|
I like tacos. My oldest son doesn’t. I think he’s crazy and I can’t believe somebody I’ve raised couldn’t love one of the, if not one of the only, foods on planet human beings shouldn’t live without. But there he is, completely defiant in his disgust of tacos. I suppose my son’s dislike for Taco’s is very much like my friends dislike for bike products other than the one’s he’s got on his bike. His tastes never change and he swears up and down that anything other than what he’s currently got, is disgusting and below standard. I used to swear by the products he’s using, but as my style and experienced changed, so did my likes and dislikes. I also found out that just because it’s very expensive doesn’t mean its top of the line. Often, the mid-price range is what suited me best, though the bling factor on the more expensive component did get more looks and comments. And just like my taste change, so do the companies that make the products I love so dearly. I call it, for lack of better terminology, product evolution. Companies have to produce better and better equipment if they hope to stay in the game. It’s that simple. Companies that produce a less than stellar product get left behind until they disappear all together-or end up on the Wal Mart Shelf 50% off. Companies like SRAM and Shimano are two of my favorite examples. You’ve got the die-hards on both sides and you’ve got people like me. I’m all for the better product. Who’s going to give me the most for my hard earned cash? Who’s going to supply the product that’ll last the season? Two seasons? Three seasons? (The reason I have the sponsors I have, by the way, is because they produce products that last!) Here’s what I learned over the years, boys and girls, and if I could give you any advice it would be this: Don’t look at product reviews written by other riders about products. It’ll only drive you out of your mind and confuse you. I’ve recently switched drive trains and if I listened to the product reviews, I wouldn’t have a drive train at all. Instead of listening to the reviews on the forums, I did this; I researched the drive train products I wanted to buy by looking at the products web sites. Yeah, that’s right. I went right to them and explored the item I wanted to buy. I looked at everything, than I went to the competitor’s web site and did the same thing. If you’re going to get your money’s worth and you want to know if the product is right for what you do, then you’ll have to get good at researching metals, plastics, and design. Know what the difference is between 6061 and 7075 Aluminum. Understand what they mean when something’s cast or formed and know what they mean when something is made from ballistic plastics. You don’t have to be an expert in the field, just understand why you’re paying for what you’re buying and is it really the product you need for your use. Then, after you purchase the product you think is right for you, regardless of what the forum monkey’s say, try it out and make up your own mind.
|