Most influential bikes ever

[Ken McGinn]

Specialized owns the rights to the Horst Link.And FYI Horst Leitner invented the Horst Link. And Specialized,Ritchey,Fisher,Klein and GT get my votes with a special thanks to Intense for the M1

Unlike some retrobikers here i like full spuspension. In this category, i would point
1)The San andreas : still alive today as are so many of its nephews, how many "non classic" frame paterns can boast such a long life and descendence?
2) The Trek Y : Proof that NOT only good designs are copied
3) Whatever bike brand put the Horst link on the map for the masses (i let the purist discuss this topic) has to be credited for one of the best, most used and abused suspension design (the new virtual point suspension crop, just being a extreme use of that same four bar linkage patern), as a side note non horst link Turners are one of this sickest joke in the recent mtb history IMHO
That's all full sus for tonight, let's go back to rigid steel (steel is real, i sure agree)

 

[Woodie]

Ritchey
Cunningham

Aaaah, Happy Days....
(sorry, couldn't resist that )

 

[FRED101]

Specialized owns the rights to the Horst Link.And FYI Horst Leitner invented the Horst Link. And Specialized,Ritchey,Fisher,Klein and GT get my votes with a special thanks to Intense for the M1

If you stop there it's indeed clear and simple, it gets complicated when you go into details like the fact that specialized doesn't have the rignt for the whole world, Turner was a part in the development af the "horst link" and then went his own way, people like Ellsworth pretend to reinvent the wheel and managed to make another patent out of it etc, etc.

Looking at that list it appears that there's been nothing influential for about 15 years. Is this right - is it like music and we are now recycling and adapting older ideas without any true innovation?

Iwill agree with this one, if we loook deep into the past we can for sure find examples of these innovations that are way older than we think (mostly in the motorcycle world for examlpe prallel forks etc etc.).

 

[DeletedUser006]

I would have to Say Raleigh....... Back in the late 80's as the 1st bikes were availble and affordable for me as a teenager, I remeber having a raleigh maverick in grey with 15 gears, cantilver brakes and central ridge tyres. If it wasnt for these I wouldnt have upgraded to Specialized, Diamond back and Kona ! and possibly be riding today

 

[amt27]

Giant Cadex, Trek OCLV, both brought carbon fibre to the masses in lugged and monocoque form,

 

[Crell]

Fascinating thread, especially reading through and reading what people classify as influential.
Influential bikes influence for all manner of reasons:

Influence people to get out and ride: In the UK the early muddy fox bikes certainly did that and put MTBing on the popular / "fashionable" map.

Influence the industry and bike design:
The early repak bikes set the basic evolutionary starting point that's still there today.
The RC100 showed that tubes didn't have to be round
The Cunningham bikes showed you could bolt things together
Cannondale & Klein showed you could use larger diameter tubes & aluminium to reduce weight (and the latter how to use a paint scheme to sell a bike!)
Ritchey showed what you could do with a steel tubeset
Kestrel showed you could use CF effectively
Bontrager applied some real science to the engineering and compensation needed in the frame design
Mtn cycles, Offroad & Boulder bikes pushed the early suspension curves down different paths.

Probably lots more if I think harder about this.

 

[hilldodger]

most influential bikes EVER?

Micheaux Velocipede - the first proper bicycle.

Starley's Rover Safety of 1885 - the first successful modern safety bicycle.

Edlin and Sinclair's 1888 redesign of the Safety to accommodate the pneumatic tyre

 

[Ken McGinn]

The Hobby Horse was the start.

 

[Stick Legs]

Mine, 'cos it makes me want to ride!

 

[Stick Legs]

most influential bikes EVER?

Micheaux Velocipede - the first proper bicycle.

Starley's Rover Safety of 1885 - the first successful modern safety bicycle.

Edlin and Sinclair's 1888 redesign of the Safety to accommodate the pneumatic tyre

Imagine if the Rover Safety bicycle had come 90years too late...

The British Leyland Safety bicycle.

We would all be on German made penny farthings.