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Sheep-Dog Bites #7 A long time ago, before many of you were born, BMX was just starting to make huge headways into sports. These were the dark ages. Frame buying was simple then. We had few real choices as far as frames went, You picked the one that looked the coolest to you and you bought that one. No frame was significantly stronger and sizes did not exist. If you wanted a size, you bought a race frame and prayed it held up better. Sizes were mini, junior, standard, pro, pro xl, and, pro xxl, on a rare occasion, the xxxl. What size top tube was a pro, and what was an xxl? That depended on manufacturer. Most frames never topped 20.5, and one company's xxxl could be the same as another's pro. What was worse though was the strength of these frames. Most were pretty pathetic and made more for looks or standing on in different places than anything else. Parts were no different. I went through a frame and 3 sets of forks in one summer. I knew others who did similar. So what was wrong? Well for one, companies figured frames were selling so things must be ok. A lack of testing and thought could also be to blame. In the end it was the riders who suffered. Luckily, thanks to people like Rick Moliterno and Chris Moeller this started to change. Unfortunately it happened towards the downfall of BMX, too little too late I think. Neither had the big capital or the distribution to get word out that they had a quality product, so unless you lived in the general area you probably knew little about their bikes. They did what they could, Moeller would travel to races and hawk frames to pay the way and spread the word. These guys lived and breathed BMX, and did their entire product testing themselves. They made parts for themselves with the thought that they cannot afford to break things constantly. The parts were a bit heavier, but that was a small price to pay for a frame that lasted more than a couple months. At the time, everyone thought if only BMX had more rider owned companies and we were in charge we could really go places. This was part of the thinking behind companies like Hoffman, and others. Obviously, many rider owned companies helped shape our sport and get up to where we are. So we definitely needed an era of rider owned companies to carry us through some even darker times and out into the light.
Times have changed. Or have they. We definitely have more rider owned companies than ever and I do admit, things have improved in many areas. We have seen more innovation in design, materials, and choices. However, I also see a return to the same thinking that hurt us last time. While not being designed for looks, frames are now being designed with little more than weight in mind. Frames are breaking, rims are folding, and companies add more and more tricks to save weight, many of which could be contested as marketing gimmicks. Worse is the lack of quality control and testing being performed. Companies have a responsibility to make sure something is safe and will hold up for a reasonable amount of time, unfortunately people with no engineering experience are dictating the trends, and worse, have no regard for the money these parts cost. A BMX bike is a simple thing really, which is good, since this industry is dominated by 14-16 year olds. Many of whom repair their bikes with a hammer and pliers, and a budget meant for bubblegum. I can understand companies want or need for a light as hell frame or other component. Their riders like it, the public likes it, and people spend lots of money for it. However, who is their market. Not the pros that are paid to ride these parts and have an endless supply of them, it is the kid with the budget. I am all for innovation, as long as it makes sense, FOR THE MARKET.. Recently some things have happened that were not exactly that great for the market, as in YOU. Obviously companies are no longer giving 2 shits about testing or quality control. They make products that may or may not hold up to the average 14 year old and claim they are just as strong as their older, heavier counterparts. I call BULLSHIT. I will pick on the Primo rim for the company itself has personally blamed you, the forum kid for the problems and I run one of those forums. They cast the first stone, so here comes my rebuttal (by the way, they claim to have made them stronger now, but your mileage may vary, you damn forum kids can ruin anything you know). This is an industry of 14-16 year olds, not professional mechanics, dominated by companies using cheap and sometimes unscrupulous manufacturers in foreign lands. Products are often flawed, especially first batches from overseas companies. I will not go into how many first run products have been flawed, or how they were corrected, if at all, but to place the blame on your customer for a significant number of problems is bullshit. You obviously failed to understand your clientele or perform quality control before shipment to distributors, so which is it ? If it was only a few, I can see you blaming an overzealous customer, but to blame the lot of them, to me, means you made a shit product that cannot stand up to your own customers abuse. And Primo is not the only one doing this. Companies are constantly trying to outdo one another no matter the cost. If they have to do “light: testing to make sure a product passes testing, what the fuck good is that you who will see it says “street” and actually use it for that. The times where Moeller, and Molterno are watching out for you have drawn to a close, it is every company for themselves and you need to watch your ass for it is you who will be lying face down in a puddle of your own blood when your front wheel collapses or the front end of your frame breaks off. All is fair in love and war, and right now, money is causing a war in BMX. You are in the middle of it and are able to change the outcome. Stand up, and buy parts that are above the hype, do not buy this crap that cannot survive YOU working on it or your normal riding.
Testing of a product should be done to STRESS a product to breaking point, not see if it can manage to survive a month under the smoothest of riders taking it easy, What the hell kind of testing is that? It is your money, your face, and your sport they are screwing over, choose wisely.
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