polygon1

Hi all. I have an opportunity for a good deal on a Space Horse, and it's appealing, but I've seen some things about All-City quality control and frame failures that make me iffy. Does anyone know whether things improved after that lawsuit a few years back?

Koyote

You wrote 'failures' -- plural. I only know of this single story. Is there more to this than a single anecdotal failure?

shelbyfv

Interesting that the guy bought a "Macho Man" then proved to be anything but.... Since they are shutting down there should be some good deals. I wouldn't hesitate because of some random YouTube.

njkayaker

"Show. Don't tell."

You should provide links to the things you've "seen" so people have some idea of what you are talking about.

polygon1

Good point. BF won't let me post links until I have more posts, but there's a thread on here with the title "Steel bike failure. Is this manufacturing or something else?".

njkayaker

You're excused then!

So, you saw one thing?

Steel bike failure. Is this manufacturing or something else?

I don't think this singular event (and the lack of details) means much.

There is also a fair amount of discussion about why some skepticism might be appropriate.

Koyote

That's a thread that someone on bf started about the exact same story that I linked to above.

Steel bike failure. Is this manufacturing or something else?

Letting this single instance (which may have not been a manufacturing defect, for all we know) dissuade you from buying a completely difference AC model is a bit like refusing to buy a Chevy truck because you heard about a Malibu somewhere that broke down.

But if a single anecdote is enough to sway you, then let me tell you about the AC Space Horse that I've ridden (and raced on some very nasty gravel courses) about 15,000 miles over the past six years -- and which is still going strong.

polygon1

Hence why I'm asking – it's not medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, and there's not a register of adverse events. So, as a biking novice, given that there was a pretty public report of what seems like a pretty nasty failure of manufacturing and QC, what do more knowledgeable and well-informed people think about All-City? (I did also see pictures recently of someone's broken chainstay, but it read like they'd put their bike through the wringer, so I discounted that.).

Broctoon

I have an All City bike and don't see any QC issues on it. The frame has never broken. It's a Nature Boy Disc.

Space Horse is a cool bike! The Gorilla Monsoon has an even better name and might be more versatile--depending on what kind of surfaces you ride... one is more for commuting or touring on pavement, and the other more for gravel/bike packing/all road highjinks.

Koyote

Agreed, but would add that the Space Horse actually makes a decent gravel bike, though it is a bit overbuilt (=heavy) to be ideal for that. But yeah, it's kind of a Swiss Army Knife of bikes -- it also works on the pavement, for light touring or grocery hauling (with racks and/or bags), commuting, etc.

Mine has gone through a couple iterations. It's currently set up as an all-road, all-weather road bike with 35mm tires, full coverage fenders, Brooks saddle, and appropriate gearing. I log a fair amount of base miles on it each winter. And when I was still working, I sometimes rode it to campus when I didn't feel like thrashing my SS up and down the steep hills on my route.

woodyj21

8 posts. You and I are close to being able to post those sweet, sweet first pics of our steeds

polygon1

I'm tall and broad, so I prefer overbuilt. My usual route takes me along the edges of several ravines and steep hills, and I'm hoping I never get to see them from the bottom.

Koyote

You'll like the SH, then. It's stout. It's also very smooth...I think of it as my Cadillac Escalade of bikes.

veganbikes

I wouldn't worry about All-City failing. Having had 3 bikes from QBP (their parent company) some for many years and some still going strong I have no qualms about their products and haven't seen many if any failures over the years. My old Surly Disc Trucker is somewhere down south I think in Central America living its best life being ridden hard and I have known a bunch of people with All-City's who absolutely love them. My co-worker just got herself a Big Block.

Anytime you see a story like that take it with an entire salt mine. People are generally less than truthful about what happened to their bike. We call it JRA (Just Riding Along) and usually there is some story they don't want to tell you either they did something really stupid or they don't ever take care of their bike and it failed because of that and nobody wants to admit they are a failure. It is possible the bike failed as a result of poor welds it does on rare occasion happen but it is not super common and there would probably be some warning signs especially for steel.

My 11 year old Specialized Langster got a crack in the B.B. but I could hear noise and was suspicious and got home and saw the crack and said nope this bike is done reached out to Specialized kind of hoping they would say "sorry doesn't qualify" and I would have gotten the dream steel fixed gear going but they said "we will send you a new frame" and since the model was discontinued all they had left was the limited edition Rio frames which is pretty neat and it is still a fun bike but I was ready to change and had plans but I guess it worked out in the end because now I had time to marinate on my dreams even more and am going titanium and even nicer parts and going to go all out when I can.

I did want a Nature Boy 853 but for some reason I missed out on the bike and ended up with a Cinelli Mash Work.

polygon1

How stout is stout? With gear and bag(s), I clock in at the high 200s.

Russ Roth

Knowing that they're a QBP brand I wouldn't hesitate to think the quality is perfectly fine and a random failure is something that can just happen. Personally I've always liked their paint jobs but found they're priced higher than I'd be willing to pay or a foreign made massed produced frame. If I'd found one on sale when I was looking I wouldn't have hesitated to buy with no worries on quality.

BillinPA

I have a gorilla monsoon. Love it no issues except rear wheel, bit I am a Clyde!!