[Closed] Whats your least favourite bit of bike kit?

Suspension.

Wheel bearings

Narrow wide chainrings

Bib Tighst/shorts

Crank Bros cleats

Almost all brakes are a massive let down in terms of build quality, consistency and longevity.

I've settled on Hope as the least worst option but although the function perfectly I wish they had a bit more oomph.

Suspension.

I'd say this or gears.

They just don't spark joy. I have bikes with both but i never have the most fun on them.

Five Ten shoes.

Anything designed to be ridden off road that doesn't have loads of gears or masses of suspension.

I absolutely HATE buying tyres. I don't want super gravity enduro jobs that weigh as much as my bike, and I don't want treadless paper thin race jobs that won't work in the winter. Just inbetweeny round black knobbly tyres that will work fine in most conditions. Currently my task is to find new boots for my winter bike, and it's 26" for extra reduction in available options. I just lose the will to live every time I start looking.

Clipless shoes. Why does no one make shoes that are actually shaped like feet?

Disk brakes on my main cross bike are miserable. Just need to grasp the nettle and lash the calipers in the bin I think.

The complete opposite of the drivetrain - which keeps turning regardless in the quagmire of a race, the brakes get put out, start squealing, by a stiff breeze.

Pedals/shoes, flats aren't perfect, clipless aren't perfect, fundamentally just don't make sense to me and don't feel "right".
The analogy i make is hands on your grips, you can quite easily get to a happy place in terms of comfort, getting to a good position and repositioning without much effort and thought, feet on the pedals just don't work.

Pedals. Still not found any I really like more than my Wello b54 which no longer exist but fail to die

Yep, disc brakes for me, haven't owned a set yet which I've been able to tolerate on wet roads, I don't brake heavily or frequently so whenever I do try to slow down it's accompanied by deafening howling. Also I always seem to end up with wibbles jn rotors and self adjusting callipers which inevitably means annoying rubs, not what you want on a road bike.

I've actually ended up with old school cantilevers on my gravel bike now, great pad clearance, no squeeling, bliss.

So yeah, any disc manufacturer who promises silent braking in the wet (and ideally pads that don't get contaminated by road spray) can have my money!

Getting Disc brakes running without rubbing or disintegrating is hard, Shimano FTW though

@weeksy, try the Shimano GR500. Not identical, but as close as I’ve found and they work well.

Sram eagle mechs. Flimsy, finicky and the jockey wheels seize at the slightest hint of water.

Camelbak bladders that are mega faffy to fit back into the backpack.

Shoes with laces. When gunked up they are a pain to adjust. Why flat pedal shoes aren't all boa laces yet is beyond me.

I do seem to be spending more time fiddling with gears these days. Back in the good old days I had several 10speed set ups that never needed touching until something wore out. Still think 10 speed Shimano shifters were the best.

Cleats. Takes ages to get the position and float how I want.

Hardly ever happy with the seat tube angle. Either it's too slack and feels like I'm falling off the back or if steeper it makes the cockpit too short and I feel perched up on top.

Back packs, even the best of them. Don't want any weight on my back. As I don't wear one often it throws my balance off when I do.

Pedals, but more specifically a pair that don't chew up their bushings. I can find ones that suit my feet no problem but I always seem to kill bushings, even on models that others have no issues with.

Not much i struggle with, if anything it would be headset bearings on newer style bikes, they seem to like cheap and badly protected bearings these days, had to replace two this year, one on a bike that was a month old, wych and kinetic bearings must make a killing with the new stuff these days!

Pannier rack & mudguards on the commuter. Just sucks the life out of the bike, makes it cumbersome & rattly even without the panniers attached.

Me, I'm the worst part of my bike)

Come on! All these answers and not one of you has come up with pressfit bottom bracket.

I also deeply sympathise on the 26" just going for a ride tyres problem.

Shorts and saddles. I've yet to find any that don't make my arse sore after a couple of hours. How people do all day/100milers I just don't know. I wouldn't be able to sit for a month.

Efa any bags etc, carrying stuff that Spoils handling.

Honestly nothing that could be considered chronic. DI2 gears so can be adjusted perfectly in seconds if required, everything running on CK bearings, so nothing to worry about there and Hope brakes all round. Yes if the brakes are sipping wet they squeal for the first 2 seconds but are back to silence after that.

My bikes are silent in operation unless something is failing. I do have a CK PF30 that could do with a regrease, but can’t get the injector for love nor money.

Disc brake pads. Not found the right ones yet

SRAM rival brakes and drive train, I have never had as many frequent problems... and people rave about the Overpriced tat.

Thankfully now replaced with proper Shimano stuff.

SRAM Eagle rear mechs. If the jockey wheels don’t seize, they have a habit of dropping the chain, which jams and causes it to explode if you’re really lucky, smash into the frame, damaging it.

And in the unlikely event of none of the above happening, the clutch will fail in a few months.

Riding glasses... I really struggle to set them up so they don’t fog up when climbing and then rattle against my helmet on descents. Daily application of anti-mist helps, but I don’t always remember. Worst thing about riding at this time of year

Endura MT500 clothes. Consistently fail to be any use after 6 months.

Chain. It is the only thing I have to maintain riding a bike with no gears or brakes.

Spokes, just because it's becoming difficult to get what I want.

Flat pedals esp bushings. Cheap headset bearings. I had CK on the last bike, lasted for ever now they last a month.

Rear Mudhugger. Yes, they work brilliantly but it's not just the fact they're ugly it's that fitting one heralds the darker nights and winter slopfest 🙁

Tubes.

I used to go for over a year between punctures. Nothing has changed in the way I fit tyres, I always check my pressures before going on a ride, and I'm careful where I aim my bike.

Yet despite that I seem to get a flat about once a month now. It usually manifests itself after a ride as the tyre slowly deflates in the shed.

I don't cheapskate on my tubes, but I'm beginning to suspect the major manufacturers are doing that and selling them as quality.

It's almost enough to tempt me into tubeless.

Pf bottom brackets. Even spending more to get a wheels one its my shan's achilies heel. Always feels like its binding or creaking.

Also crap grips. Touch points are so important !!

Locks.....flippin nuisance and more weight on me/ my bike.Plus the good ones weigh a ton.

...the engine - it's bloody pathetic...

😉

Nothing really?.

I can't think of a single component on my MTB that gives me bother, suppose I've just worked out over the years what kit works for me.

At a push, my WTB i29 rims are a bit cheese like and have taken a bit of reforming, but they're 3.5 years old now and have taken a fair bit of abuse!.

The bits which have bolts places in such a way that you can't get an Allen key to them. These parts are clearly designed by someone, so why can't they make them easy to get to.

@nobeerinthefridge a WTB i29 nearly killed me once. Separated at the join and pitched me over/through the bars. Never again.

Jeebus, nobody's mentioned dropper posts yet?

I bloody love them...
... they bloody hate me. If I finally get one working fine, then it's only one ride from not working fine again. Grrrrrrrr.

Currently have:
- a Reverb that is locked solid until i really heave on it, then it goes down but immediately shoots back up again.
- a KS Supernatural that goes down, but needs insane forces to get it back up.
- a Oneup that returns slowly as if it's being snakecharmed. Waited 7 weeks for a replacement cartridge. So i'll fit that tonight and no doubt it's be FUBAR by the weekend.

The bungs in carbon steerer tubes.

If you get it wrong, then it can silently go wrong without you noticing until you've trashed the forks.

Anything that has a SRAM logo on it. Why make something serviceable and simple when you can go for complex and quick to wear out?

Tubeless still feels a faff.

Knee pads - I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Which doesn't run or bunch.

Suspension works ok, but when it needs replacing I always question how much it costs.

Hmmm, not that much really.

I like Shimano brakes but the occasional bar pull/rebleed after a gritty ride gets old.

Getting a bit sick of denting Hunt rims, will go back to Stans when they die proper.

Bikes are generally pretty sorted these days, we've got it good.

On complete bikes, the bits that bike companies save money on that need replacing all too soon (e.g. cheapo plastic Shimano bottom brackets, unsealed headsets, cheapo hubs).

As for individual bike bits, why don't all seatpost clamps (especially those made by UK companies) have a seal between the clamp and the seatpost to reduce the chances of water and muck getting down the seat tube? This is closely followed by frames that have rear facing seat tube slots (though it's easy to cover them with electrical tape).

*I'm aware that a rear mudguard would alleviate both of these issue, though to me they are hardly elegant or well thought out.