Monday, June 23, 2008

Colonization


Amazing news! Now the only CNCed BMX-specific brake lever in existence comes in more colors (some limited!) than you can shake a stick at. Because if your brake lever doesn't match your hubs and stem, you're just not trying hard enough. Apparently they're half the weight of any other brake lever on the market, which they'd damn well better be since they're also quadruple the price. Pass the Tech 77, please.


Also, Colony decided to make a contribution to the Jay Miron Beer Fund by coming out with their own incredibly innovative lineup of Pivotal seats. (At least they're not nearly as horrific looking as the UGP ones, which make Alienation's designs look downright sophisticated. If you just looked at current Pivotal designs, you'd think the average BMX consumer was either a blind six-year old or a trend-obsessed hypebeast. Not that there's much difference.) Of course Colony's seats won't be out until '09, so until then you'll just have to make do with your choice of the 50 or so similar Pivotal seats that are already available. How utterly inconvenient.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

75 bucks for a friggin lever? you gotta be shittin me.

Anonymous said...

I hear Clint Millar took his brakes off anyway. Probably couldn't afford a lever at wholesale cost

Stephen said...

Next up...30 dollar seat clamps!

Russ said...

Expensive, bright, CNCed parts were all the rage in mountain biking in like 1997. BMX is on the cutting edge, as usual.

Anonymous said...

Clearly bmx was missing over-priced crap in our lineup of stuff.

Anonymous said...

i've felt the same way about colony, plus i think the art direction is terrible.

Anonymous said...

These arn't the only CNC'd leavers out... fly is bringing some out soon aswell. Millar did take his brakes off, but he only lasted a few weeks.

Anonymous said...

"These arn't the only CNC'd leavers out... fly is bringing some out soon aswell"
and they are super expensive also.
The colony levers are that price due to the cncing costs, machine setup fees and all the other expenses people dont realise about.
I had one and took it off though as it felt too stiff. Back to the trusty Tech 77. How could i be so unfaithful.

Russ said...

I have no doubt that a fully CNCed lever could cost that much (although the CNCed Paul lever is only $50). The question is more of a) why would you want a $75 lever on your BMX bike to begin with, and b) is it worth the weight savings to NOT have it hinged?

Perfect example of fixing something that ain't broke.

Anonymous said...

I run two brakes and don't have $150 to spare so they've effectively made my decision for me.
Also how come no barrel adjuster? My barrels never usually take hard hits, it's the topside of the clamp that takes the majority of abuse.
I see that it will "improve your braking performance beyond belief", how? I've found you can run pretty much any lever as long as your cables, rims, pads and springs etc are all set good.

Anonymous said...

what a joke hey. for something you're likely to snap off, it seems stupid to go to the effort of producing a CNC lever. clint millar is on drugs. we've already seen slam copies, and shit frame and product art, what else could we expect from a dick whose only trick is a nosepick tailwhip, and who bags out fellow aussie bmx brands.

Anonymous said...

I bought a set of colony bars. They felt great in the shop - nice feel, good size, not the weight of a small house. Got them home and discovered that they were a bitch to fit into my elementary because they were slightly ovaled (probably due to the butting) and that the paint flakes off when you try and put levers on. Quite unimpressed.

Anonymous said...

They're going to improve my braking performance beyond belief?!

I can't wait until mom and dad get home!

Anonymous said...

Seats are seriously ridiculous. I love that every bmx company buys the same exact pivotal seat from Velo, in Taiwan, and just changes the cover, and then they act like they've re-invented the wheel.

BMX parts in general are vastly underpriced when compared to almost every other aspect of cycling. $100 racing seats and $50 tires are pretty common on road bikes.

Anonymous said...

I don't think BMX parts are underpriced - I think they're (often*) about what they should be. It's other bike-sports that are overpriced.

* - although sometimes, like this, they're not. How about 2 of these with 2 CNC'd calipers (Demolition/Fly/Revenge/others) - that'd stand you about $320+ just for a pair of brakes, and that's without cables.

Anonymous said...

I....fell into a pair of these levers....(as in didnt pay $150 to stop my bicycle). they felt really good as far as how far the lever was away from the bar---a bit closer than a tec 77. that was cool. then i strangely enough started to cut the tops of my middle and ring finger knuckles every time i pulled the brakes hard. and if you do a barspin and catch with your hand/finger on top of your lever, there is another razor sharp edge that likes to do surgery on the palm of your hand. currently riding ody monolevers, and they also suck. i should have never taken off my tec 77. brake gods forgive me.

bk said...

Barrel adjusters are pretty much unnecessary if you know how to properly work on brakes. I keep mine screwed all the way in as it is, they just come loose and strip out otherwise.

Anonymous said...

ah shoot, my headset cups are purple but they only do the lever in pink...... oh hold on!

Anonymous said...

built in barrel adjuster was a good idea too i thought. but when i ran the dual cable routing to my gyro it didnt fit as well as it should have in my opinion (and sure as hell not as good as it should for $75). but clint millar still does some bad ass front brake moves. respect.

bk said...

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but he doesn't seem to be bashing Pivitol's themselves; just questions the need to have 420 color variations of the same design. Only a handful of companies have changed/strengthened the base or shape.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous June 24, 2008 12:16 PM...think before you post next. If you are going to talk shit on someone's comprehension, then you might as well take the time to comprehend the words he writes.

How often have you seen a company come out with 2349872398 railed seat color variations at once? Nobody is knocking the pivotal seats, just the fact that there are so many of the exact same thing.

"if someone wants to pay a ridiculous amount of dough then let them. no skin off your back." This kind of thinking is exactly what's wrong with many industries. Producers often take advantage of stupid people who feel the need to spend money for status or whatnot. It might be the stupid person's own fault for doing so, but at the same time it's just wasteful for society as a whole to produce shit that nobody needs and that doesn't really bring any new benefit to the table.

Just a thought, but I love how any time a company comes out with a CNC'd part, they feel the need to mention over and over that it's "precision" machined. Talk about redundancy.

As for bmx parts being underpriced...I would have to disagree. Road bike parts are just as cheap. You could get brand new aluminum drop bars for just over $30 dollars. I'd love to see anyone buy a bmx product that requires the same amount of machining for the same price. It just doesn't happen, because bmx parts aren't produced on such a large scale like in the other disciplines of cycling. However, in those other disciplines, shit gets really expensive when it gets ridiculously light by using carbon fiber and all that stuffs.

Anonymous said...

The question still stands. What is the difference between 420 railed & or 420 pivotal designs? Nothing in my opinion, but Russ has an obvious hard on for Jay. Why, because he doesn’t work for the all mighty Odyssey? I assure you this topic wouldn’t even presented itself if Odyssey had come up with the concept seeing he’s admittedly so friendly with the group. I dare wait for the day Russ says something negative about Odyssey and all their special colors and what not.

To correct, no one has changed the base on a single pivotal other than Pivotal/Macneil. The same can be said for the overwhelming number of railed saddles within the market place. The factory typically dictates what can and cannot be used concerning each base. When it cost $10,000+ to open a base not many will even consider so you work within system.

Is he saying we should only have a few brands in the market? Is this not a capitalistic society where choice is valued? Any why is Russ so concern about whom or what happens within the bicycle industry? He doesn’t even work with it. Maybe it’s all the silver stars he get from his buddies at you know where. Should I say free Homer???????????

Anonymous said...

anon 2:39 is an idiot.

“"if someone wants to pay a ridiculous amount of dough then let them. no skin off your back." This kind of thinking is exactly what's wrong with many industries. Producers often take advantage of stupid people who feel the need to spend money for status or whatnot. It might be the stupid person's own fault for doing so, but at the same time it's just wasteful for society as a whole to produce shit that nobody needs and that doesn't really bring any new benefit to the table.”

Who the fuck are you, the what we can & cannot do police? The consumer savior or simply God all mighty himself? Jesus Christ Colony should be sent straight to hell for such a sin.

Anonymous said...

“Just a thought, but I love how any time a company comes out with a CNC'd part, they feel the need to mention over and over that it's "precision" machined. Talk about redundancy.”

Anonymous 2:39 allow me to explain this as though you are a child.

It is redundancy. Why does the eighth grade social studies teacher re-teach the same curriculum year after year? Well it’s simply, the next child entering the class isn’t aware.

The bicycle industry, BMX specifically, has average rider retention of four years. Then new kids cycle in of which; they may not be aware in most cases. The better percentage wouldn’t know the difference between a mill or CNC.

You should probably give consideration before your next post.

Anonymous said...

The name 20/20 is a play off the alcoholic drink. "M/D 20/20" often referred to as "Mad Dog 20/20". Notice the Mad Dog reference.

Picture of said drink.
http://billyocean.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/mdspread.jpg

Anonymous said...

i think the primo and animal pivotal seat have a different own designed base. But that's it.