[ACSN]

I have been venturing away from the beginner's corner to other sections on the MTBR forums and noticed that these bike brand forums have consistently a high number of active user views.

Specialized
Cannondale
Turner

This is just a curiosity question. Does this say that more mtbikers own these brands than others? Like I said, I am just curious as I have just got my first bike and have not ventured out on trails yet nor met anyone else yet. I will think about joining a local club soon.

Thanks.

 

[zebrahum]

They are popular bike brands that have people who want to talk about them. Add in the fact that Cannondale and Turner forums have really knowledgeable people in them, and the Specialized forum has Specialized employees posting to help, and you have a few good to visit forums for advice and bike talk. I don't think more people necessarily mean more people ride them, just more people are talking about them. If you go to another forum, you may find other brands are more popular. For instance, you can't read more than 2 posts on Ridemonkey without reading about Transition.

Now go ride that bike!

 

[skyliner1004]

i think its fair to say that Specialized and CD are more popular than turner, and that specialized is more popular than CD. just a generalization i've noticed also from reading online and seeing bikes on trails.

 

[ACSN]

Ok.. just wondering and curious since this is very new to me.

Noted, I did go out riding yesterday just on pavement. 3 miles before my feet/finger/ears froze but I was grinning ear to ear.

 

[heff®]

/shrug they're well-known, popular brands, have a reputation for the best rideabiity (not necessarily true, mind you......even my Specialized Stumpy fan friends like the way my Komodo rides) and like the others said, there's more manufacturer support there. Not so much now, but back in 2000 or so, if you ventured into the brake forum, you saw the popular brakes as being Avid and Magura, primarily. We had Thorsten for Magura there, and Dennis from Avid. Thorsten left Magura, Mike T took over the cult, and Thor started providing support for Formula. He's probably the single reason people here even knew about Formula disks. Of course, we had Hayes, too, but no support from Hayes, and a few guys using Shimano or Grimeca, but there were the few most-tagged brands. Different now, it's been 9 years. Shocks were the same, Fox really took off at the time.

All goes in cycles. Specialized was always here, but for awhile Santa Cruz was THE bike to have, Ellsworth a close second. Cannondale had their fan club, but meh......Crank Bros came out with the Eggbeaters, UST tubeless hit and fought with Stan's.....you get the idea. One thing I've noticed is it was a lot more turbulent back then. Tons of innovation, so it was make or break time for many companies. Not so much now, much of this stuff has been out this whole time, it's just been a matter of fine-tuning the original design.

 

[One Pivot]

ive seen maybe 2 turners out on the trail.. they just have dw link and everyones fapping over that pretty hard right now. spec is just a huge monster of a brand that sells a ton of bikes, theres just a lot of people on them. same with cannondale, just not to the scale of spec. trek too.

 

[heff®]

ive seen maybe 2 turners out on the trail.. they just have dw link and everyones fapping over that pretty hard right now. spec is just a huge monster of a brand that sells a ton of bikes, theres just a lot of people on them. same with cannondale, just not to the scale of spec. trek too.

Turner's also got that "oooh" appeal, since they were one of the first real raceable FS bike. The Burner is still considered one of the best designs around, and the first bike to use the Horst Link design that Specialized later bought. Also has that connection to Frank the Welder, even though he only did the frames for one year. Just an all-around historic bike that people still drool over, but not many have.

 

[JPark]

Every major manufacturer(even Mongoose) makes a quality ride at some point in their line, if not, they wouldn't/won't be one. Small companies(such as Turner) must continue to produce a quality product to survive. As long as it is an established company, it's a pretty safe bet.

 

[skyliner1004]

Every major manufacturer(even Mongoose) makes a quality ride at some point in their line, if not, they wouldn't/won't be one. Small companies(such as Turner) must continue to produce a quality product to survive. As long as it is an established company, it's a pretty safe bet.

qft, then after comparing the bikes, its down to customer service/warranty. Which major brands (lets say... of the brands listed that have a subforum here at MTBR) don't have lifetime warranty on their frames?

 

[JPark]

Great point, but requires further clarification. Warranties are(for the most part) worded to give an "out" to the manafacturer should they choose to do so. Claims against a "lifetime" warranty can be worth less than a 5 year(or less) warranty from another company. The difference is the rep. you choose to deal with. Choose your retailer(LBS) wisely.

 

[heff®]

qft, then after comparing the bikes, its down to customer service/warranty. Which major brands (lets say... of the brands listed that have a subforum here at MTBR) don't have lifetime warranty on their frames?

Pretty sure the majority do now. I know for sure Jamis doesn't, they went back to a five year warranty a few years back. As far as I know, though, my frame is still lifetime, us older riders got grandfathered.

What's more important than duration, really, is what the warranty covers. Many companies offer lifetime, but what that warranty actually covers is very limited, and they reserve the right to refuse a repair or replacement if they think the frame was misused, i.e. you rode it for three years, and something broke. If the guy doing the evaluation thinks there's too many paint chips, forget it. Other companies are more lenient, as they expect their product to last, and if it doesn't for some reason, even due to your own negligence (not that I would say I wrapped it around a tree at 30mph or anything) they'll typically work with you. Just read the fine print........Fuji isn't going to be as useful to you as, say, Kona.

 

[JPark]

If the guy doing the evaluation thinks there's too many paint chips, forget it

My point exactly. In most cases, this is the place you purchased the bike from.

 

[heff®]

My point exactly. In most cases, this is the place you purchased the bike from.

If it's a good, knowledgable shop, yeah. We have our local "outfitter" here that's the main bike shop in town, sort of. They also deal in skis, snowboards, rollerblades, hockey gear.....bikes are a small upstairs loft. Personally, I won't buy a bike from them, they've turned me way off once too many times. They also have a habit of driving good wrenches off to other shops with their company attitude. So I would be skeptical bringing a damaged frame or fork in to them for warranty evaluation. The high school kid with an instruction manual tuning bikes up for parking lot rides isn't going to know what's acceptable damage. The shop I go to? Yeah. John knows his stuff, knows the warranty staff for his brands, and gets things done properly. I've also skirted the dealership in the past, contacting Jamis for a frame replacement, and not only did they agree sight unseen, they even agreed to send me a better frame than I had, just to prevent further problems for me. Not sure they'll do that anymore, I haven't had any reason to call (see-better frame).

 

[JPark]

If it's a good, knowledgable shop, yeah. We have our local "outfitter" here that's the main bike shop in town, sort of. They also deal in skis, snowboards, rollerblades, hockey gear.....bikes are a small upstairs loft. Personally, I won't buy a bike from them, they've turned me way off once too many times. They also have a habit of driving good wrenches off to other shops with their company attitude. So I would be skeptical bringing a damaged frame or fork in to them for warranty evaluation. The high school kid with an instruction manual tuning bikes up for parking lot rides isn't going to know what's acceptable damage. The shop I go to? Yeah. John knows his stuff, knows the warranty staff for his brands, and gets things done properly. I've also skirted the dealership in the past, contacting Jamis for a frame replacement, and not only did they agree sight unseen, they even agreed to send me a better frame than I had, just to prevent further problems for me. Not sure they'll do that anymore, I haven't had any reason to call (see-better frame).

I've always been lucky enough to have an LBS owner interested enough(and able) to represent my claims in a fair manner. I've only had 2 warranty claims in almost 20 years, and both were handled imediately(not frame issues).
I totally see your point if you don't have that luxury, though, I do suspect, similar results from direct(reasonable) interaction with the supplier.

 

[heff®]

I've always been lucky enough to have an LBS owner interested enough(and able) to represent my claims in a fair manner. I've only had 2 warranty claims in almost 20 years, and both were handled imediately(not frame issues).
I totally see your point if you don't have that luxury, though, I do suspect, similar results from direct(reasonable) interaction with the supplier.

Yeah, I'm due to replace my frame.......well, whole bike, really, except the wheelset, that's fairly new. I'll either drive the three hours north and see Doon, or drive down four hours to CT and hit up John, depending on what brand I'm looking to bounce around on for size. Santa Cruz is looking awfully tempting.......... :idea:

 

[perttime]

Specialized and Cannondale are among the old/big/popular brands. There's others like them. Turner has a sort of a cult following. Also, it seems that the Turner forum is one of those where some discussions turn pretty heated.

 

[heff®]

Specialized and Cannondale are among the old/big/popular brands. There's others like them. Turner has a sort of a cult following. Also, it seems that the Turner forum is one of those where some discussions turn pretty heated.

Yep, Specialized with the Stumpjumper and FSR, two of the best known bikes in the biz, and Cannondale fans with the monopivot rear end and Lefty fork. Two pretty iconic designs, love 'em or leave 'em. Turner, like I said......historic brand. Built most of the winning race bikes before he went on his own, created a legendary FS bike, still one of the icons of the industry. Kindof a trailblazer in the racing world, so yeah......cult following. Has been for years.

 

[Nickt30]

Spec = overmarketing & overpriced
cann = quality gone downhill (last few years)
Turner = a real fs mtn bike, high quality and technologies

Just my 2 cents (i ride a jamis & ellsworth)

 

[skyliner1004]

Spec = overmarketing & overpriced
cann = quality gone downhill (last few years)
Turner = a real fs mtn bike, high quality and technologies

Just my 2 cents (i ride a jamis & ellsworth)

since u say spec is overpriced, can you please take a $1500 Spec hardtail and compare it to a $1500 Turner hardtail and lets run down the complete list of specs and see how much more overpriced it is?

and how can you tell the quality of Turner bikes? do they use Shimano/Sram components? If yes, then thats the same as Specialized/Cannondale/Everyone, Do they use Sram/Fox forks? If yes, then thats the same as Everyone. Do you know how their frames are made and what they are made of? if so, can you please break it down for us in detail how Turner frames are better than others?

Also, please define "real fs mtn bike"

 

[Nickt30]

Turner is made in oregon, while the others are made overseas. Something to be said for made in the usa. Cannondale just gave all that up and spec is all over seas.

Local bike shop sells more turners to the serious mtn riders compared to the trek and giant that they sell. This says something, proof in the pudding.

A well designed FS carries these guys out front of the pack over the highly tech &rocky north nj trails.
Basically it is a high level of traction & handling which is built into the design of the frame & suspension.

Yes, components are all the same.
What you pay for is the frame design & construction.

You would think i sell them, but I dont. I actually sell Jamis & ellsworth. Same issues, jamis makes a great bike for the price from overseas, but the ellsworth just glides over the moutain with a style that makes it superior. Most people only have $1-3k to spend on bike, but if you ride at a level that desires more you spend $3-6k for the high end stuff such as turner and ellsworth.

Not to say spec & cann dont have nice bikes, they do, turner is just in a different league.
Marketing is on paper for these brands, but turner markets itself on the trails.

PS: is general, Spec, Trek, & GF are all over priced compared to Jamis, Felt, Fuji, & KHS to name a few. Same componets & overseas construction for all.