Prophete

Prophete sits at the bottom of three different price ladders on this site, and does so without obvious compromise.

Where it appears here

A 6/7/8-speed chain, a steel seatpost and a pair of ergonomic grips.

What it is genuinely good at

Covering the common case cheaply. A 27.2 mm seatpost at 300 mm fits an enormous number of frames. A chain covering 6, 7 and 8 speeds covers most city and trekking bikes. Neither product needs to do anything else.

One genuinely thoughtful product. The Ergo grips come in asymmetric lengths — 132 mm left, 98 mm right — which is what a bike with a twist shifter actually needs. Two identical grips on such a bike leaves one hand on bare bar.

Where it is ordinary

Published detail. None of the three products publishes a weight, a bar diameter or a link count. On the grips, the bar diameter is the specification that decides fit.

What to know before buying

Read the seatpost diameter off the post already in your frame rather than measuring it — the steps between 27.2, 30.9 and 31.6 mm are under a millimetre. And the asymmetric grips are wrong for a bike with trigger shifters, where two equal grips are what you want.