Bike appearance vs quality ride....?

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When I was looking at various brands and compiling my short list, Giant was pretty much eliminated from the start. Those colors are just obnoxious. I couldn't get close enough to check them out without sunglasses. The press fit bottom brackets were also an issue. Same with the Canyon Spectral and the YTs- even though I'm a sucker for German engineering.

The Chameleon was love at first sight, even before I rode one. The lines were in the right place, the geometry was what I wanted. I learned to embrace the army green and purple. And now I'm learning to like the burnt orange on the replacement frame... That is a bike that will be with me for some time.

The Hightower (in most of the colors...) was always a good looking bike to my eye, but it wasn't at the top of the list. My two warranty experiences with Santa Cruz and the deal I found pushed me over the edge when BackCountry was blowing out last year's models. But like some of the guy's above, I see it as a tool. If something happened to the bike, I'd get over it... I told Jason I'd be more upset if something happened to the wheels he built. :thumbsup:

And if I were swayed by looks, I wouldn't have kept this color for over 3o years. I really wanted the next model up, but my lawn mowing money only went so far. :p

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BonsaiNut said:
Absolutely. To me components > frame > aesthetics. A carbon frame might cost $1000 wholesale, and yet retailers jack up the price to $3000 just because they can find people who will pay the $$$. Components exist in a much more competitive market, and the markup is typically much lower. I ride a private label frame with XTR components (shifters, cranks, brakes, etc), and I save about $3000 by doing so. That $3000 can go a long way in tweaking parts of the build to make it exactly what I want - while still coming in dramatically below retail on a comparable bike (with a retail frame).

I am currently looking at buying a frame directly from China - and building the whole bike myself. Flat black frame - no logos. I'll be the SR-71 of the MTB world.

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Perhaps a Bonsai tree logo for the head tube badge? :D
 
Faust29 said:
Your bike was at the top of the "looks" list. Still is! These plastic bikes are great tools, but they all look the same.
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It’s fun to get people’s take on it. I think many are mildly repelled by the TT bend. Something about dog humping. Hehe.

To me it’s like climbing gear; rope, hardware, shoes. You buy the best gear for the job at the cheapest price, and you don’t care about color or aesthetics because they’re all ugly and you don’t notice them in the activity. But it has to have the exact rubber, fit and specs you want, because you know exactly what works for you and your missions. Ugly tools that become beautiful in the field. Hey, I lived through the 8os, I can stomach any color combo.
 
When I picked out my new bike. I remember somebody telling me. "There are plenty of "expensive" bikes out there yet people gravitate to the Hightower based on performance."

That resonated with me so I looked towards Santa Cruz. Was not thrilled with the choice of two colors, neither of which I would have chose off the showroom floor. I don't ride the bike I ride because so many others do, and certainly not due to color options or style. I can care less what others ride. I ride my Hightower because it is the funnest dahm bike I have ever ridden! There aint a ride day go by that @Voodoo Tom and I are not giggling like school girls when we finish the day and are heading home. Not a ride goes by that we are not talking about how fun and how well our bikes perform. The word in our household is ironically exactly the same as @mountaingirl sara ...
Function Over Fashion!

Yet I think my bike is sexy and pretty as time rolls on.
And in regard to @mike 's bike? Function AND Fashion. Throw a military star on that beeotch and I would fantasize about owning a GG. May even be my next bike down the road!
 
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A lot of my riding friends have a brand loyalty that trumps looks and function. Personally, I'll get what ever is affordable, has decent specs, and a decent reputation. It's tough to judge off a demo since the parts and the cockpit hasn't been set up the way I'd run it.

All new bikes feel good to me... I don't have a refined palate. :Roflmao
 
I can't think of very many bikes or colors these days that are so ugly or obnoxious I wouldn't ride them. Some definitely look better than others but as long as the bike does what I want it to do, I don't care that much. Never been one to go overboard coordinating colors either. I usually only swap out parts based on functionality. If the bike I want only comes in colors I'm not fond of I'd just have to deal with it.

The bigger hang up for me are design and the company. I try to avoid things like press fit BB and other features I don't like and can't easily change. If the build kits include too many components I don't like and can't swap out that might throw me off too. As for company, I will try hard to not support any company that makes e-bikes. That might get harder over time. I also prefer to support smaller or local companies over big ones like Trek/Giant. And I'll never buy a specialized based just on their business practices, I don't care how good the bikes are.
 
Faust29 said:
When I was looking at various brands and compiling my short list, Giant was pretty much eliminated from the start. Those colors are just obnoxious. I couldn't get close enough to check them out without sunglasses. The press fit bottom brackets were also an issue. Same with the Canyon Spectral and the YTs- even though I'm a sucker for German engineering.

The Chameleon was love at first sight, even before I rode one. The lines were in the right place, the geometry was what I wanted. I learned to embrace the army green and purple. And now I'm learning to like the burnt orange on the replacement frame... That is a bike that will be with me for some time.

The Hightower (in most of the colors...) was always a good looking bike to my eye, but it wasn't at the top of the list. My two warranty experiences with Santa Cruz and the deal I found pushed me over the edge when BackCountry was blowing out last year's models. But like some of the guy's above, I see it as a tool. If something happened to the bike, I'd get over it... I told Jason I'd be more upset if something happened to the wheels he built. :thumbsup:

And if I were swayed by looks, I wouldn't have kept this color for over 3o years. I really wanted the next model up, but my lawn mowing money only went so far. :p

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Function over looks. I went with Santa Cruz because they gave me a new frame for free. I went with my most recent Titanium Lynskey because I wanted American made. However an American made aluminum bike would have done the same job for bike packing. My Lynskey doesn't look all that pretty to me but I'm sure it will work well in the field.
 
Faust29 said:
When I was looking at various brands and compiling my short list, Giant was pretty much eliminated from the start. Those colors are just obnoxious. I couldn't get close enough to check them out without sunglasses. The press fit bottom brackets were also an issue. Same with the Canyon Spectral and the YTs- even though I'm a sucker for German engineering.

The Chameleon was love at first sight, even before I rode one. The lines were in the right place, the geometry was what I wanted. I learned to embrace the army green and purple. And now I'm learning to like the burnt orange on the replacement frame... That is a bike that will be with me for some time.

The Hightower (in most of the colors...) was always a good looking bike to my eye, but it wasn't at the top of the list. My two warranty experiences with Santa Cruz and the deal I found pushed me over the edge when BackCountry was blowing out last year's models. But like some of the guy's above, I see it as a tool. If something happened to the bike, I'd get over it... I told Jason I'd be more upset if something happened to the wheels he built. :thumbsup:

And if I were swayed by looks, I wouldn't have kept this color for over 3o years. I really wanted the next model up, but my lawn mowing money only went so far. :p

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That frame color looks like a Bianchi green rip-off so I like it :)

I agree with the lines of the Chameleon. The purple over green is classic SC putrid design in my book. I've had several Santa Cruz' and I will check out the newly designed Bronson when the time comes but they better get some more "classic" colors or that would be a no go.

When Evil first came out, I couldn't understand how anything could design something to look like that but several years later, I find them acceptable nowadays.
 
Faust29 said:
That's absolutely beautiful... And about 6 models over the Traveler I bought. :thumbsup:

Mine was pretty much original... Until it did a year in Oregon as my kid's college commuter. Kids... Just how do you bend drop bars into pretzel?!? :mad:
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He did his first real bike rides on it... As did I a long time ago...

Big Ring Century... When it still had 7000 feet of climbing.
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Would have had a faster finish time if the legs were shaved!! What kind of a roadie doesn't shave their legs?
 
mike said:
It’s fun to get people’s take on it. I think many are mildly repelled by the TT bend. Something about dog humping. Hehe.

To me it’s like climbing gear; rope, hardware, shoes. You buy the best gear for the job at the cheapest price, and you don’t care about color or aesthetics because they’re all ugly and you don’t notice them in the activity. But it has to have the exact rubber, fit and specs you want, because you know exactly what works for you and your missions. Ugly tools that become beautiful in the field. Hey, I lived through the 8os, I can stomach any color combo.
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You just hit the nail on the head Mike “”you don’t notice them in the activity”. Once I’m out on the trail (or road lately :oops:) I’m not thinking about how my bike looks or even how I look..it’s all about diggin in,sweating hard and having fun! Forget about looking cool, hot, rad or whatever....you’ll have way more fun!!!
 
Faust29 said:
That's absolutely beautiful... And about 6 models over the Traveler I bought. :thumbsup:

Mine was pretty much original... Until it did a year in Oregon as my kid's college commuter. Kids... Just how do you bend drop bars into pretzel?!? :mad:
View attachment 48305

He did his first real bike rides on it... As did I a long time ago...

Big Ring Century... When it still had 7000 feet of climbing.
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That’s an awesome pic!
 
mountaingirl sara said:
You just hit the nail on the head Mike “”you don’t notice them in the activity”. Once I’m out on the trail (or road lately :oops:) I’m not thinking about how my bike looks or even how I look..it’s all about diggin in,sweating hard and having fun! Forget about looking cool, hot, rad or whatever....you’ll have way more fun!!!
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At some point, the “storm trooper” and “where’s your duct tape?” comments hurt my feelings, and I don’t wanna play anymore. Ima take my bike and go home!
 
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