Top 10 All Time Great Bike Designs

[Can of Coke]

See above, I can't break it down any further so you can understand.

Just take your time and read it slowly.

Your opinion is subjective and also happens to be wrong. How you can argue against the only design to have won both xc and dh world championships is beyond belief.

What other bike can say the same?

History and the facts speak for themselves, your opinion is just that, an opinion.

The frame design is proven in battle and has gold medals to prove it, your opinion is based in your mind.

And once again, somebody falls in the trap of conflating causation with correlation.

If you can cite something actually causative about the frame design, which is anything more than inference or supposition, that proves that it's design is what made it win both these championships, all by itself... then by all means.

Otherwise, it is nothing more than a mildly interesting footnote.

Again, that's your subjective opinion.

As is yours - full of speculation, inductive reasoning, and - it has to be said, pure fallacy.

Look at the facts.

Yes, let's.

The designer, himself, has said that facet of design was nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Please re-read what was written and digest the salient point being made.

There is no salient point being made - just some wild assertion that the bike made all the difference.

I don't want to go all Lance Armstrong on you, but it really isn't all about the bike - this isn't formula one - magic pixies, nor V8 engines power these bikes around.

If you're sufficiently naive to believe there were some magical properties about the frame alone, and inherently, that made the results, then you're deluded.

The frame would have to have the qualities that allow it to compete at world class level events and win, the qualities being strength, stiffness, geometry, light weight. The frame design allowed for these qualities to be inherent, triple triangle one of them. Whether that's an added bonus from a marketing idea is immaterial, it produces a strong stiffer rear end that enabled it to win world championships without falling to bits.

So how many other bikes of that time fell to bits whilst cyclists, capable of winning were let down by supposedly inferior equipment?

I can't make the point any simpler for you to digest without going over and over the same one, just re-read what was written. Also don't forget the trials Hans Rey was competing in on the same frame design.

Thing is, you're not making any cogent point - you're simply speculating - and as I said, conflating causation with correlation, with nothing more to support your "logic" other than your specious inferences.

I put it to you that any number of bikes / frames were capable of the same or similar kinds of achievements (in terms of championships), that the GT did, was not about the frame, design inherently, but a combination of other factors.

Given the evidence purported, my argument is just as compelling, if not more so, than yours. HTH. HAND.

 

[Can of Coke]

Top ten bike designs.

Right. The triple triangle is synonymous with GT and I'd subjectively say the most easily recognisable mtb frame ever made.

Whilst the triple triangle design was apparently created for marketing reasons, it also transpired that the qualities it gave enabled the Zaskar to be utilised at world cup downhill and cross country competition where it helped the rider to achieve top spot on the podium.

This proving ground goes to show just how versatile the frame design was and still is to this day. The reduction in the size of the rear triangle makes for a stiffer and stronger frame

 

[videojetman]

Good response Neil but you are wasting your time. We have a saying up in Yorkshire......

'Tha can't educate Pork'

Stop feeding the troll and all that.

Si

Like sarcasm, the troll line has to be the internet's lowest form of whit.

If anything, the troll is the chap above that can't see the wood for the trees.

Your post is nothing more than a personal attack that adds nothing to the debate.

this is an opinion thread, not a debate thread.
maybe you should start a why gt's are better than ....... thread. and let everyone have their opinion.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

wher can i get one

There've been a number of reproductions manufactured over the last few decades, notably in Cheltenham and Copenhagen. Jesper Solling (the Danish manufacturer) has recently ceased production in the face of competition from Germany:

http://www.pedersenbicycle.dk/

http://www.pedersen.info/Pedersen/pedersen.info.html

 

[Neil]

Good response Neil but you are wasting your time. We have a saying up in Yorkshire......

'Tha can't educate Pork'

Stop feeding the troll and all that.

Si

You have a good point, it is well received, and you're completely correct.

 

[KeepItSteel]

no idea why you guys are jumping all over the triple triangle fan, but not surprised at all.
too many personal attacks for you guys to feel good about your comments.

its clear that both sides of the camp are correct, the triple triangle:
a) made at very least an interesting, non-run of the mill design
b) had strong characteristics that may have helped it win events cross discipline - possibly not - but these characteristics certainly didnt detract from the ride quality, unlike other frames from the era - probably
c) was backed by a huge company/marketing team

speculate either way, its a classic design whether you happen to like it or not. But opinions are what we are after, and i'd hate to see us all in agreeance. would be nice if we could respect each other more though.

 

[Neil]

no idea why you guys are jumping all over the triple triangle fan, but not surprised at all.

I suspect if there's any jumping, it's hardly one sided.

Continual assertions that his / her inferences are actually objective fact, and all words in detraction, are merely subjective speculation, is bound to attract some correctly ascribed claims of hubris and hypocrisy.

too many personal attacks for you guys to feel good about your comments.

its clear that both sides of the camp are correct, the triple triangle:
a) made at very least an interesting, non-run of the mill design
b) had strong characteristics that may have helped it win events cross discipline - possibly not - but these characteristics certainly didnt detract from the ride quality, unlike other frames from the era - probably
c) was backed by a huge company/marketing team

speculate either way, its a classic design whether you happen to like it or not. But opinions are what we are after, and i'd hate to see us all in agreeance. would be nice if we could respect each other more though.

I've got no issue with differences in opinion.

There's a difference, though, in saying "I believe X...", to "Grass is green, therefore all green things are grass, and that's fact because what else could it be..."

 

[Raging_Bulls]

If the frame really had such an influence on the bike's speed, I wouldn't be referring to GTs as "mobile chicanes".
Every single time I encountered a GT, it was always in my way until I had the opportunity to overtake it.

A good rider can win championships on any decent bike. GT simply had the money to pay for the best riders, and that's all there is to it.

As for the strength of the rear triangle : The difference is so minimal that it doesn't actually affect the ride or the feel at all.
Theoretically a smaller triangle is stronger indeed, but there's another theory to keep in mind as well. The strongest triangle is one with three 60° corners. The more you deviate from that, the weaker it becomes.
The GT triangle needs a sharper corner near the dropouts than a normal bike does, which just about cancels the strength gained by reducing the triangle's size.

 

[Barneyballbags]

My top 10 (having not read all of this thread in its entirity and by all accounts just as well) would be, in no particular order:

- Manitou FS (purely from an aesthetic point of view - one of the best looking full sussers of all time, especially in small/medium)
- Any Dekerf hardtail with that rear end
- AMP B2/Mongoose Amplifier
- GT, specifically GT Zaskar
- Alpinestars Al Mega E-Stay (again, from an aesthetic point of view)
- Klein Attitude/Adroit
- 'Dale Killer V
- Mountain Cycles San Andreas
- Intense M1 (who cares if it's not retro, it was game changing)
- GT RTS, followed by the LTS

OK, that's 11

 

[FMJ]

Hey Kevin. If you ever need an understudy to sort/co-elate your GT stickers and frame decals by date/historical significance, I think we've found your man.