Let's remove brand name decals from our new bikes and appreciate bikes as bikes
12-15-10, 08:52 AM
#202
Stealing Spokes since 82'
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Well it's sort of sideways related to the topic. I mean someone mentioned consumer report. And whenever they review cars they look at reliability and the cost of repairs. But you don't hear as much about that in bike reviews. I always look at bikes and think 9-speed, 10-speed, 11-speed? What's wrong with 8-speed? I can get a cassette, chain, etc, for a fraction of the price, and with equal or greater reliability. Same with integrated brake/shifter combinations that practically cost as much as all the other components combined.
I mean you kind of get an interest in reliability with the revival of interest in internal geared hubs, but I'm sure some reviews would keep going on about the loss of performance and the weight of the hubs, etc.
But to respond to your post. I would compare the reliability by looking at the frequency of unexpected problems with the vehicle. And I would compare the maintenance requirements by looking at the frequency of necessary routine work that needs to be done.
Just consider someone with zero mechanical knowledge or willingness to do any work on their vehicle and think if this person commutes to work using this vehicle, how many days would they lose to mechanical problems. Or how many times would that vehicle have to go into the shop.
I mean you kind of get an interest in reliability with the revival of interest in internal geared hubs, but I'm sure some reviews would keep going on about the loss of performance and the weight of the hubs, etc.
But to respond to your post. I would compare the reliability by looking at the frequency of unexpected problems with the vehicle. And I would compare the maintenance requirements by looking at the frequency of necessary routine work that needs to be done.
Just consider someone with zero mechanical knowledge or willingness to do any work on their vehicle and think if this person commutes to work using this vehicle, how many days would they lose to mechanical problems. Or how many times would that vehicle have to go into the shop.
12-15-10, 06:45 PM
#203
Tawp Dawg
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 1,221
Bikes: '06 Surly Pugsley, '14 Surly Straggler, '88 Kuwahara Xtracycle, '10 Motobecane Outcast 29er, '?? Surly Cross Check (wife's), '00 Trek 4500 (wife's), '12 Windsor Oxford 3-speed (dogs')
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You ain't kiddin'.
Unbranded frame from earlier in the thread has finally been built up:
There are still at least 77 visible brands on the bike, and when my rack stays and fender brackets get here, there will an even 80. I could eliminate ~ 30 by replacing the heavily branded Jagwire cable housing, but I really like the color (it's as close to matching the bar tape and grips that I could find, which were chosen because they match the neon yellow reflective tape that I've run down the length of the fenders and wrapped around the chainstays and fork legs). There are another 18 stamped into the chain and barely visible. The rest are on various components that would require sanding (which would look pretty crappy, IMO), or significant material removal where the brand is stamped or cast onto the component.
So, if someone wished to remove all brands from their bicycle, they've definitely got their work cut out for them.
Unbranded frame from earlier in the thread has finally been built up:
There are still at least 77 visible brands on the bike, and when my rack stays and fender brackets get here, there will an even 80. I could eliminate ~ 30 by replacing the heavily branded Jagwire cable housing, but I really like the color (it's as close to matching the bar tape and grips that I could find, which were chosen because they match the neon yellow reflective tape that I've run down the length of the fenders and wrapped around the chainstays and fork legs). There are another 18 stamped into the chain and barely visible. The rest are on various components that would require sanding (which would look pretty crappy, IMO), or significant material removal where the brand is stamped or cast onto the component.
So, if someone wished to remove all brands from their bicycle, they've definitely got their work cut out for them.
12-15-10, 07:54 PM
#204
In the right lane
I don't mind brand names on my bikes. What I really dislike is a brand name on my tee-shirt, unless it says "Patagonia" or something similar.. which it hasn't yet.
12-15-10, 09:46 PM
#205
Stealing Spokes since 82'
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Location: Boy-z, Ideeeho
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Ive always loved the look of polished alum, nice build griddle
12-15-10, 11:49 PM
#206
Tawp Dawg
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Bikes: '06 Surly Pugsley, '14 Surly Straggler, '88 Kuwahara Xtracycle, '10 Motobecane Outcast 29er, '?? Surly Cross Check (wife's), '00 Trek 4500 (wife's), '12 Windsor Oxford 3-speed (dogs')
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Thanks, Fizzaly! I took it out for its second ride today, put about 20 more miles on it running errands, and it rides like a champ. This is my first IGH bike, and it's gonna be the daily commuter and grocery/recycling hauler. I'm hoping that switching to an Alfine 8 is gonna be as awesome as switching to upright bars was.
Honestly, I didn't find the branding on the frame that offensive, I just really like the look of polished aluminum. This is the second aluminum frame that I've stripped. The first was because the paint had become horrifically chipped. I tried covering it with stickers, only to find that just as ugly. Then I found a thread on the MTBR.com forums that showed how to strip the paint from a frame, and I found this beautiful, shiny metal underneath my ugly, chipped paint job.
Honestly, I didn't find the branding on the frame that offensive, I just really like the look of polished aluminum. This is the second aluminum frame that I've stripped. The first was because the paint had become horrifically chipped. I tried covering it with stickers, only to find that just as ugly. Then I found a thread on the MTBR.com forums that showed how to strip the paint from a frame, and I found this beautiful, shiny metal underneath my ugly, chipped paint job.
12-16-10, 09:59 AM
#207
sniffin' glue
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Seattle
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Bikes: Surly crosscheck ssfg, Custom vintage french racing bike, Bruce Gordon Rock & Road
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That bike looks insanely fun! Have fun out there.
12-16-10, 11:49 AM
#208
Is Right
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I could go on a similar trip by bike and not have to do anything (I did a 250 km trip and had no problems, except my lock freezing), but then again I might get a flat or two, amongst other things and if I wrote about it on BF people wouldn't be saying: wow what a crappy and unreliable bike.
I took a 6,000+ mile bicycle trip and got the first flat at around 4,000 miles in. I was riding a mix of dirt roads and secondary roads. I had good, heavy tires with a solid reputation for flat-resistance. They cost me about $40 a piece but still had plenty of life left in them when I got back.
The thing about bicycle tires is, manufacturers are under pressure to make them *light*, which decreases their durability. Not true for automobile tires, since the driver generally doesn't care how heavy they are; they are not the ones pushing them- the refinery workers who refine the oil into gasoline, the oil field workers who extract oil from the ground, the people who die in the process, and the hundreds of millions of years of decomposition of organic material once wrought by the sun's energy is what is pushing them.
12-20-10, 03:39 PM
#209
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I took a 6,000+ mile bicycle trip and got the first flat at around 4,000 miles in. I was riding a mix of dirt roads and secondary roads. I had good, heavy tires with a solid reputation for flat-resistance. They cost me about $40 a piece but still had plenty of life left in them when I got back.
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Kommisar89
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11-28-12 11:17 AM
