Personaly i would not buy an awefull looking bike, to me the look of a bike matters. I would never ever buy a bike that i hated the look of, how ever it rode, Why would anyone want to go out ridding on a bike they did not like the look of.But then why would anyone spend spend 2 – 3K on a bike that didnt ride well.
Each to there own thats what i say.
I agree entirely, but again I shall say it… Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I would NEVER buy a bike purely based upon looks no matter how nice I thought it looked.
When I first saw a Maverick back in about 2001 my thoughts were along the lines that it looked like it was trying to be different for the sake of being different. If that makes sense? I wouldn’t have called it ugly at all, just thought it looked more complicated than it needed to be, But this was also before I even began to understand the reason behind the design and the rear suspension axle path.
Looking into how the suspension works, it makes sense to have the frame designed in such a way as it is, it’s actually less complicated than it looks cos essentially the shock is now one main spar of the rear triangle. So it’s kind’ve “form follows function”, but in an intricate and highly detailed way.
And then I rode one… To quote Tazzy above…
based on the fact (according to tazzipedia and 20 years experience of riding mountain bikes ) that the person who usually owns an odd bike will have gone through a whole host of standard mtb’s before finding one the suits their needs rather than what some bloke in a shop or magazine told them they needed to be on trend
I’ve ridden LOTS of full sus MTB’s, some good, some bad, many very average, but the moment I first swung a leg over a Maverick and pedalled I knew I had to have one! And that was back in 2003 when they were still £2500 for a frame only! It took a few years wait and a chance immaculate 2nd hand ML7 to get my first one back in Feb 2007, but since then nothing else will do… They are a very distinctive ride, and they by no means suit everyones riding style, but for those of us that they do suit they’re the cream of the crop!