Makes you wonder how anyone but huffy ever sells a hardtail...
Sinister F-Bomb (R9 replacement)
- Thread starter illflip
- Start date
beyond ugly.
Well if that's the case, and DH bikes are in fact luxury goods catering to a small consumer base, then all the more reason to market the heck out of the thing; especially to the 'wankers on the internet'
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Lee,
To be blunt, there is a huge difference between how much you need to hype a few hundred Sundays (full of forgings and machine parts) , and how much you need to hype a bike that gets built 10 or so at a time with very low overhead.
Micromanaging internet hype is soo 2003. Welcome to the post-internet world where things are sold over the phone, and physical goods are exchanged for real money by people who know each other physically. Neo-primitivism is the new nano-tech. It all causes cancer anyway...
To be blunt, there is a huge difference between how much you need to hype a few hundred Sundays (full of forgings and machine parts) , and how much you need to hype a bike that gets built 10 or so at a time with very low overhead.
Micromanaging internet hype is soo 2003. Welcome to the post-internet world where things are sold over the phone, and physical goods are exchanged for real money by people who know each other physically. Neo-primitivism is the new nano-tech. It all causes cancer anyway...
No, they used to take time to post on here because they're bike nuts and this place was full of like-minded bike nuts with senses of humor. Neither comes round much anymore, because both the humor and utility of this board have waned.
Additionally, if you read posts from either of them, they have both commented that RM is a tiny, nay insignificant, sliver of the market, and while it has its uses it does not represent the mountain bike market.
the mtn bike market, no. but take ridemonkey, mtbr, pinkbike, bustedspoke, farkin, descent-world, nsmtb, etc together and you get a whole lot of DH riders/racers in one place. and if current trends elsewhere hold true, more and more riders/racers will find their way here in some form or another.
this is all way off topic but was originally in response to at Mickey (our resident anti-establishment grump who likes to hear himself talk before he thinks) and his silly comment about "who cares about marketability." Well, anyone who wants to sell a bike. that's who. and since last i checked FTW and the folks at Sinister are neither independently wealthy nor making bikes just for their friends so this includes them as well.
back on topic: any hard #'s yet on geometry, travel, etc? some internet wankers want to know
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HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAA *gasp* HAAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA HAHA HAH AHA HAHAHA *choking* HAHAHA *puking*....*rolling on the floor in my own vomit*
That should be my new signature....
Don't have full specs yet from Frank. The one in the pic is a small frame. The travel is 8.5" headtube is 1.5"
More info when it becomes avail.
Good thing there are people out there that appreciate an ultra-light full-travel DH bike with dialed geometry, pivot point, and suspension rate, with the finest craftsmanship on the planet, built domestically by a die-hard group of locals. That is, if they can get past the looks of the prototype that a bunch of 16 year-olds on the internet don't like.
For some companies "marketability" means "build the best bike we can and it will market itself."
oh give me a break. I made a comment about how I think the bikes looks like crap, and also in my opinion brings nothing new to the table that the turner or cuervo or gemini hadn't already featured. Hell, the turner at least had a rising rate link, I think. Although, I do like that by looking at the same photo, you can state that the bike is so dialed.
I love FTW's craftsmanship and I have a huge amount of respect for people who build and sell bikes rather than "design and farm out". That's why I bought the BMW I have and that's why, when I buy my next frame, I want it to be handmade direct from builder, even if it comes at a premium and ESPECIALLY if it's built on the east coast....BUT...if you don't want to listen to my opinion about the prototype, I'll let my wallet speak when it's finished.
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Let me wade into this muck and mire, if you don't mind!
I have never run a small business, but i imagine that keeping your name out there is very important. There has to be a decision making point, as may have happened here, to get the proto and the the word out even though it's still in raw form; and you will get some crap for it because it's not as shiny and polished as some other well endowed companies with the whole full on product launch thing. Advertising and marketing fees are pretty much non-existent. If I were to fathom a guess, I would say this is the route these fine gents have taken. FTW ain't no big dummy, you know! Some people have good impressions, some have bad, but it's out there.
Here is word from on high (at bloody 5:00 am this morning, sheesh!): http://www.sinisterbikes.com/sbforum/showthread.php?t=1243&page=2
"...That frame is a small, the chainstays are 17.5" and the head angle is 65 where is sits now. That may change when I see where the fork rides in it's range. As with any design I do , I am looking for something in the overall performance. Good weight balance, the right grip under braking and tracking through bumpy turns. One of my goals upon starting this bike was to build a bike that would be faster and easier to ride fast. Right now, I expect to pull the head angle in about 1/2 to one degree From where it is now in the range of fork adjustment you can only go slacker. perhaps a degree steeper. the cool thing about the F-bomb is the tubing is still burly and the parts are not creepy thin. It's so friggin stiff my Ridge is not stoked."
I have never run a small business, but i imagine that keeping your name out there is very important. There has to be a decision making point, as may have happened here, to get the proto and the the word out even though it's still in raw form; and you will get some crap for it because it's not as shiny and polished as some other well endowed companies with the whole full on product launch thing. Advertising and marketing fees are pretty much non-existent. If I were to fathom a guess, I would say this is the route these fine gents have taken. FTW ain't no big dummy, you know! Some people have good impressions, some have bad, but it's out there.
Here is word from on high (at bloody 5:00 am this morning, sheesh!): http://www.sinisterbikes.com/sbforum/showthread.php?t=1243&page=2
"...That frame is a small, the chainstays are 17.5" and the head angle is 65 where is sits now. That may change when I see where the fork rides in it's range. As with any design I do , I am looking for something in the overall performance. Good weight balance, the right grip under braking and tracking through bumpy turns. One of my goals upon starting this bike was to build a bike that would be faster and easier to ride fast. Right now, I expect to pull the head angle in about 1/2 to one degree From where it is now in the range of fork adjustment you can only go slacker. perhaps a degree steeper. the cool thing about the F-bomb is the tubing is still burly and the parts are not creepy thin. It's so friggin stiff my Ridge is not stoked."
Guys you know that this argument is pointless and no1 will agree with anyone? Maybe just give it a break.
BTW. Apparently there are some fans of the bike here so maybe they will sell some
Oh year and I still think RM is full of good bike nuts. Maybe there is much junk here but compared to other forums the knowledge on rm is pretty big. I think DW and Todd have just sth else to do now
@JimMac
Any info on BB height and will the bike be shorter than the R9 ( the main thing that put me off this bike was it's length. Most ppl don't live close to WC courses).
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Actually it looks more similar to a FTW design. This one is from a few yrs ago.
pics were posted on our blog because of all the questions and interest from so many friends and family. It's tough keeping stuff under wraps. Seems like every time a bike leaves the shop someone gets a pic of it. I consider myself and Sinister pretty transparent business wise. The shop is always open and we welcome everyone to stop by or have a few beers with us at events
. Talk shop (see the VST in it's newest application), shoot the sh*t. Whatever. So I thought I'd share. Nothing "sinister, pardon the pun, going on. We build great bikes. Sometimes we make a profit, most times we don't. Why, because we believe in fun and quality and put our customer 1st. I appreciate all the interest and opinions. And thank you all for your input. Good to see you peeps care about what's on the market for bikes. I sure do.
Again, couple more things about the frame,
it's low, light, tough, fast, simple, effective, efficient and....not done yet.:biggrin:
pics were posted on our blog because of all the questions and interest from so many friends and family. It's tough keeping stuff under wraps. Seems like every time a bike leaves the shop someone gets a pic of it. I consider myself and Sinister pretty transparent business wise. The shop is always open and we welcome everyone to stop by or have a few beers with us at events
. Talk shop (see the VST in it's newest application), shoot the sh*t. Whatever. So I thought I'd share. Nothing "sinister, pardon the pun, going on. We build great bikes. Sometimes we make a profit, most times we don't. Why, because we believe in fun and quality and put our customer 1st. I appreciate all the interest and opinions. And thank you all for your input. Good to see you peeps care about what's on the market for bikes. I sure do.Again, couple more things about the frame,
it's low, light, tough, fast, simple, effective, efficient and....not done yet.:biggrin:
It's good that I finally got a proto done that I was happy with. It's so funny after doing this for almost 30 years that building a new racer still excites me. I personally think it looks very nice. As far as "bringing something new to the table"? That is often bringing something old to the table. While new things often bring exciting potential, often it yields only a different problem or weakness. We racers witness this year after year when our new parts and machines push us no further up the finishers list. It's frustrating sometimes when improvements are only incremental. This has been the case in past years. Give and take. This is a new platform for us, and we again are coming from behind. Work hard and learn.
anyway, I know racers who want to go faster and don't want to wait. They buy our bikes and we work hard to win races. They are here in this forum and they are on the mountain. If you try this bike and don't like it, it's just another year...right?
anyway, I know racers who want to go faster and don't want to wait. They buy our bikes and we work hard to win races. They are here in this forum and they are on the mountain. If you try this bike and don't like it, it's just another year...right?