Most prestigious brands

ValeTudoGuy
ValeTudoGuy Posts: 87
edited April 2013 in Road general
Considering something as prestigious is generally a personal thing. Often linked to factors such as performance, price, Style and quality "However not always."

In car terms I would personally consider brands such a Ferrari, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Bentley and Lambourghini as prestigious "For differing reasons." but for example would not consider the Volkswagen brand as prestigious even though they certainly make cars that tick all of the boxes "This is no slight on VW, I have owned a couple and the best car I ever had was a VW."

I am interested to hear your thoughts on brand prestige within the bike industry "I will be asking this question in the MTB, Road and Commuter forums as I suspect the replies will be vastly different in each."

So just out of interest, in no particular order what do you consider the top five prestigious bike brands
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Comments

  • VTech
    VTech Posts: 4,736
    Pinarelo ?

    On the topic of cars though, Ferrari make great engines, the chassis until more recently has been iffy at best, but then as the great man said, When you buy a Ferrari, you buy the engine, we give you the car for free.
    Living MY dream.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Are they like Pinarello's VTech?

    Would Aston Martins not trump Jags?

    I love Audi's and Cannondales. Not sure 'Prestige' is my thing :(
  • pride4ever
    pride4ever Posts: 510
    All the old Italian brands.
    the deeper the section the deeper the pleasure.
  • VTech
    VTech Posts: 4,736
    Astons are great but dont last like Jags, having said that, there is something special about driving an aston, they are far from quick but they look so nice.
    Living MY dream.
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,359
    five brands beginning with c, in alphabetical order, not by ranking...

    campagnolo
    carbonsports
    castelli
    cinelli
    colnago

    i have stuff from three of them, i'd rate the other two prestigious but i'm just not that keen on them

    wasn't intentional, but i notice a distinct italian bias has emerged
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • VTech
    VTech Posts: 4,736
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.

    Out of interest, what would be your 5 most prestigious cars ?
    Living MY dream.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    VTech wrote:
    Astons are great but dont last like Jags, having said that, there is something special about driving an aston, they are far from quick but they look so nice.

    How long do you plan to keep it :wink:
    Which is better on the drive at 0 mph, Jag or Aston?
  • ValeTudoGuy
    ValeTudoGuy Posts: 87
    edited April 2013
    Carbonator wrote:
    How long do you plan to keep it :wink:
    Which is better on the drive at 0 mph, Jag or Aston?

    The correct answer is an E Type Jag ;P

    Carbonator wrote:
    Would Aston Martins not trump Jags?

    Jag XF has cleaned up for awards in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 " Every year since its release" oh and it was voted car of the decade. I dont think that Jaguar has anything to envy from Aston Martin, combined with the fact that the Aston DB7 the car that reinvented Aston and the influences of which can been seen in every Aston since was for all intents and purposes the fraternal twin of the Jag XK8 which itself was a rebrand of the XJS an ageing car indeed.
    I would say that Aston have a lot to thank Jaguar for.
  • Sounds like a conversation one would have at the Golf club.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Carbonator wrote:
    How long do you plan to keep it :wink:
    Which is better on the drive at 0 mph, Jag or Aston?

    The correct answer is an E Type Jag ;P

    DB5 all the way! Bond beats Austin Powers :lol:
  • VTech
    VTech Posts: 4,736
    Ive never owned either although I drive both.
    Jag offer a far superior car than the offerings in general of Aston although I had to go to the USA to help develop one of the quickest Astons around.
    I think the looks of the Aston are amazing, super sexy looking cars but for me, there is always something special about Ferrari.
    In the mainstream, VW offer the best selection although they are not cheap when referenced to the others in the market.
    Living MY dream.
  • LegendLust
    LegendLust Posts: 1,022
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.

    Really? I don't see Pegoretti, Cyfac, Baum, Parlee, Crumpton, Legend etc spending much on advertising
  • Carbonator wrote:
    DB5 all the way! Bond beats Austin Powers :lol:

    Ok Ok, I will give you James Bond. But Brigitte Bardot, Tony Curtis and Steve McQueen might not be so agreeable 8)
  • Neale1978
    Neale1978 Posts: 484
    Astons are great but dont last like Jags, having said that, there is something special about driving an aston, they are far from quick but they look so nice.

    Far from quick.. All of them.. You sure? :|:D lolz

    'Most prestigious brands' are not exactly difficult to work out unless you have just dropped into the world of cycling
  • VTech
    VTech Posts: 4,736
    What Aston martin would you say is in the elite or even minor super at league when it comes to speed or performance ?
    Living MY dream.
  • lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.


    I would think that Specialized and Trek would be at the top of that spending graph, but I consider them the Ford/Vauxhall of the bike world.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    VTech wrote:
    Ive never owned either although I drive both.
    Jag offer a far superior car than the offerings in general of Aston although I had to go to the USA to help develop one of the quickest Astons around.
    I think the looks of the Aston are amazing, super sexy looking cars but for me, there is always something special about Ferrari.
    In the mainstream, VW offer the best selection although they are not cheap when referenced to the others in the market.

    Funnily enough, a year or two back I came to the conclusion that the XK was more desirable than an Aston on the grounds of exclusivity (you see far more Astons in central Leeds than XKs) and the classiness of the choice of buying something almost as good looking as the Aston and paying much less for it.

    Pinarello are not that prestigious. a) due to the total lack of any Italian manufacture and, less controversially, b) because their range is too wide. Any manufacturer that sells products at the cheaper end cheapens the brand. Cheap Pinarellos are too cheap for a truly prestigious brand.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • VTech
    VTech Posts: 4,736
    Rolf, you ever driven an XKR ?
    One of the fastest road cars out there. Great value for a 1-2 year old and would whoop most super cars.
    Living MY dream.
  • LegendLust wrote:
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.
    Really? I don't see Pegoretti, Cyfac, Baum, Parlee, Crumpton, Legend etc spending much on advertising
    Opera singer, drug for curing urinary tract infections, New York lawyer, pretentious bakery, jovial Lancastrian insult, small Korean car?

    Brand prestige only really works if onlookers have pre-conceptions of what they're looking at, and that generally requires an established and widespread reputation.
    Mangeur
  • simonhead
    simonhead Posts: 1,399
    Surely the most prestigious is a Brompton. Those that have them say "oh I cycle to the station on the Brompton, fold her up (never it or him) take her on the train and at the other have a short ride in to the city over Waterloo bridge".
    Life isnt like a box of chocolates, its like a bag of pic n mix.
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    LegendLust wrote:
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.

    Really? I don't see Pegoretti, Cyfac, Baum, Parlee, Crumpton, Legend etc spending much on advertising
    And that's why you are the only person to have mentioned any of these makes in this thread. I am sure that all of these manufacturers make excellent bikes but prestige is in the eye of the beholder and frequently has little to do with quality or performance.

    I remember a few years ago reading a letter in Evo (performance car mag) saying that the Audi R8 was a better car than the Nissan GTR because it was more prestigious. The fact that the GTR is cheaper and quicker didn't seem to factor into the equation for that reader; prestige is a matter of hype not fact. Prestige is the sort of word that people use to justify having spent more than something is worth safe in the knowledge that no-one can objectively argue against them.

    If you can't measure it, it probably doesn't exist. A similar example is high end hi-fi. Hi-fi buffs come out with nonsense like saying that some £5k solid silver cables sound "warmer" than the £10 copper equivalents. Again, it's not a real thing.
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    LegendLust wrote:
    ... Cyfac...
    ... drug for curing urinary tract infections...
    Now that is funny. I liked the other definitions as well but this was the best :D .
  • ju5t1n
    ju5t1n Posts: 2,028
    If there is such a thing then I reckon Colnago is the most prestigious brand in the world of bicycles, they're often described as the Ferrari of cycling. The two have companies collaborated in the past. I saw one on eBay the other day. It looked shit
  • Strith
    Strith Posts: 541
    LegendLust wrote:
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.
    Really? I don't see Pegoretti, Cyfac, Baum, Parlee, Crumpton, Legend etc spending much on advertising
    Opera singer, drug for curing urinary tract infections, New York lawyer, pretentious bakery, jovial Lancastrian insult, small Korean car?

    Brand prestige only really works if onlookers have pre-conceptions of what they're looking at, and that generally requires an established and widespread reputation.

    Lol Legend = Korean car is class.

    But yeah you're spot on. Neither myself or anyone I know would consider those as prstigious brands. Artisan crafted, blah, blah, etc, yes. Prestigious, not really.
  • lotus49 wrote:
    And that's why you are the only person to have mentioned any of these makes in this thread. I am sure that all of these manufacturers make excellent bikes but prestige is in the eye of the beholder and frequently has little to do with quality or performance.

    I remember a few years ago reading a letter in Evo (performance car mag) saying that the Audi R8 was a better car than the Nissan GTR because it was more prestigious. The fact that the GTR is cheaper and quicker didn't seem to factor into the equation for that reader; prestige is a matter of hype not fact. Prestige is the sort of word that people use to justify having spent more than something is worth safe in the knowledge that no-one can objectively argue against them.

    If you can't measure it, it probably doesn't exist. A similar example is high end hi-fi. Hi-fi buffs come out with nonsense like saying that some £5k solid silver cables sound "warmer" than the £10 copper equivalents. Again, it's not a real thing.

    I don't disagree with any of this. Yet I still have a predisposition towards certain brands, often beyond anything as logical as judgement or reason.
    I guess I am just a person who is susceptible to "Brand".

    In general though when my money is on the line and I am actually buying products I generally follow my head and not my heart, this could be accounted for by the fact that before a couple of years ago I have never had much in the way of desposible cash.
  • slowmart
    slowmart Posts: 4,516
    Perception is a powerful thing. Bentleys and Maserati's are most prone to vandalism while Bentleys are near the top of both lists for theft and vandalism. Both are blingy footballer carriages. IMHO.

    I owned a V8 Vantage for two years and apart from one numpty the whole experience was superb. Total strangers from boy racers to grey haired pedestrians have struck up conversations about the car. The car had presence in abundance and the brand is generally as accepted as being aspirational. The difference between AML and it's peers is that their cars hide their wealth discreetly and have been carefully marketed. That currency is being diluted as the platforms across the range are several years old and are losing ground to their competition in terms of performance and functionality. Their new shareholder should hopefully be in a position to influence access to Daimler Benz technology but that is a wait and see proposition.



    Patek Philippe are another brand right up there. The only trouble is when you work hard and acquire a beautiful watch you end up self conscious as clients can make ill informed judgements. :D





    In both cases the customer experience is superb which helps reinforce the customers perception of what they have bought into.


    All in all once you have striped away the marketing the reality is something different. Brands are nothing more than projecting an image by association. Get past that point and the threshold to entry in monetary terms and you can be a brand whore.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo NWS!
    “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”

    Desmond Tutu
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    VTech wrote:
    Rolf, you ever driven an XKR ?
    One of the fastest road cars out there. Great value for a 1-2 year old and would whoop most super cars.

    Sadly not. I suspect they are too large for my tastes though I think the new Jag coupe is meant to be a nice size irrc. I like cars that fit the narrow roads of Yorkshire!

    I could see myself trying one when I next need a new car though that could be a while. It won't be soon before I've worn out my 1985 Saab 900 8v Turbo with 65k on the clock given that currently I'm driving about 2500 miles a year :lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • LegendLust
    LegendLust Posts: 1,022
    Strith wrote:
    LegendLust wrote:
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.
    Really? I don't see Pegoretti, Cyfac, Baum, Parlee, Crumpton, Legend etc spending much on advertising
    Opera singer, drug for curing urinary tract infections, New York lawyer, pretentious bakery, jovial Lancastrian insult, small Korean car?

    Brand prestige only really works if onlookers have pre-conceptions of what they're looking at, and that generally requires an established and widespread reputation.

    Lol Legend = Korean car is class.

    But yeah you're spot on. Neither myself or anyone I know would consider those as prstigious brands. Artisan crafted, blah, blah, etc, yes. Prestigious, not really.


    Surely handcrafted, limited in production, using top quality materials, and in very high price brackets make these 'Luxury' brands and therefore prestigious. Much like an Aston Martin or Bentley in the car world or Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe and Vacheron Constantin.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    LegendLust wrote:
    lotus49 wrote:
    There isn't anything like as much difference between decent bikes as there is between decent cars.

    The prestige bikes are the ones produced by the manufacturers that spend the most on advertising.
    Really? I don't see Pegoretti, Cyfac, Baum, Parlee, Crumpton, Legend etc spending much on advertising
    Opera singer, drug for curing urinary tract infections, New York lawyer, pretentious bakery, jovial Lancastrian insult, small Korean car?

    Brand prestige only really works if onlookers have pre-conceptions of what they're looking at, and that generally requires an established and widespread reputation.

    Depends on who your audience is. The general public probably would put Pinarello top because that is the brand they are most exposed to and now associate TDF success with.

    However, once your audience is your fellow cyclists at a café stop, nobody's really going to give a Dogma much of a second glance but if you have a Parlee or Legend.............

    Same with cars - for me a Bristol has about 1000 times more prestige than a Bentley and, again, not many car enthusiasts would look long at the average Bentley but they would notice a Bristol.
    Faster than a tent.......