Cycling Brands: Pronunciation!
12-01-07 | 06:14 PM
#27
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From: Toronto area
Bikes: Cervelo, Pinarello, Specialized
12-01-07 | 06:44 PM
#29
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From: Winnipeg, Canada
Bikes: 2006 Marin Stelvio, 1990s Steve Bauer, Marin Palisades Trail
12-01-07 | 06:53 PM
#30
Gone, but not forgotten
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From: Newtonville, Massachusetts
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That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about, airosen! Let's hash this stuff out before someone (aka ME) makes a fool of himself again.
Sidi - is it like "city" but with a "d" instead of a "t"?
Giro - I'm not Italian... is this like a gyroscope, a hero sandwich, or more in between the two, like a Greek gyro pita-bread sandwich? or is it "gear-o?"
I realize, these questions make me look like an idiot. But I only ask them because there may be others out there who are afraid to ask them.
SRAM - is it "Ess-Ram?"
Sidi - is it like "city" but with a "d" instead of a "t"?
Giro - I'm not Italian... is this like a gyroscope, a hero sandwich, or more in between the two, like a Greek gyro pita-bread sandwich? or is it "gear-o?"
I realize, these questions make me look like an idiot. But I only ask them because there may be others out there who are afraid to ask them.
SRAM - is it "Ess-Ram?"
Giro: gee-row or zhee-row (Refers to the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy race.)
SRAM: sram. It's an acronym made of the initials of the original partners of the company.
Many of the European terms have semi-standard English pronunciations that are quite different from the way they're pronounced in the European languages.
Examples:
Mavic is generally prononced "mavick" by English speakers, but in French it's ma-veek
mixte is generally prononced "mixty" by English speakers, but in French it's meekst
Cyclo is generally prononced "sigh-clow" by English speakers, but in French it's seek-low
TA is generally prononced "tee ay" by English speakers, but in French it's tay ah
I have no idea how a French person would pronounce "Stronglight" even though it's a French brand.
Ksyrium is a made-up word, there is no correct way to pronounce it. Stay away from those silly boutique wheels anyway! ;-)
Avocet not avosay
Giant not gee-ahnt
Pannier not pannyay
12-01-07 | 06:58 PM
#31
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From: Houston, TX
Bikes: 2007 Trek 1500
Sidi: seedy is how I pronounce it.
Giro: gee-row or zhee-row (Refers to the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy race.)
SRAM: sram. It's an acronym made of the initials of the original partners of the company.
Many of the European terms have semi-standard English pronunciations that are quite different from the way they're pronounced in the European languages.
Examples:
Mavic is generally prononced "mavick" by English speakers, but in French it's ma-veek
mixte is generally prononced "mixty" by English speakers, but in French it's meekst
Cyclo is generally prononced "sigh-clow" by English speakers, but in French it's seek-low
TA is generally prononced "tee ay" by English speakers, but in French it's tay ah
I have no idea how a French person would pronounce "Stronglight" even though it's a French brand.
Ksyrium is a made-up word, there is no correct way to pronounce it. Stay away from those silly boutique wheels anyway! ;-)
Then there are English words that some folks think are foreign. F'rinstance:
Avocet not avosay
Giant not gee-ahnt
Pannier not pannyaySheldon "Derailer" Brown
Giro: gee-row or zhee-row (Refers to the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy race.)
SRAM: sram. It's an acronym made of the initials of the original partners of the company.
Many of the European terms have semi-standard English pronunciations that are quite different from the way they're pronounced in the European languages.
Examples:
Mavic is generally prononced "mavick" by English speakers, but in French it's ma-veek
mixte is generally prononced "mixty" by English speakers, but in French it's meekst
Cyclo is generally prononced "sigh-clow" by English speakers, but in French it's seek-low
TA is generally prononced "tee ay" by English speakers, but in French it's tay ah
I have no idea how a French person would pronounce "Stronglight" even though it's a French brand.
Ksyrium is a made-up word, there is no correct way to pronounce it. Stay away from those silly boutique wheels anyway! ;-)
Avocet not avosay
Giant not gee-ahnt
Pannier not pannyay
12-01-07 | 07:29 PM
#34
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From: Tucson, AZ
Bikes: 1993 Specialized Allez, 2003 Gios A70 Ultralite, 2002 Rossin Synthesis
12-01-07 | 07:34 PM
#35
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From: Tucson, AZ
Bikes: 1993 Specialized Allez, 2003 Gios A70 Ultralite, 2002 Rossin Synthesis
12-01-07 | 07:59 PM
#36
How much does it weigh?
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From: Weight Weenie on a budget.
Bikes: Lotus Fixed, Bianchi Virata 2004
What about the pronunciation of Sapim? Is it 'Sa-peem' or Sap-im or... ?
Coincidentally was at friend's shop today, and asked for pricing on the CX-Rays (I could get them online for a 1/4 of the price, so he lost)... anyway, I said it one way, an a guy who is employed by him who varies between friendly to a**hole corrected my pronunciation. So what is it?
Coincidentally was at friend's shop today, and asked for pricing on the CX-Rays (I could get them online for a 1/4 of the price, so he lost)... anyway, I said it one way, an a guy who is employed by him who varies between friendly to a**hole corrected my pronunciation. So what is it?
12-01-07 | 08:02 PM
#37
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From: 5200' Boulder, CO Area
Bikes: Specialized 6Fattie, Parlee Z5, Cannondale SuperX
Some brands with which I'm familiar:
Bianchi - Bee-otch
Biria - Bi-arrhea
Canopus - Can-uh-bis
Ciöcc - Cee-otch
Dahon - Duh-hun
Jonas Øglænd (brand DBS) - Joan-ass' Oo'-gull-end
Eddy Merckx - Eee'-Dee' Murks-x-x'-x
Felt - Felt
Flying Pigeon - sqwaab
Gazelle - Tare'-ex
Gitane - Smo-kem
Graflex (originally the bicycle company Folmer & Schwing) - Schwing!
Haro - Ho
Harley-Davidson - Hawg
Huffy - Waal-maart
Kappa - Krap'-uh
LeMond - (see "Bianchi")
LOOK - (see "See")
Masciaghi - Miss'-ter Mee-aah'-ghee
Maserati - Mi'-kar
Medici - Mee'-dicki
Miyata - Maz'-duh
Moser Cicli - Mo'-sur Chic'-lit
Murray - Muh'-ree
Olmo - All-most
Orange - Arnch
Orient Bikes - A'-zee-en Bikes
Parlee - Moo-cho' Dee'-nare'-oh
Pinarello - Pee'-Knee
Pogliaghi - Pog-lee-ag'-ee
Porsche - Portch
Schwinn Bicycle Company - see "Huffy"
Shimano (see "Orient")
Shogun (see "Shimano")
VéloSoleX - Vel-o-sex'
VO3 Bicycles - Vee-oh-too
WeThePeople - Eee-plan-Eee'-stuh (see "Star Trek")
Bianchi - Bee-otch
Biria - Bi-arrhea
Canopus - Can-uh-bis
Ciöcc - Cee-otch
Dahon - Duh-hun
Jonas Øglænd (brand DBS) - Joan-ass' Oo'-gull-end
Eddy Merckx - Eee'-Dee' Murks-x-x'-x
Felt - Felt
Flying Pigeon - sqwaab
Gazelle - Tare'-ex
Gitane - Smo-kem
Graflex (originally the bicycle company Folmer & Schwing) - Schwing!
Haro - Ho
Harley-Davidson - Hawg
Huffy - Waal-maart
Kappa - Krap'-uh
LeMond - (see "Bianchi")
LOOK - (see "See")
Masciaghi - Miss'-ter Mee-aah'-ghee
Maserati - Mi'-kar
Medici - Mee'-dicki
Miyata - Maz'-duh
Moser Cicli - Mo'-sur Chic'-lit
Murray - Muh'-ree
Olmo - All-most
Orange - Arnch
Orient Bikes - A'-zee-en Bikes
Parlee - Moo-cho' Dee'-nare'-oh
Pinarello - Pee'-Knee
Pogliaghi - Pog-lee-ag'-ee
Porsche - Portch
Schwinn Bicycle Company - see "Huffy"
Shimano (see "Orient")
Shogun (see "Shimano")
VéloSoleX - Vel-o-sex'
VO3 Bicycles - Vee-oh-too
WeThePeople - Eee-plan-Eee'-stuh (see "Star Trek")
12-01-07 | 08:08 PM
#38
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From: Tucson, AZ
Bikes: Custom Zona c/f tandem + Scott Plasma single
'American English" is pretty straight forward?
Pronouce: KNife, KNow, no, two, to and too and then tutu . . . pretty straight forward?!
English was my 5th language . . .
Pronouce it any way you like, they'll take your $$$ just the same!
Pronouce: KNife, KNow, no, two, to and too and then tutu . . . pretty straight forward?!
English was my 5th language . . .
Pronouce it any way you like, they'll take your $$$ just the same!
12-01-07 | 08:16 PM
#39
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Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Houston, TX
Bikes: 2007 Trek 1500
And I majored in Chinese, which, besides lacking an alphabet, is pretty straightforward, once you get the basics. It would be interesting to see the Chinese translations for bike parts, but I doubt any of my dictionaries have the vocabulary for it.
12-01-07 | 08:34 PM
#40
another cat...FAB!
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From: 1st star to the right...
Bikes: Merlin Ti Build, Trek Y-50, Bianchi Titanium Build, Custom Cuevas Road bike
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12-01-07 | 08:40 PM
#41
One thing to keep in mind is that foreign brands in the US are not always pronounced the way they are in the native language. In some cases, it may just be a loss of accents (can't roll the R's and stuff), in other cases completely off. For example, in Volkswagon, the V has an F sound and the W has a V sound, but that's not the normal American way to say it. I don't know, but have heard, that Toyota is pronounced To-Yo-Ta, not Toi-oda, in Japan.
I propose a solution for you. Instead of trying to pronounce it right and failing, just do it completely wrong. But not just the name. Use the worst ****er/Slim Pickens/Junior Samples accent you can come up with, wear overalls, then ask for "One o' them thar Benchy tars". They'll be impressed that you've ever heard of that brand name, then.
By the way, salesman acting snooty is not good salesmanship. Most of the salespeople I've met in bike stores didn't seem the type to do that.
I propose a solution for you. Instead of trying to pronounce it right and failing, just do it completely wrong. But not just the name. Use the worst ****er/Slim Pickens/Junior Samples accent you can come up with, wear overalls, then ask for "One o' them thar Benchy tars". They'll be impressed that you've ever heard of that brand name, then.
By the way, salesman acting snooty is not good salesmanship. Most of the salespeople I've met in bike stores didn't seem the type to do that.
12-01-07 | 08:58 PM
#42
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,104
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From: Athens, Ohio
Bikes: Custom Custom Custom
What about the pronunciation of Sapim? Is it 'Sa-peem' or Sap-im or... ?
Coincidentally was at friend's shop today, and asked for pricing on the CX-Rays (I could get them online for a 1/4 of the price, so he lost)... anyway, I said it one way, an a guy who is employed by him who varies between friendly to a**hole corrected my pronunciation. So what is it?
Coincidentally was at friend's shop today, and asked for pricing on the CX-Rays (I could get them online for a 1/4 of the price, so he lost)... anyway, I said it one way, an a guy who is employed by him who varies between friendly to a**hole corrected my pronunciation. So what is it?
12-01-07 | 09:02 PM
#43
Aluminium Crusader :-)
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,050
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From: Melbourne, Australia
Amongst my other bikes, I have 2 Cervelos and a Ciocc, and I delite in pronouncing them to Eurotrash bike shop guys as "Kervello" and "Chee-ock" in my broadest Aussie accent. Stuff 'em!!
Tossers.Mavic is "Mavick", Bianchi is "Bee-ankee", and Ksyrium is "sirrium". The end
What REALLY gets my goat (and I've said this on here before) is people putting on Italian accents for the Italian brand names. It's a joke, and SO pretentious! What's almost as funny is the excuses people came up with for doing so the last time it was discussed here. They said stuff like, "I just think it's the correct way", "my parents are Italian", "I once went to Italy so I've used the accent on 'Campagnolo' ever since", etc.
It's silly, because, to be consistent, they'd have to be change accents all through their bike chat. They'd have to use a Japanese accent for "Shimano", and Dutch accent for "Vredestein", a German accent for "Continental", a French accent for "Michelin", a Swiss accent for "BMC", an American accent for "Trek", a Candian accent for "Cervelo, etc, etc.
It's a big toss!
12-01-07 | 09:22 PM
#49
Ciocc is chee-oach (rhymes with coach)
at least that's how the LBS says it.
at least that's how the LBS says it.
12-02-07 | 08:12 AM
#50
Chasing Dave Stoller
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From: Beautiful Western Massachusetts
Bikes: 2010 Salsa Vaya, 2012 Jamis Quest, 2014 Salsa Mukluk
Surprised no-one has mentioned Bontrager.
I heard a salesman at one of the more upscale, reputable LBS's in Boston area pronounce it "BOHN-tray-gur" the other day. He used to be a distributor, I figure folks probably understood him when he offered to ship them some of those.
I often do use the accent of the European countries that produced the product -- though usually toned down quite a bit to Americanize it a little. Not because I think I know better, or because I think it's authentic, but because it's fun. I like the sound. But I don't take it too far.
I heard a salesman at one of the more upscale, reputable LBS's in Boston area pronounce it "BOHN-tray-gur" the other day. He used to be a distributor, I figure folks probably understood him when he offered to ship them some of those.
I often do use the accent of the European countries that produced the product -- though usually toned down quite a bit to Americanize it a little. Not because I think I know better, or because I think it's authentic, but because it's fun. I like the sound. But I don't take it too far.