General Cycling Discussion - Your favourite bicycle part?

I myself are very fascinated by hubs and the wheels in general, there´s where I put my money. There is something mysterious about wheels and wheeltruing. Kind of like the humble-bee that is not supposed to fly. Something magical. A good set of wheels is important for me.

What´s your "favourite" part, where do you put your money or/and your soul?

Anders K

Reason I emphasize good wheels, that is where the rubber meets the road. Lots of bike parts can be critical to your safety, but cheap wheels, would seem to be potential call to disaster.

My favorite is the part where I ride it around and have a good time. :eek:
Planetary gear hubs. That's my favorite.

Front suspension, I mtb at thats where tons of breaking technology comes from. Plus a good fork is priceless.

rear derailleur.
To be specific Campagnolo Nuvo Record (or plain record)
rear derailleur. That one component alone is the most
functionally significant item developed (ok, I know I'm out
on a limb here but what the heck). It is poetry to watch
a well tuned derailleur, a super record or Croc d'une is
absolute art, anything else to me is just functional.
even the Shimano/Suntour slant parallellogram is sheer
genius to me.

Marty

Favourite part on my wife's bike? The motor. (No, it's not a motor bike.)

I have to concur with Anders and say wheels (tires included).

I have a set of old Mavic MA40 wheels that I had built years ago, db spokes- 36 in each wheel, Shimano 600EX hubs. Never had a broken spoke after many, many miles, and they're still going strong. A thing of beauty.

I probably like wheels the best -- but face the fact that I spend most of the time looking at my computer.....

A good set of aero bars do it for me. Sleek looking black ones are real nice...:)

I'd have to go with Cdude on this one but also add the rear suspension. Fine tuning a good suspension takes a lot of practice and trying to figure out different ways of tuning the internals to get the best performance is always a challange. Once dialed in though the ride is soooo plush, it give a rider a lot more confidence especialy on technical dh runs.
Slainte:beer:

there's no way I can narrow it down to one part.

i really like it when all of them work the way they are ment to work. otherwise, i have to ride less than 100%

or maybe I should say, I like the part that isn't broke the best.

The seat.:D

CHEERS.
Mark

Computer!!! they all are nice!

Jared

Brakes, the single most overlooked & taken for granted component on a bike After years of fiddling with the old cantilevers on my high school 10 speed the Avid Arch 40's on my current steed coupled with the Travel Agents make for the best modulating, smoothest acting, most powerful brakes I've ever used. (I'm getting discs on my next ride)

I replaced some heavy hybrid wheels whith some tough mid-weight handbuilt ones, and as far as the ride goes, the difference is fairly small.
I did notice a huge difference in performance when I swapped my old Wienman sidepull brakes for Shimano 105 dual pivots. It really was a quantum leap in stopping power and control. I think they are the prettiest thing on my bike and the best thing the Big S ever made.

MediaCreations you're response is brilliant! The propulson section of a ladies bike!
Joe
:beer:

The frame. particularly if hand built steel with beautiful lugs and braze ons.

I have to say though, I find a fully loaded tourer the best looking bike on the planet. associations with travel I suppose.

Originally posted by chewa
I find a fully loaded tourer the best looking bike on the planet.

I agree to that.

Anders K

I have to go with Lotek, the rear derialleur.
I`m the off-roadie, so that would be the XTR, polished as done on the Cannondale Good Boy, mmm, candy
:D

High-quality rear derailleurs are like fine art in my eyes :) So intricately-designed and precise. I have an old Shimano Sante sitting on my desk here, now that was a unique one... :)

A single speed rear hub - it just sooo wide and symetrical. And when looked at from behind, on the bike, it doesn't have that goofy, springy, parrelogrammy, looking thingy hanging next to it.

Definately wheels. Especially rear. It is an art to build a wheel that will survive freeriding under a lot of weight.

Past that it is the bb. I remember when they weren't cartridges and I was destroying frames. Now everything is so neat and tidy. Wow bikes.

I'm with Lotek. A properly adjusted rear derailleur that give crisp, clean shifts is a thing of joy.

To me the two most important things on any bicycle are the bearing surfaces and rotating weight. So if I had to choose one part, It would definitely be the wheels. A new set of wheels that are light weight and have smooth hubs can make a huge difference on an old bike. And especially if your replacing steel wheels, you'll notice a huge improvement in braking too. The deraileurs would actually be pretty low on my list. Even with a crumby set, if you keep them tuned and clean they will work well enough. And if they don't, single speeds are really fun too. :D
JMHO
Michael Bicycle

Aesthetically (and many parts functionally) old French stuff--wwII era to 1970's. Functionally, new midline Shimano parts.

Black Cannondale Gemini 1000. Everything is black. It looks so cool, and dare I say it...black.

I'm getting one, so I'm not biased.:D

unless there is some wierd gestault thing going on....i'm needing every part i've got on the bike equally....

I was going to go with Dutchy and pick my womderful new seat but mediacreations had a good pick so I am going tohave to go with the motor of a womens bicycle. :beer:

Tires, I love Black tires with the numbers and stuff not painted white. I also love brand new MTB tires with the little pricklies( ha ha) from the mold.

Tires, I love Black tires with the numbers and stuff not painted white. I also love brand new MTB tires with the little pricklies( ha ha) from the mold.

Me too! There is something therapeautic about pulling them off! Sad, I admit! Our cat takes a lot of interest in them and likes to pat them around the floor.:)