The Car manufacturers bikes thread

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The Car manufacturers bikes thread

76 posts & 43 voices | Started 5 months ago by titusrider | Latest reply from bencooper

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richmtb - Member

I just love the "wrong headedness" of some of the designs.

That Audi one is a perfect example.
They have no doubt spent a small fortune on design but cleary never actually bother to speak to anyone that rides a mountain bike.

Hence a top tube that looks like it would slice you in half, a rear shock that will be destroyed by the seat tube if it gets anywhere close to full travel and sticking the grippy / chunky tyre on the back.

Was there not a "car-bike" recently that had all its publicity shots with the fork on backwards?

EDIT: And worse crime of all they take a picture of it with the chain in the granny ring - the shame!

Posted 5 months ago #
llama - Member

Peugeot used to make bikes - this frame in the 80's was cutting edge (it was a rebadged Roberts)

From this great article: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/?p=1635

Posted 5 months ago #
bencooper - Member

My first mountain bike was a Peugeot. It was fluorescent orange...

Posted 5 months ago #
5lab - Member

they still make (badge) them

Posted 5 months ago #
IHN - Member

In technical terms, the system is approximately similar to the revolutionary running gear of the allroad quattro

Well, it has wheels that go round, but that's about it

Posted 5 months ago #
Mister P - Member

I had a Peugeot many years ago with a HLE frame - High Level of Elasticity I think it stood for.

Posted 5 months ago #
The Pinkster - Member

What always amazes me about the Beemer bikes is that they are a respecting motorcycle manufacturer as well so you'd think they'd get it a bit more right.

re. the KTM's - some of the top-end ones are very nice which goes to show a motorbike manufacturer can get it right.

Posted 5 months ago #
ocrider - Member

they still make (badge) them

Indeed. My LBS has Peugeot 29ers in stock, all under €800.

Posted 5 months ago #
BlindMelon - Member

Would love one of these!

Posted 5 months ago #
5lab - Member

dispite the myth, they weren't all crushed. In 2009 there were 3 of them kicking round in whistler. Didn't see any this year though

Posted 5 months ago #
titusrider - Member

Posted 5 months ago #
uwe-r - Member

There was a BMW (the one that looks a bit like a spech enduro) for sale on Gumtree near me once and i suggetsed on here i might buy it just to see what it was like. I got dogs abuse.

Posted 5 months ago #
GlitterGary - Member

Blindmelon- what on earth is that?

Posted 5 months ago #
titusrider - Member

Honda DH bike - the pic i posted was supposed to be the inside of the gearbox you can see on it, not sure that was really true though

Posted 5 months ago #
racefaceec90 - Member

i think it's made by honda (for dh).never was sold to public though EDIT beaten to it

Posted 5 months ago #
jojoA1 - Member

Saw the Honda at fort William a few times. The pits were always closed off and shrouded in secrecy. Looked nice tho.

Posted 5 months ago #
bencooper - Member

That was the later version of the Honda - the earlier was a very clever CVT design...

Posted 5 months ago #
PeterPoddy - Member

Italy 2005 011 by PeterPoddy, on Flickr

Posted 5 months ago #
no_eyed_deer - Member

OMG So THAT ^^^^ is what the top secret Honda gearbox looked like inside!!!!!

So hooofin simple Honda!! Bloody genius (as always).

Why don't all mountain bikes have one of those??

Posted 5 months ago #
Mike - Member

So the Honda gearbox is a chain wheel, derailleur and cassette in a box then?!

Posted 5 months ago #
titusrider - Member

A vid appeared 'revealing' the gear box just as they were starting to close down the team. My feeling, and I think lots of others too, was that Honda were playing with everyone and they mocked it up to give themselves a laugh. Just IMHO, anyone else remember it at the time?

Posted 5 months ago #
steve_b77 - Member

Apparently so

Posted 5 months ago #
AlexSimon - Member

I've just had a browse around and it does seem that the later Honda's just had a derailleur in a box!

Posted 5 months ago #
AlexSimon - Member

There's even a video
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/8166/

Posted 5 months ago #
Rorschach - Member

IIRC Brendan Fairclough got a bollocking for letting people get their mitts on his bike when he rode for Honda......and revealing it was a derailleur in a box.They started out as CVT though.
If you're wondering why car manufacturer's cars are so bad....go to a uni and talk to automotive design students and it'll be the worst of the bunch who get given the bike projects to keep em away from the cars!!!
Edit...probably.

Posted 5 months ago #
legend - Member

A vid appeared 'revealing' the gear box just as they were starting to close down the team. My feeling, and I think lots of others too, was that Honda were playing with everyone and they mocked it up to give themselves a laugh. Just IMHO, anyone else remember it at the time?

Yup, apparently started as a CVT (but did anyone ever actually see that one?) but CVTs aint allowed by the UCI (gear shifting must be manual iirc). Then shifted to the mech in a box.

Sadly it sounded shit when it came past!

Posted 5 months ago #
RustyNissanPrairie - Member

the patents that Honda filed are online somewhere for the CVT transmissions the MK1 frames had, they were too complex/heavy so went with mech-in-a-box for the later ones.

Posted 5 months ago #
julianwilson - Member

PP, there was a Ducati sponsored laydeez team doing the uk xc circuit season before last. (I work with one of their mums) IIRC the Ducati branded frames were a) excellent, and b) Bianchis in disguise.

Posted 5 months ago #
bencooper - Member

I've seen the original CVT design - very clever, it used a linkage which changed length to change the effective leverage ratio, the major problem with it was that it required non-circular cogwheels to smooth out the output drive, and they're an absolute sod to machine.

The later derailleur-in-a-box design was also called, I think, Petespeed - though that might have been a similar design from a different company.

Posted 5 months ago #
legend - Member

Petespeed

yeah that was from Hayes/Be-One

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/article2245.html

Posted 5 months ago #
bencooper - Member

Ah yes, that's the beast. Suntour had one as well...

Posted 5 months ago #
on and on - Member

Lamborgini made a £140 mtb that tesco sold a few years ago. talk about brand rape.

Posted 5 months ago #
landcruiser - Member

I give you....

The late 90's Mercedes

Posted 5 months ago #
andrewh - Member

Weren't these part of the same company before Answer bought out the bike bit?

I may be wrong...

Posted 5 months ago #
mogrim - Member

There are quite of lot of KTM bikes sold round these parts (Madrid), seem pretty good vfm.

Posted 5 months ago #