Buyer's Remorse: Products / features you THOUGHT you would use and like, but . . .
 

Where have you found the cycling version of "buyer's remorse"? The question is basically . . . "What products or product features did you THINK you would use and like a lot before you bought the product, but once you got it, you didn't find terribly useful or helpful?"

An example: I bought the Garmin 705 thinking I would use the mapping features. I've now owned and used the 705 almost daily for years, but I have yet to find a use (that I would find helpful) for the mapping features.

Are there any products or product features you had high hopes for, but found them to be less than you hoped for?

Oh this should be good. :popcorn

CAA--- nope, I shouldn't make that joke here.

the SS mountain bike i'm about to drop some coin on in a few weeks.

Crud fenders. I thought they would be a good way to have fenders for winter riding. I didn't really think about the fact that I transport my bike in the trunk of my car and the fenders made it so it didn't fit. I either had to risk bending the fenders or take them on/off each time. Nice product, but just not for me.

good thread. and thankfully i have nothing to contribute.

I bought a watch that had both HR and elevation to go along with my regular cycling computer. The elevation gain reading was worthless and the whole setup was ugly so I broke down and bought a 705.

I bought a nice light back in April to do some night riding, but that was right before the daylight savings time switch so I haven't had to use it yet. Hopefully, when the sun sets earlier, I'll still have the guts to try riding at night.

Heart rate monitor. I just never used it.

Bell citi helmet with winter kit. No increased funcionality over a regular helmet with a good ear covering cap or balaclava.

Baggy cycling shorts. Before I discovered bibs, I wasted a bunch of money on baggy cycling shorts.

Niterider tri-newt. Great light, but the Dinotte stuff is better.

Edge 705 mapping almost made it - I will use the map feature a few times a year, but I also bought it mostly for the maps, and had that turn out to be the least used feature.

mountain bike.

i bought it in hopes of getting more into trail riding, but as of right now, it probably has less than 200 miles on it, but one of these days...

Hammer bibs. Hated them. At least they were cheap.

Prologo Scratch ti saddle. Hated it. Not so cheap... :(

My entire experience with fixed gear riding. I'm happy to be commuting with the option of coasting now.

Wired computer with cadence. It just never seemed to work right, and the wires just made the whole thing look sloppy.

The time spent on Bikeforums.

The stuff that was 75% of what I wanted to get. 3 sets of head lights (Niterider is what I ended up feeling fine with).

PowerTap, for someone that has a bazillion different wheels already (ended up with SRM).

Anything that was halfway there always disappointed me.

Oh, cheap tubular tires. Most frustrating thing ever, those things.

I can fix that for you -- banishment. :D

Any bike that wasn't a sub-25lb road bike with gears.

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/produ...50ml-40472.jpg
At some point, I thought this was a good idea instead of putting all my crap in a saddle bag. I don't know what I was thinking.

Dicks Sporting Goods shorts, more like a noob mistake there.

I use my mtn bike for solo road rides in the winter. I don't care about the dirt, handles messy roads, and the slightly slower speeds mean less wind-chill. Try it out next winter since you already have it.

Speedplay pedals
White bar tape
Bontrager RXL shoes
Sidi Genius 5 shoes

Just curious, could you put a brief explanation for each, why you didn't care for them?

Performance gel shorts.

Felt like riding on a diaper, they were AWFUL!! I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would use these!

Don't buy them! They suck. They are terrible! Am I making myself clear???

Thankfully, PB took them back.

+1 performance/nashbar gel bibs. i mistakenly bought 2 pair while on sale and ive regretted it ever since. i didnt know about pers return policy and ended up eating them, not literally, but close enough. gel doesnt belong in yer' riding gear.

Look Pedals

Maltodextrin powder. Just easier, cheaper to get a pre-made drink (it's the electrolyte mix that makes it so expensive though, not the maltodextrin).

Rollers. I really don't use them as often as I should.

Did I mention one of the reasons being an overzealous, power hungry mod. :innocent: