I'd think black rain pants with a vertical reflective stripe down the outside, like the ribbon accents on tux pants, combined with a strip around the cuff, would be highly visible. And teh shape of the rider's leg in motion would say "bicycle" very clearly.
On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 11:29 AM, Earl Grey <earlg...@gmail.com> wrote: > Interesting post. Here are my personal reasons for the underselling > items :) > > Brand V Grab Sack: > > I have a Swiss Army gasmask bag that is very similar, albeit a bit > more narrow and taller, and uses a metal button closure. Love that > bag, take it everywhere. So the basic concept is sound, I think, > though perhaps we are all too attached to bags that attach to the > bike. My reason for NOT considering it? May seem snobbish, but I think > the Brand V logo patch is UGLY. The graphic design does not complement > the bag design at all. The fact that the RBW logo is so lovely makes > the Brand V logo even more of a crime. But actually it's the colors > that really get to me. Can't think of colors that would clash more > with the lovely tan and olive of the bag. > > An aside: The MUSA logo is terrible as well, mostly because it's way > too big. I do like the Sackville logo. But I bet you if all those > items simply sported some variant of the Rivendell logo, not only > would they sell better, they would also help sell more bikes. While we > are at it, while I love (most of) the model-specific head badges, I > think Rivendell is doing itself a disservice here as well, by > incurring additional cost, and missing a blatant opportunity to > strengthen the Rivendell brand (you really have to examine my > Hillborne in detail to find our who makes it). I know, I don't like > marketing either, but it's such an easy opportunity to get the > Rivendell message out to more people. Just use the lovely Rivendell > logo you have on all your in-house designed products, and don't waste > your time creating more and more brands (with ugly logos) that most > people cannot connect with Rivendell. > > Windshield: > > Again, color. Yes, safety is good, but there are other ways to be seen > from the front. If I lived in a colder climate and it came in an > interesting shade of green, or a dark grey, I'd get one. > > Stubby Bill caps: > > I have the wool stubby, and LOVE it. I think the problem here is that > Riv has a bunch of nice cotton hats at half the price, and that the > woolly one is the same price as the cotton stubby. Most folks expect > to pay less for cotton than for wool. > > Note Cards: > > Well, I have to admit it's been a long time since I wrote a card that > wasn't for my wife, and she isn't into bikes that much. Maybe that's > the problem: Perhaps Riv owners still write cards, but do we write > them to our bike buddies? We either see them regularly on rides, or we > communicate on the computer through this group and others. > > Ponchos: > > Once again, color. Admittedly bright color in a rain poncho is more > important than in a wind shirt, but I have never been a fan of primary > colors. I much prefer the orange of the rain pants for the poncho (I > know, you probably can't get that fabric in orange), and would prefer > the rain pants in black, cause pants get dirty and light colored ones > will look yucky. A bright top should be enough to be seen, no? And > yeah, considering the price of the breathable MUSA rain pants, the > poncho seems a bit over-priced. > > Cheers, > > Gernot > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- Ken Freeman Ann Arbor, MI USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
