There are hundreds of road bike manufacturers out there, and this results in road bikes which miss the mark for a multitude of reasons. All of these reasons end up with the consumer being left with a product which doesn't deliver the correct amount of value or just has inherent problems with the quality of the build. Sam Gupta takes a closer look at some road bikes which just should not exist. What do you think about his choices? Can you think of any other bikes which shouldn't exist?
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00:00In a world where there are hundreds of road bike manufacturers, there will of course be some road
00:04bikes that may not meet the needs of the consumer. From odd spec decisions to bizarre views on
00:10pricing, I've pulled together a bunch of bikes that I wish just didn't exist.
00:20The same generation of bikes that enjoy integrated cable routing, disc brakes and
00:24fancy carbon shapes seem to have a few occupants that also play host to steering stops. If you're
00:31unaware, steering stops are a mechanical feature often found within the head tube of a bike,
00:36which stop the bars turning after a certain point. The theory is that by stopping the bars
00:41from turning excessively, you reduce the risk of causing damage to the brake lines and you also
00:47stop the potential of the handlebars to swing into the top tube. However, there is a reason
00:52why steering stops have been included on this list, and that's because I have seen multiple
00:58cases where the handlebars have been turned with such force that the steering stops have then ripped
01:04into the frame itself, essentially killing it. Now, this rarely happens through normal riding,
01:10but instead it can happen when the wind catches the front wheel when the bike is lent up and
01:15stationary, or when you're putting the bike in the back of a car and then the fork catches
01:20something or perhaps an overzealous mechanic may yank on the bar slightly too hard and cause some
01:25accidental damage. Happily, some bikes that did adopt steering stops are already starting to ditch
01:32them. For example, the fourth generation of the Cannondale Super 6 lost them after they were
01:37debuted on the third generation of the bike. Also, as integrated cockpits evolve and cable routing
01:43methods improve, the positioning of those hoses can be threaded in ways that mean that oversteering
01:49won't damage the hoses. My view on this is quite simple. Steering stops should just be a flash in
01:56the pan of road bike tech trends, and hopefully in the next few years will eventually disappear.
02:01Too many bike frames end up having to be warrantied after innocuous accidents. I'm
02:06sure that when manufacturers start to realise how much money the steering stops are going to
02:11be costing them, they'll be as fast to remove them as they were to install. Certainly one innovation
02:17to forget. We recently made a video about the biggest false economies in cycling, and in that
02:27video I discussed the recent upsurge surrounding the incredibly cheap bikes that can be found from
02:32big generic retailers. Now, I'm sure to some those bikes do serve a purpose, especially for those who
02:39don't want to or can afford to spend any more money on a new bike. However, I'm a strong believer that
02:46you should spend that same amount of money but on a second-hand bike instead. You'll get something
02:51that originally costed much more, and you'll be giving a bike that already exists a new lease of
02:56life. And should you have any issues, most bike shops will be able to help you out. I believe
03:01that these bikes are awful for the environment. Bikes are supposed to last for many, many years,
03:08but the way that these bikes are constructed and the components that they're kitted out with
03:12mean that you're essentially buying a disposable bike, and one which will only last for as long as
03:18the rider can bear to deal with its problems. In my opinion, these bikes should just not exist,
03:24and we should all be buying second-hand bikes when we can, especially if monitoring cost is
03:30a large contributing factor to your purchasing decision. Right on the other end of the spectrum,
03:39we are now seeing bikes hit the market that seemingly cost more than the sum of all their
03:45parts. In my opinion, this is a pretty big problem. I think it also shows that the shop increases and
03:52prices are far outpacing the rest of the price increases that we're seeing in other areas of
03:57the industry. And there are a couple of pretty high-profile examples of this. First is the
04:04Cannondale Lab 71 Super 6 Evo. It retails at £12,500 here in the UK, but I've been able to
04:12create an equivalent build for £11,000. Unsurprisingly, there are some caveats to
04:18that price. Yes, that is by utilising the best prices that I could find all over the internet
04:24for all of the components. For example, I found the Dura-Ace groupset for £200 off at one retailer.
04:31Also, I didn't opt to spec the same wheels as the Lab 71 stock build. Instead, I chose some
04:37Zipp 303 S Firecrest, which some may argue is actually a better wheelset. Also, I wasn't quite
04:44sure how much their Momo handlebars would cost, so I went for an estimate and did a worst-case
04:48scenario of £600. I did also factor in a £300 labour cost to cover the cost of having a mechanic
04:55build up the bike in its entirety. The Specialized S-Works Athos is another example.
05:01Here, I'm able to save about £350 over the cost of the stock build. It's worth highlighting that
05:08on this build, I actually spec some Zipp 353 NSWs, which again, some would argue are a much better
05:15wheelset than the Roval Alpinist CLX wheelset that is found on the stock build. Also, I actually
05:21added in the Roval Alpinist integrated cockpit to really take the build to the next level.
05:26But if you weren't to upgrade the components and you were to mimic that stock build,
05:31you'd actually be closer to saving £1,400. In the case of the Lab 71 Super 6, at full
05:38retail pricing of all the components, the build came in at £11,700, and that's still cheaper
05:45than the £12,500 asking price of the stock bike. So we really have to wonder,
05:51what are we getting for our money at this level? In the lower echelons, it is more like business
05:56as usual, where the bike manufacturers are able to pull on their economies of scale
06:01and create bikes, which we wouldn't be able to go out and create for less money.
06:06Perhaps even the bike manufacturers are struggling to buy things for the right price. We have no
06:11evidence to support this, but it would be one explanation as to the obscure situation that
06:16some top-end bikes have found themselves in. While I'm sure that there will be plenty of
06:21comments surrounding the fact that brands are just charging silly money for the sake of it,
06:25and you may well be right, I wouldn't be surprised if they need to sell at those levels
06:30just to maintain the margins that those products need to achieve to make them commercially viable.
06:36You cannot forget and disregard the impact that COVID, Brexit here in the UK, and shipping issues
06:41will have had on the cost of some of those products. Pair that with a struggling world
06:46economy and you can have a little understanding. Plus, if there are customers out there who want
06:51to buy those bikes, who are we to stop them? While I understand that there could be reasons
06:56outside of the control of the bike brands meaning they have to charge such high prices,
07:01I don't think I'll be a customer for a bike that I know I can build up for less money,
07:06and also enjoy the ability to spec some of my own parts.
07:10As I'm sure a lot of you know, not all bikes are created equally. Some are created by artisan
07:15frame builders who can spend weeks creating a bike which has been handcrafted to perfection.
07:21On the other end of the scale, we have bikes which maybe haven't quite seen that same level
07:26of care and attention. Much like my issue with bikes that are too cheap, bikes which are created
07:32without the appropriate amount of due care should be the ones that are created.
07:37They will always have inherent problems, because if strict manufacturing tolerances aren't adhered
07:43to, the components that then get mated to that frame will never operate as they should. Happily,
07:50frame facing, which is the process of removing excess material from a frame to ensure that a
07:55flat surface is achieved, is something that can be done by most mechanics. Frame facing is something
08:01that's actually really important to do anyway, because it's the only way to ensure that the
08:06to do anyway, because it ensures that when bottom brackets, headsets, brake calipers,
08:11and the like are bolted to a frame, they are mated to a perfectly flush surface. Also,
08:17the process of re-tapping threads is something which can be done after a frame has been built
08:22if needed. But if the bikes have deeper, less rectifiable problems, that's when things get serious.
08:30The bottom line is, when considering the energy and materials required to produce a bicycle,
08:36manufacturers should be ensuring that it does not go to waste.
08:45I love riding on semi-deep carbon wheels for so many reasons. They look good, they're generally
08:51pretty light, they sound cool, and of course, they help you go everywhere faster. It's rare
08:58for a set of these wheels to actually make the experience of riding your bike any worse. However,
09:03these tend to be wheels that you upgrade to, rather than having them on your bike from stock,
09:09unless you're spending a pretty serious amount of money. My issue lies in the bikes that come
09:14with alloy deep section wheels, and I can understand why the brands want to fit those
09:19wheels to stock bikes. I'm sure that the brands would argue that the profile of the rims do offer
09:25a speed advantage over box section rims, and I'd be inclined to agree with them. I'm sure that they
09:31also fit them so that the much larger tubes of a carbon bike don't look quite so unbalanced and odd
09:37against the wheel choice. And of course, by fitting alloy wheels, they can sell the bike looking as
09:43they want it, but offer it at a more affordable price. And some may see this as a pretty fair
09:49exchange. For example, Oro sell the Venturi Evo in a 105 specification with Fulcrum DB800 wheels,
09:58and it's hard to deny that on the face of it, the bike does look fast. But to be honest,
10:04I would rather opt for a box section rim as it will be lighter and more practical in the short
10:09term before I have the chance to upgrade the wheels to something that I really want. Plus,
10:14the extra circa 300 grams that you'd have to carry around just to have something that numbs
10:19the ride and is harder to spin up just isn't a good trade off. Happily though, wheels are easy
10:25to change, so the problem's never terminal. Let me know down below what bikes or trends
10:32do you wish didn't exist? I've no doubt it's going to get pretty feisty down in the comments section.
10:38If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content,
10:42and I will see you again very soon.