[Closed] what do you think is the best bike company?

Forestry Commission Scotland & Wales

That's two questions. Who is the best, and who has brought the most to mountain biking. The first question is personal but the second would depend on what you want from mountain biking.

agreed,titled it wrong apologies 😳

mainly wondering which bike company do you think has advanced the evolution of bikes the most in your view?

it's a tricky one to answer i'll admit 🙂

Brompton

it's rider 😉

Specialized, they refuse to get sidetracked by petty politics and instead concentrate on making great bikes.

Girvin Proflex 🙂

Lee Valley Park regional authority. Very impressed that you can get 8km of trails in Stratford, very close to the centre of London. (I have not ridden these, so would be interested to hear from anyone who has - will post seperate thread). Although there are other types of cycling available, it is great that kids can try out mountain biking at all, instead of just going shopping/checking their iphone:

[url= http://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/en/content/cms/london2012/velo-park/#mountain-biking ]Lee Valley MTB booking link[/url]

All in all it is great that we are encouraging the new generations to do something positive and if it involves cycling, that is even better.

Mountain Cycle.

If Shimano count as a bike company then everyone else can form an orderly queue behind them.

+1 Forestry commission and Mr Farthing

Mother Nature.

Renthal Bike Dept

Shimano Cycling Dept

Fray Bentos

What Garry said

Ditto Shimano

But just bike manufacturers - Specialized. They have been at the forefront of bike design for as long as I can remember.

Specialized, but only because they will sue me if I dont say that.

Raleigh, didn't everyone have one at some point in life?

My best performing bikes have been specialized so they have a lot going for them.

Bar their questionable legal practices, I would have to agree with johnnystorm on the fact that Spesh produce consistently fantastic bikes.

It is Specialized though. First mass produced mountain bike (admittedly starting as they meant to continue by stealing the idea) and a history of making brilliant bikes pretty much nonstop since then, and providing excellent support too with warranties etc.

Yeah, Specialized for the fact they were there "at the beginning" and have pushed things on for decades. Great company and great products, none of which I have ever owner other than a few of their tyres ...

Renthal Cycling Dept

Shimano Cycling Dept

I think Cannondale's level of innovation often get forgotten. They may not always get it right but they're consistently inventive, always have been.

I think Cannondale has pushed the boundaries of innovation considerably more over the years than Spesh.

Edit - too slow^^

I'd have to agree with Shimano. No-one else has ben so consistently at the forefront of excellent across such a broad range of stuff for as long as them.

Bloody hell, I was taking the piss with Specialized. 🙄

I'd actually say whoever was responsible for decent mainstream alloy, then carbon frames (as steel is generally at opposite ends of the market now)and then Rockshox.

On-one/planet X. Good bikes, cheap.

Outland (points to those who know why) 🙂

Halfords... Most of started on an Apollo, right?

superstar!!!

Gary fisher, I know in bed with trek now but his 29ers and erm 69ers great bikes and even though the brand has dropped with just trek designed by gf they are still great bikes. Plus he comes across as a likeable guy.

which bike company do you think has bought the most to mountain biking/road biking over the years and why?

I'm going to treat "Brought the most" in terms of having a big impact and IMO SRAM over the last 15 - 20 years have changed road and MTBing massively, not because I think they are the "best", in many instances I think they turn out some utter toss.

But I feel they are important because they have precipitated development and competition in the cycle industry, without SRAM Shimano and Campagnolo would have retired to their respective corners And largely just left each other alone, SRAM as the third big player have tended to push all the market segments and technical changes while the other two deliver quality but seldom move with the same pace, SRAM apply the sort of pressure needed to keep the competition moving.

SRAM have acquired their way into making just about everything you would need to build a bike except the frame. Yes they are a global evil mega-corp now but probably the most innovative and diverse one in the cycling world, and of course they are a cycle company not properly evil like Gasprom, Starbucks or Nestle...

All that from making twisty gear changers that half the world disliked twenty five odd years ago, Shimano are coming up on 93 years old campag are over 80, both unquestionably important to cycling but SRAM have done more to change cycling equipment in the last two decades than either of the old boys...

Outland (points to those who know why)

VPP?

Boardman

Where would we be without the pedal-kicking feedback of VPP 😆

Currently not specialized if only for their great ideas...
Bespoke shock mounts that mean you can't swap the shock
142+ for not a really good reason
Roval wheels that took 4 months to get spokes for
Press shit BB's
Not being able to make chain stays strong enough for quite a while
Having a bigger legal team than a common sense team

Giant? Too much 650b Kool aid to commiserate from missing out on early 29r's

Shimano?
With the exception of shadow mechs to catch up with SRAM not that much recently

My vote sits with SRAM
11sp and Narrow Wide Chain Rings - probably the best new product in 5 years
Hitting the market with new Mechs back in the 05/06 ish which highlighted how bad Shimano ones were at the time
The Reverb
Making RockShox forks something people wanted - if the hype over the new Pike is anything to go by.

Renthal? Really? I would put Thomson ahead of them.
My choice is a tie between between SRAM & Fox with a medal for Giant for value for money, if not particularly exciting.

11sp and Narrow Wide Chain Rings - probably the best new product in 5 years

Turner. Great bikes and when you need advise you get help and emails from the Man himself.

Yeti. Over the long term they have innovated and inspired loyalty (racers and buyers).

Shimano?
With the exception of shadow mechs to catch up with SRAM not that much recently

The freewheel
indexed shifting
rapidfire shifters
clipless mtb pedals
clutch mechs

Plus a load of other things...

For me it's Shimano

Shimano as above for their innovation.

Sram/Rockshox group are good but their innovations just don't hit the masses like shimano have.

Specialized no one will come close in terms of building influential main stream bikes. Rockhopper, Stumpjumper, Enduro etc

Sam - Member
The freewheel
indexed shifting
clipless mtb pedals
clutch mechs

The freewheel was invented in the 1800s (according to the internet, bicyclists at the time were against the idea because it made things too complicated, who needs freewheels? Nothing ever changes eh...)
Indexing existed on hub gears long before Shimano brought it to mechs
Look had the first clipless

Clutchy mechs are an interesting one, SRAM released pictures of production-ready parts almost as soon as Shimano did, they'd both had the idea, SRAM were just sitting on it til Shimano launched it. No idea why, maybe they were trying to milk the initial launch of clutchless 10-speed further.