Mike Sinyard is a saint
Mike Sinyard is single handedly responsible for the modern bike industry. He took the brainchild of the Marin downhillers and combined it with some decent business sense to create the lifestyle so many of us lead. Without Mike the Marin downhillers would have remained unknown and we'd be riding skinny tyres, if we'd be riding at all. While we may go against the corporate grain and buy handcrafted exotica we should thank Mike for introducing the mountain bike to the world. We should praise him as much as any first time biker who wanders bemused into their local bikeshop to give this lifestyle a try.
Imagine that you are that first time biker. You haven't ridden since you were a kid. You don't have a junkyard of bits, a lycra collection, a box of strange single-purpose tools, a wardrobe full of half worn tyres. Nothing. Even your coffee/tea/cake desires are average.
You walk into a dealer - let's not get into that shit about mail order here - and tell 'em you're starting from scratch. Mike Sinyard is your saviour. Want a budget bike that still rides like a good 'un? He makes 'em. Just to stop you from getting stranded yards from home you need a puncture kit, a spare tube and something to carry 'em. Just so they're not left at home and you're not left by the trailside. Thank you Mike. Oh and don't forget the pump.
Now you've got your ride you don't want to look like a dork in white trainers and bad clothes. Praise Mike for making everything from socks to gloves for kitting you out. Need a budget helmet that doesn't look like a beer cooler or a piss-pot? Mike makes those too. He makes everything for the beginner bar the espresso machine/oversize teapot/silver cake stand.
Then as you improve Mike can sell you a decent price decent riding mid-range bike. Getting even more ambitious? Need a hard riding hardtail? Have an M2. That too harsh? Bones too creaky and back too fragile? Take your pick from the capable FSR range. Or perhaps you really fall for this way of life. You start to look for the personal touch. You get a handmade frame. You pick and choose your bike jewellery. You might even get to the stage where you actually know the people who built half your bike. Phone orders turn into conversations lasting thirty minutes and you know the name of each others kids. But still you need bits that aren't built by some artisan. Your loyalties now lie with your dealer. You do have loyalties don't you? And your dealer stocks these boring bits at a reasonable price courtesy of Mike. Tubes. Tyres for any occasion. Lights. A constant supply of new white socks.
Whatever your abilities, whether you part-time potter or biking is a way of life, Mike supports your habit without hurting your wallet. You have a lot to thank Mike for. Mike Sinyard is a saint.
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Mike Sinyard is a sinner
Mike Sinyard is a leech. This is something that's been evident since he took the mountain bike design and decided to mass-produce in the Far East. The little guys who actually invented the thing came out of it with nothing but their pride. Not from Mike.
And this is a policy that's been continued today. Forget all those fancy show bikes Specialized come up with, Mike prefers imitation not innovation when it comes to making stuff to actually sell. Mike hasn't taken a risk since that first batch of Stumpjumpers. Mike prefers to make money by taking someone else's ideas and exploiting them better. These days he doesn't even have to make bikes. He could stop building bikes tomorrow and he'd still make money. By buying the rights to a 1950's French invention that some German entrepreneur cunningly patented in the States Mike demands money from a host of other US bike companies. He can kill the competition by withdrawing their licenses. Instead of making money by working on improving the breed and developing better bikes, Mike is quite happy to make money by bloodsucking from others. And if he wants he can even prevent competitors from entering the US market. Ask Giant. Depriving people of better or cheaper alternatives to his own brand. It might not affect us here in the UK, but it illustrates the morals of the man.
But do you want to know how cheap and low Mike will really go? How about buying up internet domain names that don't belong to other bike companies, but sound like they do. We know where you might expect ridetrek.com or schwinnbike.com to lead you, and it ain't the big red S. Internet business is still working out it's morals and ettiquetes but cheap shots like that are generally despised by reputable companies. So what does that make Mike? He's operating on the level of a shabby con-man there. And claiming that it was all a joke when the press gets hold of it doesn't wash.
Mike's gotten lazy. His corporation has gotten too big. Fat cat lawyers have wheedled their way into his life and instead of celebrating the joy of cycling to Mike it is just a money spinner. Bikes are something to exploit. And by inference so is the rider. I don't like being exploited (unless fortified with alcohol and you ask nicely or proffer a suitable amount of cash). Mike needs a holiday. He needs to get away from smart ass law school graduates and ask himself why the film industry moved to his home state of California. (Yeah, I said film industry). He needs to re-evaluate his priorities.
Until Mike chooses not to use his corporate powers to leech off the back of others he's a sinner.
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