Products break. It's bound to happen. I've broken my share of things and have slowly begun to dial in my bike over the past 2 years to match my riding. I've said it before and will say it again, wheels are the hardest thing to keep rolling. So far, there have been a few rims that have held up for me and many that haven't.
Kyoichi recently cracked his Chukker and all hell broke loose on his Flickr page!
It's tough to say whether or not it's "ok" to blast products online. Sure, people do it in other cycling sports, but with this Freestyle Fixed thing evolving so quickly, it's tough to say whether or not it's helpful. We want to encourage companies to make new products and believe it or not, it's a huge risk for them to experiment. I think both Kyoichi and Velocity handled this well in the end.
Comments
It's true! Product is always going to break, no matter what you do. I also thought I had my bike dialed in and next thing you know it's done. The sports is to new for everything to be perfect and we are all the testers R&D. I have the B43 an I love them, I've had them for 2 months now and haven't trued them yet and believe me I put them through hell.
If your not getting hurt or breaking shit, your doing something wrong.
Posted by: Fonseca | August 3, 2009 12:45 AM
and remember.... no 700c wheel is ever going to stand up with the abuse of smaller wheels ala bmx.
we are riding bikes that are far from ideal for these abuses we put them through. even though technology is evolving we are still going to bust shit like no ones business.
my 2 cents
jnd
Posted by: jonnyneedledick | August 3, 2009 2:01 AM
How come I don't see more trick riders doing their own wrenching, and ultimately building their own wheels?
I'm no trick rider by any stretch, but at 200lbs. riding on hilly, mixed road surfaces in Seattle I started breaking stuff all the time.
If you know from the onset you're hard on your gear, seems more than prudent to learn to fix it.
-Sean
Posted by: Sean | August 3, 2009 10:39 AM
agreed on that tip. once i learned how to build a true a wheel properly there was no going back. once a week i give mine a once over and some tlc it takes no time at all to do and is well worth it.
hell i dont even true em in a stand i just use my thumb and frame..
ghetto i know but good enough for routine maintenance
jnd
Posted by: jonnyneedledick | August 3, 2009 11:51 AM
Wow, the dude who broke that rim acted a damn fool and John, as always, played the best customer service in the business.
Posted by: Jack Crank | August 3, 2009 3:58 PM
really though?
http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2009/08/chicago_wig_street_straps.php
Posted by: luke | August 4, 2009 5:46 PM
big difference there. WIG basically took what Hold Fast was doing and made their own. i.e. Hold Fast made something NEW and ORIGINAL and WIG copied them.
Posted by: prolly | August 4, 2009 7:37 PM