Ineffective/Inappropriate Bike accessories

doc1976

Why oh why do shops sell clearly ineffective/inappropriate bike accessories.
Case in point today was a guy cycling a pretty nice cube road bike with a tiny tiny back light. It looked like something that should have been at the end of a remote control for your tv rather than something that should help to save your life. I constantly see really crappy back lights which are barely visable to me don't mind anything else more chunkier on the road.

The same could be said about cable locks. You only have to read the "stolen bikes" thread to see how many have been lifted while being locked with them.

Surely the LBS or BBS should be advising their customers on the effectiveness of the equipment they sell???

DOC

marketty

It's very easy to buy cheap crap on the internet. It never refuses money.

dquirke1

As someone who works in a bike shop, I always try to steer people in the right direction with regards to locks and lights in particular, but sometimes its like talking to the wall.
Its very hard to convince someone to spend €100 on a kryptonite D-lock when theres a cable lock beside it for €6.99.
Likewise with bikes, You can spend half an hour explaining that a decent road bike, or flat bar hybrid is the right choice for cycling around the city,
only for them to buy the €150 full suss BSO in the corner.

Some people just dont realize that you have to pay for quality.

I suppose the ideal solution would be to stop stocking the cheap tat, but then the shop next door would sell it and you'd lose customers and get a reputation for being overpriced.
It's a no-win situation.

Diarmuid

doc1976 wrote: »

Why oh why do shops sell clearly ineffective/inappropriate bike accessories.

You're asking the wrong question. Shops will sell whatever the customer demands. The question should be "Why do people buy ineffective/inappropriate bike accessories?"

The answer is that they are cheap.

Keep_Her_Lit

doc1976 wrote: »

Case in point today was a guy cycling a pretty nice cube road bike with a tiny tiny back light. It looked like something that should have been at the end of a remote control for your tv rather than something that should help to save your life. I constantly see really crappy back lights which are barely visable to me don't mind anything else more chunkier on the road.DOC

Barely visible lights are usually the result of nearly dead batteries. Even very small lights can be surprisingly good with fresh batteries.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Reviews.aspx?ModelID=8749
This little feller runs on a button cell, is no bigger than a €2 coin and weighs nothing. Fits to your seatpost with an elastic cord. Perfect for getting home from a late summer mid-week league race. And the light from it is really cracking.

Beasty

doc1976 wrote: »

Why oh why do shops sell clearly ineffective/inappropriate bike accessories.
Case in point today was a guy cycling a pretty nice cube road bike with a tiny tiny back light. It looked like something that should have been at the end of a remote control for your tv rather than something that should help to save your life. I constantly see really crappy back lights which are barely visable to me don't mind anything else more chunkier on the road.

The same could be said about cable locks. You only have to read the "stolen bikes" thread to see how many have been lifted while being locked with them.

Surely the LBS or BBS should be advising their customers on the effectiveness of the equipment they sell???

DOC

But there's a place in the market for each of the items you mention - I have used the "tiny" lights as additional ones attached to my helmet or saddle bag. I use a cable lock to secure my front wheel (and proper lock on the back one). I don't see anything wrong with bike shops selling such stuff, particularly as these items are readily available online anyway.

squeaky crank

doc1976 wrote: »

Case in point today was a guy cycling a pretty nice cube road bike with a tiny tiny back light.
DOC

DOC - Was that in Dublin last week??

PersonalJesus

I ride a pretty nice cube with a tiny back light. Although its unlikely it me, mines a flat bar hybrid, and im in belfast.

The small light is a knog frog knock off done by decathlon. It seems to be working in so much as motorists can see me. isnt being seen the purpose?

Lumen

Diarmuid wrote: »

You're asking the wrong question. Shops will sell whatever the customer demands. The question should be "Why do people buy ineffective/inappropriate bike accessories?" The answer is that they are cheap.

Certain things are just cheap crap. Shops justify this with the assertion that customers are happy with cheap crap. If this was true the cheap crap would be labelled "cheap crap". It isn't. Therefore I call bullshít on this assertion.

In any case, how do you tell whether a €30 lock is any good using visual inspection and without having researched it first?

Stark

Cheap cable locks are useful as light extra locks if you've quick release components imo.

The effectiveness of the lock depends on what tools the knick-knack has at his disposal anyway. Used a €50 Oxford "armoured" cable lock that the bike shop owner recommended to me on a bike once and the bike didn't last ten minutes. Use a Kryptonite New york D-lock these days and it's served me well so far though I did come out after a late evening in work one evening to find someone had pulled up beside the bike in a car and were about to jam a 1.5m pole into the lock and lever it open, which the lock probably wouldn't have stood had I not chased them away. To defend against that attack, I'd need a (cheaper) smaller version of the same lock. (Incidentally, it was right next to a Garda station and the apathy when I rang them, gave them the reg number of the car and told them they were still driving around the car park looking for other bikes was something else. They weren't even interested in noting down the reg number).

Diarmuid

Lumen wrote: »

Certain things are just cheap crap. Shops justify this with the assertion that customers are happy with cheap crap. If this was true the cheap crap would be labelled "cheap crap". It isn't. Therefore I call bullshít on this assertion.

Lumen you're marketing skill aren't too hot. If you want to sell stuff, whether it's crap or not, the first rule is not to call it crap.

Sr. Assumpta

Diarmuid wrote: »

Lumen you're marketing skill aren't too hot. If you want to sell stuff, whether it's crap or not, the first rule is not to call it crap.

Unless of course, you're actually selling "crap" or manure or sh!t or whatever they call it, you know for like, plants & stuff, crops, whatever..... where is DirkVooodoo, Cow-Farmer extraordinaire when we need him?????

smacl

Lumen wrote: »

Certain things are just cheap crap. Shops justify this with the assertion that customers are happy with cheap crap. If this was true the cheap crap would be labelled "cheap crap". It isn't. Therefore I call bullshít on this assertion.

As opposed to overpriced crap, expensive crap, value for money crap, and not forgetting the much sought after bargain crap. As a father of two beautiful daughters and husband to a fantastic wife, I can confirm that some people just like buying crap. Shopping for crap is a much favoured pastime for many, and if you believe our esteemed leaders, we all need to be shopping for more crap to prop up our failing economy. Calling cheap crap cheap crap is therefore tantamount to treason, as is buying crap of the internet (hence the nondescript brown boxes akin to brown paper bags and brown envelopes).

le petit braquet

Diarmuid wrote: »

Lumen you're marketing skill aren't too hot. If you want to sell stuff, whether it's crap or not, the first rule is not to call it crap.

And for a practical example of this, just google Gerald Ratner and crap:D

Lumen

Diarmuid wrote: »

Lumen you're marketing skill aren't too hot. If you want to sell stuff, whether it's crap or not, the first rule is not to call it crap.

I used to work with an excellent software engineer who told our customer "I can absolutely guarantee you that we will deliver your software with bugs".

He was right. We got sued. Still, I admired his honesty.

doc1976

squeaky crank wrote: »

DOC - Was that in Dublin last week??

No this week