Bikes are getting uglier

[Anonymous]

Almost all..

Maybe I'm a sentimental old fool but I think nearly all bikes have some beauty in them...

there are exceptions like the treadmill bike

 

[disciple]

Maybe I'm a sentimental old fool but I think nearly all bikes have some beauty in them...

there are exceptions like the treadmill bike

and recumbents.

 

[TigerFish]

Actually if you look at the fork it does have a smooth front curve to the dropouts. The zerts distort the view of the rear line to the fork.

I believe even a stupid zert will provide some dampening as long as they are in contact with the carbon fiber. Any mass will absorb. The zerts increase the mass. They will dampen if they are simply attached. They will dampen more if they are less dense than the carbon fiber.

As to the original statement. I like some classical music, jazz, pop, soul and even some wrap among many other forms. I feel the same way about bikes.

I do think the zerts are ugly.

 

[BroDeal]

Actually if you look at the fork it does have a smooth front curve to the dropouts. The zerts distort the view of the rear line to the fork.

I believe even a stupid zert will provide some dampening as long as they are in contact with the carbon fiber. Any mass will absorb. The zerts increase the mass. They will dampen if they are simply attached. They will dampen more if they are less dense than the carbon fiber.

As to the original statement. I like some classical music, jazz, pop, soul and even some wrap among many other forms. I feel the same way about bikes.

I do think the zerts are ugly.

I suspect that wrapping seatstays and fork blades with old tubes would dampen as much or more than the zerts. Plus you could take the tubes off for the 99.9% of the time you are not riding on cobbles.

 

[Anonymous]

The 2011 Specialized is ugly.

The 2012 Specialized is, well, really ugly. I can't wait to see AC storming up the French Cols on this.

 

[L'arriviste]

CN's caption said this hideous thing at AusBike was "...one of the most photographed bikes at this year's show"

Perhaps it's just the paintjob and the stem, but to me this is a poncemobile.

 

[ustabe]

The 2011 Specialized is ugly.

Regarding sloping top tubes--some do it by making the head tube longer and some do it by making the seat tube shorter. Well, with some it's also a combination of the two.

The head tube height of the Roubaix is clearly over the top, and the curves and tapers of the top tube only make it look sillier. The Scott CR1/Speedster, Trek performance fit, and Cannondale CAAD proportions, though generic looking, are more about what a road bike should be. It's curious that head tubes on the race-oriented Tarmac are still higher than what's on these bikes, but I'm seeing that most pros and serious riders handle this by sizing down.

With their TCRs, Giant works the other way. Head tube heights are conventional but the seat tube is shortened. I used to hate all sloping top tubes, but I always made a grudging exception for the straight, minimalist look of the TCR.

It's still a far cry from my holy grail, though, a late-70s Confente.

 

[Polyarmour]

Yes the Specialized is ugly and so is this one. Any time the marketeers introduce shapes for no reason... it's ugly.

 

[usedtobefast]

Yes the Specialized is ugly and so is this one. Any time the marketeers introduce shapes for no reason... it's ugly.

see i like that shape, and i have ridden bikes for 52 plus years.(i learned at age 5) the new Dogma
is very cool.imo. i have skinny tube Italian frames and i love those bikes.
hell i loved my Stingray. the new bikes ride nice too. very light. very stiff.
they accelerate and climb so well. and yes i ride a compact modern bike.
time marches on...

 

[Cliveds]

This is the Litespeed in real life "up close" it's not that bad looking. I was not expecting it but after a 6 week test ride found it rides fantastically.

 

[BroDeal]

This is the Litespeed in real life "up close" it's not that bad looking. I was not expecting it but after a 6 week test ride found it rides fantastically.

Looks like a Cervelo that someone put way too many "Litespeed" decals on.

 

[Barracuda]

Bikes getting uglier ??

Are you serious ???

The Wilier Cento1 AleJet is the closest thing to bike porn I have seen.

 

[usedtobefast]

i had one exactly like this.

 

[Martin318is]

I agree that this new Roubaix is an awfully ugly bike. The frame shape alone sucks, the zig-zag stays and paint/decal scheme are just hideous. You know marketing, new and different = better. The sponsors would never let it happen, but I'd like to see a pro ride a Master X Light (or your favourite steel frame with traditional geometry) on the cobbles. With the right equipment choices and setup I wonder if the rider wouldn't arrive just as quickly and just as fresh.

Coming to this late but can't let that one go by - of course they wouldn't get there as fast as a moulded carbon frame!

...


Can't fit the electric motor in such a small diameter tube !


(and that was a JOKE not an accusation)

 

[Polyarmour]

i had one exactly like this.

That's not an ugly bike. That's a bike that is representative of an era... which I identify with too. Although the ones I rode looked more like this.

 

[Polyarmour]

see i like that shape, and i have ridden bikes for 52 plus years.(i learned at age 5) the new Dogma
is very cool.imo. i have skinny tube Italian frames and i love those bikes.
hell i loved my Stingray. the new bikes ride nice too. very light. very stiff.
they accelerate and climb so well. and yes i ride a compact modern bike.
time marches on...

The problem with the Roubaix is that there was no need to curve the head tube and it just looks dorky. You just know in a couple of years it will be out of date and you'll be stuck with this old looking bike.

Similarly with the Pinarello Princes and Dogmas there is no reason to bend and twist the forks and seat stays like that, it serves no purpose. In a couple of years time they will get over it and stop doing it... and it will be way out of date.

 

[ustabe]

Similarly with the Pinarello Princes and Dogmas there is no reason to bend and twist the forks and seat stays like that, it serves no purpose. In a couple of years time they will get over it and stop doing it... and it will be way out of date.

Pinarello has been bending stays and forks for at least five years now, so it's part of their lore. Not to worry, though. As of this year you can have your Pinarello with bends or without, as an Eddy Merckx.

Regarding the Roubaix, I know too many riders who would never ride anything else. Specialized brand loyalty, especially among Roubaix riders, is legend.

 

[karlboss]

How about this paint scheme?

I am sure someone likes it. I don't. But the frame itself is not as extreme as some of what has been posted.

It's fine, as long as you've won olympic gold.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

The 2012 Specialized is, well, really ugly. I can't wait to see AC storming up the French Cols on this.

what is that?

 

[Polyarmour]

what is that?

It's something that can only be ridden in a straight line I think. The designer didn't want to bothered with a small detail like the steering.

 

[Polyarmour]

How about this paint scheme?

I am sure someone likes it. I don't. But the frame itself is not as extreme as some of what has been posted.

Pimp my Ride

 

[BroDeal]

Pimp my Ride

Its owner after an unfortunate smelting accident.

 

[laziali]

Nah, Kestrel have always made the fugliest frames

.

Nothing good ever came from that manufacturer

 

[Black Dog]

Nah, Kestrel have always made the fugliest frames

.

Nothing good ever came from that manufacturer

They were 20 years ahead of there time and now frames are looking like the one above that was built circa 1987.

 

[laziali]

They were 20 years ahead of there time and now frames are looking like the one above that was built circa 1987.

still ffffffffffffugly tho - only a mother (read designer) could love that change in tube proportions.