Have Pace lost their identity since the loss of Square tubes

[JeRkY]

Sure the new bikes get great reviews and look every bit the part when put up against the latest big brand big hitting lineup. But peel the stickers off and then try to pick out a 405 from a raft of other FS models from other manufacturers.

Go back 10-15 years and do the same with the then current line up of XC hardtails, peel the stickers off a RC200, stick it on araft with its peers and then spot the Pace...easy.... Therefore imo yes they have lost their image.

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

Yep - nothing differentiates them from any other mass produced frame/bike manufacturer anymore.

 

[Augustus]

i don't remember the last modern mass produced bike i thought actually 'beautiful'.

Probably the RC300.

Scott Scales are a nice shape, but that's not enough is it.

 

[JeRkY]

Also their image was always for engineering, something that is much more evident in the external butting of the square tubes. So yes the Identity they had has gone.

They may be more popular amongst the mainstream now than they ever were, but I very much doubt they get the same sort of admiration that the old Yorkshire squares do.

 

[Dr S]

I don't think so. Yes the frames are all made in the far east but so are On-Ones and Cotics etc. The important bit- the design, the R&D is still done in Yorkshire. Anyone who regularly rides up on the Moors will always see Adrian's silver van kicking about- he's out there putting in serious milage day in day out- refining ideas. He decides what tubes and the geometry that goes into the bike just as it was always done. They could have carried on blindly making them and would have not been able to compete with cheaper competition and would have gone under.
Anyone can weld up a frame- its the design that sets them apart and as such they ride superbly, so it matters not where they are made. I admit they don't look as nice as the old square tubed machines but be brutally honest the old bikes were not great all day trail bikes like the new ones are.
i hope they continue to prosper.

Si

 

[messiah]

Good question

I'm not a Pace lover - I've broken every bit of Pace kit I've owned. But I'm glad they are about as a company - enthusiasts living the dream.

I test rode an RC200 at a demo day but the shop laughed when I inquired about buying a frame... they did not want the hassle when I broke it :roll:

Pace did what they had to for survival - XC race bikes like the old RC series are dead these days unless you can get the weight right down to carbon levels or/and price down to Tai Alu.

A few die hard fans who don't buy new frames very often and a bunch of bargain hunting retro fiends are not a good market to base your business model on.... and when your forks have a reputations for fragility and yet are of a fantastic design why not sell the lot off to someone who thinks they can build them better... and seem to have done just that.

I think the new Pace frames are interesting as they are now back to being frames for the enthusiastic rider rather than the out and out racer.

In the modern times brands are all about image and marketing where graphics and a few tweaks are really all that separate many of the frames available.... these are frequently welded in the same factorys. Most middle to high stuff BITD came out of the same factories - it's just that some of our modern supposedly high end boutique stuff now comes out of the same factories as all the other stuff, and those that want a Cove/Pace/etc pay the extra for the image, marketing, design and packaging. Being built in the same factory as all the other stuff I can't help thinking that the love is somehow missing, and to my mind we frequently see that with broken (design/testing issues), missaligned, badly finished, and poor paint on what are expensive "boutique" frames.

I'll probably not be buying a Pace although I did like the Fillet Brazed steel number they showed... but why buy the Pace when I could by a Curtis?

Having said all that I'm still glad they are about, and I do go and have a good look at the few I see on the trails. They have some nice design touches (although a few are also pretty pointless) and the image is now "sick gnarly dude" as opposed to "head down arse up race dude".

Times move on, Pace are still with us and I think it's a good thing.

 

[brocklanders023]

I don't think so. Yes the frames are all made in the far east but so are On-Ones and Cotics etc. The important bit- the design, the R&D is still done in Yorkshire. Anyone who regularly rides up on the Moors will always see Adrian's silver van kicking about- he's out there putting in serious milage day in day out- refining ideas. He decides what tubes and the geometry that goes into the bike just as it was always done. They could have carried on blindly making them and would have not been able to compete with cheaper competition and would have gone under.
Anyone can weld up a frame- its the design that sets them apart and as such they ride superbly, so it matters not where they are made. I admit they don't look as nice as the old square tubed machines but be brutally honest the old bikes were not great all day trail bikes like the new ones are.
i hope they continue to prosper.

Si

I agree with you Dr S. For me the soul of Pace (and to a certain extent Orange) is the amount of care taken making sure the design is just right. You know they are not going to chuck something out on the market unless they are totally happy with it. They don't change the design every year just because it's the done thing, they bring out a new bike when they've improved what went before.

If I was to change my modern Orange 5 the only other bike I'd consider would be a Pace (although my deep love for the big O would lead me to Halifax 9 times out of 10 )

 

[user7307]

Yes, they are known for square tubes and carbon suspension forks.

 

[MJN]

I agree with Dr S, Mr Carter can regularly be seen out and about and sometimes he even stops off for a cafe stop with some motley retro types on a snowy Saturday afternoon

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

It clearly isnt "hip to be square" anymore