[Closed] What's your favourite bike manufacturer and why?

Turner. Company ethos. And you can often talk to Dave Turner himself.

Same goes for Ibis

Probably On One for giving you a chance to try stuff without breaking the bank.
My first 29er was a second hand scandal , my first fat bike a second hand fatty.
All good stuff and dirt cheap.

Dull as it is I like Trek. I've had about 10 of them, with not a duff one ever. I like the aesthetics and ethos of their top end road and mountain bikes.

Kona fan till I die
Steel 97 hahhana was my first proper bike, had About 10 konas since, still got 5

Probably Specialized.
Never had an issue or a bike I didn't like.

Second is Trek.
Again, no issues, nice bikes, but rarely make the heart skip a beat.

All the bikes I've bought from smaller manufacturers have had issues.
I do hold a torch for Singular and Cotic, even though I've never owned either.

Just bought a Surly.
Love the bike, pleasant in communication but not keen on some aspects of their distribution.
It really let's them down, to the extent that I'd hesitate buying another new one.

I do have a soft spot for Yeti. Despite killing both my 575 and 5 carbon. I still like them, but arguably my Liteville is better. Given the fragility of the Yetis and their high RRP, I'm unlikely to own another one.

Had a Giant bought from a Giant store. Bike was okay but shop experience was shocking. Turned me off the brand.

In total contrast - my experience with Bird has been fantastic. Great "ride quality, build quality, warranty amd company ethos"!

Jones. Brilliant to deal with, awesome bikes, my most favouritist bike in the whole world.

I love my Whyte FS and my Bird HT and both companies have been excellent to deal with. Worst was probably Cannondale (circa 2000) who took 6 months to acknowledge that the Coda brakes were prone to failure!

Turner for service and general quality, ride

But

Love Yeti.....though struggle with cost of the bearings for my Sb 95 but love the ride

SO is saying orange as well as turner

Specialized for being excellent to deal with and having a real warrantee.

Cotic for making pretty, accessible and fine riding bikes, and being honest, straight up people.

Kinesis for making my favourite bike.

Currently three Specialiseds, three Kinesises and sadly no Cotics in our garage.

I like my Santa Cruz... I like things like threaded BB's and the fun the Syndicate have and entertainment they provide 🙂

After being a serial bike/ frame changer, I've had a Cotic Soul as my only mtb since 2008 and still love the bike, so I guess Cotic by default 🙂

Cotic - loved my soul and really bought in to the whole cotic fanboi thing.

Santa cruz - had five, never had a bad one in terms of ride, build quality or warranties (never broke one but the warranty has been a contributing factor to the purchase).

Orange - my first ever mtb was a P7 with red DX V brakes years ago, never forgot that bike and since then I've always hankered for another Orange, but have always been distracted by other brands. The new Four is about to prise my wallet open though, can't wait!

UK: On-One for its well designed but cheaply made bikes and not frightened to try something new. Best bang for the buck and makes it cheap to experiment.

USA: Surly for much the same reasons. Their bikes are "sticky" in that folk tend to hang on to them while other bikes come and go in their stable. Especially the 1x1 and the Pugsley.

For a one only bike, it would probably be Singular.

If I was recommending a bike to anyone who wanted something mainstream it would have to be Giant. Good design, well built, no hidden shortcuts to make the bike look better than it is, honest bikes.

Cotic. Straight up well engineered, brilliant riding bikes (I have a BFe and a 'mk2' Rocket). No bullshit approach. Totally accessible and helpful team who clearly love riding bikes.

Giant I love my bike. Even with my poor maintenance it still keeps working super smooth like the day I got it. Excellent full suss for £999

Kona I just like them. Had a Kona Stuff in 1999-2000 was a awesome bike, last bike my step dad bought me before past away from cancer. Held alot of sentimental value to me that bike. Till it was stolen in 2007 was truly devastated.

Looking to get another Kona as when I think of them I think of my step dad.

Firefly - never owned one, maybe one day but the attention to detail is stunning.

Voodoo - when I had issues with a mangled drop out I emailed and was contacted by Joe Murray, who was really helpful.

Yeti, just like the ride from the climbing to the descending, there is also a healthy tribe scene in Asia.
Owned 3 in the last 6 years and only broke one.
Also Liteville, currently running a 601 along with my SB5c, the detail on the frame is brilliant.

I've always had a soft spot for GT so last month I bought a carbon sensor pro frame from Merlin and I'm glad I took the gamble. I had a triple triangle GT way way back and still have fond memories of trying to paint it in the attic as a kid.

Would have to be Specialized for me. The bikes always feel sorted. The quality of the frames and components fitted are up there with the best. Their customer service both home and abroad are first class and very quick to help if there is a problem.

All my favourite bikes have been cannondales. Had few kinesis frames that I really rate aswell.
The cannondales engineering and appetite for doing things their own way what makes me keep going back for more. Lefty fork pull shocks and the all frames are lovely.

Bit of a fan of Dialled bikes myself. I got an Alpine second hand and love it so much that I changed my Cove Handjob to a Prince Albert Classic. Mike's a great guy to deal with too!

Specialized are a great brand who look after their customers.

Ellsworth, not so much..

Santa Cruz, liked them since I bought my first copy of MBUK back in, I guess, late 97, early 98, Rob Jarman was doing a massive table top aboard a polished Alu bullitt, that and the chameleon was the jump bike to have. I now have 3, inc a chameleon, and love them all. Not had any problems with any of them, but am confident jungle would be able to sort any issues.

Can't fault specialized either, the 2 I have are ace, the guys at the local concept store are brilliant, and while I've had no issues, mates that have have been sorted out, often by going well beyond the call.

Got 2 trek road bikes, like their approach to road stuff, though they have that same approach to mobs and it's not my cup of tea, but for road, pirsuing that last 0.1% works for me.

Another one for Cotic just because I loved my original soul and the 27.5 is frikkin awesome. And they're from my neck of the woods which helps for the connection.

Cotic. Great bikes, open and accessible. Owner run. British.

(Honourable mention for Transition and Dialled. Giant I had was very good for a mass market brand, Specialized got me going 10 years ago with a basic bike which is still ridden today)

Turner
Great frames and excellent support if you need it.

Santa Cruz
Well designed for real trail riding, threaded bottom bracket , straight forward design and robust enough for me.

Evil Bikes

I'll get my coat.....

And my own taxi

Hmm. I've got:
Giant
On-One
Orbea
Focus
Scott
Kona
Guerciotti
De Rosa

I quite like Canyons.

Pegoretti.
Not just a pretty paint job but a superb bike to ride.

The other choice is Giant, best bang per Buck and warranty in almost all types of road/cross/MTB

Gotta be orange for me, hankered after one for years, no idea why if I'm honest. Finally got one a few months ago and it's awesome. Kind of a religion once you have one(like vw)
Love the fact that there a UK brand to.

Also cannondale. Love them and had quite a few, currently got a road bike.
Again a kind of cult following

MAXX

they make bikes up to XXXXL (!)
insane colour palette to choose from inc. glow in the dark
not insanely expensive

Jones, Jones and Jones

Spoke to Jeff a few times and he had some really helpful advice on my build choice. Both Shiela and Jeff were really helpful with shipping and advising on customs type stuff.

But the real reason they are my favourite bike brand is the bike is now 5 and it still makes me grin, i still get that 'new bike' tingle riding it. it never fails to amaze me, it rides so much better than anything else I've ever been on.

id never even seen, let alone ridden a jones prior to getting this built up and it was a massive gamble. all the import nonsense, 9 months waiting for it and all the tinkering getting it just right were totally worth it.

cant see me ever thinking differently... the hype around Jones is real in my opinion. Weird looking and mind-blowing bikes etc!!!

Turner for longevity, performance and quality of product.

Had loads of them - I like the small company ethic too. Always had any issues sorted out and the bikes ride fantastic. Dave Turner sets the bar high with quality too - he's not hugely interested in corner cutting. It costs but so what.

I did like the fact they were still making in USA but that's looking shaky with Carbon now. They don't spend a load on marketing really and that's a good thing.

Got two Czars and two Flux's between us.

Mine are both totally emotive!

Orange, the first Mtb I became aware of was the original clockwork, and I have wanted one ever since!! I recently got a 26" Five second hand and it is as fun as I hoped it would be! I genuinely love the bike 🙂
Cotic: first time I saw one I wanted one! Currently saving up for a Solaris 🙂

Cotic and bird seem to be v popular choices!!

I liked GT BMXs in the 90s, then they went a all Halfords for a bit and are now big wheels so I won't buy a new one. I like Sunn stuff, it's a bit rare over here and they did some lovely bikes BITD. (Max) Commencal for (his) their refusal to use cheaply-produced carbon fibre for frames.

I like the look of the new Cotic BFe26 but (fortunately for my bank balance) they've sold out of small frames.

I like the ones from the factory that makes cannondales, specialized and bianchi's but quite like the german brands for actually making decent bikes.

Another vote for Whyte (there's currently 8 in our house), when I've needed it their customer service has been excellent.

Another for Cotic-like the bikes to ride and look at, all the staff in the UK seem genuinely interested in their customers.

Litespeed. Again like the look and the ride, my 15 year old Kitsuma still looks modern if you ignore the straight head tube and the 26" wheels.

Cotic here as well. They're just really easy to deal with, you get email replies back from either Cy or Paul within a couple of hours and it's always useful advice. Oh and they make great bikes, if they ever bring out a shorter travel Rocket, I won't hesitate in buying one.

Also Transition, my Scout is bloody amazing and having read the recent interview with the owns, I like what and how they're doing it!

fathomer - Member
Oh and they make great bikes, if they ever bring out a shorter travel Rocket, I won't hesitate in buying one

On-one.
My return to mountain biking was on a slidy dropout inbred 26er. Been on them since in one form or other. Had some brief flirtations with other bikes, but always come back to an on-one.

Best get your credit card/cash out then...

Just seen them, realistically it won't be happening!!

Cannondale, for being innovative and daring to try out new ideas, even if they didn't work. But some did, and they've created some amazing bikes.

But more romanticaly, Raleigh, because their bikes were the ones I learnt to ride on. 🙂

Dave Hinde, their own frames were great and they offered brilliant customer service....
😉

Bit boring, and I've not had hardly any bikes so it's not like I have a vast pool of experience to use in my decision, but I would say Specialized.

My current Stumpjumper FSR is a great bike & when I had an issue over the paint on the original alloy frame, the warranty service was amazing.
Even the shop I got the bike from were a bit 'sucky teeth' and 'you do realise this is a mountain bike and the paint isn't bomb-proof?'. But Specialized admitted there was a fault straight away & offered me the 2011 alloy frame with a couple of months wait (they didn't have any alloy medium frames left for the current year), or pay £50 and upgrade to the carbon frame with brain shock. Bit of a no-brainer & have been very pleased with it.

I'm going to be incredibly boring and say Specialized.

In thirteen years, I've owned four Specialized bikes and each of them has exceeded my original expectations in a way that bikes from other brands haven't quite managed. Each have been quantifiably "better" than the bikes they've replaced, culminating in my Stumpy 29er which is absolutely sublime. It's superbly balanced, there are no vices from the rear suspension to adjust your riding style for and the geometry is spot on for me. My only complaint is that the matt black paintwork ages quickly.

Then there's the warranty, Specialized sorted me out without issue when my Fox Float shocks went through a troublesome phase - not Specialized's fault per se. They respond to enquiries quickly and have been completely reasonable.

"upgrade to the carbon frame with brain shock. Bit of a no-brainer"

😯 So something was missing?

Kona.

My process has let me improve my riding soo much. When I bought it in 2014 it was ahead of the curve in terms of geometry.

They did have a few years out in the wilderness before the operator etc came out.

There's a few for me...

Another boring vote for Specialized - I started out on a '97 steel Rockhopper that I loved and since then I've had a Demo 9, Demo 8 and SX Trail. Currently have a carbon Demo 8 which is amazing. The SX sticks in my mind though - I really, really loved that bike. It climbed like a pig with a very slack seat tube but was so good on the fun stuff. Spesh bikes always feel 'right' to me. Palmer's DH bikes were great as well.

Cannondale - an uncle had a Beast of the East in the mid 90's covered in ano purple and it was just the coolest thing ever. They did some crazy things too like their crazy DH bikes. Missy was riding for them just as I got into bikes and she was cool as f*ck.

Kona - just because I loved the '97 range. I had a Koa after my Rockhopper was stolen which was a great bike. I loved the bright colours and decals. The first Stab was ace too.

Stanton - Dan is a top chap who makes some great bikes (I'm on my fourth now). He's always happy to chat about bikes and life in general. My Mk I Ti Switchback was a lovely looking and riding thing. So nice that some scumbag helped themselves to it.

Orange fan here. I always admired Steve and Lester's approach to problem solving and dealing with the company has always been good. Be interesting to see how they fare under the new management. The fact I've always liked how their bikes rode (guided on them for several years) is the icing on the cake.

COTIC, Despite the fact i've only sat on one once and never rideen or owned one. I just think their bikes look brilliant.

If it's for a bike i've owned, Salsa... For the Spearfish.

Another Trek, fan here when it comes to mtbs. Just blooming awesome bikes.

Road bikes I love my Focus, but really miss my Look and would love a Time.

Anyone saying On-One should go wash their mouth out, awful bikes run by the Mike Ashley of cycling. A stain on the UK cycling industry IMO.

Predictable but Orange.

Always liked them from in the early 90s when I got into riding and had a few through the years - a MsIsle back in the day, then an original Clockwork I used for a bit of commuting on and then a Five which I bought to see if the hype was warranted. I thought it was - a great bike. So much so I'm selling it at the minute as I've just bought another Orange and whilst looking around, there was nothing else really on my list.

Plus I live a mile down the road from them and its dead easy to pop by and get stuff.

Another couple are Pashley and Brooklyn Machine Works. Growing up around jump bikes, I loved the UK built Pashley TV Series. Owned a new 26MHz back when they first came out and since then have had 3 24MHzs. Dated by modern jump bike standards and the 24s weigh an absolute ton but I just think they're lovely bikes. Wish Pashley would bring out some more MTBs... Same with Brooklyn - having the Pashleys (and a Curtis) I always wanted a Brooklyn Park Bike. Ace company, handbuilt in New York etc. They were always out of reach though (although I do now have a Park Bike in my garage - only ever use it to whip around the local woods with my boys but heck, I have a Brooklyn Park Bike 🙂 ).

Is there such a thing as a bike manufacturer? Surely they are all "bike assemblers" or perhaps "frame designers" as all bar the frame (and even that in some cases) are bought in parts which are then combined to create the bike.

Currently Santa Cruz.. my first serious bike is a couple year old 26er Superlight that prev owner had massively upgraded, which I've now improved even more. Absolutely loving it. I was looking at stumperjumper FSRs too, but this came up at the right price.

If I break something significant I'll get a another frame first to transfer the 26er kit over - another single pivot FS of some sort. I'd ideally like to get a 650b bike with a slightly slacker geometry then the SC. nothing too squishy.. I only need 100-120 mm travel..

Been toying with the idea of building up a Chameleon or another Superlight (or blur or heckler) as a backup/winter hack.

Hopefully by the time it needs replacing I'll have funds for a more modern secondhand SC of similar calibre. being a recently-ex skateboarder santa cruz bikes are just a little closer to my heart (even though not technically the same company..)

I used to be a Marin fan but Whyte has supplanted them and I'm jut not into it. I'd consider On One, Orange, Yeti, Specialized or a yt, canyon not into Trek, Kona..

Good point. Specialized get a few mentions here, but is in fact simply a brand under the umbrella of a massive corporation (Merida?). The two I've mentioned did at least used to actually manufacture their own bikes.

Ritchey. I can't really explain why but I wanted a Road Logic 2 frameset as soon as I clapped eyes on one. it took me a couple of years to justify one but now I have one I can't ever see me selling it.
I'd love a P-29 or a Timberwolf to go with it.

Is there such a thing as a bike manufacturer?

Arguably you could apply that to Orange. Nicolai certainly.

Good point. Specialized get a few mentions here, but is in fact simply a brand under the umbrella of a massive corporation (Merida?).

I thought Merida only owned a chunk of the company while Mike Sinyard remains the majority owner and CEO.

Me and Mrs Rapier have 3 Singulars between us, so it'd be hard to justify choosing anything else.

The ones I've tried all ride very nicely indeed and I love the style - both the looks and design ideals around versatility and simplicity - coincides perfectly with my idea of what a "bike" should be.

larkim - Member

Is there such a thing as a bike manufacturer? Surely they are all "bike assemblers" or perhaps "frame designers" as all bar the frame (and even that in some cases) are bought in parts which are then combined to create the bike.

You could say that about almost any 'manufacturer'; almost all will have suppliers who will provide various parts & they will all have had varying degrees of input from the 'manufacturer'.

You could argue that Specialized are one of the largest complete 'bike manufacturers' as they have their own finishing kit, tyres, cranksets, wheels, saddles, grips etc. - as well as stuff like that onboard tool storage kit on the newer bikes, that is fully integrated. They even dabbled with their own sus forks & shocks for a while didn't they, although I don't think that went very well.

It was fun when you could come on here and allow yourself to be sold to by @Brant (Planet-X Compo, Tinbred).

But also Kona, cos I've just had one delivered innit!

Big soft spots for Yeti and Rocky Mountain too, although RM not so much these days.

But, mainly, Roberts. Sad I'll never have the chance to get my "Roughstuff" made, now.

"I thought Merida only owned a chunk of the company while Mike Sinyard remains the majority owner and CEO."

But the Specialized frames are actually made by Merida in their Taiwan and Chinese factories. Specialized is still just the 'brand'. Merida also made Carrera bikes for Halfords, and the Boardman range. In fact, most 'mainstream' brands are owned by parent companies. And even some 'niche' brands are still made in massive far eastern factories owned by huge corporations.

I think Merida should get a mention, because through their various brands, they've provided a huge amount of bikes to people globally.

But the Specialized frames are actually made by Merida in their Taiwan and Chinese factories. Specialized is still just the 'brand'

I know that. But Spesh will still own all of the IR's, patents etc plus spend on the R&D, testing etc.

It seems like most frames are made elsewhere - normally by those with the knowledge, expertise etc. The likes of Orange are pretty unusual.

This thread is about the [i]manufacturer[/i]s though, not the [i]brands[/i]. I think people are confusing the distinction, and/or are unaware that their posh bike is in fact made in a massive factory in the far East alongside cheapo brands. 😉

Giant make 2/3rds of Colnago bikes. 😯

Another vote for Orange here too,have owned a fair few of their bikes and have never had any issues with their products.

This thread is about the manufacturers though, not the brands. I think people are confusing the distinction, and/or are unaware that their posh bike is in fact made in a massive factory in the far East alongside cheapo brands.

Giant make 2/3rds of Colnago bikes.

But those far east factories are very very good. I remember when the bike industry was obsessed with US made frames, yet Intense were great at churning out wonky frames.

The number of carbon frames makes far east manufacture even more likely because they have the tooling / knowledge etc.

I'm pretty sure the OP meant brand rather than the place actually producing the frames.

clodhopper - Member
This thread is about the manufacturers though, not the brands....

It's been like that for over 100 years. Bikes have been built out of outsourced parts for a long time. The frame is merely a component.

Raleigh UK were one of the last do it all in one spot manufacturers IMO, right down to owning the dynamo and hubgear company.

Nukeproof for me the workmanship and the handling are fantastic had a few and loved them all the mega TR is a belter although my first mtb was a Charge Duster and boy I loved that until I had ideas of grandeur it was a simple but beautiful ride ,customer care I would go for Dialled always found Mike extremely helpful and approachable.
Yes I know they are made in a factory in Asia so ok then I love the factory that make Nukeproof's.

Yeti... got 2 Yetis, but they're old ones. The new carbon-stupid-priced stuff has put me off them a bit. One of the reasons I bought my first 575 was because it was a decent price for a great frame. Not the case any longer. I think I just like the headbadges really 🙂
Soft spot for Rocky Mountain too, their Canadian-ness, their history and my first full-sus was a RM Instinct, which was awesome. Might buy another one. Full bike for the price of a Yeti frame!

Giant. Well-designed, understated, competent but not overly exciting, good back up.

Look, because they take a slightly different view of frame design.

Genesis, because I like simple steel mtbs.

Kona, because I like simple steel bikes in general.

Raleigh UK were one of the last do it all in one spot manufacturers IMO

Both Giant and Look weave their own carbon fibre 8) . Giant make their own hubs, rims and many other alloy components for their own and other brands.

I always liked the Jon White designed bikes, the madness of the JW full suspension bikes looked amazing. The Marin bikes of that era were pretty special. Loved my Steel 19 hard tail back in the day too.

Just found a picture of the White 46.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=whyte+46+mountain+bike&client=tablet-android-lenovo&prmd=smivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWhbqi0evNAhXLCcAKHVrtDlYQ_AUICSgD&biw=962&bih=601#imgrc=_pXLAbgtnaMRGM%3A
Fabulous.

UK: Cotic, Stooge, Whyte, Airdrop, Orange & Bird. Dealt with all of them and they have been great, plus you're supporting UK firms.

Other: Turner & Jones- strong emphasis on quality & CS.

Genesis, because I like simple steel mtbs.

+1.

That, and they also somehow made the frankenbike that I'd always yearned for. My trail came alive!
[IMG] [/IMG]

This thread is about the manufacturers though, not the brands. I think people are confusing the distinction, and/or are unaware that their posh bike is in fact made in a massive factory in the far East alongside cheapo brands.

As said, question says "bike" not frame, it's a bit wooly already, so you can't nitpick people answering for brands rather than actual fabrication facilities, especially when the question is obviously about the company on the downtube:

Whether for ride quality, build quality, warranty or even company ethos?

Only one of those is in the the control of the actual metalworking shop. ride quality, company ethos and warranty are all in the hands of the brand and the designer, and after that it's then up to them to select a fabricator that can deliver the build quality they want.

I'm going with Singular. I have, err, [i]a few[/i] ... and they are all very much the kind of bike [frame] I'd have made [for that type of bike] if I made my own bike frames.

Saying that they are the kinds of [i]bikes[/i] I'd make, is a meta-arguement, as I do make (in the sense of assemble) all of my own bikes (so they *actually* are the kinds of bikes I'd make).

It was the Peregine that did it, based on nothing more than a few photos and a quick couple of e-mails, and it was on order (& my original 2008 MkI is sat happily behind me as I type this - last outing ... 8 days ago).

Anyway... 😉 it's Singular for me.