What bike, part or cycling related item have you regretted buying?

[vickster]

Marathon + tyres, heavy, slow, slippery. I only kept them (until I sold the bike) having paid full price at LBS. thankfully they fitted them or I would have been cursing more if I’d fought them on myself!!

 

[Welsh wheels]

Apologies if this has been asked before

It could be because item didn't work as good as expected.

Price was lowered after your purchase

Realized afterwards was wrong size

Not good value

Broke

etc etc, could be loads of reasons

I once brought a bike mirror. It broke on the second day for no apparent reason other than being extremely poor quality.

 

[mikeymustard]

I regretted buying my Surley after a while ,to the point I stopped riding it ,and toyed with selling but I changed the bars n leversto flats , got bars to preferred height ,gave it a new lease of life and now I can't get enough of it ,

Mine is the opposite of this:
A Claud Butler flat-barred road bike. After a lay off of 10yrs+ (and a weight gain of about 4 stone) I decided to get back into cycling. My partner, and the young whippersnapper at leisure lakes persuaded me that I was too old and fat (they didn't actually say 'fat' just implied it) for drop bars.
Never did get on with the bike or the bars, it was a harsh ride and my hands would go numb after a few miles.

I think the main problem (apart from it apparently being the bike that "proves" ally frames are harsh) is that my age group never rode upright bikes; I've ridden drops since i was about seven!
Anyway, I bought myself a Genesis Volant [also aluminium but not harsh at all!] and was much happier.

 

[cabbieman]

Am I the only person who likes the chain cleaner doodah

I'm with you there. Works great for me.

 

[nickAKA]

Am I the only person who likes the chain cleaner doodah

They work brilliantly if your chain doesn't really need cleaning... Good for a spruce-up after a dry ride!

 

[nickAKA]

Worst buys -

(non-bib) tights. Uncomfortable, too warm, constantly falling down. I should bin them really.

Half a dozen cheap saddles in the vain hope one would be comfortable. Bit the bullet eventually and paid the necessary for a quality fizik saddle, never looked back since. There's a lesson for us all here...

 

[jonnysnorocket]

Doubtless others will disagree. A Brooks cambium c15, it was reasonably comfortable, but the creaking noises drove me round the bend, It often caused grazing cattle to stop what they were doing and have a good look round to see what the farking racket was!
After countless attempts to remedy this it ended up in the bin
My Garmin edge touring is on borrowed time now, it did however redeem itself on its last, last chance saloon outing, after letting me down so many times in the past.
So maybe not in the bin just yet.
Both these items were pretty costly, which does annoy me, as there doesn't seem to be any correlation between price & quality, just price & brandname

 

[davidphilips]

Few regrettes about money spent on cycling but worst buy now has to go to a cheap alloy chinese wheelset, not only heavy but the rims just seem to be just that bit smaller and tyres when inflated seem to be ok but dont have any confidence in them and would not risk even giving them to anyone in case they caused an accident so its into the scrap pile for them.

 

[ColinJ]

I think the main problem (apart from it apparently being the bike that "proves" ally frames are harsh) ...

I have an ultra-stiff aluminium Cannondale. I had the 23C tyres pumped to 100 psi F/110 psi R. An incredibly harsh ride, fillings rattling, bottles flying from the cages. HORRIBLE!

I have the same ultra-stiff aluminium Cannondale. I have the 25C tyres pumped to 80 psi F/90 psi R. A comfortable ride, fillings fine, bottles stay firmly in their cages. SUPER!

 

[HLaB]

Chain cleaners in general I tried a few including the Park one and whilst they were fine initially they soon fell apart and made a mess. Thankfully I found babywipes and chain wiping.

I tried a eat my dirt brake shield too to speed up the cleaning whilst controlling the dirt but found there was just too much dirt for it to handle and didn't like the amount of chemical degreaser you had to use and went back to chain wiping.

 

[bpsmith]

I wonder if there’s a correlation between not liking a chain cleaner and using chainsaw oil (or other poor alternative) instead of proper chain lube?

 

[fatjel]

SP PD 8 dynamo wheel from spa cycles.. Was like having the front brake on and tyres were almost impossible to fit.
Hated it and sold it to a friend for not much.. He seems OK with it... ( not heard from him lately tho )

 

[mikeymustard]

Doubtless others will disagree. A Brooks cambium c15, it was reasonably comfortable, but the creaking noises drove me round the bend, It often caused grazing cattle to stop what they were doing and have a good look round to see what the farking racket was!
After countless attempts to remedy this it ended up in the bin
My Garmin edge touring is on borrowed time now, it did however redeem itself on its last, last chance saloon outing, after letting me down so many times in the past.
So maybe not in the bin just yet.
Both these items were pretty costly, which does annoy me, as there doesn't seem to be any correlation between price & quality, just price & brandname

found this review on wiggle - hope you didn't bin it too early
"It began badly with much creaking and squeaking. Just as I was about to return it after approx 300 km the noises stopped and have not returned.
It is undoubtedly stylish and getting more comfortable by the day. It promises to be a very good saddle, but the creaking still haunts me and I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't return."

I have an ultra-stiff aluminium Cannondale. I had the 23C tyres pumped to 100 psi F/110 psi R. An incredibly harsh ride, fillings rattling, bottles flying from the cages. HORRIBLE!

I have the same ultra-stiff aluminium Cannondale. I have the 25C tyres pumped to 80 psi F/90 psi R. A comfortable ride, fillings fine, bottles stay firmly in their cages. SUPER!

Lol I tried 25's, they helped a bit but didn't solve the numb hands problem

 

[ADarkDraconis]

Chain cleaners in general I tried a few including the Park one and whilst they were fine initially they soon fell apart and made a mess. Thankfully I found babywipes and chain wiping.

I tried a eat my dirt brake shield too to speed up the cleaning whilst controlling the dirt but found there was just too much dirt for it to handle and didn't like the amount of chemical degreaser you had to use and went back to chain wiping.

As a mama of a three-year-old, baby wipes are a miraculous multi-functional necessity of life! They even clean up countertops and car interiors well!

 

[Brandane]

A not very comprehensive list of cycle related items that lie unused, or replaced by better quality items:

Several pumps. Just buy a Joe Blow track pump and Lezyne frame pumps in the first place.
Several battery powered lights. Just buy good quality Lezyne rechargeable lights in the first place.
Errrm; no-one mentioned the "H" word yet? Got 2 of them gathering dust.
Cycling magazines. They look nice on the shelves of WH Smith. Leave them there.
Cheap tubes; they are cheap for a reason.
Cheap brake pads; they are cheap for a reason. Ditto cables.
In fact, cheap anything - they are cheap for a reason.
Bib tights; they catch my raspberry ripples causing much pain by the end of a long ride.

Edit to add:
Garmin Edge Explore 820. Far too expensive for what it is, and so user unfriendly that it IS going to end up in a canal one of these days.