Steve wrote:
> In my personal view, the modern builders of Hetchins and Bates are the
ones
> who are cynical. They are leveraging the reputation of others to their own
> personal gain at the expense of the general public. It is unlikely that
they
> have paid any more for the use of the brand name than was paid for the use
> of Motobécane or Mercier, but they are attempting to sell a product that
has
> neither additional quality, substance or any earned tradition for prices
> that are far superior to their market counterparts. That, in my opinion is
> spin!
>
I can't speak about the Hetchins, but my understanding is that along with the rights to the name "Bates" the current owner (Martin Coopland) also owns the rights to Cantiflex & Diadrant frame & fork tubing. It seems like he did buy "more than the name".
As far as quality & pricing, it seems like the Bates frames are priced very well (maybe better) compared to similar quality and/or less unique frames.
I think it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between changes made for improved performance & marketing purposes - both today & in the past. Does the Bates tubing improve the performance? - maybe, it does seem to provide a stiffer frame. Was it created for marketing purposes? - probably, you do notice that fork.
We have & will probably continue to discuss improvements vs. marketing for a long time. Ultimately it comes down to do you like the way it looks & do you like the way it rides. To me (get the fire extinguishers ready), many of the Italian racing bikes are very boring to look at & use a small range of very nice, but similar components. Obviously I didn't come to cycling from the racing side, but don't zing me too badly, I understand where the Italian lovers are coming from.
I agree that the modern bikes built with modern techniques & technology need to be compared to other modern bikes no matter what their name is.
Mike Self Bates Owner Cincinnati, OH
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