The single most useless part of an Mtb

Me 😀

Me 😀

The nut that holds the handlebars

It’s not just my piss poor mechanicing, I know this.

I've never rounded one off...

I've never rounded one off..... Rubbish allen keys?

Bottle bosses/bolts

+1 for no issues with fork cable guides.

The nut that holds the handlebars

The obvious answer I came to post

Ive never rounded one off.  Coppaslip for the win and don't overtighten

Is there anything else so useless?

Overly long allen keys that result in rounding small fixings?!

As above, never rounded one, but I realise it's an M3 bolt going into magnesium so treat it accordingly.
Very carefully and don't ball end it.

Those original Maxle QR levers.
Made out of Dairylea

Used to think it was dustcaps on presta valves. But seem to be going through a spate of needing to use pliars to undo the lock nut on valves without dustcaps just to pump the tyre up.

Those original Maxle QR levers.
Made out of Dairylea

You're correct.

And still Rockshox as well as others make axles from cheese strength alloy, it saves at least 6 grammes.

I'm calling most cable routing too.

again - never had an issue with a maxle.  Had a couple of em. no issues

You’re generally a ride from home guy, I bet the Maxle quick release didn’t see much use under you. Others who take the front wheel out for transport and storage are using it twice a ride.

Had trouble with my cable guide today, needs something bigger than a 2mm hex head on it

Apart from they sit on the bike for longer so more chance to seize.  Its a question of greasing them and how tight you do them up IMO.  they do not need to be done up tight at all .  Turn until snug, flip the lever which tightens everything up and locks the axle

If you are removing them every ride then they should never seize because you are constantly moving them.

It’s not them seizing that is the issue, it’s that the tabs the lever pushes against wear, then snap, in a shape that makes them almost impossible to push the lever against, think V shape rather than U shape.

Yes but they do not need to be that tight!  Thats the point.  The axle only screws in to hand tight.  The lever flip is what locks it and tensions it.  If you are damaging the cutouts and its not seized then its done up too tight

It does seem that it's a good way to stop people over tightening a maxle, it's amazing how few people know how to use a standard qr properly!

Fork cable guides always makes me nervous, not that I think I'll round the bolt, I always think I'll screw it in on the piss and thread it. They're just overly awkward!

Cables routed through the stem and headset. Meaning you have to bleed your brakes and remove gear cable just to put new headset bearings in 🤯

The single most useless part of an Mtb: standards.

Always, always rounds off.

I’ve never, ever experienced this

It’s not just my piss poor mechanicing

I think it just might be.

Dairylea Maxles for the win lose

That and internal routing. Aesthetics over simplicity of maintenance.

The brake cable guide on suspension forks. Always, always rounds off. It’s not just my piss poor mechanicing, I know this.

it’s certainly not your shit hot mechanicing. wink. i do approach those guides with a degree of trepidation.

And still Rockshox as well as others make axles from cheese strength alloy, it saves at least 6 grammes.

perhaps the axles are like the preload caps on shimano cranks? designed to fail if they are over-tightened.

My (s/h) Rockshox fork came with the thread stripped for the cable guide. Tapped in an M3 thread and now use a bolt from a lock on grip. Much better.

Can I nominate star nuts. Such a crap solution to a problem. Many better alternatives to tension a headset yet we persist with them.

I always think I’ll screw it in on the piss and thread it

Relax, it’s supposed to be threaded. What you should worry about is cross threading or stripping the thread.

Presta valves.

They are just shiiiite. Shouldn't be anywhere near any bike when  waaaay more superior reliable robust Schrader valve is available.

Fork cable guides? You mean, cable ties? Never understood why any manufacturer makes a lovely lightweight chassis then goes "what this needs is an extra bolt and a wee retainer thing"

The old maxle was OK, it just chewed up a bit too easily if you overtightened it and at the same time let it slip, that'd round it off super fast. TJ's half right to say it's user error, but at teh same time, bikes should be resistant to that level of commonplace user error, the little lips were just too weak.

But then, the next gen or maybe the one after that was proper crap and had so little metal in the lever that it could just snap off under normal use. And because of how it worked, if the lever broke, the axle was loose, there was no way to bodge it. Rubbish.

internal routing. Aesthetics over simplicity of maintenance.An utter nightmare.

And on an Ebike, especially rear mech cable and brake hose you really dont want to think about it given to remove/replace can involve dropping the motor, shock off etc.

Just not good.

Im externally mounting my new Tech 4 rear brake simply because i cant draw it through due to motor. Any work as in having a shop do it, is £50/h on a minimum of a 2h job. SOD THAT.

Well done internal routing is fine though- marginally more faff than external but not a disaster. I used to hate it, then I got a bit that it was done right on. (a trek where the ferrule things are little removable covers so you get a nice big easy hole to feed the things through). Previous experiences with a BMC and aaaargh a bloody Orange were absolutely crap mind but I'm glad I didn't throw the baby out with teh bathwater

Shimano XT clutch bearings. Grr.

Used to think it was dustcaps on presta valves. But seem to be going through a spate of needing to use pliars to undo the lock nut on valves without dustcaps just to pump the tyre up.

That’s more likely sealant jamming it up. Take the core out and clean it, or buy a pack of lots for not much money from amazon and replace.

Take the core out and clean it, or buy a pack of lots for not much money from amazon and replace.

Or get some of those Reserve clog free valves for very much money and replace 😀

Cable guides on forks - largely pointless when a cable tie worked just as well BITD
Rounded maxles - yes I've had to deal with one after the tabs stopped being effective
Internal routing - needs to be done properly to be effective, I've only had one bike where it was a total PITA and ended up sticking Di2 on it out of frustration
XT clutches - just needs a few mins of maintenance about as often as you do an air can or fork lowers (you do service your forks don't you?)

So Maxles and fork cable guides get my vote.

1 - How often do you actually take the cable guide off a fork?
2 - If you've rounded more than one, it's definitely a "you" problem

Ham fisted gibbons to the forum, thats ham fisted gibbons to the forum please.

Cant say ive ever had issues with any of these. Though i have known plenty of people who seem to need to tighten every little nut or bolt by standing on the end of the allen key.

I would nominate this seatpost specifically.

why do they persist with the manafacture of them when there are simpler, easier to manafacture and reliable options. i clearly a crap design. Heavy, ineffective and self loosening. You need a ham fisted gibbon to stand any chance of it not slipping on the first ride.

I would put both QR maxle bolt and the cable guide on RS forks in the "could definitely be designed better" category.
Carefully done there is no issue, but they could easily be made so care wasn't required.

The single most useless part of an Mtb: standards.

TBF it's not so much that there are standards, it's that there are several for each interface, and then they are periodically changed, mostly for the sake of forcing some new incompatibility with older, perfectly good kit.

Fork cable guides? You mean, cable ties? Never understood why any manufacturer makes a lovely lightweight chassis then goes “what this needs is an extra bolt and a wee retainer thing”

^^This^^

I can't quite fathom why things like this keep being implemented for me bolt on guides when a better/cheaper/lighter solution already exists just highlights the folly of bike manufacturers, it's up there with internal routing.

Presta valves.

They are just shiiiite. Shouldn’t be anywhere near any bike when  waaaay more superior reliable robust Schrader valve is available.

This 1 billion times over, people buy 10K bikes and put these pieces of crap in one of the most essential roles!

Well pre tension whilst riding (headset/cranks) but thats not the worst... internally routed headsets on a MTB take some beating as being worse than useless and damaging to the bike.

This is closely followed by 35mm bars... then followed by expensive ways to make your 35mm bars less stiff.