Yep, its ps-ed... trying to see what it takes to get the "hot" nod ... hard to upgrade componets. ( like the 5600 to 6800 guy did )

So this is becoming the equivalent of "photoshop a Playboy model into my Facebook profile pic and call her my girlfriend" thread?

Well first off, don't buy a Trek if you want a HOT nod in here!!!

Second, I gave you my idea. Your stack height may be taller but having that high degree at attention is hard to be aesthetically pleasing for ME. A flatter line to the hoods would give it a more aggressive look in my opinion. Go back and look at the felt in the last page. Higher stack but lower angle stem.

And I'm totally kidding about number 1. Well kinda ;)

Really? I think that it's a bigger deal than much of the stuff that gets harped on here.

Um... why are you creeping my FB page? I am dating Taylor Swift, so back the H E double hockey sticks off.

Really? Taylor Swift? i here she's kinda clingy

She is. That's why I kicked her to the curb.

I'm glad you brought that up. This is one of those ridiculous rules that has run it's course. It has to go!

I mean, visually I can see the point, some bikes would look neater with it, but if the bike is hot, it's hot regardless. This is just one of those ocd nitpicking details that don't need to get forced on everybody else.

Tell you the truth I'm like that at home. I'm a lot like Monk, drives my wife crazy! lol But I would never try to enforce that standard on somebody else.

I'm thinking we ought to drop that one.

And all the other ocd nitpicking ones like it. I'll be glad to point them out as they come along. :)

Har har.

Yeah I'm glad you brought that up, all jokes aside, the Trek hating has to go too.

You've got my vote.

Doesn't king hoternot outrank super moderator?

Har har. Don't be silly!

This thread has really run its course. Compact carbon frames with carbon wheels ad nauseum.

moooo....bahhhhh....mooooooo.....bahhhhhhh

lol @ trying to get a "hot" riding a Trek with a beach-cruiser stem-flip. lol

When they stop with the bulging, malformed head-tubes, we'll stop hating. :P

I'm sorry, but, you're just wrong about this.

Sure, the label alignment with valve stem thing might have originated with pro mechanics who need to top up dozens of tires each morning.
But, it's more than that.
It's about attention to details.
Hot or Not is after all a beauty contest.
Hot or Not is not about how functional a bike is.
It's about aesthetics.
I don't care how hot a super model might be, if she's photographed with a big cold sore on her lip, you're simply NOT going to see her as attractive as you would otherwise.
Aligning one's tire label with the valve stem takes seconds during the assembly process. It's goes with good wheel workmanship. Along with having both rim labels facing the same way and having the valve hole aligned with hub labeling when viewed from above.
Details do and should matter in determining a bikes "hotness".
Sloppy wrap jobs, poorly positioned levers, tilted saddles and pedestrian +17 degree stems all detract from a bikes aesthetic hotness.
We've seen a couple recent examples of bikes that had potential but many demerits coming back with those issues correctrd and an obvious improvement in the bikes visual appeal.
Our job as judges and jury is not to see the "hidden jem" beneith all the clutter.
It's to appreciate those bikes that have had a certain level of attention focused on them in setting them up, coordinating them, making them "right".
And, aligning the tire labels is one of the quickest, easiest and cheapest ($0.00) things an owner can do toward that end.

The thread title isn't "Perfect or Not."


and frankly, I think most slammed stems are ugly as hell.

...said no one, ever.

Maybe this thread *has* run it's course. (@sced - stop reading my mind). Maybe it's time to go back to the old days where anyone had a bike they wanted to show off just started a solo thread about it. This built-in, ad-hoc, self-appointed fiefdom in this thread presents a lot of problems and is just ripe for abusing newbs. I say those days are over, one way or another.

You're mistaken. Go back and read the first 10 pages of this thread then the last 10 pages. Do they even remotely resemble the same thread?


Read the first post in this thread. In fact I'll post it up for you.



The bike below which is arguably not hot was posted in the first 10 pages. Nobody lined up to bash the poster or their bike. It was largely ignored. Maybe back in the olden days of 2008 people still lived by the adage if you've got nothing nice to say. If that were to be posted today they would be disemboweled for the trouble.


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d8...7/brandnew.jpg


If you're going to go on and nitpick everything on a posters bike, I invite you to post your bike along with the comments so we can do the same to you. I'm 100% sure your bike isn't perfect either.

Appearantly the almighty King hoternot approval or dissaproval seems to out weigh Big Bad BillyD. I personally dont think my vote outweighs anyones , but seems that many of my subjects disagree, but lets not open up that can of crap right now.

Billy is a moderator and he has been given a job to do with the tools to do it. I don't believe his vote or opinions should outweigh anyone else's either. I will respect Billy or any other moderator just as I would any police officer on the street.

But, if a police officer tells me he thinks this or that should stop because he doesn't think its an important value to him and he will make sure to see it gets followed through, doesn't mean I have to automatically follow suit. Same goes for Billy. Sometimes a hot bike is simply a hot bike for one, but viewed from others eyes it may not be. Some people like BigFred and myself like to see the attention to detail. There have been a handful of bikes that come through here that brake all the rules, all my own standards but it just appeals to my liking. This thread has developed or evolved into something different than what it started out to be. At the end of the day it is all based on PERSONAL opinion. Its not majority rules this or that way. Of course we all want to get positove feedback on our bikes because regardless if we ride a 1000 miles a week or upgrade our bikes even though we aren't able to get out as often as one likes, we all take pride in our bikes.

I have contributed towards being very brute and honest, very consistent with my voting. Aside from what many think, I was taught some things over the last week. I faught back because I felt very attacked and inthink under the circumstances most would have done the same. Some say deserved, some disagree. This thread used to be fun and now its a cluster of disagreements. If I chose to not like something and you chose to like it, it doesn't matter because we all have different likes and dislikes.

I will do my part in trying to make others feel more welcomed in the hot or not thread and will try to have my opinion be more of that instead of be perceived as my word outweighs anyone else's.

Let's just enjoy looking at bikes.


KING Hoternot has spoken... :cheers:

People are taking themselves, and their spacer-stacked headsets too seriously, if there's an emotional injury from the posts in here. It is our duty as road cyclists to help everyone "look pro", among a myriad of other duties. People who are genuinely upset about the masses disliking Trek or photographing bicycles with misaligned valve stems are free to start their own thread and request that only positive comments are shared. Personally, I'd rather show-off my perfect bicycle here, with equally spaced cable caps throughout, rather than make a more formal, attention-grabbing thread. This thread is less formal than a specific thread.

Please, let this thread stay and embrace the elitists. In all seriousness, I thought the ridiculous rules we discuss in here were meant to be broken, just never photographed. Now please, excuse me while I quietly affix the smallest saddle bag available for my Thursday ride, the one I'd never admit to riding with.

Not that it matters, but I believe you to be wrong. I was taught back in 1986 that you line up the max inflation pressure with the valve stem. I was a kid working at an LBS, and with all the different bike tires to inflate, the emphasis was placed on safety.

I have continued that practice to this day, and between my several road bikes, the wife's hybrid, and the kid's MTB, it makes inflating tires of different sizes and makes easy. Aligning the label is simply vanity, not workmanship.

No tires were harmed in the creation of this post.

I love how when someone tongue in cheek mentions a "rule" the whole thread blows up for a page or two. Then someone posts a hot bike or two and everyone pats them on the back for having a hot bike for a few pages. Then someone posts a tiny thumbnail of a decent entry-mid level bike at a weird angle that makes it impossible to critique. People give the bike a deserving not and poke fun with tongue firmly planted in cheek about some silly "rule". Then the thread devolves to arguing about the "rules" for a few pages.

This is the circle of Hot r Not and it is a thing of nature that cannot be stopped.

Now someone post a hot bike.

Yeah I'm seeing you guys aren't seeing the big picture. Before this thread evolved guys used to start their own, individual thread to show off their bike:
A) If it was great it got lots of high praise.
B) If it was nice it got lots of nice comments.
C) And if it was not so nice most people had enough grace and dignity and respect for their fellow cyclist to either offer constructive criticism or no comment at all.

In THIS thread it seems people have forgotten how to do C, or they don't think it's cool to do C, and over the years it has evolved into a place for mean-spirited people to gather and abuse others. And all those nitpicking rules have evolved for these individuals to justify their abusive behavior. Just having a single place devoted to judging bikes actually fosters a fiefdom, a pecking order of individuals who, consciously or otherwise, work to enforce their own standards.

Well the forum has standards too, and I intend to enforce them. You people need to realize I'm having way more tolerance and patience with this **** than most of the other mods would have. They would have shut it down long ago. Now *I'm* running out of patience. Going back to the old way of individual bike threads will solve all the drama and free up a lot of my time.