Sounds like he's got a mass chip on his shoulder about the STW forums and the perception of charge bikes on it. He also sounds jealous of CY and Brant.
Do kids really think mountain bikes are uncool?
Bike Forum
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That Nick Larsen Interview
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Posted 2 years ago #
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please give more info on what he said for the skinflints among us
ta
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm still not entirely sure of what to make of it. But it did seem a bit odd.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Not sure what he expects....his fixie type bikes have created more interest in the brand of late than any of the mountain bikes in the range.
Plus didn't he just sell Charge (via Hotwheels) to the Dorel group??
Posted 2 years ago # -
Maybe its becuase I know who brant is. WTF is Nick Larsen, does he make bikes for radge muppets to push between street cafe's when they're not RLJ'ing?
Posted 2 years ago # -
All I've heard about charge is that their customer service is sh1t.
Posted 2 years ago # -
What did I say to make you think I was jealous of Cotic and On-one? I do admire what they do, but I think jealously is a bit strong. I think the forum comment related to one particular thread some time ago that I got involved with about Charge and "Marketing Bullshit". I should never have.
Nick
Posted 2 years ago # -
Do kids really think mountain bikes are uncool
bmx - yup, cool as...
fixies - yup, in a hoxton kinda way
mongrel bikes - always cool
but mtb - aaah c'mon, there's absolutely nothing 'cool' about mtb'sPosted 2 years ago # -
Well... perhaps you were misquoted Nick, but... "...the geek side of it needs toning down. It’s odd that people admire Cy from Cotic..."
Posted 2 years ago # -
does he make bikes for radge muppets to push between street cafe's when they're not RLJ'ing?
This made me laugh. Good description.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Interview all about Charge bikes being for non-bike geeks, then finds it odd that bike geeks don't fawn over the brand?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Brant, well all I can say in my defense is that I do personally admire what Cy from Cotic has achieved, what he designs and produces, and I genuinely am sorry that I used his name and brand to illustrate my point that, "the geek side of it needs toning down." That was wrong, I regret doing that and I apologise.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Surely to design great bikes you need to be a 'geek'??
Posted 2 years ago # -
true! c'mon folks, do any of us who are into alfine hub ratios, head angles or fork damping NOT think of ourselves as a bit geeky?
in a positive way n'all..
Posted 2 years ago # -
but mtb - aaah c'mon, there's absolutely nothing 'cool' about mtb's
THats the main reason i love it so much still. When it becomes cool it gets jumped on like any bandwagon.Posted 2 years ago # -
I am a geek, I think... well I hope, I am after all posting on this forum. The point was that to make mountain biking attractive to non-cyclists (rather than fixies) it needs to be less geeky.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Surely to design great bikes you need to be a 'geek'
but you certainly don't need to be a geek to enjoy riding one
it's the obsessive keyboard kit-fwappery that defines the 'geeks', and that's what makes mtb 'uncool' - middle aged, middle class, middle england blokes posting about esoteric niche bikes, £500 coffee pots and mortgage woes whilst correcting each others punctuation & spelling and all the time pretending they're part of some sort of 'scene' or 'online-community'.........
...rad
Posted 2 years ago # -
Less geeky?!
I mountain bike to escape 'geekiness'
Posted 2 years ago # -
you've failed.
Posted 2 years ago # -
The whole fixie thing is a geek culture/fashion gone mainstream, isn't it? It may by ironic, but that's how I see it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hey nick
I haven't read the interview yet - but I think I get what you mean and I reckon it's down to semantics.
If you exchange 'geek' for 'nerd' - what you're saying totally makes sense. There are few (if any) truly aspirational brands in MTBing. By that I mean brands that even if you are a non-cyclist and don't get the geeky stuff (which actually draws a lot of us to the sport) then you'd want to be a part of it. In the same way people who have never stepped on a skateboard would happily wear a skate brands t-shirt to get some of the associated cool that it brings.
Brands in cycling don't seem to be particularly important for the real enthusiasts - who genuinely care about function over form. Some of the best bikes i've ever ridden have logos that i'd never want anywhere near my t-shirt.
anyhoo just my 2 cents...
A.
Posted 2 years ago # -
t's the obsessive keyboard kit-fwappery that defines the 'geeks', and that's what makes mtb 'uncool' - middle aged, middle class, middle england blokes posting about esoteric niche bikes, £500 coffee pots and mortgage woes whilst correcting each others punctuation & spelling and all the time pretending they're part of some sort of 'scene' or 'online-community'.........
Hilldodger wins.....
proven by the fact people are now arguing over what Geek means.....
Posted 2 years ago # -
That charge marketing bullshit thread... that was me that was. dont forget Howies too.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I think that all the UK bike designers should meet up somewhere central and have a big geek-scrap. The last one standing then can safely say that he (I don't know of any shes) makes the best bikes. Job done and all the handbags can be put down.
MTBing and cycling in general is a geeky sport, like it or not - something to do with the combination of individual (rather than team) effort and techincal equipment that geeky types love. Occassionally some people/groups transcend the geekyness if only temporarily (fixie, DH, FR) but that's rarely a long term thing.
Posted 2 years ago # -
whilst correcting each others punctuation & spelling
Surely, "others" should be graced with an apostrophe.....".
Grammar matters too. I'm just saying....
Posted 2 years ago # -
If you exchange 'geek' for 'nerd' - what you're saying totally makes sense.
FFS.
Posted 2 years ago # -
To me this came across as you been jealous “He makes steel hardtails and titanium hardtails and that’s it” and “what Brant does is great and what Charge does is ‘marketing bullshit’ and compare it to Howies”
Re-reading, perhaps jealous is a bit strong, but you totally went off on one with that last reply!
BTW I thought the interview was great and I really enjoyed reading it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Many aspects and disciplines of cycling are geeky / nerdy. Its part of being in the tribe. It is also what deters (sometimes offends) others from getting into cycling. Cycling is primarily driven by the sport / enthusiast base.
In my view this is one of the biggest barriers to more people cycling.
Posted 2 years ago # -
In my view this is one of the biggest barriers to more people cycling.
I think it's the rain, myself.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I think there's two issues here.
Like photography, I find that mountain biking feeds both the tech part of my brain and the soulful bit too. When I'm buying a bike I'm looking at machined bits, geometry, disc brake mounts, and then thinking 'that's rather cool.' As a purchaser you buy into that image, be it Charge, Cotic, Bontrager or Yeti. You can't help but think "I'm buying a Lapierre, I'm being different!"
I can't say that I've ever seen a Charge that excites my tech brain like a Ragley or proper Klein does. They're good, don't get me wrong, but they lack that shock and awe. I then see a brown leather saddle, or the cohesive design across all their parts, and it becomes desirable. I like the image, I just can't get enthused about the design.
The fact that Charge makes hipster bikes, or parts in varied colorways, makes no more difference to me than Specialized making the Langster when I'm considering a Pitch.
What Nick/Charge do *very* well is creating bicycles and parts which fit an overall image and sell well to the public. Charge as a brand, and as a range, could sit very easily in big department stores where others couldn't. If that means that 'geeks' don't see them as a proper bike brand, is that a bad thing? How many of us have had friends and colleagues say "I'm thinking of buying a bike, what would you recommend?"
For me, though, bikes for riding. Then image. In that order.
Posted 2 years ago # -
In my view this is one of the biggest barriers to more people cycling.
Surely the biggest barrier is laziness?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I don't own a Cotic or a Charge bike, but for me the Cotics look cool and look like you could ride them for hours a day. The Charge bikes do neither. What is with that plain gauge tubing? That makes me a geek, I guess.
I do have a Charge Spoon saddle mind you. Very happy with that.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Cool, geek and nerd are all states of mind.
Why would anyone want to make mountain biking attractive to non-cyclists anyway? If they're non-cyclists, we shouldn't really give a $hit what they think about our sport/hobby.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Why would anyone want to make mountain biking attractive to non-cyclists anyway? If they're non-cyclists, we shouldn't really give a $hit what they think about our sport/hobby.
Why not?
Posted 2 years ago # -
They don't get it and should all be thrown in the sea.
Posted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
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