anti oil/car bike company --
Thread started by
tinycities at 11.17.09 - 1:33 pm
figured this would be of interest to some of you
http://www.nadabike.com/
just came across it and pretty sure its started/funded by the people behind Project M [ which is a design based community outreach / social activism intensive. ]
anyway, their blurb states this:
"The nada bike revolution begins here.
It’s time to take our power away from the oil companies and the car companies and the greedheads who run them. We’re going to get smart and say no. Now is the time for a whole movement that says no. No gas. No foreign oil. No cars. No paint. No gears. No logos. No cutesy. No bullshit. Brains. Muscles. Humans. You want in?"
they're $100.
i like the concept.
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oh and theres only like 100 and they just started shipping according to John Bielenbergs twitter.
tinycities11.17.09 - 1:34 pm
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i want to know what kind of steel these frames are made from. but the website doesnt really give any more info than that. flat crown or unicrown?
ruinedbyidiots11.17.09 - 1:36 pm
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I was just thinking of that too. I'm also curious as to where the bikes are made, as my first impression was that they were made outside of the conglomerates and probably stateside, hence the less oil/car comment.
i researched a little and what i found was that this is moreso based on the idea of individuality and less branding. But what i know of John Bielenberg [ founder of Project M ] is dude is HUGELY into sustainability and anything to achieve that/create positive effects on environmental factors.
but i'm curious too. i'll email. obv i wont get one, as god damn, i'm 5 inches too short.
tinycities11.17.09 - 1:45 pm
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Great, a generic unpainted steel frame for $149.
Or, for $130 more ($279), I can get a painted 4130 chromoly frame,
and a fork
and a headset
and a stem
and handlebars
and a bottom bracket
and a crankset
and pedals / toe clips
and a chain
and a cog/lockring
and a wheelset
and a seatpost
and a seat
and get it shipped straight to my house for no extra fee.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/thehour.htm
(Price out how much a build kit for building out a frame with no fork costs, and then see how good bikesdirect looks.)
Best of all, no pseudo alternative bullshit about getting away from foreign oil, when the frames are probably still being put on a giant bunker diesel burning freighter to get them from Asia to the States.
A rip-off with trendy buzzwords is still a ripoff.
It looks like they're run by C2,LLC, (at least that's the registrant of the domain name). C2, LLC is what looks to be a pretty cheesy startup PR company - http://www.c2llc.com/C2story/p20.html
This is chock full of fail.
JB11.17.09 - 1:53 pm
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JB, c2 is actually a design firm in san francisco.
if people want to see what this dude is actually about: http://projectmlab.com
tinycities11.17.09 - 1:54 pm
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Hipster eco marketing bullshit to say the least.
They say no bullshit on their website but don't give any specs or geometry for the forkless frame. And how heavy is this thing if it cost $50 to ship. 50% of the price to ship this thing?
Bikes Direct is the way I would go. I am all for supporting eco friendly prospects but this one seems like a rip off.
Foldie11.17.09 - 1:59 pm
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Also, i think you're missing the point. its not about saving cash.
take american apparel for example, yeah they can get kind of expensive for basics, until you realize they actually pay a living wage to their workers, dont believe in sweatshop labor, and are made in the united states [ of course, this was when they were first started, their original concept. ]
im not saying this bike company is like that, but it could be, and i'm trying to find that out. its more about the conceptual thinking / selling ourselves to these brands/identities. labels, etc.
also, you dont always need to buy new parts, and it even says that on that site, use parts you have.
tinycities11.17.09 - 1:59 pm
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Remind me to never post conceptual design thinking on MR and stick to twitter to reach to the designerds. god damnit.
tinycities11.17.09 - 2:00 pm
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"JB, c2 is actually a design firm in san francisco.
if people want to see what this dude is actually about: http://projectmlab.com"
Thanks dude, I'll take my capitalism straight up, without some BS disguise about how cool and alternative I'll be if I buy their overpriced and completely unfinished product.
If people want to sell Asian generic steel unpainted frames, minus a fork, for $149, more power to them.
But let's not pretend they're doing anything than selling generic unpainted steel frames, with no info about the manufacturer, or the type of steel, or any other details at all, by using a bunch of trendy marketing buzzwords.
If they sell out, I'll give them props for being able to sell hype over substance (which, presumably, is what PR firms are there to do), but for somebody looking for a good basis for a fixie, it's not a good deal.
JB responding to a
comment by tinycities
11.17.09 - 2:04 pm
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I've always wanted a no gear bike. Is it worth it?
Joe Borfo11.17.09 - 2:15 pm
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I don't know but I like my no wheel bike. A lot.
toweliesbong11.17.09 - 2:18 pm
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american apparel pays a living wage and doesn't practice sweatshop labor... hahahahahaha.
coldcut11.17.09 - 2:18 pm
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I agree with JB
If these frames were really free-range organic no oil machines, they would be made out of bamboo grown with organic water or something.
how much oil did they use to mine the ore out of the ground, refine it, ship it, refine it again, ship it, roll the tubes, ship it, weld the bikes, ship them, sell the final frames and ship them?
They have probably circumnavigated the globe twice on ships that burn 400 gallons of diesel an hour.
In addition I wouldn't be surprised if these frames were originally built in Taiwan for a real bicycle trading company, but were out of tolerance and rejected. Instead of cutting there losses they just sold 100 out of tolerance frames to this guy for a real good price.
Mook11.17.09 - 2:31 pm
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That was their intended concept 8 or whatever years ago when they first started. Before they turned super hip.
tinycities responding to a
comment by coldcut
11.17.09 - 2:32 pm
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