What "Luxury" item do you consider most essential

kammybear

There's loads of extremely expensive gadgets and items in mountain biking, people swear by them, others get by without or with less cheaper alternatives. When I first got into biking, I wondered why anyone would need dropper posts or camelbaks or even a Go Pro. Within months I bought a camelbak, last month a reverb and this month im drawn to a Go Pro after being burned on a cheap chinese version which has fallen apart.

Apart from the Camelbak, I think the others are just fluff really and there's lots more stuff out there. What do you find invaluable despite it's ridiculous price tag?

supersonic

I can't really think of anything! I keep it simple lol. Good forks are essential to me though.

Kowalski675

I bought the older non HD GoPro Motorsports Hero three years ago (got it at trade price through work). Used it About four times and it's been sat unused ever since.

lawman

Mine would have to be my reverb's. Had them for nearly 2 years and they've made a huge difference, far, far better than the Joplin one replaced. The remote is the best out there, there's no cables to clog up and I think every bike should come with the stealth routing, makes so much more sense than having it flap around. I wish my bikes could be fitted with the stealth. Best dropper on the market by a mile.

I'm also a huge fan of my XT brakes and Easton Havoc Carbon bars. The brakes are amazing, can't tell the difference between Xtr at all. Not really luxury as such, but still something I couldn't do without.

My Easton Havoc Carbon bars were a luxury and boy am I glad I got them! Best profile I've ever used, mega light considering how strong they are and compared to the alu version on my hardtail they definitely take more sting out of the trail.

PerformingMonkey

I could ride my bikes without any of these but they do make it a more enjoyable experience (which is the point):

Dropper post - Came with Stumpy spec, never even considered one before but couldn't live without now

Gore-Tex - Keeps me dryer than any other material I've worn for cycling, worth the extra few quid

Garmin GPS - Nothing more satisfying than sipping that well deserved pint in the local at the end of a ride and finding out how far we went and how high we climbed

kammybear

I've got a set of XT brakes as well...but wouldn't class them as a luxury!

Kowalski675

lawman wrote:

The remote is the best out there

It should be - have you seen how much a replacement costs?...

The Rookie

Luxury, none! Essentials only, and if its not critical, as cheap as possible. Even my hydration pack is a cheap H2O (Mountain wharehouse) sack (Charity shop) with an army Surplus Camelback bladder, total cost £7.

TownyDC

For this time of the year, Specialized Defrosters to keep my feet dry and hopefully warm.

lawman

The Rookie wrote:

Luxury, none! Essentials only, and if its not critical, as cheap as possible. Even my hydration pack is a cheap H2O (Mountain wharehouse) sack (Charity shop) with an army Surplus Camelback bladder, total cost £7.

I bet you're one of those parents that stick a tangerine on a fork and give it to their kids as a lollipop

poah

lawman wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Luxury, none! Essentials only, and if its not critical, as cheap as possible. Even my hydration pack is a cheap H2O (Mountain wharehouse) sack (Charity shop) with an army Surplus Camelback bladder, total cost £7.

I bet you're one of those parents that stick a tangerine on a fork and give it to their kids as a lollipop

note to self to try this

Northwind

Dropper post for me... Not for everyone, I get that, not everyone makes full use of it but once you do it's so hard to go back. I've got a 20lb rigid xc bike in the garage, it has its official carbon seatpost gathering dust because the gravity dropper just makes it so much better to ride. So apparently I find it harder to live without a dropper than suspension

Gopro can be good fun but never essential imo. It just adds another string to your hobby, another bike thing to do when you're not on the bike and when arguing on teh internetz gets old.

Kowalski675

People argue on the internetz? :shock:

pilch

+1 dropper potato

stubs

In winter it has to be my little shatterproof Coleman flask. Cant beat crouching behind a dry stone wall supping hot coffee whilst the sleet blows horizontal over your head. Keep your energy drinks hot coffee beats them all.

The Northern Monkey

Decent tyres with proper compounds. I can spend more on 2 mtb tyres than 2 car tyres but its worth it!

mcnultycop

A nice warm bath with a brew after a cold wet ride.

Kowalski675

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I can spend more on 2 mtb tyres than 2 car tyres

Which nicely puts into perspective how stupidly expensive they are...

The Northern Monkey

Kowalski675 wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I can spend more on 2 mtb tyres than 2 car tyres

Which nicely puts into perspective how stupidly expensive they are...

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

Kowalski675

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I can spend more on 2 mtb tyres than 2 car tyres

Which nicely puts into perspective how stupidly expensive they are...

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

Mine aint too posh either, lol.

Angus Young

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

That's a really scary thought for everyone who has to share the road with you.

Kowalski675

Angus Young wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

That's a really scary thought for everyone who has to share the road with you.

Not really - take a look around any car park next time you park up, most of the cars will be on crap tyres, unless they're new or company cars.

rapid_donkey

+1 for reverb. I didnt buy it because I needed it, I just fancied it one day. Now I couldnt ride without one!

As for car tyres, I have decent tyres on my audi, and most people i know put at least mid range reasonable tyres on their cars. Whats the point having a nice car if your going to scrimp on its main safety feature, the contact patch between it and the road?

The Rookie

lawman wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Luxury, none! Essentials only, and if its not critical, as cheap as possible. Even my hydration pack is a cheap H2O (Mountain wharehouse) sack (Charity shop) with an army Surplus Camelback bladder, total cost £7.

I bet you're one of those parents that stick a tangerine on a fork and give it to their kids as a lollipop

Absolutely not, I pay what I need to get the right result, I won't spend more than I think I have to though, so I am happy to splurge the cash to get what I want, on the other hand my hydration pack works just as well as one costing £80 and left me £70odd to spend on something else.

FishFish

My luxury item is my gold plated ashtray on my steering tube.

plymouthsteve

Garmin Edge 200 GPS definately, and a Strava account .. although that can't really be considered a luxury as it is free.
Both have made me so much faster, as every time I ride, I'm in a race. Even if I'm on my own. And people talk about times, KOM's etc more than they ever talked about riding generally.
I ride road too, and like many people, have two bikes. Actually 2.5 as I have two wheelsets for the MTB to use it as a winter bike, and GPS means I only need one trip computer for 3 different wheel/Tyre sizes on 3 bikes. All for about the price of 2 trip computers.

Angus Young

Kowalski675 wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

That's a really scary thought for everyone who has to share the road with you.

Not really - take a look around any car park next time you park up, most of the cars will be on crap tyres, unless they're new or company cars.

Yes, and that's a really scary thought. Everyone driving around on crap tyres should change to a decent set at least once, just to see the huge difference it makes. I doubt many would go back.

Kowalski675

Angus Young wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

That's a really scary thought for everyone who has to share the road with you.

Not really - take a look around any car park next time you park up, most of the cars will be on crap tyres, unless they're new or company cars.

Yes, and that's a really scary thought.

Try working in an opticians for a few years, and seeing how many doddery practically blind OAPs are still driving - then you'll be scared...

njee20

Probably Garmin for me too, if we're talking things that aren't part of the bike.

Angus Young

Kowalski675 wrote:

Try working in an opticians for a few years, and seeing how many doddery practically blind OAPs are still driving - then you'll be scared...

I can live with that. It's people crashing into me because they prefer to spend money on fags instead of tyres that I object to.

Antm81

Angus Young wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I dunno... my car tyres are crap haha.

That's a really scary thought for everyone who has to share the road with you.

Not really - take a look around any car park next time you park up, most of the cars will be on crap tyres, unless they're new or company cars.

Yes, and that's a really scary thought. Everyone riding around on crap tyres should change to a decent set at least once, just to see the huge difference it makes. I doubt many would go back.

My car had crap tyres on when I bought it, changed the fronts many times for decent ones, just moved the rears on to the front to finally use them up (new Goodyear efficient grips on the back) and every time it rains it seems the traction control is nearly on.

Back on topic, padded shorts, not strictly needed but make life so much better.