All-time great bike designs – a top 10?

what about that brooklyn machine works bike that josh “crazy-man” bender jumped 50 ft drops on :-)EDIT also the original gt zaskar (was the first mtb to be successful at cross country/downhill and trials (obviously a certain mr rey had something to do wit

Josh Bender used a Karpiel

The Zaskar is a classic though.

Maybe, there were a few bikes around that time that were similar. The spooky was too expensive though so never really “took off”

The DMR was perfect, plus it was steel and cheap. small (14 & 16″) Zaskars were commonly built as jump bikes before either came along and quite a few cheap little jump frames were in production by the time DMR and Spooky launched theirs.
trailstars always felt too long for me back then.
Metalheads felt quite a bit shorter.

ah apologies 😳

and Vouilloz won a WC DH on a Zaskar

Apologies to their new owners (I only kept tiny pics 😕 ) but the Intense Tazer has to be right up there – awesome little bike and a looker to boot 8)

I would stick the Cove Stiffee, some Turner or other from days of old, GT Zaskar and the Kona Cindercone to the list!

small (14 & 16″) Zaskars were commonly built as jump bikes before either came along and quite a few cheap little jump frames were in production by the time DMR and Spooky launched theirs.

I was later into the jump bikes thing then. We sold Jack Flashes, FAB’s and DS-1s in the shop around then but the Trailstar is what I remember most of us built up first.

I guess my OP was thinking mostly about design roots. The bikes of of my ‘great bike design’ interest are ones intended to be at the design stage, rather than the adapted by user customisation later on. The end result of either isn’t worth any more or less than the other though, one man’s bodge-bike is another man’s inspiration.

Elfin’s point is right too, is design worth anything if the affect on society is little or none? that’s why I think the genre-building effect of a bike is so important. I like design for its own sake but I love bike design for its potential to change lives, so the Boris bike and the Kona Ute and Africa bikes count for a lot. And in a small way, the Trailstar or other little jump HT with 100m forks that ripped back then.

My top 10. In no particular order.

GT Zaskar
Mountain Cycle San Andreas
Marin Mt Vision (single pivot one)
Giant ATX-1
OnOne Inbred
GT RTS
Intense M1
Pace RC100
Klien Atitude
Proflex 856

Not all revolutionary (probably only the San Andreas and maybe RTS could be said to be) but all classics in one way or another.

amazing how much things have moved on though innit, looking at that intense m1 above, it looks positively weedy compared to a modern bike.
and the raleigh activator, how big are those chainrings??

All of these moved cycling in new directions (or tried!)

Rover safety bicycle
Dursley Pedersen (STILL very lightweight bikes)
Chopper (everyone wanted one and that’s good enough for me)
Schwin Sting Ray (started BMX)
Moulton
Brompton (almost unchanged)
Trek OCLV (first decent carbon road bike)
Boardman Lotus (realisation that aerodynamics matters)
Original Breezer
Something full suspension (Maybe)

Chopper (everyone wanted one and that’s good enough for me)

Ok, on that point it counts, the Chopper’s back in favour..

Brompton’s a good call.

Was the Brompton or the Bickerton designed first?

Of the more memorable/influential bikes I have owned I give you

& who could forget the one STW called pointless for its long travel?

Cheers.

Boardman Lotus (realisation that aerodynamics matters)

and Mike Burrow’s TCR, plus his Ratcatcher or some other recumbent – maybe. Recumbent’s never seem to be popular, not bikes I have any experience with. Look fun tho.

The Kona Stinky.

Affordable DH / FR for the masses. Rode many, loved them all. Definitely a future project.

Cannondale Super V was an awesome looking design, I can’t coment on the ride as I never rode one. I did however ride an AMP research B4(?)

As flexy as heck but it was truely groundbreaking, (I think) Horst Leitner worked for them and in partnership with Specialized developed the four bar Horst link.

Wiki says Bickerton produced from 1971 so it came first I think.

Does it matter which came first? The Brompton is the better design and properly started today’s “integrated transport” ball rolling (you rarely saw people taking Bickertons, Moultons or any other generic folding shopper on the bus / train as part of their daily commute).

What about a Royal Mail post bike? (but which one?) Or the butcher’s delivery bike?

I wouldn’t include the Zaskar. It was no better or different than many other bikes (in terms of geo, weight, handling etc), wasn’t the first to use aluminium, saddled with a lump of u-brake and had slightly pointless triple triangle design.

Maybe Kestrel or Trimble as first proper carbon mtbs?

Bickerton was first, by a couple of years. Lighter than the Brompton, a lot of custom parts, but very flexy. There is a reason why we now all ride Bromptons.

EDIT: I had originally listed the original recumbent that set the hour record in about 1930. Before they were promptly banned!

Which of the Bickerton and the Brompton was first doesn’t matter really, just curious, saw a Bickerton in town the other day. The Brompton should be a short-lister from both design and effect.

What about a Royal Mail post bike? (but which one?) Or the butcher’s delivery bike?

Pashley in general could make a good list, they’ve made a lot of interesting bikes like that. More about great uses of many bikes than particular great designs of bike?

Maybe Kestrel or Trimble as first proper carbon mtbs?

I remember the CMS e-stay MTB.. a Kestrel could be up there, early carbon was an important step.

graftek were the first to build a frame with carbon

Kestrel or Aegis could be the first production monocoque cant remember which came first .It was chicken or egg

you rarely saw people taking Bickertons, Moultons or any other generic folding shopper on the bus / train as part of their daily commute

Like i said…

…Moulton. A wonderful concept, great design, so often misunderstood.

Anyway, What about the Outland bike that was developed into the VPP by Intense and Santa Cruz? In the world of MTB suspension at least that was a bit of a game changer…

What about the Outland bike that was developed into the VPP by Intense and Santa Cruz? In the world of MTB suspension at least that was a bit of a game changer…

The outland patent was developed by Intense and SC. Not really the bike.

Surprised…two pages and no mention of Kona.
Their frames from the early 90’s set te style for frames to this day…ok front suspension has changed them too, but the idea of a small trialngle frame with sloping toptube and tight rear triangle was the bike I alway wanted.

Surprised…two pages and no mention of Kona

A few mentions, including mine above.. 8)

Kona and Joe Murray certainly deserve credit for that frame style. I think Paul Brodie’s bikes started the trend.

Oops…should have read the thread more carefully, and typed more carefully too!
No Kona pics though….nice Explosif?

CHB +1
Kona explosif should be on the list, even better than the Cinder Cone.
and the Raleigh Strika (which looks surprisingly similar, small triangles/ sloping top tube) because its bikes that make kids smile that starts it all.

Advantages of running a bike shop, I can play this game for real – wait long enough and pretty much anything gets traded in 🙂 (I don’t have all of these, by the way)

Windcheetah – they’re delicate, tend to roll over in corners, use funny single-sided wheels, and are hideously expensive if you can even find one in your size, but for sheer silly-big-grin entertainment nothing beats taking a Speedy down some twisty road.

Hetchins – a daft design that doesn’t really absorb shock at all, and they’re always hideously overpriced, but just gorgeous.

Kona Cindercone circa 1995, or similar – just a simple MTB that is pretty much perfect to ride.

Moulton Twin Pylon

A Starley Ordinary (Penny Farthing) – if it wasn’t for this, we wouldn’t have good spoked wheels, seamless tubing, or bearings.

A 3-speed Humber Roadster – people rode around the world on these things, many decades before the MTB was invented. Mine is 98 years old, almost original, and still works as well as the day it left the factory.

What about the Amp Research?

Always fancied one of them BITD.

The 1988 Mountain Cycle was pretty important.. certainly pretty darn influential.

Offroad ProFlex , full sus that looked great , worked and wasn’t heavy .

got to throw the cove hummer in there too 🙂

I’d ignore all the other types of bikes otherwise we’ll be talking about Sunbeams and Moultons.

Influential mountain bikes

1 70s Clunker
2 80s Stumpjumper – mtb for the masses
3 Muddyfox Courier Comp – UK mtb for the masses
4 Any early 90s bike with a fluro tasteless paint job – Klein Marin Konas etc – quality mtbs
5 Mountain Cycle San Andreas – fs albeit very crude, disc brakes and a host of other innovative features
6 Cannondale Killer V – suspension that worked (ish)
7 Cove Stiffee – big hitting hardtail that could take big forks
8 Marin Attack Trail – trail friendly suspension
9 Orange 5 – classic single pivot
10 Specialized 4 bar bikes

I’m pleased to have owned some of these and if nothing else they had a big influence on me.

got to throw the cove hummer in there too

Why? It’s not a particularly outstanding design, is it?

This is about outstanding bike designs, not just ‘bikes what you like’. In an overall more objective assessment of bicycle design, most of the ones mentioned here woon’t get a look in tbh.

As much as I hate the nasty twitchy little things,the Brompton has to be in with a shout, I agree.

I ought to love them really, them being from London an’ all.

Maybe one day, I will….

“The DMR Trailstar – A steel jump / play bike for ragging round the woods that changed how many of us rode in the late 90s. BMX Trails came to meet MTB trails head-on. Simple, strong and cheap, and highly influential I think.”

not forgetting a nice little Rhythm 24!

Aye, Brodie pre-dated Kona with that characteristic style of frame. Paul Brodie is running frame building courses at the moment, and if I had $2500 burning a hole in my pocket, I’d love to take it.

Santa Superlight?

The whyte preston an all-time great bike design?

You have to be joking?
If you ride along on said bicycle approx 5mph.. and compress the suspension with body weight you can actually bring the bike to a hault.On the return.. it actually brings the bike back up to speed. Try it,then try it on any other suspension design! We found this out a few years ago and wondered what this would do on steep techy trails. I never want to find out.

“The Honda RN-01 – Simply for being the only motorsport-in-cycling project I can recall that worked. A stunning looking and inspiring bike.”

I would far rather put mert lawwill on the list before honda.

And let’s not forget the antithesis of great bike design – the UCI, committed to keeping cycle design in the 1890s.

After the great pioneers, the game changers were the Moulton, the 26″ mountainbike (too many to pick one) , and for bringing a new game into cycling, the Surly Pugsley.

And what’s been lost? Bikes like the Sunbeam, Humber, and Raleigh Superbe which continue to run faultlessly in all weather over periods of 50 + years with minimal maintenance.

Coming back? Hub gears and hopefully hub brakes.