Your FEARLESS BLOGGER!
WOW! I had an interesting comment from a reader concerning my Gary-Fisher-Trek post... which I feel compelled to respond to... A reader seemed...well..Upset and basically said I post UNEDUCATED comments...The comment was (and the reader didn't post their web address or email)...The comment was;
"If you knew anything about the bicycle industry, you would know by now, that Trek and Gary Fisher are the same company. So many of your posts are nothing more than uneducated opinions. What does any of these uneducated opinions have to do with Marshall Taylor?
What would Marshall Taylor think about you trying to represent him?"
The reader obviously didn't read the post in total because I DID SAY these are the same companies. Trek acquired Gary Fisher! The point of THAT POST was to pose the question, WHY would a company who owns both brands, make competing products that look almost the same and one (Gary Fisher), obviously superior to the other (Trek).
I have read too many other blogs and blog comments over the years to count and the one thing I noticed is that there are some folks (like me) who have some very strong opinions. The strange thing is (while reading comments), I only remember reading a few blogs containing comments of disagreement. This means either the Blog Owner shares the opinions (without any variations within those opinions) with all of their readers, OR the blog owners don't approve those comments for posting or delete the comments that don't agree with the opinion of the Blog Owner.
I, your fearless blogger will do no such thing (not approve or delete dissenting opinions)because what makes MY COUNTRY and the country we live in so great is we are free to express our opinions without fear of syndication or arrest.
Also...the commenter said "If you knew anything about the bicycle industry", Well, this is true, I don't know JACK about the industry! Why should I know anything about the industry? My friend, that is THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS BLOG! To give an IGNORANT OUTSIDERS view of an industry that has so thoroughly uninspired the Urban Areas in this country, that bicycle industry products mean NOTHING to youth anymore.
What would Marshall Taylor think of how I am representing him? From being one of the foremost expert in the world on Marshall Major Taylor, My company is set to REPRESENT HIM in a way that no one in the 133 years since his birth has. How will we do that? Just stay tuned!
Anonymous Commenter, I will go even further than your comments concerning my opinions being 'Uneducated'. As the bicycle industry is concerned, I am "Unlearned AND Ignorant" and if being uneducated, unlearned and ignorant means my mind is free too, very shortly, bring the world the HOOTTTESST Rec Bikes on the planet, I accept your judgment and statement that I am uneducated.
It is my hope that you return to read this blog because soon, my company will roll out something that I guarantee you will love. Until that time though Anonymous, I will continue to post MY OPINIONS. Men of vision, like myself, are often ridiculed by those who have accepted the OPINIONS of others as EDUCATION that somehow (they believe) give them an edge over others. It is ALWAYS such people who end up drawing their paychecks from the very people whom they are more educated than :)
As I have in the past told others, I now tell you...Listen to the video and please accept "It's my party (blog) and I will cry if I want to."
The celerifere - one of the earliest bike prototypes - had no pedals or steering.
The first contraption that can realistically be said resembles a bicycle was constructed around 1790 by Comte Mede de Sivrac of France. Called a celerifere, it was a wooden scooter-like device with no pedals or steering. A similar model, improved with a steering mechanism attached to the front wheel, was created in 1816 by German Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun. He called it a Draisienne, after himself, though popular parlance also dubbed it the hobby horse.
When using either of these devices, the rider perched on a seat between two wheels similarly sized wheels, and using the feet, propelled the bicycle a bit like a scooter. Drais exhibited his bicycle in Paris in 1818, and while popularly received, its design limited its use to really just flat, well-groomed paths through gardens and parks, which were off-limits to a good portion of the population in those days.
When Pedals Were Added - A Big Improvement
A FEW historians credit the invention of the pedal bicycle to Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith who lived from 1812-1878. One day back in 1839, MacMillan was out watching people riding bikes, which at that time were driven by kicking the ground with your feet. Thrilling, eh? Seemed to him that there must be a better way.
According to later research done by family members, after musing on the matter a bit MacMillan came up with an idea for the first pedal set-up that could more effectively drive the bike. Using his blacksmith tools, he put his idea into place, and voila! bicycling suddenly took a giant leap forward.
Macmillan's contraption had a wood frame and iron-rimmed wooden wheels. The front wheel, which provided limited steering measured 30 inches (760 mm) in diameter, while the back had a 40 inch (1016 mm) wheel and was attached to pedals via connecting rods. In total, Macmillan's bike weighed 57 lb (26 kg). His creation gathered a lot of attention, and Macmillan helped generate additional publicity when he rode the bike 68 miles to visit his brothers in Glasgow. Copies of his invention produced by other firms soon appeared on the market, and Macmillan saw little profit from his innovation.
A rap group from the early 1990's called the Black Sheep posed a challenge through a song they wrote. The challenge was this "You can get with this or you can get with that" to hear this song (it is clean) click on the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlEy3og5smsw.youtube.com/watch?v=GlEy3og5sms.jpg)
I ran across a bicycle company here in Colorado that goes by the same name- Black Sheep Bikes- http://www.blacksheepbikes.com/. Readers, yall know that I know some funk in bicycle design when I see it and I am here to let yall know that I am not particularly wild about the above design but Black Sheep's use of color is great. Yes, I would have done alot more color coordinating because putting color on the frame would really have made this bicycle pop, but they did well! The rap group said it and I pose the same challenge to you all, "You can get with this (Black Sheep Bikes) or you can get that (another company in there price point)" I'm gettin' with these cats!
Check out the front of this bike. Dang, I have to say what the cartoon character used to say when I look at this "I thought I saw a puddy tat". What I appreciate most about this, is that is it absolutely the 'Cleanest' design I have ever seen, color would have made it stand out, but this is nice. Remember in an earlier post I waxed philosophical on the value of clean design? I just believe all the gadgets take away from the bike.
Black Sheep also have a cargo bicycle (not pictured her-I couldn't find a good pic to post) design on their website that I think yall should check out because I believe Webster's Dictionary should redefine the definition of 'Freak Show' after I saw the cargo design! Dictionary publishers..be down and put that cargo design picture in your dictionary under 'Freak Show'!
I am going to shut up now. To Black Sheep Bikes...keep bringin' it to the marketplace...somebody got to hold down the fort until I get out there :)
Sorry I have been away for a minute but I have spent my spare time over the last month re sketching some of my designs and I can tell you all that my latest 4 creations: 'Smoove', 'Air Force 1', 'Funk Ball', and 'Mannish' are...well... in all modesty FREAK SHOWS! I am up to 102 designs and it seems every time I try and relax my mind for a minute, something off of 'Planet Funk' pops into my head and I have to preserve the concept by sketching it- yall know how I do it. Here is a free concept for you designers that read my blog. What would a girl's or ladies bicycle look like that is a hybrid chopper-cruiser style design that features a 'Louis Vouitton' paint job, goldish brown slick fur style seat, jewel encrusted rims (imitation of course) stripped gold and brown tires, with hoop earring L.V. logo on the top tubing (centered)? Take it a little further and put a gold chain guard with Louis Vouitton written on it with small diamonds (imitation of course). Push the envelope a little further and.....I will leave yall alone for now on that.
I'll bet yall don't know what I am talking about do you? Nor can you even comprehend the Million $$$ idea I just gave you. As I have always said "There isn't room for everybody to live on planet FUNK." Anyhow, I ran across the above design by a company called 'Mirachi'. After, again, looking at more cruisers than I can count, this one jumped out at me as having potential. The title of this post 'Bike UP! Handle Bars down' encapsulates my feelings about this design. I must say that I love the frame and the rims (although I think 1\3 more spokes would really POP), I am of the opinion that the designers lost the funk when it came down to the Handle bars. This style handle of handle bars have been repeated by 100's of other bicycle companies over the last 40 years. I really like the different sizes front and reaer tire also but I would've made the rear tire bigger and adjusted the size of the front tires a bit larger also.
The color on this frame POPS also and would make anyone notice it, however, tons more thought should have went in to the handle bar design. Many of you might not realize this but it the very small things (not that handles bars are a small thing) that can get a consumer excited or turn them off and make them say 'I really don't need that'. What would've been hot on this is handle bars that only went up 3 inches above the neck and sloped down, back and up tow
ards the rider. Kind of hard to visualize what I am saying, but I just hate to see such a hot frame go to waste due to lack of creative follow through throughout the whole design. Above is another picture of a Bicycle offered by 3G Bikes and my friend Gary Silva. The design is hot, all the way down to the rims, but again, those straight up style-chopper handle bars just don't look good with the design as a whole.
I can tell you all without hesitation that had it not been for the handle bars on this 3G creation, this definitely would have made my Top 5 Designs of all-time! The design is perfect in almost every other way- and I LOVE THOSE BLADES! I have developed a style of handle bars for these types of bikes called 'Doggy Ears' (Puppy Ears for the ladies) that I know will change the whole look of such designs and ad that urban flair I have so often spoke about. I actually set them down on my design called Mannish and they really POP!
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