The other day, going through some old posts, I noticed that Zach Taylor from Alienation had responded—two months after the initial posting. In the interest of fairness, I thought I'd post his comment here, and respond to it, piece by piece.RussAs your mission statement states silence implies consent. We’ll have no reason to be silent and I certainly don’t consent to some hack writing some BS pc. Frankly I wished I had found this earlier so I could have commented much sooner.
I wish you had as well, but this will have to do.
Superfluous, really? I bet you had to look this term up in your thesaurus.
There are a lot of things I'm not good at. Auto repair. Golf. Macrame. I do, however, have a pretty solid grasp of the English language. As a third-grader, I wiped out a bunch of fourth graders in a game of 'spelling baseball.' My third-grade teacher (who I'm still in touch with) talks about it to this day. If I remember correctly, the home-run word was "sphere." I've also got a BA in English/journalism, but that's not nearly as cool.
As others have pointed out within your blog you’re hangin on someone’s balls from Odyssey hence the piece. I need not say more than that in terms of why it was done.
I don't see what one has to do with the other, honestly. I'm not on anyone's payroll. Am I friends with guys at Odyssey? Yes. (I'm friends with people at lots of other companies, too.) Do I like (and run) a lot of Odyssey parts? Yes. But they sure as hell don't pay me, and NO ONE tells me what to write on here. I resent the implication that I'm anyone's puppet.
Granted, we have made mistakes & been ill advised in some areas, but we have done a lot correct as well. If you can do better then I challenge you to do so. Put your money where your mouth is & do it. Most likely this will never happen though.
Um, I agree wholeheartedly with the first part of the first sentence. As for "doing better", maybe you're missing the whole point of this blog. I'm not trying to start a company, you are. In my opinion, there are too many companies already, some which don't see to bring very much to the table. All they do is take market share away from those companies who DO seem to be pushing innovation forward. If you were truly following your mission statement, I'd have nothing bad to say. As it is, I'm not sure whether freecoasters with KHE internals and generic Pivotal seats and posts qualify as "techinally superior products with obvious enhancements and inherent differences from the competition."
It appears you’re journalist yet not a very good one seeing you couldn’t even get the ownership list correctly. I bet you thought that was a real clincher based on the placement at the end. That was the real ! point. If you need to fact check next time please call me in the office & I’ll be more than willing to give you the correct information.
If by "placement at the end", you're talking about the edit, that only appeared at the end because it was the last thing I added. But feel free to expand on the relationship between Alienation and WTB. Are you owned by the same parent company? Does one own the other? My initial ! point was about BMX having already done the whole anarchy thing, and better, 20 years ago. I still stand by that. (Hell, it was late THEN.)
I must comment on the Insurgent as well. Guesses are you never wore this countries uniform where as I have and I don’t see what gives you the right to even insinuate.
Nope, never worn this country's uniform. My dad did, though. And I didn't just insinuate. I still think 'Insurgent' is a piss-poor name for a rim given what the people who ARE wearing the uniform are going through right now. And had you read the comments above yours, you would have noticed that someone who DID wear the uniform agreed with me.
At least you spelled the comapny name correcly.
Dude.
(It's been brought to my attention in the comments section of another, more recent post that a rather prominent member of the BMX community believes that I 'openly want the [BMX] industry to collapse.' Wow. That's a rather strong statement, and not true at all. For one, I do still ride a BMX bike, which I didn't make myself. For two, I have a lot of friends who rely on the BMX industry for their paychecks. And for three, without the BMX industry, this blog would cease to exist.
If I understated the sense of community in the BMX industry—which I've admitted from the beginning that I'm not a part of—I apologize. I've heard different things from different people, all of whom ARE part of the industry. If nothing else, I've been an interested observer (and consumer) for a very long time. More or less since the beginning. This was the first BMX magazine I ever bought.
Look, at the most basic level, I love bikes, BMX and otherwise. And, despite the fact that the US economy is in the shitter, I think the bike industry as a whole is in better shape that it's ever been—but it can still get better. In the end, I'm just one person voicing my opinions. If you agree, that's fine. If you disagree, that's fine, too. I think one of the best things about this blog has been the dialogue that's opened in the comments section. Please feel free to contribute to it.)
86 comments:
I don't work in the industry. I work 40-50 hours a week, have two kids to support and a house to pay for and I will be goddamned if I am gonna hand my money over to a company like Alienation. How fucking technically advanced and superior can you make a pivotal seat? Answer...you can't. I am pretty sure the brain trust at that company flipped a coin..."heads" meant BMX parts, "tails" meant making oversized pants festooned with chains to be sold at Hot Topic. Fucksake. And man, it bummed me out to see JPR go on like that...mostly because I have such respect for Steve and FBM. I dunno. Fuckin' BMX. I hope their completes set the world on fire.
Russ, please just add Alienation into your Mission Statement so Zach is formally immortalized and all the readers will understand what you're talking about.
The truth is, your blog is necessary so things that need to be said are said. The wit is a bonus.
JPR is a good man. It's just that this industry is too thin to go around. Ranking on FBM should be about #849 on the list. But, it's all good fun when the the bills are getting paid. FBM doesn't have a rich guy backing them like Eastern, Haro, DK, Odyssey and Alienation (to name a few).
But hey, when I need a pick-me-up, I go to Alienation's website and read Zach's replies where he says he's going to hunt someone down and kill them for talkin' shit about Insurgent logos. Your post today is going to drive someone crazy.
The juvenile attitude in the alienation comment more than eclipses anything negative that SPRFLS may have said, which is meant as semi-serious satire.
I'm stoked for this blog. Keep it up!
A critical voice on the sideline is always good. Someone needs to tell people the truth about what they do... Too much ass-kissing.
I agree - you've got a great blog. Your criticism is never unfounded and aims to educate people into realising better designs rather than jumping on a trend bandwagon.
As for someone stupid enough to think joining an army, US or otherwise, is a guarantee of the quality of their bmx products - what can I say? If getting a job that could mean you are sent to be killed, because a politician made the decision for you, is a good thing then the point is lost on me.
This is gonna be a good one.
*opens beer*
*waits*
Russ – again, late to the punch. I am not a daily subscriber so please excuse. An industry friend just informed me about the post.
Your position is just that, your position. You have right to free speech so you use it as you see fit even if it’s done without merit.
As you I have a post secondary education, but I don’t recall winning any spelling bees. I don’t think I would admit it even it had happened.
The Odyssey comment was due to a collection of posts I read. It shows bias. That was the point I was attempting to make. Apparently you’re open about the relationship & that’s fine. I said my peace.
In terms of there being too many BMX companies, there is some truth to that statement, but in the end the consumer chooses what stays or goes. I do not see a benefit to a monopoly do you?
Re: WTB, the two guys that funded the brand and hold a stake in the company are in fact the owners of WTB hence the close relationship. We are not one in the same other than we share a similar mailing address. They run their thing out west and I operate out of the Midwest. Essentially they are the bank.
The Insurgent name wasn’t meant to poke fun at our troops in harm’s way. You’re taking it out of context for your own benefit or to justify your assertions. For fuckhead Shea read the original post before you open your cocksucker. You are part of the going problem in this country.
Btw, it’s correctly. I was in rush and had to take a call.
For the record, I get your blog, but I don’t always agree.
You don't have to agree, that's fine. And heck, you're not even that late—I only posted this four hours ago.
Of course I see no benefit to a monopoly. That would be silly. However, there's a lot of room between all the companies we have now and there being one company called "BMX." This ain't Russia (they just own us, along with China).
You say bias, I say preference. I suppose that's just a matter of perspective. But what are you guys bringing to the table that's truly original? What is Alienation producing that I can't get from someone else?
I do appreciate your clarification of the WTB connection. They are the parent financially, just not creatively?
Though what context was there to take "Insurgent" out of? It's just a name that stands alone, and it has certain implications. In my view, it was a poor choice. You disagree. That's fine. It's your company.
Best of luck—it's a jungle out there.
And I figured you'd find it sooner rather than later—thought it was better to start a new post than respond to something in the archives.
I disagree that Alienation has done nothing unorginal. In this day and age, integrating Baseball team logos into your Pivotal seat design can arguably be described as original. Russ may wish for a higher standard of originality, but I would have to grant Zach that it was an original concept (within BMX anyway.) As everyone knows, the consumer ultimately decides what is successful in the marketplace - and it is not always the most original products that are successful.
OMG - Russ you must have missed Alienation's grips when you did your Rasta Round up...
http://www.alienationbmx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=103&Itemid=2
if nothing else this blog always has some very well thought out titles. i don't think everyone gets them all, i know there have been a couple that made me scratch my head but at least they're original, huh? and how many times do you get an Electric Boogaloo reference in the BMX "industry" ?
this comment is to defend the patriotism of shea nyquist. happy late birthday. born on the 4th of july! dont get much more amurican than that! MURICA!
Todd from albe's, I am getting ready to order some stuff from your haberdashery, what do I get if I use "dinnerplates" as the discount code?
Also, those rasta grips made me cry. I haven't cried like that since the episode of "Silver Spoons" when Ricky shot the deer.
If the consumer decides what's successful, then decide not to buy Alienation. Get off your high horse Zach, and get on a bmx.
I want to get me some of them technologically advanced stub Pivotal seat posts. "Technologically advanced" just like the 17 other companies that bought the exact same post from the same factory in Taiwan. Puh-Leeeeeeze.
I also like how there's guys on the team who don't even have any Alienation parts listed on their bike checks. I mean, who's going to know- just lie and say you're running an Alienation rim strip or something, help the manager guy out. He's a veteran, after all.
-Old Industry Guy who should know better than to get mixed up in this.
i'll give any takers 250/1 on alienation being in business in 2010
hey zach, you made the big time!!
lolerz- http://www.thecomeupbmx.net/
It's nice to see someone raise some valid points about what so many bike companies are doing wrong these days. New isn't neccisarily good, and some things don't need changing. Fuck all the new school street kids, learn how to ride a bike at more than 2 miles an hour and grind something more than a foot tall.
Sprfls is to the bmx industry as checking is to hockey. If you're on the ice, you are gonna get checked from time to time. Usually it's just a bump, but sometimes you get launched through the glass propah! No use taking it too personally. It's part of the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beaTlyVlrIc
/\ since that link will probably corrupt after I post... you guessed it: it's a sick check through the glass.
Alienation has to be doing something right, as their rims are showing up on quite a few completes these days. I'd bet that if their image wasn't as lame as it is now, the backlash would be less significant.
Anonymous said...
hey man, i served this country show some respect!
it's whining pinkos like you that are ruining this great nation, we should be able to bomb who we want when we want and why we want, that's what being an american is all about!
July 7, 2008 2:06 PM
your government and greed ruined your country... whiny pussies definitely don't help but then again running around waving a flag saying "let's blow them up" doesn't seem to be helping anything either
I'm thinking there was some sarcasm in anonymous's comment. Hence the anonymous.
Serving one's country is a noble act, even if the actions of one's country aren't. At least that's the way I see it. Just avoid torture and stuff.
Brien: Agreed. The mission statement or whatever is the most laughable part of the whole thing.
The fact that you think the bike industry is in the best shape it's ever been is proof you don't have any idea what you're talking about, but, whatever. BMX was goofy ten years ago, ten years before that, and ten years before that, the odds of it not being goofy in ten years is zero.
This could be more laughable than their mission statement. I heard from a reliable source that Zach came up with the name Alienation (when I saw it on the Interbike floor plan last year I thought it was Alien Nation) because he thought it meant destruction, as in annihilation. I hope he doesn't threaten to alienate me with physical violence.
WOW! Funny shit. I checked out the site and I dig it.
Electric Boogaloo whatever that means.
Fuck Alienation. Simple as that. Buy from S&M, Fit, T1, FBM, etc. Don't support the copycats like alienation!
I'll cast the shovel aside and leave further talk of the state of the industry to those within it. I WILL say that it's amazing that high-end BMX frames today are more or less the same price they were seven or eight years ago (although that will undoubtedly change soon what with $4.50 gas), and I'm greatly impressed by the amount of complete bike you can get these days for under $500. I'd much rather be starting out today than 10 years ago.
Agreed that BMX will be goofy forever. Wouldn't have it any other way.
And HA.
Looking back, I think I meant to say "the BMX industry," not "the bike industry" (which was probably in better shape before Schwinn went under the first time). That's probably wrong too, but fuck it. Go team.
JPR, I'm not sure what you think makes the industry so relatively terrible these days, care to elaborate? The very fact that (relatively) rider owned companies seem to have gained control of the complete bike market should at least be encouraging. The culture, for the most part, is pretty goofy but I ride a 28 lb bike today that holds up better than my 40 lb bike did ten years ago (and it was cheaper). Riders like Ruben, and Corey Martinez can make a living off of riding bikes without ever having to go to big corporate contests, T1 can sponsor a team of mostly old dudes and still be relevant and cool... seems healthier than the 80's and 90's to me.
" Alienation has to be doing something right, as their rims are showing up on quite a few completes these days. "............... It's called price, can you imagine Fit and all the other complete lines speccing Alienation rims for any reason other than that they are cheaper than Odyssey and other alternatives?
Stephen...use the Dinner Plate code and it will get the shipping dropped and if an actual photo of said plates is e-mailed to me along with a t-shirt size one of those will acompany your shippment. thanks for the support over the years.
oh yeah, to make this apply to the post: usually when you suddenly start to see brands spec'ed on complete bikes is simply because they offered the parts at a much lower bulk price, sorta like when GT, Haro and such switched from Odyssey to SST for their detanglers. it's a way to get your brand noticed and possibly build brand loyalty. i may be wrong though, i'm just another industry dumb ass throwing around some half assed speculation.
anon 3:36 should go blow himself up
Pricing would be one thing, lack of raw materials is another huge one. You are going to start shitting your pants when all the products with the new price increases start hitting the shops. There is no end in sight, and the increases are significant.
Several people that have been in the industry for decades have said it is more volatile on all levels than it ever has been.
BMX is low man on the totem pole, when butyl (what tubes are made of) runs out, no tubes. China is outlawing bikes in larger cities due to traffic congestion. There are so many people on bikes, buses and cars never make it through stop lights, by the time all the cyclists get going and are out of the way, the light is red.
Their solution is replace the bikes with inexpensive electric bikes...50 million of them. That's 100 million tubes. And, they are using a shit ton of raw materials, which are in low supply to begin with.
It goes on and on. Someone has to be on the other side questioning your dodo head statements. You're clamoring on about Goddamn colors, seriously, big deal, kids like stupid looking shit. NOBODY is reading this and going home and thinking, you know what, that dude is right, we need to stop making what the kids are buying. This stuff is selling too well, let's appease the adults on kids bikes, they don't like it, we're not making it!
There are major issues to deal with, colors and products you deem stupid aren't on the list. I don't get it. Take for instance your distaste for US Ride, you're a journalist, do you get a job at said magazine and do something to improve it? No. Do you publish your own magazine? No. You complain, but take no action yourself to make things better. Just my thoughts, keep up the good work doing whatever it is your doing, I enjoy the entertainment.
You're entitled to your opinion, and I respect it.
I would have loved to write for Faction when it was around, but I missed the boat there. Really liked Tread, too. Yes, I suppose I should be banging down the door at Ride or Ride UK (I've written things for both of them), but for now I'm content to fill a small space on the interwebs with my ravings, useful or not. Is it just spitting on the brass of the Titanic? Maybe. Will it change anything? Maybe not. But I like to think I'm talking about a little more than just "goddamn colors." But yes, at the end of the day it IS just entertainment.
Hadn't really considered a potential buytl shortage, and that IS scary. BMX has always been the proverbial red-headed stepchild of cycling, and I suspect it always will be. Guess we should all stock up on patch kits.
Oh well, I'll still buy you a beer next time you're in the city.
fuck buying him a beer, russ! start a company and make that man a team manager!
I wish we had a quote feature in this forum. Oh yeah, it's not a forum.
JPR gets it after a couple days of near-raving lunacy:
"You're clamoring on about Goddamn colors, seriously, big deal, kids like stupid looking shit. NOBODY is reading this and going home and thinking, you know what, that dude is right, we need to stop making what the kids are buying. This stuff is selling too well, let's appease the adults on kids bikes, they don't like it, we're not making it!"
You nailed it on the head. Keep the kids happy, keep your employer in business and grumpy old men like us can keep bitching about it, and everybody is happy.
SPRFLS Bikes?
God forbid.
You know who's not happy? The local bike shop who has to try to stock every lame ass color that every BMX company comes out with. And that includes Odyssey.
Wow. I'm utterly impressed at the amount of reasonable discussion that has taken place here.
Alienation is shit. They'll never owe up to it, they'll play it self rightious at every turn, and then they'll say "I told you so" when they don't die. But the only reason they won't die is because they're offering cheaper(and much lower quality) knock off products than the competition.
Alienation is a terrible brand. Even if they don't go away and get to pretend they were right.
JPR- i saw you at the 2X4 bbq and wanted to say hi, I loved Faction mag. The first issue i bought was with vic riding up that rail to tail whip. it was the only magazine i bought regularly. I followed it to the end, sadly.
I love this blog. I am only 21, but i start to feel old when I can't help but agree with Russ sometimes.
I know alota dumb shit sells, and thats why people still make it. if it wasnt for those kids that buy a new a new part every month the bmx industry might not be as good as it is. But hey what do i know. Just what i see out at the parks & streets.
I think maybe some times I ( and maybe others that started around the same time) are jealous of younger kids today starting out on nice completes.
Almost as if they don't appreciate the same things, since they didn't have the same hardships.
dinner dish sprockets, full sprocket guards, headsets with a hose clap around them was how i started.
I can't help but think that Russ's blog is directed towards people that started out like me. And people that started out before me. He seems to voice what i'm thinking most of the time.
Be it so, alot of younger kids/riders are thinking he's just a complainer.
I think its just a realization that our culture that basically raised us is now much different than it used to be. That may be the abrasive part. Some thing we've loved so much is now seeming goofy, when it was goofy from the start, we just didnt know it yet?
with that said
please be kind to my barely coherent reply
Mat, I'm 22. Thank you for your eloquence, for you have expressed precisely my own feelings as well.
Let's not fool anyone, Faction was terrible. I'll give myself a little credit, the last two B/W newsprint issues were 75% really good. Worst experience of my life. I think I gave up when I topped $50,000 in financial losses. Jesus, what a nightmare.
That reminds me, it takes a lot of effort, hard work and financial risk even to pull off something that sucks. I'm glad the actual riding of the bike is fun, the rest of this shit is depressing.
dinner plates huh? i remember when it was penguins explode. dinner plates is way better.
I liked Faction. I REALLY liked Tread, and that lasted, what, four issues? Looking Glass managed half that. Print is dead.
Agreed that riding is the best part. Always has been, always will be.
john paul is incorrect. I found alienation's myspace address in their contact section. http://www.myspace.com/alienationbmx
in there they have what the company means.
hey john paul, great job with FBM...not paying team riders, having their credibility taken away, all under your watch...big ups bro. big ups.
That Alienation thing was written in the last month, who knows, but I like the version I heard better.
"hey john paul, great job with FBM...not paying team riders, having their credibility taken away, all under your watch...big ups bro. big ups."
I have almost nothing to do with team stuff, and have even less to do with writing people checks. Credibility taken away? How? I wasn't packing boxes with enough padding? I stapled the header cards for the hubguards crooked? I was mean to the UPS guy? My lunch breaks are too long? I picked dumb names for the completes?
In reality, FBM/ Last Call has pretty small sales numbers, and paying riders at this point isn't in the cards. As far as I know, FBM hadn't paid riders in the past, they tried it out, and it didn't increase sales. Pretty simple. And, for the record, FBM was Aaron Ross' highest salary, fact.
Adios amigo.
oyRuss, nice work with this blog bro. I've been reading since pretty much the beggining and not until now have i seen so many comments in less than a day. Definately an indication as to how popular it is, (or how many people you've pissed off haha). None the less, keep it up!
I just wanted to add that Faction was the greatest bmx magazine ever. The photos weren't the best, the quality wasn't the best, but it was just so damned entertaining to read.
liam
its not about how popular this is,its a sheep like thing...Eric B said it best......
I subscribed to Tread.
It lasted, what...4 issues?
Damnit. Faction was cool, but impossible to get here. Well, books a million had it sometimes. But I hated going in there. I clogged their toilet once and felt shame in going back.
I am going to buy 20 bucks worth of tubes tomorrow. That should last my old ass the rest of my BMX riding days.
Keep at it Russ, you're actions are a million times more ethical than 99% of the rest of bmx.
as a journalist myself I think it's important that someone questions and challenges the BS spewed by companies trying to turn a quick buck on fads. I mean it's not as if any of the old media organisations will ever do it.
MORE POWER TO YOU!
p.s. the first alienation post – all you did was say what anyone who pasted year 8 was thinking.
As a journalist, your grammar is terrible.
everything that technically sucked about faction and bmxa is what made it awesome. bmx isn't supposed to be clean cut and proper.
when are the fbm bikes coming out? will the prices go up on the bikes too?
Fuck sake.
John Paul, does it really bother you that much that Russ posts his opinion in a blog? Maybe we should just ignore the shitty, photocopied products, stupid design decisions, and superfluous companies because Butyl may run low, and things might get tough. We're all in this together, right?
Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who agree with what Russ says. People who think that maybe bmx shouldn't be run by what some 14 year old kid thinks he wants, because what he wants may not be the best product. Is that opinion in some way less valid?
- VxD
russ speaks the languages i like best: logic and common sense. john paul, you're making yourself look like a fool in the comments here. are you mad that you don't have a blog that's gaining popularity by the day? you were funny as shit in megatour 2 but now you just seem to act like a pretentious asshole who thinks he is hot shit because he's "on the inside of the industry." anyone with half a brain and good common sense can figure out how the bmx industry works. face it: the bmx industry has a lot of companies that don't do innovative shit at all, and are a project so that washed up pro rider joe schmo can "give back" to bmx by ordering parts out of taiwan and photoshopping a logo in an effort to not have to go back to the real world and have a real job. john paul if you can't get over that, then quit being a whiny bitch and shut up. you're no better than a 14 year old fag with girl pants that can do whip after whip if you have such a naive attitude. its sure as hell the type you're giving off.
" Alienation has to be doing something right, as their rims are showing up on quite a few completes these days. "............... It's called price, can you imagine Fit and all the other complete lines speccing Alienation rims for any reason other than that they are cheaper than Odyssey and other alternatives?
They could continue spec'ing Alex/no-name rims like they have been, which probably cost around the same, if not less than what Alienation is coming out with.
My not-quite educated guess is that Alienation is cutting deals in an effort to get their name out there.
also, it's not always highlighted that Zach was once a higher-up at Sun Rims, which made an entire line of rims at various price points. It's obvious that he's trying to replicate that with Alienation, only they've been highly misinformed by whoever is in charge of marketing, making their company look like the Hot Topic of BMX. The owner making an ass of himself on various web forums doesn't help much, either.
My one real question: why do most of their rims look like Odyssey clones, and not Suns?
Because they thought they'd be clever and use rim designs by a company that they thought was more obscure than it actually is.
They didn't figure us anarchistic kids would know what was up.
And yeah, it doesn't help that the owner of Alienation is always spouting his mouth off about how he could beat the ass of another industry person. That is so fucking lame it's unreal. I bet he's one of those guys that dances in front of another guy then proclaims himself to be the dominant male based on his silly little jig.
Being forthright and reasonable is always a better way to earn your props, even when you're marketing to us anarchistic kids.
We are simply not that stupid.
Forget this stuff. If you dont like the company, dont buy thier parts. Sipmle as that. Now lets go ride! Have fun, go ride and forget about this "industry" stuff.
Maxi sounds like a little bitch. Probably works for the competition. Too many industry wantabees here.
an anonymous poster calls someone out for possibly being a semi-anonymous representative of a rival. oh man, I'll alert the presses on that one.
(i get the irony out of posting this anonymously)
Maxi do you often find yourself being dominated on the dance floor by men or were you speaking hypothetically?
Oh look, it's my entourage.
Hi entourage!
as a chemist, i dont think inner tubes can be made of butyl... butyl-something... but saying they are made of butyl doesnt make sense.
ahh, a quick search showed that tires are made of polyisobutylene, or butyl rubber. this makes more sense to me.
other than that, i have no comments.
vxd and his anonymous chum, that posted after him, cleary don't get it. maybe someone could ask them to leave?
"how fucking sad do you want to be. bragging about spelling skills is rather embarassing. NERDLINGEEERRRRR."
WAHAHAHAHAHAHA
When the hell did new colours, become "colourways" anyway. I know someone who owns a soft goods and parts company, he says everyone just buys black anyway.
This has exceeded my wildest expectations.
Colorway is a term that we have gleaned from the shoe companies. I like it, it describes combinations of colors, not just one color. And yes, black will always be in fashion.
Hey I don't see any reason to flog JPR in here - now that I think he is coming around to the purpose behind this blog - he's undoubtably one of the good guys in the industry. JPR keep adding your insights, and you too TL. I dig that you guys own up to your posts.
The Schwinn tatoo JPR owns represents a time when Schwinn set the standard for style in BMX - and JPR was a big part of that, along with Van Homan, Brian Foster, Jay Miron. Props.
I bet Zach Alienation listens to Nu Metal, what a tool! He probably loves Disturbed or something. Maybe he shops at Hot Topic.
what does musical taste have to do with product? i think you're reading the wrong blog. maybe you're the tool!
The classic actions of a person who has no comebacks is to try and misdirect peoples attention from the issue at hand, rather than say, deal with the issue.
I have always believed the Alienation was a bmx company for the 21st century – that is a bmx company that just picked a bunch cloned products from a catalogue, slapped a badge on them and called them “technically superior”. Does than mean if wack a coat of sky blue paint on my dick it makes it “technically superior” to other dicks?
I wasn’t keen on Alienation before, but now, dam, I think I’ll actively campaign against them. At least the company is living up to its name as it alienates riders who would be buying its stuff.
Ali, I must get me one of those catalogs. Where can I find it? Bet you don't have a clue do you?
You don't need a catalog to make a part based on a patent by another company, it's far easier than catalog selection. Get permission, pay a little fee, viola. You can use KHEs internals for your freecoaster and get your own brand name slapped on a pivotal.
Anyway. You have to deal somewhat directly with the actual manufacturing company/factory in order to get your hands on a catalog, you can't just waltz in to any bikeshop and ask for one.
So, big "head" bob, there's your answer for you. Nice try at trying to shoot down a perfectly valid post...Not.
looks like they are ripping off fits marketing now to make up for the lack of their own
http://imagec11.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/WorldPub/BMX_Alienation_ROS_728x90_Jul08/alienation_july.jpg
^oh wow^ they really have no shame
A rip off of a rip off.
and Rob O would be more likely to listen to Fall Out Boy than Maiden so what does it matter.
JP should stick to being all posi and shit
Russ should stick to being all negative
It's how it was meant to be
Using Iron Maiden imagery is only marginally more original than using the Motorhead logo. Maybe. Way to be adventurous. At least Eddie Cleveland's name is EDDIE.
I totally need to headline something Two Minutes To Midnight.
Like the Barenaked Ladies sang, "It's all been done before".
From my understanding Macneil patented the pivotal post technology then sold it off to allow all these companies to replicate them. And as far as the Alienation freecoaster using KHE internals, so does Federal. Yet it's easy to jump on the bandwagon and bash a certain company along with the crowd. Mob mentality
I think they'd sell more seats is they made the colors correspond with the team's. Also if they changed their company's name and kept that guy Zach from looking like a total asshole on the internet.
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