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Fair enough, and please don't take this the wrong way but is it not a touch hypocritical to complain about gatekeeping (which I agree with you about and to be clear my problem is the poor pastiche) but to read (and presumably take enjoyment from) a thread specifically created for the purposes of mockery?
You may say there is a difference between the Jokfil's and the kind of bike we're talking about but if we really boil it down there isn't. One is company with one person's vision and the other is some other person's vision, why is one exempt from criticism and the other not because it's more outlandish?
±ln(x)-
Oh yeah there's definitely some tension there. I think for me there's a difference between just putting relatively normal stuff on your build that you think looks cool, and making a very conscious effort to emulate something as you say, without understanding why anyone is doing things in a certain way. Plus to me there is a big difference between someone doing something on their own bike, vs trying to get money for some monstrosity they dreamed up like the Jokfil people.
Obviously, as with many things, there's not a super sharp distinction! And a lot is super subjective, like some of the paintjobs posted on here that I actually kind of liked. (NOT the Anime bike further up though!)
I've not actually encountered many 'anti' things in the wild - I think the worst one was this handlebar. Now that took a lot of conscious effort to make it as ridiculous as possible. (And no it wasn't loose, it was fixed in this position!)
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One is company with one person's vision and the other is some other person's vision
There is definitely a distinction to be made between mocking a new user on the forum who has come here for advice and mocking a company's products. Facing harsh criticism is part and parcel of making and selling a product. It's not something you deserve when you humbly ask for advice from people more knowledgeable than you.
But I agree, thread reboot - it's been a shockingly long time since this was reposted:
SwissChap
frankenbike
I understand where you're coming from. The Carhartt sticker is actually anti, yeah. I didn't think the rest was really noteworthy though. As much as this thread is obviously for making fun of bike 'designs' that just went terribly wrong, I'm not a fan of 'gatekeeping' subcultures etc. - but especially not over things like valves or brake cables that are 'too long'.
But maybe that's also just because I am definitely not a part of that subculture in any way, so I feel less annoyed be people clumsily copying it, and more annoyed by people making fun of other rider's builds.