7 Hottest Bikes of the Year

[BumpyintheBurgh]

An excerpt from the article, 'The 7 Hottest Bikes of the Year' in "Bicycling" May issue describing the Trek Madone SL5.9
"The 375-gram Bontrager RaceXXX Lite fork on our 5.9 developed a 3-inch long vertical crack at the top of one blade after about 25 hours of testing. Trek, which assembled the fork at its Wisconsin factory, said the crack was due to a manufacturing error during the carbon lay-up process. As terrifying as the crack was, the fork didn't fail, and it's one example of how handy Trek's incredible warranty and customer service are."

What's really terrifying is the dismissive way the writer has marginalized what could be a major manufacturing, material, design or quality control problem by hyping Trek's warranty and customer service. A lot of good the warranty will do you when you kiss the pavement on a 40mph down hill run when your fork fails. At $5,499 a bike, there shouldn't be a crack!

[Rich_W]

You think Rodale press would dare upset a paying advertiser?

I wouldn't even browse that magazine off the news stand rack if stuck in the airport for 4 hours...

[coylifut]

...how light is too light? It's starting to remind me of the late 70s where everything was drilled. Holes all over the place. I was in the lbs a couple of weeks ago where I took a look at some sub 1300 gram non carbon wheels. Down right flimsy. It's getting scary out there.

[e-RICHIE]

i don't get the magazine here; are you saying that
the trek was one of the hot 7 bikes despite the
crack that developed after 25 hours of riding?

[hooverone]

That is good to know about the Madone and at least they published the fact that there was a crack if they really did not want to upset Trek they would not have even published that, Bicycling is not that bad of a magazine.

[Kevan]

You saying I shouldn't be drilling holes into my fork blades???

[Too Tall]

- As terrifying as the crack was, the fork didn't fail -

Let's see a show of hands...who thinks they'd report it if the fork catastrophically failed resulting in a crash?

For what it is worth, I had a carbon fork slowly fail. Nothing dramatic, it just slowly developed signs of stress and than a tell tale fault in the gel coat.

I think all uber light forks are stupid.

[flydhest]

wait, is 25 hours not long enough for a bike to last?

[CNote]

"As terrifying as the crack was, the fork didn't fail, and it's one example of how handy Trek's incredible warranty and customer service are."

In other words, "Buy our bikes because we have a great warranty, and you might actually need to take advantage of it!"

It would make one think twice about winding up their next sprint in the slipstream of a rider on one of these bikes. :no:

[weisan]

Trek's official spokesperson:

"Who says the fork is part of the bike? It's an add-on."

[e-RICHIE]

you guys are all having fun with this, but
i don't have the magazine nor do i get it.
will someone please confirm that a bicycle
with the description being lampooned here
was chosen as a "...hottest bike of the year"?

[92degrees]

one of the "seven hottest." yes.

[Vancouverdave]

Richard,
I will confirm same, I get the mag for being a League of american Bicyclists member. They also called a very nice Pegoretti "too heavy" in the same issue because it only (!) could be built into a 17, not 15.5, lb. bike!

[flydhest]

Somehow, e-richie, I bet if you told them you'd like a subscription, they'd comp you--provided they could list you as a subscriber.

[dave thompson]

..... and at least...... Bicycling is not that bad of a magazine.
It's pure fluff, sort of the marshmallow of bicycling magazines.

[BumpyintheBurgh]

Today 04:18 PM
e-RICHIE you guys are all having fun with this, but
i don't have the magazine nor do i get it.
will someone please confirm that a bicycle
with the description being lampooned here
was chosen as a "...hottest bike of the year"?

The 7 Hottest Bikes of '05 according to "Bicycling" are
Merlin Proteus
Trek Madone SL 5.9
Schwinn Supersport DBX
Pinarello Angliru
Moots Cinco
Scott USA Scale 20
Ellsworth Moment

Don't you think it is irresponsible of "Bicycling" and Rodale International to hype the Madone when its fork could have a serious defect? Sure they mention the failure in the article but they still are promoting the bike and sluff off the defect by praising Trek's warranty and customer service.

[gdw]

I didn't want a subscription but somehow I got one. I was probably infected by joining Team Performance but it could have been from a race or event I took part in. I should have been more cautious. For 5 years it has shown up at my home periodically and it appears that there is no cure. :crap:

[sspielman]

"manufacturing error" is an extraordinary thing for the Trek representative to say. A good translation would be "Our quality control is suspect". Additionally, there was no mention of a possible design flaw....so by utilizing Treks stellar customer service and warranty the user is left with two choices:1) play Russian roulette with Trek's quality control or 2) just plain endanger himself with a poorly designed product. What good is served when a warranty replaces a product that fails because it sucks with another product that sucks?...

[PanTerra]

Today 04:18 PM
e-RICHIE you guys are all having fun with this, but
i don't have the magazine nor do i get it.
will someone please confirm that a bicycle
with the description being lampooned here
was chosen as a "...hottest bike of the year"?

The 7 Hottest Bikes of '05 according to "Bicycling" are
Merlin Proteus
Trek Madone SL 5.9
Schwinn Supersport DBX
Pinarello Angliru
Moots Cinco
Scott USA Scale 20
Ellsworth Moment


I wonder what they mean by "hottest." I suppose it is not synonomous with "dream."

[weisan]

And we haven't even passed 1st qtr of '05...

[Too Tall]

Try unsubscribing or not paying...it will still arrive. Undead? Perhaps. Coincidence? Ask Ti Legend.

[Rich_W]

Somehow, e-richie, I bet if you told them you'd like a subscription, they'd comp you--provided they could list you as a subscriber.

Not worth the energy e-Ritchie would have to expend carrying it from his mail box. Don't want to hurt that twizzler arm...

[William]

..how light is too light? It's starting to remind me of the late 70s where everything was drilled. Holes all over the place.

...You saying I shouldn't be drilling holes into my fork blades???

I drill holes in any copy of bicycling magazine i can get my hands on. It makes it much lighter and I can read through it much faster. Doesn't hurt the content at all either.

William ;)

[PanTerra]

It is cycling's "McMagazine."

[coylifut]

if they broke a pegoretti, merckx, serotta....after riding it for 20 or so hours would we be roasting the above or would we be applauding their customer service for stepping up and saying "we made a bad bike, we'll get you a new one right away." I wonder if this is a piling on of "Evil Empire" variety. I don't have a problem with Trek's handling of the situation. I am getting scared of these crazy light bikes though.

[Serotta PETE]

i don't get the magazine here; are you saying that
the trek was one of the hot 7 bikes despite the
crack that developed after 25 hours of riding?


YES!!! I need another drink.

[Dr. Doofus]

It's pure fluff, sort of the marshmallow of bicycling magazines.


don't insult marshmellows like that

[shaq-d]

the steel fork on my red pinarello has lasted, so far..... 20 years.

sd

[djg]

at the turnaround point in a distance event? You know, as a precaution ...

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that last couple of months in terms of amount of content (though not necessarily quality), on the whole I have to agree with Dave T. Very fluffy.

The fact that a manufacturer as large as Trek has a warranty program and that it works should not be reason for rejoicing or kudos. Of COURSE they should have a program and it damn well BETTER work if you just bought a $5500 bike from them. On the other hand, I do give Bicycling magazine enough credit for being honest that if the fork failed catastrophically they would have said so.

But, alas, the mag has just gotten too slick, and all the Rodale publications I have seen have drifted far away from their founder's stated goals of publishing honest journalism dedicated to improving people's lives. They're just out to make money now, like everyone else.

BBDave

[Kevan]

It's looking at the mag or staring at flight attendants all travel day. What's it gonna be???

Umm... you're right, never mind.

[zap]

BBD-You should check out Ellsworth(less). There reputation is not good at all and there bikes are fairly expensive as well.

All bike frames break for one reason or another. How a company responds is important. At least to me.

PS. I'm still looking for pics of a broken Sachs to add to my album of broken frames :D

[BURCH]

For those of you who don't like Bicycling Magazine, please pass along what you are reading in terms of Mags....

[e-RICHIE]

W, Robb Report, and Double Gun Quarterly.

[Big Dan]

Yes...two words that shouldn't go together "crack and fork"....... :crap:

I don't even like the sound of "fork and crack " either......... :eek:

[Sandy]

Didn't anyone see the list that they had for the 7 hottest cyclists of the year? I was both number one and number six. They did mention that I had a large crack in my head. They said that they looked through the crack, but could not see my brain. :) :)

Pea Brain Sandy

[Darrell]

Some one from the bike industry said to me last week,
"remember the days when,
you bought a frame and it lasted so long you resprayed it every four years for a couple of decades.
When the frame was damaged, it was repaired.
When forks did not break unless you hit the parked car.
Cranks were not made of carbon and so a failure was a rare event.
Saddle rails did not break, in fact you could wear the saddle out only by many thousands of hard kilometers
Seat posts were one piece and the bonding did not fail.
Seat posts did not collapse.
Chains lasted more than 4,000kms
You could replace one cog if it became worn
People trained on 36 hole wheels
You could buy the replacment parts for your hubs.
Down tube shifters lasted for decades.
The mark one cycle computer worked fine as long as it had blood sugar.
Back pockets were filled with real food.
People you rode with did not talk about component weight, rather they talked about riding and racing and roads and girls and ......................
As this chap left, {He was on a downer as his wife has cancer} I thought, he is right, cycling back then was no less pleasurable than now. {but I am glad toe straps have been banished and cassette hubs do not break axles}
Add a few grams to the bike and enjoy, let the rest get on with the madness of ours is lighter so it's better than yours.

[Skrawny]

The hottest bike of the year:
MINE.

[csb]

big dan, there's always spoon + crack

and while e-richie likes to shoot both wads, i like to double-haul
my head.

[ShockTreatment]

For those of you who don't like Bicycling Magazine, please pass along what you are reading in terms of Mags....

Print is dead -Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters

[OldDog]

What criteria does Bicycling use to determine a "hot bike"? Funny.

All bikes are subject to a manufacturing defect now and again. When you make a cookie cutter product you will find defects. Scary but that's the fact. I have a Time Millinium carbon fork on my Spectrum. I inspect it often. I'd do the same with a Look, Reynolds, Woundup, etc. I bought a Colnago Master X'Lite, that frame was laughable. Gaps in the lugs, creased headtube. Trialtier tried to say that was normal. Ha! What a piece of ****. I would not take a replacement, my lbs waited four months for a refund.

Stainless chains comes to mind, Super Record crank spiders, bottle bosses on beer can frames. Wait n see when all these light carbons bars are around for a while....Trek had the dumb luck to have a failure while a tester had the bike.
Anyone think an Otrott will come unglued sometime down the road? There's always a chance...


Mags? 4X4 Trucker, Big Breasted Babes and Budwiser's Guide to Fine Beer's.

[flydhest]

say no more

[csb]

zed

[BumpyintheBurgh]

Always carry a glue gun or torch in your jesey pocket. You never know when those tubes are going to come apart.

[CNote]

All bikes are subject to a manufacturing defect now and again. When you make a cookie cutter product you will find defects.

Thankfully, not all bikes are cookie-cutter products. I can think of a few gentlemen on this forum who sculpt their cookies by hand with care and attention. We owe them a debt of gratitude for not allowing the ENTIRE industry to go down the toilet.

[Darrell]

Wait n see when all these light carbons bars are around for a while.
.

I am with the OldDog, scary things are starting to happen already.
Placing a carbon tube in compression with a sharp transition of clamp to unsupported tube and putting stess on it and expecting fatigue to not be a problem is silly, :no: as the handle bar failure rate in cycle land is now showing.
Add a few grams and let the rest get on with the madness. :bike:

[OldDog]

Thankfully, not all bikes are cookie-cutter products. I can think of a few gentlemen on this forum who sculpt their cookies by hand with care and attention. We owe them a debt of gratitude for not allowing the ENTIRE industry to go down the toilet.


Not so fast. I have a wonderful steel lugged handmade joy by a well known custom builder. Building it up I had hard time getting the rear derailuer to shift right. I was surprised when I put the Park hanger tool to it, to find a hanger out of alignment. No sign of shipping damage, perfect paint. A tug and a twist and all was well again. Even custom builder's will pull a boner once in a while. The builder will remain unnamed, don't ask.

[Big Dan]

Not so fast. I have a wonderful steel lugged handmade joy by a well known custom builder. Building it up I had hard time getting the rear derailuer to shift right. I was surprised when I put the Park hanger tool to it, to find a hanger out of alignment. No sign of shipping damage, perfect paint. A tug and a twist and all was well again. Even custom builder's will pull a boner once in a while. The builder will remain unnamed, don't ask.

Beavis...Old Dog said boner.....he he........ :D

[bcm119]

You mean.............poo poo??

[Johny]

The last parapgraph of this Trek Madone SL5.9 report:
"....Those looking for more Bentley than Ferarri should take a long look at Trek's new OCLV Pilot series,...."

We will be reading this writer's reviews on the "Car and Drive" soon...

[Tony Edwards]

Jeez, Bicycling really is unbelievable. Like another poster, I somehow got a free subscription, and scratch my head at its worthlessness every time I crack open an issue.

Call me crazy, but if I'm a cycling magazine editor, and one of the bikes I'm sent to review develops an extremely hazardous structural failure after just a few hours of use, that pretty well knocks it out of consideration for my "7 Hottest Bikes of the Year" list.

Morons.

[e-RICHIE]

"Call me crazy, but if I'm a cycling magazine editor, and one of the bikes I'm sent to review develops an extremely hazardous structural failure after just a few hours of use, that pretty well knocks it out of consideration for my "7 Hottest Bikes of the Year" list."


crazy.

[PaulE]

but the article in question is titled Hot Bikes '05. The table of contents does say "Tested: The hottest bikes of 2005". So, they are at least a little vague on the possibility of more hot bikes out there for 2005.

As for the Trek fork's crack, I only hope that Trek's warranty department is as efficient with their dealers and paying customers as they are with the magazine.

In other news, I haven't read the article on Stephen Bilenky building a custom bike for the story's 6' 7" author, but the picture of him measuring the tall guy is a hoot, as is the picture of Bilenky, the bike and the writer. This could be the every so often article they have that gives me that glimmer of hope that they are getting better again.

[e-RICHIE]

"...the article in question is titled Hot Bikes '05. The table of contents does say "Tested: The hottest bikes of 2005". So, they are at least a little vague..."



that changes alot regarding the tone of this thread.

[Frankwurst]

I'm bumbed. I recently had the good fortune of getting my hands on a used Serotta Atlanta which I thought was hot but now I realize steel frame,steel fork,heavy bike is not hot. Not to mention the fact it's slow. The motor purrs like a kitten when its running but just doesn't seem "hot". Guess I'll just have to live with it.

[J.M. White]

I wonder if the fork failure was an isolated event, or if there's a real problem in design, composition, etc.??? It's not enough to have wonderful customer service if you manufacture a defective product and knowingly sell it to unwitting (of half-witting) consumers. If this is not isolated, Trek is morally and legally obligated to issue a recall notice. It would be tragic if someone were injured or killed because of this problem.

[csb]

i hate to ask, but "poo poo?"

[bcm119]

i hate to ask, but "poo poo?"

Oh come on... back to the basics.

whats the *one* thing we haven't taxed yet? You know, thingy... ;) ;)

[columbusslx]

My bets are that the general "hotness" of this bike will relate directly to Lance's performance (arrival?) at the tour, despite this flaw. Remember BMC???

In their defense the fork did not catastophically fail, which is "supposed" to happen with carbon, right?? Still no matter how you slice it, this has to be reason for not being in the top 7.

[vandeda]

Defects happen. Cars are frequently praised even though almost every car out there will one day be recalled for a safety defect of one sorts or another. Some of them fairly benign ... some of them extremely dangerous. If no defects ever happened, a warranty would never be needed.

To think that there are never any defects in bikes, both large manufacturers and small builders, is just ignorant. Is a defect more likely in a large manufacturer? Absolutely ... 1) they're not going to inspect every part/bike they make, and 2) they put out huge numbers of products. Even .1% of a large number will be significant. As components get lighter and lighter, the less tolerant they will be of defects. I bet a lot of those old bikes had plenty of defects, but they're so much safety margin built into them because they are so beefy that you never notice the defects. I remember an thread by dbrk (I think ... I'm trying to find it) where he cut up a bunch of custom lugged frames ... many of them had less than stellar brazing jobs without full penetration.

Now if Trek knows there is a defect in their forks, they should be doing what they can to locate every one of them and replacing them before the forks begin to fail.

Dan

[SGP]

do you think that it is the same fork that the discovery boys will be using this year. how much time slamming over cobbles at race pace equals @ 25 hours of "testing"

[dbrk]

Defects happen.... I bet a lot of those old bikes had plenty of defects, but they're so much safety margin built into them because they are so beefy that you never notice the defects. I remember an thread by dbrk (I think ... I'm trying to find it) where he cut up a bunch of custom lugged frames ... many of them had less than stellar brazing jobs without full penetration.
Dan

Just to be clear, I participated in cutting up frames, some custom, some production, in order to view the penetration and overall quality of the brazing (burnt joints, etc.). The results were that several frames from famous builders---again both custom and production---were of far less...hmmm...thoroughness in quality than others. The well-regarded Japanese frames were generally better quality; a handful of American builders were the best (and in this respect I will name some names WITHOUT casting aspersions or even remotely suggesting that an "omission" here means _anything_, these just being the ones I saw, but if you are on a frame built by Curt Goodrich or Joe Starck you are in very, very good hands as far as the quality and therefore the safety of the joints. These were the best by far, even an unstudied eye could tell.) Now our conclusion---since this was not my own project alone---was that frames will hold together certainly well-enough even when brazing is not terrific. Just how well and how long is uncertain but many of these were well-ridden, quite old, not particularly well-brazed and still fine. Steel and lugged is darn safe and remains a very smart way to make bicycle frames, leaving aside its aesthetic values.

As for these seven hot bikes for '05, well, this is only further confirmation that the direction of the mainstream or BigBoy bicycle industry has virtually nothing to do with my own as a cyclist. I think is undoubtedly true that the reviewer could not have said anything negative about Trek in his editor's magazine for the obvious reasons.

If I had seven bikes to build or choose this year these would be my hot choices:
(1) Rivendell Saluki: because 650B is a great ride and it is likely a notion that has never crossed the mind of the person who asked about Pegoretti about steel
(2) Sachs/Goodrich/Vanilla/Weigle, et.al.: a custom built lugged steel frame from one of the great ones, further proof that this is the best and worst of times
(3) Kogswell: because never has there been such value so nicely done
(4) Jitensha: because this is rare access to the brilliance of the Japanese in designing beautiful bicycles
(5) Tournesol: ask Hampsten, 'cause sometimes new is old and old is new
(6) Mariposa and Singer: because these are the true, old masters of the art and if you want one _NOW_ would be a good time
(7) CSi: with TdF lugs, 1" threaded fork, and in a stock geometry with no monkey business...

I won't be back for awhile, pals. Gotta go work and then a ride! Be safe out there (especially you, William...;-)

dbrk

[Too Tall]

OCLV frames set the bar back when there wasn't a bar. Like it or not. There is a huge amt. of good science in these bikes and think good bike science translates beyond TREK to other makers efforts yada yada.
http://www.compositesworld.com/hpc/issues/2005/March/775

If you are a weight weenie go pound sand. The difference between the lightest carbon gooberbike and a CSI is about the same as a steak I once tried to eat :cool:

[Darrell]

I bet a lot of those old bikes had plenty of defects, but they're so much safety margin built into them because they are so beefy that you never notice the defects.Dan

Ah, yes, the good old days where your hard earned dollars gave good service and value back. {most of the time}
It has become very irrational, that the market place judges the value of the product's mass as the main determining factor of the product's value and usefulness.
Any one out there who went out the "Pipe" in last weekend's race because their fork weighed 100 grams too much?? Own up if you think so! :banana:
Safety margins in the engineering of good bicycles is a good thing. Modern marketing madness is diluting this good thing. Bikes should be worn out, not break before then.

I reckon most crystal cranks give up riding after five to ten years of spending loads of gold coin on regular new "faster" equipment in the quest to seek enjoyment from their riding. They move on to take up something else for amusement.
Not having a go at anyone, I was guilty of being a "Crystal Crank" as a wee lad and I was regularly getting my helment blown off me at races. Then I came to my senses and I did something about it. Lots of hard yakka, as much as I could stand. My body got better, my head got better. It gave better race results and more riding enjoyment than my previous bike weight paranoia.
It's doing the wearing out of bicycles that is fun!

[Darrell]

But collecting bikes is cool and rational!

[Russell]

It's pure fluff, sort of the marshmallow of bicycling magazines.


uuuuhhhhh, fluffer nutter

[Johny]

"...the article in question is titled Hot Bikes '05. The table of contents does say "Tested: The hottest bikes of 2005". So, they are at least a little vague..."



that changes alot regarding the tone of this thread.

The cover of the magazine DOES say "THE 7 HOTTEST BIKES OF THE YEAR, p. 86".

[csb]

hot means happening, think hilton. sometimes the attention has
a well made foundation, most times its just brought on by a bunch
business boners.

in an ever increasing campaign to prove i read + can write in slightly
longer prose than my usual questionable quips i would like to turn
your attention to some more information that aligns lock-step wid
dbrks approach on lug strength... TKs tiny tome 'why we still use
lugs' (over at spectrum-cycles).

cool

[flydhest]

if you got blisters, you're not using enough lube. and, you'll go blind.

[SGP]

[QUOTE=dbrk]
... If I had seven bikes to build or choose this year these would be my hot choices:
5) Tournesol: ask Hampsten, 'cause sometimes new is old and old is new


i am surprised that this did not elicit any comments

[dirtdigger88]

do you think that it is the same fork that the discovery boys will be using this year. how much time slamming over cobbles at race pace equals @ 25 hours of "testing"

no- some where I just saw a photo of a Discovery bike with a steel steer tubed fork- I dont remember where but I will look

Jason

[Dr. Doofus]

the hottest bike of 2005:

whatever food races tonight, after dousing it in gasoline and tossing a match on it at the start line

its a 500m drag race (thie ****oid club food races for still hasn't decided if they will allow drafting or not...and thy're going to make him pay to do his club's own race...even though he's giving up (potentially...still trying to work out the logistics) doing the road race because he's driving the lead vehicle for the 3 field...and they're going to make him pay to do that race too, if he jumps out of his truck and rides right to the start line dehydrated and not warmed up after the 3 hour drivey drive around the course)...so the flames ought to add that extra edge and get the crowd all pumped up, too.


(neat-o-tie in to "flames on a bike thread)

[Sam in VA]

life of the original owner

[e-RICHIE]

"I wonder if the "lifetime" warranty is limited to the life of the original owner."



yes. that's an industry standard. warranties are for the
client who paid for the goods, not for the second hand
market.

[vaxn8r]

"I wonder if the "lifetime" warranty is limited to the life of the original owner."



yes. that's an industry standard. warranties are for the
client who paid for the goods, not for the second hand
market.
There's one, Craig Calfee who will stand behind his product and transfer a warranty to it's new owner. The only catch is he wants to examine the bike for a nominal fee before he does it.

But then again, he's not the "bicycle industry" either....

[Sam in VA]

the potential loss of life of the original owner when his/her fork breaks in use, i.e. Trek would not have to honor the warranty for the broken fork because the original owner is dead. My humor is a little off the beaten path sometimes (;