldn't possibly pump it up?

 

[bonj2]

deflated that's a tough one... you couldn't possibly pump it up?

Itake it you can tell the picture what's wrong with it, irrespective of whether it holds air or not? (i'm assuming it does - i've no reason to suspect otherwise)

 

[Abitrary]

er, it's not a schrader valve on a road tyre?

From ASDA?

 

[bonj2]

it's a presta valve, but it's got no thread!
ergo, you can't put a collar on it.
from decathlon.
It's the latest in a long line of stuff I've bought from there that's been absolute rubbish.
I've resolved not to buy parts and accessories from there again.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Aren't those designed for aero rims? I've used these on both aero and non aero rims and they work fine.

 

[Abitrary]

Inner tubes are weird ones, I've bought crap ones from random LBSes before.

I think the trick is to bulk buy online once you know the good ones (which I don't know yet myself)

 

[bonj2]

Aren't those designed for aero rims? I've used these on both aero and non aero rims and they work fine.

i don't know, but the picture/diagram thingy on the box of the valve shows it as having a thread, so i didn't bother to look in it to make sure it was in fact the same as pictured...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Hmmm, yes. If you thought you were buying one with a threaded shaft, then that is annoying.

 

[bonj2]

Inner tubes are weird ones, I've bought crap ones from random LBSes before.

I think the trick is to bulk buy online once you know the good ones (which I don't know yet myself)

Although saying that, another forummer did convince me to start using patches to repair tubes, and in the same visit to decathlon i also bought some patches and glue and repaired the tube i punctured on sat, and the patches seem alright - they're the ones that you peel off a selophane backing leaving a tapered edge that 'melts' into the tube, rather than the ones that are just a slab of rubber that are far too heavy and always come away at the edges...

That tube has gone back on my bike on the front this time and is still holding air.


although in terms of patches, i am like you abitrary with tubes in that i don't really know which are the best ones...

 

[Abitrary]

i don't know, but the picture/diagram thingy on the box of the valve shows it as having a thread, so i didn't bother to look in it to make sure it was in fact the same as pictured...

From now on I'm going to ask for a look.

Nothing worse than getting a too short valve for a deep rim so the pump doesn't go on properly, and having to pump so hard and inefficiently that you get delirious and the minute you pull the pump off, you scrabble to put the cap back on as quickly as possible in case any more air escapes.

 

[Tynan]

feathered patches? I thought everyone used them, it's what I've also been given when I ask for patches

they're brilliant and so easy to use, never had one not hold

 

[walker]

the tube look's fine to me according to the picture. ok it doesn't have a thread but if your not using valve extenders you should be ok.

 

[bonj2]

the tube look's fine to me according to the picture. ok it doesn't have a thread but if your not using valve extenders you should be ok.

I don't CARE if it 'should be ok'!* i've paid for a bloody proper tube i want one with a sodding thread. It's pictured with a thread, and it hasn't got a thread when i get it out of the box. Therefore it's not as described. this pisses me off.

Same as when I buy a chain, i shouldn't have to start getting my pliers out and fixing problems with one of the links, even if that MAY be the quickest way of puting it to use and drawing closure to the issue.

The point is, that while substandard stuff may work, and in some cases may even be able to be got to work as well (or almost as well) as any other perfect one, at the end of the day it is STILL substandard, and while some people may be content with it, I am not paying good money for parts and accessories that looks good in the shop but when you try it out you discover that it is actually crap in some way - it's SUBSTANDARD and I am NOT spending MY money on it.

The thread is there for a reason, and they've either skimped on the boxes and just used one set of boxes for tubes with either valve type, OR there's an error in the manufacturing process whereby the step that cuts the thread has been missed out, and they haven't bothered to even fix the problem. Either way, they're ripping me off and I won't tolerate it,.

The point being, I think at least half of the products I've got from there have been substandard or faulty - so even if it improves my chances of getting the stuff i want for as cheap a price as possible, then I don't think i'm likely to set foot in there again, because past experience has proven that it's just a waste of time - it's likely to necessitate another trip back there to take it back, and then another trip to somewhere else to get something to replace it.

* not having a rant at you specifically walker, just sounding off generally about getting substandard stuff from just this one place time and time again