Lots of people seem quite hung up on the look of things, wont run mudguards for example as they feel they look wrong. Certain components sell in droves despite not actually working all that well although they do look nice and so on. Quite a few will spend double the cost on a component because the look of a thing is a little better.

I wonder why that is? Does anyone really believe that with our mushroom heads and odd clobber we look anything other than odd to 99% of the population?

Examples please? You seem a bit hung up about other riders. Didn’t you do another thread questioning riders clean bikes.

You say some things sell in droves but they don’t actually work. Like?

I saw a dirty Ellsworth the other day. He wasn’t what you called a riding god…

You say some things sell in droves but they don’t actually work. Like?

iphone 4?

Never bought anything for my bikes purely on looks alone.

You say some things sell in droves but they don’t actually work. Like?

see: Brothers, Crank.

So you guys have the sales figures and survey results for every rider?

Can’t be bothered.

So CB outsells who it what area?

Mudguards is a classic example. People won’t use them because they think it looks daft.

think the riding god comment was a bit harsh btw, I’m not that bad.

Ride a clean polished bike, less pressure from people hung up on other peoples choices then. Perhaps people don’t like people buying shiny things that don’t work because they don’t have a disposable income anymore?

I mostly use a mudguard this time of year. Hope that’s me in the keeping it real club.

Hmm, i use mudguards ‘cos i hate getting into other peoples cars with a muddy arse.
Mind you, i ride two Marins so you could say that i am most definitely in the ‘functionality’ camp although i actually like the way they look & really like the way they ride – form follows function you might say…

Wow – Quite some assumptions. Bad day?

I don’t use mudguards because I don’t mind getting muddy and they’re extra grams on my bikes that offend me greatly. 😀

What’s wrong with both? If something that looks nice with the same funcionlity of an ugly component and isnt vastly more in price i’ll go for the pretty thing. I get a lot of pleasure from my bike and part of that is how it looks.

i can’t be arsed putting on and taking off mudguards on an MTB, a commuter yes, but it don’t take long to clean a bike does it?

Takes longer than not cleaning it!

mountain-bikers as a group have rejected fork-boots:

and then we complain about stanchion wear/short service intervals.

i’m as guilty as anyone.

Takes longer than not cleaning it!

buffoon, if it’s muddy enough to need bits of plastic tat strapped to your frame to keep you clean then it’s muddy enough that you should clean and lube the drivetrain after a ride anyway so you might as well do all the bike. Your comment seems to indicate that a crud guard will magically stop all the winter filth trashing your bike. Mind you if you don’t look after your kit you’ve only got yourself to blame when it all suddenly wears and breaks, which won’t be your fault it’ll because the kit is rubbish etc, etc…. 🙄

the boots on my RS Judys just used to hold in the mud/moisture, that’s why i rejected them, not coz of how they looked

takes longer than not cleaning it

i thought a mudguard stopped your arse getting wet not your bike from getting mud on it?

Nah, my bike is built with tried and tested components, i want it robust so it can handle my shite riding but then again, i wont buy a component that i dont like the style of.

lots of mountain-bikers as a group have rejected pointless heavy attention needing wastes of space (No, not joolsburger 😉 )that are suspension forks and now have lovely light functional bikes for winter:

changed it a wee bit for you 😀

shimano am40:

attract more than their fare share of appearance-based criticism, but work brilliantly.

ditto 5:10’s

tazzy you cheeky minx you!

X

😀

I expect I had this coming after the first post! Just for the record I do clean the drive train once in a blue moon but I use wax lube see so need to clean after every ride and use enclosed cables so that’s covered too.
Sanctions get a wipe and shock does too but other than that meh..

Jesus a post inspired by the prices of second hand Kliens has bitten me right on the arse!

My take on it all,

I love buying expensive gear because (usually) high quality materials outlast or out-perform cheap rubbish: Halfords GT & Cervelo S2, Dura-ace or Raceface, Gore jackets or peter storm, Icebreaker or Aldi ‘knitting’…that kind of thing. I agree there are exceptions but one catches one’s drift.

Aesthetics, why the hell not? I like to think of it as an alternative form of art. My bike is quite understated (I’m going for subtle matching) but some of the guys/gals really bling-it-up – I love it, sign of character and individualism.

On the clean bike issue, my bike always receives a royal wash and buff for two reasons, 1) I’m anal, and 2) I once returned from a ride years ago to find a whopping crack where the seat-tube weld meets the BB (cheap Claude Butler). Just imagine taking that out again with mud all over it! A&E please sir, don’t spare the horses.

QED

Whilst we’re talking about aesthetics and function, maybe we should take about hegemony and mountain biking…

i have a whyte preston ok i actualy have two,, both with odd 24″ front wheels and 26″ rear wheels
a triumph of performance over looks

but I may be slightly bias

but I may be slightly bias

Yup, a forward bias with 24″ front wheels.

How would you pick a wife? Aesthetics or functional?

laughing at that buzz-lightyear 🙂 Which leads nicely into would you give up all your ‘MTB fun’ for the right woman…which I essentially have, now we’re 4 😯

How would you pick a wife? Aesthetics or functional?

both, but with a leaning to functional as with all aesthetics, things get faded and scuffed with age and use, but as with bikes it’s always nice to know the old beater still goes like clappers in the hands of an experienced rider 😉

Buzz-Lightyear: You don’t look at the mantlepiece whilst stoking the fire!!

Crud guard and Pro guard here, take trousers with me (only ride in shorts, trousers feel wrong) so muddy arse not a problem.

Use Crank Bros Candys as well so must be a tart? (despite them being brilliant!)

If I won the lottery I would buy a Niner Air 9 Carbon fully rigs singlespeed and look t it while I donned my riding gear and then walked past it and picked up a proper bike to ride on the trails. Thing of beauty that…..

Aesthetics/balance/symetery are a Human Need (according to Humanistic Psychology). How many people tend to other pride and joys ie house and home, garden, self-image, car, personal appearence etc… Its important in our drive for becoming at one with ourselves and therefore being at our best… Just off to polish my steed! How much time/money do maunfacturers spend on making their bikes match up with colour coded parts, trim, paint jobs etc all to please our Aesthetic Needs… According to theory ofcourse…

Ok Scruzer, explain the daft sod who specced white brakes on my bright orange Wolf Ridge then? 😛

(Only cos it was a pig to clean this afternoon!)

Orange and white sounds great muddydwarf… The mud keeps it all real. Role on spring! Perhaps that’s the ‘balance’?

Well you’re right about not looking at the bike when riding it. But if it looks purposeful then it inspires confidence. My Boardman Team hack bike is very functional, but looks slightly scabby now. So when the trails dry and I switch to the posh bike, I might get the frame powder coated. Glossy white.