Brain Vomit #27 What I see.
Sometimes when I meet people and tell them about my work they are usually intrigued and they have a lot of questions. Mostly because this is the first time they meet someone who makes a living making bikes or works with carbon fiber. I meet a lot of these people on bike rides or through mutual friends after a bike ride. I enjoy telling people what I do, they can see that I’m doing well. Someone who is struggling to pay bills won’t order a $5 croissant to go with their $5 cappuccino and feel generous enough to tip. I worked very hard to get to this level and now that I’m able to enjoy it, I will.
The repair part of my business is very simple to explain. I provide a solution that will save people money while also reducing waste. The custom bikes on the other hand are a bit hard to explain to someone who doesn’t ride bikes or is new at riding bikes. It’s hard for a lot of people to justify the value of something they don’t understand. And that is OK because that is not what they are into, it’s not their passion. I am not going to pay $20 on a collectible Pokemon card because I don’t collect Pokemons, I’m not going to pay $300 for a pair of Nike’s because I don’t collect them or see the benefit of owning a paint of $300 Nike shoes. People see the value in things they like. People collect art, buy expensive bottles of wine, buy $180k watches. Some people will justify these purchases as “Investments” but mostly they bought it because they like it and they like how it makes them feel to own a piece that is irreplaceable or in extremely low supply. Because If it was extrictly an investment there are much better things you can invest your money in with much larger returns.
When they ask me “why would I go through the trouble of ordering one of your bikes when I can just buy a Specialized?” I tell them that’s the wrong question and If that’s how you feel about my work then buy a Specialized. When you break it you can bring it over so I can fix it. My bikes are made in a small studio, they are one of a kind, they are made by the same hands that are typing this post and they are made specifically to the riders specifications so he (or she) can get the most out of their bike ride.
My bikes have more in common with a piece of art than with a bike made in a factory. Therefore these bikes are rolling art, I see them as such I treat them as such. But at the same time they have to be high performance machines. I’m not asking everyone to see what I see but if they can’t see it I’m not going to make them understand, they should buy something else.