What makes you a fan of a certain brand....?

[kampos]

Re:

For me it's always been Konas I lusted after ; my first proper MTB was a somewhat stodgy feeling Saracen but after a ride on a '93 Kilauea I was a convert ; also have to be honest I just love the look/shape of them ; Hawaiian branding and all they were just ... cooler than most brands IMHO.

 

[longfinkillie]

Re:

When I was a 14, I wrote to Klein. I can't remember what I wrote, I received the Pinnacle poster and the Porsche one, with a letter thanking me for my interest in their bikes.

 

[LikeClockwork]

Re:

Great stuff lads, I should get bored and start threads more often when on the cider! :mrgreen:

As always when I start something like this I never expect such comprehensive replies, great reading. For me it's the '97/98 Kona jungle graphics that do it. That and as I now know, the geometry that just happens to be perfect for me. Will always have a soft spot for Saracens too as I worked in a place that sold them for years, though I've not owned one for a long time.

Love/hate relationship with Orange as I've always had problems with frame and brake boss alignment on the new frames I've had :? My LBS shop years ago also was extremely embarrassed by the THREE sets of forks I had to have before we found one with straight welds and bosses, F8 fork would it have been? (199 I want to love them as they're English, but hey, I suppose these were Taiwanese built frames/forks by then....

Kaz

 

[Bollox64]

My first 2 proper MTBs were splatter Cindercones. 1st one got nicked, 2nd one now owned by my ex sister in-law over here, who won't sell it back to me. (It's repainted red :facepalm: ).

However I drooled over Pace as a youth, though never rode one. Same goes for the early GT thermo bikes - lots of drooling, zero riding :cry: .

I did however get 5 minutes on a grello Yo Eddy bitd, and that didn't disappoint.

So that's the reason for the retro's I have/want. Took the Pace for its first (gentle) ride in the woods today after building it - NOT disappointed!

..and of course, I have to one day get my hands on a D.O.G.S.B.O.L.X

 

[Seca Blue]

The main wants for me are a Merin, an FRO exactly like that bike of the month recently, and a Rocky Mountain.

I love the Roberts but would like an alternative just for pure indulgence really.

Oh, I didn't say why.
The Merlins just look like a work of art and I want a ti frame.
The FRO's look bloody amazing and would give me a suspension option.
The Rocky Mountain's just have something I like, not really sure what tbh, but it's the right.

 

[Remko]

Re:

My main bike is Klein. Not because of the colour or cable guiding but because of the great speed you're develloping on a climb when you're really pushing it.

 

[mudking]

I'm a fan of Mountain Cycle bikes, the Moho is a beautiful project with the softail system in the rear and the unconventional boxed tube for the front. The San Andreas is a real piece of mtb history.

 

[zetecmk2]

i just build stuff i couldn't afford bitd.....simple!
san andreas is the holy grail to me ever since seeing paul smith's in mbuk
i'm on my 2nd one now.
alot of the frames i buy are damaged, re-welded, dented ,re-painted by a blind man etc.....whatever brings the price down i.e. £30 for my san an, and attitude, and sts etc!!! i don't mind scuffed frames as my body is in a worse state than my bikes!!! ;-)

 

[ferrus]

san andreas is the holy grail to me ever since seeing paul smith's in mbuk
i'm on my 2nd one now.

Paul's actually a member on here. I tried to get him to join in a while back, but haven't seen anything of him since. It'd be good to hear his thoughts/experiences.

 

[24pouces]

Re:

It was in 1988. All mtb I saw looks like road classic bikes…

In a shop, I saw something so different : big tubes, BMX geometry, light. It was a cannondale SM600 and I said : one day, I will buy one ! 3 years later, the same big tubes but with a pink spring on the back : I want it !
I was a student and I spend all the money I won in summer for buying the EST I still own.

During my studies of design, Cannondale was perhaps the most innovative brand in my opinion : headshock, SuperV…
But they lost their soul a long time ago. (A lot of brands lost their soul too…)

So, I loved a lot of Brand and bikes : Klein, Ritchey, Ibis, Merlin, Yeti, Kona… but Cannondale gave me my first mtb emotion.