Which piece of cycling equipment had the greatest impact for

[JennyAdcock]

Its been near a year since I bought my road bike and this week I upgraded it from old style "strap in" pedals to SPDs. This was the last "large" purchase for me and what a difference! I seem to be going faster for no effort. Up hills, my legs are not aching from pushing so hard on the "down" push. All my legs are being used so hills are just easier to cycle up.

I'm thinking that the change to using SPDs and cleets will be having the greatest difference on my ability to climb hills, enjoy cycling and keep up with my colleagues on friday dashes home from work.

Which piece of cycling equipment had the greatest impact for you?

[reohn2]

Without doubt road STI's, after D/T levers I found I was changing gear more readily, more often, keep in my optimum cadence,quite a revelation at the time but it was over fifteen years ago and infact I'm still riding the same levers on one of my bikes!

There are other things but that is the one that stands out in my mind.If you've been brought up on STI's they won't have the same sort of impact,but they were quite something when first available at realistic prices,mine were (RSX 7speed) were 75quid in, I think 1995/6 when I bought them.They've done around 70,000miles since and are still going strong so not a bad buy really.

[Mick F]

Dropped handlebars. 1982 or so.
Honestly, they made such a difference. I'd always had straights before, and when I fitted drops, the comfort and change-position-ability was wonderful. No doubt folk feel similarly about butterfly bars, though I've never tried them.

At the same time as I went to drops, I had clips and straps, and although they were great, the change to clipless (this century!) wasn't that much. More convenient and simpler to clip in and release, but the same thing in the end.

I like to forget about my feet. If they are secure, they just get on with the job turning the pedals, so clips and straps, or clipless, they do the same job. It's just simplicity and the convenience that's good.

Second place to drops, I'd go for Ergos. DT levers are ok, but to be able to flick a lever and change gear - even when braking! is great.

[Gearoidmuar]

Rohloff hub.
Bullhorn bars.
Specialized Fatboy tyres.

[Si]

Bull horn bars - two major advantages for me, much less back pain, brakes work much better.

Marathon Plus - fit and forget.

Marathon Plus Winter - no more putting the bike away over the winter freeze-up.

A spare toe strap and a bit of bungy: now able to carry a quality U lock in a convienient way so bike ceases to be a toy and becomes transport.

Oh, yeah, alloy rims: brakes that work at last!

[531colin]

I'm with you. Jenny, its got to be SPD's!
Absolute boon off-road, too!

[Lawrie9]

Think it has to be the pneumatic tyre which is a lot more comfortable than those old solid ones on the penny farthings and bone shakers and is what made cycling comfortable for the masses

[reohn2]

Think it has to be the pneumatic tyre which is a lot more comfortable than those old solid ones on the penny farthings and bone shakers and is what made cycling comfortable for the masses

Hmmm, didn't think you were that old!

[fixer]

It's got to be SPD, because you can be firmly attached to the pedals and yet can have shoes that you can walk in.

With toeclips and toestraps and cycling shoes with shoeplates you can be firmly attached to the pedals, but you can't walk (normally) in the shoes. Same problem with the Look type pedals.

With the exception of LED lights, which are not specifically a cycle invention, the only new development from the last 25 years I use are SPD pedals.

[thirdcrank]

...With the exception of LED lights, which are not specifically a cycle invention, the only new development from the last 25 years I use are SPD pedals.

There can't be much in life that wasn't developed from something else. I thought clipless pedals were a development of modern ski bindings.

[Ash28]

Mountain bikes which got me back into cycling in the 90s.

[niggle]

My personal 'discovery' of the Brooks leather saddle, which extended my comfortable cycling distance by about 200%. Egos/STIs and SPDs are significant as well.

[reohn2]

Which piece of cycling equipment had the greatest impact for you?

Man puts pedants hat on,
The OP was asking what was the the piece of equipement that had the greatest impact for you personally not for cyling in general,as I understood it

[meic]

Cycle Helmets.

I've lost count of the number of forum users who have had their lives saved by them.

[Edwards]

For me it has to be Shimano Indexing.
Firstly getting my wife to ride Mountain Bikes nearly 20 years ago.

The biggest impact came when we were on holiday five years ago. We went into Kendal and I spotted a drop handle bar bike for sale in a bike shop. My wife would not even go and get a better look, so on the way back to the caravan we had an almighty row. After this she agreed to at least got back and look.
She tried the bike in the car park out the back and came in to the shop with a big grin, informing me it had Flippy Flappies in the brakes to change gear.
So I was sent to the bank to get the money for her Bob Jackson.

My road bike had down tube shifters but having tried the shifters, I soon fitted Sora STI levers to my bike. We now happily ride our road bikes together with our Shimano Flippy Flappies.