DomaneS5

corrado33

I must be uncool because I ride many of the things the younger crowd here says is uncool.

Many of my bikes are bright colors. Why ride a boring black/red striped bike? Every other new bike is black/red striped.

I own a surly. Not because I'm trying to be different, but because I worked at a bike shop and could buy a frameset for cheap, and they're steel. I've ridden the surly more than any of my other bikes, because it's my commuter, and gets ridden thousands of miles every year.

It also is loaded down with a dynamo, IGH, racks, lights, among other things. It's USEFUL.

I also own a few old mountain bikes. Are they useful for mountain biking? No, but they're fun! I installed a kick shift 2 speed on one of them and it's a great cruiser.

I own a bikes direct motobecane. It was the second bike I ever bought. I still use it as a rainy day road bike.

I own a steel Landshark Roadshark. If anything that's the ultimate "hipster" bike. Rare and relatively affordable now-a-day. With that said, I ride the hell out of that bike and have it equipped as a balls-to-the-wall road bike. No single speed bullcrap here. It's my favorite bike.

Lastly, I own a modern Raleigh mountain bike. It's... nothing special.

I like to say that I don't like modern bikes that are plastered with branding on them, but then again, I'd never turn away one of those bikes if it were given to me. I'll ride just about anything that I'll fit on and be happy doing it.

I really don't care if you think I'm uncool.

With that said, bikes with ridiculously high stems (usually using stem extenders) are "uncool." I understand that some people need those to be able to ride at all, but that doesn't change the fact that it looks stupid. I'm not saying you should slam your stem (that's also stupid) but if you're riding a bike with a 4-6 inch stem... buy a different bike more fitting to your needs. I think these people are trying to be "cool" by buying an aggressive racing bike, but then realizing they can't support that posture put a huge stem on it to be able to ride it.

Jeff Neese

I don't mind OD tubing, if all three main tubes are the same. I've got a '93 Trek 930 frame (lugged, brazed, hand built in Wisconsin - very nice) and it has full OD tubes and it looks great - kind of a "tough" look and the bike certainly is. It handles great also of course.

My '89 Treck 970 is the opposite. It has all standard diameter tubing (also lugged, hand built in WI) but that was before the trend toward bigger tubing. Naturally it handles differently than the stiffer OD tubing and that's for a different type of riding. Buttery smooth ride.

But there are a lot of bikes that use a combination, like that Cannondale, and I think that looks funny. But like Tundra_Man said, I wouldn't kick it to the curb. I'd ride it, I just wouldn't expect it to be as nice as one of my Treks.

355Mono

My new Kestrel 2013 RT SL 1000 Di2 has the name plastered on the frame TEN times. I like the bike, but that is uncool, and serious brand insecurity.

Loose Chain

Schwinn, Huffy, any box store BSO, anything made with a CF frame, anything with TREK plastered all over it. I am a TREK and Bontrager free zone.

DomaneS5

I hope one of these days I'm cool and hip enough to hate Trek.

Jeff Neese

Based on what you're riding and everything you wrote, it sounds to me that you are cool. You're just not "hip". Big difference.

Don't worry - there are a lot more of us out there than you think. They just don't market to us, that's all. I think after riding bicycles for over 55 years (maybe longer if you include tricycles) and having owned a lot of bikes, you sort of become immune to the fads and trends and just focus on actual improvements (there haven't been that many, really) and value. It's about the riding, not the bicycle.

That said, cosmetics do count. I once started with an old Rockhopper (one of my favorite bikes now) but the color scheme was that hideous pink/purple that you may have seen from around '95. Even though the paint was in perfectly fine shape, I just couldn't be seen on it so I had it stripped and powder coated. And I do try to choose things for my bikes that at least look like they belong together, like if possible standardizing on either silver or black, that kind of thing. I also don't ever use any sort of "adapter" like threaded to threadless, which looks ridiculous. It should at least NOT look like a Frankenbike.

Kindaslow

If you work hard and have a lot of luck, you will surpass that goal and eventually be cool enough to hate Specialized.

Start easy, just hate on CF for no reason, pretty much anyone is allowed in that crowd....

Zurichman2

I might be that different kind of rider because I have and ride Lemonds. My sweetheart is a 2006 Lemond Victoirre which has around 20,000 miles on her now and still looks like she came off the show room floor sans a few scrapes on the decal. Because of my love of the Lemonds you will never catch me riding a Trek unless someone gave me one free. Why do you ask. Well for one they are overpriced and you are paying for the name. I don't need the name bike to know I am a cyclist. This is probably the same reason I probably will never go skiing in Aspen because I don't have to go there to prove I am a skier. Finally the nail in the coffin for me is back in the day when LANCE had all that power he forced Trek to drop the Lemond brand because Greg Lemond was getting on him accusing him of taking drugs. We all know how that turned out now. I doubt that we will ever see the Lemonds for sale here in the States again even though I hear he has them for sale in Europe but there is always hope. His head tube slope is different than all other manufactures which gives you a more relaxed ride for long distance riding.

jimmie65

Ozone. Next. Huffy. Basically anything you can buy at Walmart.
(Though I did have a Schwinn fat bike for a while and my wife rides a high-end Schwinn.)

jimmie65

Or maybe they have short legs and long torsos? I'm 6' tall with a 31" inseam; I can barely stand over most large frames but then have to hunch over anyway. So my choices are:
1) Get an XL frame, slam the seat all the way down, and fervently hope I don't smash the family jewels.
2) Or add a stem riser and/or a long stem. (My Escape has a riser and an adjustable stem; my Revel has an adjustable stem.)

Not trying to be cool. Just trying to work with the body nature gave me.

SquidPuppet

All my bikes are very uncool.

Kindaslow

Yet stunning!

DomaneS5

My first "real" bike was a '98 Specialized Rockhopper FS. It had a dull, ugly yellow/gold color on the frame with a RockShox Indy C fork. I wish I still had it for nostalgiac reasons. I guess I'm weird... I like Trek and Specialized.

Kindaslow

My first real MTB was an 84 Stumpjumper and I wish I still had it!

Phil_gretz

fify

Dirt Farmer

I can understand Trek, but I like Bontrager parts quite a bit.


To each his own.

DomaneS5

So are mine.