Mangizmos "Rant Of The Day"

[swannymere]

For £9k i could get a made to measure titanium frame and kit it out how i want.

 

[fguki]

Yeah well ...ok. But whats the point at all???

- Already in the 70s there were bikes that didnt even have cable routing! You needed external clamps for the cable outer housings (wtf?)
- Already in the 60s and 70s there were bikes that had no chances to mount a bottle cage. Although they had been around since the 20 or 30s.
- Already in the 80s and 90s there were bikes at 10.000 Deutschmarks (Manitou FS frame) which was INSANE and beyond imagination

and TONS of other "gimmick" or "useless" ideas that were purely marketing and nothing else ...

So again: Whats even the point? Stuff like that has been around forever. In every period. In every decade. In every mind of every customer in any bike shop...

Why bother? Welcome to the world we live in. Not since yesterday but lets say since the booming generation of the 50s to make a start.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

For £9k i could get a made to measure titanium frame and kit it out how i want.

I could think of better things to spend £9000 on, God forgive me...

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Yeah well ...ok. But whats the point at all???

- Already in the 70s there were bikes that didnt even have cable routing! You needed external clamps for the cable outer housings (wtf?)
- Already in the 60s and 70s there were bikes that had no chances to mount a bottle cage. Although they had been around since the 20 or 30s.
- Already in the 80s and 90s there were bikes at 10.000 Deutschmarks (Manitou FS frame) which was INSANE and beyond imagination

and TONS of other "gimmick" or "useless" ideas that were purely marketing and nothing else ...

So again: Whats even the point? Stuff like that has been around forever. In every period. In every decade. In every mind of every customer in any bike shop...

Why bother?

The theory behind no braze ons was to stop unnecessary heat on the frame. Bottle cage mounts included. The point is I thought to discuss?

 

[swannymere]

I could think of better things to spend £9000 on, God forgive me...

Ditto.

 

[dyna-ti]

I could think of better things to spend £9000 on, God forgive me...

God forgive you ?. Must be coke and hookers then.

 

[greencat]

I could think of better things to spend £9000 on, God forgive me...

And I can think of worse things. A friend of mine after a particularly nasty bout of covid (damaged his lungs and hearing permanently) found he could no longer keep up with the rest of us and was always struggling. He's just turned 60 - and while the £7K he ended up spending on an eMTB was the most he'd ever spent on a bike, it wasn't going to break the bank. I remember chatting to him and saying, "I think the equation changes at some point in your life between being cost conscious to using money as a tool to enable you to keep doing what you enjoy". If an ebike costing a ton of cash means he can keep riding for another half a dozen to dozen years - I don't think he'll regret it on his death bed. In fact, I suspect quite a few of us would be willing to pony up any amount of cash to do one last ride in the final days/weeks of our life. It's what we love, and we want to keep doing what we love.

An extreme example to look at it is making the choice between being a penniless 20 year old or a 90 year old billionaire. I don't think would many would choose the 90 year old. Chances are that at 90, the time to really enjoy a £9K bike has passed too. But if you are 40-50 something, would enjoy it and can afford it, then treat yourself.

 

[Mangizmo]

The theory behind no braze ons was to stop unnecessary heat on the frame. Bottle cage mounts included. The point is I thought to discuss?

I realised (of course) that bikes in the 50s and 60s didnt have brazed on mounts, actually thats the point, back when I started almost all bikes needed clamps for everything, bottle cages, carriers, cable routing. The higher end custom built frames had such luxuries and looked neater for it, no ugly clamps. Then later and especially when mountain bikes came in, canti bosses, cable stops, bottle cage mounts were all nicely incorporated even on low end cheapo frames. My point is that since carrier mounts became standard on almost all frames regardless of price......why remove them ? even if you dont think you will use them, one day you may....more options are better surely, removing them, especially from a bike that may very well be used to carry gear seems a backward step to me, they dont add weight and they dont detract from the looks

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

God forgive you ?. Must be coke and hookers then.

Only a figure of speech mate, not religious in any way shape or form. As a family man 9k on a bike would be a wrong move is all I meant. If it's what you want, need or can afford, go with God. See what I did there..

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I realised (of course) that bikes in the 50s and 60s didnt have brazed on mounts, actually thats the point, back when I started almost all bikes needed clamps for everything, bottle cages, carriers, cable routing. The higher end custom built frames had such luxuries and looked neater for it, no ugly clamps. Then later and especially when mountain bikes came in, canti bosses, cable stops, bottle cage mounts were all nicely incorporated even on low end cheapo frames. My point is that since carrier mounts became standard on almost all frames regardless of price......why remove them ? even if you dont think you will use them, one day you may....more options are better surely, removing them, especially from a bike that may very well be used to carry gear seems a backward step to me, they dont add weight and they dont detract from the looks

Agreed.