Fall from grace

[GoldenEraMTB]

Do you support your LBS? Or do you use one of the online retailers?

I tried my LBS and they were . .
1. not too helpful/knowledgable
2. (when I'd waited to speak to the chap I knew) not very aware/interested in MTB's or old (read: retro) things..

So I use online mostly.
Every time I go into Halfords (for something) I come out empty handed :?

That comment wasn't aimed at yourself or anyone in particular. It's also way off topic. My point was more that often the same people who bemoan the demise of their LBS rarely use it, favouring instead the cheaper online retailers....

why I ultimately blamed the consumer in my post.

 

[kaiser]

Orange does seem to have consistently produced the same bikes* to the same ethos I'd go as far to say Cannondale are the same IMO. The bikes they produce now are not a million miles away from what they did then. They're still a weight weenies favourite and are ridden on the race circuit.


*As in the same principles


Did Saracen ever achieve a state of grace? Ditto Raleigh?


You could say that Klein burned brightly kinda like a Jimi Hendrix or Cobain. But who was the Genesis and Fleetwood Mac of the mtb world?

 

[brocklanders023]

Did Saracen ever achieve a state of grace? Ditto Raleigh?

I was thinking that although I guess in the early 90's Saracens bottom of the range bike was still half decent and the top end gear was tasty. They lost their way around the mid 90's imo. Loved my '89 Tufftrax though

Raleigh never seemed a big player in top end bikes (although the Dyna Techs were lovely) and have always sold bso's so have not strayed too far from their path. Didn't they re-release the top end stuff recently? :?

 

[DM]

Did Saracen ever achieve a state of grace? Ditto Raleigh?

Good point. With the exception of a few high-end standouts, both ranges were generally very ordinary (though loads UK rider owned a Raleigh or Saracen at some time)

You could say that Klein burned brightly kinda like a Jimi Hendrix or Cobain. But who was the Genesis and Fleetwood Mac of the mtb world?

Genesis & Fleetwood Mac?
[shudder]
You mean, "Who sold bland dross; to Joe-average; in huge numbers; for years.".

...there are many contenders for that prestigious title

 

[bigdawg]

youre not talking about peter greens fleetwood mac I hope.... :evil:

and as for rayleigh Id still like one of barrie clarke's titanium bikes if they ever appear....

 

[DM]

youre not talking about peter greens fleetwood mac I hope.... :evil:

and as for rayleigh Id still like one of barrie clarke's titanium bikes if they ever appear....

I was thinking more of Stevie Nicks era & Raleigh Activator

 

[bigdawg]

fair dos... I agree with you there actually....

 

[drystonepaul]

I don't know whether Saracen ever really had a period of grace, so to speak, but perhaps their best period was the late eighties and early nineties with their somewhat iconic Kili-Flyer and Conquest bikes. Although perhaps their bikes were never really that special or innovative, their early history in the UK and the association the brand had with certain early pioneering mountain bike adventures (ascent of Kilimanjaro etc) did make them a desirable brand at the time.

Raleigh as an overall entity with it's full gamut of low end to high end bikes is a bit more confusing though.
Historically, they probably had their heyday decades before the advent of the mountain bike. But sub-brands and Special Products Division 'side projects' like the Dyna Techs were truly innovative at the time, and therefore certainly worthy of consideration.
The lack of huge popularity of Dyna Tech, and M-Trax for that matter, was largely influenced by failings within the overall Raleigh infrastructure, manufacture and dealer set-up rather than the quality of some of their bikes.


Oh and aren't Genesis the equivalent of Genesis...?

 

[longun]

i think everything has its hay day and eventually either disappears or is sold into mass companies.look at ford,opel etc,everything is mass produced to the cheapest std etc now when before you didnt mind spending a bit more on costom brazed frames and cnc;d lovelyness.everything is its own self demise imho,at the end of the day,gary tuner,bontrager etc etc all started in small volume and look what happened,would it be fair to say they sold out just to make money? i think this statement can be a little over used nowadays and remember these guys had bills etc to pay as well.

what ever happened to tioga?? when john tomac left they seemed to disappear into the background.

 

[mikee]

tioga still make stuff ,the bike hut halfords stuff is tioga