I've been looking at getting a steel or titanium frame and since I'm a dirty WI native, I thought I would look at the Waterford offerings. Except I can't seem to find anyone that actually rides one. I'm pretty well close to pulling the trigger as all the Waterford road bikes I've ridden were great and I have a Waterford made Schwinn Paramount that is great.
Any opinions on the Gunnar Rockhound or any Waterford made steel?
I currently have a gunnar road bike and had a rockhound 29er. I liked it well enough. The seat tube angle is really steep 74 deg I think, and I never felt totally comfortable over the pedals. The bike rides really nicely, and the steel is very forgiving. I wasn't super happy with the quality of the paintjob, it seemed to scratch and nick very easily (same with my roadie). Overall though it was a pretty good value bike. Didn't excel in any area but didn't fail either.
I currently have a gunnar road bike and had a rockhound 29er. I liked it well enough. The seat tube angle is really steep 74 deg I think, and I never felt totally comfortable over the pedals. The bike rides really nicely, and the steel is very forgiving. I wasn't super happy with the quality of the paintjob, it seemed to scratch and nick very easily (same with my roadie). Overall though it was a pretty good value bike. Didn't excel in any area but didn't fail either.
+1 on the paint - chips very easily. I had a Gunnar Ruffian for a few years w/ custom paint. Very light tubing, quality workmanship, and fun to ride, however I'm not convinced it was worth what I paid for the frameset.
I have a Ruffian and have owned two different Rockhounds (all 29er). My Ruffian is the best riding trail and race bike I have ever ridden. The paint job is not so good unfortunately
Resale in a Gunnar (if that is of any concern) is poor at best.
I had a Waterford built Salsa, and if you looked at it wrong the paint would chip. Later it developed a crack under the downtube gusset. The crack developed like 2 month out of warranty, which was probably voided by me having the bike powder-coated (see paint chipping) I really didn't care for the ride either; it was 853 and just felt sort of "there". Maybe the tubeset was over built for a small frame.
This was a 2000 or 2001, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had addressed some of these issues.
Love my Ruffian. The geometry is spot on for me and the frame is very responsive but not noodley (at 150 riding weight). I would not hesitate buying another and would strongly recommend it to others depending on what they are looking for in a frame.
I have 3-Gunnars currently (Road, CycloCross, and SS-MTB) and I love everyone of them. I ditched a Trek Madone for the Gunnar Road bike because the Gunnar is so much more comfy on the monster chip-sealed roads I have here. The Gunnar CX bike was a no brainer (after riding aluminum on the rough stuff the steel Gunnar was heaven). I also run a SS MTB fully rigid that I think is super sweet. I would agree about the paint on some frames being a bit fragile, otherwise the Gunnar bikes are great.
I rode a Gunnar Crosshairs for about 10 years and now have a Rockhound. Both rode/ride great, noticeably better than a budget steel bike. Unfortunately, both are a bit small for me, so I've sold the Crosshairs and I'm getting there on the Rockhound. I'd like to find the next size up first, though, but that will be tough.
What people said above about paint quality and resale value are true: they're both pretty bad. Nice when you buy them used, though!
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