# Ugliest MTB I have ever seen



## proto2000 (Jan 27, 2007)

I have seen many ugly MTB's but this one has eluded my radar and it's time to see if there is an uglier one ever built. If you have a pic of one post it here and maybe there could be a vote. Here is my entry:


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

It could use a kickstand. hahaha.


----------



## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

That's a folding bike, right? I feel those deserve a bit of a pass on being ugly.


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

No real folding mountain bikes, are there?


----------



## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

That is the best looking folding bike I have ever seen. 
Also looks like it would be the best riding folding bike.


----------



## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

I've never been a big fan of this particular Y-bike.


----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

Yeah, Y-frames would/should dominate any All-Ugly list.


----------



## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

girlonbike said:


> No real folding mountain bikes, are there?


It's one of these.

Folding Mountain Bike for sale on MPLS CL | League of Bike Polo


----------



## jack lantern (Jun 23, 2006)

The Pontiac Aztek of mtb's.


----------



## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

jack lantern said:


> The Pontiac Aztek of mtb's.


uglier than the Trek Y-bikes by a mile


----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

Boy named SSue said:


> uglier than the Trek Y-bikes by a mile


If you've puked after seeing one Y-frame, you've puked after seeing them all.


----------



## Jem7sk (Jan 17, 2013)

If you want to see some ugly Mountain Bikes check out the Orlando, Fl Craigslist on a regular basis. For the most part ugly and over priced. I keep seeing on this forum recommendations to buy used but the people here want way too much for their bikes.


----------



## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)




----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

Wow. I don't even know what to say.

And a 90-degree HTA? Staggering.


----------



## Uncle Grumpy (Oct 20, 2005)

yo-Nate-y said:


>


I guess that ends the discussion, we've found it.

I'm not certain, but are those tyres Maxxis Hookworms with the treads paint filled?! If not, then wow, those are ugly tyres. If so, then double wow, that's some serious commitment to uglification of the already ugly.

Looks like it would handle well though. Bwahahaha.

Grumps


----------



## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

No where to jump but further up the ugly clump if your base bike is a Mantra. Lots of winners in this thread though....to think, Cannondales used to be kind of staid.


----------



## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

Gary Fisher JOshua could be a serious runner up.


----------



## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

Ok, let's give credit where credit is due. 
Folding bikes get a buy out because I am guessing it to be impossible to make one that folds and still looks good.

But there is no excuse for this monstrosity.









Softride also has a series of road bikes that are hideous.


----------



## jack lantern (Jun 23, 2006)

colker1 said:


> Gary Fisher JOshua could be a serious runner up.


Definitely deserves to be on the list. While we're at it:

- A big serving of Cannondale: Super V's, Killer V's, Prophets, Ravens.
- A big, steaming pile of ProFlex.
- Garnished witha nugget of L-bend bar ends.


----------



## fishcreek (Apr 10, 2007)

K2 Animal


----------



## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

yo-Nate-y said:


>


Your fork is on backward.


----------



## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

If by backward you mean, like, metaphorically "ass-backward" then I agree. Pretty sure it was intended that way though....and it ain't mine, thank jeebus.


----------



## Moon Rocker (Dec 8, 2012)

HA I kinda like those Fuji/Marlboro frames, Nashbar has them for $99 right now:

Fuji Marlboro Folding Bike Frame - Bike Frames

Cigarettes and sports, great combo. I read that it doesn't fold up very easy, as you have to remove the seatpost. Just yesterday I had the issue of trying to take my bike on the trolley (our version of the subway here in San Diego), there was simply no room and and I had to wait for the next one. So I peruse those Fuji's and Montagues every so often, but always opt against it.


----------



## wv_bob (Sep 12, 2005)

Moon Rocker said:


> Cigarettes and sports, great combo.


Maybe they heard someone say you'd have to be smoking something to buy one, but picked the wrong something.


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

I'd give the Mantra my vote, with the Kawasaki green FSR Extreme a close second. 

Why that color is experiencing a come back is beyond me.....


----------



## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

Wtf?


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

jeffgothro said:


> Wtf


is that???


----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> is that???


It's obviously a pedal version of the light cycle from Tron.


----------



## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

hdparrish said:


> It's obviously a pedal version of the light cycle from Tron.


A prop from Michael Bay presents TDF: The Lance Armstrong Story.


----------



## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Whoops, thought this was the Official Control Tech Team Issue thread.


----------



## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

Moon Rocker said:


> HA I kinda like those Fuji/Marlboro frames, Nashbar has them for $99 right now:
> 
> Fuji Marlboro Folding Bike Frame - Bike Frames
> 
> Cigarettes and sports, great combo. I read that it doesn't fold up very easy, as you have to remove the seatpost. Just yesterday I had the issue of trying to take my bike on the trolley (our version of the subway here in San Diego), there was simply no room and and I had to wait for the next one. So I peruse those Fuji's and Montagues every so often, but always opt against it.


I don't need a folding bike and that one is even probably a little small for me but I am considering it at that price.


----------



## flyingcloud (Jul 7, 2012)

*The Wookie Bike*

I win


----------



## Moon Rocker (Dec 8, 2012)




----------



## flyingcloud (Jul 7, 2012)

Skinny Tires....no gears...DQ'd!


----------



## Moon Rocker (Dec 8, 2012)

c'mon man, SS cementcross


----------



## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Yikes, those are bad. 

Maybe we should have categories: 'ugliest stock production bike,' 'ugliest sincere customization,' and 'the human abomination that is Burning Man.'


----------



## damnitman (Jan 30, 2008)

...I seem to remember back in the early to mid Nineties hearing the Secret service had or was thinking about having a couple of these made with kevlar. The theory was that coupled with kevlar disc wheels, the kevlar y-frame had more for the SS agents to hide behind if they ever got into a gunfight when out with the jogging CiC...


----------



## Narhay (Feb 1, 2013)

This is the bike version of the dumb and dumber van. Hey, want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?



Moon Rocker said:


> View attachment 780339


----------



## bing! (Jul 8, 2010)

Fugly fo sho... but she's MY fugly bike


----------



## zygote2k (Jun 5, 2011)

Rumpfy said:


> Whoops, thought this was the Official Control Tech Team Issue thread.


I knew you couldn't resist, much like you probably knew that I couldn't resist either.
It's almost finished and I'll even post it here if you like.


----------



## Moon Rocker (Dec 8, 2012)

bing! said:


> Fugly fo sho... but she's MY fugly bike


 I think it looks sweet... like the old Alien frame


----------



## Tone's (Nov 12, 2011)

Without a doubt, Y-framed bikes are just a disgrace to humanity, nothing could look worse than a Y frame, but i will say Kona FS look terrible, that long link just looks rude.


----------



## eatsleepbikes (Oct 3, 2009)

This isn't a blacksheep bike but it has to be part of the sheep family.


----------



## Drummerboy1975 (Nov 24, 2011)




----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Drummerboy1975 said:


>


WTF is that? Seriously.

Looks aluminum. Home job?


----------



## Tone's (Nov 12, 2011)

^^^^ bwahahahaha, thats sort of cool in some strange sick way lol


----------



## cyclodan (Feb 15, 2004)

Drummerboy1975 said:


>


I think we have a winner here.


----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

The world's only h-frame? Iunno.


----------



## zygote2k (Jun 5, 2011)

Drummerboy1975 said:


>


That's a cool bike! Wanna trade it?


----------



## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

That is really cool. I wonder how it rides.


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

My personal fav


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Turns out, there's a whole fb page of them!


----------



## 805MTB (Jul 4, 2010)

Huffy FS Ti









Is that a 29er?


----------



## Jak0zilla (May 16, 2010)

girlonbike said:


> Turns out, there's a whole fb page of them!


Ha! Yes! 75% of the bikes there fall into "if you don't have anything nice to say ..." territory.


----------



## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

*Ugliest "Functional" MTB - Whyte PRST-1*

Here is a good dose of UK over-engineering. Enhanced Pogo Stick....more so, than the Cannondale Super V2000:


----------



## Vespasianus (Apr 9, 2008)

kjlued said:


> Ok, let's give credit where credit is due.
> Folding bikes get a buy out because I am guessing it to be impossible to make one that folds and still looks good.
> 
> But there is no excuse for this monstrosity.
> ...


Hey, I actually rode one of those back in the 90's. The most terrifying bike of all time. Imagine trying to ride on the trail while having the bike try to endo you all the time. Yes, it was like that. Nuts. Bob Roll actually raced on that, which may explain his nervous twitch&#8230;.


----------



## LeeDumler (May 23, 2014)




----------



## Woodpuppy (May 10, 2014)

Woah! Is c'dale getting into the exercise bike market? They could have at least put a standard seatpost clamp on it.

The engineers' mantra should be something along the lines of a mashup of "just because you can doesn't mean you should" and "with great power comes great responsibility"


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

On the contrary, that's old. 

Being one of the few defenders of the brand in our little corner of the web, they came out with stuff like this every year or three, for a long time. 

Really just exercises in what was possible, and blessed by the higher ups as a good way to play with principles, concepts, materials, and find ways to break new ground. 

Most never made it out of the concept stage, but many pieces of them became in line products that are not only innovative, but remain to this day. The now fairly ubiquitous standard, BB30 (which honestly, I hate) was a Cannondale creation, etc. 

How many current companies do anything remotely like this? None. They are all so hyper focused on lighter, stiffer, stronger, cheaper to make, more expensive to buy (thus greater profit to the board members), and beholden to the almighty dollar, that none would dare put out some goofy assed, carbon fiber with roller blade wheels, never gonna make it in the real world product, simply as an effort to play, and see what's possible if you allow the imagination to take flight.

F*ck the modern bike industry, they can take their $425 cassettes and $12,000 bikes and shove them, well, you know where......


----------



## burritoguru (Aug 22, 2008)

So its seems it pretty safe to say most Kleins and Cannondales are on the ugly list and mid to late 90s full suspension bikes from Trek, Specialized


----------



## Woodpuppy (May 10, 2014)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> On the contrary, that's old.
> 
> Being one of the few defenders of the brand in our little corner of the web, they came out with stuff like this every year or three, for a long time.
> 
> ...


Please don't take my comments to mean I hate on the brand. My first road bike and first 5 mtb bikes were all Cannondales. I've had a bit of a hiatus from being remotely current with the state of the art in cycling, and I have no idea what a BB30 is. I'm still using a UN71 or 2, can't remember which. I don't know if C'dale has a new head badge or not, but the one pictured looks like the "new" one my last C'dale had on it, an F1000 frameset. I lusted after the magic cranks when they came out, and my Ibis is still rockin' a set of Coda Tarantulas. OK, now that pro-C'dale inclinations have been established, that thing still looks awful


----------



## Thebrgrking (Jun 11, 2014)

LeeDumler said:


>


i have no words


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Woodpuppy said:


> Please don't take my comments to mean I hate on the brand.


All good, wasn't directed at you, we'll be pals around here, not too many Cannondale-philes!


----------



## rismtb (Dec 11, 2012)

*McGiver's personal ride*

Wait till you see a picture of the guy who owns this


----------



## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

bing! said:


> Fugly fo sho... but she's MY fugly bike


Hey! My ex brother-in-law had one of those...I also knew Robert Savage (20+ years ago) when he had a shop in Lake Forest...anyone know if it's still in business?


----------



## robinmiller (May 31, 2005)

Drummerboy1975 said:


>


...when the bike rack *is* the bike.


----------



## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> F*ck the modern bike industry, they can take their $425 cassettes and $12,000 bikes and shove them, well, you know where......


I'm part with you and part not.

I'm not buying $425 or even $313 cassettes but was just fixing up my 1992 MTB and adjusting some retail $1800 new bikes. It reminded me the high end stuff I'm ignoring with my checkbook will filter down, and what filters down will probably work best.

The sport has spread all over, and I'm not so sure people who worked for the many small bike makers long ago were compensated much better than some who might be welding frames in Taiwan. Two I knew who worked for famed bike makers gave it up for wages and benefits that allowed them to go in in life.

Overall the posts here are fun and the designs that are pushing it remind me of the news and product introductions we still see. Someone will surely laugh at colors, parts and ideas introduced this summer sometime down the road.


----------



## super_stein (Mar 2, 2004)

GT Mountain Bike mountain bike cruiser vintage - bicycles - by owner...


New: Girvin elite fork XTR rear derailleur Real Design anodized brake levers (or + bu) Dia Comp purple anodized brakes (Japan) Shimano XT deore front derailleur DMR vault lacon oil slick pedals...



boston.craigslist.org


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

WOW!!!

They actually put a lot of time, and money into building a bike that will ride about as well as an elephant on as Razor scooter. 

Impressive specimen to be sure!


----------



## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

Four and a half thousand for that thing?!?!??!?!?! The price is the ugly part!


----------



## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

Ugly defined


----------



## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

127.0.0.1 said:


> Ugly defined
> 
> 
> View attachment 1977816


Not so fast…
@Nurse Ben has been looking for that fork for a long time. 
=sParty


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

But is that thing ugly, really, or just busy as f*ck?

Or are those one in the same?


----------



## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> But is that thing ugly.., or just busy as f*ck?
> 
> Or are those one in the same?


I was taught that simplicity is the soul of good design.


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

And yet, the web of life on this planet, is hardly a simple one.

I'm with ya, just playing devils advocate., since it's a designed product rather than some fantasy that should have been told no more when it was a child...


----------



## mtbtimeline (Aug 22, 2021)

At the edges of extreme bike tech there's a zone of lurid extravagance which is dangerously useless. Has this been raced? It reminds me of the 1995 Kestrel Rubicon Comp (see: Vintage Full-Suspension Mountain Bikes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) - wonderfully innovative but failed on downhill races.


----------



## mtbtimeline (Aug 22, 2021)

For some reason I can't get the image of this bolted-on rear triangle out of my mind. It's the details that matter - and those two bolts are just, wow, along with the pedals, rear derailleur cable, ...


----------



## Monty219 (Oct 26, 2020)

jack lantern said:


> The Pontiac Aztek of mtb's.


The 13 year old 1996 in me still thinks cannondale Vs are totally sweet


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

The fact that the majority of dpeartment store junk, still uses the Super V design (often loosely) as its DNA, says a lot about the design, in an "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" way. 

It's a simple, incredibly effective, striking design. 

Nothing wrong with appreciating that, as far as I'm concerned.... 

I honestly find the new designs to be quite like new cars. Computer design has taken over human creativity, and they all look, remarkably alike in a majority of respects. 

Small firms such as LenzSport, still buck the trend, but they're not the norm in this industry anymore, sadly.


----------



## Gilarider (Jul 13, 2009)

After all these years, nobody has said Slingshot.









I think it wins for ugliest bike brand, based on staying power. Something about them makes me shudder.


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

I've always had a little soft spot for them, and I believe they're still made. Maybe 8 years ago or so, they sent me out a 29er to try for a few months, it was a ball!


----------



## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

Slingshot doesn't even come close. The future is so ugly I gotta wear shades.


----------



## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Needs a few more pivots, then it will be perfect.


----------



## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> Needs a few more pivots, then it will be perfect.


Higher! The pivots must be HIGHER!!!!!


----------



## Whiterabbitt (May 16, 2020)

MattiThundrrr said:


> Slingshot doesn't even come close. The future is so ugly I gotta wear shades.
> View attachment 1978630


I love this bike. It’s perfect. The slackness. The dropper that goes to the frame. Even tho the slider is longer than the frame tube! The 32” front mullet. The 499 tooth rear cog. This bike has it all! Three water bottle cages!! 155mm cranks!!!

but MOST of all, I seriously want to upgrade my crappy michelin, maxxis, and speshy tires to the DONUT MEGAKNOBS and the KNOBSTRADAMUS. Please tell me where I can buy those bad boys!!


----------



## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

All of the Kleins that I've owned all had three water bottle mounts. The three custom frames I have now, mtb/fat/road-gravel all have three mounts also. So that bike does one thing right.


----------



## looks easy from here (Apr 16, 2019)

Whiterabbitt said:


> I love this bike. It’s perfect. The slackness. The dropper that goes to the frame. Even tho the slider is longer than the frame tube! The 32” front mullet. The 499 tooth rear cog. This bike has it all! Three water bottle cages!! 155mm cranks!!!
> 
> but MOST of all, I seriously want to upgrade my crappy michelin, maxxis, and speshy tires to the DONUT MEGAKNOBS and the KNOBSTRADAMUS. Please tell me where I can buy those bad boys!!


I want those spokeless wheels. 

But I'll skip the wireless electronic brakes, thanks.


----------



## RETROROCKS (Sep 25, 2004)

I have the winner


----------



## RETROROCKS (Sep 25, 2004)

yo-Nate-y said:


>


Bet the guy cried when he tried to ride it.. Lol


----------

