Why do car manufacturers do this?

They stick them in the showrooms to associate their cars with a lifestyle, I don’t believe it is about selling bikes.

Aston Martin have branded up some belters over the years.

I prefer gun branded bikes.

Saw a policeman riding a Smith and Wesson push iron this morning

I’m guessing that that Alfa Romeo one, if it’s true to the brand values, will handle brilliantly but break frequently and in unexpected ways.

They are marketing tools in the main, although a lot of car companies started off by making bicycles.
Back in the ’90’s Land Rover offered versions of the Moulton APB (LR) and a Pashley Tube Rider (XCB) both with 21 speed (3X7) transmission and the latter with Sachs disc brakes and USE suspension forks and a suspension seat post.
Since then they have offered some decent spec bikes, but a lot of dross too!

That Alfa Romeo bike can’t be a current offering, can it?

The XT crank looks about a decade old, it’s got RS Tora forks on it and what appear to be 26″ wheels…?

Oh, and I’m not normally fussy about these kind of things but whoever did the cable routing needs a clip round the ear…..

BMW bikes

BMW sell several branded bikes. I quite like the cruise bike but for £800 I reckon I’d want something a bit lighter than 15kg

I quite like the cruise bike

It looks like it would be first result for “Mountain sport triathlon Bicycle” on Aliexpress

I do love these awful tie-ins. I’ve spent time flicking through the MB lifestyle catalogues whilst waiting for parts and wondering who buys car-branded aftershave.

BMW ones are all rear wheel drive too, fits the ethos

no indicators either

I seem to remember Porsche doing a tidy-looking FS once – like a Cannondale Prophet, but before Cannondale Prophets existed.

I might be imagining the bike, but Porsche do seem to do the tie-in stuff better than any other car maker I can think of. Some of the Porsche Design watches aren’t bad, and I always quite liked the Siemens/Porsche toaster/kettle set.

I know certainly a lot of BWM dealership used to use them as sweeteners.

“I’m sorry Sir, I can’t offer you a discount on this monstrous fake off-roader, there’s a waiting list you see, but I can offer one of our top of the range Mountain Bikes with Carrier to accompany it, it’s worth £5000” Before they point out a Generic Chinese Bike with a BWM badge glued to it next to a rebranded nasty ‘Mont Blanc’ carrier.
I don’t believe anyone has ever considered them against a mainstream bike.

Hhhmmmmmm

Not quite the same thing but as far as I know KTM are the only people whose main(?) product is something other than bikes who make decent bikes that people actually buy and ride.

I might be imagining the bike, but Porsche do seem to do the tie-in stuff better than any other car maker I can think of. Some of the Porsche Design watches aren’t bad, and I always quite liked the Siemens/Porsche toaster/kettle set.

Porsche was a design studio before they designed their first car.

In the 70’s Porsche Design was split as a separate company.

Porsche design is a separate business to the car company, the products are not necessarily “tie in”

Not really sure how much design input they actually had though…. IIRC they were made by http://www.votec.de/bikes/mountainbikes/

It’s not always mountain bikes….

@CaptainFlashheart, I seem to recall an Aston branded Roberts D.O.G.S.B.O.L.X. back in the mid 90’s? A far cry from the crap car manufacturers slap their name on these days!

even audi have been at it

not all BMW mountain bikes looked as nice as their current offerings…

I saw a guy at Coed y Brenin on a Mercedes one once, he looked very sheepish and defensive. I got the impression that he had paid for it, poor fella!

Truly shocking!

Ferrari

The honda wasn’t a tie in.

They were (iirc) one off race bikes by HRC that ended their life in the crusher, as most HRC things do.

Jabbi, here you go.

Cuts both ways of course….
a different sort of Cannondale Enduro. Never should have made it into production.

italin super bike it is not.

I wonder why the Italian car brands don’t go to Colnago or Scapin for a nicely made road or mountain bike?

Scapin do some nice steel ones with fillet brazed frames.

Edit: Used to. 🙁

Colnago always seem to have some Ferrari branded bikes in their line. Top end stuff. Seems really naff to me.

I agree. I think Enzo Ferrari helped out Ernesto Colnago with carbon fibre know how when he was looking into making bike frames from the stuff, and the companies have collaborated occasionally with them both having branding on certain bike models. It was their nice Master frames which I was thinking about, or maybe some one off variation on them.

With how nice and shapely Ferrari and Alpha cars can be, it seems weird to me that they can come out with ugly looking bike when there’s Italian companies making nice looking ones. Not a biggie in the grand scheme of things – but kinda puzzling. 🙂

I was in a BMW showroom last weekend checking out the motorbikes and there was a bicycle shaped object on one of the showroom cars.

Typical BMW marketing – nausea inducing.

The colour scheme inspired by BMW M sends a clear message – it’s all about premium engineering components and a dynamic, sporty design language.

premium engineering components and a dynamic, sporty design language.

Got you checking out the motorbikes though.

🙂

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Got you checking out the motorbikes though.

I’ve had BMWs since 1970 – motorbikes, not the cars, but I’ve lost interest in them over the last 10 years or so.
It was an event showcasing their new range. Came away with the conclusion that they just make overpriced overweight butt jewellery these days. Nothing I’d want to take to the back of beyond.

So it’s time to polish up the R100 rather than get rid. 🙂

They were (iirc) one off race bikes by HRC that ended their life in the crusher, as most HRC things do.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQnlZXVBnEx/?taken-by=robwarner970
Warner has spotted Minnaars I think still in existance
I saw one of the original BMW FS monstrosities it was bad, really bad, so bad

Weird, I remember at the time it was reported that they were going to crush them! I was really hoping they wouldn’t, so glad that it looks like they haven’t!

I like that the car dealership in Peebles has a BSO on the roof of a car in the showroom. Make a bloomin effort people, you sponsor Tweedlove!

getting the correct control bits on the correct side is less important for bicycles than cars…..?

Benz botches bike brakes
27 January 2015. Mercedes-Benz has recalled its Australian bike range because the brakes have been fitted the wrong way around.

The company says the defect could result in an injury to the rider.

The defect recall states that the brake lever connections were reversed. This most likely means that the front right brake was connected to the rear wheel rather than the front wheel.

The bikes were also missing a cautionary label regarding handlebar misalignment and they were not supplied with reflectors.

recalls at https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/general/policy-and-campaigns/2564/

shermer75 – Member

Weird, I remember at the time it was reported that they were going to crush them! I was really hoping they wouldn’t, so glad that it looks like they haven’t!

Honda said that they crushed them all. 😥

I think it’s worse when bike companies make cars, like Skoda. Who do they think they are with their reasonably priced well built cars? Should have stuck to bikes I say.