The stupid questions thread.

Integrated press fit Headest and BB, on Klein bikes since forever.

Internal Cable routing.

Frame Stiffness as a paramount design criteria.

Ultra Light weight as a primary design criteria.

Only recently all the above becoming standard on modern bicycles, mountain and road.

lewisfoto":vt6wv7pf said:

Here is one I have wanted to ask for a while, as a resident of the States which UK built MTB should I add to the collection?

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If you only had a choice of one; Roberts DOGS BOLX

If you were searching for a classic 90's Brit built frame, then I'd add Dave Lloyd CATS WISKAS and Dave Yates DONKISNOB to the search.

NeilM":1l7c68wz said:

lewisfoto":1l7c68wz said:

Here is one I have wanted to ask for a while, as a resident of the States which UK built MTB should I add to the collection?

Click to expand...

If you only had a choice of one; Roberts DOGS BOLX

If you were searching for a classic 90's Brit built frame, then I'd add Dave Lloyd CATS WISKAS and Dave Yates DONKISNOB to the search.

Click to expand...

Staying 'on topic' you could do a lot worse than an Orange Prestige

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=orange+p ... 115&ty=101

Oops! Have I just entered someone's bike into this months comp?

lewisfoto":2srfzik1 said:

Funny but when I posted this I had not seen the BOTM for July

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You still don't have a lot of choice though, all Muddy's were built in Japan or Taiwan and most Oranges came out of the same factory as the Muddy's (exceptions being things like the Formula). Saracen were handbuilt in the UK as were Raleigh and Claud Butler. Saracen have the bigger following but I always preferred the ride of the Raleigh.

Carl.

I'm dispointed by this months BOTM. I wanted to enter my Raleigh when it arrives. But I can't. I feel discriminated. I may put it up there just because.

Logic.Al":184irvvt said:

I'm dispointed by this months BOTM. I wanted to enter my Raleigh when it arrives. But I can't. I feel discriminated. I may put it up there just because.

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Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be a brit handbuilt month sometime in the future, I'll still be torn over what to enter.

Carl.

My next questions: were flex stems any good?

And the AMP front forks?

Flex Stems IMO were scary. The bars are not supposed to move like that.

No idea about AMP forks.

ultrazenith":2fzetof6 said:

Hi, I have quite a few stupid questions relevant to retro bikes, but don't want to create a new thread (or pollute existing threads) with them all, so I thought I should create this 'stupid questions thread', instead.

So here's question number 1: What makes Klein bikes so awesome? (apart from the paint jobs). This is a serious question, not some anti klein rhetorical one.

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I've never really been a fan of Kleins, or particularly drawn to them - perhaps partly because I'm not swayed by the shiny, shiny, and partly because I prefer steel bikes. So truth be told, I've never felt a desire or pull to own one. That said, I'm not a hater, either - I may not always buy into much of what some people are drawn to in bikes, but different strokes and all that.

All that said, I think they're art. I love looking at them. There's plenty of threads dedicated to them, of bikes that look simply stunning, and true art. So I can appreciate them.

That I'm not drawn to them, may seem a contradiction - but then appreciating them as art, isn't a factor in the bikes I'd choose to ride or own - what I'm drawn to own and ride, isn't art, it's decent mechanicals.

If you asked me to name a beautiful bike, though, and it would almost certainly be a Klein.

lewisfoto":358df5w9 said:

Here is one I have wanted to ask for a while, as a resident of the States which UK built MTB should I add to the collection?

Click to expand...

If you want a frame to build from scratch - it has to be a Pace. Perferably dripping with Hope, Middleburn and the like.