Monday, January 9, 2012

Do the Robot: Keep it Stupid, Simple

So how crazy was that Apocalypse last Friday?

Ever since I announced that the world would end on January 6th, 2012, I admit that even I had my doubts. After all, we've seen this sort of thing time and time again, and it things always turn out the same. Basically, the Apocalyptic template it this:

1) Some person announces world is going to end on a certain date;

2) A bunch of people all gather in anticipation and engage in a set of prescribed behaviors such as giving away their belongings, putting on special sneakers, and killing themselves;

3) Date on which world is supposed to end comes and goes, person who made initial announcement explains his mistake, and cognitive dissonance sets in among the newly-broke followers in the special sneakers (barring the ones who have killed themselves of course);

4) Life goes on as stupidly as it has for millenia millenniae milenniums years.

So as the day wore on I started to worry that perhaps the calendar I had found was wrong and that the world might in fact not end after all. Looking down at my Apocalyptic Sneakers, I winced as I reflected on my recent behavior. Maybe taking all my money out of the bank and treating everybody at Staples to free office supplies was a mistake. Maybe I should have paid my rent instead of laughing maniacally at my landlord and confidently declaring, "You'll get yours, infidel!" Maybe I shouldn't have advised my highly gullible neighbors to place their beloved cat in the freezer as a last-ditch attempt at cryogenic preservation.

In fact, I was just about to knock on their door and suggest that there might still be time to save Mittens before hypothermia set in when I heard the strains of Don McLean's "American Pie." At first I reacted as I normally do when I hear that song, which is to say I smashed my stereo to pieces and then set fire to the remains. However, as the plastic smoldered I realized I could still hear the plaintive whining, and that it seemed to be coming from the heavens. That's when I looked outside.

I don't need to bore you with the rest, since the details are still fresh in all our minds. First came the Pengins of Retribution with the Crowns of Flames, then they smited smoat smate effed up the wicked, then every Specialized bicycle on Earth turned to vinegar ("I swear, I was just riding along when my S-Works McLaren Schmegma turned to balsamic!"), and then a young Ted Koppel took to the airwaves, officially ushered in the Age of Aquarius, and just as Moses had once done, read the Nü-Kommandments to us from the Tablets of Justice.

Sure, the Nü Age is going to take some getting used to, but I for one am looking forward to it. Money was indeed the root of all evil, and paying for stuff with love and stories is bound to be a lot more enjoyable. The whole "no clothing" thing is also quite liberating, and I was surprised to learn that what I used to experience as "cold" was merely a post-Edenic manifestation of my own shame. However, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the new dietary code, and there's no way I ever would have guessed that the only food that is pure in the Almighty Lobster's all-seeing eye stalks is Arby's. S/He scuttles in mysterious ways, ah-meh, challahluja, etc.


I mention this only as a public service announcement for all the people who are buying cyclocross bikes because they're the new track bike. Remember when you used to pretend to be interested in boring stuff like keirin racing, Theo Bos, and the formidable British track racing program? Well, now you're supposed to pretend that you follow cyclocross, so start studying and earn those fancy new cantilevers you just bought. Also, make sure you study the UCI's rules on tire width--not because your bike will ever see a UCI race, but because UCI-legal is the new NJS.

Speaking of track bikes and fond reminiscences, remember the Golden Age of Collabos?

Founded in 2002 by designer Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot is the world's premier creator of limited edition art toys and apparel. Kidrobot creates toys, apparel, accessories, and other products in collaboration with many of the world's most talented artists and designers.

In other words, Kidrobot sells toys to the sorts of "adults" who leave the sticker on their hat brims, collect footwear, wear giant headphones, listen to musical genres that contain "step" in the name, and claim to be DJs even though nobody's ever heard them "spin" except for their roommate and the cat.

Anyway, believe it or not, back in 2007 people used to take these "collabo" bikes seriously--so seriously that when I actually saw this bike in a Kidrobot store at the time an employee explained the price tag to me by pointing out some inane feature like the valve caps and then refused to let me photograph it. Granted, they were probably right not to let me photograph it because it looked exactly like a hastily-rattlecanned Giant Bowery and my sole intent was to mock it on the Internet, but it turned out that the importance attached to the project was even more absurd than the bicycle itself.

In any case, like everybody else in the world I had completely forgotten about the Kidrobot bike, but then I was reading about bicycles on the Internet while using the bathroom and learned that the Kidrobot guy is now selling his own line of bicycles:

In so doing, he's finally addressing the needs of an oft-neglected customer: the person who wants to spend many thousands of dollars on a city bike, but who also wants one that's been marketed by a designer toymaker instead of somebody with any real knowledge of bicycles.

(Budnitz resurrecting a concept that proved so successful in Trek's 69er and Cannondale's Beast of the East.)

Of course, Budnitz's bikes are actually built by a company that certainly does know what it's doing (Lynskey), so there is that, but the "philosophy" is all his:

"I'm basically saying, 'You're going to spend $5,600 on a bike and potentially that frame's going to last you forever'," he said. "Or you can spend less than that on something that's going to be creaky after a while and it's going to get rundown or it's going to chip – the whole replacement mentality."

This makes total sense as long as you forget the fact that most frames will last "forever," and that absolutely every bike will be creaky after awhile if you don't maintain it. Clearly while rummaging around in that same Discarded Ideas of the Bicycle Industry bin where he found the "two different-sized wheels" concept, he also found the "titanium lasts forever and is the last bike you'll ever buy" concept. I fondly remember when Freds used to buy Litespeeds and Merlins based on this concept so that they could finally stop replacing their steel frames that had "gone soft." Unsurprisingly, these bikes did not last forever--not because they failed, but because as soon as crabon came on the scene they all mysteriously vanished.

Speaking of vanishing, what happens when your blossoming love for your Budnitz gets nipped in the budnitz by a bike thief? Well, don't worry, it won't cost you a thing:

Budnitz also has an interesting theft replacement policy: a 20 percent discount that – assuming a reasonable homeowner's or renter's insurance policy – should make the replacement close to free.

You'd think that between Hurricane Katrina and the whole AIG thing we'd have learned by now not to ever rationalize any decision by using the words "assuming," "reasonable," and "insurance" together in the same sentence. Apparently not.

However, if you are thinking about a Budnitz, at least he has the decency to tell you that you're a clueless consumer who doesn't know anything about anything:

"We’re offering very few things on purpose," he said. "This bike is dialed for what it is. Things were chosen for a specific reason. From a marketing side of things, it's my belief that things have gotten really complicated. It's not clutter, it doesn't cause anxiety, everything works really well together. We're just keeping it simple. A lot of it is modeled after the way Apple sell computers – just choose a few options and you're done and you don't have to be technically oriented to buy an Apple. Do you know what goes inside your car?"

Wait, my car? Yes. Yes I do know what goes inside of it:

(My car.)

I also know what goes inside David Byrne's car:


(The nothingness under the hood of the car David Byrne does not have is a black hole from which nothing in the universe can ever escape. So never offer to check his oil for him.)

What I don't know though is what bikes he's talking about that are so "complicated" and produce so much "anxiety" in people. Is it really that hard to buy a Jamis? Do people really find the prospect of choosing between the blue Linus or the black one so horrifying that they're just breaking down and going, "Fuck it! Here's $6,000, just give me the lobsided one from the robot guy!"? I don't know, maybe they are.

I wonder if Budnitz adheres to the Nü-Kommandments and will accept love and stories in lieu of cash. Maybe I can hug and recount my way onto a sweet titanium 69er.

133 comments:

esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

and?

wishiwasmerckx said...

First?

wishiwasmerckx said...

Third?

Anonymous said...

3rd

cycle

Anonymous said...

it was a tie.

cycle

Kenny said...

And when the wombat comes, he will find me gone!

theEel said...

weed.

Anonymous said...

Top 10?

Fingerbang Assistant said...

top ten

mr wookie said...

topper

Anonymous said...

off by one

Anonymous said...

damn, so close

wishiwasmerckx said...

Fourth place is the second third.

Anonymous said...

TOP XX in MMXII !!

wishiwasmerckx said...

Foe nostalgia's sake, I still take my Merlin out every now and again, and it remains a sweet ride to this day. Nimble and agile, this one is...

Grammar Nazi said...

"Wait, my car? Yes. Yes I do what goes inside of it"

You do know what?

OBA said...

"Collabo-mullet": Budnitz in the front, party in the back!

mr wookie said...

artesian leo-pard hair cut with bonus lever bike pron

Anonymous said...

I haven't even read this article, but here's something bike and robot related:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3vfSQePcs

Anonymous said...

69er? I hardly know her!



balls.

Esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

"and claim to be DJs even though the only nobody's ever heard them "spin" except for their roommate and the cat."

Huh?

Charlie Didrickson said...

radical

Marcel Da Chump said...

Thanks for the stapler.

Mcfly said...

LAST BIKE ROBO TGUY

Mcfly said...

you decide

Mcfly said...

My wife does what goes inside of it

Esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

I bought a Lynskey for my road - bikeen 4 years ago when they first started out (post Litespeed naturally) so paid a greatly discounted price. I had it painted garishly, put a lot of red hardware on it and absolutely love it.

Grump said...

Snobby, don't make fun of the oldest trick in the book for getting a new frame.......
"Gee honey, my frame is getting dangerous to race because it's......"gone soft.".....with age"
There are two possible responces from her....1) Go buy a damn frame....or.....2) I hope you crash and break your fuc**ng neck.

If the answer is #1, you're home free. If it's #2, it's time to back off, until next year.
.
.

Buffalo Bill said...

I think I see why Mr. Budnitz calls that bike 'Number 2'

Paul Bowen said...

What patronising tosh - I know what every bit of my bikes is there for and actually I do know how my car works. Apart from the self-levelling suspension, that's some sort of juju magick thing, like MS Excel.

Anonymous said...

"Fuck it! Here's $6,000, just give me the lobsided one from the robot guy!"?

Gold, snobbie, GOLD!

balls®

Anonymous said...

Own two Jamises.
Zero anxiety total.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Hey Bikesnob I see you got one of those flying cars. Must be nice to just rise above that rush hour grid lock.

Blog Drafter said...

1st Recumbabe sighting of the new m̶i̶l̶l̶e̶n̶i̶a̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶e̶n̶n̶i̶a̶e̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶e̶n̶n̶i̶u̶m̶s̶ ̶year.

Anonymous said...

Thar she is!
Oh, Thank you, thank you, thank you ooooo!

Spelling humour?

Tsk.Tsk.

Blog Drafter said...

There was a little girl skipping alongside her mom at the parking lot yesterday. We were hanging out post-ride. She pointed at us and said, "Mommy, they're playing bicycle! Playing bicycle!"

Cutie. I was glad I was alive.

Chris W said...

Have you all checked the Budnitz website? He takes total credit for the design, craft, and build of those bikes. As the proud owner of Lynskey frame, I am appalled.

mikeweb said...

You'd think that between Hurricane Katrina and the whole AIG thing we'd have learned by now not to ever rationalize any decision by using the words "assuming," "reasonable," and "insurance" together in the same sentence. Apparently not.

Praise Lob.

Anonymous said...

Love and Stories from the Snub!

I get it now.

Cool. But what's in it for you?

Anonymous said...

Oh, and BTW, Fuck Tim Tebow.

leroy said...

According to my dog, "when life hands you a vinegar bike frame, make salad dressing by combining with artisanal olive oil."

But I don't think my bike was turning to vinegar.

I think he whizzed on my Specialized and is blaming the Apocalpyse now.

Again.

Hairy legged ingrate.

Fred said...

Great. What am I supposed to do with this freezer full of dead cats and dormitory full of dead Freds wearing apocalyptic SPD sandals?

the Gipper said...

Tebow's my boy!

Tebow! Tebow! Tebow!

Anonymous said...

$5,600 is a lot of money for a good bike. $5,600 for an ugly highbred with a belt drive is just stupid.

crosspalms said...

Sing it as "dis'll be da day dat I die" and it's kind of fun.

I am an angry engine said...

"2) I hope you crash and break your fuc**ng neck...."If the answer #2, it's time to back off, until next year"

If the answer is 2, you have some more serious problems than buying a bike frame.

Anonymous said...

If Tebow wins the Superbowl I'm going to start praying in public.

crosspalms said...

Budnitz names his bikes No. 1 and No. 2. Hmm.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

This weekend I scored a brand new pair of SPD sandals at the LBS for half price. Sweet! I'll be rocking them this summer on the bent for sure.

Anonymous said...

wow, what an arrogant and delusional guy budnutz is. so out of all the thousands of bike options out there nothing interested him enough so he had to make his own "super interesting" bike and this is what he came up with? he can't possibly be serious. there is nothing, new or different or interesting or even good about this bike. what a dick

Anonymous said...

"I fondly remember when Freds used to buy Litespeeds and Merlins based on this concept ..."


Ouch, Snob, that hurts.

screaming skull said...

Budnitz is a phony bike snob!

Anonymous Coward said...

Is that actually a detachable rear triangle on that thing?

Buy-cycle said...

Top 69? Snob, can I have your calf measurements please. Thanks.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

-Anon Coward @2:41

I assumed that was the access point to slip in the Gates belt.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Recumbent Conspiracy Theorist,

You said "slip" and Gates belt" in the same sentence! You can expect a visit from the Gates people soon.

--Wildcat Rock Machine

Anonymous said...

Alert BS readers may have brought this to light before and if so, forgive the redundancy.
In the blockbuster 1986 film "True Stories" written, directed, produced and starring David Bryne he (Bryne) is seen tooling around the fictional town of Virgil, Texas in a Plymouth Reliant (K-car) whilst wearing a cowboy hat. The car is a convertible to make way, I assume, for the aforementioned hat. In fact, in the last scene of the film Byrne looks the camera dead in its unblinking eye and states that the car is his and not a rental.

Troubling indeed.

Did reliability problems with the K-car drive (no pun intended) him to human powered transport?

Or, does he secretly still own the Reliant and is a "closet motorhead"?

Yejooda Poontang said...

Yes, so Fudnutz went into a few bike shops and got turned off by the sales people. I'm sure the feeling was mutual. I imagine he asked about 47 questions, test rode 9 different bikes (after the fit of each one was "dialed in" just right), started quietly whining about the lack of 'an aesthetic cohesion', then started asking the same questions of other store personnel to try getting the answers he wanted. After 3 or 4 hours of this all the store employees were most likely avoiding him, or pretending to be busy.

Numbnutz, the reason you didn't find this type of bicycle in a shop is because almost all of them don't carry $5,600 single speed smugness chariots like this. I can't think of any high volume business that would waste floor space on something that they might sell 2 of in an entire year, if they're lucky.

Speaking of the aesthetics, It looks to me like he really, really, really wanted a cruiser, but was disappointed that they didn't have the rich asshole version of that design.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Seems bikes have been in the Budnitz family for a hundred years. I learned this bit of history from Paul's blog:

"My great great uncle Sasha, who kept the original Budnitz Bicycle brand alive in Belarus through World War I after his brother Ezra ran off to Ireland, is second person holding a bicycle from the left. As he was the company’s lead welder, he is almost certainly riding a bicycle that he built himself. Sasha was gay and committed suicide in 1948 shortly after he was outed by his wife on her deathbed."

Pretty interesting.

wishiwasmerckx said...

Anon 2:52, It is indeed a wild, wild life, and you, sir, are indeed a good man.

Olle Nilsson said...

How many people agreed to participate in pants off day based on the misguided presumtion that the world would end and they wouldn't have to follow through.

If it rains on pants off day, MTFU and ride your bike anyway. Ew.

Seriously, though, would having more money than brains be such a bad thing? I'd buy silly bikes too, just because I could.

jno62 said...

If anyone could tell a good story Snobby. I'd bet on you.

Good luck!

Let us know how it rides.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 2:25 - the reliant is not really a car, although advertised and sold as one. It was a personal fitness machine, you could push it up hill and then ride down hill, possibly reaching Fred whoo hoo speed if you were lucky

Fred "Ciao" Pinarello

yogisurf said...

He named the bike correctly. No. 2! It does look like No. 2. I bought my 2002 Litespeed new thinking it would 'last forever'. The frame cracked at the Head/Down tubes twice. The 2nd time they put on a straight (non-flared) head tube and......it has 33,000 miles on it. Hey, howcome the thumbnail for the naked recumbent lady does not work?

Jesse Mullan said...

No one pointed out the obvious? His bikes are called "number one" and "number two." Am I the only person who giggled like a third grader when they saw that?

"Kid Robot left a titanium number two in the bike shop."

Anyone?

Anonymous said...

$5,000 for a bike with Avid BB7 brakes? I love that he takes full credit for all of the titanium parts.

Anonymous Coward said...

@Recumbent Conspiracy Theorist - Ah! Hadn't considered the belt. Perhaps this is for the best.

cyclotourist said...

GONE SOFT

Anonymous said...

looks kinda like a merlin newsboy crossed with a Cinelli city rats (26"X700")..
Why did Budnitz pick TI?
I would make his job easier, he wouldnt have to pick a "Colorway"..

I noticed it has a BLunt fork and A TOKEN bottom bracket..I wonder if it has a built in pipe like the old cunnighams...


MR.PISSTA

Marcel Da Chump said...

Bodily wastes allusion aside, Budnitz named his bikes after the percentage of the population who desire titanium clunkers.

Quilled and Lugged said...

@ Jesse Mullan said...

Well if you bothered to read the preceding comments, yes, four or five people had alluded to this. Come on, pay attention. At least if you make a mistaken shout for the podium there is an element of speed involved

philip williamson said...

I like the Budnitz bikes. I like how they look (except the segmented fork), I like the American parts, and I like how the no. 2 takes gigantor Big Apples.
The only mockable thing I saw was the "Paul" brakes - did he choose them because they already have his name on them? And for the price, I'd like titanium fenders over those Big Apples...

JB said...

Oh Jesse.

Nebraska bike commuter (non-DWI edition) said...

Budnitz; sounds like a name that Vonnegut would have made up.

Anonymous said...

SOOOO hideous...seriously, for $5600 I could buy a "dream bike". And it wouldn't have a belt drive, disc brakes or a beach cruiser meets commuter 29er frame. Why why why

bikesgonewild said...

...word to the wise / 'word' to your mother...

...don't lend your car to leroy's dog...(see above foto)...

bikesgonewild said...

...@ bsnyc/rtms/wcrm...please send me a check for $78.98...

...the new sneakers fit too tight & i didn't have time for an exchange before the 6th, so i wore 'em anyway...

...then there's the matter about trying to recover all my bikes from 'the salvation army'...

...i thought THAT might work & maybe it did...

...but nonetheless, don't make me call my lawyer...

KungFu Grip said...

It just gets easier doesn't it Mr. Snob.
Kid bicycle robot, eyeroll.

HalfStepAndTheGranny said...

@ Fred,
There you go again!
Panties man, you want to start with them and let the humor write the post for you. Too many jokes in that freezer.
First lesson of panties:
Less is more.

Anonymous said...

Early Cannondale MTBs did have the 24/26 wheel thing going on, but the Beast Of The East had two 26ers.

Matt said...

Yeah, real practical, no eyelets for fenders or racks? You're going to need a rack so you can carry spare tubes in two sizes. For that much it ought to have a custom titanium kickstand as well.

Anonymous said...

@Anon 1:13

Very cool video!

Robot riding fixed-gear!

Check it out everybody!

JDH said...

83rd, Bitches!

Anonymous said...

budnutz ripped off retrotec big time....

http://ingliscycles.com/retro_half.php

Get a real bike for half the price, and way prettier.

Jay said...

From the "About" page on budnitzbicycles.com:

"Paul is a proponent of simple, quality living. Owning few things that are built to last and that make us happy is a big step towards environmental and social sustainability."

As a founder of Kid Robot, then, it's presumable that he's also a proponent of filling your house with many completely unnecessary plastic toys.

LK said...

Wow! Your wife lets you drive?

McFly said...

BUDN ITZ!, No wait...BIDN UTZ!

RedStarCycles said...

I thought he said he wanted it 'incredibly elegant' not incredibly crap.

Anonymous said...

McFLy @8:30 p.m.

Classic scrotal humor, thanks.

Law Enforcement said...

my wife has burned

the scrambled eggs

my teenage daughter

ran away

my fine young son

has turned out gay

leroy said...

Kid Robot is advertising a carbon fiber model. The slogan: "Pick Budnitz Lite."

leroy said...

BGW -- David Byrne used to own a car. He lent it to my dog.

ConcernedCommenter said...

@ HalfStepAndTheGranny
Quit biting.
Get your own jokes.

bikesgonewild said...

...leroy...i KNEW there was more to the story of david byrne being an altruistic bicycle guy & not owning a car...

dontcoast said...

Titanium for the creak.

Anonymous said...

Riding around on a Budnitz sounds gay.
I would rather ride a bike called a Pudwacker.

-spike lemming

Anonymous said...

Wow...you people are absolutely clueless to the contributions that Paul has made in the modern art world. This man is a visionary that supports the arts and the people around him. Just because he has never actually made the bikes doesn't mean that he shouldn't take credit for the daft designs that will live on for eternity.
When I made a design for a Dunny I didn't craft each and everyone as that would be a big waste of time. Paul understands design and who he can talk to to get things made.
Further more all the references to No 1 and No 2 are immature and sophomoric. Grow up!

It won't be long before all of you will be wishing you bought one because they are limited.

Anonymous said...

No 3.
Wicked lightweight balsa wood recumbent with a 70's Stingray five speed shifter knob in the cockpit and an original reproduction Schwinn ''Dragster Meat" tire in the rear.

-spike lemming

bikesgonewild said...

...anon 2:52am...ummm, if 'paul' is anything like you, i'm certainly glad i don't own one...or two...

...just sayin'...

Anonymous said...

No 4.
Handcrafted with space age Unubtainium tubes this model features custom designed sissy bars and a custom designed Brooks natural leather banana saddle.
In order to maintain high performance, low weight and avoid possible mechanicals we are offering this as our first adult Stryder styled ride.

Options include kickstand and WHAM O wheelie bar.

-spike lemming

ce said...

It's sophomoric to say sophomoric.

ce said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ce said...

"In the 11th dimension David Byrne owns an infinite number of cars... and smugness is matter."

- Stephen Hawking. Sophomoric prick.

Anonymous Coward said...

Some say it's sophomoric to mention No.2.

Though I think it's rather funny

Anon 2:52 should've thought it through

Before saying they designed a Dunny.

Cycling Diaries said...

Unbelievable he is older than 40 and still trying to be a hipster. I bet he is hoping no-one 'cool' know's his real age.

Also have specialized checked out those seat post mountings?

Seriously I am sure that Budnutz has made serious contributions to the world of plastic toys for adults and that the landfill and environmental damage caused by their manufacture is a price worth paying for his 'art'.

Everyone who really appreciates his art probably works at Vice magazine or as graphic designer. You all probably know the type; grew up in a nowhere place, weren't popular, weren't clever or good at sport. In fact the types in this instructional video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmmYMwFj1I

Burt Reynolds 531 said...

I was afraid Anon 2:52 wasn't going to show. Better late than never!

Yeah, those bikes are limited alright. In more ways than one.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who begins a sentence with the word Wow is certainly most sophomoric.

Anonymous said...

Also, I was sophomoric once but later made it to being Juniorific.

Better sophomoric than soporific said...

Huh. Huh huh!

He said "daft."

Anonymous said...

That trucker style rear triangle on on the Budnitz is totally booti-liscious.

Anonymous said...

Budnitz forgot the Ergons.

Miss Panties said...

Panties!

JB said...

Anon @ 2:52am: Nobody said Paul didn't make contributions to modern art, they said he isn't making any meaningful contributions to modern cycling (except for overpriced, pseudo-cutting-edge, minimalist bikes).

Miss Panties said...

Rode my Specialized to the levy
but the levy was dry
Them good ole boys was drinking PBR
singing this'll be the day that I ride.

Anonymous said...

I smoked the good weed last night and took another look at those bikes.
My thought was maybe they are not so bad and it all comes down to my experience with a fat bike. I was jaded until I road it and then all I could think about was riding it all the damn time. In the sand, on snow and with my bro's. I wanted to ride that damn bike all the time.

I had a similar experience with gal that was quite a bit out of the weight class I had in mind. Just like the fat bike once I let go and went with it there was tons of fun to be had.

Maybe Paul Budnitz is on to something?

Cheers

Anonymous said...

"It won't be long before all of you will be wishing you bought one because they are limited."

The art of investing.

No one calls me frugal said...

$5600 is almost exactly what I have invested in the bikes I currently own. That includes a big honkin' 29er with XT everything and Fox fork and rear shock, a nice touring bike, a single speed mountain bike, and a townie/commuter made out of an old Nishiki road bike pimped out with Honjo fenders, a Brooks saddle, and so on.

My last automibile purchase was not much more than $5600, and it's a really nice car.

Anonymous said...

What happens if you ride your city bike in the country? Is it still a city bike? Do you begin to hear one hand clapping to applaud the falling of a tree when there's no one there to hear it?

Velocodger said...

When you are lingering at the LBS, and you ask how the Budnitz' bike rides, they punch you in the shoulder...gently.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if there is a manditory dress code for riding one of those bikes?
I am thinking Thurston Howell III might be appropriate...slippers, pajama bottoms, that Brooks coat featured last weak and a pipe?

paulb said...

Why should the market for bikes be any more sane than the market for anything else in the U.S? I wish I knew how to make a bike for $1,500 and sell it for $6,000. Does the Learning Annex have a class? (Is there still a Learning Annex?)

Matt said...

Well, Anonymous 2:52 does have a point: I am absolutely clueless as to the contributions to modern art that Paul has made. Perhaps my life is poorer for it, but at the moment I feel $5,600 richer for not having bought this daft design.

Anonymous said...

This Pudnitz guy's bike is hideous. A 69er? If Pudnitz had any balls, he would have put a softride beam on that thing and priced it at $11,000. For $6k, you should at least get bar ends, aero bars and power grips on your plastic-chain "urban" 69er retardmobile.

kfg said...

As I gaze about the room I see a number of things that are properly referred to as "unique." They are also properly referred to as "priceless."

I see a number of things that are unique in the sense that everything made by hand it unique, but as they are referred to as "trade" items they have a well defined market value. These are also referred to as "The Good Stuff."

I also see a few things that are self proclaimed to be "Limited." These came from Wal-Mart, as free giveaways and such like.

These are properly referred to as "cheap junk."

So the bike appears to be The Good Stuff pretending to be unique by claiming to be cheap junk; is that what you're telling me?

Clark in Vancouver said...

For the ultimate in minimalism, choose Bupkis Bicycles.

Cody said...

Please just buy a Retrotec... not a titanium cruiser for rich ass-hats...

A said...

Wow. Budnitz. wow. Tubus made in Switzerland? wrong. tubus makes waterbottle cages? wrong. schwalbe tires are made in Germany? wrong (unless we just became part of Indonesia). and those are just the facts BSNYC mentioned.

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John said...

Hopefully everyone just starts declaring everyday as the end of the world and we'll all just get over it.

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Anonymous said...

This is the craziest thing I've ever seen. Everyone on here is spewing such venom and over what? The price of the bike and the fact that the founder came from Kidrobot? That's fucking stupid.

And how many of you have been on this bike? Zero.

I was lucky enough to ride the No.2 around Burlington Vermont a couple weeks ago when one of the reps in was town meeting with some people I know.

The bike is butter. The ride, design, components, chris king, gates, white industries, etc. It's a well thought out bike that is fun to ride and has people stopping to talk about it all the time.

Most of you seem really salty and probably don't want to talk to random people on the street, but it was nice to be able to connect to people just from riding a bike past them.

Again, it's smooth, tough, beautiful and a lot of fun to ride. If you can't afford it, that's fine. If you don't want anyone else to enjoy one, you're an asshole.

You can find around 1,000,000 million things you're never tried each day to hate on. You can waste a lot of time doing it.

I heard Budnitz is conducting test rides in a few cities this fall. Go ride one if you can. If you still ate it, that's fine, but i'm sure your opinion will change.

Do I need to list all the bikes I have now so you can tell if I'm hardcore enough?

Losers...

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