asterisk

from the 1994 Bridgestone Catalog, their last before the split for Rivendell. The context is a projection of hwere the bicycle industry is headed within the next 10 years or so:

"Techno-Backlash:

Enough riders will rebel [...] to maintain a market for mechanical bicycles.' These will be the bikes of sentimental "retro-grouches", hobbyists, historians, and collectors.

There will be a market for pre-1986 Japanese bikes and pre-1980 French ones, almost without regard to the original selling price. The prized features will be all-metal derailleurs, anodized and polished metal parts, riveted metal headbadges, contrasting color head tubes, lugs, and any overt attempt at art. The most esteemed bikes will be those with fixed gears, followed by bikes with five-, six-, seven-, and eight-speed freewheels. There's a small movement in this direction now, but, like the return of bell-bottoms, it will have less of an impact the second time around."

What do we all think of this? The whole piece is hosted by sheldon if you want to look into it a bit more.

Aeroplane

Easy to see why they started Rivendell after believing in this...

This is basically describing Riv's whole product line, with the exception of the fixed-gear bike. Why don't they put one out?

spud

not sure, how much of market share does rivendell have now? maybe they dont think they can compete realisticallly with other fixed gears.

summerinside

Here's Sheldon Brown's Rivendell Quickbeam - it's a production bike that's been available since Rivendell was started...

ink1373

rivendell has about as much market share as they can handle. their custom wait list is at around 2 years, and they're more often out of stock than in stock of any given item that is exclusively theirs.

they're still in debt, which makes sense given the HUGE amount that they produced in such a short time. it's unbelievably ambitious to go producing bikes, custom bikes, custom painting, fancy bags, fancier bags, clothing, and also contracting with companies like nitto to design unique products. crazy, crazy ambitious. if grant didn't know his **** as well as he does, they would have tanked long ago from trying to do too much at once.

ink1373

also doing well enough that they opted out of NAHBS because if their customer base gets any larger, they'll just frustrate people by trying to operate outside their means.

$0.00/Gal

"Rivendell - we make you believe that paying top dollar for old technology is cool"

marqueemoon

Old technology is expensive to do, especially since people who care about it are a small niche market. Anyway we don't think paying top dollar for old technology is cool? *ahem* NJS anyone?

The LT

the crankset on that quickbeam is fugly

Matthew A Brown

Says the guy with Mates of State in his sig.

Yeah, hi-****ing-five, buddy.

The LT

It's still ugly...

jim-bob

No it hasn't.

I saw my first quickbeam in '04. Rivendell's been around since about a decade before that.

sloppy robot

speakin of bridgestones.. some dude is selling two kinda saweet ones on craigslist l.a... an mb-0 (jim-bob?) and a fillet brazed (???) 80s ish bridgestone mtn bike

asterisk

Anyway, we don't have to derail this thread so quickly with whines that cranks aren't ugly.

What are your responses to this alleged shift in the bicycle industry? Has bike culture followed corporations and technology, with us as the reactionary old crotchety guys?

jim-bob

Yeah, I saw those.. Kinda dug the ritchey, but there's no way I'm buying an mb-zip that's "dented but still okay". Those were one-season bikes.

Also, my stubby legs can't handle an 18" mtb.

sloppy robot

oh yea.. it was a ritchy.. my bad.. i kinda lump those two together..for no good reason

Matthew A Brown

Meaning, these cultural curves exist all over the place. I only got into fixed/track this past year, but its not like this whole phenomenon hasn't been brewing for a decade or so. I got waaaay into touring not quite three years ago, which might put me as one of earlier of the "kids" to get into it. I listened the **** out of some Mineral back in 1996, and a decade later "emo" (ugh) is all over the ****ing radio. Once you watch the rise and fall of a few of these curves, you begin to see how the next one will work out. I've been in Gainesville since 1996, and have gotten to watch Less Than Jake, Hot Water Music (now The Draft), and Against Me! get (deservedly) huge in strikingly similar trajectories. The pattern exists for foreign policy, diet fads, quilting, whatever.

I'm sure it's a lot more dramatic to decry "Corporations are creating our culture!" or however that might be better stated, but the it's a ****-ton more likely that they just have a few older "kids" like me on the payroll. Fixed is about to hit big. Touring might hit a little bit later. (I hope-- I would love love love love love love love love to have a dozen friends pulling a brevet series.... sigh....) Once the infrastructure is in place to get products distributed and marketed with some rapidity, there's money to be made, and we get blingass treats out of it. Corporations don't create a thing. They watch for the next spike and plan for it.

brooklyn

I was at Harris Cyclery about two weeks ago. They had an orange one that looked pretty good. It wasn't set up as a fixed but with a quick release in the rear and a double crank, so basically a 2 speed.

asterisk

Of course, a lot of people around here tend to be on the cutting edge of these things and then suffer from backlash as it gets popular. Thats a given, it doesn't generally need to be pointed out. I'm talking about bike culture as a whole, not your individual experience feeling alienated by commodification of culture; everyone goes through that at some point.

queerpunk

well put, MAB.

anybody read <i>"the tipping point"</i>? there are a lot of factors that go into the rise of a trend.

marqueemoon

+1. Cheers for MAB. Well put.

Yep. Crappy book, but there were a few interesting examples.

mattface 

I suppose it depends what you mean by "Techno Backlash" I think retro-grouches will always exist. Most of them are "Old People" and considering people tend to develop their tastes in their younger years, and not change them much after their 30s. Predicting a huge market for "old style bikes" as baby boomers (the largest single demographic) age isn't exactly rocket science. They've been shaping trends since they were born, and will continue to until they die.

The current trend for fixed gears is interesting, but it isn't really that big, at least not within the realm of my experience out here in the sticks.

I have noticed a backlash from "all mountain bikes all the time" back to road bikes and touring gaining popularity, but just TRY to find a new road bike without brifters in your LBS. assuming your LBS isn't Harris or some similar niche oriented place, it should be obvious that the "techno backlash" is still somewhat marginal much as it was back in the mid 90s. As for Bridgestone predictiong the rise of Rivendell 1 year before it happened. I'd call that a self fulfilling prophecy.

Aeroplane

That's the way the come, stock. A SS with with a flip-flop and a double chainring.