I’ve had the zoom brakes on my bike for a year now they are great absolutely nothing wrong with them the stopping power is still the same no oil leaks over all I recommend these
Exactly. I'd never buy cheap hydraulic brakes, but I have no experience with them and they might be perfectly fine, I just wouldn't personally risk it. Same with carbon seatposts, although carbon handlebars I'd say are safe, if you at least get one with a name on it.
But I’ve seen brand names suffer catastrophic failures while out on the trails so that’s really a false argument. For the kind of riding I do, I can afford to take that chance. Alas there are some things that I would never skimp on, one of them being the brakes and the boots.
that exact wake stem and those floating 200mm rotors and the 780mm cheapie bars ive used on 3 different AM bikes and I put those 3 bikes through a lot of hard core black diamond DH runs at Mammoth park, and Snow Valley and Snow Summit and ive never had a single problem remember band name doesnt mean squat, because in reality thats what they are paying before they mark them 5,000 percent
"You get what you pay for" is an absolute fallacy. It's all about shopping around and actually evaluating what you're about to buy. Plenty of expensive garbage and cheap diamonds around, you just need to find it. And for people who have no desire or time to shop, buying the popular stuff is usually a much better bet than just paying more.
I got some ixf cranks that have worked awesome for over a year, a JGBike chainring still running strong and probably my biggest dice roll that worked out was some beautiful Chinese carbon wheelset I picked up for dirt cheap! Absolutely love all the parts mentioned!
The tricky thing is a lot of the parts do come from the same building, but they don't use the same staff/materials/QC. A frame could be welded by an experienced welder, using quality metals, and verified by an inspector sent to the factory by the brand that ordered it. Whereas the generic frame was welded by an apprentice, with cheaper tubes, and maybe given a quick glace before getting pack up. It's a bit of a dice roll.
I have the Wake stem and a few other non brand items. I’ve learned that many of the “high” end parts are made by the same companies in China. What would I not skimp on? Anything that has bearings like bottom brackets, hubs, and things f that sort. Besides the Wake stem, I bought. P90 carbon handlebar, an Action crank set with an oval crank, and not so cheap or off brand, a Suntour Epixon Air Fork. This was all to upgrade my very basic GT Aggressor Pro and converting it to a 1X 8.
I think that the wake stems are fine because it's a small solid part but something like a pare of really cheap handlebars seem to be really light and they might snap
I've had good luck with the wake stems and bars. Have both on 2 bikes, one ht, one fs, for the last 2 years. Things to remember, don't over tighten, I use blue thread lock on most all nuts and bolts, after crashes - inspect parts for damage and replace when necessary. Any riding I can handle, so can these parts, at least so far. Cheap forks just haven't worked for me. Ability to find parts and rebuild kits works better for me than total replacement when failure occurs. Truth be told, I love cheap things that work, but, truly appreciate the high end stuff. Mr. Wallet has final say on my bike parts purchases...
humm..I would say this would only go for people building from frame up.I dont know why anyone would get cheaper "iffy" parts to replace OEM parts already on a pre built bike? AND I just paused the video around the 4:20 mark. Ive wondered the same thing..What is the difference in the cheaper parts vs expensive? Names? Quality? I bet in most cases its just the name...ok and maybe an oz here or there. Im willing to bet that people are drawn to names and colors more than anything. AND this goes all the way to cars,shoes,clothes,razors,bikes,stereo equipment,etc etc etc...Nice video Gene
I tend to buy a good to medium quality second hand part over a ebay/amazon no name part. For example, if that stem cracks when torqued correctly or if those bars buckle, what is the after sales/warranty support? Probably nill. So in that case a second hand stem from a known brand is safer in my eyes than a new but unquantified one. great video as always Gene and a great question.
I'm a roadie but fancied building a mountain bike up from an old GT frame that I had. I'm coastal with very few hard trails, these parts for what I want are brilliant. Buy crap, buy twice yes... But also buy something's cheap and of you use it enough and it feels then buy the best quality you can the next time
I think it all about how you ride. If you do more dangerous stuff (jumps, higher speed rugged knarly rock gardens, etc )which by its nature , is more taxing on components, I would not go cheap. It you do more basic trail riding ( typical xx stuff) in a non aggressive mode, go cheap. All the guys that talked about getting hurt if components fail are making a lot of sense.
Cheap chinese stem 50mm alloy, zero rise: KRSEC BRAND. Ridden for 4 years, and has withstood multiple crashes. Works flawlessly and no stripped bolts! Paid $20. Highly recomended. It can be bought on ebay.
I wouldn’t skimp on anything if it were to break I would have a catastrophic failure. Stem is probably something I wouldn’t skimp on. One of the areas low cost parts skimp on is material - not all alloys are the same. Another area is machining time - if machined, some may be cast parts or finish machined from a forging. Hardware is another area, you can’t expect high tensile strength stainless bolts from a $6 stem.
I had the zoom brakes but now i have hopetech master x2 brakes and i will admit while i was using them, they worked absolutely fine, didn't have 1 problem with them.
Not sure I'd go for cheap brakes as they are rather a key component. I am a bit of a skinflint in other places though; the rear tyre on my hardtail is the one that came on the front of it. Took it off because it was a bit bald and put a Minion on it (as well as the back - both hand-me-downs from my other bike). When the rear Minion gave in, I put the aforementioned front tyre on the rear, despite it being pretty bald, having done about 3k miles. My 'justification' is that the rear doesn't need much tread as it just follows where the front goes although I kind of got a bit caught out at the weekend, riding the steep, wet and muddy trails at Eastridge (Shropshire, UK) 😃
As someone who has worked on and around the factories, has talked with quality control employees that inspect the products ordered from these factories and has bought cheap items for years. I'd say just because they come out of the factory doesn't mean they're the same parts with the same quality. Factories try to make cheap stuff to maximize profits. If nobodies watching they will cut corners and use cheaper materials. There isn't government oversight. They aren't worried about being sued for poor quality.
That is a very tough call in many cases. If I'm building up a cool kids bike, then I'd throw all the cheap parts at it, unless that kid is a ripper. If it's a cockpit item, then my anxiety can't handle it. I need to know my stem and bars are not going to fail me. This is why I don't run carbon bars for example. I have had disastrous experiences with non-brand-name brake pads and rotors, so I'm basically a lifer when it comes to Shimano stopping hardware. But non-critical items like valve-stems, bar ends, and top cap, I'm all for the cheap color coded stuff. I have also had too many friends with cheap pedals have failures in the field, and I gravitate towards longer more rural rides.. So.. Reliability is just too important to cheap out. Forks and more complex suspension items are another level. I can't imagine that some aftermarket knockoff has the same internals as RockShox/Fox. I have disassembled low-end forks and it's a disaster in there. I'd go with SR-Suntour long before I'd go with some no-name knock-off. But if the bike is not for 'serious' MTB usage, then I feel free to cheap out, especially if the looks are important. But... At the end of the day, it's more important to get out on something cheap than it is to stay on the couch due to the price of bikes and parts.. So go cheap.. Buy some tools.. Fail, succeed, learn.. It will be an adventure just as long as you get outside. So go ride your bike and quit worrying about it..
My personal experience with Zoom brakes on a mountain bike is that they are awesome - indistinguishable from comparable Shimano brakes. Even better - the 4-piston Zoom brakes that only cost $30 more than the 2-piston. They have serious stopping power, and I just added the 4-piston Zooms to my e-MTB as a nice upgrade.
@@rgmtb Not everyone is cut out to work with ordering on Alibaba, but I have some regular vendors that I deal with there. I just received a set of 4-piston Zoom hydraulic brakes (Model HB-876), brand new, for $47 before shipping costs (which were nominal). These brakes sell for about $90 on Amazon - still a great deal on 4-piston brakes.
Hey man, do the 4-piston zooms use the same reservoir/lever setup as the single pistons? Could you theoretically just upgrade the calipers and rebleed if you already have the single piston variants? In the images they seem to use indistinguishable reservoirs!
@@parskyyyy Yes, they use the same lever setup. And yes, you can just upgrade the calipers. It's not theoretical. I've done it, with only good results.
@@larrygross1248 Thank you so much for your quick response! I'm definitely swapping the calipers on my Vsett 10+ then! Have a great day and stay safe! ✌️
I run Wake Stems on light trail bikes/budget builds. The Wake is just a copy of the Funn Funduro stem. It's one of the lowest stack height stems available and if you pick up a secondhand fork the steerer could be cut too short. A lot of the times this stem with save the day. For 9 dollars is hard to beat and I haven't had one fail yet.
Some parts I am willing to go cheap on: Chains, they are heavier but not by much. And performance is not reduced enough. I've tried Kmc Dlc chains when chains were out of stock most places for some reason years ago, but I did not find any difference in durability, longevity, mabye there was some difference but not enough. There are decent handlebars and stems. 6000 and 7000 series aluminium that can handle a lot. So if you have to save buy alu handlebar from any decent brand. I've tried these: Race Face Turbine 31.8, Bontrager race lite 31.8, and cheaper 6000 series Bontrager that came on my old bike. Look for deals on tyres. You might find some decent tyres. As for saddle Fabric Scoop was a really good value, especially at a high discount, I bought 4, so I have spare in case I smash a saddle, it cna happen. But they they can seperate at the tip, but glue can fix that. But durable construction, no wood screws to pop out. I see SDG. Nukeproof have same tech. Same type of construction. This seems to be becoming a common saddle type. So nice to see more options.
Well my “cheapo” Brake Discs,Chainring, QR skewers,Stem and Handlebars all from Amazon have stood the test of time for nearly two years now, and I think that they are good 👍😄so I recommend them !
I’ve skimped on corki rotors you showed in the beginning. Same color too. I paired them with knock-off shimano MT200 from JGBike brand and there’s very little difference in stopping power vs tektro brakes found on entry level MTB’s from your LBS. For the average rider, it’s more than enough. If you are not an entry-level rider or casual rider, you have no business clicking on this video. Go shred on your $700 set of Magura MT7 PRO’s. I know I will. 😎
If you just want ya bike to "look good" - then fit what ya like On the other hand if you ride a bike hard enough to brake thing off it, you might want higher grade metals and workmanship and quality control I've broken 4 sets of bars.. all were brand name, I know how much force it took to brake them with cheap parts you have no idea what pressure they can take, til they fail on you I learnt the hard way.. but alas, most folks will never find out
I’d go cheap on all the consumables. As in the entire drive train (with maybe the exception of the deraileur). I’d cheap out on the dropper post and the rims, handle bar and stem. Same with the crank arms and peddles.
This seems to be the battle for all building a budget minded bike. I personally have the wake bars and stem on my bike, as well as some cheap JG bike cranks and love them, but as I find more trails with bigger jumps and I get back to more of my BMX roots style riding, I do ask myself quite often "will this break if I land too hard?" I have yet to see any "consequences" from buying these cheap parts & they seem to be of decent quality, but as many have mentioned, you should be bolt checking your bike prior to riding and not overtighten these or any parts. When it comes to most parts, the first thing I do is search marketplace for higher end used parts that could maybe use a rebuild. Nice thing about the higher end parts is exactly that, you can find rebuild or service kits. So when it comes to brakes, fork, shifter etc. I chose used name brand (Tektro, SR Suntour, Shimano Deore) and they were acquired for what I would say is cheap, but needed a bit of love. I find nothing wrong with certain cheap parts, but you should choose wisely and ask yourself as I did, "would I rather be riding or fixing this part because I tried to save a few bucks". On a side note, every company you love was small and cheap at one point in their cycle, so who knows, the "cheap" company of today could be the "high end" company of tomorrow!
Great point me Gene. I have some eBay parts on my bikes. Imas a mechanic I think I am taking a calculated risk on my own bikes. Plus I am careful. Great topic and each individual needs to decide on their own. True to your point. A regular guy like you and me. We will look to save some bucks.
I have those same zoom brakes, and for average green trails or commuting they are acceptable. For anything beyond that I'd splurge on brakes. Brakes are one of those things I've had cook during racing and it's scary. But for the price on my commuter bike the zoom brakes are great. On an actual mtb doing blues and above I'm gonna plug my favorites the Hayes dominion and Shimano XT, I look forward to the day of great cheap brakes but right now I'd only call them ok.
I 100% agree with you on this! For a different kind of bike I would have no problem with these brakes. They're just not powerful enough for mountain biking.
I've seen them snapped bars too, also seen varied quality some had big and sharp burrs you cna cut hands on and even cut the bars on if carbon they would snap, but some got lucky with stems and got smooth ones, this depends on if the tool is worn out that makes the stem, the problem is they use the tool for too long not replacing it before it makes trouble. Also they are probably made of cheapest aluminium, and who knows what random material they are made of. I would not risk it, plenty of of info on wake stems and bars.
I think it really depends how a person is going to ride their bike. If they are aggressive and doing a lot of jumps and going fast downhill on a mountain…it is not smart to go cheap on parts when placing the bike under so much stress. If someone is just doing trail riding on easy trails and enjoying riding their bike for exercise, buying cheaper parts probably will work because those parts were probably designed for that type of riding.
Zoom rotors: These rotors seem to be rebranded or copy, I know Clarks have rotors looking like it, but rebranding is quite common. but I suspect the cooling won't be as good as on Hope, cus they have more and smaller venting holes, they might also be more flexible, but they will be better than stock rotors on most cheap bikes, and resin only rotors. I see BrakeStuff have regular non floating rotors, with tiny venting holes, the rotors are thicker too, so cooling should be good, and less prone to warping, but they also do custom rotors, so you could have RGMTB sign machined into the rotor. So I am curious how they perform. it will be heavier for sure, but no rivets that will get creaky after few years of use. I forgot the price. but I share it cus it's interesting.
My issue would be the longevity of these anodised parts. I suspect the blingy red finish to look decidedly orange and tainted after 12 months. I'm embracing on my 3rd cheap ebike build and will be buying some Zoom brakes, amongst other budget components. I am going to stick to buying black though.
I've not had these long enough to say if the color holds up but black is always a safe way to go. Interesting about the ebike builds. So are you just getting normal bikes and using a hub motor?
I ordered Shimano M51000 11-51T HG cassette it was the only cassette I could get in Norway that was a big cassette, no matter the mounting standard. and it was the only one, I ordered two, but they checked they actually only had one in stock. I but I will continue to test SunRace but with M6100 SGS for a while to see it will be, to conclude my review of Box One X-WIde and the Sun Race cassette. and the I will use the M5100 cassette and see how it compares. I want to see if I will continue to get bent cogs, and if Box Rd had anything to do with it, probably not, but I will see how shifting is during riding. I see some rear derailleurs from both Sram and Shimano are back in stock in low numbers. but there will be more coming in July. but the cassettes I've been told won't come before end of summer.
Secondhand market is pretty good in Norway 🇳🇴, bit less now cus of corona virus. But I can get fox rockshox forks second hand for decent price. But if someone is desperate to get rid of something price can be insanely low. Not common but happens. But mostly prices are pretty good. But finding drivetrain parts was never easy as msot wear those out. But if they did not use them or they have drivetrain parts or even cockpit parts they don't need anymore you can get high end stuff for decent price. Fox and Rockshox forks are easy to get every year. Fox 36 factory, various fox 32 are the most common forks. I won't have an issue getting fork for future build if I want to build a xc bike, trail bike, enduro bike, but getting a frame that fits is impossible as I want sizing of Large Geometron G1. 26er forks are common, and can get them cheap even a Sid World Cup for about twise the price of one of those junk copy cat forks. 😁 So building kids or small bike is easier now with good suspension for 26er bikes.
I tried the Zoom Hb-875 Hydraulik Brakes for 35€ for front and rear on my Hardtail. They are way better than the Shimano brakes from my best friend. They feel very nice with a precise brakepoint. Love them. The Suntour Epixon fork i bought went straight back, it had jiggling legs.
I challenge you to refresh an old/neglected mountain bike using only "cheap/no-name" parts. I'll build one too, and at the end, we ride each other's bikes, score them based on function/weight/style/modernization and total price. In the end, someone wins and the other one has to donate $100 to a cycling-related charity.
I wouldn't skip money on important and heavily abused parts like breaks, suspension and bearings. Stems, cranks and so on can be cheap. But for example I used cheap bearings and my old bb lasted for 8 years and the cheap bb lasted half a year. On breaks and suspension I would try to find something used. I got a good fork for 100 bucks that was 380 bucks new.
different materials, different quality control, more advanced manufacturing methods, country it's manufactured in. the most expensive brake is Trickstuff Maxima, they make it in Germany, so the price is a lot higher just cus of that, and they manufacture and inspect each brake, even dremel the master cylinder hole to make sure it's perfect, test it before it's shipped to you, so you get a brake that works and clean and tested. they use a strogner hydraulic hose. anodized parts, instead of painted. titanium hardware, and so on. but with cheap shimano brakes you might get bunch of leaking brakes, like I did. 4 warranty replacements that leaked, so I just gave up. one of the reasons some call it shitmano as a joke. The brakes I had issues with were m615, m396, M6000. leak at master cylinder seal, caliper seals. if they were tested properly they would have failed the test.
I dont do compromise on the breaks any more...Had Tektro, XT and the best breaks that works for me is the Magura MT7 with 203 rotors F/B for the same feling and byte.....
Hey Gene, all those parts you mentioned have been a staple of another channel I follow called wolftick videos. Zoom, wake and even those forks have been tested on his GT and multiple schwinn bikes he buys and tests on diamond trails he rides. Check them out.
I bought a 2017 GT Avalanche Comp with a worn out drivetrain for $250 and doing a frame up build on it using mainly aliexpress and pinkbike: Aliexpress parts: - LTWOO AX11 1x11 11-50T drivetrain with zrace cassette, chain, chainring (check Trybo youtube channel for review) - IXF hollowtech knockoff cranks - Wake stem and alloy bars as shown in this video - Crank bros pedals w/sealed bearings (re-using from another build) - Schwalbe Super Moto X tires off pinkbike - Suntour Raidon takeoff brand new off pinkbike (I would never use a Cheap BALONEY or similar fork - they break and you are likely to get hurt) - Jalco wheelset off a Devinci Django, like new takeoffs from local marketplace ad (bit of an upgrade from the GT wheelset) - re-used GT seatpost and deore hyd brakes - 1 can of grey metallic vinyl dip sprray paint (frame was ugly color) Brand new looking bike with a 1x drivetrain for about $1000...compare to brand name bike similar specs is $2k easy CAD
For me it depends on what purpose of what I am doing. If it's something I am taking to a bike park or hitting big jumps I am going to go with something that tends to have a warranty since it's going to take a lot of abuse. Things like tire valves, etc can be cheaped on any bike. If it's XC/downcountry then sky's the limit on what I will run, whatever is absolutely cheapest or looks cool with decent reviews. Where I tend to go cheap the most is riding attire. No reason to spend 130 on a pair of fancy riding shorts when I can get something for $19.
Here are some cheap frames. Dartmoor Hornet, 64 head tube angle, largest frame is at 480mm. 254.09 euro Mor eof a enduro oriented frame. Dartmoor primal 27.5 and 29 version. It's a more trail oriented frame. Not super cheap but still not pricy.: Ragley Martley at £349.99 I don't have any experience with thse. I only share these cus they look robust and are quite cheap.but no clue on tolerances, manufacturing methods.
The zoom breaks are tricky to bleed. I bought them for a budget build and yeah front is nice but has fluid by the bolt the rear stays squishy no matter what. I rode them but not in a trail yet. But maybe I’m gonna change out of them.
@@rgmtb yeah the breaks when just to feather them. There is like a gray space where nothing happens. Ya gotta just squeeze like a must stop to figure them out. Other then trying that feather the break it will be sketchy sense of no breaks. Hits ya going down a hill.
I dotn skimp on performance, durability, longevity on anything. For me that's not good idea. As I would destroy garbage parts. But that does not mean you can't get cheaper and decent components. Also going secondhand is a good idea. I've got sunrace cassette , absolute black oval chainring, Renthal stem second hand. All were in good shape unused chain ring. 👌 Stem was at a decent price. But I got lucky i grabbed it as soon as it came.
Idk I like the prices of these parts but with all my bikes I just like full hope parts or atleast a known cheaper brand maybe I should give the aftermarket parts a try 🤷🏼♂️🤔
Go cheap on saddles. A €16 one I got is one of the best I have, and no issues after jumping on/off and crashing during CX. This was "German website" cheap, not "Chinese website" cheap, if that makes a difference. Bars I wouldn't skimp on. Cassettes or chain rings sure, I might try it on a bike that's just for "fun"
Some cheap parts from brands like Bucklos are phenomenal for what you pay. Just as good as big brand counterparts. I bought my son some cheap 120mm Bucklos air forks and they ride better than my Fox 38s. I wouldn't trust them on double black diamond but for XC they surprised the shit out of me. They are far better than they should be. Simple cheap China aluminum parts like headsets and cranksets are damn near as good as what you will get by paying 5 x more for a big name brand. Many of these parts are probably made in the same factories and exact same aluminum. Even budget bike store bikes use unstamped low end big brand wheelsets , headsets and other parts. They will literally be the exact same Shimano wheelset without the name stamp. The biking industry like all industry use tricks to get you to pay more for nothing but a name on the product.
@@rgmtb I would recommend ordering two of them to hedge your bets. The quality is hit or miss with these forks so you want to make sure you get a good one, just return the one you don't need. They are ridiculously good for the price. The only complaint I have with mine is a little bit of stiction but I seem to have that issue on every single fork I've ever owned to some degree.
Budget parts are used in mid trails budget parts can’t do downhill like. I would not cheap out on breaks and bars. Now break pads yeah cheapo tubes yes I use tubes. Where ever a sale is. Grips no cheap move there. Saddle a must. But would say a lot of budget parts do work.
I already cut corners on non-essential and non-structural parts (valves, inner tubes, bottle mounts, seat-post collars...). I would not cut corners on brakes or forks (or anything structural). First, I trust my health (and ultimately my life) on my bike, and I have only one body. Besides I am not rich enough to experiment with cheap low-quality components. When I buy something, I want it to function as long as possible and not buy the same stuf twice if unnecessary. Also I do not buy anything premium because: 1) I am nor rich; 2) Second or third tier stuff work as good as „premium“; 3) Brands and nice components are cool part of MTB but they should not be the goal themselves. Cheers!😉
Ouch!!! OK, now let me ask you a very fair question. Did you do more than the frame was designed for or did the frame not hold up it's end of the deal? I've been asked how big of drops will my Pumpkin bike handle. I'm NOT dropping that bike! The frame is not ment for that kind of riding. Could you comment?
For dropper post bikeyoke Divine is a great value, but there ar e probably other good posts out there. I got mine for 40 or 50% off I think think it was a Xmas sale. But it already was good value.
I think cheap is a relative term. What's cheap to us in the US is definitely not cheap in China. There are many guys on RUclips doing tests on cheap carbon handle bars and they perform as well or even better than some American brands.
Keep in mind that even a big brand does not mean its good. Shimano brakes that leak Trek bikes with various absurd problems. These are just two examples. I've had 2014 Trek Fuel ex, it had over tightened bolt, probably tightened using a electric screwdriver way past 10nm, one nut came loose it was under tightened. Too flexy frame set. Hanger bent on every ride. Bad selection of parts. A Vitus is a much better value now for example and for less money Shimano M552 cranks, spider bent and it bent the strong raceface chainring i out on, I ha dto of same bike pedal fell off same crank model too. That happen twice, eventually I combined the crank from each bike until I got proper cranks. Shimano M615 brake sleaked and eventually got bent cover and internal plate holding the seal, threads in lever body for bolt holding it on failed so they leaked, the seals in caliper leaked too. 3 sets of. 615 brakes and a set of 396 leaked before warrant yperiod was up. M396 had same thread issue and leaked same spots, used only few rides on spare bike the 3 others were use used more, I got m6000 as warranty replacement, all of them leaked some took few months some few weeks some few minutes. And 2 years after I sent some brakes in still no answer, and I sold it as spares along with some too small shorts and bike parts, cus a guy needed the hoses.
I see there ar emore good value hubs and wheelset sout there now. Nukeproof horizon v2, Spank Hex hub. Higher engagement than Chris king on both. Price on Hex is lower than Hope pro4 so better value i guess.
drivetrain is one of the areas you can save a lot of money on. no need to get the most expensive stuff, and some of it is not even that great. Box One X-Wide was a disappointment. bushings wear out in few tens of kilometers. so swapping those that often is way too often, I am still working on finish up the review. but I got Shimano Deore M6100 SGS 12 speed Rd on my bike now. Chain: you don't need the most expensive chain, I go for the cheapest chain I can get. I've tried the KMC DLC chain and it did not make much difference., and it had a hefty price tag, I can't recommend it.
I'd skimp on grips and pedals. You have to factor in maybe they do wear out sooner but how much sooner than the quality part. I don't think people realise a lot of frames are also made in the same factories. I buy cheap batteries they don't last anywhere near as long as the top brand but I get 4 times the quantity of cheapos for a quarter of the price of top duracell ones. This is the same for bike parts, unfortunately mtbers are fashion oriented and have to have the best branding.
there are cheap frames, forks and other components that are decent, if you are smart about it you can build a 1000 dollar hardtail, especially if you buy secondhand, in Norway getting secondhand forks is easy, especially fox 36, usually 5000-12.000 depending how old, and condition and how desperate the person is, and which model, so still pricy, and 32, and rock Shox Pike, Lyrik, usually those tend to be cheaper, and various xc forks. so I can get a cheap xc fork that is worth new as much as 5 or 10 cheap junk copy cat forks for the price of one of them. like 500-2000 Nok for a basic xc fork. and for 26er bike you can get a Rockshox sid world cup for example for the price of a low end fork. and basic low end Rock Shox forks for 100-600 NOK. so not pricy at all. but getting frame in my size is nearly impossible. drivetrain parts are rare, most very old stuff, which I sold some of. but if you don't have to have as big bike as me you are have more options. so until long reach and modern geo becomes very common, I won't be able to get cheap second hand bike. but I got some sweet stuff secondhand. I will see what else I can get this summer, still not much of good parts, not summer yet. that's when most parts come or at the start of winter.
I have That same wake Steam but on black... Its Nice looking and its a Steam só it does the function of holding the bars as it should... In 4 years and on a bit of a Next to Water salty environment the iron bolts are still ok... Só yeah some of these só called cheap parts are a deal even for a bit better MTB... I believe the most parts do the job for a normal use of a xc or trail recreative use and they are an option since the branded parts are getting e even more expensive... Some of these parts are not That far from the quality of heir branded counterparts at least in some cases... I also have a 10v chinese cassete wich works very similar to a deore One and its not lasting less time That the other Shimano That i got... And in price this was 3 Times cheaper...
It really depends on the bike and it's intended purpose. I'm leary of cheap chinese carbon, especially handlebars. I like my face too much perhaps. I think a lot of the difference in products though is quality control. Off brand products really have no oversight and you can be in for a bad day, such as carbon. Big name branded carbon can fail from defects, so imagine the potential for off branded carbon with little to no qc. The Zoom brakes and most things are probably fine for zero to middle of the road trail use. Case in point being the difference between my Avid single piston to my SRAM Guide 4 piston setup. Forks, eh. I've seen some really cheap construction, skimping on overall quality. On a fork I believe you pretty much get what you pay for. There's also the issue of sourcing service parts for rebuilds or repairs.
Fork with good support but need remote to deactivate lockout, which is a flaw. Do anyone know if this is still the case on newer Rock Shox forks? I know they did a model with a dial instead of remote. 2015 Rock Shox Recon Solo Air gold. it was much more supportive than the 32 Fox Evolution, yet with 20mm less travel. but bolt on lockout wire was soft, the lock out is needed for the fork to not be locked out, absurd Thea reversed the damper mechanism. very supportive, but came leaking lower leg oil, was covered in it, seals popped out during transit on one fork, due to bad tolerances, I could use my fingers to pop it in and out. I sold one fork already, I still have one on my old hardtail, but the plan is to build at least one more bike, transfer parts over. My review: wp.me/p60aTF-2v8
As for the stem, a machined billet is simply that and these companies that put their brand name on it doesn’t mean shit “SOMETIMES”. In this case it doesn’t matter, maybe not on the brakes if I’m going to be doing some serious down-hilling… use your “un”common sense..
Getting cheo stuff shipped from China takes several weeks, and there is added value tax of 25%and shipping cost. So might as well go for realnparts and spend slitgtly more or even same price or even cheaper and get a better product, especially if at a good deal, and will be faster to arrive.
-- 𝘾𝙇𝙄𝘾𝙆 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙂𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝘽𝙄𝙆𝙀 𝙂𝙀𝘼𝙍 --
kit.co/rgmtb
I’ve had the zoom brakes on my bike for a year now they are great absolutely nothing wrong with them the stopping power is still the same no oil leaks over all I recommend these
I’ve had them for about 2 months and at first they were great until I started hitting trails, they’re horrible and almost killed me
I ask myself this before going cheapo....”if this part catastrophically fails, could I die?”. If answer is yes, I pass.
Hahahaha! Very good advice 👍
Exactly. I'd never buy cheap hydraulic brakes, but I have no experience with them and they might be perfectly fine, I just wouldn't personally risk it. Same with carbon seatposts, although carbon handlebars I'd say are safe, if you at least get one with a name on it.
But I’ve seen brand names suffer catastrophic failures while out on the trails so that’s really a false argument. For the kind of riding I do, I can afford to take that chance. Alas there are some things that I would never skimp on, one of them being the brakes and the boots.
some unbranded cranksets from China are really good
that exact wake stem and those floating 200mm rotors and the 780mm cheapie bars ive used on 3 different AM bikes and I put those 3 bikes through a lot of hard core black diamond DH runs at Mammoth park, and Snow Valley and Snow Summit and ive never had a single problem remember band name doesnt mean squat, because in reality thats what they are paying before they mark them 5,000 percent
Good to know for sure!
"You get what you pay for" is an absolute fallacy. It's all about shopping around and actually evaluating what you're about to buy. Plenty of expensive garbage and cheap diamonds around, you just need to find it. And for people who have no desire or time to shop, buying the popular stuff is usually a much better bet than just paying more.
I got some ixf cranks that have worked awesome for over a year, a JGBike chainring still running strong and probably my biggest dice roll that worked out was some beautiful Chinese carbon wheelset I picked up for dirt cheap! Absolutely love all the parts mentioned!
The tricky thing is a lot of the parts do come from the same building, but they don't use the same staff/materials/QC.
A frame could be welded by an experienced welder, using quality metals, and verified by an inspector sent to the factory by the brand that ordered it. Whereas the generic frame was welded by an apprentice, with cheaper tubes, and maybe given a quick glace before getting pack up.
It's a bit of a dice roll.
Why did you quit uploading
I have the Wake stem and a few other non brand items. I’ve learned that many of the “high” end parts are made by the same companies in China. What would I not skimp on? Anything that has bearings like bottom brackets, hubs, and things f that sort. Besides the Wake stem, I bought. P90 carbon handlebar, an Action crank set with an oval crank, and not so cheap or off brand, a Suntour Epixon Air Fork. This was all to upgrade my very basic GT Aggressor Pro and converting it to a 1X 8.
I think that the wake stems are fine because it's a small solid part but something like a pare of really cheap handlebars seem to be really light and they might snap
I've had good luck with the wake stems and bars. Have both on 2 bikes, one ht, one fs, for the last 2 years. Things to remember, don't over tighten, I use blue thread lock on most all nuts and bolts, after crashes - inspect parts for damage and replace when necessary. Any riding I can handle, so can these parts, at least so far. Cheap forks just haven't worked for me. Ability to find parts and rebuild kits works better for me than total replacement when failure occurs. Truth be told, I love cheap things that work, but, truly appreciate the high end stuff. Mr. Wallet has final say on my bike parts purchases...
humm..I would say this would only go for people building from frame up.I dont know why anyone would get cheaper "iffy" parts to replace OEM parts already on a pre built bike? AND I just paused the video around the 4:20 mark. Ive wondered the same thing..What is the difference in the cheaper parts vs expensive? Names? Quality? I bet in most cases its just the name...ok and maybe an oz here or there. Im willing to bet that people are drawn to names and colors more than anything. AND this goes all the way to cars,shoes,clothes,razors,bikes,stereo equipment,etc etc etc...Nice video Gene
I tend to buy a good to medium quality second hand part over a ebay/amazon no name part. For example, if that stem cracks when torqued correctly or if those bars buckle, what is the after sales/warranty support? Probably nill. So in that case a second hand stem from a known brand is safer in my eyes than a new but unquantified one. great video as always Gene and a great question.
Very true. You're on your own if these cheap parts break for sure.
The best rule of thumb If the part fails catastrophicly would you get extremely hurt that’s how I figure out if I would cheap out
I'm a roadie but fancied building a mountain bike up from an old GT frame that I had. I'm coastal with very few hard trails, these parts for what I want are brilliant. Buy crap, buy twice yes... But also buy something's cheap and of you use it enough and it feels then buy the best quality you can the next time
A couple of items i would buy the el-cheapo:
- Bottle cages (2x 'carbon' from ali express)
- Tools (chain tools, picks, multi tools etc)
- Lights (for the winter)
- Heartrate monitor (Magene H64)
- Cadence sensor (Magene S3)
- Valve caps
- Tie wraps
- Shock pump (Giyo GS-02D)
- Mudgard
I think it all about how you ride. If you do more dangerous stuff (jumps, higher speed rugged knarly rock gardens, etc )which by its nature , is more taxing on components, I would not go cheap. It you do more basic trail riding ( typical xx stuff) in a non aggressive mode, go cheap. All the guys that talked about getting hurt if components fail are making a lot of sense.
Cheap chinese stem 50mm alloy, zero rise: KRSEC BRAND. Ridden for 4 years, and has withstood multiple crashes. Works flawlessly and no stripped bolts! Paid $20. Highly recomended. It can be bought on ebay.
I wouldn’t skimp on anything if it were to break I would have a catastrophic failure. Stem is probably something I wouldn’t skimp on. One of the areas low cost parts skimp on is material - not all alloys are the same. Another area is machining time - if machined, some may be cast parts or finish machined from a forging. Hardware is another area, you can’t expect high tensile strength stainless bolts from a $6 stem.
I had the zoom brakes but now i have hopetech master x2 brakes and i will admit while i was using them, they worked absolutely fine, didn't have 1 problem with them.
Not sure I'd go for cheap brakes as they are rather a key component. I am a bit of a skinflint in other places though; the rear tyre on my hardtail is the one that came on the front of it. Took it off because it was a bit bald and put a Minion on it (as well as the back - both hand-me-downs from my other bike). When the rear Minion gave in, I put the aforementioned front tyre on the rear, despite it being pretty bald, having done about 3k miles.
My 'justification' is that the rear doesn't need much tread as it just follows where the front goes although I kind of got a bit caught out at the weekend, riding the steep, wet and muddy trails at Eastridge (Shropshire, UK) 😃
As someone who has worked on and around the factories, has talked with quality control employees that inspect the products ordered from these factories and has bought cheap items for years. I'd say just because they come out of the factory doesn't mean they're the same parts with the same quality. Factories try to make cheap stuff to maximize profits. If nobodies watching they will cut corners and use cheaper materials. There isn't government oversight. They aren't worried about being sued for poor quality.
That is a very tough call in many cases. If I'm building up a cool kids bike, then I'd throw all the cheap parts at it, unless that kid is a ripper.
If it's a cockpit item, then my anxiety can't handle it. I need to know my stem and bars are not going to fail me. This is why I don't run carbon bars for example.
I have had disastrous experiences with non-brand-name brake pads and rotors, so I'm basically a lifer when it comes to Shimano stopping hardware.
But non-critical items like valve-stems, bar ends, and top cap, I'm all for the cheap color coded stuff.
I have also had too many friends with cheap pedals have failures in the field, and I gravitate towards longer more rural rides.. So.. Reliability is just too important to cheap out.
Forks and more complex suspension items are another level. I can't imagine that some aftermarket knockoff has the same internals as RockShox/Fox. I have disassembled low-end forks and it's a disaster in there. I'd go with SR-Suntour long before I'd go with some no-name knock-off.
But if the bike is not for 'serious' MTB usage, then I feel free to cheap out, especially if the looks are important.
But... At the end of the day, it's more important to get out on something cheap than it is to stay on the couch due to the price of bikes and parts.. So go cheap.. Buy some tools.. Fail, succeed, learn.. It will be an adventure just as long as you get outside. So go ride your bike and quit worrying about it..
Excellent feedback man 👍
My personal experience with Zoom brakes on a mountain bike is that they are awesome - indistinguishable from comparable Shimano brakes. Even better - the 4-piston Zoom brakes that only cost $30 more than the 2-piston. They have serious stopping power, and I just added the 4-piston Zooms to my e-MTB as a nice upgrade.
That's really good to know. I'll have to check out the 4 piston version.
@@rgmtb Not everyone is cut out to work with ordering on Alibaba, but I have some regular vendors that I deal with there.
I just received a set of 4-piston Zoom hydraulic brakes (Model HB-876), brand new, for $47 before shipping costs (which were nominal). These brakes sell for about $90 on Amazon - still a great deal on 4-piston brakes.
Hey man, do the 4-piston zooms use the same reservoir/lever setup as the single pistons? Could you theoretically just upgrade the calipers and rebleed if you already have the single piston variants? In the images they seem to use indistinguishable reservoirs!
@@parskyyyy Yes, they use the same lever setup. And yes, you can just upgrade the calipers. It's not theoretical. I've done it, with only good results.
@@larrygross1248 Thank you so much for your quick response! I'm definitely swapping the calipers on my Vsett 10+ then! Have a great day and stay safe! ✌️
Any recommendation for nice budget disc rotors? That won’t bend or snap, with good braking ?
I run Wake Stems on light trail bikes/budget builds. The Wake is just a copy of the Funn Funduro stem. It's one of the lowest stack height stems available and if you pick up a secondhand fork the steerer could be cut too short. A lot of the times this stem with save the day. For 9 dollars is hard to beat and I haven't had one fail yet.
Good to know about the height. That's a good bit of info to have if I get snagged with a short steerer tube.
Some parts I am willing to go cheap on:
Chains, they are heavier but not by much. And performance is not reduced enough. I've tried Kmc Dlc chains when chains were out of stock most places for some reason years ago, but I did not find any difference in durability, longevity, mabye there was some difference but not enough.
There are decent handlebars and stems. 6000 and 7000 series aluminium that can handle a lot. So if you have to save buy alu handlebar from any decent brand. I've tried these: Race Face Turbine 31.8, Bontrager race lite 31.8, and cheaper 6000 series Bontrager that came on my old bike.
Look for deals on tyres. You might find some decent tyres.
As for saddle Fabric Scoop was a really good value, especially at a high discount, I bought 4, so I have spare in case I smash a saddle, it cna happen. But they they can seperate at the tip, but glue can fix that. But durable construction, no wood screws to pop out. I see SDG. Nukeproof have same tech. Same type of construction. This seems to be becoming a common saddle type. So nice to see more options.
I have a wake riser stem on my dirt jumper and it feels great looks great there's some components you can cut corners but parts is harder to say
scimp on the stem etc but not not on the brakes as they are quite complicate like suspension or a bike frame as they are the most important
Well my “cheapo” Brake Discs,Chainring, QR skewers,Stem and Handlebars all from Amazon have stood the test of time for nearly two years now, and I think that they are good 👍😄so I recommend them !
I’ve skimped on corki rotors you showed in the beginning. Same color too. I paired them with knock-off shimano MT200 from JGBike brand and there’s very little difference in stopping power vs tektro brakes found on entry level MTB’s from your LBS. For the average rider, it’s more than enough. If you are not an entry-level rider or casual rider, you have no business clicking on this video. Go shred on your $700 set of Magura MT7 PRO’s. I know I will. 😎
Lmaoo i skipped picked up the MT trail sport instead of grabbing the knock off shimano m7120
If you just want ya bike to "look good" - then fit what ya like
On the other hand if you ride a bike hard enough to brake thing off it, you might want higher grade metals and workmanship and quality control
I've broken 4 sets of bars.. all were brand name, I know how much force it took to brake them
with cheap parts you have no idea what pressure they can take, til they fail on you
I learnt the hard way.. but alas, most folks will never find out
I’d go cheap on all the consumables. As in the entire drive train (with maybe the exception of the deraileur). I’d cheap out on the dropper post and the rims, handle bar and stem. Same with the crank arms and peddles.
On a specialized demo 9 2010
DNM rear shock ztto group set work like a dream
This seems to be the battle for all building a budget minded bike. I personally have the wake bars and stem on my bike, as well as some cheap JG bike cranks and love them, but as I find more trails with bigger jumps and I get back to more of my BMX roots style riding, I do ask myself quite often "will this break if I land too hard?" I have yet to see any "consequences" from buying these cheap parts & they seem to be of decent quality, but as many have mentioned, you should be bolt checking your bike prior to riding and not overtighten these or any parts. When it comes to most parts, the first thing I do is search marketplace for higher end used parts that could maybe use a rebuild. Nice thing about the higher end parts is exactly that, you can find rebuild or service kits. So when it comes to brakes, fork, shifter etc. I chose used name brand (Tektro, SR Suntour, Shimano Deore) and they were acquired for what I would say is cheap, but needed a bit of love. I find nothing wrong with certain cheap parts, but you should choose wisely and ask yourself as I did, "would I rather be riding or fixing this part because I tried to save a few bucks". On a side note, every company you love was small and cheap at one point in their cycle, so who knows, the "cheap" company of today could be the "high end" company of tomorrow!
Excellent advice man 👍
Great point me Gene. I have some eBay parts on my bikes. Imas a mechanic I think I am taking a calculated risk on my own bikes. Plus I am careful. Great topic and each individual needs to decide on their own. True to your point. A regular guy like you and me. We will look to save some bucks.
I have those same zoom brakes, and for average green trails or commuting they are acceptable. For anything beyond that I'd splurge on brakes. Brakes are one of those things I've had cook during racing and it's scary. But for the price on my commuter bike the zoom brakes are great. On an actual mtb doing blues and above I'm gonna plug my favorites the Hayes dominion and Shimano XT, I look forward to the day of great cheap brakes but right now I'd only call them ok.
I 100% agree with you on this! For a different kind of bike I would have no problem with these brakes. They're just not powerful enough for mountain biking.
I’m a fan of the Wake stems. They hold up great. I have them on 4 of my bikes.
I've seen them snapped bars too, also seen varied quality some had big and sharp burrs you cna cut hands on and even cut the bars on if carbon they would snap, but some got lucky with stems and got smooth ones, this depends on if the tool is worn out that makes the stem, the problem is they use the tool for too long not replacing it before it makes trouble. Also they are probably made of cheapest aluminium, and who knows what random material they are made of. I would not risk it, plenty of of info on wake stems and bars.
I think it really depends how a person is going to ride their bike. If they are aggressive and doing a lot of jumps and going fast downhill on a mountain…it is not smart to go cheap on parts when placing the bike under so much stress. If someone is just doing trail riding on easy trails and enjoying riding their bike for exercise, buying cheaper parts probably will work because those parts were probably designed for that type of riding.
Zoom rotors:
These rotors seem to be rebranded or copy, I know Clarks have rotors looking like it, but rebranding is quite common.
but I suspect the cooling won't be as good as on Hope, cus they have more and smaller venting holes, they might also be more flexible, but they will be better than stock rotors on most cheap bikes, and resin only rotors. I see BrakeStuff have regular non floating rotors, with tiny venting holes, the rotors are thicker too, so cooling should be good, and less prone to warping, but they also do custom rotors, so you could have RGMTB sign machined into the rotor. So I am curious how they perform. it will be heavier for sure, but no rivets that will get creaky after few years of use. I forgot the price.
but I share it cus it's interesting.
My issue would be the longevity of these anodised parts. I suspect the blingy red finish to look decidedly orange and tainted after 12 months. I'm embracing on my 3rd cheap ebike build and will be buying some Zoom brakes, amongst other budget components. I am going to stick to buying black though.
I've not had these long enough to say if the color holds up but black is always a safe way to go. Interesting about the ebike builds. So are you just getting normal bikes and using a hub motor?
I ordered Shimano M51000 11-51T HG cassette it was the only cassette I could get in Norway that was a big cassette, no matter the mounting standard. and it was the only one, I ordered two, but they checked they actually only had one in stock. I but I will continue to test SunRace but with M6100 SGS for a while to see it will be, to conclude my review of Box One X-WIde and the Sun Race cassette. and the I will use the M5100 cassette and see how it compares. I want to see if I will continue to get bent cogs, and if Box Rd had anything to do with it, probably not, but I will see how shifting is during riding.
I see some rear derailleurs from both Sram and Shimano are back in stock in low numbers. but there will be more coming in July.
but the cassettes I've been told won't come before end of summer.
I've been using Wake stems for some time now. I have had no problems with them.
Had the wake stem. For searching the feels on short stem. Then decide to buy a better looking one... Lolz
By the way the "RISK" Brand titanium bolt looks so good on the stem ! Must Try ! Lolz
@@jasonlhy3263 it's a huge Risk to these you might Wake up in hospital. But seriously I would not risk that.
Secondhand market is pretty good in Norway 🇳🇴, bit less now cus of corona virus.
But I can get fox rockshox forks second hand for decent price. But if someone is desperate to get rid of something price can be insanely low. Not common but happens.
But mostly prices are pretty good.
But finding drivetrain parts was never easy as msot wear those out.
But if they did not use them or they have drivetrain parts or even cockpit parts they don't need anymore you can get high end stuff for decent price.
Fox and Rockshox forks are easy to get every year. Fox 36 factory, various fox 32 are the most common forks. I won't have an issue getting fork for future build if I want to build a xc bike, trail bike, enduro bike, but getting a frame that fits is impossible as I want sizing of Large Geometron G1.
26er forks are common, and can get them cheap even a Sid World Cup for about twise the price of one of those junk copy cat forks. 😁
So building kids or small bike is easier now with good suspension for 26er bikes.
I tried the Zoom Hb-875 Hydraulik Brakes for 35€ for front and rear on my Hardtail. They are way better than the Shimano brakes from my best friend. They feel very nice with a precise brakepoint. Love them.
The Suntour Epixon fork i bought went straight back, it had jiggling legs.
I challenge you to refresh an old/neglected mountain bike using only "cheap/no-name" parts. I'll build one too, and at the end, we ride each other's bikes, score them based on function/weight/style/modernization and total price. In the end, someone wins and the other one has to donate $100 to a cycling-related charity.
Challenge excepted! We'll talk soon and work out the details. Great idea!!!
Thanks Gene. I have the Wake stem and no issues over the year on bike. I was thinking about elliptical sprocket.
That would be something to try.
I wouldn't skip money on important and heavily abused parts like breaks, suspension and bearings. Stems, cranks and so on can be cheap. But for example I used cheap bearings and my old bb lasted for 8 years and the cheap bb lasted half a year. On breaks and suspension I would try to find something used. I got a good fork for 100 bucks that was 380 bucks new.
Dropper I think is a part tha you don’t need to spend a wireless rockshox reverb or a fox dropper for
Ive jumped with the wake stem off around a 2 meter drop multiple times and mines srill going! (Same with the wake bars)
why the brakes are too expensive (even to my country prices) in comparison with some entry level shimano models??, the stem and valve are good options
different materials, different quality control, more advanced manufacturing methods, country it's manufactured in. the most expensive brake is Trickstuff Maxima, they make it in Germany, so the price is a lot higher just cus of that, and they manufacture and inspect each brake, even dremel the master cylinder hole to make sure it's perfect, test it before it's shipped to you, so you get a brake that works and clean and tested. they use a strogner hydraulic hose. anodized parts, instead of painted. titanium hardware, and so on. but with cheap shimano brakes you might get bunch of leaking brakes, like I did. 4 warranty replacements that leaked, so I just gave up. one of the reasons some call it shitmano as a joke. The brakes I had issues with were m615, m396, M6000.
leak at master cylinder seal, caliper seals.
if they were tested properly they would have failed the test.
I dont do compromise on the breaks any more...Had Tektro, XT and the best breaks that works for me is the Magura MT7 with 203 rotors F/B for the same feling and byte.....
Hey Gene, all those parts you mentioned have been a staple of another channel I follow called wolftick videos. Zoom, wake and even those forks have been tested on his GT and multiple schwinn bikes he buys and tests on diamond trails he rides. Check them out.
Thanks man! I'll head over and see what he's doing 👍
@@rgmtb no problem! It's a father and son team and they're hilarious, you'll enjoy it lol
Which chinese Levers/Handle you recommend to match Shimano XT Caliper ? i see in aliexpress Zrace, ZTTO, ZOOM, Meroca, etc.
I bought a 2017 GT Avalanche Comp with a worn out drivetrain for $250 and doing a frame up build on it using mainly aliexpress and pinkbike: Aliexpress parts:
- LTWOO AX11 1x11 11-50T drivetrain with zrace cassette, chain, chainring (check Trybo youtube channel for review)
- IXF hollowtech knockoff cranks
- Wake stem and alloy bars as shown in this video
- Crank bros pedals w/sealed bearings (re-using from another build)
- Schwalbe Super Moto X tires off pinkbike
- Suntour Raidon takeoff brand new off pinkbike (I would never use a Cheap BALONEY or similar fork - they break and you are likely to get hurt)
- Jalco wheelset off a Devinci Django, like new takeoffs from local marketplace ad (bit of an upgrade from the GT wheelset)
- re-used GT seatpost and deore hyd brakes
- 1 can of grey metallic vinyl dip sprray paint (frame was ugly color)
Brand new looking bike with a 1x drivetrain for about $1000...compare to brand name bike similar specs is $2k easy CAD
Very cool build
For me it depends on what purpose of what I am doing. If it's something I am taking to a bike park or hitting big jumps I am going to go with something that tends to have a warranty since it's going to take a lot of abuse. Things like tire valves, etc can be cheaped on any bike. If it's XC/downcountry then sky's the limit on what I will run, whatever is absolutely cheapest or looks cool with decent reviews. Where I tend to go cheap the most is riding attire. No reason to spend 130 on a pair of fancy riding shorts when I can get something for $19.
Great points! I should have included clothing, duh 🙄 Glad you added that in 👍
Correction. Zoom brakes are dual piston, not single piston
Hi Gene, I have wake stems. They do the job bottom line. Question, which bike wall mounts are those?
Here ya go 👍
ruclips.net/video/14_wLCOHS-M/видео.html
Cheap brakes, i can fix and theyre amazing. Cheap suspension, i can fix up and theyre awesome. Cheaper items just need a little bit of work
Here are some cheap frames.
Dartmoor Hornet, 64 head tube angle, largest frame is at 480mm.
254.09 euro
Mor eof a enduro oriented frame.
Dartmoor primal 27.5 and 29 version. It's a more trail oriented frame.
Not super cheap but still not pricy.:
Ragley Martley at £349.99
I don't have any experience with thse. I only share these cus they look robust and are quite cheap.but no clue on tolerances, manufacturing methods.
The zoom breaks are tricky to bleed. I bought them for a budget build and yeah front is nice but has fluid by the bolt the rear stays squishy no matter what. I rode them but not in a trail yet. But maybe I’m gonna change out of them.
I'll keep that in mind when testing. Thank you for the feedback 👍👍
@@rgmtb yeah the breaks when just to feather them. There is like a gray space where nothing happens. Ya gotta just squeeze like a must stop to figure them out. Other then trying that feather the break it will be sketchy sense of no breaks. Hits ya going down a hill.
I dotn skimp on performance, durability, longevity on anything.
For me that's not good idea. As I would destroy garbage parts.
But that does not mean you can't get cheaper and decent components. Also going secondhand is a good idea. I've got sunrace cassette , absolute black oval chainring, Renthal stem second hand. All were in good shape unused chain ring. 👌 Stem was at a decent price. But I got lucky i grabbed it as soon as it came.
Idk I like the prices of these parts but with all my bikes I just like full hope parts or atleast a known cheaper brand maybe I should give the aftermarket parts a try 🤷🏼♂️🤔
Go cheap on saddles. A €16 one I got is one of the best I have, and no issues after jumping on/off and crashing during CX. This was "German website" cheap, not "Chinese website" cheap, if that makes a difference. Bars I wouldn't skimp on. Cassettes or chain rings sure, I might try it on a bike that's just for "fun"
I think the seat is something I'd be willing to save some cash on. Good call 👍
Some cheap parts from brands like Bucklos are phenomenal for what you pay. Just as good as big brand counterparts. I bought my son some cheap 120mm Bucklos air forks and they ride better than my Fox 38s. I wouldn't trust them on double black diamond but for XC they surprised the shit out of me. They are far better than they should be. Simple cheap China aluminum parts like headsets and cranksets are damn near as good as what you will get by paying 5 x more for a big name brand. Many of these parts are probably made in the same factories and exact same aluminum. Even budget bike store bikes use unstamped low end big brand wheelsets , headsets and other parts. They will literally be the exact same Shimano wheelset without the name stamp. The biking industry like all industry use tricks to get you to pay more for nothing but a name on the product.
I've been inching to test out one of those forks. You might have pushed me into it ;-)
@@rgmtb I would recommend ordering two of them to hedge your bets. The quality is hit or miss with these forks so you want to make sure you get a good one, just return the one you don't need. They are ridiculously good for the price. The only complaint I have with mine is a little bit of stiction but I seem to have that issue on every single fork I've ever owned to some degree.
Budget parts are used in mid trails budget parts can’t do downhill like. I would not cheap out on breaks and bars. Now break pads yeah cheapo tubes yes I use tubes. Where ever a sale is. Grips no cheap move there. Saddle a must. But would say a lot of budget parts do work.
Excellent! I can't wait to do a follow up video with all this info. You folks are bringing up stuff I never thought of!!!!
fortunately, i'm not saddle picky...so i skimp on saddles. Origin 8 has some comfy saddles in many colors for cheap.
No carbon parts. Got some valve stems and a fake absolute black oval ring . Work great
how do you know it's a fake? I've not seen fake Absolute black chainrings anywhere. was it on ebay, aliexpress or something?
I already cut corners on non-essential and non-structural parts (valves, inner tubes, bottle mounts, seat-post collars...).
I would not cut corners on brakes or forks (or anything structural). First, I trust my health (and ultimately my life) on my bike, and I have only one body. Besides I am not rich enough to experiment with cheap low-quality components. When I buy something, I want it to function as long as possible and not buy the same stuf twice if unnecessary.
Also I do not buy anything premium because: 1) I am nor rich; 2) Second or third tier stuff work as good as „premium“; 3) Brands and nice components are cool part of MTB but they should not be the goal themselves.
Cheers!😉
I would not recommend the wake handlebars as my friend has broke 2 pairs of them in the space of a year
I bouhgt a low end frame and it snapped in half
Ouch!!! OK, now let me ask you a very fair question. Did you do more than the frame was designed for or did the frame not hold up it's end of the deal? I've been asked how big of drops will my Pumpkin bike handle. I'm NOT dropping that bike! The frame is not ment for that kind of riding. Could you comment?
@@rgmtb it was a cheap chinese dj frame
Ugh, well that just sucks.
For dropper post bikeyoke Divine is a great value, but there ar e probably other good posts out there.
I got mine for 40 or 50% off I think think it was a Xmas sale. But it already was good value.
I use the same kind of brake rotors on my dh bike and it works fine..
But the brakes are maguras
If a rotor states Shimano, is it real or fake?
I realized my bike I bought used had a Wake stem...wut a POS, screws didn';t fully seat making alignment off!
I think cheap is a relative term. What's cheap to us in the US is definitely not cheap in China. There are many guys on RUclips doing tests on cheap carbon handle bars and they perform as well or even better than some American brands.
Keep in mind that even a big brand does not mean its good. Shimano brakes that leak Trek bikes with various absurd problems. These are just two examples.
I've had 2014 Trek Fuel ex, it had over tightened bolt, probably tightened using a electric screwdriver way past 10nm, one nut came loose it was under tightened.
Too flexy frame set.
Hanger bent on every ride.
Bad selection of parts. A Vitus is a much better value now for example and for less money
Shimano M552 cranks, spider bent and it bent the strong raceface chainring i out on, I ha dto of same bike pedal fell off same crank model too. That happen twice, eventually I combined the crank from each bike until I got proper cranks.
Shimano M615 brake sleaked and eventually got bent cover and internal plate holding the seal, threads in lever body for bolt holding it on failed so they leaked, the seals in caliper leaked too.
3 sets of. 615 brakes and a set of 396 leaked before warrant yperiod was up. M396 had same thread issue and leaked same spots, used only few rides on spare bike the 3 others were use used more, I got m6000 as warranty replacement, all of them leaked some took few months some few weeks some few minutes. And 2 years after I sent some brakes in still no answer, and I sold it as spares along with some too small shorts and bike parts, cus a guy needed the hoses.
A lot of parts are the same, just branded differently. I use generic parts on my bike, they work fine.
I see there ar emore good value hubs and wheelset sout there now. Nukeproof horizon v2, Spank Hex hub. Higher engagement than Chris king on both. Price on Hex is lower than Hope pro4 so better value i guess.
drivetrain is one of the areas you can save a lot of money on.
no need to get the most expensive stuff, and some of it is not even that great. Box One X-Wide was a disappointment. bushings wear out in few tens of kilometers. so swapping those that often is way too often, I am still working on finish up the review. but I got Shimano Deore M6100 SGS 12 speed Rd on my bike now.
Chain:
you don't need the most expensive chain, I go for the cheapest chain I can get.
I've tried the KMC DLC chain and it did not make much difference., and it had a hefty price tag, I can't recommend it.
I snapped a wake stem not worth the damage haha
At this moment definitely i can find AliExpress parts in my local bike shops, but at double price
I'd skimp on grips and pedals. You have to factor in maybe they do wear out sooner but how much sooner than the quality part. I don't think people realise a lot of frames are also made in the same factories. I buy cheap batteries they don't last anywhere near as long as the top brand but I get 4 times the quantity of cheapos for a quarter of the price of top duracell ones. This is the same for bike parts, unfortunately mtbers are fashion oriented and have to have the best branding.
Very good points!
there are cheap frames, forks and other components that are decent, if you are smart about it you can build a 1000 dollar hardtail, especially if you buy secondhand, in Norway getting secondhand forks is easy, especially fox 36, usually 5000-12.000 depending how old, and condition and how desperate the person is, and which model, so still pricy, and 32, and rock Shox Pike, Lyrik, usually those tend to be cheaper, and various xc forks. so I can get a cheap xc fork that is worth new as much as 5 or 10 cheap junk copy cat forks for the price of one of them. like 500-2000 Nok for a basic xc fork.
and for 26er bike you can get a Rockshox sid world cup for example for the price of a low end fork. and basic low end Rock Shox forks for 100-600 NOK. so not pricy at all.
but getting frame in my size is nearly impossible. drivetrain parts are rare, most very old stuff, which I sold some of.
but if you don't have to have as big bike as me you are have more options.
so until long reach and modern geo becomes very common, I won't be able to get cheap second hand bike.
but I got some sweet stuff secondhand. I will see what else I can get this summer, still not much of good parts, not summer yet. that's when most parts come or at the start of winter.
In my opinions out should pay more for parts that I nfluence safety
I have That same wake Steam but on black... Its Nice looking and its a Steam só it does the function of holding the bars as it should... In 4 years and on a bit of a Next to Water salty environment the iron bolts are still ok... Só yeah some of these só called cheap parts are a deal even for a bit better MTB... I believe the most parts do the job for a normal use of a xc or trail recreative use and they are an option since the branded parts are getting e even more expensive... Some of these parts are not That far from the quality of heir branded counterparts at least in some cases... I also have a 10v chinese cassete wich works very similar to a deore One and its not lasting less time That the other Shimano That i got... And in price this was 3 Times cheaper...
Don't go budget on the forks. When forks fail you get hurt, bad. Everything else is probably fine.
I have zoom breaks on my 2kw ebike while not the best they are better than originals and lasted me over 1000 miles ... And I do abuse them lol
Seems like people have good things to say about them.
@@rgmtb they aren't bad specially when you factor in the price but 2kw is probably pushing them a bit... I do need to upgrade
It really depends on the bike and it's intended purpose. I'm leary of cheap chinese carbon, especially handlebars. I like my face too much perhaps. I think a lot of the difference in products though is quality control. Off brand products really have no oversight and you can be in for a bad day, such as carbon. Big name branded carbon can fail from defects, so imagine the potential for off branded carbon with little to no qc. The Zoom brakes and most things are probably fine for zero to middle of the road trail use. Case in point being the difference between my Avid single piston to my SRAM Guide 4 piston setup. Forks, eh. I've seen some really cheap construction, skimping on overall quality. On a fork I believe you pretty much get what you pay for. There's also the issue of sourcing service parts for rebuilds or repairs.
I already do use that stem lol
Fork with good support but need remote to deactivate lockout, which is a flaw. Do anyone know if this is still the case on newer Rock Shox forks? I know they did a model with a dial instead of remote.
2015 Rock Shox Recon Solo Air gold. it was much more supportive than the 32 Fox Evolution, yet with 20mm less travel. but bolt on lockout wire was soft, the lock out is needed for the fork to not be locked out, absurd Thea reversed the damper mechanism.
very supportive, but came leaking lower leg oil, was covered in it, seals popped out during transit on one fork, due to bad tolerances, I could use my fingers to pop it in and out.
I sold one fork already, I still have one on my old hardtail, but the plan is to build at least one more bike, transfer parts over.
My review: wp.me/p60aTF-2v8
Himalo 180 travel air fork
For God sake don't skimp on brakes if you ride anything faster than a light jog speed on any kind of decline .
id skimp on accent parts
Sometimes it's tough to pass on the bling HAHAHAHA!
As for the stem, a machined billet is simply that and these companies that put their brand name on it doesn’t mean shit “SOMETIMES”. In this case it doesn’t matter, maybe not on the brakes if I’m going to be doing some serious down-hilling… use your “un”common sense..
Well it is what the brand namers pay for their parts
I would not skimp on absolutely anything, defeats the purpose of a high end bike
Getting cheo stuff shipped from China takes several weeks, and there is added value tax of 25%and shipping cost. So might as well go for realnparts and spend slitgtly more or even same price or even cheaper and get a better product, especially if at a good deal, and will be faster to arrive.
well i can tell you 2 months in and my disc are seperating at the rivits yeh id never buy zoom or bucklos discs ever again your playing with your life
There is a difference between cheap and inexpensive.
That's a very good point 👍