What are the industry standards for road bike components?
It seems that there is a large community of roadies online (bikeforums, roadbikereview). Just for fun, I was wondering what the majority of people choose brand-wise for their bike builds, from online reviews, etc. (no personal bias)
From what I’ve seen:
Giro helmets
Specialized/Fizik saddles
Cinelli bar tape
Velo rim tape
Continental Gatorskin tires
Zipp wheelsets
Thomson seatpost
More suggestions? Opposing views? I’m building a bike for next summer, so it’ll be nice to know what to watch out for.
I guess it comes down to personal preference, but I guess I would like to know out of curiousity rather than for myself. Every type of cyclist has certain namebrands that they trust. For example, the Fizik Arione has had enough popularity to have ‘clones’ in the market (Nashbar GR2, Forte RS1, Douglas Apex, Sette Sonic).
Tagged with: apex • clones • curiousity • fizik arione • gr2 • helmets • namebrands • opposing views • personal bias • personal preference • popularity • rim tape • rs1 • saddles • thomson • tires • wheelsets
Filed under: Giro d’ Italia
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Don’t confuse "standards" with "popularity." There really aren’t any standards, rather just a variety of choices for different applications.
Building a bike is a great way to go if you: (a) need a custom frame, (b) have an assortment of components on hand, or (c) have a plan for the perfect bike and don’t mind incurring the much higher cost of spec’ing your own build. Otherwise, it’s preferable to just make a few desirable upgrades to an off-the-peg bike.
Also, you should really specify what your intended use is. Road bikes come in many forms, including touring bikes, recreational riders, and racers.
Giro vs Bell vs others. Choice depends on comfort first; not everyone has a head that will fit well in a Giro. Buy whichever fits your head and your wallet. Helmets need periodic replacement, so it’s not as though you’ll be stuck with the same helmet for years.
Saddles are the same way. Don’t lay out $150 for a saddle unless you KNOW it will fit you OR the retailer will allow you to exchange for another saddle once you discover you’ll never be comfortable in the first choice. Fizik are popular,,,and so are Selle Italia and Specialized.
Bar tape is a consumable. No one really cares. Just replace before it looks horrible. Fizik and Deda are worth trying. I don’t think Cinelli has anything over the cheaper store-branded bar tape.
It’s Velox rim tape. For rim tape, you basically have a choice of cloth or plastic. Cloth protects the tube just fine. Velox is cloth. Some people use plugs over the spoke openings; the advantage is that you don’t have to rip the rim tape off should you need to replace a spoke.
Gatorskins don’t go on Zipp wheels. Apples and Broccoli.
Thompson seatposts. If you want aluminum, Thompson makes a good, light product. If you want carbon, you’ll have to go elsewhere.