Pro Bike Mechanic's 20 Most Loved Products 

Yes that should read "Time" not "Look" at 10mins19

A problem of using Fidlock botles is that is you loose one in a trip, during a ride or during a MTB Event for example you cannot use another type, a quick go to supermarket and get a isostar bottle or get an bottle from a friend/event sponsor, you need to buy a new Fidlock one. A normal bottle cage and you can use almost any other bottle

Best cycle accessory ever is a mirror. Since I fitted one, I've never looked back!

0:09 - Fenwicks 0:31 - Fidlock 1:13 - Vielo Seatpost 1:44 - Wireless dropper seatpost 2:18 - Silca Sealant 2:59 - 1X drivetrains 4:00 - Gravel frame 4:34 - Internally routed cables 5:44 - Fendor Bendor 7:02 - Sram Removable Batteries 7:48 - Park Tool 8:10 - Ceramic Speed 8:44 - Enduro Bearings 9:37 - Bike Radars 10:13 - TIME Carbon 10:47 - Tubeless Plug & Boot Kit 11:25 - Bike Luggage

I'm so glad he said what he said about intergated cable routing, coz its a nightmare. It will single handedly keep bike mechanics employed!

Don't confuse personal preferences for facts. A lot or road riders (and gravel riders) love and prefer the closer-spaced gear ratios you can get with an FD. And setting up an FD is a doddle.

I really like water bottles. trying to carry water in my jersey pockets just never worked out for me, it would always escape or slosh out, and carrying it in my mouth felt really inconvenient, not too mention I could never hold enough for a long ride

PEDROS tire levers are the most sturdy levers I’ve ever tried, wouldn’t be bothered to carry anything else. Well designed and will take on any tire without the fear of snapping or bending

Lots of things to think about for upgrades and general maintenance! It was awesome to meet Jimmi and Nick at Backyard last Wednesday, thanks both for taking the time to chat! And Jimmi, thanks for the Sycamore Gap recommendation, we enjoyed the walk!

The absolute favorite thing I ride with is the Garmin Varia. Without a doubt. Hands down.

I am a huge fan of the Varia. I won’t ride on the road without it. But, even though it gets universal praise, I think every mention of it omits an important detail: by itself, the Varia is just a countdown to a possible collision. In order for the Varia to be truly game-changing for your safety, you need a mirror. The Varia tells you when to check that mirror so you know whether a car is giving you room.

I prefer 2x. It’s nice to have a small chainring to shift into for steep climbs. Also, I’m no expert, but I can imagine the chain would wear quicker on a 1x because of the greater angle when at higher or lower gears.

My current favourite bike product is luggage too. Brooks scape compact handlebar bag. Waterproof, carries a laptop or enough for an overnight stay. Quick release and has a shoulder strap. The corner stays can also be used to tether a couple of small carabiners to hold a jacket in place if the bag is full. Not perfect, but still awesome.

Gravel bikes! Its the UK we been riding CX bikes for a lot longer than gravel has existed and they do the same thing! 😁

Gonna be another vote for a top tube bag. Sunglasses, snacks, phone, money etc. It's all there, it's handy and it secure. The new Tail Fin ones look sick. This was a great video, loved Jimmy's attempts at counter points.......long story indeed

My favorite bit of kit, is my Feedback Sports bike stand. Got it years ago, and it's been used at least 5 times a week for the last 10 years. Solid and works seemlesly. Easy to argue the first main tool anyone that owns a couple of bikes should also own.

I love how Nic gets called out on being a trendy bike snob, but I agree with just about everything on this list. Good vid. Dude's a good sport lol.

When I first got into road cycling I was mentored by an ultra-distance rider who sold me on the convenience of the bento bag. As I progressed, I started riding with "real roadies" who convinced me the bento wasn't cool and I needed to shave my legs. Now, riding gravel the bento is cool again.

There are a lot of insanely expensive things that you can buy for bike and not enjoy. But there are such little things that you take in your hands and enjoy like a child. My favorite one: High Above - The Hot Pocket (sm size), it lives in my jersey pocket and has survived everything, dirt, water, sand, drops and looks like the day I bought it. It is waterproof and weighs only 30g. Love it. I have many tools, but my favorite is Wera Zyklop Mini 1/4" Ratchet, best for bike service. I use it with a bit extension for convenience.

My favourite stuff is Tubolito inner tubes. I bought mine two years ago and had only one puncture since (which I patched - I've put thousands of kilometers into that tube since and it's still going strong). These are especially useful as spares. I carry way more stuff in my small saddle bag since I replaced a bulky butyl tube with one.

For me the Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite NTX+ is the best bit of kit. Its like £55 for a torq kit, all the bits you'll need, and its light and portable. Goes everywhere with me - hell I even used it to build furniture around the house!

My new favorite product is the Tyre Glider. Makes installing and removing the tires on my setup an absolute breeze. Maybe one of the best cycling related products I've ever purchased. Now, I don't dread removing my tubeless tires, cleaning them and replacing the sealant every couple of months.

Can't take my eye off that blue scott rim brake bike in the background. Stunner!

All I want for Christmas is a Nick/cade/josh Reid collab 🤌

Disagree with the 1x statement. Tighter ratios DO help the average cyclist is riding in a group as you've got a smoother progression up the cassette.

I like your RSA bike mechanic's opinion on what works. Saves me the hassle of buying and finding out later that it was or wasn't such a good buy. Great idea for a video. Super knowledgeable oke👌

Thanks Jimmy; the voice and face of reason. I have bought the lube on the recommend- Garmin Varia also pretty useful.

Regarding 1x, they are both right.. you don't need all the gears of 2x.. but each rider should be their own judge.

Probably the single greatest bike product I've ever bought was a ParkTool PCS-10. Complete game changer as a home mechanic

Dynaplug Racer plug kit would be in my top 10 for sure. Along with a top tube bag I have a small Apidura race frame bag which is really neat and adds loads more storage for a bigger waterproof/more food/gold bars, whatever!

equal parts amusing and educational! laughed out loud more than once! thanks

2:59 I've got to differ. I built my do-it-all car-replacement road bike with 1x11 after drinking the kool-aid such as Nic's selling here, but how is it the case that there's no cross-chaining with 1x drivetrains? Like, aren't you basically always cross-chaining with 1x except in the middle of the cassette? My experience was (with 1x11 44t/11-46t - so imo excellent range overall, but big gaps) on a road bike, both the top and bottom gears felt noticeably less efficient - less smooth, more gritty. Current 2x12 has a similar maximum and minimum gear setup, but feels _much_ better and not having such extreme gaps between gear ratios is really nice. I don't race but I do delivery and commute on the bike; for either use-case there's no way I'm going back to a 1x unless there's some newfangled chains that are specifically designed to flex (a lot) laterally while still being just as efficient. If you do as Nic seems to suggest and go electronic 1x on a road bike, you've paid a $1000+ premium for a much less functional product than a mechanical 2x one. If we buy this "it's simpler" argument, anyone not racing ought to just ride lightweight single-speeds; for me, road bike 1x is the worst of all worlds. I just don't see where the difficulty actually is in setting up a modern front mech; they're dead simple and work great already.

Shimano 12x mechanical MTB gears. They just do the job, they are fairly inexpensive if you don‘t buy XTR and there is very little to improve. Wera A6 torque wrench. Takes hex bits directly which is a lot more useful on a bike than 1/4“ or 3/8“ and makes it very compact so that you can reach bolts in tight spaces like in suspension linkages.

I got the Park Tool multi allen key set after my cheapo one literally fell apart and all the bits went everywhere. It wasn't much more expensive and has been rock solid

Gavel bike does it all, 1x front cog. MY LBS mechanic told me that if you want to commute with it, and do gravel adventure on the weekends, you'd want a 2x. Discussion followed me raising that a 36t front single cog would not let you ride with a peloton.

Those mud guards you shown DO NOT protect your chain from all the stuff that the tires pick up and bottom frame gets sprayed by dirt and rocks plus it chips away your pain SLOWLY eventually you will notice it! Also does not protect my water bottles they all get sprayed with dirt! I know that because I used them on my gravel bike! I went back to the FULL mud guard and no more issues on my bike chain, or paint chipping away from my frame, and clean water bottles that I can use!

I like mudguards (fenders); it rains a lot where I live, and I wouldn't dream of riding a bike without them. Also, though I like bike luggage, I'm not fond of frame bags; they rub against the knees while pedaling, which is really annoying. I'm a big fan of the Tailfin Aeropack; it's light, stable, and doesn't get in the way; it just does its job without much bother.

Yeah, I'm riding a Basso Palta with Ekar group, mostly as road bike, and also for cyclotouring with the Tailfin carbone rack. I must admit, still using tubes, not sure I want a second wheelset for switching the tyre size in function of the use.🌨️🚴🧳 Thanks guys for your amazing and very informatives videos 🚵🏋️🚵

Great content. An unapologetic 1X'r? I like this guy.

Really enjoyed the vibe and products of this one. 🎉 Thanks .

Been a pro mechanic in a shop in South Florida for 34 years, I'd agree with almost everything you've said. Only because a few of the items I haven't tried yet. Gravel bike for gravel, road and cross. 1X and wireless forever. AWS-10 lives in my shop apron with its little brother, the Stan's valve core remover, because, yeah, tubeless. Radar, radar, radar.

Love the thing with internal cable routing :D

The cycling season just started back up for me after winter Did a nice 34 mile ride I needed that 2x (remind my future self to bring food on my rides)

Love the honesty as to why he likes integrated cable routing…

I was suprised to learn that Fidlock come from my hometown - when their regional manager showed up in my store where I work. To be a bit more specific: my parents are living a 10 min. bike ride away.

We live in UK so full mud guards are a winter must! Rear ones fine but what about front wheel that kicks up just as much water/mud on to your front/frame 😂

Super interesting list, but you'll take my road and gravel front mech from my cold dead hands.... One by is fine for the MTB, but, I love the range and small steps that I get from having a 2x setup.

About position one. Better choice is Bike 7 pro wax. If you try, you never come back to the regular "oil" lube in dry/wet weather. 1x is a serioulsy good deal. Already i waiting for a Deckas narrow wide chainring and i use traditional Sora 2x9. I hate trimming. I live in a flat region and 1x is blessing also in my bike for special dirty jobs, cleaning never was so simple

Love White Industry hubs for how easy they are to maintain/rebuild. They roll good too. Thomson stems/posts. Lightweight, strong & I dig the machined mill marks.

Crazy how diff mechanics work.Depends on so much factors.I am one myself for many years & i learned here a bit more.THX

''1x'' is my favourite bike product. Im one of those bikers that don't how to use 3 x at all i tend to on 3x stick to the 2nd chainring and just go up and down on the rear cassette. 1x makes it so simple that i have not to think about the 3 chainrings and its bliss just complete bliss. once i got my first 1x its been 1x ever since or converted to 1x.

From this list, for me it is my TIME Alpe d'Huez: it is absoultely great! And no integrated cable routing through the handlebars ;) apart from that, I really love my bike computer because I can go anywhere without getting lost.

great vid, my fav bit of kit is my toptube bag just to keep my jelly babies in for long rides

loves these videos! all three of you'll! keep em up.

Love the banter on these 👍

Why would an amateur not need all the gears a two-by gives? I'm using my 34-32 and 50-11 and I don't even live in seriously hilly terrain. So unless you give me an 18 sprocket cassette, I'm either losing range or I have big jumps (and even the 11-34 jumps are bordeline sometimes).

Haven't finished--but enjoying this look at products.

Thing about gravel bike is how slack the geometry is. Even on days I don’t race, I like how zippy, nimble and responsive a full fledged road race bike is. I think a road race bike with relaxed geometry like Trek Emonda H2, Orbea Orca (tyres up to 35c) or Cervelo Soloist (tyres up to 35c). Alternatively, endurance bike like Look 765 Optimo or Trek Domane would provide more sense for people who can only afford one bike.

love my radar, the MyBikeTraffic app for the Garmin head unit is also well worth getting as it records the speed of the vehicle passing, i recently sent one to the police when the car passed at 76mph on a 60 limit, the driver is now getting a FPN

Rema tiptop touring patch repair kit, the best in the game!

Agree on the frame bag... They are so functional and helpful. Only problem is when someone has raided it!!

I agree with one by! I have a gravel with two sets of wheels, one road one gravel

Reserve Fillmore valves, a tubeless game changer.

Thanks for the Fenwick foam cleaner recommendation. My drivetrain has never been this clean.😊

The list for copy and paste adding to shopping/present list etc: Fenwicks All Conditions Chain Lube Biodegradable bike chain lube Fidlock Water bottle Vielo r+1 Seatpost Wireless Droper Seatposts Silca Tubless Sealant 1x Drivetrains Gravel Frames Intergrated/Internal cable routing Wide Tyres Fendor Bendor J Guillem Atalaya Frameset Sram Removable Batteries Sram & Campagnolo bleed kits Park Tool AWS-10 Ceramic Speed Wheel Bearing Press Endro XD15 bearings Bike Radars e.g Garmin Varia Time Carbon Layup Tubeless Plug & Boot Kit Bike Luggage full of South African money and choclate :D

Oof bit of a controversy: Silca sealant used to eat some types of rim tape (see the WW thread about it) hope they've fixed it by now. if you're not using farsports wheels (they don't need tape) like me then it might give you a hard time. Tubeless plug: dynaplug seems to be the best. if you like expensive stuff you can carry some in your handlebar plugs as well. Fidlock: the titanium one seems to be hard to squeeze for some people as I read some reviews, but my normal (well, gravel) fidlock is also a bit hard so I don't know how it can get any harder SRAM pro bleed kit: yes please

I bought my first Silca product last year the "mattone seatpacK" love it. Actually, I found out this year they are based in my city as well, their warehouse is located across the street from a gas station I stop at sometimes on my route at work.

By far my most favorite tool is the park tool tl 4.2 tyre lever, as a bike mechanic myself these tyre levers have never failed me, including on some ridiculously tight tubeless set ups and some stuck on nasty old tires, they are strong and last a good while.

So much bike snobbery in this 😂 I can relate The Garmin Varia and anything Park Tool 👌 If you road ride in the country at all, especially by yourself, you owe it to yourself to get a radar. It made my country rides so much more relaxing!

Oh I could listen to this guy all day so good great common sense More of this 🎉 Well edited ❤too

I had no idea Time bikes were made that way... surprised they aren't more expensive!

It's hard to argue against these, I want them all 😀👍

The heckling was hilarious

Great video. If it has not been done already please can we have a look at the beautiful J.Guillem set up.

I love bike lights ran from dyno hub. Gives you so much light with led headlights

Favourite bit of 'kit' ? J Guillem frameset! Since I saw that a number of videos back I was ❤❤❤ I found out, it was made not even 50 km's from my home in NL!

This was a great vid!

Great concept for a couple of videos

SRAM and Campagnolo bleed kits with the attaching bottles look great. However, check out other makes like kits from Tektro. These come with piston blocks, new olives, etc

Just brought the all condition lube. Glad it’s got a good recommendation.

Agree on fidlock but need to admit that lost one during the crush once (found exactly at crush point later) otherwise best bottle ever.

Wish I could say the same about tubeless plugs. In reality though, they rarely fixed my leaky tubeless tires reliably - be it on the gravel bike or the road bike. Usually, once sealant doesn’t seal, it’s then a matter of nursing the bike home whilst pumping up the tire every few km. The only thing that really works for me is patching the tire from the inside. For that though, I need to thoroughly clean and prepare it, which cannot really be done out on the road.

Re: SRAM batteries. The tabs on two of my batteries snapped. Luckily I was in the garage and was able to super glue back together. They are fragile!

Don’t be the that no mudguards guy an a club ride. No one appreciates the clean look, they all think he’s a knob.

Good to know that I'm not the only one that hates Muc Off chain lube

Did I spy a Silca Gravelero pump in the frame bag? Great pump, well made, does the job 👍

I have an Italian Cycling Mirror. It works; I love it.

Very interesting information about the Silca Sealant.

love watching a fellow south african on youtube! great video

Living here in the Alps, I just can't imagine climbing with a roadbike that has only 1x drivetrain...

Silca Tattico mini pump, JANDD handlebar bags for the good price, Specialized Airtool floor pump, JUIN Tech GT hydro mech brakes, and the champ of them all a Lumos helmet. Higher up lights seem more visible, only one thing to charge, and your lights are always on you.

Giant are now doing the same thing with a seatpost insert to go between D shape and round on the new revolt.

If I had to choose I'd say my Park Tools work stand was a bit of kit I regularly use and would struggle without it.

I also love my Fenwick's chain lube. I consider and treat it more as a dry condition lube though.

Hmm... favourite bike products. Generator hubs and lighting René Herse tyres Proper aluminium mudguards Gevenalle shifters Rain capes (currently a Cleverhood but others are available) Five Ten shoes Wool jerseys for winter cycling

Very enjoyable video lol, nice work. And hey, more cycling stuff I need in my life. ;)

Still gonna disagree on the front mech part... 2x or heck 3x is the way to go for a beginner if the terrain is hilly or you carry a lot of weight. Or if you are on a budget In my case putting a big ish rig in the front would make me run that nice smooth 80rpm on the flat but wouldn't allow me to climb very well (execpt putting a full dessert plate in the back put that ain't cheap if you want good gear repartition). A smaller one would make me spin out on the flat... But climb well

SRAM removable batteries are great, till someone steals them at your cafe stop as happed to a mate of mine.

I'm not a skinny road rider or a manic gravel rider (Although i do ride gravel from time to time), so my favourite bike products are, My Silka tool kit - awesome quality and not too heavy; my Brooks B17 special saddle, my Carradice seat bags (I have two different sizes) and mu Hope disc brakes - they have saved me from a few scrapes!

Bought Fenwick’s all conditions lube off the the back of this video and love it. Thank you