The word Provolution is a word that was sometimes used in black churches. It simply means 'Taking the best of the past and bringing it forward into the present and carrying that ideal into the future.' Many other industries do this when designing product. Yet, the bicycle industry seems not to be in step with this. The are many challenges when designing bicyles, but going forward into the future, they are going to have to step up to the plate. There are bicycle design competitions all over the world. I recently saw the 2nd place winner in the Tiawanese design competition held every year. The bike was called 'Wild Buffalo'. This design was HOOTTT! That being said, in the market right now, it was totally impractical for mass production.
If you are wondering where I am going with this, the term Provolution applies. Bringing the best of the past forward into the present requires not that some designer comes up with a new hand brake system, or for design, those things are basic and there are only so many variations of them you can use. The good news is that when one focuses on the young adult, kid and junior bicycle market, kids don't care about innovative design, they care about whether they like their bikes and can they have fun on them! I challenge any of you with children to relay a story to me when you took your child to get a bike and they said "Well mom and\or dad, I really don't like the braking system on this bike and the rear wheel base is 2 inches to short for my taste." I raised two kids and I never heard any of that from them. It is about asthetics to them!
When they look at the bike, will they get excited, or will they say "I wish you would have bought me a video game instead." My next post will deal with the biggest enemy of the bicycle industry today (Video Games and gaming systems). Let those of us who love bicycles and like to design them keep the thought of 'Provolution' on our minds and I promise, the industry will sit up and take notice!
Showing posts with label provolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label provolution. Show all posts
"How You Like Them Apples?' YOU WANNA KNOW HOW I LIKE THEM APPLES READERS? 'Wayne and Garth' from Wayne's world get on their knees in front of some rocker....What they say at the end is how I felt after I saw the name of the below bicycle because..."I'M NOT....have to watch the video to finish the rest of the thought!
Click on the link (and watch until the end)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXEGGOjAe7I
MEANWHILE..Back at the Ranch
This article isn't meant to imply that Lance Armstrong either endorses this bicycle I came across this bicycle and although not a fan of this particular genre, yall know by now a Brotha' like me gotta hive props where props are due! This is a design by TREK (or so the article states) and I love the look and the name of this bicycle which is "How You Like Then Apples?" THAT name is pure FUNK! 
SUPERKALAFRAGICLICTISEXPEEALADOCIOUS!
Is this FUNK all in my Mind?
Why ya treat me like this TREK?!
Pictures courtesy of:http://trekroad.typepad.com/trekroad/2008/09/lance.html
Pictures courtesy of:http://trekroad.typepad.com/trekroad/2008/09/lance.html
Wikipedia.com is on online encyclopedia that can give you a lot of information on various topics that range from Celebrities to animals. Pretty much anything you want to know about whatever you want to know can be found there with a simple search. During one of my “Think Tank” moments online, I went to the site and typed in the Name Marshall Major Taylor and the Greatest Bicycle Sprint champion of all time pops up! What makes Wikipedia really cool is that anybody anywhere can edit almost anyone’s information at any time. Correct information isn’t something that necessarily has to be present for you to edit. I went to Taylor’s page and did something that is really cool.
There is a place on the bottom where you can ad sites and\or links to drive traffic anywhere you want it to go. I put this blog address as the 3rd link on Taylor’s page! Anyone who goes to the bottom of his biography will see this blog address. If you type in any famous person’s name in Google, Wikipedia is always in the top 5 or 6 search results which makes this a very cool promotional tool (although Wikipedia discourages promoting anything on their site).
My end in mind here is to drive traffic to my blog and to begin a discussion about the truly enormous contributions of this forgotten American Sports hero. Taylor did things in bicycle racing that had never been done, all the while defending himself against racism in a white dominated sport. His hunger and passion for Bicycle Racing made him THE biggest draw in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s worldwide. He was the Michael Jordan of his day. A Champion many times over all over the world, received product endorsements, integrated a once segregated sport and was the wealthiest athlete of his time!
Part of my vision for Marshall Taylor Bicycles is to not only bring recognition to Major Taylor, but to bring worldwide recognition to all of the forgotten athletes of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Athletes like George Dixon, the 1st African-American boxing champion in the world who captured the Bantam Weight boxing title in 1898. When my bicycle company gets to a place where we have product in stores, a small booklet of these athletes and their contributions will be packaged with the bicycle as an educational tool to bring the recognition that is deserved to these forgotten athletes. The world needs to hear and honor these once great athletes because what we all have to remember is that they laid the groundwork for success in athletics for the athletes today. Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Evander Holyfield and others. Recognize that without people like Taylor, there would be no Shaq or Kobe.
To better understand exactly what he did, let us take Tiger Woods as an example. As was professional cycle racing in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, golf is and was a white dominated sport.
Tiger Woods came on the scene in about 1997 and did things that not only had no other black golfer did, he did things no golfer, period, had done. Taylor’s career and Tiger Woods career have many parallels. Along with the passing on of The Green Jacket at The Masters, the winner of this prestigious golf tournament is allowed to pick what will be served at the banquet after the tournament is over, a once famous golfer named Fuzzy Zeller said about Tiger “There won’t be any watermelon and fried chicken served at The Masters. Tiger has suffered racism as the lone representative at the top of his sport. Major Taylor suffered such insults and much worse! He beat a guy so bad in a race one time that the guy choked him into unconsciousness; he couldn’t stay at hotels like everyone else either. Yet, he pushed on. Let us all learn from the life of Major Taylor and strive against incredible odds to complete the task in which you feel you were born to complete!
There is a place on the bottom where you can ad sites and\or links to drive traffic anywhere you want it to go. I put this blog address as the 3rd link on Taylor’s page! Anyone who goes to the bottom of his biography will see this blog address. If you type in any famous person’s name in Google, Wikipedia is always in the top 5 or 6 search results which makes this a very cool promotional tool (although Wikipedia discourages promoting anything on their site).
My end in mind here is to drive traffic to my blog and to begin a discussion about the truly enormous contributions of this forgotten American Sports hero. Taylor did things in bicycle racing that had never been done, all the while defending himself against racism in a white dominated sport. His hunger and passion for Bicycle Racing made him THE biggest draw in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s worldwide. He was the Michael Jordan of his day. A Champion many times over all over the world, received product endorsements, integrated a once segregated sport and was the wealthiest athlete of his time!
Part of my vision for Marshall Taylor Bicycles is to not only bring recognition to Major Taylor, but to bring worldwide recognition to all of the forgotten athletes of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Athletes like George Dixon, the 1st African-American boxing champion in the world who captured the Bantam Weight boxing title in 1898. When my bicycle company gets to a place where we have product in stores, a small booklet of these athletes and their contributions will be packaged with the bicycle as an educational tool to bring the recognition that is deserved to these forgotten athletes. The world needs to hear and honor these once great athletes because what we all have to remember is that they laid the groundwork for success in athletics for the athletes today. Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Evander Holyfield and others. Recognize that without people like Taylor, there would be no Shaq or Kobe.
To better understand exactly what he did, let us take Tiger Woods as an example. As was professional cycle racing in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, golf is and was a white dominated sport.
Tiger Woods came on the scene in about 1997 and did things that not only had no other black golfer did, he did things no golfer, period, had done. Taylor’s career and Tiger Woods career have many parallels. Along with the passing on of The Green Jacket at The Masters, the winner of this prestigious golf tournament is allowed to pick what will be served at the banquet after the tournament is over, a once famous golfer named Fuzzy Zeller said about Tiger “There won’t be any watermelon and fried chicken served at The Masters. Tiger has suffered racism as the lone representative at the top of his sport. Major Taylor suffered such insults and much worse! He beat a guy so bad in a race one time that the guy choked him into unconsciousness; he couldn’t stay at hotels like everyone else either. Yet, he pushed on. Let us all learn from the life of Major Taylor and strive against incredible odds to complete the task in which you feel you were born to complete!
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