Worst component you've ever unfortunately dealt with

[Johnsqual]

Oh and a stuck cotter pin can be shifted with a vice just as easily as a cotter press but is not a one trick tool, I have had trouble with them, I feel your pain

I managed to break a bench vice trying to remove a cotter pin once. I heard a 'crack' noise and felt the tension in the vice lessen, which usually means victory: the pin has come loose! In this case though, it meant the front part of the vice had cracked

It was a really cheap and nasty bench vice, €30 from the Belgian equivalent of B&Q, so serves me right for buying crap tools I suppose.

Also surprised nobody has mentioned Simplex Prestige derailleurs yet. A guy I know asked me to do a resto on an old 1970s bike he wanted to take to L'Eroica. It had the dreaded Delrin derailleurs on it - he said he'd read they were a bit sh1te. I tried to defend them a bit - 'oh, well they were very innovative for the time and very light'. When I started work on the resto, I found the front derailleur had cracked around the seat post clamp (as usual), and the top rear knuckle had also cracked all the way across :roll:

 

[Owwwwk]

Syncros XLR rims (~1996/1997 I think): light rims with tooooooo thin sidewall's. 4 weeks driving in muddy conditions and the rim exploded.... ;-).

 

[Old Ned]

Also surprised nobody has mentioned Simplex Prestige derailleurs yet. A guy I know asked me to do a resto on an old 1970s bike he wanted to take to L'Eroica. It had the dreaded Delrin derailleurs on it - he said he'd read they were a bit sh1te. I tried to defend them a bit - 'oh, well they were very innovative for the time and very light'. When I started work on the resto, I found the front derailleur had cracked around the seat post clamp (as usual), and the top rear knuckle had also cracked all the way across :roll:

I used one of the original all-delrin models in the 60's as they were half the price of the equivalent Campag Gran Sport and - in my estimation - worked at least as well if not better. However, mine snapped in half sprinting for the Slough sign in '68. By then Simplex had added steel plate reinforcements to either side of the main arms so they obviously knew there was a potential problem. I see examples of the original version occasionally at jumbles but would only fit one to a show bike that never got ridden!

The original models also came with an all-delrin clamp-on down tube lever which squeaked dreadfully in the wet. Mine soon came off and was substituted with a Campag one!

 

[rusty bodie]

the first mavic RANDO M4 rims that came out in the 80s - it was impossible to
fit tyres to them - it was like they were a 650A diameter or something!

also, the mavic ZAP gears - cost a fortune - didn't work.

try and explain THAT to the customer!!

:?

 

[bigpantswheels]

Bio pace chainrings, I can still feel myself bouncing.

 

[bigpantswheels]

Mavic mectronic was even worse. When I worked as a bike mechanic I had a customer who wanted us to install the Mavic electronic group. After several failed attemps to adjust the shifting we called Mavic customer support. We were told to turn off the flouresent lights in the shop as they interupted the signal between the shifters and mechs. After that we refused to work on them. I also heard that riding under high power electric lines would cause random shifting.

 

[rusty bodie]

Bio pace chainrings, I can still feel myself bouncing.

 

[oonaff]

ok mavic zap is crap its been stated even when it first came out but why.. because its classic crap if any ones got any i want it. i will investigate and be a sucker for punishment. as for the vetta sl saddle that was a new dimension in discomfort .

 

[curzons246]

Wait I just thought of one: Installing Continental Gran Prix tires on Mavic MA-40s. Makes me want to scream just thinking about it.

Ditto Continental Gatorskins onto MA40's so much so I purchased a set of Toppeak lever shuttle tyre irons but I still dread p*******s

 

[pondlife]

sounds like the Continental tyres that Ribble were giving away with pairs of Campag wheels a few years back
would they fit? would they feck!

going to throw in Nokon Cables as well- just make sure you don't replace the inner with cable from another manufacturer..grrrrrrr