"UNBELIEVABLY ASTONISHINGLY GOOD .."

9jan11

says Dave LLoyd!

Sorry about the caps lock but Dave seems to like it...

http://www.davelloydcoaching.com/cyclin ... my-maxima-

So another huge fan of the Viner Maxima (Marcel Wust said "Best. Bike. Ever." in 2008 and this model -RS- is apparently a good deal better)

BTW I know Dave's now working for Viner ; )

Has anyone else ridden one?

stuaff

Paging Chip \'oyler.....
Both he and lost_in_thought (plus I think one or two others on here) have 'regular' Maximas, rave about them.

Coyote

So it's a completely impartial review then?

Anonymous

Excuse me for being a cynic, they may be amazing but I have to take anything he says with a huge pinch of salt after the power meter debacle!

stuaff

Any cynicism is entirely understandable- apart from Mr Lloyd, Herr Wüst does seem to like every single bike he ever tests- but they couldn't get the Maxima back from him! And Dave Lloyd bought his before getting the deal to distribute Viner.

Chip \'oyler

9jan11 wrote:

says Dave LLoyd!

Sorry about the caps lock but Dave seems to like it...

http://www.davelloydcoaching.com/cyclin ... my-maxima-

So another huge fan of the Viner Maxima (Marcel Wust said "Best. Bike. Ever." in 2008 and this model -RS- is apparently a good deal better)

BTW I know Dave's now working for Viner ; )

Has anyone else ridden one?

Oh yes. It's sex on wheels.

Put it this way - if a bike is made to measure for you, and the carbon tubes are custom made and the joints hand wrapped all to match your riding style, weight, what you want the bike to do etc then you'll understand why Maxima owners believe they are the best bikes they've ever owned.

In short Viner will build the frame specifically for you and only you.

dodgy

Saw him today, didn't notice what bike he was on but unusally for Dave he waved (sort of). Maybe he really is happy with his bike.

Anonymous

I think the thought of a completely custom carbon frame is cycling gear utopia. It just makes me chuckle how he was so against power meters until he became the distributor for arguably by far the worst on the Market. Then they were the be all and end all!

Rodrego Hernandez

Any review that has the line - 'from the first pedal stroke' is bound to be complete bullshit. Stopped reading after that.

He really is a bit of a prat isn't he.

Chip \'oyler

NapoleonD wrote:

I think the thought of a completely custom carbon frame is cycling gear utopia. It just makes me chuckle how he was so against power meters until he became the distributor for arguably by far the worst on the Market. Then they were the be all and end all!

Well Dave is offering £500 off a Maxima RS if you're quick!

Anonymous

I'm happy with my lot as thankfully the fit on both my Colnagos is spot on.

Chip \'oyler

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Any review that has the line - 'from the first pedal stroke' is bound to be complete bullshit. Stopped reading after that.

He really is a bit of a prat isn't he.

OK you might not believe what Dave has written - but hundreds of other Maxima owners agree with what he's said - me included.

fleshtuxedo

Have they sold hundreds of Maxima RSs at £5000 for frame and forks?

dcj

one might with some justification ask if dave lloyd doesn't just have a very short attention span :roll:
only 18 months ago he was raving about Dimar frames
http://www.davelloydcoaching.com/cycling-news-and-discussion/my-new-bike-

at this end of market you do expect personal enthusiasm but also some longer term substance behind it.

sorry to seem critical. i am sure viner is a great product from what i have seen, but it does not sound like they have much to gain with this association.

giant_man

His blog has to be the most obvious paid endorsement of a product I have ever seen, with the reviewing abilities of a Sun journalist ......

dcj

paradoxically i don't actually doubt his sincerity though.

i would be very surprised if he was actually paid to write that.
i am just surprised he was able to get the viner agency at all.

rolf_f

Reads exactly like a Jeremy Clarkson review. In Clarksons case, everything he drives is described with exactly the same set of superlatives so the 'reviews' become entirely meaningless. Sounds like this one is similar.

Really though, it's obvious that the bike is extremely good but that's no justification for not being critical unless the bike is absolutely perfect (which seems a bit hard to imagine!).

9jan11

only 18 months ago he was raving about Dimar frames
http://www.davelloydcoaching.com/cyclin ... -new-bike-

That's quite funny and this is what Dave THINKS OF THE DIMAR NOW
http://www.davelloydcoaching.com/cyclin ... -000-then-

but re the Maxima

Has anyone else ridden one?

Chip \'oyler

FleshTuxedo wrote:

Have they sold hundreds of Maxima RSs at £5000 for frame and forks?

I was talking about 'standard' Maxima and RS owners. The 'standard' one has sold very well over the last few years - the RS has only been available for a year now.

Chip \'oyler

Rolf F wrote:

Reads exactly like a Jeremy Clarkson review. In Clarksons case, everything he drives is described with exactly the same set of superlatives so the 'reviews' become entirely meaningless. Sounds like this one is similar.

Really though, it's obvious that the bike is extremely good but that's no justification for not being critical unless the bike is absolutely perfect (which seems a bit hard to imagine!).

Seeing as every part of the RS is custom made specifically to your measurements, abilities, riding style and cycling discipline then surely it's going to be perfect?

If you had a bespoke Savile Row suit made for you (including having the cloth specifically woven for you too) then you'd expect that to be perfect wouldn't you?

rolf_f

Chip \'oyler wrote:

Seeing as every part of the RS is custom made specifically to your measurements, abilities, riding style and cycling discipline then surely it's going to be perfect?

If you had a bespoke Savile Row suit made for you (including having the cloth specifically woven for you too) then you'd expect that to be perfect wouldn't you?

No, whatever it is or isn't, one thing it won't be is perfect. If it is, then the Viner Maxima will be the first piece of engineering than man has created that cannot be improved on. It will therefore still be for sale, in its exact current form, in two millenias time! It might be the best available at the present time but that doesn't equal perfect.

The suit is simpler - but even there, technology will at some point allow a seamless suit to be made to fit your shape perfectly from fabric that won't deteriorate (but please don't mention The man in the white suit ). No, I'd still just expect the suit to be the best I could get - but not perfect.

Chip \'oyler

Rolf F wrote:

Chip \'oyler wrote:

Seeing as every part of the RS is custom made specifically to your measurements, abilities, riding style and cycling discipline then surely it's going to be perfect?

If you had a bespoke Savile Row suit made for you (including having the cloth specifically woven for you too) then you'd expect that to be perfect wouldn't you?

No, whatever it is or isn't, one thing it won't be is perfect. If it is, then the Viner Maxima will be the first piece of engineering than man has created that cannot be improved on. It will therefore still be for sale, in its exact current form, in two millenias time! It might be the best available at the present time but that doesn't equal perfect.

The suit is simpler - but even there, technology will at some point allow a seamless suit to be made to fit your shape perfectly from fabric that won't deteriorate (but please don't mention The man in the white suit ). No, I'd still just expect the suit to be the best I could get - but not perfect.

A valid point well made. No doubt Viner are currently working on an improved RS!

You're right, man will never reach perfection because he's always trying to achieve it!

FransJacques

Wow, that other "best bike in the world" is on super blowout. It looks like a better deal at £3000 than some vanilla Trek or Specialized. Why not get it?

You can't help but feel a little sorry for the guy. He writes like someone no one takes any notice of. His use of too many exclamation marks screams I'm old and sad and out of touch.

vs

How much adjustment is there with the seat pin - he says it will fit anyone from 5'7" to 5'10"... no longer exactly made to measure then!

neiltb

surely that's part of the problem with made to measure, it won't fit anyone else quite the same. 2nd hand valuse go into comparable top of the line bike realms and you take a hit.

If you change bikes every couple of years, it's a good way of flushing money down the pan.

daccordimark

What was it about Dimar that made Dave Lloyd fall out with them in such a short space of time? He was raving about them in 2009.

Now he's all over Viner and to quote from his blog on 18/10/10:

"Dave is always the perfectionist and has realised that sometimes he can get too enthusiastic about a product before he has given it enough time to test PROPERLY.. Well, no more.. "

So that seems like a positive change until you read this from Recommended Products before he even got the new Viner frame:

"and is looking forward to receiving his new frame in a couple of weeks when he KNOWS this is going to be the greatest bike he has ever ridden"

Back to the old ways then. Having said that it's going to be the greatest it would be hard for anyone to admit it was only so-so. Mr Lloyd seems to be the kind of guy who genuinely gets very excited over bikes and advances in their design from what I've read about him over the years. I also remember him being an absolute god BITD when I was starting out as a time trialist. Hats off to the man for keeping that enthusiasm going for so long and for still managing a tuck position many younger people can't achieve.

9jan11

I think the Viner Maxima is probably a special bike.

They choose not to follow the normal Pro Tour sponsorship route (there are, however, re-badged Viners in the pro peloton), therefore much of their profit can be put back into the bike; their mid to top end frames are all made in Italy.

You know what you are buying. You won't be paying premium for a frame you think <insert your pro of choice here> is riding and getting an inferior copy.