Just wondering really. Always see them advertised in the magazines and they pop up in group tests now and then, but in all the years I've been going out I've not once seen anyone riding one. Surely they can't be shifting many of them? Could they be the rarest beast on the trails?
I've seen one at lee quarry with a guy in full corratec team gear dunno wether he was a team rider or a wannabe?
used to see quite a few in the late 90's - the hardtail with twin top tubes (super bow?)...
only seen one (that i can remember) in the last twelve months.
Lovely XC bikes. Looking for a crossbow frame at the mo.
My mate has one.
Edit; Super Bow
I like the look of the hardtail frames, but every frame i've seen for sale has v brake bosses on it too, which is a shame!
Yes, about 20 years ago, I think it was one of the first bikes I saw with disc brakes. Well fugly frame though.
Had one, raced it, broke it! One the wall now....
Yes, but as with others, I've been riding MTB for over twenty years, so no surprise really.
Yes but only 1 and some tea leaf nabbed it...was Jonny MacBain's race bike when he worked at Sandy Wallace Cycles...was properly lovely...
Didn't they do a ti one? Tasty.
My mates just bought a Super Bow 29'er, looks rather nice in massive size
Building one back up at the moment - a Team Bow.Original paint was gash so have stripped and am now polishing. Guys at Corratec have been great with info and some free graphics. Here it is when I got the frame:
[img] 
[/img]
It's going to be a slow build as I want it to be as light as possible but funds are tight.
I have only just bumped into the Bow, after a false start with the Gary Fisher Sawyer, which is way too heavy for my taste.
Like many others, I know nothing about Corratec or the Bow series bikes. What are they like to ride? How well do they last? Are there any particular weaknesses?
I saw one locked up outside Tesco in Aviemore if that count?
a friend had one. one got rid of it and bought a proper bike (steel HT).
horrid looking thing; silly split top tube. it can't do anything other than add weight and single you out as "special"
Hmmm, not a fan then alpin!
It's the look that attracts me, I guess that makes me 'speshul', but having spent more years than I care to remember with conventional bikes, I thought something like the Bow might just be a bit of fun.
I rented one when I was on holiday a few years ago. The frame was really "buzzy" somehow - a constant minor vibration, that gave me slightly numb hands for a couple of weeks after. Otherwise a nice bike, but I'd never buy one after this experience.
A mate's wife got one last year, although I don't know if its got a split TT or not.
I remember that (Dutch?) bloke back in the 90s winning lots of XC races on one.
Thought it was horrid. Never seen one on the trails though.
I thought the same the other day. Saw a full page print ad in MBUK I think for one, thought I'd never ever seen one ever on the trails. Not really a trail bike. But don't remember seeing one at Mayhem either. But then that's not real XC racing... Maybe there are loads at the NPS races?
I sometimes think we should do print ads, but hey.
Not seeing a bike on the trail does not really mean that much, given the diversity of the sport. I was in the Forest of Dean the other day and almost every bike I saw was a Specialized. Does that mean they are the greatest MTB's out there? No, it means we have a huge number of Specialized dealers around here.
I think I will have to take a trip over to Cardiff, as there is a Corrtec dealer over there, so at least I'll get the chance to have a good look.
The only one I have ever seen on UK trails was a cheapish one with a standard diamond frame. One of those brands that never quite clicked with the riding masses on these shores.
There's a couple of folk who race Corratecs in the Madrid Open XC and as they're generally to be found on the podiums, I guess they're OK and do a job quite well.
Funny you should say that...
I've got a 19" Corratec X-Vert S 0.1 frame for sale. It's not the split top tube super bow, nice light frame tho, nice paint job, I think. Some (rubbish) pics at [url= http://www.brightonamericana.com/content/wheels-and-frame ]www.brightonamericana.com/content/wheels-and-frame[/url] Headset included. £80 posted or £65 collected from Brighton. I can try to take come better pics on request...
I've also got a fully built 2010 Corratec X-Vert S 1.0 with full XT 9 speed gears, Juicy 5 brakes, Reba forks. New chain, bb, rear mech. The rest ridden for less than a year, only on roads. Forks (with poploc) not ridden since being serviced by Corrratec. £600 posted. Pics on request.
I built an x-vert one Christmas as I was bored, the frame was cheap and I had a bikes worth of spare bits. Didn't think much of it, swapped it for a cx bike.
They're German aren't they? Lots of things are big on the continent and virtually unheard of over here so it's not that surprising you don't see many about, especially as like neilm says the bigger brands who already have a presence in the UK have the market pretty much sewn up.
I encouraged a friend to get one when CRC were doing them silly cheap a few months ago. It's a 'conventional' carbon hardtail, no split top tube nonsense. I've had a few goes on it, very good typical euro XC bike. It was a steal too, fittied with full carbon dt swiss forks for less than a grand.