rydabent

In my opinion some one calling somebodies elses bike uncool is pretty much snobbery. Maybe they really like their bike or it is all they can afford.

52telecaster

+1

Red90

I would never judge other people for whatever bike they choose to ride. The fact that they are riding already is a positive to me.

That however doesn't mean I don't have my certain biases towards bike brands. Initially when I started road riding, I was enamored with the big brands like specialized, giant and trek. Mostly due to the techy geek in me looking at what they were innovating with on the wind tunnels, carbon technology etc. I still do believe if your looking for the current technology and best bang for the buck on bike, the big three is still the way to go.

The issue that I have with the big three and why I tend to look elsewhere for bikes has more to do with the soul of the company. Most of the big three, started the companies based upon having the factory connections and ability to produce bikes for a market demand. Now a days, the bikes are produced based upon a regiment of R&D, Technical testing, market evaluation and rates of return of investment. It all seems so clinical and feel more like a marketing statistic if I buy their bikes.

I know it's probably a lot of bike snobbery, but I get more excited knowing the bike I bought was founded by a guy or people that were cyclist, had a passion to build something special and figured it out on their own. When I read about guys like colnago, de rosa, marinoni, moots and even lemond, it would make me want to have their bikes. It doesn't mean their bikes are superior, actually most of the time, dollar for dollar they are not. But I think at the end of the day, it's what makes you happy and riding, no matter if it's actually the bike itself, the brand or just a psychological belief.

momentchase

State,fyxation.

capnjonny 

I get to see a lot of bikes at the Bike Exchange . Generally the real cheapies with stamped steel caliper brakes are the worst.

What really frosts my donut is picking up a little kids bike, something with 20 inch wheels or smaller and finding it weighs over as much as an old Schwinn Varsity, a tank at about 40 lbs. Parents can't be thinking about their tykes when they buy one of these boat anchors.

These bikes are generally only used for a few month till the kids outgrow them so their parents don't really need to buy for long term use and these bikes are needlessly heavy. If you can make a nice sturdy adult bike that weighs under 30 lbs why not a sturdy 15 lb kid bike. Loose the full suspension and put aluminum wheels on them and you could probably drop 10 lbs right there. And if you are going to have caliper brakes make sure they work.

bruce19

I have no wish to speak bad about anyone's bike. I don't buy Trek or Specialized but that's because of some things the companies have done.

enzo thecat

This thread has made me realize: Trek = Rebel. Kinda like the Hublot of watches. Now I really want one!

drlogik 

All bikes are cool in their own way. Some are just cooler than others. If it has two wheels and is powered by a human-turned crank, it's good in my book. Better to be riding a 40 year old rusted out coaster bike than no transportation at all.

indyfabz

There is a LBS in Philly that sells bikes branded "Street Cred." Street cred is earned, not purchased.


The brand is beneath me.

MikeinFL

so you want cool? here you go- the ultimate in cool: a Felt Chopper, made in Southern California:

snow_venture52

+1
It's all about living within your means to some and riding in style, whatever that may be. The only uncool thing is calling another's ride or riding philosophy "uncool"!

jon c. 

Seems like the majority of the road riders around here are on Specialized or Cannondale. Someone in a shop told me that there was a time Trek was the dominant brand. But then there was a bit of a MTB craze and they were riding Treks. So the roadies abandoned them. Don't know if that's true, but it's a fun story of human nature.

There are a lot of bikes I wouldn't buy because I don't like the looks, but I don't really care what anyone else chooses.

I-Like-To-Bike

Or this:

MikeinFL

yep, that's cool!

SquidPuppet

Did someone say 40 year old coaster bike?

Shamelessly posts pic of the 40 year old birthday (this month) bike.

indyfabz

Your post is uncool because you called the philosophy that holds that one is uncool if they ride a big box bike uncool.

Tombaatar

I go to a local sporting goods chain called "Academy" often. Every time I see people bike shopping I have to force myself to keep my mouth shut and move along. They sell the full suspension bikes that you see poor people commute on that give about 5 inches with each pedal. It's only uncool to me if it is a bad bike that is inefficient and poorly made. Next, Mongoose, Huffy.

Kindaslow

Like always, stunning bike!

PatrickGSR94

ehh, I don't consider something like a "Roadmaster" brand BSO from Wally Mart to be all that cool, with very poor quality components like stamped steel brakes, plastic brake levers, riveted chain rings with one-piece cranks, and very cheap single-wall steel rims. And 40+ pounds for an adult size 26" wheel bike, to boot. That was the bike I got when I was 13 in 1993. I donated it to the local bike co-op back around 2012 or so.

*edit* of course now that I see this page I'm sort of wishing I had kept the bike. That was before I knew how to do much with bikes, though. https://locojoe.com/blog/tag/roadmaster/

I-Like-To-Bike

Cool enough to keep for 19 years or so.

bruce19

Trek= throw Greg Lemond under the bus when he rightfully outs Lance for doping. Profits over integrity. Just one man's opinion.

drlogik 

Patrick,

So you wrote about 100 words describing a bike you didn't consider cool, but owned for 19 years? ROFL! That's pretty funny!

I looked at that fellas Roadmaster web site. See!!! EVEN a 'lowly' Roadmaster can be cool! Sounds as though yer actually missin' that ole Roadmaster now, huh?

I had an old brown Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed back in Junior High and couldn't wait to get rid of it and buy a "real" 10-speed. Once I did, at the first shop I worked at, I wished I still had that old Collegiate. One of the guys that worked in that shop converted his old bike in Junior High into what we called back in the day, a "track bike" ...a single speed. It was cool looking. He stripped all the paint off of it and clear-laquered the bare steel. That was back in 1974 and may have been the first "Steam Punk" type anything I ever saw.

Wilfred Laurier

You are right, but every manufacturer involved with a pro team is essentially enabling and/or turning a blind eye to doping. If Canyon or Specialized or Felt or Giant had protested when Lemond (or any of the others) was thrown under the bus then they would have some credibility.

bruce19

I'm liking my Guru even better.

PatrickGSR94

"Owned" the Roadmaster yes, but for most of those years it sat, either in an attic, or even outside my house for the last several years I had it. I got it for Christmas 1992 just before I turned 13, I rode it around for a few years up until I was 16 in 1996 and got my first car, and pretty much never rode it again. I took it to college for 1 or 2 semesters and it stayed locked up outside my dorm the entire year. I rode it across campus only a couple of times I think. From college in the early 2000's until 2012 it got absolutely zero use.

I bought my first "real" adult bike, a 90's custom-built KHS MTB in 2007, before I really knew anything about bikes, and didn't start seriously riding again until 2012.

So yeah I had the bike many years, but it was truly a piece of junk with its original components. Only reason I even say that I might want it now is because I know how to work on and build bikes, and I could make something else out of it, something that my other 3 bikes aren't suited for, such as a foul weather rain beater bike.

So I don't necessarily "WANT" it back, I'm just saying that if I still had it now I could probably do something with it by changing out parts. But I would probably change out just about everything not permanently attached to the frame.