Pro Bike Mechanic's 13 More Most Hated Products
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2024
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#cycling #bikes #bicycle - กีฬา
We should create the „nightmare bike“. A bike that combines all those features. Then we bring it to Nick’s bike shop for a service 😈
Cannondale already did, several times. King of unique standards and stuff that doesn't work. Arrogant.
Won’t b serviced
I really want to like this comment multiple Times!
That is great idea))) would love see his reaction
That is great idea))) would love see his reaction
I recently ran into the OE Wheels problem on a Canyon bike. After 10,000 km the freehub was knackered. I took it to a Canyon accredited service point and a replacement was unknown! Fortunately the mechanic was able to more or less rebuild the freehub saving me the cost of a new rear wheel. Big shout out to Giel at Bike Quality in Haarlem, The Netherlands!
got less lucky and had to replace the wheel set. Ended up finding it: it was a Syncros branded (Scott) 3rd party wheelset but by then didn’t want to like for like replace it. Ended up buying a set of DT Swiss wheels and never looked back.
very happy to see my BMC came with a decent set of standard product line DT Swiss wheels from the factory.
@@virtualmartijn DT Swiss make some great wheels.
Not a new issue - had the same thing happen with then new-fangled Shimano cassette hub in the 1980's. Nobody could fix the f__king thing, new wheel was the only solution. Have hated Shimano ever since!
Which Canyons use OE wheels? I thought they mostly used DT Swiss.
Isnt it possible to use any hub with a similar diameter and reuse the old spokes?
Schwalbe Marathon tires are not as harsh when you are 100Kg, it's nice to have a set of tires I won't shred after a few commutes.
@_slowpoke Right?! No one is putting marathon plus' on fancy race bikes. They're perfect for those who commute/get around on more normal bikes though.
@@Enidub Not the Plus but I run the normal Marathon 25mm on my road bike :-)
It's not too fancy though :-D
Bang on! On my road bike, GP 5000s, but on my touring bike and previously owned hybrids and such, always marathons. at 117kg I have to run the GPs at like 100 psi anyway so I don't notice much difference.
Makes me laugh, cyclists joke about "Remember when we used to run 90 psi like it was the 00's"
Same ive got them on a 38mm tyre for my commuter run them at 50-55psi plenty compilable with different surfaces
@@robtminnican Now, people run 65 psi with 28mm width GP5000. You run 55 psi with 38mm Marathon Plus? I run them at 35-40 psi.
SRAM is sitting there thinking, "Charge extra to activate our electronic derailleurs? That's brilliant!"
That actually was my biggest fear when switching to electronic shifting 😅 Especially with all the firmware updates you could be left with a useless bike one Day if you are not willing to pay
@thomasarnold6348 When a new version gets out the former version gets an update which decreases its performance. Apple is already doing that with their phones.
@@maxsievers8251 It is deliberate to encourage you to buy the new derailleur after reaching a certain age . Samsung phones are also like this , cartelism . It could be regarded as forced redundancy . Is Shimano like this ? What about Campagnolo or ethirteen ?
@@thomasarnold6348want lower gears for those hills? £9.99 a month to use the big cog
Just like BMW and Mercedes do now....
If Nick were to summarize everything he hates in one word: 'nightmare'
two words - "absolute nightmare"
naaaaat mare
It's very English, Irish and South African. So here we have a South African living in an English city that had quite a bit of Irish immigration over the years. He's doomed to say this for the rest of his life.
I ride alone, miles from anywhere with no chance of rescue. Since I changed to schwalbe Marathon plus (nearly ten years) I have NEVER had a puncture. Suits me fine. Bike shop owners don't like not selling puncture kits and more new tyres. Doesn't suit them. Tubeless don't puncture? Doesn't seem to be everyones experience.
Same here I bought one for a cargo bike and had worked like a charm! 😎
Agreed 100%. The marathon plus isn’t even harsh riding on a steel bike.
The money a shop earns by selling a Marathon compared to a Marathon is so ridiculously small, that's not even taken into account. A normal Marathon will do just about the same job, is cheaper for the customer, not as rough to ride, and easier to install. Although I'll have to say that in that regard, Marathon and Marathon Plus both can be a bit stubborn.
The main issue dealers have with Marathon Plus is trying to explain that even the best puncture resistance has it's limits. Most customers are aware that that's the case. But you always have one or two per months who accuse you of either: selling them a bad product after they caught a 2 inch nail, or accuse you of installing the tyre and tube wrong.
We actually had someone threatening a lawsuit over this. Literally pulled the nail from the tyre in front of the customer, then the bullshit started. Maybe because Schwalbe markets Marathon Plus as "Pannensicher", which means "puncture proof" in Germany. It's a warranty nightmare
@@noneofyourbusiness4294 I presume you mean "marathon plus compared to a marathon". I used regular marathon before 'plus and had a couple of punctures when the carcass showed through! But no punctures at all with 'plus. Incidentally fitting them is very easy, even for the home mechanic.
However I can see that a 2 inch nail would be a challenge for any tyre.
@@emmabird9745 yeah, I left the plus out there for some reason, fair enough.
You saw the what of a Marathon now, though? 17,000km on my commuting bike while riding a tyre with lower specs than a regular Marathon, to put it into numbers: 3 compared to 5 in terms of puncture protection.
What are you doing to your bike? Like.. that's an obvious user error
As I'm also a bike mechanic I totally agree on the OE and partnumber problems. Often customers need spareparts, but the bike brands don't have lists or any information. People don't unterstand, why we are not able to tell them what to use or order the parts in advance. The bike has to stay in the shop, has to be disassambeled, after that parts can get ordered. This takes way too much time. The bike industy has to fix this issue!
I examime a new build carefully and devise this specsheet for my own database before releasing it to the customer .
I have a gravel bike with Fulcrum RACING 6 DB wheels. They managed to use 3 different spoke thicknesses in 2 wheels. And then the nipples are a strange size as well, really thick. Looked it up and seems like some kind of Chinese producer of these nipples. I wanted to buy spare spokes, but no information on their website about spoke lengths etc. I mailed them and they couldn't tell me.... Jeezzz
This is a "right to repair" issue. Speak to your MP (if in the UK) No documentation (or deficient documentation) should be an offence - don't allow import (or for that matter, export).
Frames that use proprietary D-shaped seatposts and cannot be converted (by "shimming" with a special adapter) to use standard round seatposts.
1000% this. I have a bad Giant D-Fuse seat post on a beater bike. The replacement is going to cost a health portion of the bike. Also the adjustment is just awful.
& ANYTHING Proprietary for that matter !!!
I went from a near weekly tube patch, to maybe one every six months switching to Marathons. Just drop a few psi for comfort and any speed lost is made up for by time not spent on the side of the road.
they are used professionally by bike courier companies too.
i just accept the bumpy ride and pump them to 5 bars. 2.00 wide, they roll like a dream. i odnt think there is any speed lost.
@@rolandfrerichs5625 Makes sense, if you need to reliably get where you’re going not getting a flat is pretty key.
Bike mechanic here, marathon plus are the only tires I use when customers have too many flats. They don’t show anymore after tire change, at least not because flats.
I agree with Nick about some things, press fits BB suck, those changeable handlebars sound ridiculous, but I will absolutely die on the hill of Schwalbe Marathon plus. They are the most durable tires I’ve experienced and my preferred tires for long distance. I managed to make it 4,000 miles across the US with only two flats, and one of those was when I ran over a small cactus on the side of the road (only one wheel when down despite both having cacti stuck to them). If comfort is the primary detractor, you can regain plushness with a suspension seat post (as I have).
Yeah like end of the day, if you're riding Schwalbe marathon + tyres then presumably you're also riding something other than a super-aggressive, super aero road-race bike.
And as you say there's a lot of solutions. Run wider tyres at lower pressures. Get a suspension seat post, stem, and/or fork. Get a padded saddle. Get shorts with a better chamois. For all the complaints about the comfort a tyre may or may not provide, I find I'd be riding marathons because I'm riding the inner city roads of a typical British city - in which case Id are say my tyre choice is irrelevant in the grand scheme of comfort, and the massive potholes and rutting are more likely to be the metric by which my comfort is measured!
@@daredemontriple6 I hear that. I've used M+ before for exactly that reason. Also, these days I quite like Continental Plus for a good balance between puncture resistance and comfort/rolling resistance as well.
hey also come in wider versions, so one could always make sure their frame has good tyre clearance if comfort is paramount.
I understand the appeal of Schwalbe Marathon Plus (had them all the time back in my trekking bike days), but two flats on 4000 miles is not a great track record for a tire in my book. I have zero flats in 12,000 km on my roadbike (one set of cheap Specialized OEM tires, then Schwalbe Pro One) and one flat in more than 10,000 km on my commuter with Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, which ride much smoother than the Marathon plus.
The only disadvantage of Marathon plus is they are not that good in the wet. I am trying Continental Contact Plus at the minute.
After working in the industry for the the best part of 30 years Nick is so right on so many levels!
Top man! 👍
I am 3 years up on him .
I think Nick makes some very lekker points here. I'd include the Shimano bleed port screw. Just like those infernal flathead brake pad screws, it's so easy to round a bleed port screw and not be able to remove it. The wrench you need to use on these screws is too small. The screws should be titanium or something more rigid than soft plastic. Or even worse: it's somewhat easy to thread the bleed port screw into the lever incorrectly and damage the threads inside of the lever and have to replace the whole lever.
Not a mechanic, but a engineer.
Build a bike out of "spare" parts (ultegra 11 speed).
I had no issues with the bleed port, as they say, tightened is tightened. If you apply too much force to anything to overtighten it, everything will break...
Though I'd love to see more SS 316 torx bolts...
With tyres, it's always a trade off between what you feel you need most; dry road speed, wet weather grip, long life, puncture resistance etc.. Decide what is most important to you and buy that particular tyre.
Or keep several sets of wheels ready with different tyres, for those with quick release clamps and enough money (at that point they can as well buy a few bikes for different conditions)...
I've narrowed my choice to Pirelli Centurato velo with good puncture resistance and grip, to Vittoria Randonneur for the most resistance although a bit heavier/slow.
I have been using Michelin Pro 4 service, lighter and neither too slow nor fragile, but still had 1 flat, pinched tube I guess.
I ❤ Nic, please have him on all the time. I don't really even care what he's talking about, just love the charisma!
As a bike mechanic myself, I can assure you Nick's list is not concluded haha, this is just the start!
Double tap is awesome. No trimming the front mech either! Have done 25,000 miles in all weathers on a set of dura ace hubs with cup and cone bearings. Still going strong. Apart from that Nick is spot on with everything else…. 😊
Totally agree about SRAM Double Tap mechanical shifting -- it works great _for me_
I've got the sensah version of double tap. Works great for me. If you try to shift "too far" it just clicks at you and does nothing.
@@AndrewFrinkthat even works with doubletap, you just have dial in the limit screw for that. I'm honestly a bit sad that he doesn't know that as bike mechanic
@@thomasfjen I don't think this is about the limit screw. If you are on your biggest cog and don't realise and try to shift to an easier gear, you end up on the second cog! The opposite of what was intended.
@@chriswright9096 you just need a little give that you can still double shift in the easiest gear. That's how I have it setup and I don't go a cog down even if I am in the biggest cog and still try shift down
Essentially a public therapy session for mechanics 😂 you should have another episode a list of cycling changes that manufacturers sold us to save them money... BB30, Inner tube sizing, now hookless rims and more
Yes, I want to do this!!!
@@nicvieri2627 can't wait 😆
Makes me ever so glad I no longer turn a wrench for money. Have yet to have issues with Shimano hydro caliper screws but I don't live in the godforsaken north of England so..
20-25mm Contitube fits perfectly 28mm GP5000 ;)
1:55 On the double-tap thing, when I hit the end of the cassette the shifter has a little ker-click it does, then it re-settles back into the gear it's in. I think the people complaining "oh no it shifts into a harder gear when you want an easier gear" have their shifter set up wrong or something. I've got both Rival 2x10 and Force 2x11 and they do the exact same thing, so it's not like some weird rare glitch, it's how they're engineered to work.
Yup they have their low limit screw set too tight. It won't let the shift mechanism cycle through.
We tackled assembling the bike as a family project. th-cam.com/users/postUgkxzg0clhbtRf2gGxPkVETFKJJKGqdsorQu The package is heavy, but I have 2 teen boys that were able to move it. The written instructions were great- we didn't need to watch the videos, but it was good knowing that the option was there if we needed it. After we were able to get it set up, the boys each rode 3 miles and I rode 8 and the bike stayed quiet. The display is easy to reset, and you can put it on whichever setting you are using (time, distance, calories, etc). I will say that my butt is a little sore from the seat, but that could be because I haven't rode in a while. While it is comfortable for me, it was not comfortable with the seat position for my friend (could not move the seat back far enough and he slightly looked like a kid riding a tricycle that he had outgrown). He also said that the seat hurt his manly parts. We are going to look for a different seat that will be compatible with this bike for him.I did purchase the Wahoo Cadence sensor and strapped it to the crank of one of the pedals. This will sync with my Apple Watch, iPhone and will import data in to my Health app. Wahoo does have other sensors available other than cadence. I can also keep either my phone or my iPad on the display and they both feel pretty secure.
Imagine if some company would let a bike mechanic help designing a bike.
Another world is possible! =D
shimano flat head screws are still better than the old adjustment crosshead screws on the derailleurs. They were neither Phillips (PH) nor Pozidriv (PZ) screws, but JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard). That means Philips screwdrivers always stripped the heads and most people didn't even know.
A Japanese company using a Japanese industrial standard fastener crazy
Find a JIS driver, they're better than phillips at ph heads..
I worked for years for a Japanese company and scored a couple of Japanese screwdrivers. They were the best
That’s interesting. Do you know which size?
JIS 2. It’s juuuuust a tiiiiiny bit shallower than PH2. If you are stubborn enough, you could file away a bit of very tip of a PH2 to get an approximation to JIS2.
Great video Francis. Forgive me if you've done this video before but I would love to see Nick tell us the products he loves! The ones that make his life easy or the ones he knows are reliable! Just an idea!
I think he may have...
Coming up next, also did an original “loves” video here too!: m.th-cam.com/video/knZ-1jQgtt4/w-d-xo.html
Would be interesting to ask him to compare the robustness of derailleurs for example, brands, models, etc...
That said I'm not sure his own interests would be compatible with those of users.
Good quality means I never had to go in a shop in 25 years for example, doing all the basic maintenance myself (tyres & tubes, brakes, cables, chain), and the bike was "only" 1000 euros at that time!
I hate bike prices. Compared to that, everything else is a minor annoyance.
Well said -- astronomical pricing is the worst "feature" I see in the bike industry.
Hope to see a review of Microshift Sword on @Cade Media.
Thanks, Nick. I have never understood why there are seven million different models of mech hangers.
I’m gonna defend Doubletap. It’s been on my only gravel/road bike for 5 years, and I’ve literally had NO issues other than lubing the shifter mechanism once. I haven’t even bled the brakes and they still bite great. Perhaps I’m lucky. Maybe cause it’s all I’ve had I’ve gotten used to it but I don’t misshift ever. But it’s pretty much flawless in my experience.
no one stated it doesn't work, it's just unnecessarily confusing, especially if you have multiple bikes with different operation.
@@rolandfrerichs5625it’s because patents. Not cause sram wanted to be tricky. Thank Shimano/Campagnolo for making it hard for sram to exist
The 1st gen Double-Tap was particularly bad about letting you accidently shift into a harder gear when you were searching for an easier one (at the top of your cassette). SRAM did make it somewhat better - so likely you have a newer groupset. Otherwise you would *definitely* understand this issue.
@@lastfm4477 it’s 2018 model year bike, rival 1x with hydraulic brakes.
Sram Red mechanical is still the best shifting and lightest group set ever made. Its from a time when sram was still cool.
As a Shimano-biased rider, I dare say SRAM's mechanical groupsets with DoubleTap are the only mechanical groupsets capable of true sprint-shifting.
What is especially cool about mechanical Red is the normal gears and teeth combination Sram used back then. The 13-teeth difference at the front and 10-teeth smallest sprocket at the rear they now use with AXS are just silly. Also, Sram's current cranks are so ugly. Red looks like a cheap angle grinder from a discount hardware store.
I grab the good components as new old stock when I see them .
Hi Nick,
I like your video and I am going to make you a more loyal SRAM fan.
Regarding to Double Tap, you simply loose the low gear limit screw a bit and the extra push just become neutral.
Try and you will love it ❤
For first gen Double-Tap you had to learn to try to actually break off the shifter to keep it from down shifting when you were at the top of the cassette and wanted to try for an easier gear. The shifter wouldn't actually break off; but it you had to learn to move the shifter as if you were trying to. SRAM made this better in the latest group sets.
I wish all bike shops were like his, then maybe I could go to one and not have to fix everything myself.
Good bicycle mechanics with wide generation knowledge are becoming harder to find sadly .
Years ago, when I was working as a bike messenger, the Schwalbe Marathon Plus "un-punctureable" tyre ("unplattbar" in German) was released and sounded like a great idea. I, and a few of my fellow bike messengers mounted that tyre, because a flat tyre means money lost in that business. After only two months the last of us had removed these tyres and changed back to normal ones, because the tyre indeed made us tired (pun intended). Why? because it is about 250 grams (9 ounces) heavier per piece than a normal Schwalbe Marathon, and the permanent stop and go work as a messenger - delivery stops, traffic, lights etc. - forces you to stop and accelerate a lot, and a heavy tyre requires more energy to do so. You really could feel that every night after work, and that kind of exhaustion was gone as soon as I had switched back to lighter tyres. And BTW: The "E" at the end of Schwalbe is not silent and there is no "H" in Sram (so there is no reason to say "shram").
What tyre did you end up liking?
I work part time as a bike courier and I ended up with the continental contact urban in 42mm (for the cobblestone streets). For me it’s a great balance of speed, comfort, and puncture resistance. Marathons are uncomfortable and slow. GP5000 aren’t puncture resistant and wide enough.
@chuckyfox9284 a solid 360g lighter in my size (I prefer 47mm - tram tracks. Might risk going down to 42mm maybe...), thanks. Only slightly more expensive. Slightly worried about grip though, that profile looks very slick...
@@chuckyfox9284Marathons are almost indestructible. Of course you have to sacrifice something for this.
I use Marathon classics on my commuter E Bike and I had a single case in over 20k km where a very long thorn went through.
SHRAM 😁
Innertube, there are still riders using very old bikes with narrow tires.
I'm slightly excited to try my new tpu tubes. See what all the fuss is about. First need to get a new bottom bracket on that bike though as it's sounding very unhealthy.
very old riders...
@@truthseeker8483 that is prejudice!!!
@@alexyounghunlee 😁
Have been using Shimano 105 for years, bought a gravel bike with SRAM Force 1 and have had no trouble adapting to using double tap
Had schwalbe marathons on a comuter. Put it on once and drive for several years. No milk change or punctures.
I sure wouldnt use them for sport rides but it has its place.
Same, went from Shimano 105 style to SRAM Force on my new Diverge and I adapted very fast. I really like how I can pull the shift lever in so I can easily shift whether I'm in the hoods or drops. The 105 feels really clunky to shift now imo, so all mechanical shifting bikes going forward for me (if I were to buy anymore) would be SRAM.
On my first-ever secondhand bike, a giant ocr. The left shifter was shimano and the right one was sram red double tap. It gave me the perfect opportunity to unintentionally compare and I've used the double tap ever since.
I had an Ultegra brake pad axle pin seize in the caliper. I destroyed the slotted pin head and had to drill it out. I replaced the Ultegra axle pins with XT axle pins which have a hex head. They are slightly longer but they still clear the spokes. You can now also get titanium axle pins with a hex head and the "correct" length from Ali Express so I've replaced all my Ultegra pins.
for the mech sram double tap, if youre in 1st gear and you push to shift up one more time, it does give you a responsive "no" click vs shifting you down. so that is built into it....
you can buy swissstop brakepads and get allen key splinters but the alleen key ones round up more easily than the screwdriver ones.
Agree especially with the pad retaining screws that Shimano supply on their calipers. Whenever i get a customer bike in that has those in, and the bike has been used in all weathers, I start praying and warm up the pillar drill. They are literally made of cheese.
The nice giant SLR carbon wheels on my bike used a DT Swiss style 3 pawl freehub. Easy peasy switch when it was time.
It's interesting that in virtually every other industry press fit bearings are the standard. Press fit is the superior format.
It's only bike manufacturers who can't seem to make round holes to fit them in to properly.
But that’s the problem. At least with threaded bb’s like T47 there shortcuts in manufacturing will be found out on day 1 when the bb won’t go in at all.
Too true, Trek replaced my 2009 Madone’s frame THREE times under warranty, all because the NDS BB90 ‘precision molded’ socket had become oversized after a few thousand miles. I’ve still got the bike (frame no.4) and the LH BB90 socket is becoming oversized once again; I can push a bearing in by hand. Trek have made available bearings which are 100 microns oversize in o.d. as a possible fix, yuk! Rather than submit yet another warranty claim on a decade and a half old bike, I’ve used Loctite bearing retention compound and activator. Seems to work great but I’m not sure how I’ll get the bearing out when replacement time comes around-the MDS says to simply heat the bearing to 200 deg C!
The problem might be the wall thickness of the material too. Machinery has thick casings, which don't flex. The bike bottom bracket is thin. If it's metal it's also welded after machining and welding always means it slightly deforms.
@@simonm1447 It's long past time that those problems should have been engineered away.
@@MrHoward222I think a lot of the problem is putting press-fit bottom brackets into carbon composite BB shells. The composite and the metal have considerably different coefficient of expansion, and over time they lose a good fit.Never seen that problem in good old 68 mm threaded BB’s whether cartridge or separate cups and loose balls.
I never had any problem with SRAM Double Tap mechanical shifting & always greatly preferred it over throwing the entire brake lever to shift, e.g. Shimano & Sensah
@@veganpotterthevegan as Francis stated at the beginning of the video, Nic has been a mechanic for ~20 years and is the owner of Backyard Bike Shop in Newcastle. While I completely disagree with him re: SRAM mechanical shifting, he does seem to be a fully bike qualified mechanic.
@@veganpotterthevegan fair enough -- I certainly know _loads_ of morons in the fields I've worked in, as well. The biggest flaw being their misguided assumptions and faulty reasoning, to say nothing of their specific skillsets, but I digress.
@@veganpotterthevegan I don't understand what you mean by "this guy doesn't _really_ ride"
@@malcontent510 you can do this for years and still be dumb though. Double tap does NOT shift to the harder gear when you shift all the way and then more. It makes a bigger click and stays in the same gear. This is so simple that I would NEVER trust this bike mechanic, I don't care how many years hes done this, that's bonkers.
loose Bering wheels and cranks can last forever if they are set up and maintained correctly, ie if you think you added enough grease please add more grease.
They will last a long time if you have decent quality hubs with good seals and keep up with them. They are faster if adjusted correctly, so I see it as being fine on a high-end up, designed more for performance, and with replaceable cups.
The issue is that for the longest time, cheap wheels have come with cup and cone hubs with the shittiest seals imaginable. The Shimano SH-M475 being the worse example.
The bonus aspect is that they're often way too tight out of the box (or when people initially buy the bike), which help destroy the hubs even faster if no-one notices that they're dragging quite a lot (which can be an issue with newer riders who don't have much experience.)
Cartridge bearings on the other end are good enough for the majority of people, and are super forgiving in terms of maintaining them.
Pro bike mechanic, no job too big or small unless it's a bit hard, then you can f off. Awesome customer service. I get the feeling he'll ban bikes next, is he in the wrong job?
Inner Tubes are bad, TT-Bikes are bad, SRAM Mechanical is just a pain and don’t start with the screws Shimano uses.
This guy picked the wrong job, i think…
For the SRAM Doubletap, I was told early on to make sure the rear derailleur low limit screw wasn't adjusted too aggressively tight. Give it just enough space, and instead of accidentally shifting to a harder gear, the mechanism will just cycle through and you'll stay in the easiest gear.
True. I was gonna post this. That's exactly how I had my Double Tap set up.
This is how mine works, at the top of the cassette I push all the way in and nothing happens so I know I'm out of gears. I absolutely love doubletap cause it feels weird to me to move the entire brake lever on shimano stuff.
I’m all about double tap and can’t get along with shimano stuff at all.
I had one of those 3T Difflock seatpost. NIGHTMARE indeed. Not only was it basically impossible to set the saddle at the angle you want to, the bolts were extremely fragile. Mine ended up in the garbage bin eventually. Same goes for other 3T posts regarding the bolts. SO fragile
SRAM double tap, on the other hand.... I can undertand the criticism, but I love them nonetheless hehe
The Power Meter scam sounds like what car companies do now with comfort features *cough*BMW heater seats*cough*
That‘s what I thought too. Also Audi „cylinder in demand“. Can‘t wait for bikes where the lowest gear pops up as a paid subscription when you are struggling up a climb.
Thirteen salient points Nick. No wonder mechanics are upset with certain parts of the bike industry! Good video guys 👏
I bought some sensar shifters last year that work like sram double tap and despite using shimano 105 and sram axs on another bike I quite like it.
Always entertaining to watch a frustrated mechanic!
It's like an endless font of outrage -- what's not to like?
No, I truly feel for Nic & other shop mechanics, we expect the world from them.
I saw that every day of the week in the mirror 😁
Have been using Schwalbe Marathon Plus on all my touring, utility, fg and recreational bikes since at least 2008. I hate flats. I'll make whatever compromises I have to make. I even tried airless. They actually weren't that bad. The company went out of business, otherwise I'd still be using them. SMPs aren't everyone's cup o' tea, but at the rate of 3 punctures in 15 years using them I like my odds.
Tyre selection is full of trade offs of various properties .
Consider Marathons rather than the pluses. Way faster and lighter and almost as puncture resistant (and cheaper)
I could listen to him for hours…love the content with Nick👍
I'm a fan of Schwalbe Marathon Plus for extreme conditions but as Francis found out riding across Texas, they aren't completely puncture proof! That said, I've seen the Marathon Plus hold up to glass cuts and metal slices that have drained tubeless tires!
I also like Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I find them comfortable - easy to fit an appointment fairly low rolling resistance. They are on all my bicycles
I'm a fan of Marathon plus too. Those tires made the difference for me. I have them on most of my bikes and they are very durable, puncture resistent and good value for money. I use them combined with different bump absortion systems on frame or on saddle.
Get Pirelli cinturato velo instead. Impossible to flat feels like a road tire. Don't put dated tires on your bike.
@@Honkawsuzyamal I sell them to some of my clients and no complaints once purpose is explained first .
@@___Bebo___ I'm curious, do still ride with those Pirelli?
Also what kind of roads, trails, which size, tubeless or not...
The trick with the Marathon Plus is that you have to ride them with a fairly low pressure. I have 42s Tour Plus with maybe 2.5 bar on my trekking bike with no suspension, and no issues for two years now (also no punctures, naturally)
Please, 2.5 bars is almost flat. I ride my (regular 38 mm) Marathons at 5 bars, and the bike feels significantly slower when the pressure drops to 4 bars. Maybe half a bar (7 psi) less for 42-mm tyres.
Marathons in general are already super slow tires. Marathon Plus are even slower for the puncture resistance. And then you're using them at lower pressure, to have that last bit of extra high rolling resistance
Another great episode of Nicflix (say it in a South African accent, sounds even better 😂). Shocked that TT bikes in general didn’t make the list! Maybe a separate video of all of the things Nic hates about TT bikes would be a good watch!
Ah, South African! I was guessing it was a Rhodesian accent I was hearing.
I was actually just looking at purchasing a dropper post for my 27.2 seat post. The only options I found was either 90MM or 110mm of drop but the 2 brands I I saw were legit, Tranz-X and PNW. The ones I was looking at were both externally routed since my frame doesn't have internal routing.
Doubletap is awesome!
Completely disagree with his take on the marathon pluses I ride them on gravel without issue including changing them I run 700x38's
Campagnolo's first attempt at electronics: EPS, encouraging everyone to go ahead and bore a hole into your carbon frame to accommodate the battery system, and thus invalidate your warranty. Imagine that!
Campy's first electronic group was EPS. The power supply was external. They didn't even offer an internal one until later.
eTap is Sram, not Campagnolo.
@@n0ch91c3s my bad, I meant EPS
Integrated seatposts are the most idiotic thing on a bike. Cut wrong once, and that's it!
Also, once you go low, there's no going back up as high.
PNW makes a great dropper post for 27.2, with 110mm of travel. I have the external cable version on an older XC bike, works awesome
Funny, I think mechanical sram is the best mechanical groupset. I don't really fancy electronic sram though.
i just switched from mechanical 105 10speed to force axs. so far the mechanical was better because if it didnt shift properly i just gave the lever a slight push and tadaaaa. now i have to get out my phone to "micro adjust"... and the fun part is: the shifting issues all only occur under load... so ride, adjust, ride again, adjust.... this is annoying
Schwalbe Innertubes are pretty good. You only have to have SV15, SV17, SV19, and their equvalent in other valves, if you like. For Example AV19, DV19. Than you have everything from 18 to 62 mm, even 27,5 covered. We also have SV19F, goes up to 75mm.
Finding parts for my box bike was easy in the 80’s.
Trying to find upgrades for my fat tire bike now is quite a challenge.
Carrying quality Allen keys is much easier than a bunch of wrenches.
12sp DA calipers have flat head bolts for the disc pads. On all my bike builds, I replace these with hex bolts.
Why? If you are stripping the flat head bolts you are either over tightening them, using the wrong tool or lacking in the maintenance department.
You may hate Gatorskins, but I love them. I originally went with some highly rated tubeless tires on my TREK Domane, and I flatted on 3 occassions barely getting in 200 miles...very frustrating. The Trek mechanic did a full bike check (to see if it could be something else besides the tires) and found nothing. A friend of mine recommended that I dump the Tubeless and try out Gatorskins. 2000 miles later, and I haven't flatted as of yet.
Were you dropping that friend on every ride? They might have been looking for a sneaky way to slow you down 😛
As a daily bike commuter I absolutely rely on my Gatorskins with no complaints at all, they have been great _for me_
5 years daily comute of 36 km on Schwable marathon plus ( the first item he hates) and...ZERO PUNCTURES ... I love them, his opinion is to be taken with a pinch of salt
We've been running Gatorskins on a light tandem for at least 15 years. The bike won't fit tires over 28 mm, so that's what we ride on it. The rear will typically last a season or two, not more than 2,000 mi, usually less. They ride just fine and are easy to mount. We've only had two flats that I recall. In both cases we took a short break while I swapped the tube and went on our way again, easy-peasy. I have only mounted one pair of Marathons in my life, and it is not an experience I care to repeat. I've mounted thousands of bike tires over the years and have no fear of the occasional flat, unless it's below freezing.
SRAM double tap is not that bad. I have ridden Shimano for over 11 years and just got SRAM mechanical because it was cheap and works. You get used to it.
Shimano also makes a Power Meter that does NOT work properly!
That's why you better ride without one.
@@einundsiebenziger5488 a power meter does not give you power
I had a specialized Allez Sprint Disc and one of the seat post clamp bolts broke off in the barrel nut in the clamp (I always use a torque wrench so not sure what happened there). I couldn't find a replacement barrel nut anywhere (and I searched like a mad man). Specialized made me buy the entire assembly from a dealer because it wasn't available online and I had to go to the dealer in person because they didn't believe me I guess, which was an hour away.
I imagine Nic (and James) could drop a new list of 10-12 things that he hates every month
I love the Marathon Plus; you guys treat your bikes as toys, I use my bikes like tools.
Ditto for my Gatorskins -- they just last, are very robust & have enough grip for me. If I was currently riding more of a performance bike, instead of my daily driver/commuter bike, I'd get something "better" & more supple.
i love my fox transfer sl dropper (75mm drop) on my 27.2 xc bike, but you're right it would be really nice to have more
I have 26x2" Marathon Plus Tour tires that ride very plush. They were easy to install and I've had to remove and re-install the same tires several times (when changing spokes and truing wheels).
Schwalbe Marathon harsh? Sound's like a you problem. To me they are fine. Maybe change your setup. Gain 50 kg and they are fine😂 ps: try airless. That's harsh. It's also incredibly difficult to install and the rolling resistance is very high. It's like going lower than you thought possible. Like the difference of full suspension with giant tyres to rigid on a rocky path. Then go an entire level worse. Like you installed office chair wheels on your bike.
Any press fit is a deal killer! Threaded bb only. I’m particularly fond of T47. Thomson titanium seat post is the best I’ve ever used. Thomson products are premium. I use their stem as well. Disagree on Allen screws. Would rather see torx. It’s harder to strip. Rim brakes should disappear! Rim brakes on carbon wheels are dangerous.
The best brakes I have are my Campy Super Record rim brakes. Better than any discs I have (Ultegra and GRX). The brakes are on a bike with Campy Bullet Ultra wheels which are carbon but have an alloy braking surface.
I agree with Torx but then again only if people know how to use them, and not a smaller tool by accident.
For those who dont get paid to ride, its cheaper, lighter and easier to maintain aluminum rims, easier to clean, dont get contaminated, last ages, and when they wear out, its cheap to lace another high end alimunum rim. Maybe I have decent grip strenght, and decent rim brakes, but I can lock up wheels in the rain with 1 finger.
6000km on a set of 35c Marathons, one slow puncture and tread still looks like new. ❤
I have ridden Marathons, Gatorskins and Cinturatos. The Pirellis dont belong on the same list. They are the best compromise i've come across. I originally had them as a winter tyre but run them all year round now as i live in a flinty area and like using the smaller roads. Great tyres.
cannondale followed "new trend" the car industry where you have to pay extra or subscribe for e.g. heated seats
Yup. Or Tesla autopilot options.
Nope, it is the standard option for power2max to have software lock on the extra options...
Completely agree with the shimano flat-head screw. It has the hardness of cheese and has just created a nightmare on my bike. Very frustrating.
I made a dedicated screwdriver for those bastard screws!
if you look up Shimano manual, you'll find that the specified torque for that screw is 0.1-0.3 Nm, so I guess it's just supposed to be brought in with a fingernail, without any tools
I had one collapse on me about 6 months ago and bought aftermarket titanium hex bolts to replace the Shimano and ones on all my bikes.
@@michaelmechex and that’s just fine. But corrosion…..
@@richardgate1571 I've ridden my gravel bike to work year round for 3 years and haven't had a problem. They're not going to seize if they're not tight.
Press fit, I love them but maybe I have been lucky with reasonably accurately finished frame BB shells.
I previously had aluminium frames with Shimano cartridge BBKT and aluminium 'cups'. The threads in the BB of the frame were not accurately produced, and I had to remove the BB every three to six months and relube the threads to quiet the creaking.
I now have three versions of BB30, almost fit and forget.
The first has campag cups pressed into the frame, never creaked, and simple to service the bearings/cranks.
Second is Cannondale, hollowgram with their big dia bearings.....again fit and forget.
Third is a version of BB30, required a third party adaptor to install campag cranks. That also has been quieter than a pin drop.
All systems, threaded or not will creak, if accuracy of the frame BB shell is not good. Boldly, I conclude that the problem is not the BBKT that is installed, it is the accuracy of the frame manufacture and finish.
I would hate to be a bike shop, knowing how to deal with all the BB standards, and if they hold stock of all the different BBKTs............... that is a big investment. Come on bike manufacturers, refine a single standard or two, and then strive to perfect that.
i have two things: 1) different freehub interfaces. with 12speed now you have to have a sram freehub body and its not like with the 8-10speed ones that you can just use a shimano cassette with a sram crank and chain etc. 2) sram axs not having the option to adjust the gears. I have a 10spd cassette mounted on my neo and with now having a 12spd axs bike i cant use that any more cause even tough it wouldnt be so difficult i cant set the rear mech to 10 speed. it would just be very nice to being able to.
Hey Francis, I'm currently eyeing a hybrid bike and I was wondering how much James knows about bikefitting flatbars? I know that he has mentioned flats a couple times in the bikefit videos, but is there any chance to see a dedicated videos for flats?
Good call
With regard to the Cannondale power meter, this is actually quite common across many industries. I used to work for a company that made hospital scanners, they sold a base model and then premium models with extra features. What the hospitals purchasing them didn't know was that all the models were the same inside, and there was just a configuration file in the software to turn the premium features on and off. It turned out to be cheaper to manufacture and test just one model than lots of different models.
Data center hardware is the same, you buy a 52 port switch, but only 14 ports work out of the box, and you need to pay additional license to unlock all the ports. The hardware is right there, nut it's just disabled in software. Servers also usually require additional license to unlock remote management, storage clusters require licenses to unlock features etc. And none of it is cheap hardware to begin with.
@@jantomsic1944 Yes, this is the norm in the software industry but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth when applied to an engineered product. Siemens is particularly bad for this. You have to purchase software to configure devices that you buy from them (like drives for example). Their competitors are far more likely to make the configuration software a free download. Personally, I find the power meter 'enabling fee' really obnoxious.
@@chriswright9096 Yes I suppose that the big difference with doing this on a bike versus industrial machinery is that it adds to the weight, even for people who only want the base model and have no intention of paying for the power meter.
@@nbartlett6538 You're right. While Cannondale know how many they sold, they can't know how many potential purchasers were put off.
I bought a CAAD10 disc as my first real proper bike. After a horrific crash where the only damage on the bike I found was broken spokes, I found out that the base fulcrum wheels on the bike were only rated to 180lbs. Never thought that I needed to check weight limits on base parts, but now will never purchase anything that's load bearing without checking that
That’s should be a video on it’s own. Weight limits on set parts
@@nicvieri2627 genuinely should be. I’m 6’4” 230 and I had no clue that I needed to pay attention to weights even on alloy parts.
Nicks right. Especially when it comes to information about parts or different Standards. It’s a nightmare sometimes you wanna dump the bike in the canal!
Nick's a bike mechanic. Speaking from experience, there's no way this concludes the list of things he hates! :)
Just the things he hates about bikes. Things he hates about cyclists is a whole different list.
@@T3H455F4C3 Bikes, bike designers/product managers, customers, other cyclists, other mechanics, big corporate... as a mechanic, my life is full of hatred. 😂
@@rantingwrench I feel that.
love my Schwalbe marathons (green guard version). honestly dont find them to be harsh to ride, and installation can be done fairy easily by tying down at 3 o clock and 9 o clock, and slowly inching them in bit by bit (nowhere near as hard as I thought they would be)
Yes. I run bigger marathon Mondials. I find them extremely forgiving on all surfacea. But they are only 4 of 7 on the Schwalbe protection scale. Maybe the pluses he mentioned are harsher.
I use the mondials 40mm at 4.5 BAR for smooth roads in daytime. 4 Bar for night rides with long fast descents ( i prefer more compliance if i hit an unexpected bump) i use them for heavy gravel below 50psi. They are great tires.
I have that type of seat post and levelling my seat does my head in just can't get it right haha. Glad it's not just me😊
Great video Francis. Out of interest, what would you recommend as a good winter tyre? I currently use marathon plus (didn’t know any better) but would like to get something better. Thanks
The thing you missed about Marathon Plus tyres... they're *heavy* Years ago I dumped them to go ghetto tubeless, taking a more than a kg off the weight of my bike.
Maybe that's why Americans spell it "tires". Having to get the extra metric pound (18 ounces) in motions multiple times during a commute really makes you tired. That was my experience as a bike messenger years ago. Also rode 6000 km (3800 miles) without any flats on the regular Schwalbe Marathon, so in hindsight I would not even know what the point of the Plus version is.
I agree with most things, but not the press fit. Press fit *does* make the frame better, it can make it both stiffer and lighter at the same time and bearings don't get seized. They're also more compatible, with something like BB386EVO you can use any crankset with no problems. And on top of that, the reason why bearings are never held in by threads in industrial applications is because threads don't hold concentricity very well, so you're going to have some additional drag.
T47
@@nicvieri2627 T47 only solves the compatibility. No one talks about how T47 is the most confusing bb standard because it comes in like 5 different widths with a combination of external and internal bearings and you never know what you're getting, because it's all just marked as "T47"
I agree with most of what you say, but this is the bike industry and we can't make the bottom bracket hole round or even inline on a carbon fibre bike, so it goes in on the piss, and wears the bearings out and creaks double time
@@garymoore5044 that's an issue with crap manufacturing, not the press fit itself. Cheap chinese frames can get it right, so anyone else who can't do it is utterly incompetent. Just don't buy a Cannondale.
If there so great, why are the big bike companies reverting back to threaded BB's? Because they're just the better design. Never had a threaded BB creak on me or the BB shell warp. If it ain't broke dont fix it.
10:30 regarding cup and cones. Satisfying hearing someone else think the same. Cause on all forums, i read about people saying its just as good as ball bearing. But from experience i never felt a supersmooth, cup cone wheel." Tho i never used top of the line wheels tho" when i bought a bike with, bb wheels. I was suprised not to feel any grittiness from the wheel axle when spinning the wheels in my hands
From factory they are often tightened too much. If you adjust them properly by yourself they run quite smooth with very little resistance.
I love double tap! I can ride around with something in my left hand while still changing gear
I ride the Marathon Plus on my Commuter.
They're fucking indestructable but yes, 100% a bitch to put on and not the smoothest ride.
But I've also pulled razorblades and Pins out of them , if you need at tire to just *run* they are 100% worth it.
A bike shop that doesn't sell inner tubes. How dumb and baffling.
If you need to take out a screw use the right sized screwdriver. Do I need t use the right size Allen key, socket or torx bit too ;-)
Wrong sized Allen key wouldn’t fit. But we see one bike a week with a strip shimano brake bolt because some kid tried to remove it with his screwdriver at home. Yes, with the right size screwdriver this would never be a problem. But that would be a perfect world
All good. But - I actually LOVE SRAM's doubletap system. Anyway for your information - doubletap as you describe it is set up WRONG. At the easyest gear - pull back the limimit screw half a turn. Now when you try to shift "past" the first gear - the shifter has a FAKE CLICK for upshift and doesn'd drop to second. And no - the chain doesn't go into the spokes. The adjustment procedure is described in an official SRAM service tutorial. Give it a go ! I HATE integrated handlebars ;)
I had Fulcrum wheels on my Orro. There is no spacer between the bearings so they wear out quickly. Weirdly enough the rear hub takes a DT Swiss freehub. I eventually bought some Syncros wheels which are basically DT Swiss and much better.
Syncros comes from many different manufacturers so buyer beware. Mine were certainly not DT Swiss but Alex Rims and then the very bottom shelf ones.
Agreed that you should get a schematic of all the parts and sizes on a bike. Recently bought a new gravel bike, it came with a manual and it gave me no information about anything. Currently, you have to guess, buy the parts, try the parts, return if they don't fit. I had to replace a headset on a 2009 Fuji. Took forever to figure out what replacement would work.
I have a Giant with their "D" shaped seat post, would like to go lighter but it appears I can only replace with another "D" post which currently I found one option. It looks like there is a shim that may be able to be removed so a standard post will fit. I wanted a Specialized but they had that Shock headset and I did not want to have to deal with that if it broke.
Shims can introduce noise as they flex .
Trek Tech is really good for trek bikes and is similar to what you were saying about Salsa. They include wheel bearings and such also which is a life saver
and Salsa actually will sell you there frames, so its reasonable to told you what stuff is fitting the frame.
tube sizes, valve types and lengths? for real? what a boring topic to complain about. what's the solution? only sell tubes with 120mm SV valves since they fit any rim hole and depth and only in sizes that current year bikes fit? "oh, you have a bike that only fits 23mm tires? and you have a puncture? sorry, only thing we can do is to replace the entire bike.", "26 inch? get the hell out of my shop" or are you saying that YOU have developed a new standard to unify all standards and FINALLY clear up the sizing confusion? how do you think we ended up with metric, imperial and french sizing and Schrader, Dunlop, Sclaverand and Regina valves?
Excellent ! It's great to get the opinion from someone who knows first-hand what he's talking about.
I had (past tense) that 3T seatpost, lol Both shops I went to literally said the same thing, "nightmare to adjust and level."