Man O War and the summit

Hub

Man O War is a trade mark too or so it says.

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Tim - Coker user

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That's interesting, I haven't seen that before. Could it have something
to do with who you bought it from?

Daniel

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daino149 - How's it going, Texas?

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I got mine on ebay recently and they say Man O War.

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Rayden
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I got it from ebay back in january from a guy who sold a bunch of them.

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Tim - Coker user

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Nathan had a pair of Man O War pedals.

'Man O War pedal in Nathan's gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/2y3t)
That link was taken from 'this thread' (http://tinyurl.com/388zo)

I haven't been able to find anything about Man O War bicycle products on
the web. It seems to be a brand that makes copies of existing bicycle
parts. Nathan's Man O War pedals are a copy of the Wellgo B-37 pedals.
The Man O War cranks/hub are a copy of the Summit cranks/hub which were
a copy of the KH cranks/hub.

My guess is that Man O War is a factory brand for some unethical factory
in Taiwan or China. They make a batch of parts for a customer like
Wellgo or KH, then make a few extra parts for themselves that they sell
under the Man O War label. That's just a guess on my part. If they
were truly a legit company/brand they'd have marketing and you'd be able
to be able to find their catalog of products by doing a Google search or
other web search. As it is, I cannot find a web page for them and I can
barely find any info about Man O War parts on the web.

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john_childs - Guinness Mojo

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john_childs said:

*My guess is that Man O War is a factory brand for some unethical
factory in Taiwan or China.*

I wonder if it's actually unethical, or if it's actually legal there?
Like the KH knockoffs. I remember when Kris first found out about it,
and wrote on the newsgroup that he'd found these counterfeit versions of
his unicycles. But was it a one-time thing, or are they still making
them?

It may be that it's legal to do more copy-type stuff in Taiwan or other
manufacturing countries than it might be in the West. One should have a
very specific contract with any company you hire to make parts for you I
guess.

The appearance of those Man O War parts on the Summit indicates that
unicycling is still in a place where components will get changed out at
random, and the resellers over here probably won't know about the
changes until the next shipment arrives. This is fine if the change is
to something equivalent. But what if they change to something inferior?
Whey should the buyer pay the same price for a reduction in product
quality? These are things you have to think about if you're a unicycle
seller...

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It happens exactly like john_childs said:

They make a batch of parts for a customer like Wellgo or KH, then make
a few extra parts for themselves that they sell under the Man O War
label.

And those things are illegal also in China or Taiwan. The problem is
that there is so many companies up there who are doing this, that the
authorities have controling problems. It affect a wide range of
products, from the Swiss watch to the unicycle items. It is all stealing
patent rights and intellectual properties.

Vincent

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vincelemay - Quebec unicyclist
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john_childs said:

*The Man O War cranks/hub are a copy of the Summit cranks/hub which
were a copy of the KH cranks/hub. My guess is that Man O War is a
factory brand for some unethical factory in Taiwan or China. They
make a batch of parts for a customer like Wellgo or KH, then make a
few extra parts for themselves that they sell under the Man O War
label. That's just a guess on my part. *

I thought that the Summit cranks/hub were identical (i.e. not a copy) to
the KH cranks/hub. It was just the frame that was different (rejected
by KH, but they built a bunch anyway).

I believe that your guess above is truth. Those are the same KH cranks,
from the same factory that makes them for KH, with a different brand
thrown on them. Intellectual Property is not a concept that's deeply
ingrained in some of those places. To John Foss's comment, he's right in
that it may actually be legal in some places, although I'm not sure
legality equals ethical. Working in the software industry, the
unauthorized knock-offs are almost instant, and the offending country's
government is often the largest customer (if not the manufacturer) for
the copied goods. Big corporations can try to work with those
governments to educate on why unauthorized copying isn't good. A small
concern like KH doesn't have a lot of leverage there.

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tomblackwood - Registered Nurtz

Tailgate at your own risk.....

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