What bike related s...
 

What bike related stuff do you find aesthetically displeasing?

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Upgraditis on a bike I don't even have yet has got me thinking about this...

There's just certain things I dislike the look of for no good reason. I don't mean a dislike of brands, more just the way things are made, set up or the shape of certain things.

One of mine is my stems have to be angular in shape, like the ANVL Swage or Title ST1 for example. I really don't like stems where the steerer section is rounded (Gusset Staff, Hope TR, most Race Face stems etc). I also, inexplicably, don't like cast stems.

Another is on hardtails or gravel bikes, I don't like it when the seatstays join the seatube lower than the downwtube.

Seatstays that curve toward the rear axle annoy me too, like on the Marin San Quentin.

Whatever is going on with the downtube/BB area on newer IBIS bikes, that weird little shelf thing they've created to fit a bottle mount in under the shock. Nope.

Silver spoke nipples have no place on expensive bikes. Silver rims too, with the very odd exception if the rest of colour scheme is done right.

It would too easy to pick on Orange here.

Anyone else a bit weird?

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 5:31 pm
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My Cotic Escapade came with a PRO branded stem.  It has the logo printed on the top.  It's not symmetrical.  Annoyed me every time I looked at it, to the point where I got a replacement for xmas.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 5:40 pm
citizenlee reacted
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29" wheels on small sized bikes (i am small myself and have a specialized chisel fs 29"). tbh i would rather have 27.5" or 26".


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 5:41 pm
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Posted by: verses

My Cotic Escapade came with a PRO branded stem.  It has the logo printed on the top.  It's not symmetrical.  Annoyed me every time I looked at it, to the point where I got a replacement for xmas.

I would have done exactly the same. I had PRO gravel bars and the logo always bugged me. I bent them in a crash so not an issue now 😀

Posted by: racefaceec90

29" wheels on small sized bikes (i am small myself and have a specialized chisel fs 29"). tbh i would rather have 27.5" or 26".

I can see why this would be annoying. Seems more brands are putting smaller wheels on their small bikes now though. Trek spring to mind but there are definitely others.

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 5:46 pm
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Tan wall tyres, and coloured tyres like white ones or camo looking ones on street bikes, long droopy stems, flat bars, egg beaters, braided hoses are all mild visual annoyances.

What I really hate the look of on bikes is:

-Phones strapped to handlebars in cheap waterproof cases
-Too much bling, anodised and colourful everything
-Too much matching bling, like a black bike with orange decals, orange calipers, orange hubs, rotors, pedals etc
-Frame triangle bags
-Bullhorn handle bar attachments
-Triple clamp forks on ebikes
-Saddle bags
-Foam Grips
-Panniers
-Massive mud guards like SKS mudrocker, even worse if its the cheaper ones that attach to the seat post, looks like they wish they had a gasgas 249cc trials bike instead
-Slack seat tube angles
-yellow Rubber ducks on handlebars, it's fine if it's a black rubber duck though

EDIT: Oh and I know this isn't on bikes, but fingerless gloves. Like, we're in a time and space where products have gotten so good that full hand MTB gloves in every situation are better than fingerless ones. But I digress this is bike related stuff we find aesthetically displeasing, not rider fashion we find aesthetically displeasing 🤪 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 5:49 pm
citizenlee reacted
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any frame tube that seems to take the scenic route between the two elements its connecting.

If you straightened the tubes on a giant reign and cut off the excess you'd probably have enough material for another frame


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:01 pm
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Posted by: eatmorepizza

Tan wall tyres, and coloured tyres like white ones or camo looking ones on street bikes, long droopy stems, flat bars, egg beaters, braided hoses are all mild visual annoyances.

What I really hate the look of on bikes is:

-Phones strapped to handlebars in cheap waterproof cases
-Too much bling, anodised and colourful everything
-Too much matching bling, like a black bike with orange decals, orange calipers, orange hubs, rotors, pedals etc
-Frame triangle bags
-Bullhorn handle bar attachments
-Triple clamp forks on ebikes
-Saddle bags
-Foam Grips
-Panniers
-Massive mud guards like SKS mudrocker, even worse if its the cheaper ones that attach to the seat post, looks like they wish they had a gasgas 249cc trials bike instead
-Slack seat tube angles
-yellow Rubber ducks on handlebars, it's fine if it's a black rubber duck though

EDIT: Oh and I know this isn't on bikes, but fingerless gloves. Like, we're in a time and space where products have gotten so good that full hand MTB gloves in every situation are better than fingerless ones. But I digress this is bike related stuff we find aesthetically displeasing, not rider fashion we find aesthetically displeasing 🤪 

Good list, most of which I agree with especially the mudguards.

I have to confess to being a tan wall aficionado though. Have them on my mtb and gravel bike 😋 

 

Posted by: maccruiskeen

any frame tube that seems to take the scenic route between the two elements its connecting.

If you straightened the tubes on a giant reign and cut off the excess you'd probably have enough material for another frame

Haha, that's spot on!

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:04 pm
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Just modern MTBs in general, especially full sus. They look like they've been dropped from a great height with an elephant on board, wheels splayed outwards, top tube crunched up.

[img] ?v=1728748154&width=1445[/img]

They just look fugly.

Road bikes have (generally) become quite smart. MTBs have a rat's nest of cabling out front and a front wheel in a different postcode to the rest of the bike.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:22 pm
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e bikes. Face it, they're all gopping aren't they.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:38 pm
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White lycra. No, you can't get away with it.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:39 pm
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Posted by: DaveyBoyWonder

e bikes. Face it, they're all gopping aren't they.

No.

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:43 pm
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I'm on board with eatmorepizza.

I'll also add mismatched tyre brands, the top manufacturers have enough options to cover front and rear, and whilst we're at it, align your valves with the logos.  It's the detail's that are important.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:43 pm
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E bikes, carbon frames, white forks, gravel bikes.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:47 pm
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Proper MTB rear mudguards. But I still tolerate one for the “commuter” bike…


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:49 pm
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Nothing says you’ve given up on life more than pogies on your bars.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:52 pm
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Posted by: razorrazoo

I'll also add mismatched tyre brands, the top manufacturers have enough options to cover front and rear, and whilst we're at it, align your valves with the logos.  It's the detail's that are important.

Both of these should not be open to debate at all, along with only taking drive side photos of your bike.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:53 pm
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Rear mudguards… no one has made one that looks right on a mountain bike.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 6:55 pm
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Just to shift the dial from all the Eeyore's up there I find boring bikes displeasing. Black everything with a dark grey frame, yawn, boring. Bikes are meant to be the things we enjoy so why make them look like a wet Tuesday afternoon in February? Well executed stealth is acceptable though. 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:00 pm
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Just modern MTBs in general, especially full sus. They look like they've been dropped from a great height with an elephant on board, wheels splayed outwards, top tube crunched up.”

Hello roadie! Older MTBs look like they were designed without considering we like riding DOWN hills…


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:03 pm
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Step cast forks. The legs are too close together.

The coloured stripe on schwalbe tyres. At least make it straight!

The way every helmet makes my head look like a mushroom.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:11 pm
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On gravel and road particularly, sprockets significantly bigger than chainring(s).

And to be honest some of the HT550 setups last year looked pretty daft as well, am sure there was a 28 tooth chainring and 52 tooth sprocket combo. Just get a front derailleur 😂


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:14 pm
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AXS derailleurs 

Got used to most ebikes now, but those fat downtubes are grim really.

The Canyon logo with its leaning back font

High pivot rear sus with the silly chain 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:23 pm
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I love that Canyon logo, and how they use it on the bikes. 

Transmission mechs though… oh boy… totally out of proportion and in your face, as if the designers want you to notice it before you even take in the frame. They probably do.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:31 pm
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Red bikes.

There is some red amongst the black and blue paintwork on my trusty 650b Anthem.

Trusty, because it’s been a great bike for many things. Racing, Endurance rides, pratting about in the woods. It’s a truly decent bike and it had exactly the spec I wanted. 

I’ve never loved it though because of the red .
Maybe that’s why I  never bothered with wrapping the frame from new or worry if it gets another stone ding.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 7:49 pm
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Dropped stays on road bikes. Fugly as hell.

Kind of agree about the look of LLS mountain bikes. I get the function over form thing, but I'm an old school bimbler


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 8:00 pm
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Crown mounted mudguards, particularly on USD forks.

Handguards.

Bar ends on riser bars.

White tyres.

Long stems, narrow bars, short n tall frames with dinky little wheels, pretty much any MTB made Pre 1998 really. In isolation they’re fine, but stick a human on top (and it is plonked on top) and they look ridiculous.

Fine with bling, obvs lol, but it must be tasteful (ish) and not just everything in the Hope catalogue (ideally black or silver) 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 8:18 pm
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Road cyclists 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 8:21 pm
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derailleurs particularly modern ones

 

riders with a mud stripe up their back because they wont use mudguards 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 8:46 pm
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Posted by: crazy-legs

Just modern MTBs in general, especially full sus. They look like they've been dropped from a great height with an elephant on board, wheels splayed outwards, top tube crunched up.

[img] ?v=1728748154&width=1445[/img]

They just look fugly.

Road bikes have (generally) become quite smart. MTBs have a rat's nest of cabling out front and a front wheel in a different postcode to the rest of the bike.

 

Those Radicals look ace

 

Anyone, male or female, that isn't built like an athlete, wearing lycra

 

Coloured resin pedals - pink being the worst. With matching grips

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 8:56 pm
 MSP
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All the dull uninspiring paint jobs that are on bikes now "builders tea" etc, beige bikes for beige people listening to beige music on radio 6.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:02 pm
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Oh, oil slick components


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:08 pm
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Whats so great about you?

All the dull uninspiring paint jobs that are on bikes now "builders tea" etc, beige bikes for beige people listening to beige music on radio 6.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:14 pm
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Bikes where the ht angle (or rather the angle of the fork legs if it’s rigid) being steeper than the seat tube. Looks like it’s been run into a wall. 

the bb area of most full fat e-bikes look droopy and bloated like Donald trump’s cankles. 

open face helmet with goggles. 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:30 pm
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Posted by: eatmorepizza

-yellow Rubber ducks on handlebars

My mate turned up to a ride with one. He was in a funk all day because it lasted 5 mins before it was unceremoniously ripped off the bike. 

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:45 pm
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Rear derailleurs that are almost scraping the ground.

Dinner-plate sized cassettes.

Tiny chainrings that aren't hidden behind a larger one. 

Shock linkages that look like they belong on a steam train - especially those acting on a vertical shock. 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:51 pm
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I like a bit of colour on a bike, but what I don't like it when someone has tried to match the anodised colour with a painted colour.  They're never going to match, pick one and stick with it.  Either will work, but not both.

However, I'm guilty of one listed above.  Gravel bike lowest gear is 51/38.  Cassette is noticeably bigger than the chain-ring.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 9:57 pm
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Any bike without Mudguards.Looks like a body with no clothes on to me.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 10:09 pm
slowol reacted
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Torn over the mudguard comments.  I'm not going to try and claim they look good, but the benefits are such that they get a pass.  Agree with @tomhoward that the moto style crown mounted ones on USD looks crap but again, there's often not a better option.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 10:15 pm
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Posted by: citizenlee

Another is on hardtails or gravel bikes, I don't like it when the seatstays join the seatube lower than the downwtube.

Far be it for me to point out the obvious... But a seatstay joining the seat tube lower than the down tube isn't a seatstay at all, but is definitely in fact, a chainstay...

Or did you mean [i]Top Tube[/i] perhaps...? 🤔

Posted by: ayjaydoubleyou

the bb area of most full fat e-bikes look droopy and bloated like Donald trump’s cankles. 

Again, far be it for me to point out the obvious... But to resolve this issue, the bike would no longer be considered an eBike! 🤔

Posted by: crazy-legs

Just modern MTBs in general, especially full sus. They look like they've been dropped from a great height with an elephant on board, wheels splayed outwards, top tube crunched up.

Disagree regarding "modern MTB's in general, especially full sus"... But you then posted a pic of a modern hardtail, with what looks like an 80deg SA and about 62deg HA, and I would absolutely agree that this really irks me on hardtails... The simple fact of the matter is hardtails don't really work for the kind of riding where a massive wheelbase, super slack head angle and super steep seat angle are required, so why bother? The lack of suspension or eBike gubbins within the frame, highlights the contrast between the two angles and makes it look particularly ugly IMO too. But it becomes even more pronounced on a bike like that one pictured, where they have utilised the super steep seat angle to make the back end as short as possible whilst the front end is in a different postcode... Just looks awful!

Beyond that... I'm really not a fan of top tube humps, a la Haibikes, Santa Cruz's and Mondrakers past... And the fascination with internal cable routing that has progressed to some bikes where stems have evolved to look like a small creature eating a mess of black spaghetti... 🤮

Just make them go away please!


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 10:30 pm
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The old guy that rides my bike.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 10:35 pm
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That shifter...eurrgh...

image.png

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 10:48 pm
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The monobrow, single lens riding glasses, especially when sat on the Tube with no bike. 2 eyes, 2 lenses please.

Above glasses placed into a helmet for storage.

Road cyclists' shoes.

The Chinese frankenbikes ridden by London food delivery riders with couch-like seats and 10 inches of vertical stem.

A kick stand.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 10:55 pm
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Those hideous Brooks saddles.

Bromptons. All of them. 

Front mechs just look awkward.

Anything on top of a top tube.

Colour anywhere on disc rotors

Long seat tube masts. I love a low top tube, but just make buyers run a massive dropper, don't extend the seat tube up. And especially don't make it a different shape to the rest of the seat tube.

Coloured grips.

More than 1 Kashima item. It's too ostentatious and they won't match each other.

Bends in top tubes. I love how my Ripmo rides, but jeez, I wish I never had to look at it.

Silver rims.


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 11:46 pm
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Internal cable routing - cables disappearing into frames just looks like they are hiding a multitude of sins.

Top tubes with a kink in them, particularly up front.

Rear triangles on road and gravel bikes that look like they are too small for the main triangle but were used as they had a whole load of excess kids bikes rear triangles to use up.

Anything purple.

Those shitty electric mopeds pretending to be e bikes used by every bloody delivery rider.

Rear pannier racks that pretend to be some lightweight and fancy update on traditional rack design. See also tiny panniers that invariably are seen with them.

Bikes with no spacers below and above the stem. Slammed for the head down brigade who like a sore neck and shoulders on longer rides.

Pretty much every flat pedal shoe ever made.

Storage ports in frames answering a question that was never asked in the first place.

Cassettes that look like dinner plates.

Electronic droppers that look like they have had some kind of hernia develop at the collar or at the back of the saddle.

Raleigh Chopper - they were just rubbish bikes.

Lycra collars on winter boots - they can get in the sea.

Every Haibike and Orange full susser ever made.

Carbon fibre full sussers all adopting the Santa Cruz aesthetic so you’d be hard pushed to distinguish them from each other.

Full fat e bikes - all have fallen from the fugly tree. A bike that just looks heavy is not right.

Those ugly phone case / bags you see every delivery rider have barely strapped to their bike along with the external battery wrapped in plastic bags and gaffer tape.

E bike motors that look like a keel and almost scrape the ground. 

Ride glasses with separate lenses that look like really cheap lab glasses.

Fork steerer tubes with holes in them to allow internal cabling to run through. I may not be able to see it but knowing it is there as an extra point of potential failure does not endear me to it.

Mullet frame set ups………………….

Well, you did ask…….

 

 


 
Posted : 13/01/2026 11:51 pm
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Posted by: mboy

Or did you mean [i]Top Tube[/i] perhaps...? 🤔

I did in fact mean top tube 😊 

Posted by: Sanny

Internal cable routing - cables disappearing into frames just looks like they are hiding a multitude of sins.

Top tubes with a kink in them, particularly up front.

Rear triangles on road and gravel bikes that look like they are too small for the main triangle but were used as they had a whole load of excess kids bikes rear triangles to use up.

Anything purple.

Those shitty electric mopeds pretending to be e bikes used by every bloody delivery rider.

Rear pannier racks that pretend to be some lightweight and fancy update on traditional rack design. See also tiny panniers that invariably are seen with them.

Bikes with no spacers below and above the stem. Slammed for the head down brigade who like a sore neck and shoulders on longer rides.

Pretty much every flat pedal shoe ever made.

Storage ports in frames answering a question that was never asked in the first place.

Cassettes that look like dinner plates.

Electronic droppers that look like they have had some kind of hernia develop at the collar or at the back of the saddle.

Raleigh Chopper - they were just rubbish bikes.

Lycra collars on winter boots - they can get in the sea.

Every Haibike and Orange full susser ever made.

Carbon fibre full sussers all adopting the Santa Cruz aesthetic so you’d be hard pushed to distinguish them from each other.

Full fat e bikes - all have fallen from the fugly tree. A bike that just looks heavy is not right.

Those ugly phone case / bags you see every delivery rider have barely strapped to their bike along with the external battery wrapped in plastic bags and gaffer tape.

E bike motors that look like a keel and almost scrape the ground. 

Ride glasses with separate lenses that look like really cheap lab glasses.

Fork steerer tubes with holes in them to allow internal cabling to run through. I may not be able to see it but knowing it is there as an extra point of potential failure does not endear me to it.

Mullet frame set ups………………….

Well, you did ask…….

 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 12:52 am
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+1 for any hardtail where the seatstays join the seattube higher than the top tube. It is unforgivable imo, I don't care how good the bike is, I've never owned one that makes this horrible mistake and never will. Baffles me that they even exist, it's just the designer turning the "ugly" slider up to max.

This one's part functional but also aesthetic, literally every dual crown topmount stem with multiple fitting holes ever. Because everyone without exception fits them on the shorter setting and that leaves you with the wee ugly sticky out bit. Also it makes them more annoying to fit. 

Shocks with the reservoir at the bottom. I don't know why this is wrong tbh but I do know it's wrong.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 3:01 am
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However, I'm guilty of one listed above.  Gravel bike lowest gear is 51/38.  Cassette is noticeably bigger than the chain-ring.

To be fair it's hardly uncommon now, I guess it has a sort of agricultural/ off-road aesthetic to it, but I just prefer the road-bikes-on-dirt look.

My MTB has a 38 tooth big ring but there's a 28 hidden behind it 😂

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 5:19 am
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Posted by: chiefgrooveguru

Hello roadie! Older MTBs look like they were designed without considering we like riding DOWN hills…

That’s because, unless you ride uplift only or possibly an eBike (and probably even then) you spend loads more time going up hill than down.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 6:19 am
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Saddles like ISM ones, they just look so odd to me it's jarring


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 8:11 am
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Saddles slammed all the way forward, in a bid to steepen a seat tube angle.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 8:43 am
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Posted by: lunge

Posted by: chiefgrooveguru

Hello roadie! Older MTBs look like they were designed without considering we like riding DOWN hills…

That’s because, unless you ride uplift only or possibly an eBike (and probably even then) you spend loads more time going up hill than down.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/modern-bikes-are-so-good/

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 9:23 am
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Helmets with no peak.

Helmets with massive peaks.

Full kit ****ers.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 9:38 am
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About 95% of e-MTBs. Just too bulky and clunky, they have no sense of the elegant, durable and timeless look a bike can have imho. All the aesthetic elegance of an MX bike (and I understand why some like that look, it's fine.)

Oddly, a lot of builder show bikes and very specialist personal builds too, but I like them because anything highly personal is something someone cares about and has put creativity* into. I always like that whether I share their tastes or not. 

*I mean, something more involved than matched colour ano kit on a bike. That can look ok but it's not really custom/creative. 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 9:46 am
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Whatever this is. (Stolen from FB)

IMG_0309.jpeg 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 9:57 am
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Ooh can I add more to this?

Neon Jackets. It's not the 70s-90s anymore and if you're riding at night bike lights are 30x better than they used to be and car headlights are now so bright if they get any better you'll be x-rayed. If someone hits you on a bike these days its more than likely driver attention error as opposed to "Oh I didn't see you" which also applies to riding during the day, and if they genuinely didn't see you it's probably because they were distracted.

There is a bunch of what appears to be 70 year old joggers in a club that run past my house on a Tuesday morning, all 15 of them running on the footpaths but fully kitted out in neon green, yellow or pink with matching hats. Like guys, you're already visible, you don't need the neon? I'm pretty sure the one guy wearing the dynarod style orange is their ring leader.... But anyway I'm going slightly off topic there.

- Stubby fidlock waterbottles
- Waterbottles with no cap to prevent mud ingress
- Full face helmets on blue trails
- Skinny tubes on steel frames
- Orange full suspension bikes
- Canyon Torque ON integrated water bottle
- Manufacturers that cheap out on XL bike geometry, I'm looking at you Giant. Rob warners top tube looks like a giraffe neck and it's disgusting
- Gaudy decals like "My other bike is a caravan" or "Ride or die"


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 10:20 am
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Posted by: submarined

 

Front mechs just look awkward.

 

Yep because huge cassettes and rear mechs that almost touch the floor are aesthetically pleasing.

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 10:44 am
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ENORMOUS WHEEL / FRAME LOGOS in bold all-caps when viewed from the side, especially those logos scaled up on deep section rims

Unless of course you pay me to advertise your frame/wheels 😉

(Fustle is OK, cos it's not viewable from the side, and can only see the branding if you nick the waterbottle or get ridden over.  Cotic spiral logo is OK cos you also need to be in the know to know what it is)

Tan walls

 

My Pro stem has no logo on top.  In any case, I'd cover it up with a GPS mount.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:05 am
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Unno bikes - ugh ... if I wanted to look like a chav borrowing his sister's ladyback.. 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:08 am
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I might start a photo thread with all the things on my bikes that annoy people


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:09 am
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Posted by: desperatebicycle

Unno bikes - ugh ... if I wanted to look like a chav borrowing his sister's ladyback.. 

 

100% agree - when I see people drooling over them, I'm left wondering what their eyes are actually seeing. They are vile

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:11 am
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Posted : 14/01/2026 11:12 am
nicko74 reacted
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Baggy shorts.

95% of MTB clothing.

Too many colour coordinated parts.

Ebikes.

Flat bars.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:13 am
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Forgot riding glasses, open face with goggles.

MTB shoes.

MBR/bike radar elbows out riding shots.

Basically MTB style is tragic.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:17 am
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Cotic spiral logo is OK cos you also need to be in the know to know what it is

Thanks. That did that job well for a good while (in my humble opinion).


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:19 am
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In any case, I'd cover it up with a GPS mount.

GPS and/or phone mounted on the stem/bars/toptube still irks me. Also much prefer ebikes with no display. Happy to be the odd one out here.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:22 am
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Posted by: deanfbm

MBR/bike radar elbows out riding shots.

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 11:43 am
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Posted by: deanfbm

MBR/bike radar elbows out riding shots.

I'd also add the MBUK "Dutch Tilt" style shots to this.

Not sure if they're as bad for it now, but in the pre-internet days you'd think trees grew at 45° to the ground.

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 12:14 pm
roger_mellie reacted
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Just gonna leave this here for those that hate coloured ano parts.... 😜

It is mine and I like it, but I do want to change the grips but haven't got round to it yet...

image.png


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 12:37 pm
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Coloured anodising on bikes is ace (see also Chris King, Hope etc). But mismatched coloured ano, or that clashes with other parts - bleurgh! 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 12:55 pm
citizenlee reacted
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Coloured brake or gear outer/hose.  Never seen it look good, not once


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 1:01 pm
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Yeah I like ano bits too, when it's tastefully done and no over the top. Looks best on a raw or black bike, or at least a plain colour with minimal logos.

 

Another thing that bothers me is using in house parts from a brand on a different brand of bike. Bontrager parts on a Specialized for example. Not that I care if anyone else does it, I just couldn't do it myself.


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 1:06 pm
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Another thing that bothers me is using in house parts from a brand on a different brand of bike.

Nukeproof grips on a Ragley bar held by a DMR stem on a Bird bike, something like that? Will get a picture for you later... nearly forgot, it also features a blue anodised Sick Bicycles top cap on a very bright green frame with gold hope pro 2 hubs, stainless spokes, black rims with bright green graphics 😬


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 1:35 pm
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Posted by: sirromj

Nukeproof grips on a Ragley bar held by a DMR stem on a Bird bike

Literally everything on my Ragley is Nukeproof 🤣 

Stem, bars, grips, headset, BB, seat clamp, saddle, pedals, bash guard, wheels


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 1:44 pm
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I am just an amateur at this compared to some of the very extensive lists of hates from other posters on this thread!

  • Tan wall tyres. Check.
  • ‘Colour-coordinated’ anodised components where they come from different manufacturers and are several different shades and clash rather than coordinate.  
  • Cycling mitts off-road - in fact cycling mitts full stop. Check.
  • In bar, or in stem cable routing on an MTB. Check.
  • Handguards.  Check.
  • The bulk of AXS derailleurs. Check.
  • Rubber ducks. Check.
  • Higher rise (30mm) bars.
  • Huge tubes on steel bikes where the material does not benefit from it. 

 

Not so much bikes - but riders:

  • Riding on trails they couldn’t ride without an ebike - because they have never had the skills or fitness.  So many of these nowadays…
  • Cutting corners on purpose-built trails.
  • Not controlling ‘trail dogs’
  • Braking on corners creating braking bumps.
  • Skidding around bends.

 

More a dislike than a hate:

  • Mismatched tyre brands - more a dislike than a hate.

 

Some things other people posting on this thread dislike - but I have no problem or like them!

  • Flat bars.  I have lower rise bars myself.
  • Red bikes.  Nope.  I love them - even though I only have one of them (1986 Kuwahara)
  • Silver rims and silver spokes.  Again nope.  I have them on some of my pre-2000 bikes.
  • Dual lens riding glasses.  I don’t have them (Yet!) but for some they are the only way they can wear prescription lenses.
  • Flourescent jackets - I ride with a riding buddy who used to only have one waterproof jacket for road and off-road.

 

+1 for any hardtail where the seatstays join the seattube higher than the top tub

Obviously you don’t mean this  to apply to classic Rocky Mountain MTB’s - e.g. Altitude, Summit and Blizzard…


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 1:44 pm
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Posted by: eatmorepizza

Neon Jackets. It's not the 70s-90s anymore and if you're riding at night bike lights are 30x better than they used to be and car headlights are now so bright if they get any better you'll be x-rayed. If someone hits you on a bike these days its more than likely driver attention error as opposed to "Oh I didn't see you" which also applies to riding during the day, and if they genuinely didn't see you it's probably because they were distracted.

 

I can allow people to wear a yellow jacket on the road, maybe it's because I am colour blind but I can literally spot them from a couple of miles away. Darker colours I have to be much closer before I become aware and I like to think that I take notice.

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 2:02 pm
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Posted by: TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR

I might start a photo thread with all the things on my bikes that annoy people

Reckon I could send a few people on this thread in to a rage tbf.

So just to check, we don't like any colours unless they're black, grey or silver (but not spokes or rims), we don't like bars with too much or too little rise, we don't like any frame that doesn't look like every other (black or grey) hydroformed one, we don't like frame storage but also any frame bag that replaces the storage and we don't like individuality in general. That about cover it? 😉 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 2:35 pm
hardtailonly, roger_mellie, jamj1974 and 1 people reacted
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Posted by: sirromj

Another thing that bothers me is using in house parts from a brand on a different brand of bike.

Nukeproof grips on a Ragley bar held by a DMR stem on a Bird bike, something like that? Will get a picture for you later... nearly forgot, it also features a blue anodised Sick Bicycles top cap on a very bright green frame with gold hope pro 2 hubs, stainless spokes, black rims with bright green graphics 😬

I can already see it...

...but as long as it makes you happy then it's all good 😊 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 2:37 pm
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Posted by: sirromj

Another thing that bothers me is using in house parts from a brand on a different brand of bike.

Nukeproof grips on a Ragley bar held by a DMR stem on a Bird bike, something like that? Will get a picture for you later... nearly forgot, it also features a blue anodised Sick Bicycles top cap on a very bright green frame with gold hope pro 2 hubs, stainless spokes, black rims with bright green graphics 😬

 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 2:44 pm
citizenlee reacted
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So just to check, we don't like any colours unless they're black, grey or silver (but not spokes or rims), we don't like bars with too much or too little rise, we don't like any frame that doesn't look like every other (black or grey) hydroformed one, we don't like frame storage but also any frame bag that replaces the storage and we don't like individuality in general. That about cover it? 😉 

I think so! 😀 

 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 2:48 pm
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The Klein Mantra was originally designed to have only rear suspension (Yes, really!) to aid climbing performance - climb performance while seated obviously!

 

 


 
Posted : 14/01/2026 3:10 pm
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