Buy the cycling SWAG you can almost not afford

The slogan over on www.bikeszone.com is always to buy the stuff you can almost not afford - here is the list of stuff which I wish i should've bought slightly better upfront:

• Decathlon shorts Pathetic piece of crap i ever bought. Wish i'd been less idiotic and listened to those advising for the trek shorts. Bought love2pedal and now am their fan. just a bit more and much more value. Within about six months the chamois became damaged/grated and the elastic became really loose. It slips and shows off your rear side where it shouldnt!
• BTwin wellgo pedals Terrible tension and limited float. But then, fair for the price one pays. (1200 dual function, 1400 only clipless). Except the clipless-only pedal was broken from the store. One side is fully loose (and doesnt tighten) and the other side doesnt loosen. Of course, it serves me well for chickening out from the shimano $40 order.
• btwin full finger gloves with protection - Costed some 900 INR as the only feasible option but clearly inferior in feel to the bontrager gloves. They are yet to fall apart (definitely durable by the looks of it) but leave alot of feel to be desired.
• Decathlon helmet blinker lights - Costed some 530, i.e the not-cheap department. Its a nice little design that wraps around vents in the helmet. The light is better than a similar priced sigma. SO where does it fail? It has a rubberised construction but the damned battery cover does not seal 100%. Therefore i will not use this light in the rains. What's the point then? Another shining example of BTwin quality. Just as well as my friend's story here: http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9682
• no name dealextreme $13 flashlight. I then bought the $80 magicshine and slapped my head for not having done so earlier
• Acera powered MTB. I later realized that i get fairly bored off-road - i knew i craved speed and didn't relish much offroad. Six months later my bike did only road duties - with me bemoaning the lack of a slightly better derailleur (1100 more alivio all around). just a bit more and much more value. Of course, with prices rising in India in 2012, as of June 2012, an Acera equipped MTB is still damn near value.

but when it came to my roadbike - i bought smarter. picked up a steel bike ideal for my roads and outfitted with 10 speed tiagra from the store. It seriously felt awesome from day 1 - unlike the MTB. It fit badly initially, but after fitting pedals and following some serious youtube advise I am now enjoying every moment of it.

So buy the best you can almost not afford.