Originally Posted by
bikinfool
You buy pounds of coffee that only weigh 11.5 oz? Francis, WTF? Haven't seen that 14oz pint, either (but ice cream isn't really about volume except from a marketing viewpoint...weigh your ice cream, the less overrun the better).
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Of course not, I buy coffee in bulk and get what I pay for. My point was about the prepackaged quantities. Almost everywhere you turn products are being downsized, for decades coffee came 1# to a can, then it was 13oz, now it's 11.5 oz with some brands. So far only one company has downsized their ice cream containers (in the US ice cream is sold by volume, so makers can lower cost by whipping more air into it) but with competitive pressure, others are sure to follow.
Competition makes it difficult to raise prices, so manufacturers find it easier to lower size or quality, and hope no one notices, or cares enough to try another brand. It's interesting that the liquor industry was quick to adopt, but that's product shipped globally, though 750ml, is smaller than the old US standard of 4/5 quart.
BTW- I agree that lots of wheel size changes are introduced mainly to creating something for marketing to talk about, but the move to 700s wasn't an introduction of a new size, it was the elimination of an old redundant size. It isn't reasonable to support the diversity of product we enjoy in the bike world, duplicated in 2 standards only 1.3% different in diameter.