things that sucked/were cool back in the day

[Dave]

My Schwinn Predator's plastic mag wheels.

Bar ends

Specialized Future Shocks...the first ones wit like half and inch of suspension.

Vinyl sparkly bananna seats.

[Saab2000]

gel seats. WTF was anyone thinking.

[Too Tall]

Wing Nuts on my first "real" 10 speed Gitane did not suck
Tubulars never stopped being the best even when the cost me a weeks pay
All saddles were great at some point I noticed that 99% sucked
Riding in an 52X13 all day because I weighed 175 lbs did not suck
Suntour campy rip off brakes sucked as bad as the real thing
Brake blocks that needed bench grinding sucked, it was all a DL1 would take!
Browning Fr. triple OMFG YOU remembered that???? Had to suck ;)
FatCity BB bearnings with retaining collar sucked but it was a FAT whocares?
BB wire guides did not suck, STI made them sucky!!!
Rear Mech.s with a date!!! DEFINATELY DID NOT SUCK.

Oh I gotta get a coffee. I've got more.

[gt6267a]

my pk ripper did not suck.

[Alfa75]

Sucked:
Every water bottle cage manufactured prior to 1985

Indeed! Including the bottles that were available.

Didn't Suck:
Clement Tubulars....especially the Strada 66
Simplex Super Lj's

I don't remember the model, but there were some low-end Clement tubulars that had threads that looked like bailing twine. We had the Setas in the shop but none of us could afford them; we got by riding crap like Hutchison Super Spints (aka Super S**ts).

[pale scotsman]

Suntour rollercam brakes - From my lbs days, spent many a saturday morning filing the studs and the arms to get 'em to work right. Killer stopping power when set up correctly.

Girvin flex stems - The idea was cool, just too many moving parts and too damn heavy.

All those cnc'ed mtb parts from the early to mid 90's. Dear Jesus if you had seen the failures I saw a shop manager you'd still run from that crap. Cnc'ed coda cranks anyone...

Early 90's sub 150 gram mountain bike bars too.

Suntour accushift refits for suntour bikes that were'nt selling due to SIS. That stuff sucked bad.

All the bolt on freestyle stuff, axle pegs that bent axles, acs pro rotor detangler - pretty much got killed by the odyssey gyro.

Those evil michelin hi-lite 700x19 tires with the little wing that fit over the rim to make the sidewall more aero. Looked cool as heck, but my hands hurt just thinking about them.

Chain stay u-brakes too. Bitch to set up and got so clogged with mud they were useless.

[Chance Legstrong]

cool:

Giro Air attack helmet

sucked:

color choices of giro air attack helmet

[rpm]

Awful:
--French bikes rushed to meet the 70's bike boom. I had a VeloSolex that was so flexy the chain bounced off both sides of the front derailleur.

--Components on those French bikes--I broke a Pivo handlebar clean in half. Also the matching Pivo stem with the menacing sharp edge in the back (a style still revered by some retro-grouches).

--Huret Allvit derailleurs. Had a flimsy scissors mechanism, producing the world's worst shifting, except for:

--Campy Grand Turismo derailleur. Horrible shifting. But nothing flimsy about it. If you were on tour, you could take it off your bike and pound in your tent pegs with it.

--Hi-E components. Unique, innovative, and totally breakable. I had a Hi-E pedal explode when I was going up a small hill.

--Sidepull brakes that you had to hit with a hammer and screwdriver to center.

Stuff that I remember fondly:
--Schwinn filet brazed frames. The old Super Sport and Sports Tourer were heavy, but great riding bikes. I had a huge Sports Tourer that weighed 31 pounds, 5 of which were the above mentioned Campy Grand Turismo, and the brazed on kickstand. That bike really rolled.

--Simplex derailleurs. They were plastic and junky by today's standards, but they shifted great compared to the other things out there.

--Unicanitor saddles. The original plastic saddle, with a reasonably supportive shape. I had one with a top that was quilted like a down coat.

--Silca frame pumps painted to match your frame. To order a custom frame without a matching pump was unthinkable.

[El Chaba]

Indeed! Including the bottles that were available.



I don't remember the model, but there were some low-end Clement tubulars that had threads that looked like bailing twine. We had the Setas in the shop but none of us could afford them; we got by riding crap like Hutchison Super Spints (aka Super S**ts).

I agree completely on the Super Sh!ts...and the bailing twine low end Clements....It was a puzzle (like particle board) ...How can something that is so heavy be so weak?

[Lobotomia]

Oh man. When I used to work in shops and we'd get bored, we'd have contests to see who could make the most effed up bike possible out of the parts we knew that sucked - for mountain bikes for example, stuff like :

GT RTS frame
KOOKA cranks w/ a BOONE Ti bottom bracket
WASATCH brakes (ONZA's always made the cut too)
REAL cassette
SUNTOUR Express shifters
GORILLA BILLET rear derailleur
HALSON suspension fork
TIOGA PSYCHO tires (the WORST EVER!!!)
MAVIC 217 rims (eyelets always pulled through and the joining pins always rattled loose)
SUN RACE chain
NUKE PROOF hubs
CRITICAL RACING stem

What am I missing?

When I was 12-15 I rode a BENOTTO road bike with BULLSEYE stuff and SUPERBE PRO, GEL 280's with WOLBER invulnerables. That DID NOT suck.

[zeroking]

Cool: Softride suspension stem after I installed it on a rigid mtb.

Suck: Softride suspension stem after I rode a rock shox fork the first time.

[agilismerlin]

the King of Cool

[johnnymossville]

Sucked:

• Those yellow hard shell helmets in the late 1980's. I think they were made by Kiwi. Weighed 40lbs and looked like crap, even worse than today's helmets.

Cool:

• Modolo Brakes, they didn't work great but were cool.
• Everything Else, Riding is fun no matter what.

[steve garro]

Oh man. When I used to work in shops and we'd get bored, we'd have contests to see who could make the most effed up bike possible out of the parts we knew that sucked - for mountain bikes for example, stuff like :

GT RTS frame
KOOKA cranks w/ a BOONE Ti bottom bracket
WASATCH brakes (ONZA's always made the cut too)
REAL cassette
SUNTOUR Express shifters
GORILLA BILLET rear derailleur
HALSON suspension fork
TIOGA PSYCHO tires (the WORST EVER!!!)
MAVIC 217 rims (eyelets always pulled through and the joining pins always rattled loose)
SUN RACE chain
NUKE PROOF hubs
CRITICAL RACING stem

What am I missing?

When I was 12-15 I rode a BENOTTO road bike with BULLSEYE stuff and SUPERBE PRO, GEL 280's with WOLBER invulnerables. That DID NOT suck.

EEEEWWWWW.....!!! how about a klein one-piece bar/stem combo {these tore like a cardboard tube} an ultimate design seatpost {although an american classic was just as sucky} the suntour thumb shifters that were "Y" shaped, some of the aero purple sun rims that were about 10mm wide and all the tires tore off and some green latex tubes? also, i think that the trek dual susp. frame with the lever arm rear end and the bumpers was the worst frame EVER, although the trek Y-50 was the ugliest.........steve.

[ssjimbo]

Still use a fanny pack (Mountain Smith) when commuting, way more pleasant than a messenger bag for smallish loads.

Also, just installed a square taper DA crank on my cross bike. I tell, one spin of a DA crank on a BB-UN72, compared to any of the external bearing cranks, let's me know I made the right choice.

Fanny Packs (you know you rode with one at least once)

Square taper crank arms/BB spindle attatchment

[jsf]

Mafac brakes that squeaked every time, riding bikes too large (not knowing enough about bike fit), narrow bars, they all would have sucked if we knew any better. But the riding was the best....cause you're so young none of this mattered.
-Jon

[Sasha]

Elastomers sucked, especially in pedals.

Loose bearing bottom brackets kinda sucked.

Loose bearing hubs are still cool.

Those little neoprene cozies for stems and forks.

The first manitou forks were industrial cool.

[csbmo]

Fanny Packs (you know you rode with one at least once)

you take that back!

[jimp1234]

Fun thread...

Sucked:
Club names that ended in "hubmen" or "wheelmen" particularly where the newsletter banner was like a barbershop quarter with handlebar moustaches riding pennyfarthings....

[palincss]

Mafac brakes that squeaked every time

That was the "sucker" pads. Put Kool Stop Salmons on that same Mafac brake and it stands a chance of not squealing at all. The Mafac RAIDs on my Kogswell P/R don't squeal.