Worst mechanical designs still seen on bicycles
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
The wheel. How long have we been rolling around on a ROUND wheel? Surely, there must be an update to that outdated POS...
Derailleur hangers that look like this:
They bend way to easily, just enough to throw your drivetrain out of whack.
The Turner DHR/Highline hangers are so burly, I wish more bikes were like this:
They bend way to easily, just enough to throw your drivetrain out of whack.
The Turner DHR/Highline hangers are so burly, I wish more bikes were like this:
Really? I hate my turner hanger, the derailleur bends before it does.Derailleur hangers that look like this:
They bend way to easily, just enough to throw your drivetrain out of whack.
The Turner DHR/Highline hangers are so burly, I wish more bikes were like this:
After all, that is the point of the hanger.
I'm going to go with the derailleur. (other than a regular QR) is one of those things that's been basically exactly the same since they came out, with the slant parallelogram, they hang off your wheel just asking to get taken out. Derailleurs need a change and ASAP
They did change, but nobody bought them. Still the best derailleur I've ever used.
On topic: these need to be forgotten.
Front derailleurs blow.
Powerlinks have made these obsolete.
Tapers wear out. Pinchbolts are a necessity.
Redundant axle design is redundant.
Hex and Allen tools are everywhere. Is the crappy shallow torx necessary?
Seat rails bend and stab people.
I can't believe this is even a common sight at wally world.
You might as well be running a bare bar for all the padding these give you.
Somebody needs to drop a bomb on the factory in china that still has tooling for quill stems.
hey woody - not everyone has arthritis and needs to run big foam grips.
Still a slant parallelogram, no changes there.They did change, but nobody bought them. Still the best derailleur I've ever used.
Uh, I'm pretty sure that he was referring to the fact that it mounts directly to the axle, eliminating the derailleur hanger as a weak point...
you're missing the point. as much as people hate derailler hangars, i'd rather replace a hanger for $20 than a derailler for $80.
It'll probably start an argument, but rim brakes in general, no matter what type.
This.
Although, one could argue that having a bend in said hanger after a wreck, which causes poor shifting for a bit, could have the potential of sending the intact derailleur into the spokes of a $500 wheel...
Which brings us full circle into why derailleurs are dumb.
Infinite loop?
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That's why you take a look at your derailleur when it hits the ground, then you can adjust a limit or just not shift accordingly.
Agreed though, I hate them, belt drive on a Gboxx FTW
too much complication/weight and failure chance (if not torqued right) now that anglesets are available
I have too agree about the grips. These are the best grips I've ridden.
fify.too much complication/weight and failure chance (if not torqued right) now that Works Components anglesets are available
I thought it was so that you didn't have to replace your $500 rear triangle if it had a non-replaceable hanger (like the older Bullits used to have), or a multi-thousand dollar complete frame. It's why older steel frames didn't have them (since you could bend the steel back into alignment), but Alu frames usually do. I scraped almost all of the paint off of my XT RD on that old Bullit, but never had any issues with it snapping in half.
I also haven't heard many stories of Saint RDs exploding due to not utilizing an easily-bending hanger, but that could be due to a general lack people actually *using* them.
that too.
Kinda funny when one of your favorite products comes up on somebody else's "worst ever" list.
Turner's hangers are just fine, you just can't run the SRAM ders made out of cheese. Going on three seasons with a strait shadow.
Turner's hangers are just fine, you just can't run the SRAM ders made out of cheese. Going on three seasons with a strait shadow.
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fify.
True true. A couple of seasons back I tagged a rock with my rear dérailleur and it snapped off. I thought the turner hanger had broken but come to find out the SRAM derailleur bolt stripped out. Guess its even cheesier than the cheesy hanger.
Mmmmm cheese
Surprised to see ruffians on here!
Freewheel rear hubs for mtb are pretty horrible, but it seems like about as uncommon as quill stems these days... Hmmm
As much as I have loved wellgo mg-1 pedals, the tiny threaded pins into magnesium was always a sh!t show.
I agree spoke nipples could be better, and IMO worth the weight penalty.
In the pnw, it would be nice to have a quick release that didn't gunk up and work like crap after two rides in the mud. The brass wear surface is a cool solution, but not much better in practice. grease often or go with a bolt for now!
Surprised to see ruffians on here!
Freewheel rear hubs for mtb are pretty horrible, but it seems like about as uncommon as quill stems these days... Hmmm
As much as I have loved wellgo mg-1 pedals, the tiny threaded pins into magnesium was always a sh!t show.
I agree spoke nipples could be better, and IMO worth the weight penalty.
In the pnw, it would be nice to have a quick release that didn't gunk up and work like crap after two rides in the mud. The brass wear surface is a cool solution, but not much better in practice. grease often or go with a bolt for now!
I have never lost a derailleur to a bent parallelogram. I have, however, lost several to them getting sucked into the wheel because of a flimsy hanger. This usually takes the chain, cable, and several spokes with it.
Tell me again what this is supposed to be saving?
Tell me again what this is supposed to be saving?
They only make sense on road bikes with flimsy forks.
Rim brakes on cyclocross bikes make no sense whatsoever. If all the cyclocross races weren't held in the mud/snow/nasty rim grinding conditions, then maybe they wouldn't be soo bad.
I've trashed quite a few SRAM parallelograms, even on bikes with relatively soft hangers. I find shimano ders to be far more durable in this respect. Sounds like you need to be a little better about checking out your bike after a crash.
The original idea was to allow repairs to frames once we started switching over to aluminum and carbon. (You just can't bend aluminum or carbon back like you can with steel. Maybe once or twice with aluminum, if the bend is not too bad.) Along the way it evolved into the argument that breaking the hanger is better, and then people started making them super flimsy. Frankly I think it's a little BS and more about protecting the frame to avoid "warranty" claims. Way cheaper to send out a $5 hanger than to repair or replace a frame/rear end.
User error?
It's funny how little I agree with in this thread.
Over built derailleur hangers can lead to trashed derailleurs, and more importantly, if you strip the threads, it's a $120 machined dropout instead of a 5-10$ stamped piece of steel. My zumbi has one, and something is wrong with it so the ****ty sram derailleur doesn't sit right...it would be so much cheaper to replace if it weren't connected to the damn dropout, and ultra-rare so I can't just throw one in the car in case it happens on trail or at a hill.
The saint was a great design but forced you into running certain components like shimano axles and just wasn't universally compatible enough to work. The newer shadow design is so much better, in my opinion, though if the original saint had caught on and actually worked on more than 10% of the bikes out there, I'd be game.
Caliper brakes are great on roadbikes where aerodynamics and weight are far more important than braking power. The new disk brakes that are coming out make me laugh...you're going to add hydraulics and an extra braking surface to a bike that values slowing down as one of the least concerns?
A properly set up front derailleur with good chainrings rarely, if ever, lets me down. My SLX front shifter/derailleur with shimano chainringed sub-lx crank almost never gave me problems on my trek. In fact, it seemed more often than not, people with chainguides would stop to fix their bike more often....hmmm.
Saddle rails are great for absorbing shock...not everybody rides a BMX. May not be best on a DH bike or dirt jumper, but on a road or xc sled, you don't see non-cushioning i-beams anywhere.
standard QR has also never really let me down either. Super easy to use, universally compatible...the only thing I can think of is when a moose DHer gets on an XC bike and expects the same level of stiffness. QR works in a properly designed frame and fork, but we still get 15mm crammed down our throats so we can buy more stuff.
my list:
foam grips have never offered me anything besides blisters. Same with ultra-thin clamp on grips, like the ruffians listed or the awful ergon ones, which have essentially no rubber and are just hard plastic.
The angled seat tube. First marketed on the GT LTS as "ARC", they slacked the seat tube out so you could have the worst of both worlds at any time. Got a climb? Raise the seatpost so you're so far back over the rear wheel you loop out on any climb. Ready for a decent? Lower it so the saddle moves up past your knees and you can't use it as leverage. Adopted by knolly and several others, just a horrible idea. I'd rather have an interrupted seat tube with a normal angle.
Pretty much any gearbox so far. Nobody thought that forcing frame manufacturers into using essentially the same pivot location was a bad idea, huh? that never came up? I'm still convinced that shimano et al are purposefully dragging their feet on making a decent mountain hub that can even come close to a broloff.
what the hell else....chainguides that aren't compatible with chain lube...kenda tires...centerlock rotors...disk brake mount "adapters"...(why haven't they simply figured out that you can mount it directly to the fork? Is anybody going to run a 6" rotor on a fox 40?)
OK, time to quit bitchin
Over built derailleur hangers can lead to trashed derailleurs, and more importantly, if you strip the threads, it's a $120 machined dropout instead of a 5-10$ stamped piece of steel. My zumbi has one, and something is wrong with it so the ****ty sram derailleur doesn't sit right...it would be so much cheaper to replace if it weren't connected to the damn dropout, and ultra-rare so I can't just throw one in the car in case it happens on trail or at a hill.
The saint was a great design but forced you into running certain components like shimano axles and just wasn't universally compatible enough to work. The newer shadow design is so much better, in my opinion, though if the original saint had caught on and actually worked on more than 10% of the bikes out there, I'd be game.
Caliper brakes are great on roadbikes where aerodynamics and weight are far more important than braking power. The new disk brakes that are coming out make me laugh...you're going to add hydraulics and an extra braking surface to a bike that values slowing down as one of the least concerns?
A properly set up front derailleur with good chainrings rarely, if ever, lets me down. My SLX front shifter/derailleur with shimano chainringed sub-lx crank almost never gave me problems on my trek. In fact, it seemed more often than not, people with chainguides would stop to fix their bike more often....hmmm.
Saddle rails are great for absorbing shock...not everybody rides a BMX. May not be best on a DH bike or dirt jumper, but on a road or xc sled, you don't see non-cushioning i-beams anywhere.
standard QR has also never really let me down either. Super easy to use, universally compatible...the only thing I can think of is when a moose DHer gets on an XC bike and expects the same level of stiffness. QR works in a properly designed frame and fork, but we still get 15mm crammed down our throats so we can buy more stuff.
my list:
foam grips have never offered me anything besides blisters. Same with ultra-thin clamp on grips, like the ruffians listed or the awful ergon ones, which have essentially no rubber and are just hard plastic.
The angled seat tube. First marketed on the GT LTS as "ARC", they slacked the seat tube out so you could have the worst of both worlds at any time. Got a climb? Raise the seatpost so you're so far back over the rear wheel you loop out on any climb. Ready for a decent? Lower it so the saddle moves up past your knees and you can't use it as leverage. Adopted by knolly and several others, just a horrible idea. I'd rather have an interrupted seat tube with a normal angle.
Pretty much any gearbox so far. Nobody thought that forcing frame manufacturers into using essentially the same pivot location was a bad idea, huh? that never came up? I'm still convinced that shimano et al are purposefully dragging their feet on making a decent mountain hub that can even come close to a broloff.
what the hell else....chainguides that aren't compatible with chain lube...kenda tires...centerlock rotors...disk brake mount "adapters"...(why haven't they simply figured out that you can mount it directly to the fork? Is anybody going to run a 6" rotor on a fox 40?)
OK, time to quit bitchin
Valid for a racing bike, not valid for touring/commuting.
Few of us are or will be Lance, thank gawdz.
Agreed that super flimsy and overbuilt hangers are a pain. But it seems to me that the majority of bike companies get it about right: Strong enough to withstand typical use, breakable before you really screw up your frame, and easily replaceable.
And if you ever ride carbon rims in the rain, or tour with lots of weight on your bike, you know why discs for road bikes are a good thing.
And if you ever ride carbon rims in the rain, or tour with lots of weight on your bike, you know why discs for road bikes are a good thing.
Oh I'm not saying disks are bad for 100% of the people who ride on the road. Anybody who rides in the rain immediately benefits from riding disk brakes. I'm just saying the matching spandex sunshine weekend crew, those that really spend the $5000 on their shiny campagnolo, aren't going to benefit from disk brakes....nor will most racers aside from crossers.
Road bikes are all about throwing an unlimited amount of money at something. If you don't think that someone's going to come out with high-end Ti/Carbon brakes that retail for a couple grand, you're kidding yourself. Once it's UCI legal someone will put out a 203mm carbon rotor/caliper and sell it for $2500, and the setup will be lighter *and* perform better than traditional caliper brakes.
(**Just my opinion, I have no inside information on this)
(**Just my opinion, I have no inside information on this)
(Replaceable) Derailleur hangers are there to save the frame, not the derailleur.
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unless the hanger is part of the frame
I have never once wanted or needed more power or modulation on my road bike. I have never owned a set of hydraulic disk brakes that have been as reliable and consistent as the Ultegra brakes on my roadie. Now my cross bike/commuter could certainly use disk brakes.
fify.
rohlof = unsuspended mass. on the pivot locations, not true, they can easily slap a chain tensioner in there to allow for some extension or even better - a shaft drive.
and the qr does work but i've come to expect a bit more stiffness and abuseability in bikes in general, it's not my fault xc racers choose to ride like pansies on the downhills so they don't feel the flex.
it's a mountain bike we're talking about here ffs.
What if they built a Rohlof around the BB?