Interesting. Seems to depend on product identification. Cervelo has done well with their number/letter designations but somehow a Litespeed Blade sounds nicer than Litespeed 01N7J

Sorry, but there are still better names.
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The all time highest selling bike of all time will be when a company comes out with a sweet, curvy frameset and calls it (and I quote) "The Virgin."
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right there my friends, is a million dollar idea.
your wlecome.

[reply]Sorry, but there are still better names.
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The all time highest selling bike of all time will be when a company comes out with a sweet, curvy frameset and calls it (and I quote) "The Virgin."
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right there my friends, is a million dollar idea.
your wlecome.[/reply]

Why? So you could envison riding it while it cried and complained that it hurt?

I'd rather ride somthing called "The stanky whore"

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Lewis

My dad - in his mid 60's and a Lincoln man for the last couple decades - is not going to like this.

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Rough.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

[quote]The all time highest selling bike of all time will be when a company comes out with a sweet, curvy frameset and calls it (and I quote) "The Virgin." [/quote]

What do you call it after a test ride?

Silly boy. You don't call it at all.

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Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

Funny stuff. But, I'm not sure I get it.

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"....No longer easy on the eyes but these wrinkles masterfully dusguise the youthful boy below."~Death Cab for Cutie

http://www.a1cyclery.com

Yeah - I feel the same. Many car makers do this to keep consumers "brand loyal". The German cars do this the same and then the numbers mean something (usually engine size in liters like ML500 - M class with a 5.0 liter engine or BMW 530 - 5 series with 3.0 liter engine).

You are correct thought that Cervelo can do the while R2.5 to R3 thing (although they then have the soloist, dual). Litespeed has a good set of names (saber, vortex, blade, sienna, tuscany) and should stick with it.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Bikes shouldn't have model names at all, they should be made individually for their riders.

That way even the Virgin would fit as well as the Stanky Whore.

And no, never call either of them.

Real examples of why the people who choose car names should be carefully selected for the job. Some of them are the names given to these cars in English after they have been translated from Japanese, some are just stupid, and about half of these aren't even real words:

Oldsmobile Alero
Chevy Lumina
Chevy "Luv" truck
Pontiac Aztek
Buick Reatta
Checker Superba
Oldsmobile Achieva, Bravada, Firenza and Futuramic
Pontiac Astre and Fiero
Saturn Vue
Buick LeSabre
Chevrolet Greenbrier
Chrysler LeBaron
Dodge Coronet, Crestwood, Diplomat, Dynasty, St. Regis
Ford Aspire
Lincoln Versailles
Pontiac Executive
Rambler Country Club
Daihatsu Naked
Honda Life Dunk
Honda That's
Isuzu GIGA 20, Light Dump and Mysterious Utility
Mazda Bongo
Mitsubishi Delica, Space Gear and Pistachio
Nissan Fairlady Z and Prairie Joy
Rickman Space Ranger
Rinspeed X-Dream
Suzuki Cappucino
Toyota Deliboy and Toyopet
Volkswagen Thing
Volugrafo Bimbo

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

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Silly boy. You don't call it at all.
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LOL - touche'

Plans are cancelled for the Specialized Volare?

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

What ya gonna call the women's model?

The Big Stiffie?

I think "Stud" would work well.

it's got nothing to do with anything nearly as complex as that. historically american cars had names and european (particularly german) cars had numbers. in the same way that some german companies started giving their cars names to make them more appealing to americans, (volkswagon is a great example of this) american manufacturers are trying to look more "european" and hence they're giving the cars numeric designations. the american arm of daimler-chrysler seems to be doing the best job at this, little surprise.

as long as bicycle manufacturers are selling image as oppossed to engineering, we'll see lots and lots of names for bicycles instead of numbers.



jerk

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http://www.echelonbicycles.com

Proposed taglines:

"There's nothing like climbing on a Virgin"

"The Virgin's wheelbase is...tight"

"Every man wants a Virgin between his legs"

Future E-bay ad: "Used Virgin, ridden hard, quite responsive, but I've got another ride now..."

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Mr Ed
Triathlete with one horsepower

OK, I'll admit that I find the seemingly-random number/letter combo "classier" than random names (especially when the names are made up out of whole cloth), but that only applies if it actually means something. The Mercedes/BMW/Audi/etc. conventions that actually tell you something about the car are useful, but just picking random numbers is no better than some weird made-up model name. The Ford "Five Hundred" may be the worst of both worlds. Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?

Bikes have more leeway to go either way. Since they're targeting a smaller market, they can get away with using an "obscure" name that Joe T. Random off the street wouldn't get. I'd take "Alpe d'Huez" over "Previa" any day.

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fork DOWN
times DOWN
woo - jackmott

What did QR/Litespeed did to you this time? Poor, poor Tom...

it is critical to do the research because literally millions of dollars can be lost or gained on the identity of the brand. so, naturally in the car idustry they're going to spend the money, it is not stupid to do so. and alot of people relate to a name as opposed to a number, expecially women.

but getting back to bikes, there are alot of bikes that have high equity in thier brands without the numbers...like the Vortex, Blade, Lucero, Madone, etc.

if everything had the same formula it would fail to be successful. not everything needs to have the name of a robot.

I agree- they have to have some sort of continuity. I like the BMW system of 3, 5, and 7 series. As the numbers go up, so does the size and luxury. I do not like the Mercedes system of letters. It does not make clear sense like the BMW's and a lot of their cars seem very similar. Bianchi is the same way. Keep things simple. If you use words, keep them short and easy to pronounce. More "Blade" and less "Tete de Course". Interesting how Cervelo uses the numbering system AND words (P2, P3, Soloist).