What is the Toyota/Lexus Bike Equivalent?

[plugboots]

Imagine if there truly was a bike that was like a Lexus. Where you schedule an appointment to get your bike fixed, you bring it in, talk to some gal as she goes over your history with the bike, and then asks you where do you want to be driven or do you want a demo bike? (Typically a brand-new model, nicer than the one you own.) So you take the rental bike home, or you hang out in the beautiful lounge drinking espresso, having some pastries, and then they call you and your bike’s ready.

[XXX-er]

in summary WTF does that question reallly mean, is it a valid question ... yada fucking yada?

[Ted Striker]

Maz - I know you're a car guy, and I'm guessing you're a motorcycle guy too.

I used to get asked for motorcycle buying advice from friends/coworkers who were just getting into riding, and the universal misconception was that there were all sorts of end of season / winter deals out there. But the reality was/is that dealers seldom have anything good left in inventory (and are switching the floor products to sleds at that point), and private sellers generally will store a bike they might want to sell until spring when demand is higher.

I think at this point you're running up against that (although XL or XXL might work in your favor), at least in any state that has winter.

[Ted Striker]

Imagine if there truly was a bike that was like a Lexus. Where you schedule an appointment to get your bike fixed, you bring it in, talk to some gal as she goes over your history with the bike, and then asks you where do you want to be driven or do you want a demo bike? (Typically a brand-new model, nicer than the one you own.) So you take the rental bike home, or you hang out in the beautiful lounge drinking espresso, having some pastries, and then they call you and your bike’s ready.

^^^ Lol... all you need is to add some hot women receptionists/baristas.

To me, a Toyota is a car or truck that is well engineered and reliable, doesn't have esoteric fastener sizes or require special tools, has high quality factory parts widely available, and is something that nobody with any mechanical acumen would buy new because most 10 year old Toyotas still have another 20 years in them.

[jono]

The question is, how committed are you to reliability and longevity over high tech, light weight and all out performance? Because if you're committed enough there's the Rohloff with a belt drive on a BB-centered rear pivot. Will last 20 years and require pretty much nothing but the occasional oil change. Shocks will need more than the rest of the bike combined, which will be mostly brake pads and tires. Dropper post with a coil apring in it and you're set.

But full suspension with all the weight on the rear wheel is pretty extreme, so you probably wind up somewhere on the spectrum of trading in some weight and maintenance for better performance and shorter longevity of some components. Just where you land on that spectrum is personal, but 20 year life is real far toward an extreme. I generally find that shopping pulls me a little more toward the performance end of the spectrum. At least as far as a Pinion instead of a Rohloff. Is that the experience so far?

[plugboots]

This thread resonates with me because it is exactly why I bought a single speed belt drive. I was on my second rear triangle, etc. with my full suspension. Still, I’ve rebuilt my rear hub maybe six times, and I put in a Chris King bottom bracket in four years. But unless they get rid of my diameter for the bottom bracket, or some other very weird thing, it will go 20 years easy.

[MrMan]

That's all great...if the LBS in question doesn't suck.

Sadly there are many that *do* suck, and someone could still end up in the same situation.

Totally.

[MrMan]

^^^ Lol... all you need is to add some hot women receptionists/baristas.

To me, a Toyota is a car or truck that is well engineered and reliable, doesn't have esoteric fastener sizes or require special tools, has high quality factory parts widely available, and is something that nobody with any mechanical acumen would buy new because most 10 year old Toyotas still have another 20 years in them.

Fully rigid droppahless MTB . They work great and have for almost 40 years.

[XXX-er]

That's all great...if the LBS in question doesn't suck.

Sadly there are many that *do* suck, and someone could still end up in the same situation.

so wtf does that mean ^^ ?

so should we should all buy stuff online ?

the anecdote was not about a shop that fucked up

it was about an online retailer that fucked up

[TahoeJ]

There are so many great bikes out there these days... this isn’t really that difficult.

[MrMan]

There are so many great bikes out there these days... this isn’t really that difficult.

Yes. /thread.

[jono]

There are so many great bikes out there these days... this isn’t really that difficult.

It's TGR. Shoulder seasons are this boring.

[scrublover]

so wtf does that mean ^^ ?

so should we should all buy stuff online ?

the anecdote was not about a shop that fucked up

it was about an online retailer that fucked up

Duh. I know.

It was in response to "Had he bought the bike from the shop, everything would've been taken care of before his trip or before he ever had 1st thrown a leg over the bike. Or if something had happened to the bike after it left the shop he would've been at least comped a demo bike and hadn't blown a 10 hour round trip drive..."

Basically meaning not everyone has such a good LBS that would take care of things that well, or quickly.

Yeah there are lots of good shops. There are also lots of shifty shops.

[XXX-er]

if something goes sideways you can walk into the LBS where you bought it, they can call a rep, rob a part from another bike off the floor, they have a mechanic to fix it ... an LBS IS THERE

if something goes sideways with a bike you got from the virtual store you can log onto this screen, no parts, no rep , no mechanic ... the virtual store IS NOT THERE

sure the LBS or any retail store might suck but the point would be that one is there and one is not

My fucking old man, had that level of pessimism but he went thru a war a depression and my mom so he gets the free pass eh ?

[Mazderati]

Rode a 2017 Trance 2. Overall impression is good although that doesn't mean much given a lack of full-suspension baseline. Some of the welds looked like shit which was kind of surprising since I assumed our robot overlords put the frame together. Cool colorway which is what counts, amirte? But seriously, I'd consider buying it.

General thoughts on riding a new bike by someone who hasn't ridden a new bike in 20 years. The single ring gear up front is a good move. Less to think about, less to break, worked just as well as a 3x8. New handlebars are too wide, especially in trees. I'd cut them down. Did not notice any suspension bob when pedaling uphill which was a nice surprise. Seats have only gotten harder. Disc brakes are great.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> New handlebars are too wide, especially in trees. I'd cut them down.

Don't do this until you've ridden with the wide bars for awhile. You may find that they aren't the problem you're imagining them to be.

[ACH]

Don't do this until you've ridden with the wide bars for awhile. You may find that they aren't the problem you're imagining them to be.

X2 - they don't grow back

[Ted Striker]

X2 - they don't grow back

[SchralphMacchio]

X3, you may also need to retrain your upper body to ride differently on new bikes. Old school bikes with 640mm bars and 110mm stems encouraged more straight armed, back weighted riding styles. Throw those chicken wings (elbows) up as high as you can, ride your hands all the way to the outer edge of the bars, and pump your chest and upper body weight into the bar grips to get the front tire to bite, while keeping your tailbone back over the saddle to keep your feet engaged. Because you usually know where your hands are, it’s important to use the full width of your grips to avoid clipping trees - some of the meat of your palm might even be overhanging a touch off the bar if you use the full width, and that’s okay. They might feel too wide if you aren’t pulling enough of your upper body closer to the bar ... or possibly if the stock stem is too long.

I recommend taking the Trance out again and paying more attention to your riding style, then see how you feel about the wide bars.

[XXX-er]

Rode a 2017 Trance 2.

New handlebars are too wide, especially in trees. I'd cut them down. .

I seen a old vid of a rider and he is sitting straight up weight back arms straight out in front of him which is how we rode those old bikes

now days you ride these bikes in the attack position leaning forward over the front wheel/ arms bent outwards and away from your body

in that position wide bars will feel right make more sense so try that before you cut anything

and note that with lock on grips your can slide everything inward on the bars without cutting if you want to try narrower bars

edit : great minds think alike

[TahoeJ]

Probably too late... but this is a killer deal and they have an XL:

https://www.evo.com/mountain/intense...6-red-side.jpg

Nice components too (Pike included)... only downside is the 2x10 but for that price you could always swap it out after a while.

[Mazderati]

Thanks for the tip. Still looking and I'll check that out. Hope to buy within the next few weeks during some of the year-end sales.

[Alaskan Rover]

I lol'd.

The hard part about a bike as everyone has said is components. If you want the equivalent to a 4 banger tacoma, I would say get a steel hardtail 29er. That will last forever.

THIS ^^^

[jm2e]

Probably too late... but this is a killer deal and they have an XL:

https://www.evo.com/mountain/intense...6-red-side.jpg

Nice components too (Pike included)... only downside is the 2x10 but for that price you could always swap it out after a while.

Wow, that's a crazy deal. To give you some perspective on the 2x, I just ordered a GX Eagle drivetrain (no crankset) for $320 bucks. Add that to the price of the 275C, plus $300 for a DROPPER POST and $100 for pedals. $3K-ish for a pretty well styled out brand new carbon ride? Damn.

[smmokan]

Do yourself a favor and get a 1x11 XT drivetrain instead. After riding (with Chasing Epic) In St. George and Moab for the last month, I’ve realized Eagle fucking sucks. It’s the most finicky rear derailleur I’ve ever seen- non stop shifting issues on the four bikes that had it. I don’t plan on using it on any of my bikes next year. My XT setups didn’t have a single problem, and my clients crash a lot.

No one needs that 12th gear or the 50t anyways... the RD is laughably long to make it happen. Hopefully Shimano calls them out and sticks with 1x11.