Originally Posted by
smallwheeler
can't be sure, but i get the distinct impression you don't care for the panasonic rodeo.
Damn... am I that transparent?
Originally Posted by
smallwheeler
and yes, for a guy who's most recent bike purchase was a Bike Friday New World Tourist- a folding touring bike that fits in a suitcase for travel, i thought for sure you would "get it".
I'm very open to new concepts and odd designs that address form and function, something I felt the Rodeo was lacking in spades. Let's face it, just because something is "unique" doesn't mean it's a great idea. The concept of something like the Rodeo was probably envisioned before in a drunken stupor but was scrapped at the get go for good reason... until someone who acquired a warehouse full of crap parts decided to use Dr Seuss books as bicycle design reference material.
Maybe I viewed the Rodeo out of context. You posted pictures of some very tasty bikes... most of which were folding bikes that addressed a particular function in various forms. Then there was the Rodeo which was way out of place compared to the other bikes. It didn't help that the videos I was able to track down only showed very slow slalom runs, as if the only attribute worthy of note was to show that the Rodeo is at least somewhat rideable... woohoo! It wasn't shown doing a single thing that any other bike couldn't do better, except look super-dorky (a disparaging technical term). It honestly reminded me of this comical advert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reyt3uiQqI8