Before any budding taxidermists among you get excited by the title of this blog, I am of course referring to the old maxim, “many ways to skin a cat”, and how it relates to the approach taken by bicycle designers.

I often get into the debate with friends and colleagues of what is the best/ bike/wheel/groupset etc. (delete as applicable). I’ve always thought that this is a futile topic: one that is both a moving target due to the relentless nature of development, as well as being subject to the context of the budget, riding style, requirements and tastes of any given rider.

It doesn’t stop us from having the conversation, though. Keith Bontrager’s well-worn (but accurate) maxim of “strong, light or cheap – pick two” has always rung true; essentially, another version of, “if something appears to good to be true, it probably is”.

Let’s put this in context by looking at some of the things that in which we all enjoy investing our hard-earned.