1.25.2011

Irrational Dislikes

for whatever reason, good or bad, there are certain bike brands that i just don't like.  i'm sure the bikes are fine, but there's just something about them that i can't stand. design elements, graphics, component choices, or the kind of people that ride them - any of these things can set me off.

i don't know if i'm alone in this - i don't think i am.  i'm sure there are people that just hate certain bands, or clothing lines, or whatever - but can't really say why.  or at least can't give a particularly logical reason anyway.

if you've gone through the archives here at all, you probably have a pretty good idea of which bikes i don't like already.  but here's the weird thing; things change!  i never liked GTs much at all - i thought the 'triple-triangle' was gimmicky, and the paint jobs were garish.  but now, if you can find one a clean one from the 90's - i'm tempted to buy one myself.

like this 1991 Avalanche;



save the tires (and maybe that fork), this bike is completely original.  it's amazing!

i wish i could say why i've softened my stance on GT, but i really don't know why.  maybe it's actually those old Shimano XT parts i like?  maybe it's that Rock Shox Mag21 that was so revolutionary that i like?

or maybe it's this;

this is zzzomm's 1990 GT Tequesta.  in the fall of 1990 he and i bought bikes.  i got a Bridgestone MB-5 and he got this GT.  just last summer he reacquired it from a friend, and I got to redo it.  i scored a full XT Raleigh, and moved every part i could onto this GT.  i was really happy with the way it turned out and i really like this bike now.

i still don't like Trek though.

3 comments:

Horses said...

The ball burnished Zaskar with Mag 20s - as ridden by Hans Rey in the early 90s - was my dream bike for so many years. The orange Karakoram was another of my favourites; it was so ugly it was beautiful!

Trek now have something on their site called "Project One" that lets you customise a Trek. I was playing around with it and purely by accident ended up with an awful bike in the same awful colour scheme as the Trek 9000 in your Trek post. Awful. Who buys a Trek?

80 said...
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80 said...

i'll get to Trek in the future - i've never liked them either. but that project one this is cool - i'll have to see just how much of a mess of a bike you can make over there.