What makes you a fan of a certain brand....?

LikeClockwork

Gold Trader
Kona Fan
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Just musing on this, aided by cider after a very hard week at work... :mrgreen:

You may have noticed I'm quite a Kona orientated girl, but I have no time at all for, for instance, Marin. Just don't get it at all. So what makes any of us a brand fan? Youthful remembrance of our first MTB? What we couldn't afford then but can now? Adverts that struck a chord in MBUK circa 1997....? (C'est moi)

I should add here that I am NOT looking to start an argument, just trying to see where people's affiliations lie and why! Plus, I'm bored.... :facepalm:
 
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Kona through and through since my first Kona in 1993.
Even got a Kona tattoo, had it for about 10 years.
Still have time for other makes though.
 
Brands I like:
Yeti: Steel frame's with a splash of raciness into them and some really good looking bikes.
Dave Yates: True craftsman, only up the road from me.
Orange: No-nonsense attitude and no bull**it marketing approach.

Still a fan of other brands though these are my main three.
 
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Yes, I'm quite partial to a Rocky Mountain now and then. Had a GT Avalanche once, closest I could get to a Zaskar. Should have ridden lovely, but it was just so....none inspiring. First time out on the Kona and I couldn't stop laughing, 'such fun' as Miranda's mum would say.

Has to be steel now for me. Don't get Kleins either. What's that all about? They're not even that attractive looking TBH!!

Bit of a love/hate thing with Orange, despite my handle on here....
 
I've always had a soft spot for Konas (I rode one for about 8 years!) but for me, my choice of brand was determined by my age; everything I experienced between 15 and 20 seems that much cooler!

I still have a soft spot for old steel Gary Fishers - I had a great one and snapped it! Likewise I think the first generation Trek Y frames were cool for their time - even though I don't want one, they were still inspiring. Orange still gets my considerable respect for the bikes they made 20 years ago, and as for Klein...

I used to read (in magazines - how quaint!) interviews with Gary Klein about the logic and meticulous methodology behind his bikes. I've always lusted after an Adroit frame (one day...) and as of a few years ago got my first Mantra. Regardless of knowing how things have moved on, I still get a great thrill riding it and thinking of the decades of anticipation involved. I consider the Mantra my mid-life crisis!

For me, the filter of youth (and ability long since lost) defines my tastes. I wouldn't at all be surprised if I'm still trying to go off-road on a mid-90s bikes in my 80's...
 
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Always been a Kona fan since my 1st mtb was a '93 Hahanna. I had been riding a friends '90 Fire Mountain so thats what sealed the deal for me.
I never like Marin that much even though my LBS was a dealer, until i rode the 1st Mount Vision in late '96.
It wasn't till i joined RB that i got to ride other brands, i now own my 1st Orange and have had a Mongoose as well.
but i've still got loads on my wish list including a few Kona's :)
 
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Good stuff! Actually, I take that back about Marin's - have always fancied one of the full sus ones from the '97/98 era, they really used to do it for me when I was in my LBS and they first came out. Fully rigid snot green Clockwork suddenly paled into insignificance.... :lol:
 
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Oh, and for some reason always liked Trek's after owning a 820 Antelope, and always loved the looks of a Gary Fisher Joshua :shock:
 
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