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An obvious response to the rose tinted specs nostalgia thread.
Lapierre, I wouldn't swap my current bike for any MTB over ten-years old. Giant and Colnago similar.
Motorola, my current phone is ace and cost 150e second hand.
Renault, the Zoe is a delight and requires very little servicing. No exhaust gasses, naff all brake dust, just a little tyre dust to poison people.
Fender, pick up any Fender guitar in a shop and it will play fine, plug it in and it'll sound great.
North Face, sorry to disagree with the nay sayers but my current Goretex jacket weighs 350gm, breathes well and is still completely waterproof having had rucksacs rubbing on the shoulders for weeks of walking. Schõffel ski jackets similar.
Shimano, fewer bizarre concepts such as reversed derailleurs and more rock solid components that just work as the years go by.
Head, Rossignol and Fisher ski gear. Lighter, faster, easier, more comfortable and cheaper relative to income.
Osprey rucksacs, you really wanna carry that heavy, uncomfortable impractical old pile of Karrimor aluminimum tubes from the 80s. I've got a couple of old Alpinists with straps worn through and my Jag fell apart, but I'll give you that the Karrimat is still pretty good.
Petzl, I can't think of anything in the current range that is worse than what it replaced.
Over to yous:
Decathlon. Absolute sweet spot between cost and quality.
Agree with Osprey. I recently had a battered and abused pack repaired for free by them, despite it being about 10 years out of warranty.
Fjallraven. Mostly resisting the slide from well made outdoor kit to over priced fashion. Mostly....
Bushnell optics. Lifetime warranty which I have used a couple of times on an ancient pair of binos. Last time swapped for a new pair after I dropped the old ones.
Halfords "professional" sockets and ratchets. Probably not really professional quality, but solid DIY tools that are not silly money and have a lifetime warranty.
Almost all modern cars. These days exhausts can last the life of the car. In the 80s 5 years was a good life for an exhaust.
Most cars don't need welding to get through an MOT because of rust for a decade or more.
They rarely fail to start, I don't miss lifting the bonnet and taking off the distributor cap etc. Much better mpg despite increased weight partly caused by better safety features. No lead in petrol. Etc, etc.
Hyundai and Kia.
In my youth they were considered to be the type of cars only purchased by people who didn’t know anything about cars. Nobody wanted dropped off at school in a Kia Pride or a Hyundai Pony.
Now they are absolutely smashing it and are at the cutting edge of EV design and technological development.
Gregory Packs - best rucksacks out there but used to be a bit pants
Dell laptops - been using them for 25 years and the newer ones are really reliable
Samsung. Very much a budget brand back in the day - polar opposite now.
Apple. Tech that is reliable, easy to use, talks to other Apple kit and just works, often very beautifully
Helly Hansen. Really extensive range of very high quality kit from a company that used to just do Lifa vests and sailing kit.
Agree re Kia and Decathlon.
And LG - buying a TV with a Goldstar badge was a last resort, a very different story today.
jimw
Richer Sounds
I disagree - I think they've always been great.
Orange bikes (yes, really) - their current frames are light, beautifully made from folded aluminium and have some of the best geometry in the biz. And they've seemingly got on top of the cracking issues. Let's just not mention the pricing.
Lidl & Aldi for food and drink generally - were always good value and decent quality, but are both getting better at the more upmarket products - e.g. Lidl do a lovely 7yr old Cuban rum for £17, and their bakery is *chef's kiss*
Edit: glad you're happy with your E-Renault OP, but I wouldn't have picked them based on experience of their ICE vehicles (which seem over-complicated and under-engineered).
And LG
Between LG and Samsung they've pretty much cornered the market in quality flat screens.
Think LG are even supplying Samsung in some markets/models.
The Shimano shoe Velcro thread prompted me to try and find out how old my ME7's are. I bought them from 69 Cycles in Chester, which according to a BikeBiz news article closed in 2018, and I don't think I got these in any closing down fire sale. For most of my ownership I've only ever had this one pair of cycling shoes so it's not like they're getting a particularly easy life as part of a large rotation either.
Put some new cleats on them yesterday and ordered replacement laces. Someone please tell me that Shimano footware is generally still as good.
I suppose the real answer to this thread in the cycling context is some of the upcoming Chinese electronic groupset manufacturers like Ltwoo.
Specialized tyres. I've always liked them but think they're better than ever for a decent chunk of money less than most other brands. Ground Control T7 is a superb all rounder.
Smartwool socks. Still the best socks for casual or walking.
Surprised about people mentioning Rab, Montane and ME in the other thread. I've no complaints about any of them and would (and do) happily buy from any of them.
I disagree – I think they’ve always been great.
I think you misunderstood me- the title is ‘better than ever’-I agree they have always been good but are continuing to improve and I admire what Julian Richer has done for his employees. I bought my first tuner in their London Bridge store in 1981
I too came on here to say Montane is as good if not better than ever, pretty much my go-to for base & mid-layers and windproofs - surprised it popped up the other thread
Madame recently replaced a 35-year-old Rab sleeping bag with a new Rab sleeping bag. Just as good apart from knowing the shell was sewn up in Asia somewhere.
How can you possibly know?
Jeez this forum. Do you want to visit me and compare the two, thegeneralist?
I too came on here to say Montane is as good if not better than ever, pretty much my go-to for base & mid-layers and windproofs – surprised it popped up the other thread
Same. Unfortunately I drive past their factory shop on a regular basis, and the force field sucks me in, so I have a cupboard of the stuff.
No, I frankly couldn't GaS, but can you not see the strange disconnect between
This Rab sleeping bag has been awesome for the best part of 35 years.
And
I've decided this Rab sleeping bag, which we've only just got, probably have never used, certainly hasn't been washed, rewashed, used and abused in a variety of environments for decades and probably hasn't been within 10 degrees of its comfort rating ....
Hell yeah. It's just as good.
Toyota. In a world where cars are getting ever more complex and laden with ridiculous tech, none of it accessible easily while driving, getting into a Toyota feels a bit of a throwback - hard plastics, basic controls, but predictable and easy to drive. Love it.
Budget Rentacar, IMHO. In my frequent hops to the UK and Ireland I've often had to rent a car for short periods - sometimes, due to airline incompetence, late at night a long way from where I'm supposed to have landed - and they've been friendly, efficient, fairly cheap and surprisingly relaxed about the risk of damage. I've become a big fan.
Giant used to make good value but dull and mediocre bikes 20 years ago (and I've probably owned more Giants than any other brand.) when they developed the Maestro suspension, they definitely stepped it up but they aren't the budget brand they used to be.
Rockshox went downhill pretty badly before SRAM bought them out, terrible quality control and I don't think any of their forks or shocks was really considered the best in class. The Reba and Pike (about 2005?) really stepped things up and turned them back into market leaders.
Samsung. Very much a budget brand back in the day – polar opposite now.
Our old fridge freezer and washing machine would beg to differ! Both premium price, both very nice at first, both fragile and failed long before they should have.
The steak bake I had today would disagree with Binners as well!
Apologies, but I don't agree with the Greggs entry...simply on the basis they don't make the chilli steak lattice anymore 🙁
Agree with Decathlon
Thing is, thegeneralist, I've had a voluntary month off this forum mainly walking with people being positive. I thought I'd drop back in here with a positive thread and positive posts on existing threads to see what happened. And you dive in with more negativity, bad faith and confrontational crap than I've faced in a month. Toodle pip.
SRAM - just seems to work.
Nearly any half decent brand of tyre I try these days… compared to how tyres used to be they are great.
jimw
I disagree – I think they’ve always been great.
I think you misunderstood me- the title is ‘better than ever’-I agree they have always been good but are continuing to improve and I admire what Julian Richer has done for his employees. I bought my first tuner in their London Bridge store in 1981
I think you're probably right, I think I assumed you thought they were previously a bit pony. I don't have the history you do I wouldn't have started buying from them until the 90s but they've always been a great example of how to do retail and yes what JR did for the company says a lot about him.
Going with Stans Tubeless here. Can remember the very first version, decades ago, with rubber strips, and nasty fluid that ate rims. Certain tyres could take days to seat, days, and if one blew off the rim whilst inflating to a million psi, you knew about it. Once on, the joy of getting a puncture at speed, where sticky fluid (still the correct forum for this?) went everywhere. Youth of today...
Eastpak Luggage.
As a someone who gets at least 1 long haul flight every month, including helicopter rides to/from offshore vessels, my Eastpak bags are beyond brilliant.
Hope brakes and hubs
Peugeot and Citroen. Both a Far cry from their 90s electrical issue ridden rusty crap.
Most Tubeless spec tires. Used to be lardy inflexible things. Now as good or better than their tubes counterparts
decades ago, with rubber strips
Weren't the rubber strips Joe's conversion kits for doing non-tubeless rims? Like a premium ghetto set up. Not saying you're wrong about all the other stuff mind.
Marantz have been on the go for a while as my cd player from '91 still works faultlessly
Using a much newer amp of theirs pm6005 and with the AEgis speakers cd has never sounded better to my waxy ears
Going with Stans Tubeless here. Can remember the very first version, decades ago, with rubber strips, and nasty fluid that ate rims. Certain tyres could take days to seat, days, and if one blew off the rim whilst inflating to a million psi, you knew about it. Once on, the joy of getting a puncture at speed, where sticky fluid (still the correct forum for this?) went everywhere. Youth of today…
The way I found to improve Stan's was to use almost any other brand.
Currently using uberbike sealant and tape.
Going with Stans Tubeless here.
Weren’t the rubber strips Joe’s conversion kits for doing non-tubeless rims?
They both had conversion strips, stans were (slightly) profiled to make things work, and on the whole, they did. I've got 26" MTB and 700c CX wheels that i converted more than a decade ago that still work exactly as planned.
The joes conversion strips just converted a bottle of sealant, two strips and two tyres into a useless mess on the garage floor.
Still using stans today, it's incredibly easy.
Kinda disagree on Fender. Their marketing and artist roster are great but I've not been that impressed with a lot of their more recent guitars I've tried. Mostly MIM to be fair but a lot of fret issues - either sharp ends or not level so they can fret and choke out. Not good for a £600+ instrument considering Harley Benton tend to get it for sometimes a quarter of that. Then again Squiers have been pretty good for a while now and I haven't played a Player II yet.
Darn Tough socks. Came across them 10 years or so ago, haven't managed to wear any out since. And if I do this: https://darntough.uk/pages/our-unconditional-lifetime-guarantee
Every other wool-type sock I've had has gone in the heel or toe or both. Some disappointingly quickly.
And you dive in with more negativity, bad faith and confrontational crap than I’ve faced in a month. Toodle pip.
Someone got out of their sleeping bag on the wrong side. What's the point of a discussion forum if everyone agrees?
Toyota. In a world where cars are getting ever more complex and laden with ridiculous tech, none of it accessible easily while driving, getting into a Toyota feels a bit of a throwback – hard plastics, basic controls, but predictable and easy to drive. Love it.
I can think of no worse place to be than in a Toyota. Well that's a bit much. But I do hate them.
Another for other people to disagree with - Howies. Virtually all of my clothes are Howies. Their fits work for me and everything i've had* has lasted really well (currently wearing a pair of their cords that are 12-years old). The organic t-shirts don't get smelly and last well. New shorts arrived last week and they're great... and will hopefully last well too.
.
.
*Actually the cotton underwear was rubbish but i think they've discontinued them.
Someone got out of their sleeping bag on the wrong side. What’s the point of a discussion forum if everyone agrees?
I disagree with my Dad, but I don’t talk to him like he’s stupid 🙂
I didn't read it like that at all...Oh well, here we are disagreeing again. Disaster.
I'm gonna get flamed but Cotic. I find it reassuring that every time they release a new frame, the price has gone up and then the brand, Cy or Kelvin explain to us why. They could easily go down the route of mass produced frames with no character, but they don't and they try their hardest to stick with UK and have now divested from Taiwan too. I know, subject to a silly accident, the SolarisMax I've got will likely be a bike for life now. This is what I want, reassuringly good, but unfortunately expensive.
but can you not see the strange disconnect between
I think it's reasonable to compare the two and look at quality of stitching, material, weight of fill etc and make an educated guess on longevity. Surely we all do those sorts of comparisons all the time when evaluating potential purchases? The alternative, waiting 35 years or whatever for proof, isn't very practical. When brands reduce quality of an established product line it's often very apparent, just by examining it. If you don't believe that, it should be possible to say so without being rude about it.
Another for other people to disagree with – Howies.
I still buy from them now and then, and some of their stuff is still really good, yeah.
Some not so great, and some was never that good anyway (like the T shirts IME).
Cotic. I find it reassuring that every time they release a new frame, the price has gone up and then the brand, Cy or Kelvin explain to us why. They could easily go down the route of mass produced frames with no character, but they don’t and they try their hardest to stick with UK and have now divested from Taiwan too
Was their increasing onshoring of production led by necessity? Even if so, I don't blame them for turning it into a marketing point. I just hope their increasingly "aspirational" status and pricing doesn't harm their long term survival prospects. Nothing wrong with UK-designed & Taiwan-produced bikes IMO.
I can think of no worse place to be than in a Toyota.
I’m not sure I really think of a car as a place? But if they are… I don’t feel that cars are generally good places to be.
Darn Tough socks. Came across them 10 years or so ago, haven’t managed to wear any out since. And if I do this:> https://darntough.uk/pages/our-unconditional-lifetime-guarantee
Have you ever used this guarantee? Is it “unconditional “ or is there fine print?
It is totally unconditional, no quibble replacement,
Skoda. Were a laughing stock 30 or 40 years ago.
Now it's a better VW without the badge tax.
Toyota. In a world where cars are getting ever more complex and laden with ridiculous tech, none of it accessible easily while driving, getting into a Toyota feels a bit of a throwback – hard plastics, basic controls, but predictable and easy to drive. Love it.
I drive 40 or 50 different cars a year, some of them quite a lot/quite vigorously, multiple brands, plus a lot of somewhat ropey prototypes, and i can't say as i've found *any* of them difficult or unpredictable to drive.
Except that one that someone coded the accelerator pedal back to front. That was unpredictable.
Skoda. Were a laughing stock 30 or 40 years ago.
Now it’s a better VW without the badge tax.
They do seem to do what Ford used to.
Just giving you everything you need in a nice, satisfying package that's easy to live with and engaging to drive.
Not that I've driven the newer ones.
plus 1 for Skoda.
barclays, or anythnig to do with america being great again 4-5% on stocks associated with north america this morning :0)
barclays, or ....4-5% on stocks associated with north america this morning :0)
Agreed, WTF is that about. , 🙂
I drive 40 or 50 different cars a year, some of them quite a lot/quite vigorously, multiple brands, plus a lot of somewhat ropey prototypes, and i can’t say as i’ve found *any* of them difficult or unpredictable to drive.
I tried demisting a new VW Golf that I was driving last year. I still don't know how to demist a new VW Golf. I'd suggest that not being to easily demist a car would make it difficult, if not dangerous.
Rega
Aldi
Harveys
Penguin
Singletrack
I’m going to mention Exposure/USE simply for their customer service. In the last couple years, they have reconditioned a light for peanuts, rebonded a 7year old carbon seatpost and repaired a light foc. Communication’s with their staff are always positive and they have definitely exceeded expectations!
I find Aldi's non food offerings very badly made these days.Overpriced as well.
Skoda. Were a laughing stock 30 or 40 years ago.
Now it’s a better VW without the badge tax.
Although they have firmly been replaced by Dacia as the budget option. Skoda's ain't cheap anymore.
Darn Tough socks. Came across them 10 years or so ago, haven’t managed to wear any out since. And if I do this:> https://darntough.uk/pages/our-unconditional-lifetime-guarantee < Every other wool-type sock I’ve had has gone in the heel or toe or both. Some disappointingly quickly
I use the micro hiker daily for work and I’ve not killed any yet. Used to go through cheaper ones at an alarming rate, so £20 odd for a pair of socks seemed steep, coupled with the lifetime warranty, it’ll probably end up being the best financial decision I’ll ever make ?
decathlon.
their Forclaz and Quechua clothing is far better for cycling than any cycling clothing i have ever owned.
Keela. just great quality outdoor clothing that lasts.
Spa cycles. for a bloke who needs strong quality wheels that last. they are the best.
4-5% on stocks associated with north america this morning :0)
Seen TSLA? Up ~18% in the last 5 days for obvious reasons.....
Fairy Liquid. That new leak proof bottle is genius. Max power with leak proof technology!
Petzl, I can’t think of anything in the current range that is worse than what it replaced.
They're generally pretty good but massive issues with durability of Nomic ice axes over the years.
Have you ever used this guarantee? Is it “unconditional “ or is there fine print?
It is totally unconditional, no quibble replacement,
This suggests to me that they run massive margins on each pair.
This suggests to me that they run massive margins on each pair.
Why is that relevent so long as end user gets perceived value?
Other brands are available.
Why is that relevent so long as end user gets perceived value?
It's just a different business model. Run massive margins so you can afford to replace without quibble and build customer loyalty or run smaller margins and shift more units but have to be tighter on what you replace.