What gear is Horner on to make such outrageous statements like this ?

[Anonymous]

Agreed on the exclusivity, especially here in Canada. I bought a custom road Lynskey a number of years ago. Exclusive, at least around here, but still like the Speedvagen!

Now we're talking! Made one state over from me. Nice bikes. I would own a Cervelo BTW. Really nothing against it at all. Maybe my point was a little muddled. Trek? You literally couldn't give me one. My first "real" bike was a screaming yellow 1200 (went out to ride one day, realized I forgot a bottle, leaned the bike up against the back of my car, went back inside and got the bottle, came back out and got in the car and backed right over it.) with indexed downtube shifters. Then I had a 2300 (creaked worse than anything you ever heard at the BB. But they swore those tubes would stay glued), then I had a 5500, then I sold it and will never own another one. The 5500 did ride very nicely, but for many reasons, that will be the last one I sling a leg over.

 

[BroDeal]

Thumbs up on the Lynskey. That is a sweet ride.

 

[tifosa]

Yes, but some are also cheating themselves straight to the bank

True that too. Part of the Ponzi scheme otherwise known as "pro cycling".

 

[elapid]

Thumbs up on the Lynskey. That is a sweet ride.

Thanks. I am taking her for a ride through the Colorado Rockies next week. I am sure we will both enjoy the trip!

Sorry for getting off topic!

 

[slcbiker]

That Speedvagen looks like a farily nice custom steel bike.

However, that website is entirely too Rapha-hipster like. The whole we're cooler than you because many of the photos are silver-toned black and white.
Just as the high-end carbon has snob appeal, so does the hipster custom steel.

 

[ElChingon]

Well, off topic but still on it really. The thing is Trek is probably already inundated with anti-Lance hate mail (or I'm hoping), especially with the Lemond fiasco, but pilling on is probably a good thing as well, not hate mail but anti Trek due to sponsership choices. I'm actually surprised when I see a new Trek being riden, there are not as many as before, they seem to of stopped being the brand to buy as of late, at least in my neck of the woods.

If anything keeping people you know aware of this is also important, a gentle reminder keeps in up in the noggin, I also stopped buying those people's sponsor's products and was about to buy something till this came up again.

 

[ndpuck]

But most of the responders to the above thread would not buy a Trek bike.

True, but most people are pretty dull as well.
I have a 09 Trek Madone in my stable, and it is a very nice bike. Light and stiff (just how I like 'em...). To not buy a bike simply because Lance (or anyone else for that matter) does is not rational. And I'm certainly not a Lance-lover, or a Lance-hater. I could care less what he rides...and I do believe he doped. Of course, I believe that LeMond did too.

Actually Elapid, Trek sales are off, at least on their upper end bikes, by something like 20%. Though of course much of this can be attributed to the economic slowdown.

I have a friend that works in sales at Trek. The main reason that their upper end bike sales are off is because those numbers are only based off of "bikes in a box". Project One is killing it for them over there, and P1 sales are stealing BIB sales from them.

And when I hear "I ride a Trek __________." I reply with something like "oh, yea? I am a custom steel or Ti guy myself," and then I move on to other topics.

My Trek Madone is my race bike. My "for fun" bike is my IF Ti Crown Jewel. Talk about butter smooth.

Then I had a 2300 (creaked worse than anything you ever heard at the BB. But they swore those tubes would stay glued).

Sounds like you need a new mechanic. The dreaded "Cannondale creak" can be easily fixed by just cleaning the bb threads, applying plumber's tape and grease, and putting it back in. BB creak is pretty common on any aluminum bike.

 

[Anonymous]

That Speedvagen looks like a farily nice custom steel bike.

However, that website is entirely too Rapha-hipster like. The whole we're cooler than you because many of the photos are silver-toned black and white.
Just as the high-end carbon has snob appeal, so does the hipster custom steel.

Um, you obviously don't know anything about Sacha White, Vanilla Bicycles, or what is special about them. It isn't about being a hipster. Comparing a Trek or Pinarello to a Vanilla is like comparing a Movado to an IWC or Vacheron. One is nice, the other has a craftsmanship that is light years beyond. I don't like it because its cool. I like Vanilla because I love things that are made by hand and done so with a precision and human touch that a factory can never match.

That, and I don't consider carbon to be all that special. Hell, there are many plants in China and Taiwan cranking them out by the thousands and charging local doctors with more money than taste a ridiculous premium to buy one. But hey, everyone is different.

And I turn 41 tomorrow, I lost my hipster cache 10 years ago.

 

[Anonymous]

My Trek Madone is my race bike. My "for fun" bike is my IF Ti Crown Jewel. Talk about butter smooth.

You almost lost me....then you won me back fairly quickly

Sounds like you need a new mechanic. The dreaded "Cannondale creak" can be easily fixed by just cleaning the bb threads, applying plumber's tape and grease, and putting it back in. BB creak is pretty common on any aluminum bike.

I worked in a bike shop at the time. It was the carbon tubes. Trek swore it was all good, but we tried EVERYTHING, and still the creak. We all decided it was the glue and I just lived with it.

 

[BroDeal]

You almost lost me....then you won me back fairly quickly

True dat. When I was looking for a ti bike, Indy Fab was one I heavily considered. Seven spends too much effort marketing to yuppies. For some reason Serotta never enthralled me, although I have heard good things about them. Spectrum is too attached to Merlin, which sold its soul to Litespeed.

Just as the high-end carbon has snob appeal, so does the hipster custom steel.

The difference is that steel's snob appeal is legit. Carbon is like a Honda Civic with a fart tube exhaust and a homemade wing compared to a WRX STI.

 

[ndpuck]

You almost lost me....then you won me back fairly quickly

I almost got the IF XS, but the wife put her foot down, so I had to "settle" on the Ti Crown Jewel. Now that I have it, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's my forever bike.

I worked in a bike shop at the time. It was the carbon tubes. Trek swore it was all good, but we tried EVERYTHING, and still the creak. We all decided it was the glue and I just lived with it.

That's crazy. Maybe just put some epoxy on the carbon/aluminum joint and call it good?

 

[Anonymous]

The difference is that steel's snob appeal is legit. Carbon is like a Honda Civic with a fart tube exhaust and a homemade wing compared to a WRX STI.

+1!!!!!!!!!!!

One day, I also want a DeKerf hardtail made with 953.

Here is my custom Holy Grail though, Hugi Edelweiss hubs. They were a limited edition hubset in the mid 90's with hand painted Edelweiss on them. I worked in a bike shop then, and just couldn't afford them. I have looked for the last 6 years for a set, and NADA. Anyone here who can put me on to the trail of a pair would get a finder's fee even if you are not the seller.

 

[Anonymous]

+1!!!!!!!!!!!

One day, I also want a DeKerf hardtail made with 953.

Here is my custom Holy Grail though, Hugi Edelweiss hubs. They were a limited edition hubset in the mid 90's with hand painted Edelweiss on them. I worked in a bike shop then, and just couldn't afford them. I have looked for the last 6 years for a set, and NADA. Anyone here who can put me on to the trail of a pair would get a finder's fee even if you are not the seller.

And that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Chris Horner.....dang....

 

[slcbiker]

Thoughtff, I wasn't commenting so much on the bike, as on the website. It's a nice bike. Vanilla makes great bikes. So do many other custom steel builders. It's just that the website is going somewhat for the retro-cool look that's been so overdone by Rapha.

As for steel vs. carbon, on a purely performance basis, carbon is the WRX Sti. I'm not really seeing a big move by the F1 manufacturers or the aerospace manufacturers back to steel because its "real". Carbon is simply a better material from a strength to weight perspective. And you can engineer whatever ride quality you want into it. It's not clear which wins from a fatigue/long-term durability perspective. Boeing puts an awful lot of cycles into their carbon parts.

Crash-worthiness, I'll give to steel. I guess that would make it Hummer to the carbon Sti

 

[Anonymous]

That's crazy. Maybe just put some epoxy on the carbon/aluminum joint and call it good?

Oh, I got rid of that thing 12 years ago.

 

[Anonymous]

Thoughtff, I wasn't commenting so much on the bike, as on the website. It's a nice bike. Vanilla makes great bikes. So do many other custom steel builders. It's just that the website is going somewhat for the retro-cool look that's been so overdone by Rapha.

As for steel vs. carbon, on a purely performance basis, carbon is the WRX Sti. I'm not really seeing a big move by the F1 manufacturers or the aerospace manufacturers back to steel because its "real". Carbon is simply a better material from a strength to weight perspective. And you can engineer whatever ride quality you want into it. It's not clear which wins from a fatigue/long-term durability perspective. Boeing puts an awful lot of cycles into their carbon parts.

Crash-worthiness, I'll give to steel. I guess that would make it Hummer to the carbon Sti

Vanilla could change their website's name to livestrong.net and I would still love their bikes. though the current one does have a certain.....coolness factor to it, that I will grant you.

Hey, Reynolds 953 is amazing.....but you will not see it in F1, that I will grant you.

Carbon does ride...well, like carbon. It is nice, but I just don't want one. And as posted on another thread, I will never ride spokes made of the stuff. That Mavic R-Sys failure is just not cool in any way.

 

[BroDeal]

As for steel vs. carbon, on a purely performance basis, carbon is the WRX Sti. I'm not really seeing a big move by the F1 manufacturers or the aerospace manufacturers back to steel because its "real". Carbon is simply a better material from a strength to weight perspective. And you can engineer whatever ride quality you want into it. It's not clear which wins from a fatigue/long-term durability perspective. Boeing puts an awful lot of cycles into their carbon parts.

It is not about performance. Despite the BS that bike makers push in their marketing, high end bikes perform just like mid level bikes. It basically comes down to how much time you have to train, not how much you spent on your ride.

The WRX is what it is. It is intrinsically cool. The dumb SOB who rices out his Civic thinks that if he puts on enough fake air scoops, he can somehow capture the coolness of the WRX, which after he spends his dough on after market wheels, Lambo-style scissor doors, bogus spoilers, and a new paint job costs as much as what he should have bought in the first place.

Put up pics of old steel bikes and people will ooh and ahh over the lugwork and craftsmanship. Put up pics of an early 90s carbon bike and people won't give a damn.

 

[slcbiker]

100% in agreement with you on the spoke thing. No R-SYS for me.

And as a previous Seattle dweller, here's the steel bikes I'd like:

http://www.sandsmachine.com/bp_erick.htm

 

[Anonymous]

100% in agreement with you on the spoke thing. No R-SYS for me.

And as a previous Seattle dweller, here's the steel bikes I'd like:

http://www.sandsmachine.com/bp_erick.htm

That Calvin and Hobbes Bike is one of the coolest bikes I have ever seen. I am a C&H devotee from WAYYY back. Nice bikes.

 

[ElChingon]

The off topic means the thread is dead

 

[BroDeal]

What a disaster that R-SYS thing has become. Now the redesign has problems too. If they keep going like this, they might end up with something as notorious as the old Spinergy Rev-X. Sometimes it is good to just cut your losses and admit defeat.

 

[BroDeal]

The off topic means the thread is dead

It is just hard to hate on Horner. Despite the amount of gear he is probably on, he always seems happy and has interesting things to say.

 

[Anonymous]

What a disaster that R-SYS thing has become. Now the redesign has problems too. If they keep going like this, they might end up with something as notorious as the old Spinergy Rev-X. Sometimes it is good to just cut your losses and admit defeat.

Yea, the failure I was talking about is one of the new wheels. I realize who hosts this forum, but did you read the Mavic response on VN? I cannot fathom that they could justify a complete disintegration of a wheel under ANY circumstances. I don't care of the tube blew off the tire. I don't care if the frame gave way. That wheel blew apart. I also find their suggestions that it couldn't have possibly been their wheel pretty empty. I mean, the fork had tire marks under the crown.....uh........a frame crack or tire blow out?(clinchers mind you, not tubulars). How many clincher have you seen blow up? How many clinchers have you ever seen rolled while they still had air in them?

 

[Snake8]

IF +1

I dont believe you can love a production bike the way you can a custom.








Chris Horner.

Just to f with TFF. ;-)

 

[tifosa]

The off topic means the thread is dead

No. Off topic means posters can't maintain their lines going into a sprint. But I digress... ;-)