Rank the Brands--Your Opinion - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

08-18-2004, 03:47 AM

I’m bike shopping, but after visiting several bike shops (after an
absence of almost fifteen years), I realize I have no idea what is a
"good" brand anymore, what is a so-so brand, or what is a brand to
stay away from. A recent Consumer Reports said, "most bikes are made
by Cannondale, Diamondback, Giant, Huffy, Mongoose, Pacific, Raleigh,
Specialized and Trek." But this list doesn’t even mention Fuji, a
great brand -- I still have a Fuji bike going strong after 15+ years.
I’m curious and looking how you would rank the brands (not necessarily
for one specific recommendation), kind of like common knowledge would
ranks cars. For instance:

Best Quality Good Quality Average Quality
------------- ---------------- -------------------
Lexus Toyota Chevy
BMW Honda Ford
Mercedes

Cheap Quality-Stay Away From
----------------------------------------------
Kia
Suzuki

I realize, just like cars, quality within a brand varies by price
paid, but generally some car brands are better than others. Would
appreciate your rankings!

I’ll start the list (my hunches)....

Best Quality
------------
Fuji

Good Quality
------------
??

Average Quality
---------------
Schwinn

Cheap Quality-Stay Away From
----------------------------
Huffy

08-18-2004, 06:59 AM

Joe wrote:
> I’m bike shopping, but after visiting several bike shops (after an
> absence of almost fifteen years), I realize I have no idea what is a
> "good" brand anymore, what is a so-so brand, or what is a brand to
> stay away from. A recent Consumer Reports said, "most bikes are made
> by Cannondale, Diamondback, Giant, Huffy, Mongoose, Pacific, Raleigh,
> Specialized and Trek." But this list doesn’t even mention Fuji, a
> great brand -- I still have a Fuji bike going strong after 15+ years.

--snip--

Erm, don't believe everything you read in Consumer Reports. It's
somewhat more complicated than what brand is what quality. It's more
about the bike shop.

It doesn't matter how high quality a bike is, if it doesn't fit your
physiology, it's a waste of money -- a Trek might feel great while a
Specialized murders you, or vice versa, or they both might kill you
while a Cannondale disappears underneath you. Or, they all might feel
acceptable, but a LeMond is just perfect.

What you need to do is find the reputable bike shops in your area and
start there.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

08-18-2004, 06:59 AM

Joe wrote:
> I’m bike shopping, but after visiting several bike shops (after an
> absence of almost fifteen years), I realize I have no idea what is a
> "good" brand anymore, what is a so-so brand, or what is a brand to
> stay away from. A recent Consumer Reports said, "most bikes are made
> by Cannondale, Diamondback, Giant, Huffy, Mongoose, Pacific, Raleigh,
> Specialized and Trek." But this list doesn’t even mention Fuji, a
> great brand -- I still have a Fuji bike going strong after 15+ years.

--snip--

Erm, don't believe everything you read in Consumer Reports. It's
somewhat more complicated than what brand is what quality. It's more
about the bike shop.

It doesn't matter how high quality a bike is, if it doesn't fit your
physiology, it's a waste of money -- a Trek might feel great while a
Specialized murders you, or vice versa, or they both might kill you
while a Cannondale disappears underneath you. Or, they all might feel
acceptable, but a LeMond is just perfect.

What you need to do is find the reputable bike shops in your area and
start there.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

08-18-2004, 06:59 AM

Joe wrote:
> I’m bike shopping, but after visiting several bike shops (after an
> absence of almost fifteen years), I realize I have no idea what is a
> "good" brand anymore, what is a so-so brand, or what is a brand to
> stay away from. A recent Consumer Reports said, "most bikes are made
> by Cannondale, Diamondback, Giant, Huffy, Mongoose, Pacific, Raleigh,
> Specialized and Trek." But this list doesn’t even mention Fuji, a
> great brand -- I still have a Fuji bike going strong after 15+ years.

--snip--

Erm, don't believe everything you read in Consumer Reports. It's
somewhat more complicated than what brand is what quality. It's more
about the bike shop.

It doesn't matter how high quality a bike is, if it doesn't fit your
physiology, it's a waste of money -- a Trek might feel great while a
Specialized murders you, or vice versa, or they both might kill you
while a Cannondale disappears underneath you. Or, they all might feel
acceptable, but a LeMond is just perfect.

What you need to do is find the reputable bike shops in your area and
start there.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

08-18-2004, 06:59 AM

Joe wrote:
> I’m bike shopping, but after visiting several bike shops (after an
> absence of almost fifteen years), I realize I have no idea what is a
> "good" brand anymore, what is a so-so brand, or what is a brand to
> stay away from. A recent Consumer Reports said, "most bikes are made
> by Cannondale, Diamondback, Giant, Huffy, Mongoose, Pacific, Raleigh,
> Specialized and Trek." But this list doesn’t even mention Fuji, a
> great brand -- I still have a Fuji bike going strong after 15+ years.

--snip--

Erm, don't believe everything you read in Consumer Reports. It's
somewhat more complicated than what brand is what quality. It's more
about the bike shop.

It doesn't matter how high quality a bike is, if it doesn't fit your
physiology, it's a waste of money -- a Trek might feel great while a
Specialized murders you, or vice versa, or they both might kill you
while a Cannondale disappears underneath you. Or, they all might feel
acceptable, but a LeMond is just perfect.

What you need to do is find the reputable bike shops in your area and
start there.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

08-18-2004, 08:02 AM

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 04:47:29 -0700, Joe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>I’ll start the list (my hunches)....
>
>Best Quality
>------------
>Fuji

In this category you miss out a lot of smaller firms (and small shops)
that offer excellent product, even if they are pricey.

e.g. Waterford & Independent Fabrications (to name two American bikes
I've actually seen). Also: Longstaff, Chas. Roberts, Condor (in the
UK).

[Again, this only counts bikes I've actually seen. Is Bob Jackson
still in Leeds? I saw a Bob Jackson bike here in NoVA, but wasn't
around to see the rider--I hadn't seen that name on a headbadge since
I left England]

At the very best quality, bicycle stop being mass-market entities and
start being custom-made pieces of equipment. You can probably turn up
an excellent builder in your area that nobody else will ever have
heard of.

-Luigi

>
>
>Good Quality
>------------
>??
>
>
>Average Quality
>---------------
>Schwinn
>
>
>Cheap Quality-Stay Away From
>----------------------------
>Huffy

08-18-2004, 08:02 AM

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 04:47:29 -0700, Joe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>I’ll start the list (my hunches)....
>
>Best Quality
>------------
>Fuji

In this category you miss out a lot of smaller firms (and small shops)
that offer excellent product, even if they are pricey.

e.g. Waterford & Independent Fabrications (to name two American bikes
I've actually seen). Also: Longstaff, Chas. Roberts, Condor (in the
UK).

[Again, this only counts bikes I've actually seen. Is Bob Jackson
still in Leeds? I saw a Bob Jackson bike here in NoVA, but wasn't
around to see the rider--I hadn't seen that name on a headbadge since
I left England]

At the very best quality, bicycle stop being mass-market entities and
start being custom-made pieces of equipment. You can probably turn up
an excellent builder in your area that nobody else will ever have
heard of.

-Luigi

>
>
>Good Quality
>------------
>??
>
>
>Average Quality
>---------------
>Schwinn
>
>
>Cheap Quality-Stay Away From
>----------------------------
>Huffy

08-18-2004, 08:02 AM

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 04:47:29 -0700, Joe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>I’ll start the list (my hunches)....
>
>Best Quality
>------------
>Fuji

In this category you miss out a lot of smaller firms (and small shops)
that offer excellent product, even if they are pricey.

e.g. Waterford & Independent Fabrications (to name two American bikes
I've actually seen). Also: Longstaff, Chas. Roberts, Condor (in the
UK).

[Again, this only counts bikes I've actually seen. Is Bob Jackson
still in Leeds? I saw a Bob Jackson bike here in NoVA, but wasn't
around to see the rider--I hadn't seen that name on a headbadge since
I left England]

At the very best quality, bicycle stop being mass-market entities and
start being custom-made pieces of equipment. You can probably turn up
an excellent builder in your area that nobody else will ever have
heard of.

-Luigi

>
>
>Good Quality
>------------
>??
>
>
>Average Quality
>---------------
>Schwinn
>
>
>Cheap Quality-Stay Away From
>----------------------------
>Huffy

08-18-2004, 08:02 AM

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 04:47:29 -0700, Joe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>I’ll start the list (my hunches)....
>
>Best Quality
>------------
>Fuji

In this category you miss out a lot of smaller firms (and small shops)
that offer excellent product, even if they are pricey.

e.g. Waterford & Independent Fabrications (to name two American bikes
I've actually seen). Also: Longstaff, Chas. Roberts, Condor (in the
UK).

[Again, this only counts bikes I've actually seen. Is Bob Jackson
still in Leeds? I saw a Bob Jackson bike here in NoVA, but wasn't
around to see the rider--I hadn't seen that name on a headbadge since
I left England]

At the very best quality, bicycle stop being mass-market entities and
start being custom-made pieces of equipment. You can probably turn up
an excellent builder in your area that nobody else will ever have
heard of.

-Luigi

>
>
>Good Quality
>------------
>??
>
>
>Average Quality
>---------------
>Schwinn
>
>
>Cheap Quality-Stay Away From
>----------------------------
>Huffy

08-18-2004, 08:32 AM

"Joe" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> I'm bike shopping, but after visiting several bike shops (after an
> absence of almost fifteen years), I realize I have no idea what is a
> "good" brand anymore, what is a so-so brand, or what is a brand to
> stay away from.

A coupla years ago, the question was asked in here:
"Aside from the obvious dept store offerings, is there any bike you'd NOT
recommend"

General consensus seemed to be no.
As long as it fits you, your budget, and your riding style, pretty much
anything not from a dept store is OK.

Pete