Products you have been deeply impressed with
 

Here is the Bizarro version of the thread started by KonAaron Snake. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...isappointed-In

What products have really impressed you? What made them so impressive?

- I was really impressed with the suntour cartridge hubs I got, they are the smoothest hubs I have owned to date.

- I also really like the Vetta Turbo clone, they can always be found on the cheap and I think they are comfortable.

- Last one, SKS plastic fenders. I had a strap get caught in one while I was riding. The strap folded the fender really far off to the
side and I thought it was a goner. After I got it untangled it swung right back into place and that was that.

^My first racing wheels had Suntour Cyclones. Like hot filtered butter. Yum.

Recently installed a NOS Tange Prestige fork that never had threads cut into it. 800g of pure awesome. Makes me want to steer my bike like a teenager.

Brooks saddles. After trying one, I bought three more for all my bikes. I haven't had any chafing or painful butt since.
I love'em.

Edited to add: Velo Orange elkskin bar wraps. Comfort and class at a reasonable price, even factoring in postage to Oz. Anything from VO actually.
Customer service from Rene Herse in Colorado is excellent.

Huret Duopar rear derailleurs- shifts through my wide range of gears with ease

SRAM chains- easy to remove to clean

Chain-L Chain Lube- A little goes a long way- about 1000 miles or an entire NH riding season

Brooks & Ideale saddles- would never ride without one

Shimano SPD (MTB clipless style) pedals, and modern cycling shoes

Dura Ace 7400 and 7700 series. Love 'em. Lasts forever for me. Keep it clean and watch the miles pile up.
Campy Centaur - 2009 - Alloy - I hot rodded the shifters to give a firmer "click" with a retrofit. World of difference. Best value in the line. Bought three sets last summer for peanuts.
San Marco Regals- As long as they're white. I'm good to go up to a fifty miler.
Brooks Swift- My very long distance saddle. Fits where its supposed to fit. Trying a Swallow this year as well. Didn't fit for a friend and he traded me for a set of rims.
Veloflex Paves - Tan side wall. 700x22's. OFG got me going on these a year or so ago. Really, the right tire for most Italian road bikes. Also, love Continental 4000s and Gatorskins. Fantastic products for me.
Bell Sweep R and Volt helmets - Both are great products, love the detachable visor on the Volt.
I won't get into frame choices here. Way too many that are enjoyable in their own right.

Brooks B-17 Imperial - comfortable right out of the box
Topeak Road Morph pump - terrific small functional tire pump

Sheesh...long list....here we go...

DT Swiss brake pads. God bless them! I love their grippiness and I love the feel to the rim. Fantastic.

Brooks B-17....no saddle compares for me.

Campagnolo Ergo Power...I was shocked, but I like them better than any of the STI I've ridden...including stuff far newer. The shifts seem more firm and I LOVE the front trim. I have low standards for campagnolo in general, but these really proved me wrong.

Louis Garneau has some of the friendliest, most accessible support I've seen from any company ever...so I'll apply this to their entire line. All things being equal, I buy LG because of how much I admire their company.

As so many on here have said...Panaracer Paselas...if you over inflate they feel great and ride better.

UVEX helmet...simply the best I've ever owned. Comfortable, light, front mesh to reduce insects and far more adjustable. Also moderately priced compared to similar quality helmets. Very solid value.

Detours panniers...they were a third less expensive than Ortliebs and I've found them to be easier to use, sturdier and more water proof.

Saris bike racks. I have a 4-bike hitch-mount Bat Rack and a 2-bike trunk mount Bones. Both have been great in use. When I did have something break on the Bat Rack, Saris quickly sent me the replacement parts free of charge.

Power Grips

SRAM chains

Tufo tubular tape

WD40

Oh that reminds me of one: Treks customer service and support has been awesome for anything that I bought from them

Bell cable replacement kit from Walmart. Everything you need for under $5.

I'll second(3rd?) the Brooks B-17. I can ride 30 miles without cycling shorts without any problems.

You've already hit a few of mine.

Grand Bois tires.

I hesitated because of the price, and I was worried that the good things I heard about them were marketing hype. I was torn between getting the 26mm and the 28mm, and went with the 26's. I was worried about nothing. They are fast, give a plush ride, and seem quite durable as well. Wish they made tubulars.

Maillard 700 hubs; better finish and bearing “feel” than Campy IMO
Nitto Dirtdrop stem and Crystal Fellow (626) seat post (I have a few of each)
Suntour Cyclone FD and RD (with the engraved logo and ”cable btwn parallelogram plates“ design)
Rear rims with off-center eyelets -- great idea
Topeak Road Morph G pump
Campy and Suntour sidepull, and Weinmann centerpull brake calipers
Sugino Mighty Competition/Tour cranks
TA pedals (wish I owned some)
Suntour Superbe pedals
MKS pedals (for value)
Simplex retrofriction shifters
Shimano Hyperglide (though I wish they hadn't become cycling's Microsoft)

Specialized Turbo tires!....
These tires pretty much pushed the foldable clincher tires to become the norm for most modern performance cyclists when they came out in the 80's with their Turbo S/R/VS models. They weren't perfect (rode quite harsh compared to tubulars), but they were the best that can be bought back then and killed all suspicion about foldable tires not being able to stay on rims with their high pressures.

Retrofriction shifters!...
As introduced to the market by Simplex in the 80's. Made friction shifitng a no-maintenance item (dont have to goof around with those friction adjusters anymore.) and helped many cyclist shift like expert racers with their smooth and light effort action. Still the best non-indexed, friction shifters IMO!

Avocet 10/20/30/40 Cycle computers......
Nice, basic, clean designed cycle computers that work well and last forever. I have a 20 model on my PSV that's over 20 years old and still going strong!

Look Clipless pedals.......
They started it all and still some of the best value and reliable clipless pedals you can buy!

Stronglight A9 needle bearing headset......
They last long and do not a lot of adjustment after you install them.
I haven't heard any stories about A9 races brinelling either.

Selle Italia Turbo Saddle......
A great combination of comfort and style in their days.
Jillions of cyclists in the 80's agreed, professionals, commuters, weekend warriors and long distance tourists. The Concor was more beautiful, but the Turbo was so much more comfortable, so it wins hands down in my book!

JMOs

Chombi

Fujita saddles-every bit as comfortable as my Brooks.

Superbe/Cyclone pedals-just great

Honjo fenders-worth the extra $

Campagnolo movements (bottom brackets, headsets, hubs, pedals) in general, with a notable exception being their SGR pedal
Campagnolo chainrings
Continental GP tires
Look pedals
Marinoni road framesets
Phil Wood products in general
Puma Shoes
Rocky Mountain ATB framesets
Satri Gallet seatposts
Scapin road framesets
Shimano Dura-Ace AX proucts, with the exception of the brakeset
Shimano SLR brakesets
Shimano Dual-Pivot brakesets
Shimano freehubs
Shimano HyperGlide cassettes
Shimano SIS and STI
Spenco gloves
SunTour slant parallelogram derailleurs
TA cranksets

Love my Lezyne Classic Floor Drive pump. Flip-thread chuck is really nicely done.

- Shimano Ultegra 9-speed group. I am hoarding parts because they function so well and last so long, which is probably why Shimano replaced with 10 speed.
- Dura Ace bar-end and downtube shifters. Oldies but goodies. I've got DA brifters on two bikes, but will replace with DA bar-ends when they wear out.
- Conti GP 4000 tires. Ride nice, reasonably light, wear well and resist flats.
- Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. Nice looking, easy to install and function great.
- Fizik Vitesse saddles. Wider than most racing saddles but still very light and comfortable. I've got them now on 4 bikes.
- Acorn bike bags. Incredible quality of construction.
- Cork handlebar tape. Brand not important to me, except the glue on Cinellis can make them hard to install and adjust. Nothing feels better to me than cork on handlebars.
-

Campy 10 speed drive trains
KMC 10 speed chains
San Marco Regal saddles
Campy Chorus hubs

Stronglight A9 headsets. They just don't wear out.

Simplex "Retrofriction" shift levers. They improve the performance or any friction shifting system.

The Campagnolo eccentric cam quick release mechanism on their original Record brakes. For a long time everybody copied it. Now it seems nobody uses it, not even Campagnolo. Why is that?

A few. Some have been mentioned above.

Brooks saddles. My B-17 is the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden. It was good right out of the box, and it's gotten better with age (around two years now).

Carradice bags. I've got one on my main ride. It's indestructable, waterproof (or close enough), holds a ton of stuff, and looks great.

I'll second the poster above who mentioned Huret Duo-Par derailleurs. It works wonderfully. Really -- for shifting across a wide range of gears, is there anything better?

Sugino cranks. Sugino makes the perfect triple crank - 48-36-24. Who needs a 52-tooth big ring? Not me. But the mountain bike cranks, with a 44-tooth big ring, are too small.

Kool-Stop brake pads. They just plain work.

Suntour Edge and Blue Line derailleurs - really love the smooth shifting and low cost

Hutchinson Fusion2 tires - I've had a lot of good miles out of these and they can be found at great prices on sale

Continental Sprinter tubular tires - what a ride

Another vote for Simplex Retrofriction shifters

Selle Italia Turbo and Mundialita saddles - for hard saddles they are surprisingly comfortable for me

Avocet O2 Air saddle - another nice riding saddle and reasonably priced if you can find one.

I was just looking closely at a new B17 Brooks saddle last weekend at my LBS.......I still cannot figure out how people break in these saddles?? They're so damn-rock hard when they're new! Is there some kinda secret way to soften them up quick.......like something weird like piss on them a few times, rub bear or alligator tail fat on them, leave them on you roof or bury them in your garden for a year??? Just boggles my mind on how anyone can stand the pain of breaking them in otherwise. I suspect i will eventually try owning one of these legendary saddles, but the rites of passage that you have to go through to get them comfortable seems not to be worth it...even after all these years.....

Chombi

1. Brooks saddles. Always.

2. Zefal HP frame pumps.

Sweat.