[newtonk]

There are so many ‘which bike’ threads on this forum with oodles of great bike suggestions at every price point, but I was wondering, has anyone tested a decent brand bike and just thought “this is a piece of cr@p!” recently? 

I’m not talking about your Argos BSO here, thinking more along the lines of a known bike brand.

It seems like there’s almost no such thing as a review which gets less than 4 stars these days, are all new bikes really pretty damn good or are reviewers hesitant to criticise too harshly?

Which bike is on your ‘not recommended’ list?…

Topic

[huntswheelers]

I see plenty of bikes from

I see plenty of bikes from different brands through the workshop….. some you have to wonder at how they get the following and how the heck they can ask for the price tag… when you tear them down during service and see the poor quality components used by some of the so called “Brands” which some of the weekend stars love to brag about in the pub.

I’m not going to name names for the bad ones….. I would spend all day “Bike shaming” but I will say I do enjoy working on Dolan and B’twin bikes…. the quality components and build quality of them…. some other makes are as if they are built with no thought.

But then I speak from the sharp greasy end not the riding end……..  I do get to test ride the bikes before they get handed back to owners and some well…for me they work as they should… but obviously I ride all sizes and some a way too big or small for me…… however I did pick up a B’twin Sport 2 of 2008 vintage on Wednesday…the 10 speed Campagnolo equipped version…. the fella rode it twice on the road then used it on a turbo… so it was as original… so having torn it down and rebuilt it(as I do)….and treated it to new cables (I’m fussy) and tyres…..riding this 9 yr old bike was a revelation… what a nice bike…. it’s sold already… so you see not all new bikes are all that…

[alansmurphy]

I upgrade from an Allez to a

I upgrade from an Allez to a Carbon Cannondale (after a Dawes 1980’s steel machine and a Peugeot Alloy) and have loved both – though the Specialized was a huge upgrade on the previous models that surge you mention from the Cannondale – wow!

[Stef Marazzi]

Planet X Pro Carbon SRAM Red

Planet X Pro Carbon SRAM Red from about 2011. Felt so soft and squidgy. It had none of that “surging forward” that you get from a decent carbon bike.  I give it 1 out of 10.

Ribble Winter Audax. The supposedly “classic blue” frame. Looks really nice. But a pig to ride and no fun at all.  Could only fit 23mm tyres under the mudguards too. Didnt like it at all.  1 star.

Interestingly a few bikes I had a go on that I expected to hate were Carbon Cannondale Synapse – felt super comfy and great handling, and had that “surging” feeling.  

Also a 2016 Specialized Allez Smartweld. Really nice to ride. Didnt expect that at all.

[Author]

Replies