Buying a bike that rides great but looks horrible

[Zudnik]

Have you ever bought a bike that rode like a dream but looked worse than your ex-wife? Ok I don't have an ex-wife and that was a joke but I'm looking at a bike that rides just great but every time I look at it I can't stand it. Have you gone through this? Did you ever start to like the looks of your bike? My concern is that I'm going to fork over a wad of quid and immediately start finding ficticious problems with it and immediately want a different bike. Yeah, I'm vane but I'd rather deal with this upfront.

 

[Steve940]

Its a good question,I personally wouldn't buy a bike I didn't love the look of...no matter how good it rode..just my opinion

 

[Akiwi]

Yes, no perhaps.
I have upgraded my bike last year to the 2020 cube. Mainly because of the new Bosch Motor and the larger battery, but also as it looks much sexier.
BUT! I would advise you to get something that rides well AND looks goos, otherwise you will always be looking at everyone elses bikes and wishing you had it.

 

[lumpy]

I don't care what my bike looks like. And I especially don't care when I'm riding at the edge of my abilities!

 

[Hobo Mikey]

I have to like the look of something when I buy it, bike, car, my motorhome etc. But it also has to do what I want it to do. I would not a buy a bike that had all the bits and pieces if I hated the look of it. That’s why I bought my Whyte. Because it looks so good and does what it’s designed to do.

 

[steve_sordy]

If I don't feel compelled to look back at it as I walk away, I wouldn't have bought it.

 

[Steve940]

If I don't feel compelled to look back at it as I walk away, I wouldn't have bought it.

I agree, i wouldn't of bought mine in another colour even,it just looked completely different.sounds strange even typing it but it's just how I feel

 

[steve_sordy]

Emtbs are so expensive and such good fun that it seems a great shame to ruin the total joy by buying an ugly one! There are so many out there that you are sure to find one that floats your boat. Just don't expect everyone to share your view of what is ugly or beautiful.

 

[RichardGB]

Yep. My Merida isn't the best looking thing on the planet. Tbh, the only one I had test ridden before buying it left me quite disappointed.
I bought it because it was an absolute bargain and people who I trusted raved about it. I figured I could give it a proper try, tune the suspension up to see how I got on and still sell it without making a loss if I didn't like it. After all, they're still selling them new for significantly more than I got mine for.

I knew I was onto something after my first ride. Since then, I've really bonded with Princess Fiona (because she's a green ogre and I'm no oil painting) and come to even love colour.

I think you have to pick a bike on how it rides. To extend your ex-wife analogy: looks fade but a great personality will always be there.

 

[wildsau2]

Yes. Ive had a Rotwild Hardtail for one year. would never buy a Rotwild again. It had a 645Wh Battery. But you could only use 520Wh. The Marquart Control was horrible.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Yep I just bought a Rail 7 & although it is awesome to ride I hated the colour scheme - it reminded me of the colour of a car someones grandparents would buy when they finally reached retirement. I love the Santa cruz colours so I ended up spraying it with spray.bike a matt sand colour & now love it. Sometimes I take my coffee down to the workshop, just sit & look at it while I start to tear up with love.
Then again I am known for changing the colour of my vehicles to the unusual...

 

[Quinterly]

I had narrowed my choices down to the Giant Reign and the Trek Rail 5 but I really didn't like the look of the Reign. While I pretended to find a whole bunch of rational reasons to prefer the Rail, I can't say that there wasn't at least a small part of me that was influenced by the look.

That pales compared to my wife looking for a e-bike for urban use. She wound up specifically getting a bike she didn't like riding quite as much because it was "cuter".

 

[Yoak]

Like the profile of my Rail 9.8, but not too wild about the colours (and the paint seems to rub off just by looking at it) Best looking bike I had was my previous blue Pivot. Had it 5 years and it still looked stellar when I sold it. Was between the Rail and the Merida, and I preferred the look of the Rail. I wouldn't buy a bike I don't like at all, no matter how good it rides

 

[Pdoz]

Still married to mine. Is it wrong to like it when when she dresses in black and goes mud wrestling ?

 

[Philly G]

Yep I just bought a Rail 7 & although it is awesome to ride I hated the colour scheme - it reminded me of the colour of a car someones grandparents would buy when they finally reached retirement.

You have the same red and grey colour scheme as my 7? Yeah I know what you mean about the colour, your analogy made me chuckle I have to say I do like the overall looks though

 

[Zudnik]

Yep I just bought a Rail 7 & although it is awesome to ride I hated the colour scheme - it reminded me of the colour of a car someones grandparents would buy when they finally reached retirement. I love the Santa cruz colours so I ended up spraying it with spray.bike a matt sand colour & now love it. Sometimes I take my coffee down to the workshop, just sit & look at it while I start to tear up with love.
Then again I am known for changing the colour of my vehicles to the unusual...

This just made me cake my shorts lol as you must have the red/black since that's teh bike I was looking at. It looks as bad as you did with the letter opener sticking out of ya. Truly make me want to rattlecan paint it but can't do that if I'm dropping so much Rona coin on it.

 

[Dirtnvert]

Function is the most beautiful thing. Generally if is really well designed the function that that design has brought out is the best look. Like the old saying "winning races is the best look". If it incorporates an improvement that we just have to have , it'll be desireable

 

[Doug Stampfer]

This just made me cake my shorts lol as you must have the red/black since that's teh bike I was looking at. It looks as bad as you did with the letter opener sticking out of ya. Truly make me want to rattlecan paint it but can't do that if I'm dropping so much Rona coin on it.

Hehehe... Well the way i have come to look at things is that after I have owned something for a few weeks it never looks clean or tidy or unmarked. I have never been able to keep something in good enough condition to get top dollar reselling so I generally keep something till it's ready to retire or not worth selling. I'm like Pigpen from Charlie Brown so instead of resisting it I embrace it.

I'll see how this spray.bike product holds up for a couple of months & do a review of it - so far I'm really impressed with the product & you can get a pretty professional finish with it.

 

[Philly G]

Hehehe... Well the way i have come to look at things is that after I have owned something for a few weeks it never looks clean or tidy or unmarked. I have never been able to keep something in good enough condition to get top dollar reselling so I generally keep something till it's ready to retire or not worth selling. I'm like Pigpen from Charlie Brown so instead of resisting it I embrace it.

I'll see how this spray.bike product holds up for a couple of months & do a review of it - so far I'm really impressed with the product & you can get a pretty professional finish with it.

Post pics?

 

[Kentish]

Have you ever bought a bike that rode like a dream but looked worse than your ex-wife? Ok I don't have an ex-wife and that was a joke but I'm looking at a bike that rides just great but every time I look at it I can't stand it. Have you gone through this? Did you ever start to like the looks of your bike? My concern is that I'm going to fork over a wad of quid and immediately start finding ficticious problems with it and immediately want a different bike. Yeah, I'm vane but I'd rather deal with this upfront.

What bike are you looking at that is such a munter?

 

[Jackware]

Sorry couldn't help myself

 

[AdrianJW]

Yep. My Merida isn't the best looking thing on the planet. Tbh, the only one I had test ridden before buying it left me quite disappointed.
I bought it because it was an absolute bargain and people who I trusted raved about it. I figured I could give it a proper try, tune the suspension up to see how I got on and still sell it without making a loss if I didn't like it. After all, they're still selling them new for significantly more than I got mine for.

I knew I was onto something after my first ride. Since then, I've really bonded with Princess Fiona (because she's a green ogre and I'm no oil painting) and come to even love colour.

I think you have to pick a bike on how it rides. To extend your ex-wife analogy: looks fade but a great personality will always be there.

I assume you have the eONE-SIxty? I have one; starting to look a bit dated because of the external battery but otherwise I think it looks great. And, of course, it's a brilliant ride.
I find external battery is very user friendly; dead easy to remove and replace, one of the most portable, it enables a lighter frame construction and the Shimano 504Wh is still the most efficient for power to weight ratio. I wouldn't have a bike where the battery can't easily be removed for charging off the bike. It's interesting that a lot of pro riders still favour external batteries. Form is important but function comes first.
I've never really understood why EMTBs have to look the same as conventional MTBs; is this trying to increase acceptance? We should be celebrating the difference, not trying to hide it.

 

[Pwrhungry]

I love my YT decoy and the look of it but only would take the Titan silver and waited 2 months to get it.

 

[Zudnik]

I made my decision. I had been looking at the Rail 7 from trek but it just begs to be used as a urinal so went with the cube 160TM.

 

[Philly G]

I made my decision. I had been looking at the Rail 7 from trek but it just begs to be used as a urinal so went with the cube 160TM.

Begs to be used as a urinal ???!!! I have no choice but to challenge you to a duel, sir, in order to defend my honour!!! ?

 

[Gary]

There's actually a whole section of the forum for owners of ugly Ebikes to post in and console each other.

Haibike

www.emtbforums.com

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Yes that is a much nicer looking bike. If we could get them over here in NZ I would have been keen. What was the price difference between that & the Rail?

 

[Zudnik]

Yes that is a much nicer looking bike. If we could get them over here in NZ I would have been keen. What was the price difference between that & the Rail?

It was actually a few hundred $USD cheaper actually. Got a nice price break and free shipping.

 

[OldGoatMTB]

Have you ever bought a bike that rode like a dream but looked worse than your ex-wife? Ok I don't have an ex-wife and that was a joke but I'm looking at a bike that rides just great but every time I look at it I can't stand it. Have you gone through this? Did you ever start to like the looks of your bike? My concern is that I'm going to fork over a wad of quid and immediately start finding ficticious problems with it and immediately want a different bike. Yeah, I'm vane but I'd rather deal with this upfront.

I didn't exactly love we looks of my bike when I ordered it, especially the colors, but it ticked off all my other check marks. I've grown to love her, though.

 

[Philly G]

I didn't exactly love we looks of my bike when I ordered it, especially the colors, but it ticked off all my other check marks. I've grown to love her, though. View attachment 37157

She's not so bad! You could always paint her up if you wanted?