Has anyone tried the Bigha?

[Zippy The Pinhe]

On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 21:39:05 -0500, "Edward Dolan" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>What is really funny about all of this is that Bryant never
>says anything too severe, but if the review is not totally
>complementary they take offense. The egos involved in the
>recumbent bicycle business are something to behold. My view
>is that if you can't get along with Bob Bryant, then you
>can't get along with anybody.

I agree; that's why I would think twice about doing business
with a company that insisted on puffery instead of Bob doing
the service he promises his subscribers. I'm a longtime
subscriber as well.

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Larry Varney wrote:
> > Lorenzo L. Love wrote:
> >
> >> I'll try again: Is the Bigha a good value for YOU? If
> >> you don't know, why are you so worried about people who
> >> do have opinions?
> >>
> >> Lorenzo L. Love
> >
> >
> > And I'll try again: I'll let you know once I've ridden
> > it. And other people's opinions do not have any
> > relationship at all to my not having ridden a BiGHA,
> > nor with my not having an idea as to the value of it,
> > for me.
> >
> >
>
> So why are you so invested in running down other people
> opinion of it's poor value? Thirty some posts of
> telling people their opinions are useless. Why so
> defensive of Bigha?

A better question is why are you so offensive against BigHa,
Larry and I may have posted quite a few messages but you've
doubled it.

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mark Leuck wrote:
> > "Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]
> > .net...
> >
> >>>I have never paid more than a few bucks for a wrist
> >>>watch either. But
> >
> > that
> >
> >>>is because I knew I was buying a time piece and not
> >>>jewelry.
> >>>
> >>
> >>There you have the real reason many of these people
> >>can't understand that the Bigha is so overpriced. $3000
> >>just isn't much money to them so other criteria are more
> >>important. Like what color it is. The perfect Bigha
> >>customer.
> >
> >
> > So whats the problem then? BigHa isn't marketing to the
> > recumbent crowd,
my
> > guess is because the recumbent crowd is way too small to
> > market to
anyway
> > witnessing the demise of several manufacturers in the
> > last few years who
> > DID.
> >
> >
> >
>
> The recumbent crowd is way too informed to buy Bighas. The
> size of the market isn't that relevant to the demise of
> companies like BikeE and Vision.

Sure it is, small market with a number of competitors =
often lousy or no profits. Rans always does aircraft parts,
Burley makes and sells far more standard bikes than
Recumbents and everyone else are tiny companies with few
employees because they don't sell many bikes

> BikeE was the biggest seller and Vision one of the bigger
> ones. They collapsed because of fiscal mismanagement and
> incompetence.

You don't know that at all, link please

> It was when BikeE tried to grow too fast and expand beyond
> the niche market that they got overextended. Quality
> control shortcuts to increase product turnout resulted in
> safety recalls and bad press. Greed done them in.

I doubt that but then again I (like you) don't know why
BikeE went out of business, do you somehow also know why
Vision is gone? Do you run a business? Do you know what it
is like to run a business?

> Much smaller companies who know how to properly run a
> business and know their customer base are doing fine.

Really? How exactly do you know this? Haluzak went to
framekits only and if I recall so did Reynolds

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Edward Dolan wrote:
>
> > I wonder what it might be like to live in a world where
> > $3000. is chump change! Surely someone is exaggerating
> > here slightly?...
>
> Try doing a bike ride in an affluent suburb sometime
> (e.g., the North Shore Century from Evanston IL to
> Kenosha, WI). There you will ride through neighborhoods
> where the price is in excess of $1 Million US for one of
> the smaller houses and lots. To the people that live
> there, $3000 is one or two days worth of their income.
>
> Even on a more common scale, $3000 is not that much. I
> happened to be at a local high school in one of the more
> upscale areas. There were less than 10 cars in the student
> parking lot worth LESS than mine, and many of the students
> drove vehicles worth more than $20,000. If one can waste
> that much money on getting a child to school, then $3000
> for a bicycle is not that extreme.

I am vaguely aware of these astronomical costs of living
that some people go in for in the Chicago suburban area,
but you put it in stark relief. I do not know what
possesses people to want to live so high on the hog. To me
a house is just sticks and stones. A car is just a car and
a bike is just a bike. And so it goes through out my humble
and drab life.

I have a house (the oldest one in town - built in 1875) that
is worth less and less every year. I am presently paying
less than $100. property taxes a year and my worst fear is
that the city fathers are going to come over and condemn my
house. Yet it is comfortable for me. The house is simply
huge. I have rooms of the house that I haven't been in in
years. I mostly use those rooms for storage for all my
bicycles, both uprights and recumbents.

I truly believe that what separates the rich from the poor
is simply that the rich have more money. I cannot divine any
other differences. The way the rich spend their money tells
me that they are as stupid as any of the rest of us. If I
had had any money when I was young, who knows how I might
have spent it. But now I am stuck in my ways and it wouldn't
do me any good to have any money. I would go on the way I
always have, living on pennies while everyone else is living
on dollars.

Does anyone here now have a clue as to why I think the Bigha
is strictly for people who have more money than brains?

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mark Leuck wrote:
> > "Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH to reply"
> > <[email protected]> wrote
in
> > message news:%[email protected]...
> >
> >>Mark Leuck wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>for a carbon fiber Trek or Cannondale. $3000 is chump
> >>>change at my area
> >
> > bike
> >
> >>>store
> >>
> >>Wow, if $3000 is chump change at your area bike store, I
> >>want to come and catch what people don't bother to pick
> >>up that falls out of their pockets.
> >
> >
> > The most expensive bike they carried was $8,000, most
> > obviously weren't
that
> > high but once you get to the carbon fiber models the
> > price starts to skyrocket
> >
> >
>
> You mean those nice LIGHT high-performance carbon fiber
> bikes? The very antithesis of the Bigha.

Yes the ones I often pass on my heavy and not as high
performance Baron, looks like $8000 well spent eh?

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Larry Varney" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Edward Dolan wrote:
> > "Mark Leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > newsDyyc.86123$Ly.38150@attbi_s01...
> >
> >>"Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH to reply"
> >><[email protected]> wrote
in
> >>message news:[email protected]...
> >>
> >>>Larry Varney wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> I think it's always dangerous to start figuring that
> >>>> any individual
> >>>>knows what is best for any other individual, what they
> >>>> should wear,
> >
> > what
> >
> >>>>they should eat, and what they should spend their
> >>>>money on. You have judged this particular bike not to
> >>>>be worth the money (a
> >
> > good
> >
> >>>>value) - for you. But how can you be so sure that it's
> >>>>not a good
> >
> > value
> >
> >>>>for someone else? You know the criteria that you're
> >>>>using to determine the "best value", but is it the
> >>>>same as someone else's?
> >>>
> >>>That's not what I am saying. I am saying that if you
> >>>spend $3K on that bike, a lot of what you are buying
> >>>according to the old marketing
ditty,
> >>>is "sizzle" and not "steak." Paying a large price for
> >>>"sizzle" makes something not a good value. That doesn't
> >>>mean that some people won't prefer it.
> >>
> >>Simple capitalistic principle "Price what the market
> >>will bear". Since
> >
> > none
> >
> >>of us have ridden the thing we can't really judge if its
> >>got a lot of
> >
> > steak
> >
> >>or not.
> >
> >
> > I do not think that is true at all. I can judge of
> > something without
ever
> > having any experience of it provided I know a few key
> > things about it.
With
> > respect to recumbents, things like weight and price for
> > instance. I do
this
> > with most things in my life. Experience of a thing is
> > vastly overrated.
I
> > can simply gain knowledge of something by pure
> > speculation provided I
have a
> > few key facts to work with. With respect to recumbents,
> > I can just look
at
> > them now and I can tell you whether I am going to like
> > them or not. And
I
> > can also tell whether they are good value or not based
> > on weight and
price.
> > None of this is rocket science except to Varney.
> >
> > "Price what the market will bear" is fine and dandy but
> > I am predicting along with Lorenzo that the market is
> > not going to be there for the
Bigha.
> > Why? Because it is too heavy and it is too pricey. It
> > could possibly be
too
> > heavy and still sell if it were priced at around $1000.
> > to $1500., but
at
> > $3000. it is doomed. Thus spake Zarathustra!
> >
>
> OK, let's see a show of hands. How many people are
> going to trust the pronouncements of Ed Dolan, who
> comes to his decisions based not on actual experiences,
> but from "speculation"? And how many of you agree with
> him that his weighing of the criteria is the only valid
> one, that if there is any disagreement, then
> automatically everyone but Dolan is wrong?
>
> --
> Larry Varney Cold Spring, KY
> http://home.fuse.net/larryvarney

Ed is a fool and I suggest putting him on ignore like I
did ages ago, besides for some reason I doubt he picked
his last car or the house he lives in based only on price
and weight

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Mark South" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> This is a fascinating thread to read, and amusing as I
> find it there are
many
> questions I find have been left unanswered:
>
> A. Is it a bad thing that there is another company trying
> to get people
onto
> bikes?

Absolutely not which is why I imagine the bike isn't geared
toward the recumbent crowd

> B. Is it a bad thing that there is one more recumbent bike
> on the market?

No

> C. Won't a lot of people buy the BigHa, like the ride but
> decide they want something
> lighter/faster/sportier/different and buy other
> recumbents
afterwards?

Could be, I but an Optima Baron after riding the Vision
for a year

> D. Is Larry Varney related to Michael Varney, well-known
> physics troll?

You'd have to ask Larry that

> E. Is Lorenzo Love related to Fabrizio Mazzoleni?

I think that insults Fabrizio

> F. Is Ed Dolan related to George "SPOG" Hammond?

I don't know who George is but I think you insulted
him as well

 

[Slugger]

In article <[email protected]>, Edward Dolan
<[email protected]> wrote:

> "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:2j1mouFsro88U1@uni-
> berlin.de...
> > Slugger wrote:
> >
> > > ... I then went to a bike store in town that
> > > specializes in recumbents. I then road the Burley
> > > Koosah....
> >
> > Has anyone else noticed that the Burley Koosah/Jett
> > Creek looks like a RANS Stratus with the triangulating
> > frame tubes removed?
>
> That may well be because the Stratus was always a very
> good design. I feel like the Burley Koosah is most likely
> the classic design that is going to prevail for LWB OSS
> direct steer. The seat is where it should be, the BB is
> where it should be and the handlebars are where they
> should be. The head tube and fork rake look about right.
> The 26" rear wheel is the only way to go. And finally, the
> price looks good too at $899. (Hostel Shoppe). I would
> only have to ride it to check out the comfort of the seat.

I found a review with a comparison chart of the Burley
against the EZ - Sport and the Rans Tailwind. http://www.bi-
cycleman.com/recumbents/burley/burley_koosah.htm

Its a good read for me..i am really leaning towards
this bike now.

 

[Lorenzo L. Love]

Mark Leuck wrote:

> "Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Larry Varney wrote:
>>
>>>Lorenzo L. Love wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>I'll try again: Is the Bigha a good value for YOU? If
>>>>you don't know, why are you so worried about people who
>>>>do have opinions?
>>>>
>>>>Lorenzo L. Love
>>>
>>>
>>> And I'll try again: I'll let you know once I've ridden
>>> it. And other people's opinions do not have any
>>> relationship at all to my not having ridden a BiGHA,
>>> nor with my not having an idea as to the value of it,
>>> for me.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>So why are you so invested in running down other people
>>opinion of it's poor value? Thirty some posts of
>>telling people their opinions are useless. Why so
>>defensive of Bigha?
>
>
> A better question is why are you so offensive against
> BigHa, Larry and I may have posted quite a few messages
> but you've doubled it.
>
>
>

I expressed an opinion that the Bigha is a poor value for
it's excessive price and told you exactly why. If you think
it's a good value please tell us why. If you don't know
whether or not it is a good value, why do you keep on
defending the bike?

Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

"If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow
some." Benjamin Franklin

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Mark Leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:6oRyc.41501$Sw.22104@attbi_s51... [...]
> Ed is a fool and I suggest putting him on ignore like I
> did ages ago, besides for some reason I doubt he picked
> his last car or the house he
lives
> in based only on price and weight

Leuck is an even bigger fool because he never knows what he
is talking about. Lorenzo has shown him up over an over
again, yet he goes on and on. He can't answer the simplest
of questions. All he knows how to do is to obfuscate and
this sort of thing only fools other fools like Varney - who
never has a clue about anything. Leuck and Varney are two
of a kind. They both think not only a $3000. bike that
weighs 50 pounds is OK, but this extreme fool Leuck would
even pay $8000. for a carbon fiber type of bike. Varney no
doubt would chime in that an $8000. bike should be
considered because there are considerations other than
price that might somehow justify it. If ever there was a
case of anyone having more money than brains ... I give you
Leuck and Varney.

But here we have another classic case of a kill filer who is
contributing to a thread of which I am also a major
contributor and he is not reading my messages. Now you see
why I have nothing but contempt for these types of
scoundrels. I shall reserve a special venom for this asshole
Leuck now that I know he has kill filed me and yet feels
free to comment on me - based on what? Bits and pieces of
other's posts. Not good enough! Varney is at least in the
ball game as far as I am concerned, but this asshole Leuck
is most definitely not.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Mark Leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:jqRyc.91685$Ly.65302@attbi_s01...
>
> "Mark South" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
[...]
> > F. Is Ed Dolan related to George "SPOG" Hammond?
>
> I don't know who George is but I think you insulted
> him as well

How the hell does this asshole Leuck know what I am saying
if he has kill filed me? Unfortunately for him however I
know exactly what he is saying and it is none of it good.
The question I have for him is why isn't he riding his
$8000. carbon fiber bike instead of that really cheap Optima
Baron contraption? I think if I had paid $8000. for a bike,
I would damn well ride it to the exclusion of everything
else. Now you see why rich bastards like him are also
champions of stupidity!

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Mark Leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:EGyyc.14604$eu.6770@attbi_s02... [...]
> As usual you can't answer the question I ask but expect
> everyone to answer yours even after they have so I ask you
> once again if you can name one reviewer that isn't too
> critical and won't make a no buy recommendation?

and will never recommend that you don't buy the product. If
they did that they would be fired. The only reviewers who
will make those kind of recommendations are consumer
organizations like Consumer's Reports. That is why they are
worth their weight in gold. Were you born stupid or did you
get that way from your association with that other supreme
asshole of the newsgroup, Varney.

> I am not adamant for the bike however unlike you I will
> not judge it
without
> riding it.

Hells Bells, I have been reading you long enough now to know
that you are an idiot. I do not have to read you any further
but I will because your kind of stupidity is boundless and
full of unexpected depths. But mostly I will read you
because I am not a cowardly kill filer like you. But if I am
going to have to read your stupid posts, then at least learn
how to write them. Your sentence above is a mess because you
have not punctuated it correctly.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Slugger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:120620042308060139%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Edward Dolan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > Slugger wrote:
> > >
> > > > ... I then went to a bike store in town that
> > > > specializes in recumbents. I then road the Burley
> > > > Koosah....
> > >
> > > Has anyone else noticed that the Burley Koosah/Jett
> > > Creek looks like a RANS Stratus with the triangulating
> > > frame tubes removed?
> >
> > That may well be because the Stratus was always a very
> > good design. I
feel
> > like the Burley Koosah is most likely the classic design
> > that is going
to
> > prevail for LWB OSS direct steer. The seat is where it
> > should be, the BB
is
> > where it should be and the handlebars are where they
> > should be. The head tube and fork rake look about right.
> > The 26" rear wheel is the only way
to
> > go. And finally, the price looks good too at $899.
> > (Hostel Shoppe). I
would
> > only have to ride it to check out the comfort of
> > the seat.
>
> I found a review with a comparison chart of the Burley
> against the EZ - Sport and the Rans Tailwind. http://www.-
> bicycleman.com/recumbents/burley/burley_koosah.htm
>
> Its a good read for me..i am really leaning towards this
> bike now.

Slugger, I don't think you can go far wrong if you get the
Burley Koosah. However, seat comfort can sometimes be a
problem on even the best designed recumbents. If possible,
try to ride the bike for a couple of hours continuously to
see if the seat is going to be comfortable for you. You may
have to fiddle with the seat lean back to dial in perfect
comfort. If you start getting recumbent butt after a half
hour or so, then you will need to rethink it. A recumbent
that is not totally comfortable for all day riding is an
abomination.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Skip]

"Edward Dolan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Slugger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:120620042308060139%[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > Edward Dolan <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > "Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > > news:[email protected]...
> > > > Slugger wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > ... I then went to a bike store in town that
> > > > > specializes in
recumbents.
> > > > > I then road the Burley Koosah....
> > > >
> > > > Has anyone else noticed that the Burley Koosah/Jett
> > > > Creek looks like
a
> > > > RANS Stratus with the triangulating frame tubes
> > > > removed?
> > >
> > > That may well be because the Stratus was always a very
> > > good design. I
> feel
> > > like the Burley Koosah is most likely the classic
> > > design that is going
> to
> > > prevail for LWB OSS direct steer. The seat is where it
> > > should be, the
BB
> is
> > > where it should be and the handlebars are where they
> > > should be. The
head
> > > tube and fork rake look about right. The 26" rear
> > > wheel is the only
way
> to
> > > go. And finally, the price looks good too at $899.
> > > (Hostel Shoppe). I
> would
> > > only have to ride it to check out the comfort of the
> > > seat.
> >
> > I found a review with a comparison chart of the Burley
> > against the EZ - Sport and the Rans Tailwind. http://ww-
> > w.bicycleman.com/recumbents/burley/burley_koosah.htm
> >
> > Its a good read for me..i am really leaning towards this
> > bike now.
>
> Slugger, I don't think you can go far wrong if you get the
> Burley Koosah. However, seat comfort can sometimes be a
> problem on even the best designed recumbents. If possible,
> try to ride the bike for a couple of hours continuously to
> see if the seat is going to be comfortable for you. You
may
> have to fiddle with the seat lean back to dial in perfect
> comfort. If you start getting recumbent butt after a half
> hour or so, then you will need
to
> rethink it. A recumbent that is not totally comfortable
> for all day riding is an abomination.
>
> --

Slugger:

Good advice from Ed.

The Burley Koosa is a new bike and I haven't had the
opportunity to ride one. But I sure like the looks of the
Koosah and the price is right. Here's a link to review of an
upgraded Koosah called the Jett Creek:

http://www.bentrideronline.com/

skip

 

[Edward Dolan]

Mark Leuck wrote:

> Ed is a fool and I suggest putting him on ignore like I
> did ages ago, besides for some reason I doubt he picked
> his last car or the house he
lives
> in based only on price and weight

In reviewing my posts on this thread I discovered that I
actually had addressed a few of them to Mark which like all
my posts are full of knowledge and the most profound wisdom.
Now I learn that he never even saw them because I am on his
"ignore" list. In other words, he has kill filed me, but he
is contributing heavily to a thread to which I am also
contributing heavily and now, as the final straw, he tells
one and all that he ignores me, yet feels free to call me
names, and then to top it all off advises others to also
kill file me since they can't think for themselves . Ah,
where to begin with a fool like him!

I do not have any problem with correspondents who read and
respond, no matter how idiotic I think their comments may
be. I have proven this over and over via Mr. Sherman. Even
when he equates the Palestinian terrorists with the Israeli
military, I only go berserk, I do not kill file him and
then call him names. No, I will read him until hell freezes
over because I pride myself on being a fair person. I do
the same with Varney and many others here. Cletus and I
fell out early on because he did exactly the same thing as
this fool Leuck did - bad mouthing me without even reading
my messages.

Now maybe some of you can see why I never give a liberal any
quarter. They do not play fair. They are back stabbers and
scoundrels. Once you know this about them, the only thing to
do is to go for the jugular like I do. It is the one thing
they understand.

Mark Leuck now goes on my "bastards to excoriate" list along
with Cletus and a few others (by the way, what ever happened
to Cletus? I do not see his posts on ARBR anymore.).

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Hashim El Amin]

> Because if you didn't give a fair and impartial review,
> you wouldn't be working for Consumer Reports for long.
> Consumer Reports, because they buy the product and are not
> dependent on the manufacturers for free products, can
> insist on fair reviews. Who does that for recumbents?
>
> Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove
>
> Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand

If your publication does not give fair or impartial reviews
on any product, the market will reject you and you'll soon
be out of business. Do you think Ebert pays to see all the
movies he reviews? No, but he still sticks his thumb down at
some of them.

IMO, all reviews must be taken with a grain of salt. Surely,
the company is out to impress the reviewer, giving them
special service and attention. Then you have to take into
account the reviewer is not exactly like you and may not
have your same preferences (unless you're a follower like Ed
Dolan). Finally and perhaps most importantly, a review is
only a snapshot of the ownership experience. I don't want to
know what happened with the Bigha in the first day or week
of riding, I want to know what happens 1 year and 5 years
down the road. Will it fall apart? Will I still enjoy riding
it? No review will ever answer these questions.

I think you are too critical of Bentrider Online. If they
make a profit at all, its got to be tiny. They're not
getting rich off of it so they only do it for the love of
recumbency. I could be wrong, but my assumption has always
been that Varney contributes on a voluntary basis only. For
God's sake, they opened up a donation wire so people could
give money to help keep things going!

If they give overly-positive reviews it's certainly got
nothing to do with financial reasons.

 

[Lorenzo L. Love]

Hashim El Amin wrote:

>>Because if you didn't give a fair and impartial review,
>>you wouldn't be working for Consumer Reports for long.
>>Consumer Reports, because they buy the product and are not
>>dependent on the manufacturers for free products, can
>>insist on fair reviews. Who does that for recumbents?
>>
>>Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove
>>
>>Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand
>
>
> If your publication does not give fair or impartial
> reviews on any product, the market will reject you and
> you'll soon be out of business. Do you think Ebert pays to
> see all the movies he reviews? No, but he still sticks his
> thumb down at some of them.
>
> IMO, all reviews must be taken with a grain of salt.
> Surely, the company is out to impress the reviewer, giving
> them special service and attention. Then you have to take
> into account the reviewer is not exactly like you and may
> not have your same preferences (unless you're a follower
> like Ed Dolan). Finally and perhaps most importantly, a
> review is only a snapshot of the ownership experience. I
> don't want to know what happened with the Bigha in the
> first day or week of riding, I want to know what happens 1
> year and 5 years down the road. Will it fall apart? Will I
> still enjoy riding it? No review will ever answer these
> questions.
>
> I think you are too critical of Bentrider Online. If they
> make a profit at all, its got to be tiny. They're not
> getting rich off of it so they only do it for the love of
> recumbency. I could be wrong, but my assumption has always
> been that Varney contributes on a voluntary basis only.
> For God's sake, they opened up a donation wire so people
> could give money to help keep things going!
>
> If they give overly-positive reviews it's certainly got
> nothing to do with financial reasons.

There are over 30 sponsors listed on their homepage, one of
which is Bigha. I've no idea how much they charge for
sponsorship but there is obviously a financial relationship.
This is true for most product related magazines. Magazines
like Consumer Reports who are independent of
sponsorship/advertisement revenue are rare. Varney is not
just a contributor, he's an editor. You're right, all
reviews must be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes a
bigger grain then others. But Varney didn't review the
Bigha, he says he never rode it, yet he is an staunch
defender of it. A staunch defender of a sponsor. Draw your
own conclusions.

Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

Thirst makes any wine drinkable And greed makes any crime
thinkable.

 

[Edward Dolan]

"Hashim El Amin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]... [...]
> If your publication does not give fair or impartial
> reviews on any product, the market will reject you and
> you'll soon be out of business. Do you think Ebert pays to
> see all the movies he reviews? No, but he still sticks his
> thumb down at some of them.
>
> IMO, all reviews must be taken with a grain of salt.
> Surely, the company is out to impress the reviewer, giving
> them special service and attention. Then you have to take
> into account the reviewer is not exactly like you and may
> not have your same preferences (unless you're a follower
> like Ed Dolan). Finally and perhaps most importantly, a
> review is only a snapshot of the ownership experience. I
> don't want to know what happened with the Bigha in the
> first day or week of riding, I want to know what happens 1
> year and 5 years down the road. Will it fall apart? Will I
> still enjoy riding it? No review will ever answer these
> questions.

If I know next to nothing about a product that I am thinking
of buying, then of course I am going to rely heavily on
reviews. What would you have me do - my own research?

On the other hand, a product like a recumbent bicycle I
already know a lot about from many years of reading RCN
and from my own vast personal experience. So of course I
do not rely nearly so heavily on what expert reviewers
have to say about it.

There are moments for being a follower and other moments for
being a leader. It takes a smart man to know when one begins
and the other leaves off. Only dumkopfs thing they have to
decide everything for themselves.

By the way, what movie reviewers do is in no way comparable
to what product reviewers do. There is nothing more
subjective in this world than to review a work of "art". I
always explain to all the benighted in the world that
basically there is only good taste and bad taste when it
comes to the arts. Of course, my taste is impeccable and
anyone who disagrees with me is afflicted with bad taste.

What ultimately determines good taste though is the opinion
of our betters. Most Americans cannot accept this as it is
profoundly anti-democratic. But art has nothing to do with
democracy and everything to do with aristocracy. What
Beethoven thinks of music for instance matters (Beethoven's
taste was formed by the composers who preceded him and it
was the taste of the European aristocracy which was at the
base of it all). What Joe Blow of Chicago thinks of music
does not matter in the slightest.

--
Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

[Mark Leuck]

"Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
> > This is the dispute, you seem to think anyone who buys
> > one is foolish or wealthy (or both) will buy one and
> > anyone who knows recumbents won't buy
one
> > when you have no idea who so far has purchased one.
>
> How many people experienced with recumbents have bought
> one? Not you, not me. The last time this came up, the only
> person who claimed to have bought one turned out to be a
> scumbag identity thief who turned out to lying anyhow. Not
> even he was dumb enough to buy one. So has anyone out
> there bought one? Speak up!

This may be hard for you to believe but not everyone who
rides a recumbent reads or even knows about this newsgroup

> Varney does have a relationship. They are one of the
> sponsors of his web magazine. You obviously have a strong
> emotional investment in this bike. Why? I post messages
> because people ask questions and I answer them. Why can't
> you answer some simple questions? Why are you defending
> this bike you acknowledge is heavy and expensive and which
> you would never buy?

I've already answered your questions however it appears you
stopped listening long ago

 

[Lorenzo L. Love]

Mark Leuck wrote:

> "Lorenzo L. Love" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:[email protected]
> arthlink.net...
>
>>>This is the dispute, you seem to think anyone who buys
>>>one is foolish or wealthy (or both) will buy one and
>>>anyone who knows recumbents won't buy
>
> one
>
>>>when you have no idea who so far has purchased one.
>>
>>How many people experienced with recumbents have bought
>>one? Not you, not me. The last time this came up, the only
>>person who claimed to have bought one turned out to be a
>>scumbag identity thief who turned out to lying anyhow. Not
>>even he was dumb enough to buy one. So has anyone out
>>there bought one? Speak up!
>
>
> This may be hard for you to believe but not everyone who
> rides a recumbent reads or even knows about this newsgroup

No, but it's a large sample of the more experienced and
knowledgeable recumbent riders. Anyone bought a Bigha?

>
>
>>Varney does have a relationship. They are one of the
>>sponsors of his web magazine. You obviously have a strong
>>emotional investment in this bike. Why? I post messages
>>because people ask questions and I answer them. Why can't
>>you answer some simple questions? Why are you defending
>>this bike you acknowledge is heavy and expensive and which
>>you would never buy?
>
>
> I've already answered your questions however it appears
> you stopped listening long ago
>
>
>

Did you? I must have missed that. Please tell us again why
are you are so fanatically defending this bike you
acknowledge is heavy and expensive and which you would
never buy?

Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand