RADBMX.CO.UK
New School BMX 2004 - Now => New School Park, Street & Dirt => Topic started by: Philbert on July 01, 2009, 12:16 PM
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just been browsing the internet and stumbled across some footage of ben wallace on amity bike co, never heard of them myself but look like a new uk brand. just wondered if anyones knows anything about them, who's behind it all etc
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Here ya go:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-meredith/13/b32/181
Mark Meridith
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lightweight frames you can trust not fold or flap!
:daumenhoch:
he's an engineering graduate so at least he should understand the stresses and strains. looks good.
http://www.amitybikeco.com
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"Taper Lock TM our revolutionary new sysetm that literally locks the rear wheel in position by simply doing up nuts/bolts finger tight"
Oooh. Cant wait to see that one ..... >:D
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sounds just like something someone else was going to do.....
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sounds just like something someone else was going to do.....
Sounds like something about 3 companies have done, and every one of them "owns" the idea? ???
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I'll just come right out and say it. Is this Dibly's new company??
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I'll just come right out and say it. Is this Dibly's new company??
I really didnt meant to suggest that. I have no idea if it is or isnt, but why dont people just say that they have chosen to have the wedge dropout on their frames, and not all be pretending to have invented it, or to be the only ones using it.
I am interested to see if it works. Not enough to chance buying a new frame with it on tho.
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I'll just come right out and say it. Is this Dibly's new company??
don't think so no, Stodgy links to the owners page.
:daumenhoch:
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Bunch of shuffle munsterers. if it WERE Dibleys you lot would have slated it.
Pit Bikes.
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I was just wondering if it was his as I remember him posting up the design of that dropout lock thingy when he was doing UK bike Co - but Ive now noticed that in this thread it seems there are quite a few companies claiming it as theirs!
So I guess its not Darrens company after all.
I like the Amity site, the pictures in the old picture frames look goog.
Be v interested to see these frames.
And DJ - ive never slated anyone's work in BMX on this site or anywhere else dude. :daumenhoch:
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My comment was not directed at you steve....
This guy walked into BMX a few months back, offered Mark Webb ££££££ to go with him & this thing he wanted to do, Mark turned him down flat. So he took Wallace instead. He has done nothing but slate Remo for whatever reason which Im really not into tbh.
He basically took the UK Bike Co frame... the larger of the 2, got on a plane to Taiwan, went into the factory & said "Make me this please, heres some money".... From what I hear this guy is just here to take the money & run. Engineering graduate or not he sounds like a plick. Even Stu Dawkins warned certain people of this guy.
Im not the type to talk shit on people I dont know & I really like Ben Wallace but to swan in, talk shit on Remo & think you're Johnny Big Shot aint any good in my book.
With regard to the Dibley comment, Im right though... IF this were anything to do with him a lot of you would be laughing your heads off & running him down. He came up with some good stuff while working for UK Bike Co & its a shame it never worked out but he'll learn.
BTW... I would never call anyone a shuffle munster.....
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I actually think Shuffle Munster is a good name , as is Muddy Funster.
I hear you on all this DJ, it's an interesting thread this one, looking forward to seeing how this all pans out.
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He basically took the UK Bike Co frame... the larger of the 2, got on a plane to Taiwan, went into the factory & said "Make me this please, heres some money"
Why would someone want to build a business on a product that has a reputation for failure? If someone was going to take that approach they would take something with a proven track record to Taiwan and say "copy this"?
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Generally speaking, in this day and age, it's probably a good idea not to take the cool sounding sales lingo and buzz words off web sites too literally.
It's really really super easy to start a bike company based on products & technology already in existence, and if a person chooses to take that road, then marketing and sales is the main focus.
So words and terms like 'evolutionary, new technologies, new ideas' and shit, will come in handy in the product descriptions to amp a product.
Rad has a lot of BMXucated people who know what's up, but a lot of the BMX world who view certain bike company web sites are just regular riders who'll be attracted to the buzz words.
I'm not saying that this new company isn't designing new BMX technologies though, I'm just talking generally.
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All that aside,
some nice riding on the edits :daumenhoch:
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All that aside,
some nice riding on the edits :daumenhoch:
I'm liking this thread, so i will just waltz on in from no-where & put a few things straight.
Firstly, I have never met Remo, nor have I ever slated him. I only ‘know of' Remo & everything I have heard has been really positive, he is clearly held in high regard by a lot of riders. 2nd, I have never offered Mark Web £££££'s to ride for us, Mark & Ben helped us out in doing a freestyle / free riding pit bike video. We wanted to change the image of our pitbike company (Stomp) & I had been introduced to Mark's Web edits & thought he would be ideal for what we were looking for + in one of his edits he is seen riding an old Xsport pit bike so this looked like a great opportunity. Traditionally all our marketing revolved around racing, but truth be told, most pit bikers are free riders, generally riding where they shouldn't & we wanted to relate better with those customers. You can check out the website www.ridestomp.com where you can see all the footage we took & the material REALLY helped us achieve what we were aiming for. We love the 'lifestyle' marketing of BMX & thought it would cross over nicely to pit biking.
We had been talking about doing a BMX for more than a year & had even been out the far east to visit some factories. Whilst I had Mark & Ben’s attention for a few days I took the opportunity to discuss with them our plans. It was clear we were going about certain things in the wrong way & Mark suggested Ben should help us get things off the ground. Mark said he would like to help out as it was an opportunity to be very close to the design side of things but was fully tied to UKBikeCo at the time & it certainly wasn’t appropriate considering they were paying him a salary. He now has other interests which you may / may not know about & it’s not my place to say.
I didn't know who Stu Dawkins was, but I have just looked him up.
I am not here to 'take the money & run' it's going to take at least 2 years to get this off the ground, so far it’s been my full time occupation for 6 months & most of the pit bike business I have passed to my Business Partner Mark Meredith who has also been mentioned in this thread. Yes there are 2 of us, both Engineering Graduates, though he has a masters as well...for what it's worth - Marc & Mark (it gets confusing). I'm Marc Brotherton, pleased to meet you all!
Things that are in part true:
Yes I did walk into the BMX 'scene' about 6 months ago, but I have been riding BMX on & off since i was 9. I have been back & forth to BMX/Mountain biking several times. Before recently starting riding BMX again, I had not ridden BMX for 12 years & was shocked at how much it had all changed. I had a career in the automotive industry which took up 8 years & the past 5 years I have been building Stomp from the ground up. I love riding, i am not a even an average rider, but i am keen to improve & at 34, it seriously hurts trying to learn new stuff cus i don't bounce any more. It's also hard to find the time, what with running a business, a wife & 2 children, but I am making time because I feel it’s important & I enjoy it.
Yes we did go to Taiwan (Ben & Myself) & spent & 8 days solid visiting different factories (up to 5 per day). No I didn’t take a UKbikeCo frame with me, but we did bring a sample back that was similar to a UKbikeCo frame (& many others including Eastern) which was to be the basis of Ben’s signature frame. The frame we took was developed by the factory, not by a bike company & it was one of many display frames in their showroom. We have since changed the rear drop outs, beefed up the top tube to help prevent dents from knee impacts, modified the seat clamp & cable clips & beefed up the chain stays, shortened the back end & redesigned the bridge. The samples are due on the 15th. There is nothing revolutionary about this frame (apart from taper lock), but it’s light simple & strong. I believe that’s all a BMX frame needs to be.
We did not invent Taper Lock, but we pay the license & therefore, I think we can call it our own, in the same way that we have our own pivotal seat as do most other BMX companies.
I’m not going to spend ages on forums arguing about this sort of thing, but I thought I would at least write something to try & clear my name, afterall there are a lot of haters out there & we are going come up against Chinese whispers along the way. Just give us a chance to get going & hopefully you will like the result. If you don’t, there are plenty other companies out there to choose from.
Peace
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Props to you for your post Marc
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:daumenhoch: keep us posted on stuff ,i wont ever knock someone who makes an effort..being upfront and straight
goes a long way in this game so cheers.
dan
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just goes to show you can't believe everything that you read.
welcome to Marc & Mark.
:daumenhoch:
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Respect for getting on here & putting it all across in an open minded, positive way. If the product turns out to be good, durable stuff then good on you, rock on :daumenhoch:
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OH. Well. That clears that up then. I'm just on my way to tell Webbie he's a liar....
If only Dibley had explained himself like this huh?
Im out.
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i've heard your looking for riders
check out billy purcell (billy bmx). full on up and coming radder! his dad/chauffeur/mentor/manager is superbikedan on here, he's got loads of footage of him!
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All that aside,
some nice riding on the edits :daumenhoch:
I'm liking this thread, so i will just waltz on in from no-where & put a few things straight.
Firstly, I have never met Remo, nor have I ever slated him. I only ‘know of' Remo & everything I have heard has been really positive, he is clearly held in high regard by a lot of riders. 2nd, I have never offered Mark Web £££££'s to ride for us, Mark & Ben helped us out in doing a freestyle / free riding pit bike video. We wanted to change the image of our pitbike company (Stomp) & I had been......... ETC
Stoked on Marc's Edit.
Dont make the same mistakes other companys have made in the past.
Ben is an amazing rider, as is Ryan Taylor and Cam Hardy
One word of advise, The key factor in all of this is Time.. Dont release the products until you AND your team are 100% completely satisfied with them.
Im quite confident that if you remain as passionate as you seem to be, and you seek support and guidance from your team, this company will become a well respected English based bike company.
Kane
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i will go along with that ::)
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i will go along with that ::)
Guys, Thanks for all the support & advice, it is really very much appreciated.
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We did not invent Taper Lock, but we pay the license & therefore, I think we can call it our own, in the same way that we have our own pivotal seat as do most other BMX companies.
Nice first post. Good on you for getting in there and putting a few things straight :daumenhoch:
Im intersted in how the taper lock system works, both on the bike and legaly (but I am a bit sad :-[). Thanks for the information.
Good luck with everything, hope it works out for ya
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hey, good to see Kane back....these dudes are looking for riders Kane...nudge.
Alex have you seen a taper dropout frame yet? I'm quite interested in seeing one, but kind of think rob's serrated frame and washer idea would work well.
Saw Phil tonight, he was watching Go West at the festival. homo.
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Alex have you seen a taper dropout frame yet? I'm quite interested in seeing one, but kind of think rob's serrated frame and washer idea would work well.
No, ive not seen one yet. I really wanna know if it works. There is a chance that the wheel will move back while you tighten it (chain will get too tight and the non chain side will move out of line) and also that the non chain side might get knocked back during hard riding.
I think the problem with Robs serrated idea is that the serrations would need to be tiny to give you the micro adjustment you'd need to get the wheel in the right place.
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Guys i dont mean to piss on anyones parade but stolen released a taper dropout system some time ago
http://bmx.transworld.net/2009/06/17/stolen-introduces-new-taper-lock-dropout/
im not sure if it has any similarities to the amity bike co one but its worth looking into
the problem with taiwan is similarities, ukbikeco had the patent for frame designs and heat treating methods for the revolution frame, yet Premium bought out the lowpez which was almost like for like.
If amity are going to proceed with the taper dropout system i highly recommend they be careful when using words such as "revolutionary", "Patent", "Original" etc because theres always someone who's gonna call you out on it.
Thanks JT, ill take it as a compliment you think im good enough to ride for them haha maybe on flow, but im no where up to par with Wallace, Hardy and Taylor!
Marc, keep us all updated on the products man!
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Alex I wish you'd patented all of your inventions way back! You'd be Oprah rich!
I'm sad too :-\ You could have lent me a fiver.
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if something has a registered design ,its easily overcome just a few tinkers and then that can also be a registered design even if very similar.
patent or patent pending is another ball game and can cost, my last one worked out over 3 grand for world wide 1 year then had to do a european extention 18 months
if someone has a patent pending on say one of alexs ideas then if he can prove a date and design on his earlier idea then it can be refused or they would need to get their heads together.
so alex it aint all lost yet. ;)
its not as clear cut as all above but you get the idea.
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Good luck to you sir. :daumenhoch:
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if something has a registered design ,its easily overcome just a few tinkers and then that can also be a registered design even if very similar.
patent or patent pending is another ball game and can cost, my last one worked out over 3 grand for world wide 1 year then had to do a european extention 18 months
if someone has a patent pending on say one of alexs ideas then if he can prove a date and design on his earlier idea then it can be refused or they would need to get their heads together.
so alex it aint all lost yet. ;)
its not as clear cut as all above but you get the idea.
hey 3k is a bargain for a Patent, when i worked at Ford it was costing them 15k on average!!!!
If this is a copy of someone's idea, then it really does suck & here is hoping Alex has some evidence & he really should try & work with the poacher cus imo it's a great idea. I for one know how hard it is if you have an idea to get it across without someone copying it or claiming it as their own (normally your boss if you work blue chip lol). You can't afford to be precious with your IP, but at the same time you can't afford to sit on it either, it's a double edged sword, especially if you don't have the money to secure it. It was the same when i was making music, you wanna get it out there but there was always a distributor looking to nick your white label & re-press it cutting you out....i doubt that is so much of a problem these days as the 'internet' has nicked all the music & given it away free.
back to taper lock...
The factory do not own the patent for taper lock, but there is (I am told) a world wide patent on the idea & they are licensing it for the frames they produce. I had heard this week, that is was copied (from someone in the UK), but i do not know who took the idea or who came up with it. I can tell you that It really does work. When i 1st saw it on paper i said, no-way i can't see that working, it's gonna slide when you tighten the nuts/bolts. Having played with the prototype at the factory i was proven wrong. I think you are going to see quite a few companies bringing out taper lock on their frames, but i am informed by our agent, that we are the 1st to put it on a complete bike. The main reason our samples are delayed is that the factory have orders for over 200 frames & that is a lot of samples as each is likely to be different....head-ache. ours should be here within 10 days, i'll let you know how it goes.
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great stuff,my patent was quite simple and never had any issues it was fast 3 years so didnt get hit with to many problems
some get alot and up goes the money big big time.
selling or licensing lets everyone have a stab and owner gets a % which works all round.
its a hold your breath period on patents long road..secrecy and luck...and a back stabbing world out there ..
i did 5 prototypes and then registered the patent ,then i had a year to get that bad boy sold with the option to let them extent to worldwide , they picked up the tab on that phewww
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two things, purely out of curiosity:
who tipped you off on the site marc/mark that this thread is alive
and danny boy, me old mucca, what did you invent?
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not allowed to say phil , but as i trust you i will oneday show you,all will become clear oneday soon i hope.
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two things, purely out of curiosity:
who tipped you off on the site marc/mark that this thread is alive
and danny boy, me old mucca, what did you invent?
Geez, no-one tipped me off, believe it or not i decided it was time to google search the company name to see if anyone was talking about us yet. RT had told me quite a few people had been asking him about Amity & that word was getting about. I searched amitybikeco, nothing google suggested i may have mean't amity bike co, so i tried that I this thread popped up.
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Good luck MArc and Mark , nice to have another British bike company on the scene!
Also let me just say , for the sheer hell of it as I think it's so rad - Alex Leech invented Left Hand Drive too!!!
What a dude.
steve
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Also let me just say , for the sheer hell of it as I think it's so rad - Alex Leech invented Left Hand Drive too!!!
What a dude.
steve
I'm still blown away by that. :daumenhoch:
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If this is a copy of someone's idea, then it really does suck & here is hoping Alex has some evidence & he really should try & work with the poacher cus imo it's a great idea.
I didnt invent the taper lock, never though I had said I had. I have just seen 2 or 3 bike co's say stuff think to make me think they ALL had, but what you said makes sense so thanks for giving your side.
The stuff I came out with was all in the 90s so if you have never heard of Stu Dorkin, then I guess it all passed you by. ;)
Alex I wish you'd patented all of your inventions way back! You'd be Oprah rich!
Laz, you know Im in BMX for the Love, not the money :daumenhoch: