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DT hubs and spokes for sure. Used to use Hope hubs back in the flange-cracking days, which you could forgive due to the OK prices at the time and the great warranty. Tried Chris King hubs after that and ironically cracked a flange and got nothing but grief from the warranty guys, so that was that.
Shimano gears and brakes. Tried SRAM drivetrains and brakes. Loved the performance of the brakes, but they all rotted and fell apart eventually. X0 stuff always either seized or developed play.
Love Treks. Used to think they were the blandest brand out there, but have 3 now and likely will stick with them.
Thomson of course.
Dangerously, I seem to have pretty bad ocd with bike stuff, so if I ever change brand of one component, I HAVE to change said component on my other bikes to match... Not sure why.
Shimano shoes (though I have Sidis I like too), Giro helmets (Troy Lee for full-face), Gore clothing, Oakley.
Samsung TVs and Apple stuff. Got a Samsung Galaxy S5 to try and convince myself I wasn't an Apple fanboy but HATED everything about it. Got a Windows 8 PC for similar reason and hated that too...
hmmm, I suppose shimano given my brief, but multiple rear-mech-snapping foray into sram.
Specialized tyres - just work and never fail to inflate first go tubeless.
Giro helmets - I have a Giro shaped head.
Mavic shoes on the bike and salomon off the bike. I assume they are the same or linked companies given the near identical fit.
On-ones - always had one and they do the job well and fit my budget.
Next - pants and jeans - they fit and are cheap enough for me.
Mostly 'brand loyality' is just that I know what works and if the brands don't bugger about with the product too much, then I know I can buy it in confidence that it will fit/work for me, and I can't be bothered shopping around/researching everything to death whenever I need a chain/pants/shoes etc.
With 4 ibis and 2 9:zero:7 Fatbikes in the fleet I guess there is a theme...
Other favorites based an good durable no nonsense products
Sidi shoes
Time attak pedals (6 sets)
Maloja shorts
Gore bibs
Hope brakes
Race face cranks
Mavic wheels
Shimano
Stan's rims
Bontrager tyres
Looking at my bike stuff there is no pattern I can spot. I seem to get whatever brand supplies an item I need at a price I want to pay at the time.
I am not a very good rider though, and never seem to be able to tell the difference between items! I reckon I am lucky to have started Mtb recently as everything seems to work ok!
patagonia...since i began/learned climbing in the early 80`s until today
for bike stuff the pattern is
shimano for gears
maguras for brakes
dt swiss for wheels
since i nearly only ride fatbikes right now...
salsa, as long as not all frames are in carbon..
(and i expect that this will come, like santa cruz )
Like
Mavic for cycle clothing.
Arcteryx for outdoors clothing.
Ralf Lauren and Paul smith for general clothes.
Primark for t-shirts
American Classic for wheels and hubs.
SRAM for components , because I like gripshift and think double tap is a nice system.
Selle Italia for saddles.
Phillips for sonic tooth brushes and razors.
Don't like and would never own, based on having their stuff previously.
Anything Bose
Sony
Hope
Ford, Vauxhall, Renault, Peugeot, fiat, BMW.
Casio g watches.
Next
Tudor watches
Shimano - drive chain, cranks, brakes, wheels, Several spd shoes, pedals (holy crap, didn't think i had that much).
Spesh clothing
Endura
Charge spoon!
Vans size 9 trainers. They always fit perfectly.
I don't change my bike very often so don't have a pattern there. I do like things a little different to run of the mill stuff so now riding a Liteville (and loving it)
Seems to be going for Mavic shoes/clothing at the moment as it fits right and seems good quality/spec for the money.
Car-wise, I'm a bit of an Alfa fan. Had a 156 and now a 159ti. Very much looking forward to the new releases over the next few years as I think I'll keep the 159 til something equally nice comes out.
Shimano for brakes and drivetrains and shoes. Giro for helmets. Rockshox for suspension and Vittoria for road bike tyres. Mavic for cheap and robust wheels when I need them.
santini and northwave for road gear
shimano for shoes as they fit nicely
Specialized helmets fit me nicely too, so look to them first.
Giant road bikes
MTB Scott Scale
Group set Shimano
Road tyres VIttoria
Gore Windstoppet (8 years old)
All of the above have never let me down
not that I know of.
Hmm, brand loyalty to me suggests buying stuff even when you know it's no good for what you want (loyal, through thick and thin) to stay loyal to the company.
I've not bought anything knowing it was not the best value/performance/fit/color (delete as appropriate) just to stay loyal to a brand.
The closest I've come is Santa Cruz bikes, even though they have a certain stigma attached to ownership.
They have consistently been better for what I wanted at the time compared to other brands I tried, so they had my money. My sixth SC will be demoed at the end of the month.
Time pedals - both off and on-road, up till this summer when we got sick of them changing their road pedals/cleats again and have gone to Speedplay for road - still Time for off-road.
Rudy Project cycling glasses - 4th pair now.
Campagnolo for road and CX - when will they finally bring out that hydraulic disc/ EPS groupset?
Fizik saddles on everything
Outdoor kit: Patagonia. Lasts for ever, good ethos. Strayed occasionally to Haglofs & Fjallraven.
Running shoes: Asics GT 2000 series.
Running shorts: Pearl Izumi
MTB: Hope brakes and hubs, WTB saddles, CK headsets, KMC chains, Time pedals
Hi-fi: Naim
Stuff I like based on previous experience:
Sombrio clothing
Dakine clothing and packs
Osprey packs
Shimano Shoes
Giro Helmets
Fox Gloves
Maxxis Tyres
Patagonia clothing
Chromag Bikes and Bits
Shimano gears and brakes
Surly bikes and bits
Saveoursoles socks
dhb clothing
Oakley Sunnies/riding Glasses/normal specs
Stuff I won't touch:
Endura
Specialized
Stuff that has earned my loyalty:-
Turner
Hope
Oakley
Mostly through their customer service
Those I avoid:-
Specialized
Trek
Because of the way they conduct business. I know it is a business but they don't represent what cycling means to me.
As above, there are brands that merit loyalty through their customer service- Hope and Oakley.
Other brands based on previous experience - Shimano drive trains, Campag road stuff, Endura, Continental, Sidi, KMC, Osprey.
The ones I won't touch now - anything by SRAM except for cable disc brakes. Shimano hydro brakes and chains.
Alpkit - well made, well designed and decent price.
Shimano for drivetrail and brakes. Thought I was succumbing to brand blindness and went for SRAM and my experience was dreadful for their mid-range stuff.
Rockshox was a bit of a mixed one, Pikes are amazingly good after coming from Fox, Reverb has had so many problems but their customer service has pulled it out the bag and I think I'm a fan.
Merlin - competitive priced and excellent service a rarity.
Patek Philippe, wouldn't stoop to anything less
Awaiting delivery of my 3rd Transition so guess I've inadvertently become something of a fan boy
Was the same with GT back in the day - had 5 in succes
Hope for hubs and brakes if I could afford them
Not loyalty as such, more "likes" really.
Endura
QUAD Marin's
SRAM DB5/ GUIDE brakes, yes really...
Hope hubs, love their adaptability
Only one real brand dislike. No, hate actually.
[b]Apple.[/b]
Can't stand the company or its over priced products. Could go on about my loathing for Apple but it would make me sound radicalized.
And breath.....
Kona, except that they currently don't really make anything that I want to ride.
[url= http://www.chromagbikes.com/ ]Chromag[/url].
[url= http://www.crumpler.com/au/messenger ]Crumpler[/url], although my messenger bag is 15 years old and scarcely showing its age, so it's not like they get much business from me!
I struggle with Giants. No good reason, just never look at them and get that "[url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTLZ5LTix3Q ]MINE[/url]" feeling.
🙂
Hope bit
Sram gears, every time I try shimano I know why.
Carbon frames 🙂
Used to be spec shoes but the prices got too much and the local dealer was crap, might try again now I've moved.
Maxxis rubber can't complain about it and way cheaper than the Schwalbe stuff
Torq energy products
Dell laptops
Evoc luggage
Virgin Australia
[quote=phil40]Looking at my bike stuff there is no pattern I can spot. I seem to get whatever brand supplies an item I need at a price I want to pay at the time.
This is pretty much me, but I do have a couple of preferences:
Specialized
Superstar <dons flame suit>
Sony
There's also only a few brands I wouldn't ever buy...
Trek (the Lance thing, the brands they swallowed and ruined, and the way they treated Greg LeMond)
Apple
Hayes brakes
I struggle with Giants. No good reason, just never look at them and get that "MINE" feeling.
Me too. From a purely personal point of view, I think it is the fact that Giant just doesn't have a very inspiring history. IIRC. it had simply made frames for others, then thought 'why not put our own marque on them?'
I'd rather have something that grew up around actual riding, or location, or something.
But I could be wrong.
I seem to get whatever brand supplies an item I need at a price I want to pay at the time.
I'm sort of like this, but while there are very few brands I wouldn't consider it does tend to be the same few ones that hit the spot. Dunno if that counts as loyalty or not.
I don't buy enough bikes for there to be a pattern there (although at the moment it seems likely any new bike would be a second Pinnacle). But whenever I'm looking for outdoor gear Rab, Mountain Equipment and Montane virtually always make the shortlist whereas, say, Berghaus and the North Face never seem to have anything at the right combination of price, function, and stuff I basically like the look of.
Also as mentioned above brands I already have have got a head start if buying clothes online because fit is a safer bet.
I love my Giant Defy - if/when I buy another road bike it will be a Giant.
Other brands I like -
Shimano (everything just works - unlike the beautiful but temperamental Formula brakes I had)
Oakley
Charge spoon saddles
Topeak stuff (dull but nicely made)
Nikon cameras
Camelbak
Nike for trainers
Brands I don't like -
Trek (they must have known about Lance)
5.10 (couldn't get on with their Freerider shoes - uncomfortable and felt cheap)
Apple
I also forgot: John Lewis.
Like and repeatedly buy:
Specialized shoes and helmets as they fit me really well.
Charge Spoon saddles as my arse gets on with them.
Stuff I don't like: Altura and Endura clothing. IME Poorly designed and falls apart.
Shimano probably. Their stuff works, it's (relatively) inexpensive and ubiquitous for good reason. Not sure I see the point of experimenting with other brands for drivetrain (although I do have SRAM on the road bike). When I was riding with a guide in Spain several years ago, he was full of praise for Shimano having seen lots of other gear fail on his clients' bikes.
I'd rather have something that grew up around actual riding
My Giant Defy SL won Paris Roubaix last year. that makes it a keeper 8) . My Propel SL won four stages of the same Tour de France (flat stages, it's true, and I'm no sprinter!)
It may be a while before they can truly claim a full race heritage, but I imagine they've already made some impressive frames for others 😉
Andrex bog rolls make me happy.
My Giant Defy SL won Paris Roubaix last year. that makes it a keeper . My Propel SL won four stages of the same Tour de France (flat stages, it's true, and I'm no sprinter!)
Did they get nicked?