Why You Should Avoid These Cycling Products

this video is sponsored by squarespace make your own awesome websites easily with a 14 day free trial and 10 discount using the code below the humble bicycle has come a long long way since it was first invented and over the years there have been some big developments that have made the bicycle what it is today whether a brilliant mode of transport an escape from hectic lives or the most exciting sporting spectacle on the planet and while it's easy to pick out some of the best cycling inventions and products that have improved cycling in so many different ways and that we all take for granted there have been loads of inventions that have fallen by the wayside thank goodness but even worse there are still products on share right now try and separate you your hard earned cash so in this video i picked six of the use of products i don't think you should spend your money on and should definitely avoid from ceramic bearings to smart helmets and many more and if you want to see some other top tech failed then check the video up here okay let's dive in a helmet really has one main goal and that's to protect your head after safety there's ventilation for riding in warm weather not a problem here in the uk aero if you're concerned about drag who is and looks are important of course and that really is about it what the helmet doesn't need to be is smart your phone dust but not your helmet but that hasn't stopped people over the years adding technology to helmets and calling them smart and describing them as a future of cycling but do you really want or need a helmet with built-in speakers and microphones so you can have a conversation with another rider when you're on a road riding alongside them anyway does a helmet need to pair with your phone to give you fitness or direction cues and do indicated lights and brake lights add useful features to a helmet and try to go after the safety angle many offer sos accident systems but i've not seen any evidence for the usefulness of this tech in a helmet what about lights built into a helmet actually that's not such a bad idea after all so maybe i let that one slide and all the tech needs a battery to power them of course and batteries add weight and that's the last thing you want to do on a helmet where weight is a priority and there are enough batteries in our lives and on bikes we're adding another battery to the mix but generally speaking smart helmets can go straight in room 101 if i had a pound for every time someone tried to launch cycling indicators well i'd be a rich man by now people keep on launching cycling indicators and people keep on falling for them even the so-called experts in the bbc's dragon den despite such interest and investment there proves to be very little market for them sure on paper they might seem like a good idea but in reality they simply don't work and a number of failed products and kickstarter projects is testament to this fact the problem is motorists just aren't used or expecting to see indicators on bicycles and from a distance it's just another small blinking led light and because a bicycle is inherently very narrow compared to a car or truck you don't have the distance between the indicators to really tell what's happening over just a normal blinking light on the back or front of a bicycle but despite all that there are all manner of indicator products available right now they go on the handlebars the seat post your hands or even the helmet but really nothing beats using an outstretched arm to let every user know you want to make a turn the marker of quality and expense in many high-end road bikes for many people is a set of ceramic bearings with a small sticker that goes on the frame or hub to let people know you have ceramic bearings but you don't really need them and you'll be better off saving your hard-earned money for other parts of the bike proponents of ceramic bearings cite their lower rolling resistance from the smoother surfaces and a more uniform size so friction is reduced while the hardness of a ceramic bearing improves durability and the savings they offer can make for impressive reading and very compelling upgrades on your bike ceramic speed for example claims a 9 watt improvement with bearings in the hubs jockey wheels and bottom brackets compared to a set of standard bearings but the real advantage of ceramic bearings is not in bicycle hubs or jockey bills but an industrial machine running at over 20 000 rpm where small savings really add up a bicycle hub doesn't spin anywhere near as fast so any savings are a tiny fraction and the other big fact is bicycles are subjected to sub-optimal conditions so rain mud jet washing which ceramic bearings don't really like they really excel in situations not requiring grease lubrication and you definitely want grease in your bearings to keep out grime and grit especially at this time of year so all this offsets the lower rolling resistance of ceramic bearings over regular steel bearings all that and they are really expensive as well so you really just think carefully if you need to upgrade your bike to ceramic bearings and not spend that money on other parts of your bike where you might get better returns for your investment all modern cars are fitted with multiple air packs and that's a very good thing for road safety so since they're commonplace in cars why don't bicycles use them well for a start bicycles don't have steering wheels and doors to hide them in but one company has tried to overcome this setback by developing an airbag cycle helmet that you wear around your neck yes really this unique and distinctive device involves wearing a chunky and frankly uncomfy looking collar that inflates apparently in 0.1 seconds upon impact into an airbag helmet genius although it looks very strange and genius it might be research apparently shows it reduces a risk of concussion by up to eight times and almost completely eliminates the risk of skull fractures but on the downside it's very expensive to buy you can only use it once and once you've used it you have to claim it back on your insurance and the downsides keep on coming some users online reported being set off for no apparent reason and one user even said the bang was so loud it left them without proper hearing for a week yikes is that worth the potential safety i'm not so sure it's pretty easy to become obsessed with weight on bicycles i get it i've been there myself riding up a hill where you feel the weight of the bicycle and you think to yourself if i had lighted bike i'd fly this hill in no time at all and there are some really good ways to save weight on a bicycle and there are some you should probably avoid and titanium bolts goes on the list of things to avoid in my opinion if you're getting a point where you want to replace all the bolts with titanium on your bicycle then you probably need to sit down and have a word with yourself now don't get me wrong titanium is a brilliant material and makes fantastic bicycle frames but when it comes to bolts the price versus weight saving isn't that good and titanium bolts can sometimes be more likely to fail can be easier to strip their thread and can be prone to season so tiny savings usually measured in grams versus a big price tag and some of downsides makes it one to avoid in my opinion riding in the rain and on wet roads isn't much fun i know which is why mud guards are so sensible they stop you arriving at the office mid-ride cafe or home looking like you come straight off the farm now proper full-length mod guys like these are great and more bikes than ever will fit them easily and where your bike doesn't take these you can get really good plastic clip on mud guards and they're getting better all the time but please oh please don't bother with a tiny plastic mud guards that go underneath your saddle on which the r saver is the most popular now the idea is great i get it they're relatively cheap they fix the saddle with no tools or brackets and should provide some protection from rear wheel spray but in reality in my experience the protection they offer is frankly not worth the bother you're gonna get a wet bottom anyway with or without them so do the world of favor and leave a pointed piece of plastic in the store and not in the landfill where they likely end up once people realize how rubbish they are right there we go my list of the cycling tech you should definitely avoid and not spend your hard earned cash on but do you agree or disagree let me know by leaving a comment down below and what will you add to your own list what will go in your room 101. love to hear from you as always and don't forget to check out the other top tech fails in my previous video linked right here and don't forget to subscribe by hitting the button right here but that's all for now thank you so much for watching

Channel: David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

Views: 290,062

Keywords: cycling, bikes, road bikes, gravel bikes, mountain bikes, tech, reviews, bike reviews, cycling reviews, bicycles, cycles, tech fails, worst cycling inventions, worst cycling products

Id: NoQS6lUBO8M

Length: 8min 57sec (537 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 06 2022