I suppose it is part of becoming accepted from the leftfield that people copy your stuff. As it becomes more mainstream, over time, people start looking for the source (be it the source that re-introduced an old idea to a modern application, or the source of real live 'blue sky' ideas). Who knows. Perhaps it is only then that real recognition begins.
Take jeff jones, for example. I call jeff a friend. I strongly believe in his approach to bicycle design and building. His ideas on geometry, ergonomics and his philosophy of riding fits with me extremely well.
As outcast as his ideas were initially, the mainstream are taking notice and although it can be argued that imitation is a form of flattery, i do get a bit upset in the use of someones intelectual property with out so much as a nod.
Mary bars, G2 geometry, and now Skyde's run of H bars and combined bar stems seem to have cropped up without even a nod in jeff's direction.
Obviously, arguments over whether jeff "started" all this blah blah blah, are commonplace and i think the point is he realised the relevance to certain bikes and riding styles and was willing to go against the grain of accepted wisdom at the time.
So, chapeau jeff, long may innovation live.
2 comments:
Woah - if that's someone elses interpretation of Jeffs ideas then sell me a Jones. Imitation is normally considered flattery but that thing at the bottom has fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
I wonder which came first, the Jones design dept or the Jones legal dept? The visionary Swami Jones seems to have got himself lawyered-up since there were a number of 'J' or 'H' style bars by various manufacturers around till 2015 or even last year, yet now there is not one. Hilarious that someone would think a variation on a braced handlebar design could be considered 'intellectual property'; I would hardly be surprised to learn that he was claiming as much for bars with a 45 degree sweep.
For cyclists of avereage means who would like an alternative to butterfly bars for touring, the remarkable Mr Jones' litigeous manoeuvrings have seen to it that there is far less alternative - his own outrageously-priced offerings being way out of financial reach for the ordinary mortal. Maybe his lawyer could afford them!
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