Yeah not really a fan of the black stuff, but rims seem to hold up better then the other components.
Kickstands I like, as long as they are the built in Schwinn ones, the rest are kind of flimsy, and just trash the paint on the rear stays.
The mini fenders are totally useless, but still look cool on a lot of bikes.
Brifters look dorky on classic bars, so I guess that’s what the anotomica ones are for.
Grease who cares, cheap and lasts forever.
I tend to wrap bars top down, cause I don’t like using the little pieces of tape to finish it off, both ways work, just get the color right.
I guess the thing that really bugs me the most, but obviously few others, is the angled top bar on a road bike. That will never stop bugging me, looks fine on a mountain bike though.
Tim

Like I said, I get it but beauty is in the eye of the beholder/rider and while the old school aggressive C+V setup is aesthetically correct for the bikes, it is no longer viable for many of us, never was for me and really only applies to race bikes per se anyway. That was then, this is now, many of us have spent years suffering for it which is the real shame.

Still thinking of marketing here, "premium" products that are not premium.

IRD freewheels - $80. I have one here. Had it apart. Not impressed. Pawl springs are way too strong, causing excessive friction even with the lock ring loose! Proven track record for QC issues. I get the gear range thing, but if a Shimano or Sunrace freewheel is $13, this one is worth less and nowhere near $80.

something that bugs me, but I know it is just something that works for the owner/rider, is routing the toe strap through the little loop in the buckle, thus preventing the strap from being tightened or loosened....

https://live.staticflickr.com/7436/2...b5b9e4_c_d.jpg

As someone who never stopped using clips & straps, I can't fathom why someone would not want to be able to make an adjustment, even if you don't do it. On the other hand, I can see that someone might see that loop there and assume that it's okay to use it. It still is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. :)

On the other hand, some people clearly haven't used clips & straps enough to instinctively know how to route the straps. This was at a bike show, so this bike presumably is not ridden and is just for show. Didn't the owner have any friends that would kindly whisper "fix the dang strap!"??
Gorgeous bike, though!
https://live.staticflickr.com/7471/2...c37a14_c_d.jpg

Steve in Peoria

No twist in the strap either. What is this world coming to?!?

"Fixies". Not the bikes themselves, but all the pseudo-philosophical hype about them.

I thought about and..............nutted BB spindles really bug me. I don't care if it has DA or SR stamped on it, no.

Now THIS is bicycle orthodoxy.

Huh. I always get my straps set just the way I like them, and since I don't wear clips on my shoes (just nice flat-soled touring shoes) I can slip in and out of the straps just fine without making any adjustments. That being the case, I always use the little loop because it's certainly tidy and also keeps the straps from coming loose with a little more friction involved.

Perhaps I'm fortunate, but pretty much nothing that's typically considered reasonable about C&V, or for that matter, modern bicycles, bothers me much. I can appreciate a lot of different approaches people take with their builds, or the design and intended functionality of most components and frames, etc... I can express honest admiration for just about any completed bicycle I see around here. However, I still have my own tastes and that doesn't mean I'd actually pay to build and ride a lot of the stuff many other folks might consider grail-worthy for some reason or other.

-Gregory

Didn't mean to bug ya
 

Roadies that can't be bothered to acknowledge another rider. No wave, no nod, nothing.

Brake cables in front of the bars.

People who feel compelled to tell you what's wrong with your bike setup. Whether you ask or not.

I wouldn't say it bugs me, but I do get a good chuckle out of all these bike outfits. Padded shorts, space cadet helmets, geez.

sorry Rich ! I was on board until the sock remark!😂 Colored socks , and the more color the better, are way cooool!

For my personal dislikes, too skinny of tires, dried up tire patch glue, Mafac Racer brake adjustment.

merziac. Nice bikes!
Changing topic alert. How tall are you? Im 6'2" and is just me or is they really tall???

I agree, that aesthetically it looks awful. I think the set-up can work (well, look better) by ditching drop bars, and putting on some townie bars or something that look like it should be ridden more up-right already. However, I get that as people age, backs and in general, physical ability dictates different set-ups. Grant Petersen of Rivendell has somewhat normalized the look.....for what it is worth. I try to embrace it aesthetically, but still cannot bring myself to thinking that it just looks unbalanced.

stunned.

In no real order. People who "walk" their dogs without a leash on bike paths. Parents who ride without a helmet with their kids that ARE wearing a helmet. Bicycle riders killed by people in motor vehicles, and then said people get off without as much as a ticket. City leaders who deem children riding their bicycles to school as a dangerous activity (and the city leaders are right, but don't really want to do anything towards a safer city to bicycle in). Oh? You meant bike part things...

Unicrown forks 🤮.

So many otherwise cool 80s Mtb frames, but those forks ruin it.

Bad fenderlines. I hate seeing bikes with plastic fenders all jacked up in one spot because the installed had no idea.


.....and about 90% of the bike buying public. Sheep mentality buying into the hype of "new", manufacturers creating new "standards", and inflation making the cheapest thing on the lbs floor nearly $1k.

Modern cycling clothing. I just dont like the look of the current cycling scene. Way to tight. Neon colors. White shoes. Goofy socks. Yuck! Sometimes I burst out laughing when I see some of these guys. Women get it and dress in a more put together fashion. Men should ask their wives, or heck just look in a mirror before they head out the door.

Probably all of us here at C&V. I've had so many people introduced to me in the "you'll be good friends; they're into bikes too!" I then judge them hard when I see their off-the-shelf 2018 road bike with carbon cranks and whatnot. *sigh*

I guess everything has its place, but I can't help looking at that and thinking about what a nicer bike I coulda built for the price.

Well, you'd think me being the "distasteful and easily triggered" one I'd have a long list but oddly nothing comes to mind. I don't know, must be the "Dirty Bastard" ale talking LOL, I'm feeling quite congenial right now.... but don't get used to it. :beer:

What bugs me a lot is the replacing of parts not comparable to what was removed. For example: today I got a Campy hub off e-bay that seller said was smooth. It was but the grease was like chewing gum and the axle assembly had been replaced with a Normandy axle and cones and dust seals. They rubbed against each other and provided the smoothness. if it can't be replaced with the right parts why bother to call it repaired? That's what bugs me. Smiles, MH

I will add wearing a team jersey when you are not on the team.