The Wild Ones Cycling Podcast Ep 127: The Best Value Bike Brand No One’s Talking About? + Bikes We’d Actually Buy in 2026
Apr 9, 2026
They debate the best value bike brands and reveal surprising budget picks for £1k, £3k and £5k. New gravel and GRX wireless kit get a close look. Racing highlights from Flanders and a stunt-worthy Pogacar moment spark chat. A crazy off-road Everesting record and stories about nutrition mishaps add drama. They also dig into gendered road behaviour and secondhand bike strategies.
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Factory Brands Can Collapse Price Premiums
- X-Labs (factory-owned Chinese brand) can undercut Western pricing by selling near-manufacturer direct, offering carbon frames and parts at dramatically lower RRP.
- Francis notes $2,099 carbon road and $3,199 gravel with carbon wheels/components, creating price pressure on incumbents if distribution scales.
Cutting Out Middlemen Drives Radical Value
- Direct manufacturer sales remove multiple retail margins, letting brands like X-Labs or Giant-priced strategies undercut incumbents while keeping dealer networks optional.
- Francis warns availability/operations and reputation building may determine if low pricing persists outside China.
Lizzie Herrall's Off‑Road Everesting Record
- Lizzie Herrall set a new women's off‑road Everesting record: 11 hours 5 minutes, 8,848 m climbed over 157 km in Derbyshire.
- Francis and Jimmy highlight how brutal off‑road Everesting is and the logistical issues she faced with passers-by and a dog eating her food.