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Any bike that has proprietary parts, keeping my Klein Airheadset going is a PITA, expensive and has restricted my fork choices. I also will stay away from new technology or standards until there is widespread adoption.
Internal cable routing.
Proprietary parts like Headshok, even 3-bolt disc rotors etc.
Bloody stupid geometry - Gary Fisher G2 for example where you need a specific fork to make it work and nothing else will do.
29er/96er/any odd wheel combination.
Anything overly complicated for the sake of it - those electronic lockout Leftys that Cannondale did for a while.
If something breaks I want to be able to go into a shop and either get it repaired or buy a replacement. Not wait 4 months while the supplier works out if they can find the totally unique and completely unobtainable part that fits into their one-off only-made-for-a-year now-out-of-date widget.
No one thing would stop me buying a bike if it suited the intended purpose...
I wasn't keen on the idea of tapered headtubes, but you seem to be able to get a lot of tapered forks nowadays. At a push, anything that you are stuck with and unable change - only thing I can think of is the Bionicon. But if I was in the market for that sort of thing and it rode well, I'll probably buy one.
anything remotely associated with On One
also Santa Cruz / Giant (same factory)
🙂
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anything sold from [img] 
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Great great bikes, but in the job I do I really could not chain up a bike with 'handjob', 'stiffee', 'hooker' or 'shocker' outside my workplace.
Mind you, the stickers start peeling off if you even hold a conversation about jetwashing near one.
Sometimes 'bad' features eventually work out though . I hated disc brakes from the first moment I saw them- all my ( motorcycling) pals had discs on their MTB's long before they were popular. I used to hate the way they would use a rubbing/ fading disc as an excuse for stopping and fettling (always on climbs, hmmm..) That early experience has coloured my view of them- I still have V's, despite the fact that discs are now much better, and also rule the roost.
Anything carbon fibre .A mountain bike and tupperware don't mix .Oh and Fox forks overpriced and stanchions issues .
V brake mounts and disc brake mounts ... Hate the look of it !
Internal cable routing.
Proprietary parts like Headshok, even 3-bolt disc rotors etc.
Bloody stupid geometry - Gary Fisher G2 for example where you need a specific fork to make it work and nothing else will do.
29er/96er/any odd wheel combination.
Anything overly complicated for the sake of it - those electronic lockout Leftys that Cannondale did for a while.If something breaks I want to be able to go into a shop and either get it repaired or buy a replacement. Not wait 4 months while the supplier works out if they can find the totally unique and completely unobtainable part that fits into their one-off only-made-for-a-year now-out-of-date widget.
I almost completely agree with you, however I have to say Cannondale Headshoks when properly maintained are the smoothest and best-performing suspension system out there. But most people don't keep them properly maintained...
Stupid geometry and internal cable routing are just a PITA, as are bad disc brakes (almost all cable discs fall into this category) and under-top-tube cables.
That said, I haven't bought a complete bike for a _lot_ of years. I've built them up from scratch.
: P
agree with julianwilson - those stupid names on Coves just aren't cool. seriously.
would also avoid conti tyres too. gash ime.
Own brand shocks and forks
Interrupted Seattubes
Not having full outer on the rear mech
Integrated/semi headset
Tapered/1.5 headtubes on trail bikes
Anything with Giant/Trek/Scott/Spesh on the downtube *hides* 😉
Non uk friendly shock clearance
Flexy rear end on a full suss
Aluminum (HTs only) unless I was after an out and out xc racer
Agree about proprietry shocks/forks - Spesh being the worst offenders, Scott not far behind.
Also those Fishers that require a fork with a unique rake. Upgrade nightmare.
- Horrible colours
- Over the top graphics
- Bikes that look like an afterschool project at the Hydroforming shop
Box section frames (yes, I am talking about Orange bikes).
I like a quiet bike and I understand they can make a bit of a racket.
bikes from manufacturers that find a new solution to the best ever full sus design every year.
ok maybe not every year but yknow what i mean.
Only absolute deal breaker is frame-warranty. I won't spend serious money on a new bike unless the manufacturer stands behind the frame. (I know, not a design feature as such).
Near-absolute deal-breaker is a fatuous name a la Cove as mentioned.
I'm not ersed about components and stuff. I have my favourites - always ride tubeless, like dual control gears/brakes etc but these are things you just swap out when you get a bike.
Short travel hardtail frame with a long travel fork
Seat mast, no bottle bosses, specialized shocks, less than 5 year frame warranty, poor mud clearance, poor heel clearance (I wear through the paint on all my frames with my heels)
Aesthetics as in ugly angles, and no massive diameter downtubes exacerbated by teeny seat ones. Stupidly long head tube.
Internal cable routing.
Proprietary parts like Headshok, even 3-bolt disc rotors etc.
Bloody stupid geometry - Gary Fisher G2 for example where you need a specific fork to make it work and nothing else will do.
29er/96er/any odd wheel combination.
Anything overly complicated for the sake of it - those electronic lockout Leftys that Cannondale did for a while.If something breaks I want to be able to go into a shop and either get it repaired or buy a replacement. Not wait 4 months while the supplier works out if they can find the totally unique and completely unobtainable part that fits into their one-off only-made-for-a-year now-out-of-date widget.
+1
Press fit BBs.
Proprietary parts in general. I work in an LBS and proprietary parts are the biggest headaches in the world - Trk/Klein headset bearings, strange BBs (Truvativ and Suntour!).
I also hate V brake studs on a disc brake equipped bikes. Ugly!
Gears, suspension.
[i]I almost completely agree with you, however I have to say Cannondale Headshoks when properly maintained are the smoothest and best-performing suspension system out there. But most people don't keep them properly maintained...[/i]
Alright, that's something else then - anything that needs a complete strip and rebuild every 12 hours. Once or twice a year is fine, I'm happy with that. But every 12-15hrs?! Do I have to stop half way through a 24hr race to avoid my forks warranty being invalidated? And what's with the Headshok thing of taking the front wheel out to get to the valve to adjust air pressure?!
It's a f***ing BIKE. They're simple things really. Stop overcomplicating them!
Oh yeah - interrupted seat tubes ala my Stumpjumper. I'd definitely be wanting to avoid that.
Any Boutique brand name on the downtube
**runs for cover**
carbon frame, anything to do with rockshox. 👿
The [b]colour[/b]. Seriously.
I've seen many a great bike model utterly ruined by 'this year's latest new minging colour scheme'.
Take for example the pretty, shiny 2008 Giant Anthem:
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Then in 2009, the same model utterly ruined by a cheap-looking black and silver tat mingingness paintjob:
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Congratulations Giant - you just lost a sale - as a result I bought the older model secondhand in preference..!
What steve_b77 said - excessive and unnecessary hydro forming.
Crappy welding.
Dirt cheap bottom brackets, hubs, chains and headsets on an expensive bike, just so they can spec a big name rear mech.
Awful OEM tyres that look like the decent after-market ones but are made of Teflon.
its gotta have replaceable drop outs.
Cheap forks (suntour - shudder -)
If you're buying a mid spec bike why have something that's really shite on the bike. Why not just fit rigid and be done.
[b][u]Cheap hubs[/u][/b] is a no-no and often overlooked by potential purchasers (that's why they are there!) means a wheels rebuild at some point in the near future, and for most people that's something that's not do-able at home.
Marin used to be one of the worst offenders with their 'ovation' hubs, which were shite.
EDIT: you can include Cannondales 'coda' hubs in this catagory too, even worse you had to buy new discs too due to their 4 bolt system
...you can include pretty much anything with the word 'Cannondale' writen on it TBH 😉
Dirt cheap bottom brackets, hubs, chains and headsets on an expensive bike, just so they can spec a big name rear mech.
my mates' 08 epics (2 mates, 2 epics) came with DT swiss rims and 240 hubs, but laced together with no-name spokes and crap nipples that broke at the nipple all the time (eventually had both back wheels rebuilt by the shop). They also had xt chainset, x9 shifters and an x0 rear mech with a deore cassette. Nice touch.
proprietary parts in general,
carbon fiber frame or parts, like seatposts,handlebars
the lack of full length outers,and bottle bosses on the seattube..something to think about...(P7..mmmhh?)
but never , ever intergrated headsets (internal,semi integrated whatsoever) ...
a sticker that says on-one
The deal breakers:
-Cost
-Ride quality
-Looks
and yes, as mentioned earlier, stupid shock placement.
This one ticks 3 out of 4, so I wouldn't even demo it
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mudguards.
These new wheels that are coming out nowadays with a small number of spokes. Like this.
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Sooner or later one of those spokes is going to snap which will
a. cost you a fortune to replace, if you can even find one.
b. Make the wheel go so far out of true you'll not be able to ride home on it.
Normal spoked wheels please with normal 15p each spokes.