Grove Innovations - Explain?

[BarneyRubble]

Hi All,

As above really - I mean no offence to any proud owners, but I don't get the fascination with Grove Innovations. To my mind some of the ugliest frames ever made and Kays Catalogue BSO style paint jobs that turn my stomach. I hadn't heard of them before joining RB a couple of years back, but since then have seen countless BOTM's and threads with people messing themselves over them. I am open to having my mind changed, so can someone explain why? :?

 

[john]

Hi All,

As above really - I mean no offence to any proud owners, but I don't get the fascination with Grove Innovations. To my mind some of the ugliest frames ever made and Kays Catalogue BSO style paint jobs that turn my stomach. I hadn't heard of them before joining RB a couple of years back, but since then have seen countless BOTM's and threads with people messing themselves over them. I am open to having my mind changed, so can someone explain why? :?

Nicely worded. Suspect you'd get a more useful response had you toned it down a little.

Anyhow suspect most Grove owners wouldn't understand people's fascination with Kona Lavadomes.

 

[BarneyRubble]

Ha ha, own one then John? I don't have "a fascination with kona lava dome's" it was the bike I bought as a cheap commuter, but has survived the culling of the rest of my bikes to pay bills. Mainly because it is worthless!

But Like I said, I genuinely don't want to offend anyone, it is just my taste. I really would like to know why people love them so. It is a brand that completely passed me by in the 90's.

 

[Elev12k]

Barney, of course it is no LavaDome , but I can still see why some people -me included- feel a certain appreciation for them. The frames are absolutely beautifully crafted. Some associate fillet-brazing with beautifull craftmanship automaticly, but crafting a welded frame like Grove did requires superb skills too. They are really very different than say a Mass FAT or Yeti. Maybe they come even close to the LavaDome in the department. The paint also amazes with superb quality. Whether you like it is a matter of taste. Dito for the somewhat unconventional proportions of some models.

What personally also matters for me is that they are kinda heavy duty orientated bikes. Pieces of art, but they can stand some abuse.

 

[sancho]

Elev12k touched on some of the key points, but I'd also add that in addition to the outstanding craftsmanship is the fact that Bill Grove was thinking way outside the box in terms of bicycle design. Look at the monotube X frame, Hammerhead bars (which have interchangeable quills) and the pipe spindle design of the HotRod cranks and you'll see that the "Innovations" part of the name was not a mere marketing gimmick. Bill Grove anticipated some of the big developments in bike product design long before they became mainstream.

As for the paint, well, to each his own, but I'll take a crazy Grove paint job over your typical mass produced monochromatic bike any day.

 

[BarneyRubble]

Thanks for the answers, they are exactly what I was hoping for; educational.

I will revisit the archive for more reading.

Not sure I'll ever find them aesthetically pleasing though.

 

[sancho]

Mike Hermann's website is probably the best resource for all things Grove:

http://www.purplelizard.com/GIintro.htm

 

[bmx4130crmo]

Grove in the German Classic Forum

hi, here are three links from the German Classic Forum.

Grove Thread:
http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=121761

Grove Albums by Philippe - oneschnark:
http://fotos.mtb-news.de/u/79997
and
http://fotos.mtb-news.de/u/185659

cheers

 

[richardpaulbaker]

I don't really know what the Groves thing is. If you're talking about the early formation of mountain bike design, then you really need to find out about Salsa Cycles. It's recorded in. the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame that Ross Shafer was the first frame builder to use the 71 degree head and 73 seat angle that was later copied by everyone else and became the industry standard.and Therefore he is the God of MTB design and if you are lucky enough to own one of his frames ( I've got a 1991 ) then you will know the truth...................

 

[dyna-ti]

Each to their own Some might question why a guy obsessed with disc brakes is on a retro site