[Closed] Bigging up your kit

I agree to an extend - there is a difference between a "I own a xxx and have liked the performance and have had no issues" to a "xxx is so cool it hurts - you would be a minger to buy owt else" type response. I think a qualifying "I've also owned/tried/used xxx, xxx and xxx" or "I have no other relevant experience to compare it against" is very helpful.

Nothing wrong with a [u]qualified [/u]recommendation of what you have bought, given that you probably did a hefty bit of research in coming to your decision and provided it has lived up to expectations. A few more "I bought xxx and it sucks" or "now that xxx is available I would probably have got that instead"s would give a greater level of honesty though. There is probably a human element of needing to confirm your obscene purchase to yourself was worthwhile and should not have been used to put clothes on the kids etc!

I do know what you mean.

My five is one of the best bikes I've ever owned

Hope brakes suck balls.

Anything by Chris king is overpriced tat.

Happy to help.

I reckon my valve caps (red anodized Mowa's) are the best you can get 😉

Seriously though, we all like to justify what we buy, especially if it's expensive but nothing is perfect - ever. And biking is definitely a sport/hobby where bigger money doesn't always get you better kit.

i think im the opposite, i know all my kit isnt great and i like to make sure people realise im aware of this. The only part on my bike that can possibly be considered the "best XXX part ever" is my XTR spds which i got for £30.

My deore rear mech and alivio shifters are my blingest bits. My bike works fine,It's had the mechs set up properly, shifts perfectly, brakes more than adaquately etc. I ilke it. I get a lot of fun out of it.

It's probably cost me £300 if that. I could go out and spend a couple of grand and probably not enjoy riding anymore than I do now. I like to think of the extra weight as resistance training.

Hope brakes suck balls.

This is absolutely categorically not true.

I know my kit is the best kit there is, because I chose it and my wisdom and judgement are considerably superior to other people's. HTH. 🙂

Hope brakes do suck balls. I read as much on the internet, which is why I don't have any.

ok - I Bought a Singular Swift - it is a great bike, it got me back into mtb'ing - I run it rigid...

i have done quite a few demo days on full sus XC bikes

- full sus is just better...

most are more comfortable, lighter, pedal sitting down etc etc..

now if giant would just hurry up and get the 29er Anthems out... i know it will be a better bike than the Swift, love it as i do.

people asking for opinions given one by someone on STW ... I just cant believe that sort of thing goes on here 🙄

"talk to be about........"

rootes1:
"talk to be about........"

Eh?

I can never quite understand when people take offence when others are critical of bikes or stuff they have bought. It is just stuff ffs, it isn't like you are directly abusing their nearest and dearest.

jahwomble - Member

It's probably cost me £300 if that. I could go out and spend a couple of grand and probably not enjoy riding anymore than I do now.

you'd be surprised.

rootes1:
"talk to be about........"
Eh?

would help if I had written 'be'

but was a ref to those bods that start threads off with 'talk to me about...' such a vague way of getting an opinion... not that such opinions are normally worth owt..

base your opinions on your own experiences is best suppose it is ok to offer your opinions and people can do what they want with them, as long as opinions are based on actual experiences

molgrips - Member
Hope brakes suck balls.
This is absolutely categorically not true.

your right, that would make them useful...

[i]base your opinions on your own experiences is best. [/i]

I think that's exactly the reverse of what this thread is trying to say?

Basing an opinion on a (possibly biased as they've spent lots of money and want to justify it to themselves) sample of one is never a good basis for balance.

"you'd be surprised."

Nah, had more expensive bikes, enjoyed owning them more, but not riding them more:) I don't have to get stressed about scratches/dings leaving them chained up outside Morrson's/chip shop either.

The build I currently ride is pretty much as smooth and acceptable to ride as anything else I have ridden upto a grand or so, simply cos it's had the time spent to set everything up properly, rather just banging a pile of expensive componentry on and hoping for the best.

Spending two or three grand on a guitar however, now that's a different matter 🙂

It's called Sega Saturn Syndrome. The largest outbreak was in 1996, when sufferers could be found in school playgrounds up and down the country, telling their friends how good their Sega Saturn was compared to the Playstation.

I don't have to get stressed about scratches/dings

I don't care about scratches or dings on my nice bikes. I do care about weight/kit/riding niceness etc tho 🙂

"I do care about weight/kit/riding niceness etc tho"

Well, yeah I do..... but you don't [u]have[/u] to spend thousands to enjoy riding, if anybody wants to spend thousands on a bike, they can, it's fine with me. It's just that I enjoy the fettling, so am happier fiddling with it myself rather than relying on just buying in components to get a decent ride.:

I buy decent components AND fettle them to get a good ride. Money doesn't buy good setup, wtf are you talking about?

I think I explained it fairly clearly, I will say it once more as I know you struggle with comprehension and accepting any kind of opinion that differs from yours Molgrips.

I never said you can buy a good setup, you are as usual putting words in people's mouths. What I was actually saying is that it is possible to enjoy cycling without spending thousands of pounds. there, that any better?

If it's still not clear, I'll be back later and can draw you a diagram with nice short labels on it.:)

So then.

Someone asks about some wheels/brakes/frame/tyres*/fork and no one can answer as they'll be annoying someone for bigging up their kit.

That would be rather dull wouldn't it.
Are we allowed to talk about stuff we've never owned or even seen.

*anyone asking about this should be shot.

OP, the correct word is embiggening I saw it on The Simpsons.

stu has it. 85% of this forum traffic is folk justifying themselves.

With you obviously in the 15% minority, right?

Quick almost random point - of lot of "good" stuff isn't "good" until you sort it out - my XT chainset - NO grease in the chainring bolts - just metal against metal powder. Many hubs - no/little grease. Same with pedals and other components (factory built wheels being the worst - nipples are never greased - oooh eerr missus - spokes are overtightened, etc).

I never grease my nipples... 😯

My wheels seem to be regarded quite well nonetheless as I don't think it's a good thing/necessary to do - I find no downside to not doing it and while greasing may make the build smoother, it can also make some spokes come loose.

Sorry, what am I saying.

My wheels are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!

85% of this forum traffic is folk justifying themselves.

You're only saying that to try and justify yourself. 😆

It's known as "buyers remorse"

self justification required by most folk, even those pretending not to be that insecure 🙂

It's just opinions so you can take anything with a pinch of salt really. I've owned long term a Yeti 575, Intense 5.5, S Works Enduro and Turner 5 Spot do do you think anyone would take in my opinions on which I think is the best? I'll tell anyone what I think but whether they believe me or take advice from it is purely up to them.

It's why magazines don't generally accept reviews from people who've gone out and bought the kit - having bought the kit most people are reluctant to then slag it off, especially if it's expensive and they'll try to justify it's price/performance etc.

Bizarrely, forums are often the exact opposite, people will come on and slag off something they've bought, sometimes even as a first resort. It's one thing going through the shop/dealer/importer and having a problem resolved but a lot of folk seem to start a thread the second anything goes wrong "I've had my xxxx for 3 months and it's rubbish/broken RANT"

I think I explained it fairly clearly

You might think that, but you didn't 😉

It's just that I enjoy the fettling, so am happier fiddling with it myself rather than relying on just buying in components to get a decent ride

This strongly suggests that that people buy nice kit to try and compensate for poor setup (by juxtaposing good setup and expensive kit). This a) is not true and b) wouldn't work anyway! If your indexing's out, then it's out and your gears won't work - regardless of whether or not it's Alivio or XTR..?

To be fair, you did come across as a little disparaging towards those who spent money on kit, I felt. Obviously you don't need to spend money to enjoy your riding - this is so obvious it goes without saying.

But yea, I'd like to see some diagrams 🙂

The best kit is the stuff you are riding at that moment. I don't ride a lovely tongue lollingly jolly bit of singletrack and think " oh that would have been so much more enjoyable, if only I'd have been riding with king/american classic hub etc.."

I might happen to own bikes with nice kit but it shouldn't get too obsessive! 😉

clubber - Member
I never grease my nipples...
My wheels seem to be regarded quite well nonetheless as I don't think it's a good thing/necessary to do - I find no downside to not doing it and while greasing may make the build smoother, it can also make some spokes come loose.

Everyone's obsessed with "best", is the thing, it's not enough to just have something that you like or that works really well, it has to be best. I doubt either of my bikes are the best at what they do, but they're still ace and suit me down to the ground. Even if there was an objective "best bike evars for everyones", which there isn't and never will be, chances are I couldn't afford it anyway 😉 But still people want to believe not just that they made a good choice, but that they made the one perfect choice.