John_V 

It's not that I think Treks are bad bikes because they're not, but I would never buy one. They're everywhere and they all look alike.

Two weeks ago, I did a cross state ride where our bikes were transported to the east coast in a moving van. As they unloaded the bikes, they would call out the bike brand and color. When they called out any of the Treks, at least 5 to 10 people would come over to see if it was theirs. Out of 62 bikes, mine was the only Colnago. Also, if a Trek is stolen, the chances of you getting back your blue and white Trek (or any other color combination) is going to be pretty darn close to zero if you live in a large enough city. It's going to be nearly impossible to find your blue and white Trek among the hundreds of blue and white Treks that are out there.

CrowSeph

Agree , as pinarello for me.
I hate becouse they become "common"

bulldog1935

I've seen 40 years of cool and uncool bicycles.
In the 70s (the word uncool originated), everything had to be Euro, and anything Japanese was the only thing worse than Schwinn (excepting Paramount).
In the 80s, Fuji to Nishiki came into their own.
In the 90s, it was all American.
In the new millennium, frames changed shape and became billboards.
Not made in China is still cool to me.

A Cervelo P5 was being built up when I was at my LBS yesterday.
Will admit if I had $10k to spend on a bike, I'd spend it differently. But I did like the front brake faring.

genec

Anything Bontrager... I probably didn't spell it right, I don't say it right, so I'm not going to ask for it either.

Chandne

Surly, Salsa, and not a fan of Lynsey either. I do not care what others ride. I just mentally block some brands.

ColonelSanders

What is it about those brands you don't like?

rekmeyata

Neither of those brands you listed are common, but all three of them are known for quality, so why the hate?

Chandne

It seems you're using a pretty extreme word to summarize my statement and opinion. I don't "hate" any brand and Surly is pretty unique when it comes to being a bit cutting edge with certain types of bikes. I never found Surly and Salsa to be very good quality...they seem cheaply made though perfectly functional. Now Lynsey is a bit different. I know of some misaligned frames that my friends bought, but they were MTB frames (two were custom 29ers) and a few years ago. When I was looking at a road frame, the sales pressure was also quite intense and it overshadowed any discussion of tire clearance, custom head sizing, etc. I realize they are relatively inexpensive for Ti frames but I now have a bias against them and would rather pay more for a Moots, Seven, Mosaic, Potts, and others. To my Lynsey is like Chinese carbon...almost. Here the thing though- when I see some one riding one of them, I don't judge or look down upon them. They often looks really nice and if a rider likes his/her bike, I'm happy for them. I'll compliment them if I like something about it. I Would just rather pay more and get something else. I don't dislike common brands. In my experience, they make some phenomenal bikes. It won be nice to buy something a bit uncommon and unique. That really nice Ti bike may still be in my future.

rekmeyata

I ride a Lynskey and I can't tell it from a Moots, Seven, or a Serotta, I haven't seen the other two you mentioned. There are some finish differences like the Moot uses a very ugly muted gray look that is so ugly I wouldn't buy it if it were the only TI bike made on earth! Of course that's my opinion. But the Moots (other than the gray look) Serotta, Seven, Lynskey, and Motobecane (the cheapest TI bike on the market) all look very well made with very similar welds. But even those top name companies, like Seven, have all had cracks in the frames. so pay more if you want but you still get failures.

I like my Lynskey Peloton which is no longer made but was the lowest priced model they had, it's comfortable to ride yet stiff enough for my old legs to hammer and not flex the frame. I did make a few changes at the time of purchase to take advantage of swap pricing from Adrenalin Bikes, I wasn't real sure about the quality of the Lynskey CF fork so I got the Enve 2.0 instead, upgraded the rear derailleur from 105 to Ultegra, the cables to DA9000, the headset from some cheap FSA job to Cane Creek 110, and the wheels (which didn't cost anything different) from the blackish Shimano RS500 to the Silver Shimano R501 which had a slightly deeper dish to it than the black one. I was able to compare my bike with a Motobecane and Serotta, there were some differences, the Serotta has the swayed rear stays which does give some added comfort to the ride but the fork did not inspire confidence, seemed to not track well around corners. The Motobecane, which I thought was a better bike than the Serotta! seemed more stable in the rear, but again issues with the fork which the owner changed to an ENVE 2.0 after riding mine several times, I have ridden it once since he's made the change and that bike rides very well now with excellent tracking. The Motobecane with that one change I felt placed the bike in a solid lead against the much more expensive Serotta and darn near the level of my Lynskey, and in some aspects better than my Lynskey as far as components go because he got the model with Dura Ace, which also makes it a better deal than my Lynskey, and a far better deal than the Serotta (which is no longer in business). After 3 season the Peloton is still going strong, but 3 years is not a real test for any bike except maybe a Walmart bike, if it lasts me for30 plus years like my old Trek 660 has then that will be a true testiment of how good the bike is.

Keep in mind that Lynskey is not some come along lately jackass TI builder, he's been making ti bikes for a very long time and create Litespeed, which Lance Armstrong raced on one in the 99 TDF just to mention one, there were others. Bianchi and Eddy Merckx had their TI bikes built by Litespeed/Lynskey. Lynskey was a consultant for NASA for several titanium projects due to his expertise in TI fabrication that could not be found from anyone else! And the same technology and fabrication that went into the NASA programs are the same technology and fabrication that goes into the bikes that Lynskey makes. I know you can't beat the price of any Lynskey bike against any other made in America TI bike, of course Motobecane beats the price, but that bike is more comparable to a low end Lynskey that Moto threw on high end parts. Lynskey innovated some sort of process for TI bikes that is now being used by everyone in the US, I can't recall what that innovation was called because Litespeed removed it from their website probably because it wasn't the innovation that the current owners of Litespeed created and for awhile after Lynskey sold Litespeed, Litespeed was taking credit for it and not giving the credit to Lynskey to whom it was deserved.

Rollfast

Mr. Ignaz Schwinn would be dismayed, were he still with us after 156 years. So would Adolf Arnold, his business partner, both good Germans who came to America and started the most iconic bike company in our history in 1895.

Rollfast

If you buy any vehicle you are going to spend more money than it cost by far, and that's because you had to maintain it.


Use this analogy: The investment in having a child is extremely cheap compared to raising them. You don't need my embellishment to figure that out.

CydonianCyborg

Mongoose. As well as newer schwinns. Older schwinns are still fine of course.

GeneO 

Bikes direct/ Quality and stigma.

1989Pre 

Just about every brand's models in the last ten years. This is because they have ugly, black bulges where elegant and understated simplicity should be at-works.
I am not saying I would not ride a bike with brifters, but I would immediately come at them with a Sawz-All, and make a diagonal cut so that the levers are removed and about half of the body. There. That oughta do it for the time-being. Meanwhile, I'll order a set of these to replace them, and nervously await their arrival:

kingston 

@rekmeyata, Don't confuse cool and value. They're not the same thing. In fact they are usually opposites. A big part of being cool is being difficult to obtain. The Lynskey brand took a massive decline in coolness when they started distributing through Nashbar at huge discounts.

Hypno Toad

I understand your point, trust me, I have two bikes that I got for no cost and I've put more money into these two bikes than the bikes I've purchased.

However, I will repeat the point of this thread: big-box bikes are 'uncool' to me. Part of my justification is the cost, design, weight, and quality of the components; lastly, I am a snob.

Let's be clear, I know people will find my bikes too uncool for them, I've had it said directly to me... OK whatever

I will not judge you (or other riders) for riding a big-box bikes, if the big-box bike fits your needs/wants, enjoy!

EnjoyinTheRide

Lol yes thats like what I hear in the boat/marine industry. I do tradeshows and I am always asked..."did i get a good price for my boat??" the answer I give is. ....Yea but that isnt nothing compared to what your going to spend once its in the h20 lol....Ohhhh how true this is for any recreational toy.....

Ive noticed a commonality when it comes to debates between bso and lbs quality, price etc and yes that spills onto "coolness" as well.

People should not think that just because you did not go to a lbs and just because you spent less that 12K does not mean you cannot have fun with your bike....I know people who have very expensive bikes....and they break just like the cheap ones do...And if you look at who is riding what it becomes very clear to me that quality is not a fix for mechanical breakdowns....

That being said the more I read these threads the more I love my cheap walmart bike...Lol almost 3 years now, 400 plus miles, no breakdowns, I pretty much ride every day except Winter time. Yes I am currently researching my next Bike purchase. Yes it will not be a bso bike. Yes I will spend more money, and yes ....Giant just got dumped from contention lol...

My point to my babble above....Who cares! buy your bike, ride it and enjoy it. Because If quality, the latest tech, Stabilization, weight, the big full moon last night.....all that stuff is the only way you can enjoy the ride......Your missing a lot more....

And besides lol. I think...my bso bike....looks pretty damn cool. lol...And so do other people I get comments on it all the time....She has served me very well...For the 89 bucks I paid(Which is pretty cool).....Its actually performed so well it has given me time to save money to buy the LBS...lol....bike lol......(Which is pretty cool).

rekmeyata

I'm not sure why Lynskey decided to sell through Nashbar, that just seemed odd to me too, but they probably were struggling for sales and needed a big boost to stay in business. These sort of marketing plans usually only last 5 years or so then the company pulls out, I remember Gio bikes being sold through Competitive Cyclist as was Tommassini, but both Nashbar and Performance are on an upgrade path to bring about better products, even their own brand jerseys and shorts are now ranked very high with far better quality then they use to be, so I think by offering Lynskey it gives Nashbar a route that they want to go in the cycling world. So it could be a win for Lynskey and win for Nashbar. Years ago Competitive Cyclist carried the same sort of low to mid end level stuff like Nashbar and Performance does today, when they introduced Gio and Tommassini those two bike companies marked a change in the kind of stuff that they carried to the point in the past few years they represent mid to high end stuff which is where the real money is at and Nashbar and Performance are also realizing the same fact.

rekmeyata

I just think if you're riding a bike regularly, be it any bike, that in itself is cool.

Tundra_Man 

I like this line of thinking. The person on the X-Mart Mongoose who is riding nearly every day is cooler than the guy who hasn't ridden in eons but brags about his Cologno in the basement with a thick layer of dust on it.

Kaze6

No.

In fact, when I lived in SoCal, I put cheap-bike stickers on my good built-up bikes, having discovered that most thieves didn't have a clue what COMPONENTS were good.

jimb100

Sorry, I look at bikes as tools. Some are for competition, some for transportation, some for fitness.

No 'coolness' factor in my considerations. I do find some bikes look better than others but I would never buy a road bike to commute because it looked 'cooler'. There's something about that notion that's not cool.

While some here have looked down their nose at Trek I find the reasons to be odd. I have a Madone 5.2. the paintwork is not great but the carbon is very good. The Shimano Ultegra components have been very reliable, as are the wheels.

Frankly, I don't see where the company has done anything that would stop me from buying their products and if other riders thought my bike was too 'common', I'd laugh at them.

As I have laughed at some of the posters to this thread for snobbish remarks.

If in Europe I can understand bike culture is different but here in America, in many places, an adult riding a bicycle is about as 'uncool' as it gets.

Pops1959

"Is there a brand of bicycle that is so "uncool" to you, that you don't consider them?"


Brand? No, not really. Just no pink bikes with Hello Kitty on it! Too old for that! Seriously, as long as a bike fits me properly and is safe, I don't care about brand. I didn't always think that way, though.

modelmartin

I have always been so not trendy. In high school in the 70s I refused to wear blue jeans!

I would never be seen on an "All-City". It is dumb name and is too hipster for my taste. Treks are four letter bikes. Not mentioned in polite company!

I will never be seen on a singlespeed or a fixie. Again too hipster, trendy and I love me my gears!

Of course many people with late model expensive bikes just chuckle when I show up for a ride with my Raleigh Technium or one of the Kabuki mutants I have built.

Anyone who can ride well and show up and have fun is cool and what they ride is unimportant in the end.

Meathorse

Trendy? They've only been around for over a century. I guess back then you'd be the cool guy watching "hipsters" pass by atop of your horse.