Which brands do you think make the best bikes?
Ast
Posts: 48
Which brands do you think make the best bikes?
Top 5 (or more!). I think a thread like this might help a newbie like me quickly see which brands to look out for :-)
Top 5 (or more!). I think a thread like this might help a newbie like me quickly see which brands to look out for :-)
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Comments
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I think eventually, you will end up with every single brand on the planet...It matters not, win or lose, it's how you ride the bike0
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Impossible to say because you'd be looking at the best bike in a specific budget. The big brands make some of the best bikes further up their model range but their cheaper bikes can be terrible. Then you have other brands which will be completely out of people's budget straight away.0
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I think its brand C or M...wait a minute its brand Z...
...no its definitely brand M.
TBH - its impossible to answer.
Chris0 -
The obvious answer is Orange x 5!
Though my GT Avi is pretty sweet, as I Upgrade it a piece at a time.
oodboo,
You Deserve every puncture that there is
J0 -
Ask a silly question...oodboo,
You Deserve every puncture that there is
We would need to know budget, intended use, etc before we could start to give sensible answers. I don't think people should limit themselves to brands at any price point so in my opinion, it's a daft question. A better question would be along the lines of "I've got x amount to spend, plan on riding x and was looking at x. Any good or is there better for the money?" People don't do their own research these days and just expect, or hope, to be told what to buy.0 -
That is almost the daftest question I've seen asked on here, second only to what is the 'best frame'.
Lots of brands make the best bikes in a particular segment, value, XC, trail, Enduro and DH, not one brand dominates or it would be very obvious and a self answering question.
As it happens I am rather fond of the short travel Scott FS XC bikes.Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
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my obvious
You wish.I don't do smileys.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools0 -
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Who Manufactures the best all round, Do It All MTB???0
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Who Manufactures the best all round, Do It All MTB???
Again it's hard to answer, budget obviously will play a part, but still you could argue the merits of aggressive XC hardtails vs lighter more racy fs all mountain style..
It really depends on what most of your riding will consist of, and budget.
It's a bit like asking what's the best all round car, in theory it would be a ford focus, as its reasonably well built for a reasonable price, it's a reasonable size and has reasonable performance and is reasonably nice to look at and is reasonably comfortable. It's also reasonably cheap to maintain.
It's also not particularly exiting, some people would prefer rear wheel drive or 4x4, some want a more luxurious interior for long drives, some want more performance for blasting around..
I suppose what you are asking is "what is the ford focus" of mountain bikes? I would guess a good quality hard tail in the £300 to £500 price range.0 -
Kona. Yes, definitely Kona.All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=129946070 -
When I had a Specialized it was Specialized
When I had a GT it was GT
When I had a On One
then a Commencal
then Canyon then Blah blah blahFig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap0 -
best all round? as in bike most suited to what you are doing all of the time?
Bionicon.0 -
Who Manufactures the best all round, Do It All MTB???
To answer the question who MANUFACTURES the best all round mountain bike it's probably Merida or one of the other two or three massive Taiwanese factories which make the majority of frames.
The answer is definitely not Orange.Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=130702350 -
That is almost the daftest question I've seen asked on here, second only to what is the 'best frame'.
Why is it so daft? Is the bike industry so unusual that products offered by manufacturers vary in quality that much?
Ask people who make the best phones, speakers, cars, computers, pretty much anything and people will have an opinion on who _they_ think make the best.
It's definitely not good for the industry if none of the manufacturers can provide consistent quality across the range
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Most make everything from rubbish to excellent. Depends on the price.
Some boutique brands generally make good stuff.
Generally the frames are OK, the bits hanging off them can be nasty.
So people buy the brand and get rubbish. Or pay more and get better.I don't do smileys.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools0 -
Most make everything from rubbish to excellent. Depends on the price.
Some boutique brands generally make good stuff.
Generally the frames are OK, the bits hanging off them can be nasty.
So people buy the brand and get rubbish. Or pay more and get better.
Makes you wonder though, why would bike manufacturers risk destroying their brand reputation by bundling crappy parts? If just one brand started to not do that they could well be the 'best' and everyone would be mentioning them in this thread
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I hate it when me sarky questions take off
Best bikes ever???
TOWNSEND0 -
Most make everything from rubbish to excellent. Depends on the price.
Some boutique brands generally make good stuff.
Generally the frames are OK, the bits hanging off them can be nasty.
So people buy the brand and get rubbish. Or pay more and get better.
Makes you wonder though, why would bike manufacturers risk destroying their brand reputation by bundling crappy parts? If just one brand started to not do that they could well be the 'best' and everyone would be mentioning them in this thread
When martin guitars started making sub £1000 instruments the purists scoffed, and said the same thing, it's destroying the brand.
The answer is simple economics, the vast majority of bike sales are say under £600, the percentage of 2 grand bikes sold is miniscule by comparison.. Companies need to sell more to make more profit and grow.0 -
They've been doing it for ever.
Example, this is my 1995 Kona Hahanna, which was bottom of the range, plain gauge pipe, Acera sort of level bits. Makes a decent commuter and still well above BSO level.
This is my 1996 Kona Explosif, basically top of the range except for some specials. Came with Columbus Max tubing, Magura hydraulic rim brakes and excellent components. Currently has XTR cranks, hubs and XT other bits. Much lighter, zingier, rides like a dream, climbs and accelerates better than anything else I have.
The look the same, same geometry etc, but very very different bikes. And one was four times as much when new.I don't do smileys.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools0 -
How about phrasing the question - if you were forced to stick with just one brand throughout your life from a complete novice MTB'er (with appropriately restrictive budget) to racing at UK level, who would you place your bets with?
Obviously the "big" brands cover most ranges, but all have a weak spot in their portfolio - e.g. Decathlon, good at low price point, perhaps restricted at the top end, Spesh are poor value at the low end, but have world class machinery at the top end.2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #4s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)0 -
How about phrasing the question - if you were forced to stick with just one brand throughout your life from a complete novice MTB'er (with appropriately restrictive budget) to racing at UK level, who would you place your bets with?
Obviously the "big" brands cover most ranges, but all have a weak spot in their portfolio - e.g. Decathlon, good at low price point, perhaps restricted at the top end, Spesh are poor value at the low end, but have world class machinery at the top end.
Tbh, that was the sort of answer I was hoping for (which is why I didn't name the thread 'Who makes the best bikes?' but rather gauge people's personal opinions - but maybe it was too subtle ). 0 -
In a way it's globalisation that makes the question so hard to answer and also what makes the "big" brands such poor value at the budget end of the market. Cooldad has mentioned similar themes in his posts.
At the time when his Konas were new, the mass production of MTB frames in the Far East was not so established in the volumes they are today. The strategy I used to choose my first MTB in 1997 was to buy the best frame I could afford but with entry level components with a view to upgrading when they wore out. My £500 bike had the same frame as the £1200 top of the range, bonded aluminium made in the USA.
The same strategy wouldn't work today. The frames are now almost all produced in the Far East in such large volumes that the differences in production costs are reduced and so the difference in quality between a budget frame and an upper-mid range frame is much less. This means that the place where the manufacturers can make changes to maintain their profitability is in the components, most crucially the fork.
Not only does this make it tricky to identify the "Best Brand", one manufacturers range can be stonking one year and with components downgraded to avoid price hikes, rubbish the next year.Viscount Grand Touring - in bits
Trek ZX6500 - semi-retired
HP Velotechnik Spirit
Brompton M6
Specialized Camber Comp0
