Plenty of irony in this thread.

All I saw was my last post where I kinda contradicted myself. Or am I missing something?

I was talking about the guy who literally singled out employees that he didn't like.

It's silly to be bothered by companies that are inspired by or even blatantly copy another company's design. More choice is good for us, the consumers.

Can anyone argue that it would be a good thing (for the consumer) if Cinelli or Cannondale or any other company were granted exclusive rights to that style of frame?

You can throw around words like Italian and Columbus all you'd like but the fact of the matter is that the frames are made in China and Thron is just a fancy name for 4130 chromoly.

Indeed.

@ddddavid - I think they call it intellectual property. Without it we would be like China where anybody can take another persons invention, put their name on it, and take their business and hard work. As a man who doesn't believe in the regulation of very many things, I still think that intellectual property is one of the few regulations that makes America a hub for inventors and innovators.

Intellectual property is not a regulation and ideas are worthless without execution. What's going on in America right now and for the past few years is companies using patents and copyright to stifle innovation not drive it (see: the music industry, the movie industry, software patents, name brand drugs vs. generic drugs, Facebook, Youtube, Google, etc.) .

Frame geometry should not be considered IP and shouldn't be patentable or protected by copyright. How the frame is put together (e.g. welding), for example, could be considered IP.

Techdirt is a great website to learn more about these topics if you're interested.

Theyre trying to make a buck, I get it. But how do they justify the $899 price tag for their Marcato frame when you can get a Specialized Langster Steel for less than half the price.

Is Columbus 4130 that much better than the Reynolds 520?

Things are starting to heat up now!

Say, how are you recovering from your wisdom teeth removal ? Are you still on the meds ? Can you eat solid food ?

I'm doing well, thanks! I have kicked the meds and am working my way back onto solid foods. Still a bit sore though.

exactly what I was thinking.

Maybe, but you removed all doubt with the way you responded.

This is not how you show the BFSSFG community that you're someone we should do business with. Am I supposed to believe Nugget just chose your shop out of all of them to blatantly make up stuff about for no good reason? 3 years or registration, but finally he had his opportunity to make up all those filthy lies!

I really can't see how people think this is a good way to respond to criticism. Do you browse yelp reviews and respond to anything that's not positive like this as well?

Either way I don't really care, but there was a way better way you could've handled protecting your rep and it wasn't by calling someone a troll who talks **** on the internet

there was no need for me to complain in person or via e-mail. i just chose to no longer go to your shop. i did, however, get angry when my close friends were coming to me with negative stories about your shop. but hey! that's all. you guys also do a fair amount of positive things for the boston scene. i posted online because i know your shop. people online don't. they don't live in the area.

yeah, i talked some sh*t. but that's mostly because i was legimiately angry about you guys not appraising my friend's bike that was hit by a car. this happened very recently, about 2 months ago. he is my close friend and roommate for 2 years. there is no other side story. sorry. it made me upset because you guys try to put a name out for the boston cycling scene, but then you refuse to help someone out? c'mon.

the flat fix is the same story. of course he would have blocked a part of your shop. your shop is relatively small with lots of stock. but if a messenger, on the clock, comes in (WHO'S ALSO AN EFFING MECHANIC FULL-TIME IN THE WARM MONTHS AND HAS HIS OWN BIKE COLLECTIVE THAT SERVES THE COMMUNITY) then wtf? hook a brother up.

the wheelset was stolen outside of your shop. no, i can never be 100% sure. but your shop was still open. at that point, i was just angry. same roommate (busty bike) had his hand-built wheels stolen right there. not cool. i don't know how it happened. i feel like wheelset steals are rare in boston.

i don't like you because of these things listed above. i used to like your store vibe and yourself. you have helped me out on many occasions. in fact, i even bought a microkorg from you. i'm dave. you know who i am. i just haven't been to your shop in forever and no longer live in boston. you helped me out when i was a huge newb. i appreciate that and won't forget it. didn't mean to sh*t on your online notoriety, but i felt like my issues were a valid thing to bring up when everyone was saying how much superb is perfect. my b.

I'm no expert in steel but it's reasonable to say Columbus tubesets are high quality tubesets.

It seems that in comparison to Reynolds tubes:
Zona slots a bit stronger than 631
Thron slots a bit stronger than 525

https://surfabike.wordpress.com/2011/...bike-building/

"Columbus produces Thron/Brain as the Crmo standard
material that would be roughly comparable to Reynolds
725. It is available in a number of diameters, and wall
thicknesses.

Lon Kennedy
NOVA CYCLES/North Am. distributor for
Columbus SPA"

Guerciotti Record frame.
Columbus Thron tubes
Must be decent enough for Guerciotti to handbuild these in Italy for over $1500 retail.
(great deal on totalcycling for less than half that, btw)

Like I said, we appraise countless bikes per year. I don't know who your friend is so I don't recall his situation but all I can imagine is there must have been some reason that we didn't appraise his bike. The only time I can think of when we don't appraise bikes after an accident is in the case where the bike is totaled beyond repair. When we appraise a bike, it is to fix the bike back to the condition before the wreck, if the frame is bent, or cracked or it would cost more money to fix the bike than a new one would cost, we can't really appraise that. In those situations I usually advise them to find the most similar bike that is for sale and show that to the insurance company and work it out with them. I don't know what else I can do for a totaled bike, I don't really know what dollar value to put on old used bikes, and in most cases insurance companies will give you enough money to replace the bike with a new one that is the most similar to what you had.

As far as the messenger and the flat fix, when running a business you need to have policies and stick to them, it wouldn't be fair to other customers for me to let him work on his bike on the sales floor but then not let the next guy that walks in the door.

Assuming that we stole your friends wheels just because it happened in front of our shop is a pretty big stretch, and I wouldn't recommend calling people thieves without some actual proof. Wheels get stolen everyday, a couple times a week in the summer someone comes in with a bike missing a wheel, and it is typically some crappy bike where the wheel wasn't even worth anything. It is the first time I have heard of something being stolen out front of the shop during the day, however, I'm surprised they wouldn't have come into the shop to ask if we saw anything? There is a known thief in the boston bike scene, on the fixed forums, and recently banned from our shop after being caught red handed. I'm not gonna name names, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I have no problem with people bringing any issues to me regarding the shop, but most of the time they are simply miscommunications or mistakes and can be easily remedied without a public forum.

Well now that you mention the microkorg I do remember you, and I feel like we only had friendly interactions so it bums me out that you don't like me to the point to say that stuff, but I'll try not to take it too personally.

bicker bicker bicker bicker

I think Mr. Superb's responses have been fair thus far.

Ok, going to re-open this.

I agree. He's being nothing but professional in his responses.

alright, getting tired of this...but i have one more response in me. hope that's alright. i'd be willing to talk personally, if you wish (but am not living in boston anymore).

i know you appraise bikes. i know you sell selected used bikes at your shop. however, i still don't understand why you don't appraise totaled bikes. my friend's situation was just that. he got hit by a car on his new bike. he wasn't at fault. he was looking for help, from your shop and others, to get an estimate for its value. this is normal practice.

here's my own personal experience (again, this situation with your shop was with my friend, but i think this story is informative). i got hit by a car, bike totaled, minor but significant injuries last december. i was not at fault. there were witnesses. after a short recovery, i brought the bike to cambridge bicycle (your sister shop). they were extremely helpful and caring, giving me an estimate on my bike's value. it was not a stock bike, so i did not feel comfortable doing so myself. also, insurance companies often require a written/signed/vouched for estimate for the bicycle.

thus, i really don't understand why you refused (refused nicely? probably. i wasn't there). if you feel that finding a similar bike is the way to go, then that's fine. you are the manager of that shop. but realize that other shops, even your sister shop, goes about this in the more accepted fashion. as a side, this is really your decision. you are a private business. you are allowed to conduct business how you please.

the flat situation: also completely understandable of why that happened. but at the heart of it, why could it not have been positive? it makes total sense not to have someone eff up your bike shop. it is extremely nice inside, with expensive parts. i wouldn't want some messenger (who you don't seem to have a relationship with) screw up the store.

but on the flip side, why? why not just let him? i would say that bike shops and messengers have an inextricably tight link. they are often reliant on bike shops. they need help. i don't think that's too much to ask, but if you do, it's your shop. it's not my shop.

i'll give you this: my friend most likely did not get a wheelset stolen by any of your employees. i was just angry about the situation and exaggerated (the probability percentage). i don't know who stole his wheelset. and i was not with him at the time. so, i'm not sure why he didn't walk into the shop. he was probably too upset about having his 2 day old wheelset stolen.

thank you for letting me know about the bostonfixed bike thief. i don't know who he is. that sounds crappy.

i'm sorry you don't feel that these issues should be on a public forum. you guys do a great job with social media and having an online presence. i really don't think that this will effect it. i am surprised 2 employees of cambridge/superb joined this forum to respond. i hope it was a positive experience for all.

and yes, i know you remember me. we have had pleasant interactions in person. if i walked into your shop tomorrow, i would be just as nice. i hope you would be the same. however, i can't forget these stories about your shop. but that's okay. i don't frequent your shop. i don't even live in boston...currently.

really, at the heart of this, i have one more thing to say (sorry for the long rant). if you are saying that you are a fixture of the boston cycling community, supporting alleycats with donations/locations/time, doing other events (wish you guys would put on more events...but i understand the previous police issues), do you not feel indebted to the community that allows you to exist? you are profiting from fellow bikers. your employees and yourself are fellow bikers. why not treat them with the utmost respect? why not continue to make a living for yourself, but also help those in need?

that's all. i wish you the best. sorry if you were offended by this whole ordeal, jason. i saw the post about superb and felt like i should express myself. i should express why i'm not sure supporting your shop is a good idea. but i am just one voice. your shop still exists. it will still exist. it's just not how i would run it.

Yes, they have.

I would also not consider this bickering, as Nuggetross has taken liberties with his accusations of the shop (not giving the complete story of a specific situation/problem), which then requires a shop owner to have to defend himself and his livelihood.

There are constantly customers in the retail and service sectors that take shop/store/business policies to heart, as if the policy was put in place to make them feel slighted, and there seems to be a little bit of this going on in this thread.

I don't know, meng, but it's hard to take you seriously after accusing them of stealing your friend's wheelset with no proof; all because the bike was parked out front. I'd be pissed if someone accused me of stealing their wheelset just because it got stolen in front of my house.

no problem. i accused superb because i don't know who to accuse. i admitted that. i don't think that should invalidate everything i said, though.