Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Topic started by: ElyDave on 15 March, 2017, 07:45:59 pm
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https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-alpenchallenge-ac01-alfine-11-2017-hybrid-bike-EV273274?utm_source=Adestra&utm_term=&utm_content=170315_WED_UK&utm_campaign=Campaign-UK&utm_medium=Email&S2REF=9759597 (https://www.evanscycles.com/bmc-alpenchallenge-ac01-alfine-11-2017-hybrid-bike-EV273274?utm_source=Adestra&utm_term=&utm_content=170315_WED_UK&utm_campaign=Campaign-UK&utm_medium=Email&S2REF=9759597)
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Ooh, ooh, sir, I know this one!
Fugly.
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Fugly
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Fugly, though I'll give them points for thinking about mudguards.
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Disjointedly fugly.
It would have worked better, asthetically as well as practically, if it had 'E stays' and rack mounts.
Who on earth is going to pay that for a bike that has no apparent practical porpoise?
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Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every single branch on the way down. Nor am I inclined to cut it any slack for the mudguards.
And the price! Dear $DEITY$! Are they joking?
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not just me then
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It is rather boring in grey. It would be more fun if it was bright green or orange.
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totally not my style, but i wouldn't call it fugly, looking at the spec it should cost £6-700
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A bit ugly to my eyes but BMC's bikes all have a similar industrial aesthetic and plenty of folk buy the race bikes. Thumbs up for the (flexible-looking) mudguards. Swiss stuff always costs more than Chinese, partially labour/ material/ compliance costs, partially perceived value.
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You could get a perfectly good Thorn bike with Rohloff hub for that money - and it would be as good a touring machine as you could buy anywhere.
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The perceived value of a Thorn varies depending on the person.
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F*ck me that's f*cking disgusting.
:sick: :sick: :sick:
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To be somewhat controversial.
Meh :demon:
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Silly money for a hybrid certainly. It could at least have a carbon frame for that price.
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The perceived value of a Thorn varies depending on the person.
Is that not the same with every purchase? At least with a Thorn & Rohloff combination the components justify the price.
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The perceived value of a Thorn varies depending on the person.
I dunno, you could strip it for parts and get a decent set of V-brakes, a Rohloff and about 50 quid's worth of headset spacers. :P
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What is it ???
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you could compare that to a Pedersen or a flying gate, both unconventional, but at least elegant engineering (to my eyes anyway)
This thing is like 70's brutalist architecture
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"Alpenchallenge"? It's made of muesli?
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If you look closely, there is a nice curved rake on the fork, but overall C- stay after class.
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I don't like the lowered seat stays or the squareness of all the tubing. Also, it looks odd to have the bars so much lower than the saddle on a hybrid – but I guess this is an "ultimate speed" hybrid, so that's ok! Not at all sure the Gates belt justifies the price either.
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Having looked at them in the flesh, while it still isn't my cup of tea, I'd say they don't photograph well and actually look ok in the metal. I'd applaud them for putting together a commuter bike designed to a purpose rather than idea, allowing the options of Alfine or derailleur on each of their offerings. Had they used 26" wheels I might well be considering one of them.
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If it's functional, who cares what it looks like? You don't look at it while riding, after all.
An unfashionable view, I know... ;D
I agree that I'd want a Rohloff or Pinion at that price, though.
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From what I can see the money is more in the frame and the geegaws, there are a wide range of bikes and prices all with same geometry. https://www.evanscycles.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes_c/bmc-brand
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Fugly, and vastly overpriced.
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I rather like it. :thumbsup:
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Almost as ugly as a Thorn.
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To be honest I think all of the BMCs in this style are pretty awful, but to shoehorn those design features into a hybrid is double-fugly IMO. At least on an 'aero road bike' it's somewhat functional.
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Why would you design a frame for a 'commuter' bike that won't take a rack?
Or is the rack a dedicated design that adds £££££lots to the OTR price?
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I think it's OK. My commuting bike isn't pretty (deliberately so). It's functional and fast(ish), but not pretty.
Not my thing. I can't stand flat bars, hate Al frames, love level top tubes, insist on a rack etc etc. But I am sure it is perfectly functionsl. And Gates with a hub gear is very attractive...
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:sick:
That is all
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It isn't just fugly, it is a disjointed, overly expensive design.
What is its point?
Low bar position - but flat bars for a road bike. No bar ends, so sub-optimal for climbing. No way of fitting racks, so useless for real commuting (but it has mudguards).
At a £500 price point it is an urban commuter with too low a bar position. But at £2.5k it is utterly pointless.
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The belt drive is adding a lot to that price. And I doubt you'd find an 11spd IGH bike for £500
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It's only this thread that has made me realise there was no rack provision, I've just swung into the FAIL camp (although I still like its ride)
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There is a version of the bike that comes with drop bars, some of us want our bars that low, and I rather like the look of it. The no rack thing on a commuter bike pushes it into FAIL territory though.
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What's the problem with flat bars on a fast road bike? There's a lot of snobbery about this on this forum.
Flat bars are much more practical for in traffic etc, and easier to use proper gear levers and hydraulic brakes etc.
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What's the problem with flat bars on a fast road bike? There's a lot of snobbery about this on this forum.
Flat bars are much more practical for in traffic etc, and easier to use proper gear levers and hydraulic brakes etc.
Quite. Sure, you might want something more comfortable for riding all day, but if it's just for a commute...
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hang on a minute! Stop this thread hijack about functionality, that's irrelevant.
Does it look like it's had a beating from the ugly stick or not? Stick to the facts please :P
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OK. It doesn't look like it's had a beating from the ugly stick. It is the ugly stick.
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I don't think the mudguards do it any favours, but if you look at the other models in the range, it looks okay. As LWaB says, all BMC bikes have a similar industrial aesthetic.
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What's the problem with flat bars on a fast road bike? There's a lot of snobbery about this on this forum.
Flat bars are much more practical for in traffic etc, and easier to use proper gear levers and hydraulic brakes etc.
Quite. Sure, you might want something more comfortable for riding all day, but if it's just for a commute...
'just for a commute' on a 2.5k bike?
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I know a few folk who commute on expensive bikes and not necessarily a great distance. Their thinking is that they spend more time commuting than riding their 'weekend' bike and want to enjoy the ride.
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I couldn't enjoy riding that with all the small children weeping and the teenagers pointing and laughing. Plus think about the traffic chaos in my wake from the cars driving into each other with their seared eyeballs
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'just for a commute' on a 2.5k bike?
*Handwaves in the vague direction of Brompton*
Why not? If you've got somewhere secure to store it, you're riding it every day, and it's paying for itself in tube fare...
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I don't even like backwards sloping top tubes but I don't think there's anything particularly ugly about this bike. In its favour, it doesn't have garish graphics, and it does have quite clean lines.
It even has the fork bend low down on the fork blades just above the hub (where it should be), although the bend is a kink instead of a smooth curve.
The front mudgaurd stay mount halfway down the forks can excused because that's safer, anything trapped between the mudgard and tyre will push the guard away from the wheel.
(https://static.evanscycles.com/production/bikes/hybrid-bikes/product-image/969-638/bmc-alpenchallenge-ac01-alfine-11-2017-hybrid-bike-grey-EV273274-7000-1.jpg)
(https://s17.postimg.org/rny0s5233/BMC_hybrid_Bike.jpg)
Wanna see an ugly bike?
(http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/RGgAAOSw44BYcP-l/s-l1600.jpg)
Loads more in the Members' bikes thread ;D
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Loads more in the Members' bikes thread ;D
Shhh. People will discover my favourite forum game.
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I think it would look ok-ish if it had normal mudguard stays.
The thing I'd find a bit annoying about low flat bars like that is that IMO you'd end up with the worst of both worlds - no variety of hand positions, but your head lower than ideal for visibility in traffic. I'd rather have drops with the hoods (or cross-top levers) higher.
And even with belt drive and an IGH, you should be able to put something similar together and end up with change for the best part of a grand, no?
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Also the front mudguard is WAY too short.
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I think it would look ok-ish if it had normal mudguard stays.
The thing I'd find a bit annoying about low flat bars like that is that IMO you'd end up with the worst of both worlds - no variety of hand positions, but your head lower than ideal for visibility in traffic. I'd rather have drops with the hoods (or cross-top levers) higher.
And even with belt drive and an IGH, you should be able to put something similar together and end up with change for the best part of a grand, no?
Precisely
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This company isn't aiming downmarket/ to be the cheapest.
http://www.bmc-switzerland.com/int-en/about/
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Doesn't the water just come out of the side with mudguards like that? I have proper mudguards (SKS) and water still sluices from under the sides when it's really wet and I'm turning.
It doesn't look that bad, just impractical and at a laughable price point. My skinny hybrid commuter (a Ridgeback Flight 1 of fine vintage) cost about £400. Even adding disk brakes and a hub gears surely wouldn't add that much. I do need to probably buy a new all-weather commuting bike as the converted MTB I currently use most of the time is making more and more ominous groaning noises. It wouldn't be this. Something cheap and cheerful with mudguards, a rack etc. that I can lock up outside without worrying about. What's the point of having a utility bike that you leave anywhere?
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BMC appear to have some funny ideas about design.
I recently replaced the lower headset bearing on one. Integrated and oversize. Absolutely no weatherproofing and not even a crown race. A proprietary bearing that sits directly on the flare of the steerer. Looked all wrong to me...