Foffa Bikes

Car thread>>>>>>>

Ah yes, I forgot that some people here are very sensitive about using the word 'bespoke'. Because letting customers choose between Brooks, San Marco, Fizik, Shimano, Campag, Wellgo, Miche, Nitto, Cinelli, Schwalbe, Halo, Vittoria and Continental components is all about the colours.. Let alone different types of bars and frame geometries..

Parts?

Dani if you went to buy a suit with a 60inch chest and 50inch waist from ARMANI and chose the colour and buttons would it be BESPOKE/made to measure

Being able to choose components doesn't really make it "bespoke" Dani. More like custom.

I think there is a difference between customising something you buy (different tyres, upgrading RAM on a laptop) and getting something custom built (bike fit with choice of tubing and angles features like wishbone stays or whatever). The foffa thing has always done one and played on the other, leading to a bunch of people riding so-so bikes that cost more than needed while telling everyone how custom they are. If they are settling into a more traditional bike selling business hopefully they can drop the ridiculous false custom pretense and pick up less flak on here with bikes sold at a price closer to what they are worth.

this community (which many people would doubt it can even be called one)

Really? I think you've clearly not been any forum event, ever, which is a real shame. Ever been to a track day? Ever been to a Polo event? Ever been to beers? Ever done any rides? Ever sent any employees on rides? Ever just chatted shit about bikes and bitched about London's roads?

It reflects poorly on your brand that you haven't and doesn't seem to back up your assertions around the work you have done to improve your products. You are a London based company selling fixed gear bikes. We are the web site for London fixed gear riders. I hate to state the obvious but we are your target market. As a product manager by profession I could not even contemplate failing to engage with my current and potential user base. It's just an anathema to me.

I was really ignoring most of this but LFGSS is not a community?

I had 100+ members of this community at my wedding a couple of months ago and sadly could not have had more.
I can call on the collective mechanical wisdom and purchasing experience of thousands of experts at a whim with a single post.
I could go to Canada to meet members.
I have randomly run into forum lurkers in bars in Portland, USA.
I could go to Scotland and meet strangers for a beer.

It may not be the most perfect collection of people but it is completely and utterly fucking awesome.

LFGSS not a community? Fuck. Off.

And Tibbly, I am not asking the approval from this community (which many people would doubt it can even be called one)

Let me tell you something right now - if this community didn't exist you wouldn't have sold so much as a fucking valve cap in your life. Every single thing you do is beholden to a culture that exists because of forums like this one. A culture that you have nothing to do with. So go and have a little think about that while you're making some more red wheels.

Ah yes, I forgot that some people here are very sensitive about using the word 'bespoke'. Because letting customers choose between Brooks, San Marco, Fizik, Shimano, Campag, Wellgo, Miche, Nitto, Cinelli, Schwalbe, Halo, Vittoria and Continental components is all about the colours.. Let alone different types of bars and frame geometries..

Because both bespoke and custom, unquoted, have dictionary definitions that conflict with your usage.

Bespoke means "Made to order", and beyond the definitions of societal customs and traditions, the word custom also means "Made to order".

No-one thinks an M&S suit is bespoke because it comes in a selection of different material, pattern, cut and sizes... it's off-the-peg, standard. Even if you mix and match different sized trousers and jacket, that still off-the-peg.

The word bespoke and custom refer to tailoring whereby you are measured and the cut is made for your measurements. It might be the same material as M&S (unlikely), and the same pattern (also unlikely), and even a similar cut (very unlikely)... but the fact that the material is cut to your measurements is what makes it bespoke.

So the definitions apply to bicycles.

Bespoke and custom bicycles include a bikefit or measurement, and then the materials, geometry, etc is made for you.

It's not "You get to choose ever component in your build", that's just a near basic service.

I'll definitely agree with everyone else that unless you're cutting tubes to length and designing geometry to meet the consumer's riding needs, size and weight... you are not doing bespoke.

And whilst you might be able to use the word customise, to say custom is a stretch.

Edscoble, I do claim that they are similar rims, and the fact that they are made in Taiwan and not in China like H+Son should actually mean that they are potentially better made and certainly in better working conditions.

Like Ed already said, ain't you just being a touch racist? It's just total nonsense that products made in China are automatically worse than products made anywhere else. Stuff made in China is of excellent quality if a company wants it to, just the same as stuff made in the US could be of top notch quality or a bag of shit. People, understandably, want things they use made in their native country but does it really have anything to do with where they are made?

Your claim of things made in Taiwan are potentially better quality than China is unfounded. Any facts from your industrial expert pals you want to share?

I am Chinese and I am insulted.

^^I think you just customised my answer with better words really.

Velocio's words are final and bepoke to each message.

The Taiwan > China thing is just because when a lot of factories went abroad they went to Taiwan so the factories and workers in general have a few years more experience of bike part manufacturing. Needless to say it's perfectly possible to get something made anywhere better than somewhere else if you get right place to make it with the right tools, materials and workers.

You have just customized my words. Cheers buddy.

Just a thought Danny, how about putting a couple of your new to bikes over to the forum so some of the more moderate voices could try them out and review them?
Nothing to lose and you might convert a few people from the views they have regarding quality

This is clearly a thread which will never get to an end so this is my last post on the matter.

You really need to stop saying this. Or stop posting. Or both.

Your sales thread could have been fine- a few satisfied customers from the forum might have improved your image. Then you came and responded to the baiting. There is some helpful advice here as well as the blunt insults, but it all gets muddied.

$50 plz^^^.

are you talking to me? Can I pay you Chinese money since we ar eon the subject of quality of products from the far east? last I went, the quality of Chinese money was slight better than the ones from Taiwan.

Speed with GUY MARTIN is on now, hes bespoking a plane this week ;-). He had a bicycle bespoked for him a couple of weeks ago

No, I was being sarcastic. I nearly put at the bottom a 'this post is sarcastic' disclaimer, then I thought, 'why bother?'

Deadpan post is deadpan. Soz

Like Ed already said, ain't you just being a touch racist? It's just total nonsense that products made in China are automatically worse than products made anywhere else. Stuff made in China is of excellent quality if a company wants it to, just the same as stuff made in the US could be of top notch quality or a bag of shit. People, understandably, want things they use made in their native country but does it really have anything to do with where they are made?

Your claim of things made in Taiwan are potentially better quality than China is unfounded. Any facts from your industrial expert pals you want to share?

I am Chinese and I am insulted.

I believe last years Foffa Ones were made in Taiwan and they were actually pretty decent bikes believe it or not. The finish and welding on the frames was really good. The 2014 bikes are I belive being made in China and the quality has dropped significantly to say the least. Maybe it is on this that Dani has based his opinions? I can't help but think that if he'd ever looked at an H+Son rim (which to be fair I didn't know were made in China until yesterday) and compared it to his own, he might think differently.

Is Charge the only cheap off the peg brand that people consider 'kindof ok'? It is so close to being a Create, even uses some of the same letters!

Charge are much better quality than Create, I used to live with two guys who had one of each, the charge was a pretty solid decent bike, Create frame was fairly solid .. all of the components were made of cheese.

This of course is completely irrelevant to whether foffa bikes are any good or not - they should be compared with other bikes that are a big step up from BSOs, but not top quality shit. They should be compared with stuff a bit cheaper and a bit more expensive.

They've been compared to charge, and seem overpriced, you don't have to wait months on ebay for one either.