respected road bike names?
 

What road bike names are the utmost highly respected? What ones to stay away from?

Free Spirit, FTW.

In this sport, companies own companies and one frame can be the same across 6 different bikes. At this point, IMO, unless you are going with a full custom Seven, Roark, Indy Fab, it doesn't really matter. Just pick a big brand like Trek, Cannondale, Cervelo, Fuji, Giant etc, and you'll be fine. Make sure it fits, you like the price and color, then hit the net and check some reviews on it. If you are comfortable with the purchase, you generally won't go wrong.

Npw, if you're looking to spend 5K and go custom, that's a different story.

Road bikes really dont appear at the budget or discount end of the market. The entry level ones seem to start at about $350 and are all of adaquate quality. Wheel build and alignment would need checking but that goes for any mid-market bike. Part of the work of a decent bike shop is to check the assembly and tune the wheels.

Motobecane is the most envied brand.

Motobecane? Maybe 30 years ago while in a drunken stupor making small talk at the bar.

Try Colnago, Basso, Ind Fab, Spec. S-works, just to name a few that are envious worthy.

I call BS...nothing beats a Huffy.

Well OK...maybe a Denali.

You have to give ElJam credit for his self-awareness and resolve.

What ever happened to Murray?
http://www.creativepro.com/img/story/20061222_fg11.jpg

http://www.creativepro.com/img/story/20061222_fg6.jpg

Try a sense of humor for increased enjoyment of BikeForums.

Why don't we see more ads with people mid-way through swinging their leg over their new bike? Look how happy that kid is! I predict this will be the new marketing campaign for Specialized this Christmas.

Dangerfield bikes get no respect... no respect at all.

Most people on this forum respect plastic bikes made in china or taiwan. Somehow Taiwann gets more respect. There is no particular brand to stay away from. Stay with the brand you feel offers the most quality components for the money. If budget is not a primary concern then go with a long established builder. There is a price to pay for quality. I buy used frames because they are better than any cookie cutter POS. I can afford used frames. I can't afford the blue plate special that many posters of this forum praise.

The most respected brands being produced in the tradition of quality would be Bob Jackson,Waterford(Gunnar), Richard Sachs, Bruce Gordon etc...High end bikes do not get glued. They are made by hand. Each frame will take over 100 hours to produce. The welding will be very precise. Failure is much less likely to happen in a catastrophic manor than plastic bikes.

If you have a moderate disposable income and want to buy a good bike do not buy a Specialized,Giant,Trek,Cannondale. Buy from an artist and you will be rewarded with a bike that will last at least two decades. When I say bike I am talking about the frame. Friends don't let friends ride plastic.

how did you get away with trolling this forum for so long?

To address the original question, pretty much any brand that you can find in your local bike shop has a good reputation. Most of these mass-market brands (as already said, Trek, C'dale, Giant, Fuji, Specialized, Scott...list goes on) produce a wide range of cycles. Boutique brands (Waterford, IF, Gunnar, etc) offer customization and (some would say) a higher level of quality than the mass-market brands. If you don't have a lot of disposable income, this is probably not the smartest choice (not to disparage these fine companies, but I submit that it's true).

Basically, just go to your LBS :)

Silver. Flash. Hurricane. Fred.

Bikes don't get respect. The legs pushing the bike past you get respect.

Rodriguez

Good: Ones with colorful paint jobs. Bad: Black ones

I suppose on the other end would be which brands to stay away from?

Are you talking plastic as they are metal but banded together by plastic?

plastic as in carbon fibre frames and forks. the black ones.

Other than Wamart X/mart bikes I seldom hear people say I hate my bike it's a piece of crap. For the most part people, seem satisfied with their bikes and when they are not it's usually because they want better components.

Empire, Rudge, Wearwell, Raleigh. Works for me :)

MotoBECAYYNE the best.

I would have to say my top four personal favs are Colnago, time, waterford and litespeed

Pay no attention to those people behind the curtain. You want the utmost highest respected??

My top five: Moots, Serotta, Seven, Merlin, Waterford..

You're going to get ferocious opposition to this list, but in the end these top five will have the most votes.

Notice the conspicuous absence of Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Litespeed, etc. :D