What's in a name?

[Cycleops]

When buying Bikes or equipment do you tend to go for the well known names like Raleigh, Cinelli, Dawes or whatever, or are you willing to go with the new kids on the block like Boardman, Crank Bros etc? Bearing in mind that the old manufactuers are no longer produced where they used to be.

 

[Biker Joe]

I think it's natural to look at well known brands first then, after finding out what the prices are, move towards lesser known brands and scan all the reviews. Perhaps it depends upon what your cash flow situation is.
If I had a large enough income, I probably wouldn't look too hard at the lesser brands.

 

[Moodyman]

I buy my bikes based upon geometry/specification and frame features. The brand is the last thing on my mind, especially when you think that they're all made in Taiwan by the same few manufacturers.

 

[Ningishzidda]

I buy my bikes based upon geometry/specification and frame features. The brand is the last thing on my mind, especially when you think that they're all made in Taiwan by the same few manufacturers.

+1. Get yourself measured and then go shopping for the ideal frame.

 

[Chris S]

There's a lot of badge-engineering going on. Somebody ordered a Reebok bike from Sports Direct - when the bike arrived it was exactly as described, except it had a decal saying Dunlop on it!

 

[byegad]

I use Crank Brothers clipless pedals and really like them. Anything that's good is good, which is better than saying old is good. At least in my world.

 

[brucers]

I only buy second hand bikes, so for me it comes down to price depending on make. I prefer retrobikes as they are rarer(so you don't see anyone else with the same bike!) and generally were built in Europe before the more massed produced stuff from the far east. As long as it's decent quality for the money I'll buy and if I like keep it or sell it on.

 

[MrJamie]

I'd shortlist bikes that had the rough spec I wanted, and then weigh up component spec vs brand vs appearance/paint etc. I'll admit that I won't mind paying a little extra for a bike brand I like, but not a lot. I quite like Specialized for example but they seem to give you slightly lower spec components for the same price point and quite a lot less compared to Boardman. I wonder if id have a different view if I were taking the bike to a cycling club for others to see.

Accessories seem to be different, quite often you seem to get a Brand entering the accessories market by putting their logo on crap gear for several times the price of the unbranded version, Giant seem particularly bad at this. I try to buy Lezyne accessories where I can as they've all been great quality, even if they seem a little pricey.

I've also been reading recently about people buying bikes/frames directly from the factories in China etc, unbranded clones of the top brands for a fraction of the price. Essentially the same workers in the same factory using their own molds that are clones of the s-works etc that they make the rest of the time. Probably not doing much to support R&D, but an interesting concept.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I'm not afraid to try something new. I was an early advocate of Focus bikes, (had 3), but I also like to be a little different, hence I tend not to buy run of the mill stuff either.

When I had Focus bikes you very rarely used to see them, but now they're ten a penny, that's not a criticism Focus peeps, it's just the way I am.

By the time Focus had found it's feet in the UK I'd moved onto pastures new anyway.

I also like older bikes for the same reason, ie: you're unlikely to see another one the same while you are out.

 

[Rob3rt]

Out of the three brands you name, NONE of them would be my go to brands, hehe.

Raleigh don't really have that great of a reputation these days, I would probably shrug Raleigh off tbh.
Cinelli, well I don't know why there are not many of these around, I have a Cinelli bike (see my avatar), it is very nice but I am the only person I know with one, possibly a distribution thing.
Dawes, they are only for tourers and audaxers right?

Basically, my process of buying a bike is, identify what is within budget, identify which ones I like the look of, what are the features, what is the support network going to be like (branding comes into the equation here) etc, then finally what does it ride like. All the while the list will be getting shorter.

I have considered many brands, but sadly, with many of the budget brands, I have found either the the point of sales to be less than confidence inspiring or the aftersales to be likely lacking (or a crap warranty on offer, 2 measly years, you can shove that).

I am quite brand loyal to Cannondale, but I do as I said above own a Cinelli bike. I would from now on, tend to go to Cannondale automatically because I like them, I would see what they have to offer by means of an upgrade, there is added benefit here because they operate an upgrade scheme (there is that aftersales/support network I mentioned above coming into play), then look around to see if there is anything else enticing. TBH now though there are very few brands I would buy a bike from, most of these being well known brands. It is not snobbery, it is because it is a known quantity.

 

[Herzog]

Got to admit, I did have Coppi, Gimondi and Pantani in mind when I bought my Bianchi. Doesn't mean I can race like them though...

More like Pavarotti!