marqueemoon

For me it's bottle cages. I don't have any that really suck in terms of holding a bottle, but most are freebie alloy ones that have accumulated over the years. I rarely carry two bottles so rather than deal with having a mismatched pair of cages I just run one and add a second non-matching one for the longer rides that require two.

If someone wanted to get me the perfect not-too-terribly expensive bicycle gift it would be a few pairs of nice stainless cages because I think I'll never get around to buying them myself.

Nagrom_ 

Helmets. I won't spend more than 60 bucks on a helmet.

aramis

Seems silly to only carry one bottle and then to have to bolt a new cage on every time you want to carry two. But I just carry two almost every ride in case I decide to go longer or it ends up getting hot or something. I just buy the cheap carbon cages from ebay for $30 shipped from China.

I never spend money on expensive performance "snacks" like gu or cliff bars or waffle things or whatever. I just grab gummy bears and fig newtons or a snickers or a pb&j sandwich and stuff like that.

calamarichris

I like the Velocity bottle cages. Bocoo colors, 30g, indestructible (unlike carbon) and you can find them for less than 5 bucks.
That and my dilapidated pickup truck, which will be 20 years old in June.

Biscayne05

Bottle Cages/Bottles
Inner tubes (I just go for the cheap Deda on PBK)

Things I wouldn't go cheap on:

Bike shorts.

Fox Farm

WHY would you go cheap on a helmet????

BoSoxYacht

$10 head

ClydesMoose

Because a $30 Wal-Mart Special will protect your head the same as a $250 Giro? They both meet the same safety standards. One's more ventilated, nicer materials, etc.

Leukybear 

Inner Tubes, I buy them bulk with cycling buddies. As we know that the majority of them, sans vittoria & michelin are sourced from CST or Kenda.
Vulcanizing patches, direct from China in bulk sheets.
Vulcanizing rubber cement, you can get a sizable tube from the dollar store or a jar at your hardware store.
CO2 refills, I get them from a kitchen supply store because they are used as chargers for cream whippers and home made soda contraptions whatnot. Haven't paid business to genuine innovations in ages.
Grease, having used both a tube/jar from campy and a tub of lithium grease from O'Reilly's, I rather keep my arms, legs, and first born and go with the latter.
Degreaser, I use mineral spirits to clean my chain considering it's the ingredient in many commercial degreasers.

Cookiemonsta

Things that either
-Are not that visible (I am vain)
-Do not affect performance or comfort much
-I don't regularly use

So for me examples are overshoes, bottle cages, gloves (as long as they are comfortable of course, but I found that does not meant hey have to be expensive) etc.

When it comes to maintenance of the bikes I really don't cut any corners and use the relatively expensive stuff. Not sure why. Little OCD about not using the right thing maybe.

krobinson103

Bike clothes. Except for shorts I buy hiking gear instead much cheaper and it works just the same. Jst doesn't have cycling labels all over it. I also buy cheap larger pumps. They fit on the frame and work better than a small pretty one. I really don't worry what my bikes look like, rather they ate reliable and work the way I need them to.

hueyhoolihan

the list is much shorter if i state what i spend money on and then you can just assume everything else i go lower dollar on.

so.... i buy expensive BB's and moderately nice hubs. headsets too. i guess any part that involves bearings.

znomit

Seen enough bottles lying on the road no to cheap out on cages.

JaceK

I've seen enough cigarette butts on the road not cheap out on ashtrays.

sced

I cheap out on everything. Latest and greatest 2-7 years ago is plenty good for me. So is good condition used stuff for 0.20-0.50 on the dollar, Nashbar, PBK, and BikesDirect. I stay away from name brands and bike shops. You can buy older Campy and it increases in value while you ride it.

garysol1 

Not that they are cheap but I typically ride the basic model Keo pedals. My feet can't tell the differance and I would rather spend the saved money on Shoes.

jsutkeepspining

i do the same thing. keo classics ftw

Myosmith

I look for good deals on anything so I don't consider finding bargains on high quality stuff "cheaping out". I will cheap out on jerseys, water bottle holders ($5 aluminum from LBS, never lost a bottle due to cage failure yet), sunglasses (I use tinted safety glasses from the local big box home improvement store, cost about $12-15 compared to $50+ Oakleys), road food (no Shok Bloks or Gu here, just granola bars and oatmeal raisin cookies), base layer (don't need no $40 UA, big box knock offs work just fine at $15), detergent (Woolite for darks from WalMart instead of sports washes from LBS or Sports Chain for more than twice the price), and lighting ($25 440 lumen LED flashlight on a $12 mount works just fine and uses rechargable AAA batteries).

I won't compromise on quality for bike shorts, socks, and shoes. I'm not saying I buy the most expensive and I still watch for bargains, but I won't make do with something I don't like just because it was cheap. Bike and components thereof aren't top of the line but are all good quality. I'm kinda fussy about bike/human interface like saddle, grips/tape, and pedals but again quality and what works best for me is more important than getting the most expensive bling.

wphamilton

Is a UN55 bottom bracket "cheaping out"? That's probably the relatively highest-end anything that I use for cycling.

Running shoes on platform pedals, stock saddles, clearance bin shorts and jerseys, it's all good.

triathloner

Cables and housing. I change my cables every winter, and I put on cheap ones from a site like nigaracycle, for about 10 bux I re cable my bike and never have problems. Can't imagine buying the high dollar ones anymore. I don't however recomment going as cheap as the heavy set walmart sells, complete junk. Sometimes I use cheap bar tape, it seems just fine to me for a third of the price. I don't however cheap out on brake pads, I find it's wise to spend money there.

David Bierbaum

For me, the smaller list is things I don't cheap out on. There is nothing in this list for me!

mpath

This is actually very reasonable.

I've got several of the Keos, include the carbon blade, and in all honestly, couldn't tell much of a difference beyond possibly the placebo effect. It certainly doesn't justtify the price differences, IMO, and the weight differences are there proabably only to satisfy weight weenies. And I've never, ever received a comment let alone a compliment like, "Wow, are those the carbon blades?" from any of my riding buddies.

Seattle Forrest

Clothes ... kind of. I have expensive taste in clothing (or, at least, I stick with stuff that works well for me) but I hike, climb, and backpack, so I just wear the clothes I already own that work well for mobility and standing up to the elements. No reason to spend $300 on a jersey just because it says ralpha on it when I've already got wool base layers and great jackets.

BykOfALesserGod

Helmets. I will not pay more than $20 for glorified styrofoam.

Smiziley

Socks, water bottles.