Rant !!!

[kanerdog1x1]

whoah, slow down.......
who crawled up you backside?
you make it sound as if bikes nowadays have no character, no soul. now i agree that alot of cheaper bikes out there are bad, but then over the years there have been alot of crappy cheap bikes, that will always be the case. i am happy riding an expensive modern bike really fast over a long distance. i wouldnt have done this years ago because i didnt have the money/ability/stamina i have now.
but i would also be happy riding a £299 hardrock just as hard. i know that the 9 speed chain is no more likely to break than a ten year old design 8 speed one, the brakes will be much better, and the frame will likely never break. go into a specialised dealer and see how many ex-warranty frames they have in stock? specialised let the shops sell them on cheap nowadays, because they hardly ever have to replace them in a warranty situation.
just had a flick through mbuk from 1991 and look, an xt cassete for £19.99. bargain, untill you take into account that they are nowhere near as nicely made as they are now, thats before you take into account inflation. thats the equvalent of about £50 now!
oh. i run 9 speed chains on my single speed. they are lighter than both bmx/track chains and 8 speed chains. and STRONGER.




but i dont trust 10 speed yet

 

[orange71]

It's like saying the music was much better in X decade. There's good music in every decade and bad music in every decade, you just gotta look in the right places and be prepared to spend money.

 

[hamster]

Absolutely, and with retro biking we at least have seen the effect of time on fading fashions and what lasts.

All I'm joining in the rant about are once-great makes being cheapened by greedy people making a fast buck instead of holding on to those values which made them great in the first place.

I own a 1996 (and therefore Lynskey-built) Litespeed. They had fantastic build quality. If you consider getting angry at a £2000 road bike failing as the head tube tears open after 6 months as something gettting "up my ass" then fine. But that's what's happening with Litespeed. In fact they are now nicknamed in the trade as Sh!tespeeds. And the same owners are making Carbon Merlins.....eh?

 

[Wold Ranger]

Retro

Funny thing is, there are more steel bikes coming back onto the market than was 10 years ago! On the 9 speed thingyou are right about 9 speed chains snapping. A friend used to prop for my local semi pro team, so is a big muscular chap. He rides new Spesh bikes and can afford the top end stuff. But he will go through snapping up to 3 chains a month in Summer! I have told him to go back to 8 speed, but of course he won't have this, as his lbs sez 9 is just as strong as 8! Yeah right!

 

[Dave_Mars]

I tend to agree that bikes these days seem to lack that "fun factor" that made the sport so enticing and enjoyable.. The big companies are largely faceless giants pushing "high-tech" market solutions ...

The days of wacky paintjobs, famous welders and krazy characters are over.. it's all so dull and business-like now.

But VALUE wise, hell things are MUCH better .. in 1997 I paid £700 (how much would that be now??) for a RIGID GT Pantera with STX-RC and "ho-hum" mavic 238s.

^ But today £369 will buy you a beautifully finished (guaranteed for life frame!) Cannondale F6 HARDTAIL with Rockshox forks incorporating Lock out, Rebound, and preload adj. WTB rims, decent Vs and Alivio/deore components.

That's value.

 

[Dave_Mars]

oops, double post