I agree. Very nice, welds are like works of art.Ventana, hands-down. Often overlooked, but easily the best designed and built to last.
Also I vote for Yeti, and Cove.
I agree. Very nice, welds are like works of art.Ventana, hands-down. Often overlooked, but easily the best designed and built to last.
i did work at a trek dealer for a while. a good deal of the warranties that we had to deal with for brand new bikes before they went out on the floor were components that were missing or messed up. and don't forget that it is all relative. say trek sells 1000 bikes and 50 of them end up being messed up. how does that compare to a smaller builder that sells 100 bikes and 10 of them are messed up? in order for anyone in this thread to have substantial proof that one brand is better than the rest when it comes to quality control i would like some solid #s, the number of a model from trek sold, the number of that model that had to be warrantied, and then the same #s for a small builder that sells at least 50 bikes a year.
Hahahahaha... that's a good one. Maybe the 3 broken super 8s in my basement will convince you otherwise. Every one of those frames broke.i have never seen a SC ever crack unless you can prove me wrong.
I worked at a Specialized dealer for about 10 years. Any problem which arose with one of their frames (which was surprisingly few), was generally the fault of the rider. But their incredible customer service resolved the situation in a positive way each time. Smiling bike rider was always, always the result. So I guess I am saying they pretty much rock. At the moment I am riding a Giant Anthem, awesome bike but we will see how it holds up.That is actually a good point.
I remember watching that show they did on Berrecloth on the Discovery Channel, and they showed Specialized testing the Demo 8 to failure on this high tech machine. Not only did they know exactly how much force would break the frame, but more importantly they knew exactly where it would crack and the outcome was something you could ride out of without injury.
These machines give the larger companies a big advantage in situations like these.
Plus Specialized has their pivot system dialed as well, so I would rank them high in quality.
As far as the smaller companies, Turner's bikes are filled with quality like a fat kid is filled with sugar. Their bushing system is awesome and requires no hassles at all. Everything is quality from the bikes to the service.
How about this?santa cruz makes nice bikes. i have never seen a SC ever crack unless you can prove me wrong.
How about Banshee? the Scream is a pretty good examble of a bulletproof "all-around DH/FR" bike with very little maintence.
??
Yeah, I bet the bushings last a lot longer than Ventana's quad bearing set up...not.1. Turner(bushings last longer than bearings), 2. Ventana
I broke a Rotec twice. The first was the headtube. Cracked it at the bottom. Sully made me buy a new front end from him. I had bought the original from US Technical, and he had taken over the design. Sully had me buy another front end from him. I was pissed but I did it.Rotec. The welds are a work of art, the frame is as solid as any could be, and the pivots work so well and stay so un-sloppy it's sick.
Wow! What happened?How about this?
Well designed yes but the welds and paint are not up the level of some others. Especially the paint.Evils seem to be pretty high quality.
I personally wouldn't of road one of those first generation bikes or any of the rotecs pre RL9. Never really liked the design, and have heard lots of shotty things about the quality. For the last two years now though i've been on the RL9 and it has been very high quality, minimal maintanance, and strong. Really not much of a comparison to the old stuff though the entire company is different now, just the same name.I broke a Rotec twice. The first was the headtube. Cracked it at the bottom. Sully made me buy a new front end from him. I had bought the original from US Technical, and he had taken over the design. Sully had me buy another front end from him. I was pissed but I did it.
The second time I broke the damn thing in HALF!!!!!!!
Here's the best part...off a four foot drop!!!! The dogbone link failed and broke the shock in half. I called Sully and told him what happenned and he said; " I'll sell you the parts and give you a shock."
Ummm yeah....nooooo....I love that bike, but I'm done with it. It's still in my garage.
Now bear in mind this is a first generation Rotec. I also sent him my Rotec HT slalom bike to make copies of. I have yet to see one. It is one of two frames made, and it's a great frame. It's in the 98 World champ's video. I think it's also in the 'Chainsmoke' video. EC rode one for a bit (Ithink). EC came up with the name actually. Redsiginged Off road TEChnology.
Now he rides a 'Goose....WTF?
Nothing agaisnt those guys, but I thought I should tell my story.
Too bad the same can't be said for the SX Trail, even though Specialized still kicks-ass when it comes to warranty claims.I worked at a Specialized dealer for about 10 years. Any problem which arose with one of their frames (which was surprisingly few), was generally the fault of the rider.
well, alot at least...all bikes are actually made by Giant.
Kendallweed broke two or three demos in one year.SPECIALIZED hands down! I know a lot of people that ride Bighits and Demo's. Not even as much as a hair line fracture in any Spec. Not to mention that if maybe one day you do crack something send it back and get a brand new frame. I believe only a robot could break a Demo, strongest, smoothest, most versitle bike ive ever ridden.
For once I've got to agree with N8. Both my Titus bikes seem near bulletproof. I've had a switchblade for a year and a half of some fairly rugged riding and never had a single problem. My motolite is only a couple of months never had problem with it, and I accidently took it on a (double) black diamond trail on it's third ride. The only problem I've ever heard of is some of the early disk brake swing arms could crack near the disk brake mounts in extreme use, but Titus would warranty them and replace the newer version which could take the disk brake forces. Overall their designs seem geared towards maintainability and simplicty, and it seems like I could ride the switchblade until the cows come home, ocassionally replacing some bushing.Titus is well reguarded as well.
I agree that they are good, but every big company designs their frames here and sources to overseas, or they do it in their own factory their.a factor that is not often obvious until you see close-up pics or ride the bike, is the theory behind the design of the frame...In terms of welds/manufacturing, nearly all bike companies have very good manufacturing processes. With the majority of frames being made in Taiwan where their quality and consistency is very good, you should look more into the design/engineering that goes into the frame. Have a look at Turner, Versus Cycles, Yeti etc
Every big company?I agree that they are good, but every big company designs their frames here and sources to overseas, or they do it in their own factory their.
It should say "most". Sure there are some that do not, but most do. Besides, it is not like the Asians are crappy engineers. My point is that just because it is not a boutique company, it is not automatically crap.Every big company?
How come Cannondale is not mentioned do they have that bad of a reputation??.cannondale?
People act like they do, but in my experience they make some mighty fine machines.How come Cannondale is not mentioned do they have that bad of a reputation??.