"Filmboard" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Okay, so here's another thing. . . All you people with
> your automatic cameras (I know you have them), even though
> your pix satisfy your need, the reason they usually won't
> measure up to my standard is that while you're holding
> your shutter button down half way waiting for all the
> automatic mechanisms to do their thing (adjust exposure
> and focus), the good shot has long passed. The relaxed
> candid look in your friends' faces, the great composition
> of an action shot. . . all gone. But, you and a large
> percentage of the rest of the world have sent a clear
> message to camera manufacturers that focusing and exposure
> are way beyond your abilities. I don't happen to believe
> that; I just think for some good reason, you like the idea
> of pointing and shooting, keeping it simple. By the same
> token, I liked the idea of an automatic shift on a
> bicycle, even tho you think shifting should not be a
> concern to me. There will be others down the road that are
> intrigued by it too. It's not for you, but you know, it
> may be just the right thing to get them out on the road,
> to help produce more people-powered-vehicles, to
> eventually get cities and counties to make more safe bike
> paths. You won't get that to happen if you try to remain
> elitists. F.
It's an apt analogy, but you've applied it backwards.
Imagine an infomercial that touted automatic cameras. That
said that people don't take pictures because focusing is too
hard, because the concepts of aperture and shutter speed are
beyond their understanding. That went on for an hour
explaining why traditional cameras are no good, and
automatic cameras are much better in every way.
PLUS -- and here's the kicker -- people are always running
out of film.
So they offer you a fixed-focus, plastic-lens point-and-
shoot camera with the **revolutionary** **new** **feature**
that is can load two rolls of film at the same time!
All for only $199.95!
That's how we feel about the Landrider. It's everything they
*don't* tell you about. The cheap, heavy frame. The lack of
a variety of frame sizes, making perfect fit a **** shoot.
The generally low-end complement of parts and fittings. The
fact that a bike that's better in every way can be had for
less money at a local bike shop.
The extra-special gizmo that makes the Landrider so special
solves a problem that's non-existent for most people once
they've spent an hour on a bike. If ease of shifting is
really an issue, buying a quality bike using one of
Shimano's Nexus series of internally-geared hubs, that can
be shifted while stationary and serviced at any bike shop,
is a much better solution.
The price you pay for a Landrider pays for marketing and, it
seems likely, immense markups on each unit sold. This bike,
if made by Huffy and sold at WalMart, would retail for $129.
RichC
[email protected]...
