Nearly every bike you see in a bike shop or on a website has been spec’d by a product manager, a person who takes the frame the company produces and decides what parts should go on it and what it should cost (although often they work backwards from a price point they want to hit). This is a job I have done a little bit, and I can tell you, it’s not as fun as it sounds, because there is always downward price pressure. A bike always wants to cost less, so it’s rare that you get to play kid-in-a-candy-shop with the parts catalog and build out an ultimate dream bike.
First you have to decide what’s important, what parts you absolutely have to have, and this is usually a function of what’s valuable in the market at the time. That might be a certain number of cogs on the cassette, a certain brake type, a particular component level, etc. In the early ’00s the world was full of Ultegra-level road bikes with all manner of components arrayed around the drivetrain to make the bike cheaper. That game reached a level of absurdity with product managers spec’ing 105 builds with Ultegra rear derailleurs, because someone figured that the real value in particular gruppo was in that one part.
Today it’s common for a bike be available with a range of build kits, with many of the “tangential” parts being cheaper fill-ins to hold the bike’s price down. Cheap headsets. Cheap bottom brackets. Cheap tires. Even low-cost bar tape or grips can help a product manager cheat their way toward a better price point. “Cheap,” of course, being a relative term.
While we’re at it, my use of the adjective “tangential” isn’t really right. A bicycle doesn’t actually move in many places (hubs, bottom brackets and headsets), and I’d argue those are more important than whether you have aluminum or carbon handlebars, but few riders seem to perceive the value of those components the same way I do.
I’m also perpetually perplexed by the number of people who never upgrade any part of their bike. They ride it like they bought it. That makes the work of the product manager arguably even more important than it needs to be.
All this is getting at this week’s TCI Friday question, which is, what is the least important component on your bicycle? Where would you skimp if you were doing the product manager’s job? And why?
The components I believe are least important for the vast majority of buyers on a new mountain bike build are the front hub (has to spin and not be too outlandish* in color way), the seat clamp, the handlebar (if it lands in the mean and isn’t too narrow, no worries), the cables and the chain **. I agree that the moving parts you mentioned (rear hubs, bottom brackets, headsets) are way more significant than most give them due. However, having routinely destroyed many of these items over the years they are something I do not skimp on.
*unless somewhat outlandish is the color way then it just needs to match the rest of the build or at least the rear hub.
** I’d wager 99% of buyers of a new complete bike do not even give this a thought. However, I run XO1 Eagle chains on every bike as they simply outlast everything else.
Probably tires, since they are easy to change out and people can be finicky. Saddles, since everyone’s ass is different and I bet most stock saddles end up in that spare parts box. I chose 10 spd instead of 11 and saved a big chunk of money because I don’t race, the gear range was actually a little wider, and the slightly bigger spacing between gear ratios doesn’t give me heartburn.
Stuff like bearings, bottom brackets, headsets that are tougher to fix when they break or wear out I would not skimp on. Nor brakes, because when you have to stop, as I did the other day when some asshole ran a red light in front of me, the brakes gotta work.
I would skimp on handlebars, stem, seatpost and wheels. Middle of the road brakes and drivetrain (they are all pretty good these days). Put on good (not nessecarily the best) tires. The frame and suspension should be the best parts.