WOW! Your fearless blogger has been humbled once again. As many of my regular readers know, I have a DISDAIN for bicycles that have 'Alot of Stuff' and clutter on them. It, in my opinion, just takes away from the simplicity that is bike design. My eyes start to roll around in my head as I count the number of EXTRA WIRES, gears, and what I view as totally unecessary additions to bikes that make them look more complicated (in the name of adding value) than they really are.
That is until I saw this design people and Urban Funk Enthusiasts! This design certainly won't make it into my design 'Funk Hall of Fame' anytime soon, but this design from a company called Work Cycles catches my eye on a few levels. The first is although I think black tires and black frames are totally MINDLESS and unimaginative, it works on this bike, the sprocket and chain are covered with a slick cover and the top and bottom tubing are a thing of BEAUTY. Not the FUNK, but well done...Work Cycles, I don't like ANY of your other designs, but I like this one...you get the APPLAUSE!
I recently went for a visit and tour of a? here in Denver called Wheat ridge Cyclery. The tour was given to me by the man you all now know as the ‘Fabricator of Funk’. I put a question mark in the first sentence because I can’t really call this business a bike shop or retail store because although it may be both of those things, based on what I saw, it is much, much more. They are all around ‘Bicycle Hustlers’...oh yeh...I saw the funk there…and it was good. (The legal and honest type of hustlers). 
This was probably the most pleasant and inviting consumer type atmosphere I have been in since my jaunts across the world in the mid 1990s on Singapore Airlines. I have flown MANY Airlines during my international and domestic travels but Singapore Airlines (Get a picture of airline and Stewardess) was the best of all. I say that because in this country, it is rare to go somewhere and actually feel like you are appreciated for more than just your $$$. The worst airline I ever flew on was America West and I do not even know if this airline is still in business, but if at all possible…STAY AWAY! 
Wheat Ridge Cyclery was the same experience as Singapore Airlines. Everyone that worked there seemed to be genuinely happy to be there and I was greeted (not like those fake Wal-Mart Greetings) not less than5 times by 5 different people. They know when to approach you and when to let you alone to do your wandering and gazing. Not only that, the store was beautiful! Well laid out, MUCH variety, amazing bicycle designs, and unashamed of the high prices they were asking for their product (I saw prices between $1,500-$10,000). Truthfully, neither should they be because 5 of their designs were FREAK SHOWS and I believe well worth the $$$. There bicycle mechanic shop is AMAZING, sterile, well laid out, organized, etc. Whatever image you have of a mechanic’s shop (the grease, tools all over the place, cigarettes in the mechanics mouth, tires laying all over, Wheat Ridge Cyclery ‘ain’t the one yall’.
If you are a rider who rides simply for ‘Recreation’ and don’t want to spend big $$$ on a bicycle, this isn’t the place for you. However, if you want to see what I believe to be the standard in retail experience (no matter what you are shopping for), take a visit to Wheat Ridge, you will not be disappointed.
Pictured above is a VERY DESCENT design I saw up close during my visit to Wheat ridge. It is called 'Langster Tokyo' and although this picture doesn't do this design justice, it is nice to look at. Being aesthetically focused as I am, it was the hottest I saw there! Most others would disagree, but hey, it is my opinion and I am sticking to it. This design though isn't even in the same league as my 2 in this genre of bicycle....Thanks Wheat ridge and know that your hospitality doesn't go unnoticed :) I saw this thing, a vision, and it was a Major Taylor Road and Track Bike in WHEATRIDGE FELLAS!
I came across this bicycle while conducting some VERY LIGHT bicycle viewing. I am posting this not because I like the design or dislike the design, but to tell yall that this bike retails for...umm...$4,000! Oh my, Oh my...Hermes Bicycles were introduced into the market place in the 1980s and is a Dutch Bicycle Company that SAYS they like to push the envelope of stylish bicycle design.
WOW! I am getting a little wound up because if the pictured design is PUSHING the envelope, my brand soon to launch, Iron RIDERZ is going to Rip, chew, burn, smash and OBLITERATE that same envelope. Happy days are here again folks.
Below Article courteyt of www.tuvie.com
Hermes bicycle, with its stylish shape and features, will allow the users to show off their flair and elegance even during the early morning stroll. Hermes bicycles were introduced in the market during 1980s and recently boomed the market with their new idea of wrapping a stainless steel bicycle developed by the Dutch brand Batavus with leather. Hermes decorated the frame, seats and handles of this bicycle by enfolding with Taurillon Clémence, which is an extremely supple grained leather in a pumpkin and zesty Havana shade while keeping its original black finish intact. Spare accessories are not available of this bicycle yet, but can be developed by special workshop upon request. The Hermes bicycle retails at $4,000.
DANG! Somebody send me a better picture of this BIKE...OH MY....OH MY...My Funk Hall of Fame just got another INDUCTEE....As my older brother used to say (I think he got this saying from Grady from Sanford and Son..."GoodGogaleewogalee!")
I really have to get a side and aerial view of this design because IF the rest of the design is as HOTTT as what I see in the picture, we may have another FUNK HALL of FAME Inductee in the Electric Bike category. Those handle bars make a brotha like me lay back in my chair and say "Those look like I could have designed the." Me being the Minister of Funk as it concerns Bike Design, this is a HUGE compliment dear readers.
Somebody please send me a FULL Picture of this bicycle if you have it...HURRY...I'm freaking out!!! Breathing Problems...:)
Another Edition to my Design Funk Hall of Fame! This bike is FLAT OUT HOOOOTTTT! If you think it isn't...you need go look in the mirror and say to yourself;
"DANG I AM DUMB!"
This bicycle hails from a European Bicycle Company called Velorbis. Hey Velorbis...I can't say it any better than my friends Wayne and Garth from 'Wayne's World' Watch the video until the end as I take a BOW TO YOU!
During my search for the great bicycle design, I came across MANY lowrider bikes and after much thought, I have finally decided to address the issue. I have gotten a few emails asking my thoughts, one from a guy with a bicycle company that was looking to expand his product line. Wwhat I told the company owner was this; "Don't sell anything that you aren't an expert on, can't build, is SO NICHE, and requires a certain race of people to make the product line viable. In fairness, most of the pictures in this post consist of 'Show Bikes' but there is some of ones people ride everday also.
Lowrider bicycles, in my opinion are too niche to EVER be mainstream and unfortunatley, when people see these bicycles, they think of Mexicans. That isn't racial, it is just the truth! Like african americans, as latinos start to understand their buying power as a race and demand better housing, civil rights, fair wages and the like, their standard of living will go up as a people, and the old ways, like with black folks will fade into the past. I am ceratin spanish, no matter how well they are doing, will continue from generation to generation.
Back to the lowrider bike issue, it is RARE to even see a latino kid on these bicycles, here in Denver and believe me, we have a VERY LARGE latino population and they are at least 50% of the homeowners in the area where I live and I can't even remember the last time I saw a lowrider bike. I said all of that to say this, this market is WAY TO NICHE to ever flourish in the mainstream. ALL OF THE LATINO KIDS AND TEENS where I live ride regular bikes (although ugly ones) and truthfully, they could buy a lowrider bicycle for about the same cost as some of the bikes I see them on....what does that say? And what does that say about the mainstream viability of this niche market?
To those of you who build them, GREAT! Keep on doing your thing cause I ain't hatin on you, but it is a tough sell where 'Cross over appeal' is concerned when anyone, no matter what race, looks at a product and says "You know a ***** person designed that." Offended yet, OH BABY I GOT MORE! When you see, or hear of 'Bling-Bling' Jewelry, what color man do you think of? A Black man! Don't lie, that's who I think of and I AM BLACK! For those of you who live here in Colorado, when someone mention the city of Boulder, Colorado, what type of people do you think of? WHITE PEOPLE!
It's true so get mad if you want. Anyway, I think low rider bikes, for the most part look, well, OVERDONE!
Out of the hundreds and hundreds I have looked at, the one pictured below is the ONLY ONE I have ever seen that I kinda think is ok. Even this one....white wall tires.....PLAYED OUT! I vomit ever time I see a bicycle with WHITE WALL TIRES! YUK!
As has become my custom here on this bike blog, I will answers some questions that my readers have posed to me. Please understand that I am not trying to be rude or arrogant, but why ask me a question if you do not want the answers people? HERE WE GO;
Questions
"If you want your blog to be successful, why aren't you posting everyday?"
Answer
What is your definition of success and are you comparing this to other blogs? Listen Matt, my definition of success is doing what I want to do on my blog the way I want to do it. If you even do a light search across the 3 big search engines, you will find that all of those other bloggers are posting the same stuff and their is VERY LITTLE originality! Outside of Urban Velo and Bicycle Design Blogspot, everyone else is, well, the same! I am not trying to be different for the sake of being different, but because I am myself, an original in my own right, my blog has to reflect who I am.
Question:
"You seem to be all over the place with your posts, I thought this was a bike design blog?"
Answer:
I have alot of differing interests! But I encourage you to at least go to the bottom of my blog, read past title posts and I know you will find a consistent theme.
Question:
"Why don't you have a widget for readers to subscribe?"
Answer:
I want people to come back to my blog because they want to! I am not going to send someone my posts if they aren't in the mood to read them. Don't you get enough junk in your inbox? Besides, the truth is people put this widget on their sites to show off how many subscribers they have and it has no practical purpose other than that! Yes you could argue it is important for traffic, yes you can argue it shows you have a following...but I am only interested in people who have the love and conviction to visit my site because they like what I do, not because they came across it, subscribed and have to be reminded to read!
Question:
"What do you have against products that are already on the market?"
Answer:
NOTHING! As a recreational bicycle designer myself, I am just sad that the folks who ride these bikes are settling for what is there instead of demanding something better. If folks didn't demand WHAT THEY BELIEVE to be better during this last Presidentional Election, would Obama have won the presidency?
Question:
"I like the bikes I saw at Target and think they are nice!"
Answer:
Joel my friend, you do because you just don't know any better! Poor guy.
Question:
"You suck!"
Answer:
Indeed I may, indeed I may! But I am going to suck SOOO BAADDD that you are going to run out to the store in the future, see my FUNK and give me your $$$- Count on it!
Monkey Lectric www.monkeylectric.com is doing big things for bikes people. I posted a few times about a company called Scaper bikes www.scraperbikes.net a few times and if you go 2 posts down from this one you can view a youtube video that was a HUGE viral marketing success from Scraper. Scraper Bikes and Monkey Lectric are 2 opposite ends of the creative spectrum. Why do I say that? Scraper Bikes is:
- Very low tech yet SUPER CREATIVE! An example of what ANYONE can do if they just FREE THEIR MINDS and use what is available to them instead of believing they have to have alot of money to launch something big.
- Monkey Lectric id VERY HIGH TECH and also SUPER CREATIVE. By the technology they are demonstrating, it had to cost A MINT to develop this concept and I am sure they are wise enough to apply for at least a Design Patent. Bicycle lights aren't a new concept by any stretch of the imagination but what they are doing is FREAKISH and original.
- Scraper is something for the average person who wants to personalize their rims while Monkey is something you got to spend some CREAM on.
- 'Scraper Bikes by Day' 'Monkey Lectric by night'.
All in all, their are huge opportunities for bike companies who are original and have a love for what they are doing. Major Taylor was a bicycle racer and VERY ORIGINAL in his day! Enjoy!
My, oh my... I recently received some comments about a few posts that I wrote over a year ago. The title of the post is ‘Slammin Cadillac Doors’. The comment said that they didn’t understand why I was so outraged by the way the manufacturer of the Cadillac Brand of bicycles was disrespecting the Cadillac brand. This particular manufacturer owns the license to produce these bicycles and if I remember right, this manufacturer’s core discipline isn’t even bicycles, BUT TOYS! Now, I am not saying that a toy manufacturer shouldn’t produce bicycles because truth be told, the Cadillac Bicycles aren’t any better or worse than the rest of the Cruisers I have seen out there. I will not rehash that post because I said what I said and I do believe when anyone repeats themselves for the sake of proving their argument. What they are really saying is they do not respect other’s right to disagree with them. Whether you repeat something 2 times or 10 times, a person has the right to disagree with your point of view. You can’t force anyone to accept your point of view, just press your case and leave it alone!
The title of this post, “I feel really bad for you… I really do” specifically addresses one of my readers who wrote me and said “I don’t see what the issue is, it is just a bike!” Writer, I do respect your right to believe that I bicycle is just a bicycle. But one thing I know about you is that you have definitely forgotten what a bicycle meant to you as a child. Bicycles are something deeply personal to children who enjoy riding them and many adults who have never lost their love for bicycling! Close your eyes and remember the days you spent with your friends from the old neighborhood or school riding around, racing, getting into trouble, polishing your bicycle, getting mad when someone knocked it over, or the devastation you felt IF your bicycle was stolen. This may not be as true today because I do believe bicycles aren’t as important to youngsters today as they seem to have become more of an indoor crowd. This is a direct result of the advent and popularity of Home Video Gaming Systems, Home Computers, Cell Phones (texting), etc. While bicycle riding isn’t near as important to me as it once was, what is important to me is that those who still enjoy riding are provided with the choice between what is out there now, or something their speaks more to their lifestyles.
My particular consumer happens to be from the inner-city. But there are other crowds like the Fixed Gear crowd, beach cruiser crowd, Road Bike crowd, BMX-Dirt Bike-Skater crowd and many others. I will not ask you to retract or take back your statement, but I will ask you to just take a few minutes, get somewhere where you are able to be alone, close your eyes and remember the old days in the place where you were a child-teen. You must have had friends, no? IF any of that time was spent riding bicycles together, laughing and clowning, understand that to many of us although no longer children, hold onto those memories and thereby (unlike you) have never forgotten what it was once like to be free, without a care in the world, and guess what? Our bicycles had a lot to do with that…Remember….just try and remember.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 :)
I have long known that Cadillac was producing a bicycle. However, until now I just wasn’t motivated nor was I intentional in seeking them out so I could have a look at their designs. I finally ran across them, and well, let me just say I would LOVE to design a line a bicycles for Cadillac that are worthy of the brand name. We all remember back in the day when Caddys were the thing to own! Well, at least where I come from they were the hit. The brand has definitely lost ground to Lexus, Benz, BMW and others since the late 1980’s, nevertheless Cadillacs are still around, albeit with less nostalgia than in years gone by.
I will be the 1st to admit that I was the biggest Cadillac fan in the world. I even bought a book about Caddys when I was in the Marine Corps. This book featured Cadillac designs from 1900 until 1990. I poured over this book hundreds of times reading and reading the same information because, well, I love Caddy's. For those of you who don't know, my DREAM CAR is a 1975 2-Door, cherry red, Cadillac Coupe De Ville with not more than 30,000 original miles on it with a monster 500 Cubic inch engine. 0-60 Miles per hour in 2 minutes or more! I might even be inclined to demonstrate what is known where I come from as a 'Cadillac Turn'.
I was such a Cadillac fan that I built my Pee-Wee Herman back in the 1980’s and put Cadillac effect (in the form of hood ornament) on my bike. I acquired (although I am ashamed to tell you how) a Cadillac Hood Ornament back then, punched a hole in my front chrome fender, stuck the bottom tip of this emblem in that hole and secured it there with a small piece of hanger. BAM! That bike was cold yall! With all of this in mind, I was sorely disappointed with Cadillac’s offering of bicycles pictured with this article. Now, yall know by now, if a design is HOOTTT, I will say so (remember Nuvinci? BRATZ). But if it is garbage, I feel forced to say that also. These bikes would normally be ok, but since they bare the name of Cadillac, which means they should be some ‘Other Level’ stuff, they are, to put it mildly WEAK!
As a bicycle (for youth) enthusiast, I have been really surprised at the lack of consideration that has been given to our inner-city youth as it pertains to bicycle design. These urbanites have a unique sense of fashion, Hip-Hop music, unique hair-styles, their own lingo and culture. Yet, their bicycles, 81% of which are purchased at 'Big Box Retailers', look like everyone Else's. For those of you who do not follow this culture, fashion, music, and culture usually start in urban areas and spread out from there. These consumers are demanding, as was I, yet there is a huge disparity between what they wear, how they talk and the bicycles they ride.
All of the way up to about 1988, there really was no choice for these particular consumers when it came to fashion. Jordache, Levis, and Wranglers were the order of the day. Right about 1989, a company called FUBU (For Us By Us) came and the scene in the fashion world and changed everything! Over the next 10 years and right up until today, all sorts of Urban clothing lines have sprouted up with names like Karl Kani, PHAT FARM, BABY PHAT, Sean John, Rocka Wear and many others. These brands represent somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.3. Billion annually in sales. While this may seem like a 'Drop in the bucket' of total fashion revenues yearly, consider this: The minority population in this country represents 100.2 million people as of the end of 2006 and is growing at a clip of about 4% annually with a combined spending power estimated at $1.8 TRILLION dollars.
If anyone of you are wondering "Where is this guy going with this?" The answer is, there is a huge vacuum in the bicycle market that has to be filled by someone. The big boys, Pacific Cycles, Huffy, and others are sleeping on this market! Not only that, as most of you may know, the Wal-Mart brand of bicycles, created by the big boys 'Next' are very poorly designed and constructed and have lousy mechanical records to boot. I have seen only 2 designs at these stores in the last 10 years that I believed to be hot. One is the ever popular 'Sting Ray' and the other was a bike for junior girls called 'Daisy Diva'. There are a few companies that I believe have nice bikes like 3G Bicycles and Phat Cycles. However, I think there is a level of 'Funk' that has yet to be achieved in design.
I would really like to know if there is anyone out there truly impressed by the product offerings currently on the market. When you respond, remember that I am strictly talking about Bicycles at Big Box retailers, price points between $60-$280.
As I continue my Global Search for ‘Pure Funk’ in bicycle design. I again marvel at how 4 of the hottest 5 designs I have seen lately are from foreign bicycle manufacturers. I am sure there is some simple, yet technical reason why European countries seem to be leading the way in innovative and funked out design. My opinion on this issue is simple, after researching American bicycle companies versus their European counter parts; I am of the opinion that bicycles are simply more important to their way of life than it is to ours. I read a statistic the other day that said the European bicycle market is growing more rapidly than any other in the world! NBC
Nightly News reported several months back that 1 out of 3 Americans are considered obese while 1 out of 4 of every child in this country is considered overweight. It isn’t hard to guess at the reason for this, ‘Lack of Exercise and healthy diets!’
It is a rare sight in my neighborhood to look out of the window and see a child or youth riding a bicycle or to see anyone (including me) running or walking to get exercise. Innovation tends to rapidly slow down or even halt as something, such as bicycle riding becomes less important to our society as a whole. When something is very important and economically lucrative, the opposite effect happens. To prove this point, there is no end to technological advancement in computer software, online start up companies, video games and systems and even automobile technology. These are all areas where American Business is strong worldwide. The flip side of that is all of these things take very little physical activity.
You can pretty much sit on your butt and do all of these things and you would have a very difficult time burning any calories doing any of them! And you wonder why we are a nation of fat bodies. I said all of that to say this, we are losing ground as a nation within bicycle industry innovation and funk because we are lazy. The companies who do have the lock on distribution to the stores which 73% of people in this nation buy bicycles, at Big Box Retailers are producing uninspiring designs which produce no emotional response other than “Oh, that is nice, I GUESS I can buy that.”
The companies that do have a little funk can’t possibly hope to get their designs in these retailers because they don’t have the purchasing power that the big companies do so they exist on the fringe. Each of them are so busy fighting for the scraps left by the likes of Huffy and Pacific Cycles that they never think about merging their companies to obtain the purchasing power needed to compete with the big boys! Unfortunately, the biggest losers in this drama are you and I, the bicycle buying public, and worst of all, the spirit in the marketplace that made this country great. We as a country can grab the innovation and funk back from Europe, but not until the emotion is put back into bicycle design.
Above Photo: Courtesy of Mzarek
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