Some of the more traditional-inclined might enjoy this
If I ruled the world – Prospect Magazine « Prospect Magazine
If I ruled the world – Prospect Magazine « Prospect Magazine
In praise of tradition
- Thread starter lectureral
- Start date
Funny article, though I ride a Brompton lol
It does only have a 3 speed hub gear though
Regards
Jerry
It does only have a 3 speed hub gear though
Regards
Jerry
A saying I've found explains many things in human behaviour is attributed to (among others!) Dr Johnson. At a dinner party he observed of another diner that "the more he talks of honesty, the faster I count the spoons."
These fancy bikes are meant to say "I am a seriously hard cyclist, look at the money I spend on a bike". The reality is that if you are a serious cyclist, the bike is just a tool and your actions - actually riding the thing - speak for themselves and don't need advertising.
These expensive fancy bikes are the brain child of marketing men rather than cyclists. So many things, cameras, bikes, cars, guitars are marketing specials.
As a professional newspaper and magazine photographer, I was always amazed at how much more money an amateur would spend on equipment than any pro I knew would. You just bought what would do the job. I used to get my Hasselblad equipment very cheaply, as new, but second hand from a camera shop in Chelsea. They had a large rich clientèle (Peter Sellers among them) who would buy these essentially pro cameras, tote them around to impress their girl friends, then chop them in on their next optical fantasy. I bought at least of 2 of Peter Sellers' old lenses. Practically unused, 30% cheaper than new. A Hasselblad exec remaked once that if Hasselblads were bought only by people who knew how to use them, they'd be too expensive for any pro to buy.
Look at 99% of professional guitar players and what do they play? Bog standard Strats or Les Pauls. The fancy stuff is played by amateurs in the belief that a good guitar makes them play better.
The good thing is that it is the gullible who make the good stuff affordable for the rest of us.
An interesting aspect of the English is that many like being made monkeys of. As Stella Artois realised, for example, when they took a bog standard Belgian lager, tripled the price for the UK and watched their sales sky rocket. "Reassuringly expensive"
I have a nice little compact camera, a Panasonic LX3. It's a top notch little job with an excellent Leica lens and costs around £350. If you wish, you can buy it with a Leica logo. It is the same camera, but costs £200 more. And people buy it! It baffles me
These fancy bikes are meant to say "I am a seriously hard cyclist, look at the money I spend on a bike". The reality is that if you are a serious cyclist, the bike is just a tool and your actions - actually riding the thing - speak for themselves and don't need advertising.
These expensive fancy bikes are the brain child of marketing men rather than cyclists. So many things, cameras, bikes, cars, guitars are marketing specials.
As a professional newspaper and magazine photographer, I was always amazed at how much more money an amateur would spend on equipment than any pro I knew would. You just bought what would do the job. I used to get my Hasselblad equipment very cheaply, as new, but second hand from a camera shop in Chelsea. They had a large rich clientèle (Peter Sellers among them) who would buy these essentially pro cameras, tote them around to impress their girl friends, then chop them in on their next optical fantasy. I bought at least of 2 of Peter Sellers' old lenses. Practically unused, 30% cheaper than new. A Hasselblad exec remaked once that if Hasselblads were bought only by people who knew how to use them, they'd be too expensive for any pro to buy.
Look at 99% of professional guitar players and what do they play? Bog standard Strats or Les Pauls. The fancy stuff is played by amateurs in the belief that a good guitar makes them play better.
The good thing is that it is the gullible who make the good stuff affordable for the rest of us.
An interesting aspect of the English is that many like being made monkeys of. As Stella Artois realised, for example, when they took a bog standard Belgian lager, tripled the price for the UK and watched their sales sky rocket. "Reassuringly expensive"
I have a nice little compact camera, a Panasonic LX3. It's a top notch little job with an excellent Leica lens and costs around £350. If you wish, you can buy it with a Leica logo. It is the same camera, but costs £200 more. And people buy it! It baffles me
I like this a lot. When I bought my daughter her first 'proper' bike, at age 8, she insisted on a mountain bike because everyone else had them and of course she didn't want to be different. So I got one from Halfords and got a strange look when I enquired where the mudguards were and an even stranger look when I pointed out that there was no bell. These had to be bought at extra cost of course at prices well inflated than if they came with them as standard.
Couldn't agree more! It's why we drive a teenaged Skoda which goes and stops just like a real car, has taken us all over Europe and is 'worth' about £50. The Powabyke is worth about the same amount, built like a Russian tractor and does what I want it to - it goes. I've dumped the digital camera and reverted to an old Olympus 35mm because it can survive in the West African rainy season without throwing a hissy fit. Shan't bother mentioning my clothes from Oxfam!
Cars are the marketing men's dream. It is a rare car advert that sells only on the basis of functionality. They are usually selling status, prestige, image and of course a promise of making you attractive to women. I only once bought a new car and then I thought it would make sense if I could look after it and make it last a long time. That idea soon collapsed when the repair bills came in. I'm not big fans of cars and for the last 20 years I have settled on cheap to maintain models, old enough not to be attractive to petrol heads and thus cheap. Definitely the cheapest way to drive.
Honest? With a little effort that could be my dream car! Didn't they make a small 4x4? A car capable of being despised even by the 4x4 set ... Sorry, got a bit carried away then. Nurse! Is it time for my tablets?
(Still dreaming of a fully functional long range version of the MIT Green wheel for the tandem ... just to keep on topic!)
Best wishes all, it's a lovely sunny morning here.
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