Originally Posted by
Dave Kirk
Hey Mr. Rogue,
First let me just say this - you are a dork.......... and welcome to dork club. You are in good company.
Thanks for the note. You made my day with this. You know - I realize pragmatism is not the best way to sell stuff but pragmatic is what I am and it comes out in my work and to try to pretend otherwise will in the end be a disservice to both my clients and me. I fully grasp that if somehow I could change my stripes and be more 'cool' that my work might attract those that want the coolest and I might sell more bikes. But that would be like asking me to be taller - ain't gonna happen. Instead I'm pleased that there seem to be enough folks out there that appreciate what I do, how I do it, and why I do it a given way that I don't need to try to be someone else. FWIW it only took me 45 years to figure that out. I'm kinda slow too.
I think you are right - I think that one can tell a lot about how a bike will feel and behave by looking at it and it's spec sheet. I would be foolish to imply that I can tell subtle things that can make or break the way a bike feels by the specs but one can certainly get a general impression without ever throwing a leg over it. But, in the end, nothing speaks as loud as experience and it's impossible to tell what a given bike will REALLY feel like without riding it. For this reason I always got a kick out of folks telling me that my designs will, or more often won't, work based on the fact that they saw a photo of one on the web. This is especially true with my Serotta DKS design and the current Terraplane. It doesn't happen much any more but for awhile there is was an everyday deal. I think they got bored of me :) Luckily the customers haven't and are enjoying their bikes.
Thanks again - I need to get back to the bench.
Dave