has everyone lost the passion?

bkt · Feb 24, 2009

i remember a time when i looked through konas 1996 catalouge ,gt's tech shop brochure and marins latest offerings and i would drewl at the quality and attention to detail in the welds and investment dropouts etc.

i had the misfortune of picking up konas latest reading material last weekend and i cant believe how ugly the bikes all looked, while i was in my lbs i also took a peek at some of the gt mountain range and i must honestly say i wouldnt buy a one of them :shock: .
i dont know if any of you agree with me here but i doubt anyone will be collecting those heaps and posting them on retrobike in 15 years time :!:

Mr Panda · Feb 24, 2009

I agree - many modern bikes are starting to look like Volvos, in terms of tank like construction and huge square tubes - including my Cape Wrath :evil:

Might just have to sell it :roll:

legrandefromage · Feb 24, 2009

Unfortunately its a business, it is soley there to make money.

kaiser · Feb 24, 2009

Theres still some nice stuff hiding out there....not easy to find though.

sinnett177 · Feb 24, 2009

Totally agree, with the exception of the factory bikes (like the Honda DH bikes), I have absolutely no passion for the modern stuff.

bkt · Feb 24, 2009

kaiser":m45eo5nc said:
Theres still some nice stuff hiding out there....not easy to find though.

very true but its mainly the top end stuff. i saw a '95 kona hananah (bound to be spelt incorrectly) on here the other day and it still looked amazing and that was konas base model.
i must admit i do think the new zaskars are nice mmmmm

letmetalktomark · Feb 24, 2009

There are bike out there as Kaiser said you just have to find them.

HB's Kish is a fine example.

And Rody's stuff is off the scale :shock: :shock:

Pinched from Rody's Blog:

Plus modern can be sexy.....

I do agree though that if you were to debadge a lot of mainstream bikes most people would be hard pushed to tell the difference between the brands.

Again as LGF said its a business.

Sad but I guess this is where the passion is.....

Ooh Matron

al-onestare · Feb 24, 2009

bkt":3bc6btht said:
i remember a time when i looked through konas 1996 catalouge ,gt's tech shop brochure and marins latest offerings and i would drewl at the quality and attention to detail in the welds and investment dropouts etc.
i had the misfortune of picking up konas latest reading material last weekend and i cant believe how ugly the bikes all looked, while i was in my lbs i also took a peek at some of the gt mountain range and i must honestly say i wouldnt buy a one of them :shock: .
i dont know if any of you agree with me here but i doubt anyone will be collecting those heaps and posting them on retrobike in 15 years time :!:

I have to agree. I pop into my local (Bromley Bike Co) every now and then to pick up tit-bits and I'm instantly hit by a sense of "what a load of over-engineered tat" when I look at the new kit. As (another) Kona lover, I'm super disappointed with the state of them now, the lovely sloping top tube is lost to a host of ridiculous hydroforming and what looks like left overs of the Humber Bridge welded to the headset.

I'm convinced that things will come full circle and the return of simple, elegant designs.

spacehopper · Feb 24, 2009

have to agree too.. not a fan of the modern swoopy hydroformed frames that everyone seems to be making now! they just seem to be making them as a case of ooo look what we can do!

the clean simple lines of retro stuff is usually much nicer!! though i do appreciate the geometry of modern frames as i love the way my inbred 456 rides.. a titanium one of those would be nice one day!! either that or a cotic hemlock!

Mr Panda · Feb 24, 2009

Bromley Bike co - is that the one in Widmore Rd just along from the Market Square? Used to drop in there 1990 onwards and drool at what I considered to be hugely overpriced Oranges and Marins.

Only thing I bought there was a pump which broke during first use :evil:

al-onestare":1jqcxzl6 said:
I have to agree. I pop into my local (Bromley Bike Co) every now and then to pick up tit-bits and I'm instantly hit by a sense of "what a load of over-engineered tat" when I look at the new kit. As (another) Kona lover, I'm super disappointed with the state of them now, the lovely sloping top tube is lost to a host of ridiculous hydroforming and what looks like left overs of the Humber Bridge welded to the headset.

I'm convinced that things will come full circle and the return of simple, elegant designs.

has everyone lost the passion?

bkt

Senior Retro Guru

Mr Panda

legrandefromage

kaiser

sinnett177

bkt

Senior Retro Guru

letmetalktomark

al-onestare

spacehopper

Senior Retro Guru

Mr Panda

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