Are they still around, nothing new on website. I thought there was to be some new 29ers in steel and a klunker style bike.

I emailed them about the Cleaver a few weeks ago. They’ve had some issues with their manufacturer and have had to switch. New bikes due in October. I really want a Cleaver even though I have no real use for one.

They haven’t been the same since they were bought by cannondale’s parent company and they seemed to have lost their way a bit back then.

I love charge but the move to nearly all aluminium a few years back was disappointing, especially when they were going plus before (nearly) anyone else.

The new range looked great. Shame it’s taken so long to come out.

I really want a Cleaver even though I have no real use for one.

Buy a real vintage bike for < £100 then take up art-collecting to satisfy the fan the flames of the burning hole in wallet? 😎

Surely they sold so many Spoon saddles that the boss just forgot to design any new bikes. How big a yacht could you buy after putting a saddle on nearly every bike in the UK?

I’d whinge about the lack of a modern Blender but I’d just buy a Bfe if I wanted to break myself again.

The alu Cooker Plus is a really nice bike – ignore the material and try it, you may be surprised. I picked one up a week after my main bike got stolen, and it’s been my go to bike (till the Solaris is built…) – only really got it to try Plus, but its been a blast.

My eldest is now running a skinny Duster – they are the perfect tweenager first serious bike – light, springy and I can reuse all my old bits that don’t fit new kit 😀 – I think it cost me £70 for a GX 1×10 drivetrain second hand and he as a really good bike from the spares/old stock bin… Reba U Turns, DT Swiss wheelset, deore hydros… and it looks just damn right.

I’m sure the alu cookers were ok, but they look generic like a trek or anything else. And they geometry was fairly conservative as well.

The dusters were great bikes.

They suddenly decided to go all aluminium and all plus tyres, which I think has probably hurt them in the beardy sector, ie us. They still look decent bikes but as above, nothing that really stands out.

It’s probably more about Nick Larsen working for CSG now, he’s like Global Director of Parts and Design or something.

They always seemed overpriced, for the spec if nowt else

patriotpro

They always seemed overpriced, for the spec if nowt else

My impression was of nicely painted gaspipe, could be totally wrong.

Very impressed with their saddles though, which would have made me partial to one of their bikes if I was in need of another.

Yep, they are very good at ordering the right saddles from china.

I like that they went aluminium on my plug, everyone else seems to think cheap steel is the only material for singlespeed commuters, resulting in bikes that are kilograms heavier than they need to be…

Loved my original Duster, wish I’d picked up a Skinny one

Loved my Blender and my Plug freestyle. Still running the plug wheels on a vintage road frame I got out of a skip.

Shame they went ally. They were the bikes that got me into being a die hard steel fan.

I recall some film about them doing 3d printed titanium dropouts a while back.

Oh hell, let’s have another look at that classic Blender video with the bloke out of Happy Days! 😁

The bike looks so small in it now…

https://youtu.be/u2gs214G7gw

I was really looking forward to seeing the new Cooker this year. I currently ride a 2014 Plug 3 road/gravel bike, and have an original Duster that I picked up around 3.5 years back.

I still enjoy riding the Duster, and I don’t think it’s fair to call it gas pipe, it’s Tange Prestige, although there’s not much flex in the original frame. It’s currently set up with some dual air 100mm Rebas, XT 1×9 (should be 1×10 this weekend) and old Mavic/Hope wheels. It’s short, high and steep, but it rides well for what it is, and is still good fun.

I’ve been looking to replace it for a while as it really is quite dated, but it’s worth buttons and rides nicely so I’ll probably end up keeping it for a bit longer yet.

13thfloormonk

My steel plug is not that heavy and is one of the first bikes i’ve ridden since the 90s that has really a springy steel feel