Mountain Biking - Companies/Parts To Avoid

As a fairly new guy, a few questions come up when looking at bikes. Figuring out what the best are is pretty easy in most cases. It seems that Specialized and K2 have it down. But a big question that always comes to my mind is "What companies should you avoid?" Usually, that takes care of bad parts, but once in a while there are a few lemons. So what companies/parts do you think it's smart to stay away from?

I personally dont like haro very much but some people on this board are pleased with them.

Just stay away from department store , hummer, and honda bikes.

While Specialized does, K2 is somewhere there. To give an honest listing would set off a firestorm.

To give an honest listing would set off a firestorm.

Very true.

and honda bikes.

Until the DH rig goes for sale.

To give an honest listing would set off a firestorm.
Trying to state the actual best in order would do that. But I was just kicking out examples. I guess "have it down" was a poor choice of words.

Trying to state the actual best in order would do that. But I was just kicking out examples. I guess "have it down" was a poor choice of words.

It's impossible, everyone has their own opinions.

Until the DH rig goes for sale.

Its going to be pretty expensive... :(

Which is the case with DH racing bikes.

Just wondering, how much is the frame going to cost?

No idea off the top of my head.

Im not a big fan of some of the cannodale propriety stuff. I like the fact That I bought a bike that was equiped with off the shelf SRAM, Avid, and Rock Shox gear, stuff which came with its own manual and would be easy to replace if i needed to. When Buying a frame I look for something that is of a quality Where i wouldn't mind upgrade components on. I have used shimano and sram stuff and Have ever had a major problem with either that wasn't my own fault

Im not a big fan of some of the cannodale propriety stuff.
I have to agree with you there. C'dale proprietary stuff is ever so much fun :rolleyes:

I have to agree with you there. C'dale proprietary stuff is ever so much fun :rolleyes:
I see what you mean... I took a look at their stuff to see what you mean and some of it just looks plain goofy.

I see what you mean... I took a look at their stuff to see what you mean and some of it just looks plain goofy.
You should try working on it. <shudder>

Cannondale does require more of an after-sale commitment. You must be on good terms with your dealer in order to be happy with the bike. Their stuff works great, but they're as high maintenance as Jennifer Lopez. Personally, I'm warming to Felt, as they seem to be good value and well designed, much like Jamis. Things to avoid? Entry level bikes and entry level components. I'm certain that nearly ever major brand out there offers at least one item or model that is spec'd to a lower price point rather than what we would consider to be an acceptable level of quality.

I would also avoid Cannondale bikes like the plague.

Even the simple rigid bike I bought 10 years ago was difficult to upgrade due to Cannondale using an off-sized head tube. That Lefty and Headshock stuff is even worse.

It seems that Specialized and K2 have it down.

I have yet to see one K2 bike on or off the trail.

Avoid
1 - canondale
2 - any other seatpost but thomson
3 - hayes mechs or promax mechs
4 - under xt hubs, rapid rise sucks ass, flippy shifters do to. I tend to like after market rear hubs
5 - 9mm front axle forks
6 - Tioga wheels (owned 3 different kinds and they all blew)
7 - No love for truvativ bb's. I went through 3 before I trashed them in place of fsa

Loves
1 - wtb saddles
2 - thomson seatposts (there is no comparison)
3 - marzocchi forks
4 - Maxxis wheels
5 - ryno lites for trails, 321ds (or whatever they are) for freeriding/dh
6 - The new avids hydros are the best value brakes around
7 - anything by fsa makes me happy
8 - e13 chainguides

Thats the short list. :)

Cannondale's are for Mac users, people who like to have a one stop shop (because there is only maker of most primary parts) and pay dearly for it. Stay away from them.

Cannondale's are for Mac users

LMAO. Is there a "Quote of the Day" award??? :D

Stupid one button mouse.

When I worked at Gotham Bikes we were always waiting for weeks to months for Cannondale parts whenever someone brought in their bike with something like the Lefty fork on it. Hard to get replacement parts from Cannondale.

I wouldn't buy a Cannondale MTB either (or a road bike).

I think carbon seatposts are parts to stay away from.

File them under completely unnecessary

Cannondale's are for Mac users

Dang, I had no idea Cannondale's were so vastly superior!

Dang, I had no idea Cannondale's were so vastly superior!

The trick is managing to convince the users that their Cannondale/Mac is vastly superior and not just an overpriced system that's incompatible with the rest of the market :p

Sorry, couldn't resist :D

The trick is managing to convince the users that their Cannondale/Mac is vastly superior and not just an overpriced system that's incompatible with the rest of the market :p

Sorry, couldn't resist :D

Hmm, I could speak mandarin and be "compatible" with over a billion people, or I could speak English and be "compatible" with .5 billion people. I'll take my mac and english anyday, you can keep the cannodale though.

My list would be somewhat similar to Maelstrom's, with the exceptions related to FSA and the disc brakes, as I have personal experience with either of them (though I really only hear good stuff about them. I've heard good things about the Avid mechanical discs (if your going mechanical).

I love Sella saddles (always had good luck with them). I've never had a problem with my Syncro seatpost, but would absolutely recommend the Thompson brand. I've toured their factory and met Mr. Thompson. Super nice people, and great quality stuff!!! (they are local to me)

I've had great luck with Rock Shox, but I imagine a lot of that is due to the terrain I ride versus Maelstrom.

You'll discover and somewhat Ford/Chevy situation when you start asking about what's good and what's not. It's a very regional thing too, I've noticed in regards to what you do or don't like. (Thompson products are HUGE around here, duh!)

The trick is managing to convince the users that their Cannondale/Mac is vastly superior and not just an overpriced system that's incompatible with the rest of the market :p

Sorry, couldn't resist :D

Not to hard to do once you been brainwashed, and then pay $130 for minscule OS upgrades that simply showcase features that already existed. That is what shortcuts are for. I can buy a whole new Dell for $350 with an LCD panel monitor, if I were to get an apple monitor that would be all I could get for the entire $350. Apple Computer says: "Think Different" if one was really thinking they would have bought a PC.

Hey worms! Get back in your can!

After all this talk of Macs being like Cannondale I see the point. It works but it sucks to upgrade and is just an over all oddball company.

Well, at least now I know what not to touch at all. :p

It's just interesting how bikes and computers compare. In my mind, Dell, HP/Compaq, and Gateway are like the X-Mart brands. ...and just like X-Mart bikes, you get what you pay for. ...and usually in the end it is best to just build your own. ;)

Avoid

7 - No love for truvativ bb's.

Thats the short list. :)
I have to disagree with you there. I've never had an issue with my Gigapipe Team DH :D

Havent had an issue with my Gigapipe Team TI either :D

Personally, I love macs, but dont like cannondale. The one button mouse is pretty annoying, but you can use a windows mouse and the right click is the same as option-click.

The stuff I love (not in any specific order):
Yeti
Specialized
Turner
Avid
Santa Cruz
Hope
Marzocchi
Fox Racing Shox
Mavic
DT Swiss
Michelin
Race Face
Chris King

Stuff I dont like (but not hate):
trek
cannondale
leftys (yeah the are supposed to be stiff and stictionless, but I would go nuts if I had half a fork under me!)
raleigh
haro
k2
khs
FSA headsets

Stuff I hate:
Xmart bikes, of course
trek y-bikes
inferior quality

I dont want people telling me how much they like haro and raleigh, etc. This is all just my opinion. Im not telling everyone that ___ sucks and that noone should buy it. :)

Stuff I dont like (but not hate):
trek

[...]

Stuff I hate:
[...]
trek y-bikes



What's your guys' thoughts on Trek. It's kind of important to me because I'm stuck with an LBS that is all Trek. I'm undecided on what I really think of them. I haven't had much experience with them.

Trek bikes arent bad, dont get me wrong, I just dont like their suspension and frames. I dont like bontrager either.

The trek y-bike is the same type of "suspension" as a walmart bike. It is called the URT, or Unified Rear Triangle. It is a very outdated suspension design and doesnt work very well.
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/e6/9d/2003-Trek-Y26-bikes-resized200.jpg

Trek makes vey good road bikes, which is what I think they should stick with.

You don't ride a dell on a black diamond steep trail where you could end up seriously injured. At worst it has a bad part, you send it back and it gets replaced and continues working...Your comparison is moot as the two don't have anywhere near the same consequences.

I have been building pc's for almost 20 years. My next pc will be a dell...300$ cdn for a pc that is smoking fast and goes above and beyond what I need a home. Why would you buy an Ellsworth? ;) That and I really don't enjoy building pc's. There is no skill involved anymore (hasn't been in 15 years to be honest). Overclocking has even lost its edge. No talent in being a technician anymore.

Trek bikes arent bad, dont get me wrong, I just dont like their suspension and frames. I dont like bontrager either.

The trek y-bike is the same type of "suspension" as a walmart bike. It is called the URT, or Unified Rear Triangle. It is a very outdated suspension design and doesnt work very well.
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/e6/9d/2003-Trek-Y26-bikes-resized200.jpg

Trek makes vey good road bikes, which is what I think they should stick with.

Yeah, I got that much about their Y-frames.

Just the other day, I was out in the woods working on building a new jump and I ran into a friend I didn't know was into mountain biking. He came by with one of those Trek Y-frame bikes (That one in the picture is real close if not it). I sat and talked to him about it for a while. He mentioned how his fork always bottomed out and how he needed to loose some weight. :rolleyes: Guess that backs up your claim.

Only thing good about that bike's frame is that you don't bash yourself when you slip off. Otherwise, I must say it is pretty ugly.

I have to disagree with you there. I've never had an issue with my Gigapipe Team DH :D

Yep I know. I think there has been a silent "agree to disagree" on this one. I will never go to truvativ again ;)...I even run an fsa bb with truvativ cranks on my roast :)...that bb lasted 2.5 years longer than the 3 truvativ bb's on the exact same bike. And I now I ride harder and weigh more :)

You don't ride a dell on a black diamond steep trail where you could end up seriously injured. At worst it has a bad part, you send it back and it gets replaced and continues working...Your comparison is moot as the two don't have anywhere near the same consequences.

I have been building pc's for almost 20 years. My next pc will be a dell...300$ cdn for a pc that is smoking fast and goes above and beyond what I need a home. Why would you buy an Ellsworth? ;) That and I really don't enjoy building pc's. There is no skill involved anymore (hasn't been in 15 years to be honest). Overclocking has even lost its edge. No talent in being a technician anymore.

I guess the other reason I don't like Dell is the fact they don't use AMD. Cheap yet fast and they can act like an Intel at 4 GHz only using 2.2 GHz. I'm running on an AMD 64 3000+ and it feels great. Every Dell I've seen seems to get slower and slower. My father's computer is an Dell at 3.0 GHz and it just seems slow to me even though it was about the same as mine (until I upgraded, which is harder with Dell in my opinion). But on the other hand, I don't do as much business application stuff on here as 3D rendering.

As for your idea of crashing one and not getting it replaced, you can just use all the individual warranties.

But I guess I'm getting off topic. :p

I was using AMD before amd was even a competitor. Been a long time. But I hold no company loyalties.

My point had nothing to do with parts, my point had to do with personal danger. Your point was moot because there are no consequences to buying a "kmart computer" except for some bad parts, a kmart bike can result in some serious issues ;)

I was using AMD before amd was even a competitor. Been a long time. But I hold no company loyalties.

My point had nothing to do with parts, my point had to do with personal danger. Your point was moot because there are no consequences to buying a "kmart computer" except for some bad parts, a kmart bike can result in some serious issues ;)

BUT WAIT! UH! UH! YOU COULD DROP IT ON YOURSELF! ;)

Avoid
promax mechs


Any particular reason for this? I have them on my ALD and they work great and are super easy to adjust.

Also, how do you guys feel about Fuji's MTBs?

Any particular reason for this? I have them on my ALD and they work great and are super easy to adjust.

Also, how do you guys feel about Fuji's MTBs?
Try a set of properly set up Avid Mechanicals and get back to me. You'll find that they blow away the Promax competition in every aspect.
Fuji's aren't too bad, they do tend to be nice bikes for the price. Although I dislike their suspension models

I still refuse to answer this.

I have yet to see one K2 bike on or off the trail.

You'll find a few of them in action in these galleries (http://idriders.com/cgi-bin/album_k2.pl). And these guys across the pond (http://www.proflex.demon.co.uk/855headfeatures/index.html) also have some pictures of K2s.

I've seen them out locally. Nothing I'd jump ship for but nice bikes

I've seen them out locally. Nothing I'd jump ship for but nice bikes

I'm a fan of some of their older stuff. I wouldn't put current K2 bikes on the top of my list but they do offer a pretty good bike for their pricepoint simply because they're so underrated. As far as top-performance goes, there are other brands which stack up better.

In defense of Cannondale, it's not a quality or performance issue, it's the price/serviceability issue. Anyone that works at a Cannondale dealer and can deal with repairs themselves would probably find the Lefty or even Headshok to be a very viable choice if it suited their application. They're good products, just not for everyone. Much like Macs are the defacto standard in desktop video editing.

So enough picking on Cannondale, let's pick on Tektro. :)

You could always pick on me, otherwise. I have many parts that have seen their better days. :p

I love my Mac but I consider mac users more like Campy folks. Doesn't have a huge market and is willing to give to low end to the other comapies, but makes a damn fine product on the high end.

I love my avid mechs, they were give a much better feel and are lighter than the hayes mechs i played with. and have never a problem with my turvativ BB.

I think the best single peice of advice is to aviod anything low end. I find both deore and x.7 great parts for the price, much cheaper and you get crap and to get something better you have to pay alot more. My x.9s shift like magic, but if i hadn't gotten a huge discount the x.7s would have done me fine.

Try a set of properly set up Avid Mechanicals and get back to me. You'll find that they blow away the Promax competition in every aspect.

I'll give them a shot next time a shop is demoing bikes. I doubt that I'll own a set since my next rig will be a 1500 dollar one (I am thinking a Kona Dawg :) ) and for that kind of cash I'm expecting hydraulics.

I recently tested out a 2500 dollar Cannondale and it looked like a very well made bike. Still, I would never buy a bike with that much proprietary stuff.