Overheard a guy at the Tim Hortons in Kamloops say 'hub caps are for posers' and it got me thinking

I was grabbing a coffee near the Husky station on Tranquille Road and this older rider was talking about how he never bothers with fancy hub caps on his old Goldwing. Said he just runs bare steel rims because they're tougher on gravel roads. Made me wonder, how many of us are buying extra chrome parts that just add weight for no real benefit? Anybody else out there strip their bike down to the basics after hearing someone else's opinion?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicecooper18d ago

Man I used to be all about loading up my bike with every shiny piece of chrome I could find, thought it made it look meaner and more legit you know. But last year I was out on a ride near Merritt and hit a patch of loose gravel, lost a brand new hub cap somewhere on the highway and didn't even notice till I got home. Felt like a complete idiot paying extra for something that just flew off on a bumpy road. Since then I've been stripping things down, steel rims are tougher and I don't have to worry about dinging them up on fire roads. That older rider might be onto something because weight adds up fast and nothing on my bike is for show anymore, just what actually helps me ride.

mary_schmidt17d ago

@alicecooper, does that stripped-down setup handle better on those fire roads too?