Some real good ideas here, nice to see so many people contributing/being interested in helping out Downtube.
@ Oldguy. Agreed. I also (as i commented on earlier) like the simplicity of the old Downtube logo. I think with some work and fine tuning (maybe more distinctiveness and making it look a little more 'dear' and a killer headbadge (maybe a somewhat 3D/embossed hinge and/or a Downtube?!) would be one of the many options.
@ Pixel, some real nice (web)logos there, simple, recognizable and easy to reproduce in many formats and variations.
@ Everyone, i agree that constructive critisism (which is different than nay-saying for the sake of it of course) is way more usefull than saying everything is great and not meaning it 100%. Again i am very happy that people are digging Yan's efforts and feel involved in what he is doing because he is letting us get involved. I only wish more companies and products had Yan's thoughts behind them!
@ Yan, i had another idea. How about having some Zen Type dude do a a long tour on a Downtube all the while mantaining a weblog on his experience. It is just another of my silly ideas but i for one would be stoked to read how someone would fare on a tour with the Downtube. It could potentially (if coupled with some promotion or maybe even a press conference in which your philosphy could be explained) generate lots of publicity and revenue for Downtube.
Maybe the story on how Kronan broke into the Dutch Market bigtime is of interest. Personally i thought one of their ways of generating interest for their bike was brilliant. What they did is this:
They Locked up a Brand new Kronan bike in each of the Major Dutch cities (about 8 i think) with a huge number and variety of locks. Like 12 per bike or something. They also put a large sticker on the frame with a simple URL:
KRONAN.NL
Thousands of people a day would walk by and notice this super sturdy unusual looking bike with a ton of locks. They couldn't help but look at it lots and remember the URL and since they could actually look at the bike up close they would quickly get stoked to buy one. Couple all this with massive media attention to this stunt and a slick website that allowed people to have the Kronan delivered quick (at an extremely competitive/cheap introduction price) and their sales where through the roof. It was kindoff like a viral thing, the more Kronan's were seen riding around the more people learned about them and ordered their own. At first it was cheap and website only (no middle men and could not be bought in stores). Then later they lost i think. Prizes rose, shops carried them etc.
So basically for an outlay of about $ 300 per city they had a permanent 3D billboard (the product WAS the advertisement) in each major city and got huge brandname/product recognition. Eventually the bikes did get kindoff trashed but this was many weeks after Kronan had already gotten all the interest they could handle.
Just thought it might be interesting.