IndecentExposure said:
This is a great topic.
Boutique bikes are for those that want to be different, even though they are the same as everyone else (Sinister, transition, Turner, etc are all prime examples of the same ole suspension design with a different builder) LAME.
Most of these small companies come and go. Mostly they go. So will your warranty and any tech support. If you have to be Unique, get one. If you want Quality, price, and Warranties, stay with a proven company... there's a reason they're there.
-snicker-
If that is really your belief, then not a big deal to me, but I'll disagree.
As mentioned in another post, not every boutique bike is created equal. Neither are regular production bikes either - even if a sizable minority are made in the same factory.
There are differences between Kona, Turner and Ventana even though they all are supposedly the same design. For price, the Kona is the best 'deal', but if the Turner and the Ventana offer something that the Kona can't then there's all the justification that someone might need, like me.
Please don't get me wrong, the Kona's are decent bikes too, but that doesn't mean that everything is equal. Point of example take a look at the XC race bikes between the three - the geometry is different, the shock stroke is different, and even materials are different, and finally if I wanted to... I could do a custom frame with the V. That doesn't mention the subtle differences in design, and the (maybe not so) subtle differences in fit and implementation.
I had several 'proven' companies for my last few daulies - a Specialized, a Rocky, a Jamis, and a Diamondback. All were good bikes, but none of them really fit
my frame correctly. When I bought the boutique brand, it actually fit. That alone was worth the cost of admission. If I would have gotten the boutique/custom frame from the start I would have saved a few hundred bucks, instead of shelling out for a XC bike several times over.
And for the warranty and companies that come and go.... just because a company is larger or been around a while doesn't mean the warranty is worth more than the paper it's written on. Have you actually
read some of them? Once you take the bike into the dirt, some of 'em are null and void. Even if the warranty is supposedly good, the company has to still stand up and deliver.
Anyone ever try to warranty a GT after Pacific bought 'em out? Reputable company right? And no-one's ever had a legitimate warranty claim regected by a 'proven' company. Is it better to have a two year warranty that actually gets respected, or a lifetime that a company won't honor?
And as per a 'Proven' company... some of the Boutique builders have come and gone, but so have some 'Proven' companies too. Remember 'Cuda, GT and Mongoose, or how about Bontrager. All of 'em went the 'Proven' route. GT and Goose are back, and fighting to get rid of their dept store stigma.
Klein, and Fisher are now proven brands, and both started as boutique brands. On the other hand Cherry, Ventana, Turner, Intense, and several other boutique brands have been around for a decent amount of time. And I'd be happy to match up their designs, quality against the production brands.
In the future we'll have some new 'proven' companies, some that have left us, and we'll have some boutique builders that have become proven companies. I wouldn't be surprised if Santa Cruz or Titus was able to take that leap.
/rant off.
JmZ