Four Cycling Brands to Which I’m Highly Loyal

1. Oakley
Over the years, I have owned, quite literally, probably two dozen of pairs of Oakleys, and in that time I have broken exactly one pair, when it fell off the top of my truck and I ran it over. (I was in a rush to leave for vacation.) I haven’t fallen in love with a lot of their more recent designs, but my Half Jackets and Flak Jackets look great and are super comfortable on the bike. Now that I’m a dad and the sole breadwinner in my house, I’ll probably have to look elsewhere (ie.: less expensive) for a solution. In my pantheon of brand loyalty, they’re right up there with Apple — I’ll use other solutions in a pinch, but I won’t like it.

2. Shimano
I’ve owned bikes with Suntour, Shimano, and SRAM parts. I spent a bunch of time on a borrowed bike one summer that was Campagnolo-equipped. I prefer Shimano. I can’t quantify exactly why that is — I can tell you that I prefer the aesthetic over Campy and SRAM, and that generally speaking I’ve been more impressed with the smoothness of the mechanism. Sure, Shimano has its issues, but so does every manufacturer of drivetrain parts to some extent or another.

3. Chris King
For me, there’s no other choice for a headset. Period. And their hubs are pretty amazing, too — I have them on my singlespeed MTB and my cyclocross wheels. In any case where I am building a set of custom wheels, Chris King‘s hubs are my first choice.

4. DT Swiss
Where do you start with these guys? Their spokes, probably, which have always done right by me — pretty sure every wheel I own (except my Zipp 404s) use DT Swiss of some variety. Even the crazy-ass triple-butted stuff has held up great. They’re pretty new to the rims market, and I rely on them for both cyclocross and mountain bike applications, and have had a great experience with both. I can’t imagine ever calling DT Swiss with a complaint of any sort.

Where Does Your Brand Loyalty Lie?