Why is it that many bikes have terrible model names?
For example - p2k, p3, tcr, ocr, madone 5.9, six13, b2, tt2, cr1 …whatever.
While there are some cool ones - Lucero (a cross between Lucifer and aerodynamic?) most of them just don’t stick in the mind. Nothing like a ford mustang, for example.
Why? Are bike companies carp at marketing? Or is it going along the lines of American television, where every show is abbreviated (i.e. the oc, csi, er and so on and so forth)?
Lucero means bright new star according to M/W dictionary (and the marketing department at QR).
The name thing doesn’t stop at bikes - what about ultegra? dura-ace?
My dream job is to name paint colors.
I agree. Bikes should just be called the Bob, Dave, Sue, Pete, Jane models, etc. That would simplify it for us.
you have heard about the felt dirty sanchez right? www.urbandictionary.com
mtb name though. they must be less uptight
Well let me just tell you, as the person who deals with all of our bike names (among other things) I sometimes wish we would name our bikes F9 or XQ9. Searching for bike names which are relatively easy to pronounce, that are not yet taken or trade marked, or mean something evil or funny in a different language is actually quite hard. Plus of course most people will have more of an opinion in terms of what names mean to them, kind of like baby names. 
But yes, I like Lucero too, and it indeed means “bright star”
Herbert
QR/Litespeed
I really like, and I should have noted the name ‘blade,’ by the way - pretty suitable for a time trial aero bike.
Mountain bikes definately have better names (sometimes) especially the Canadian brands. I really like the Cove names like Stiffee, Peeler, Handjob, G-spot and Playmate. DeKerf also has a bike called the Implant (for when your stiffee wont get the job done!), and 24 Bicycles makes a model called the Porn Star. Not to mention the famous Kona Stinky. Road and Tri bikes are pretty boring.
six13 isn’t too bad – 6 is the atomic number for Carbon and 13 is the atomic number for aluminum. sort of clever in a geeky kind of way.
This is a bit off topic, but I remember a brand of mountainbike tires from the late 1980’s called “Dae-Yung”. I always read it as “Die Young”, which was probably the worst name I could imagine for a tire.
I like the Roberts MTB - DOGS BOLX
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Yeah man, I hear ya. First time I saw a Bridgestone “Anchor” here in a LBS here in Tokyo, I busted a nut. It ranks right up there namewise with “Anvil” or “Fat Cow” !
After watching Fukushima do Langkow however, I’m gonna go take a second look at the road frame (the track and mtn frames were sweet).
Best MTB name: Gary Fischer’s “Hoo-Koo-E-Koo”. Named after that great trail at Mt Tam. I always liked Salsa’s stem called SUL (stiff upper lip)
I hate by QR bike name (PicanTi)…who wants a bike named after taco sauce?
howabout the “sledgehammer”… it has shocks, pegs…
I wonder what our European friends think of this. Correct me if I am wrong, but most European car models are designated by a number and or letter, e.g., Porsche 911, Audi A8, Saab 9-3, Volvo 850. Most American car models have an actual name: Ford Mustang, Dodge Caravan, Pontiac Grand Prix, GMC Yukon. I guess there are exceptions, but that tends to be the rule. Do American consumers need a “name”?
I am a fan of the Cove bikes.
In the shop, we like to initial everything as it get our approval, whether it be a repair or a PO. We initial it, and add “OK” if it is OK and “not OK” if it needs some extra attention. My initials are AK, so I write AKOK on everything. We got to thinking that if I every produced a line of bikes, that AKOK would be the brand name - signifying that I signed off on its quality. Pretty boring, I know, until you ask someone, "So… what do you ride?’
This is not limited to bikes. I found a golf ball with the unfortunate name “HIgh Score.” Must have some marketing genius that though that one up! I did play it once and it lived up to its name.
Yeah man, I hear ya. First time I saw a Bridgestone “Anchor” here in a LBS here in Tokyo, I busted a nut.
I think the expression you are looking for is “busted a gut.” At least, I hope that is what you meant. Otherwise, that’s way too much information.
“lucero” is ok. I think Kona had the cool names, like wombat mentioned, the “stinky” or “King Kikapu” or “muni-mula” etc. But overall you’re never going to make everyone happy. Its like car names “Corolla” or “Sephia”; they’re not even WORDS!
let me ask you something, if this subject concerns you, are you one of the people who calls their bike a “she” or gives it a name? (I’m not)
“While there are some cool ones - Lucero (a cross between Lucifer and aerodynamic?) most of them just don’t stick in the mind”
I wish everyone would honour me like that. Bless you, child.
My favorites are from Pegoretti. My favorite was the GGM (Great Googly Moogly), reminds me of that Snickers commercial ( I think it was snickers where the guy paints “Chef” instead of “Chiefs” in the endzone). One of their new frames is the “Big Leg Emma”.