Are there any brands (outdoor or cycle) that you avoid for one reason or another even though their kit is widely used and respected?

For me it's Terra Nova and I think this is largely due to the stupid 1g pegs they insisted on supplying tents with. Obviously it would be very easy to simply swap pegs but I was always annoyed that they made such a big deal out of the 'worlds lightest 2 skin tent' but seemingly forgot to add 'that's designed for the 3 perfect days the UK receives each year'. Those 1g tent pegs have had a negative effect on my perception of all TN gear

Am I alone?

I quite like those pegs, and the tent that came with them. Sorry

Superstar components. I had two pairs of those infamous brake pads fail on one descent at the same time. I emailed the guy and he was such an arse about it there's no way in a month of Sundays would I go near their stuff again.

Paramo: Bought some waterproof trousers which weren't and were too hot 90% of the time. The material wasn't very robust either for the weight.

Funnily enough I've got a couple of TN tents, one came with beefy alloy pegs (Quasar bought in 1998) and the other carbon ones with Ti spikes on the end. One lost its tip but has otherwise been fine. I've also not had any problems with Superstar components.

Another rule I have is that I wouldn't, under any circumstances, buy any kit with Bear Grylls on it. No need to explain that one I guess.

The North Face for me. Have a jacket that I wear to work or the pub but wouldn't actually buy anything to properly use outdoors.
Just think it trades on it's name rather than the quality of the product.

Meanwhile over in bicycle land ... I'd never own a Specialized, numerous reasons that may or maynot be justified. DT rims are another no, no but that's founded on seeing 3 rims destroy themselves on 3 different bikes, over 3 consecutive weekends ... and guess what, they were all on Specialized

Nothing in particular, but as above I wouldn't touch anything graced with the branding of Bear Grylls either. Took a dislike to him years back in the run up to him crossing the Atlantic in 2003 when he did his best to big it up by slagging off the people that had tried before him. Complete muppet even before you take into account booking into hotels when supposedly roughing it

For me it's Terra Nova and I think this is largely due to the stupid 1g pegs they insisted on supplying tents with. Obviously it would be very easy to simply swap pegs but I was always annoyed that they made such a big deal out of the 'worlds lightest 2 skin tent' but seemingly forgot to add 'that's designed for the 3 perfect days the UK receives each year'. Those 1g tent pegs have had a negative effect on my perception of all TN gear

Used mine in some pretty foul weather, and never had an issue; with the pegs it came with too. Love mine.

Superstar components. I had two pairs of those infamous brake pads fail on one descent at the same time. I emailed the guy and he was such an arse about it there's no way in a month of Sundays would I go near their stuff again.

Amen.

Agree on Specialized. Their bikes are a bit too vanilla for me (and their lawyers are too trigger happy).

My personal hate is avid brakes. I've had 2 pairs develop sticky pistons and spoken to loads of other people who've had the same problem.

I wouldn't buy Chris King hubs again due to their huge cost and lack of serviceability. I'm also not a fan of surly hubs. Their cup and cone meets cartridge bearing system seems like an unnecessary faff.

Same here for Specialized. Anything made by Nukeproof can do one too, worst branding/styling etc, Pukenoof.

FiveTen spd mountain biking shoes. They are just too huge, the soles are so wide, they always rub on cranks whatever you do with cleat alignment, and when they get wet, they weigh a metric tonne, and they're expensive.

Oh, and what Ian said about Superstar brake pads, couldn't agree more, they are total arse, had both pairs fail on me at Afan last year, coming down Darkside metal on metal was harrowing.

Specialized agreed, and I have an irrational hatred of SRAM gearing, but that's based on, shimano works really well, why use anything else?

and I have an irrational hatred of SRAM gearing

I'm not a SRAM fan either ... now for the odd part. I've never owned a bike with a SRAM drivetrain but I have refused to buy bikes with it fitted. I think I was put off when I first changed gear cables for someone ... couldn't believe you had to partially unscrew the screws that hold the shifter together to remove the blanking plug.

Regatta

s8tannorm wrote:

I've never owned a bike with a SRAM drivetrain but I have refused to buy bikes with it fitted.

I'm glad its not just me

Aaaarrghh!
I hate Shimano external bottom brackets.
I buy at least one a year.
That cant be right.
Can it?
I like their brakes though. Oh, and their gears but not their chains.

Another anti-vote for shimano chains. Split link all the way! While I'm Shimano bashing I also hate that they still use cup and cone bearings in all of their hubs!

I'm a huge fan of their drivetrain and braking components though.

Can't think of anything off the top of my head.
I agree with the following Bear Grylls and Avid (hydraulic brakes).
But I love Avid BB7's and Superstar pads.

I'll think of my own over night

Superstar - after the owner dissed a friend of mine on a forum and was subsequently caught out being a dick by slagging off (anonymously) a competitor.

On One/Planet X - No need to go into it all again but the company seems to be founded on a basis of compulsive lying.

Avid Hydraulic brakes/mechs/chains - too many bad experiences in bike shops to ever go down this route. I hate that they are specced on so many bikes.

FWIW, I've seen a fair bit of back-stabbing within the bike trade. I think some folk would be shocked at what passes for "business behaviour".

I used to dislike Specialized for years. Then a friend bought one of their road bikes. I tried it, really liked and ended up a bit of a fan! (2 mtb's and a road bike)

I avoid On-One now but seeing as I'm swimming against the tide by liking the Spesh I'll leave it there.

I'm struggling on this one. I have a TN laser lite with the carbon 1g pegs and love it. I have 2 Spesh bikes, and now 2 Planet X bikes. I quite like them all. I have only ever bought a multi tool from superstar though as I could touch and feel it. Their stems and seat posts looked like very cheap castings though so I would not go near them ( pressure die cast at the very minimum for bits like that ). Don't think I would ever touch Crank Brothers stuff as it looks good but unnecessarily complicated ( for the wheels anyway).
Shimano chains are bad. I have only ever taken these off a bike! KMC or SRAM all the way.

I like Hope stuff, I like Shimano gears etc,

Mcdonalds and KFC are bad. They don't have to feed us that poor show.

Trek seem to be on a mission to build bikes with no personality. I don't mean the ride (I've no idea about that) but the styling and naming of them. Every one is a Mondeo in my eyes.

Crank Bros seem often to put form before function. Those wheels??? But I have been using one of their multi tools for about ten years and it's never failed me ...

Avid brakes don't seem to be very good.

Superstar components are awful (well, brake pads and chain guides) and the worst customer service I have ever received.

Whole Brands.
Trek, Bontrager, Fisher. - Boring brand, killed Klein too
Crank Bros - Stuff that looks ace but cant seem to hack the pace
Time Pedals - After years of allegiance, their newer designs dont last and dont support your foot, therefore eat shoes.

Hypocritically I would avoid specialized bikes but I like their tyres, grips and shoes, even some clothing.

There are lots of specific products I avoid but would use other stuff from the same brand. Avid hydro brakes for example, but would use sram gears etc.

There's also the shop or two I wouldn't give my money to.

Then theres companies I really really want to like, Pace Racing for example. I used to love their kit.

I would stay away from Halfords own brand! - Carrera I think.
I do however like the boardman brand and have a couple of them - a carbon road and a hybrid.

I also really like SRAM - the Rival and Red are very good sets. I would choose them over comparable Shimano because I am used to them and find the gearing on SRAM road sets to be far easier to use.

For mountain bikes I like Kona - again probably because I am used to the brand and it has never let me down.

I avoid Scarpa boots because they're typically used by know-it-all Mountain Leaders. I can justify it since they're expensive, but know-it-alls are the main reason.