bikingshearer 

What are you talking about? They are the most exquisitely beautiful paperweights ever made.

C9H13N 

Ornate lugs, especially English ones, doubly so if they are chromed or otherwise contrasting. Even Nervex and similar are too much.

Fully chromed forks. Any time I see one I assume the bike was in a wreck and needed a new fork.

Heavily polished parts. The patina of aged raw aluminum is beautiful and doesn’t need to be “fixed”.


Love my two bolt Campy post though!

Classtime 

Nothing that "everyone" on BF's C&V loves have I ever been disappointed with.
seedsbelize where is the thread describing this IM experience? really!?

Charles Wahl

Exactamente -- the Noodle felt unnaturelle, even after a month's trial, after which, couldn't get rid of them fast enough. What I hated was that they took the weakest part of most bend designs, the over-sharp transition from tops to hoods, and exaggerated it. By contrast, the nicest "road" bars I've ever used is the Mod 155 Nitto, unfortunately no longer made, with a track-like smooth transition from tops to hoods that gives a lot of intermediate hand positions. Cinelli 65 is rather similar, but I really like the Nitto.

Au contraire, love that lovely post. Just need a long-ish 10 mm box end to adjust saddle tilt perfectly and infinitesimally without any "slip". Yeah, one can get a Suntour 2-bolt or a Nitto S83, that adjusts with a hex key from below -- but they don't say "Campagnolo" on them or have that '70s cachet.

Personally, the brifter is about the most visually and mechanically offensive thing I can think of inflicting on a bicycle. Generally I'm leery of "multifunctional" engineering, though I'll give modest Swiss Army knives a pass, and am not averse to carrying one.

Another pet peeve is all-chromed bike frames. A bit of bling is OK (socks), but all-chrome is like being in the mirror house; plus the substrate finish on a bike frame is not generally good enough to make chrome look classy rather than cheesy -- think Bianchi Pista. Besides, you have to forgo color, one of life's supreme pleasures.

clubman 

Wrong thread. Components you don't like.

clubman 

Shimano STI shifters. And the only ones I've had have worked well but were so fugly and ungainly I went back to barcons.

nlerner

Tubular tires
Raleigh Professional (I’ve owned three; just didn’t do it for me)
Peugeot PX-10 (I’ve owned four; just didn’t do it for me)
Campy NR RD (great if you like really narrow range and loud friction shifting and cracked pulleys)
Quill pedals and toe clips (ouch!)
low-trail geometry (too floaty)

repechage

I started with an ideale 90.
definitely set a standard.
Brooks is “correct” on an English bike.
the Brooks I would like is one modified by Ottussi

79pmooney

Did Nitto make the apparently no-name track style road bars I see (or did) in the coops of Portland frequently? I love those bars. Seems the hipsters were into them, then grew out of them.

I thought track bars would have been a natural for Bernard Thevenet and his on the ops climbing style. I put some slightly odd, slightly wide track bars on my custom fix gear to test this hunch and have loved them since the first ride despite them being a compromise of level ground riding. Great bars for all day climbing. (No.I haven't climbed all day on that bike. But it felt like that on the 16 mile climb out of Ashland, OR. Day 4 of 5,000'+ every day. Never thought about my hands all climb. Bars were perfect.)

Oh, on all chrome and color - my best friend's dad's chromed and lacquered mid '60s Allegro. Chrome that shone through the lacquer. Paint faded to the chrome socks. Not flashy, just simply drop dead beautiful.

Ben

canklecat

Foot retention. Yeah, I've used toe clips through clipless on my road bikes, and will probably continue to do so. But it's overrated unless we're racing. Stiff soled but walkable shoes and grippy platforms are fine.

BFisher 

Oh, I know they have their fans. I really wanted to like them, and do enjoy the barcons, but they just don't do it for me. The Cyclones just feel better to my fingers.

plonz 

A couple of tires fall into this category for me.

1. Panaracer Pasela - budget tire that feels like a budget tire. Heavy and slow.

2. Vittoria Open Pave EVO CG III - Most disappointing tire I’ve ever bought. Lots of raves and the price is good. Sure they will last forever but they ride like rocks. Ruined the initial impression of my Schwinn Circuit. Replaced with Schwalbe 1 and it’s a completely different bike.

guy1138

The ratcheting box-end wrench was invented for this, but only ~40 years too late.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-10...10MM/202942588

thinktubes 

Anything with "gravel" in the title.

Brad L 

Sloping top tubes.

Not really a component, but I ride 51-52cm frames, and that sloping top tube makes using two bottle cages quite difficult.

Fahrenheit531 

I admire your commitment to giving them a fair shake.

USAZorro

A drink or two, and I'm ready to face the world. First experience with multi-quote, and it seems to have dropped a couple.

In full agreement.

Wait for it... they're super functional. Downtube shifters work, but seriously, even if the extra cables on bar cons weighed a kilo (they're nowhere close), they are the best thing before brifters.

Are you sure it's a Pinny? The presence of decals almost refutes authenticity.

Completely agree on both points. As a former Hetchin's M.O. owner, I can attest to the feeling of pretentiousness that formed a posse around me every time I took it for a ride. It was draining.

Whomever disses a two-bolt seatpost is someone I will question any guidance from.

I have some really sweet tubular wheels, but as I'm not willing to spend $$$ on tubular tires, I've never experienced the reputed magic. The only bigger scam (imo) is tubeless. If I were soft-headed enough to leave my wonderful home in Virginia to move to the land of the goatheads, I might consider them, but why not just move to a livable location?

I'm guessing you have never had a MK-I. When you come to visit, you're welcome to ride mine. It's your size.
I have a Fuji Finest. Almost the same thing as a PX-10. Might be the tubing, but it's pure joy to ride. You're welcome to ride it too and weigh in.
Yup.
Yup.
Yup.


Carry on.

Last ride 76 

I am at a loss for words... Not really Such blasphemy. Of course the RD only works with tight ratio freewheels. All anyone used on race bikes. That's all it was for. That. and drillium. The faceplate, my lord, the face plate! And you could even remove and replace the rivets, to make the work easier. No other derailleur gave 1/2 the opportunity for creativity. And dang it, it was good enough, if you didn't ask too much.


The seatpost I get, sorta. BITD heck to set up, but done, it was DONE. Here's the funny part... Now they are the easiest posts I have, I don't even use a tool most of the time, to install a saddle.

1) seatpost into seat tube, tighten.

2) install saddle loosely.

3) tighten front bolt by hand (with correct fore and aft placement), until, when you pull down firmly on the back edge of the saddle, the saddle is just a hair too much nose down.

4) Now pull down hard, not crazy hard, on the back edge of the saddle. As the saddle flexes a tad (I don't ride Brooks saddles, see above) tighten the back bolt as much as you can. Releasing your grip on the saddle puts tension on the threads, sufficient for it to remain tight (for me). No harm in one little turn of an open ended wrench. Adjustment repeat the process. I'm not saying don't use a wrench, but use it only for that last teeny bit. Voila, no more crazy bike saddle adjusters anymore, ever again.

mech986 

I’ve used a GearTech ratcheting box wrench and even better the Flex-head ratcheting box wrench. Either makes adjustments very easy to dial in a new saddle. Even easy to approach from the side if the Brooks saddle needs it. Wrenches light enough to carry if needed.

pics, pics!! Chromovelato finishes are my grail and weakness despite their fragility.


Stuff I hate? Through tube cable routing - a place for rust to start and water to enter, put two holes into thin tubing, really?

Threadless headsets and any visible fillet welding - just looks too raw or industrial where it could be finished so much nicer. Just because you have lighter materials already doesn’t mean you can’t also have attractive aesthetics.

Steel rims, cheap is cheap but they don’t stop. And the lack of good tire choices in 27” or 32 or 35mm tires in 650B from Compass / Rene Herse. I know it’s a market thing but not everyone wants to ride super wide >38mm on vintage bikes. Fine for modern.

Lascauxcaveman 

Hmmmm. I'm pretty fond of "gravel roads." They are most of the best riding around my neck of the woods. All my road and touring bikes like them.

Velo Mule

I am a big SunTour fan. I hadn't tried their bar end shifters back when they were new. I got an opportunity recently when I got a Schwinn LeTour Lux. I couldn't wait to try them. They work, but they don't not live up to the all the good stuff I've heard. Perhaps I was expecting these to be effortless to shift. The shifts take some effort and are not as precise as down tube or even stem shifters. I will stick with them for a while. Maybe I'm the problem and I have to get used to them.

By the way, I rebuilt them to make sure that I didn't have excess friction in them. They have new cables and housings and I greased the cables. And I have carried tools to continue to adjust them so that the friction is just enough to hold it's place.

P!N20

Italmanubri stems. Actually, nobody likes them.

Mavic starfish cranks.

Rolls saddles. The gold bit just ruins it for me.

SurferRosa

Riser stems and aero brakes.
Turkey levers and 3Rensho fakes.
All chrome bikes and Ambrosio rims.
Mostly Shimano and guys named Tim.

dddd

My let-downs have mostly been subtle, I've mentioned Jagwire cable kits before (coming with awful housing ferrules having redundant length to make room for their advertising).

SRAM chains have under-performed Shimano chain in many instances, sometimes literally forcing me to switch back in the case of 10s indexed systems.

Salmon brake pads are optimized for wetter climates, but pads with at least half black rubber have more grip in dry conditions. The half-salmon pads have most of the dry grip of the black compound, without any tendency to squeal.

Cotton or vinyl tape just isn't as comfortable as cork/foam tape and is an important element of ride quality.

Suntour touring rear derailers were great in the context of the vintage-chain era, but need help when used with flexible modern chain unless the freewheel size is 15-36t or so.
I'll first remove the B-tension screw altogether, then take to filing material off of the same screw's lug on the top knuckle in order to reduce the huge chain gap and make shifting more crisp.

The old-standard Cinelli 64 bars seem to make my hands not so comfortable in the drops.

Too many 1980's Schwinns came with wheels that used cheap Weinmann rims and had Maillard hub axles set so tight that I never find a pair without pitted races. Again and again I've seen this.

Many of the NICER 1970's Nishiki, Fuji and Centurion bikes came with shiny, cool stainless steel spokes with fatigue limit set to ...1100miles or so.

My Pasela Tour Guard tires are quite slippery in wet conditions. Might have to do with their NOS status (?).

1980's bikes with triathlon geometry, short TT, slack HT angle and steep ST angle, all to the extreme. Pretty un-ridable.

Toe-clip pedals, especially for those of us with wide feet. Would be less of a problem if some of the vintage shoes could still be found today in robust condition.

Turbo saddle, tries to wedge my sit bones apart. The Turbo Triathlon version was wider and better-padded, suited me fine (and available in perforated leather).


Things that I like, but that others don't, include:

Simplex plastic REAR derailers (the big hex nut that adjusts cage spring tension is there for a reason, works opposite the B-tension screw as not found on these).

Campagnolo Synchro shifting, always worked well for me in many iterations, though always by virtue of having a good choice of freewheel and (modern) chain, and well-oiled indexing springs.

Zero-offset seatposts. I typically try these first, before committing to a shorter stem reach. Hot setup on bikes with slack seattube angles.

Auxiliary or "safety" brake levers. For some bikes with a lot of reach, these are a performance enhancement, allowing more of a recovery position following a pull while riding in a tight group.

Cane-Creek hoods. Not the best aesthetic for some, but the fact that these are so available, and at such a low price, is grrrreat!

The Kalloy or Origin8 "universal fit" (my term) 22.2mm stems. Offered in 25.4 and 26.0mm, with either of these sizes unceremoniously fitting both 22.0 and 22.2mm ID steerers with nary a loose fit. While heavy (and perhaps aesthetically chunky), these are super-solid and actually slip into your PX10's fork steerer (and are offered at a very low price).

Serfas Tegu Sport saddle. No one but me seems to use one, but it's the most comfortable saddle, having a flattish top and medium-soft padding.

Suntour Symmetric shift levers. No, these never need rebuilding. A drop or two of oil applied inside of the central housing is really all that I've bothered to do and they work well. No tension thumb screws but I've never really needed them (a 4mm Allen key must be used about once every year).

Everything used on old Schwinns. Ok, maybe I've removed a few dork discs/rings and "RANDNNER" handlebars over the years, and modernized some cables/housings and chains/freewheels, but the Allvit, the Twin-Stiks, the Kickstand and the one-piece cranks remain and perform well.

Dfrost 

Do not love:
Brooks Team Pro saddles. I end up sitting on the rear rivets and cantle plate - not comfortable!
Single-bolt seatposts with those notches for the angle adjustment. My perfect angle is always exactly between notches.

KMC chains. Half the wear life compared to SRAM. Maybe I used the wrong Z-, or was it X-type? Wipperman was no better.

Love:
Gilles Berthoud Aravis/Aspin saddles. Improvements everywhere compared to a Team Pro; it works fabulously with:
Old style two-bolt VO long setback seatpost. Why did they change it, and why never offer it in other than 27.2mm?