fugly or Phwoar?

[phantasmagoriana]

Fugly, and vastly overpriced.

[Chris N]

I rather like it.

[L CC]

Almost as ugly as a Thorn.

[Dibdib]

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.

[Torslanda]

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?

[clarion]

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...

[Mr Larrington]

 

That is all

[mrcharly-YHT]

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.

[clarion]

The belt drive is adding a lot to that price.  And I doubt you'd find an 11spd IGH bike for £500

[Ham]

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)

[Karla]

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.

[fuaran]

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.

[Kim]

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...

[ElyDave]

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 

[red marley]

OK. It doesn't look like it's had a beating from the ugly stick. It is the ugly stick.

[Karla]

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.

[mrcharly-YHT]

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?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

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.

[ElyDave]

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

[Kim]

'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...

[hubner]

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.





Wanna see an ugly bike?


Loads more in the Members' bikes thread 

[L CC]

Loads more in the Members' bikes thread 

Shhh. People will discover my favourite forum game.

[Jakob W]

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?

[Mr Larrington]

Also the front mudguard is WAY too short.

[mrcharly-YHT]

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