What are your least favourite brands in the world of cycling?

[youngsspeed]

Specialized - competition by litigation

Trek - forces bike shops into brand exclusivity

Glad I am not the only one.
I will never buy anything ever that has their name on it or have anything to do with them.

 

[al-onestare]

Specialized and Trek, for all the aforementioned reasons.

Specialized don't call bikes bikes, they call them units. Says it all.

 

[klunkrider]

Probably easier to list brands that do appeal.

Guess Trek would be one of definitely avoid due to having worked in a shop that sold then and their relationship with police in the US.

Somuch modern stuff is just bland and uninteresting though.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I have had several Specialized bikes and they've all worked very well. Different strokes.

 

[trailstar82]

Trek for their use of proprietary standards (bb90/95) which are terrible and what they did to klein/Gary fisher.

 

[R-V]

If you think you know what is bad..
One to mention.
Vigor.
Nuff said.
Often pop up here for cheap money with no signs of use. I guess people order them, and they are simply not rideable, or even better, cannot be assembled...

 

[wynne]

Trek for their use of proprietary standards (bb90/95) which are terrible and what they did to klein/Gary fisher.

And Lemond and Bontrager...
I used to work in a Trek dealership. It was depressing. I tried to put people off buying them. As people have said, at a certain point it all ceases to be about bikes, it's big corporate business and therefore an extension of the marketing industry.

 

[synchronicity]

And Lemond and Bontrager...
I used to work in a Trek dealership. It was depressing. I tried to put people off buying them. As people have said, at a certain point it all ceases to be about bikes, it's big corporate business and therefore an extension of the marketing industry.

How would you go about that? What would you say to potential customers? LOL

 

[synchronicity]

Specialized
They are the biggest sh*t bag company. If you build a better product, they figure out some way to sue you over it.

I think that sentence would have sounded slightly better if you had have used "shite bag" with the e on the end, you know, like the Irish do.
Just rolls off the tongue better... just a thought... carry on...

 

[wynne]

How would you go about that? What would you say to potential customers? LOL

We also stocked Orbea. I would generally steer people towards them - a better company, run as a co-operative, with quite a lot of European fabrication (though despite their "made in spain" label all their carbon is chinese made). I would say to people that if it were my money i'd buy an orbea and explain that the premium pricing of treks offered no enhanced performance but was largely to cover their marketing budget. Customers liked my honest approach. Management less so.
I don't work there any more