Re: [CR]hetchins

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing)

From: <vze4k5n6@verizon.net>
To: "Mark Reilly" <sales@omegacycleworks.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Cc: <cqt@intercoast.com.au>, <Hetchinscycles@aol.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]hetchins
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 22:09:55 -0500

Mark:

For sake of civility within the CR Group, I will try and refrain from inflammatory remarks. I’ve been a very admirer and collector of Hetchins Cycles for over three years, and have been aware of David Millers involvement with Hetchins for at least that long. Myself and other have written to your since the inception of your company, questioning the legitimacy of your company and your ethics. To this day, you have never responded to my inquiries.

In this day of computers, email etc, it is very difficult if not impossible for myself and others to believe that if you pursued a search for a current producer of Hetchins and came up empty without David Miller as that builder. A search on any search engine would have led you to Hetchins.org or the CR site with links to the website of World Class Cycles in New York, the current American distributor for David Miller. You must have been using an abacus for a computer. The rest of the known world has been aware of his shop for quite some time. You may be the holder of LEGAL paperwork to the Hetchins marquis, but in my eyes, morally David Miller and the owner of his shop are the legitimate producers of Hetchins, but unfortunately never had the foresight to register their company through proper channels.

You claim to have never found advertising for Millers shop, what if anything is a website if not advertising. And yes, David Miller does have an email address.

As for the ability of other frame builders to produce cycle frames under the Hetchin’s marquis or any other, the owner of that marquis may at any time have other quality builders produce framesets, without question.

As for your intentions, it is not for me to judge, but your current actions speak volumes to the cycling community.

Peter Naiman Boston, Mass
>
> From: "Mark Reilly" <sales@omegacycleworks.com>
> Date: 2002/11/26 Tue PM 02:47:32 EST
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: [CR]hetchins
>
> Hetchins....
>
> Well it all started a couple of years ago when me and my business partner
> were registering domains names, we tried hetchins.com and were astonished to
> find it wasn't registered, we did so immediately. We were always under the
> impression that the name was owned by a pop mogul or some such, however
> subsequent checks were made and in fact no one owned the name, company or
> indeed domains.In the past few years there had not been a single advert for
> Hetchins, no address to write to, no number to phone!, why because there was
> no such company. We thought this was a crying shame given the heritage of
> the brand, our next step was never taken with money in mind, just through a
> passion for bikes. We purchased all the correct domains and paid all the
> government duties and registered Hetchins cycles ltd, a bona-fide business,
> not someone working from home, not giving out their address, phone number or
> even having a website.
>
> We wanted to re-create the greatness of the brand from years gone by and set
> about making tools for lugs and chain stay jigs etc. We make absolutely
> everything in our own workshops, all by hand in the traditional fashion as
> taught to me by the brilliant Ron Cooper, a frame building artisan in my
> eyes. Only after we started to market and produce frames did we receive -one
> and that has been the only one to date- an email from a mr David Millar,
> claiming that he owned the company. Again checks were made but it seems as
> per our first checks, he didn't own anything. If he really did then surely
> he would have the following things:
>
> an official website hetchins.com etc
> a genuine business address (you cant find a land address for his supposed
> enterprise anywhere in the uk)
>
> Frame building, who makes his version of hetchins frames? does anyone ever
> ask?, we make all frames ensuring that when you but a hetchins its made by
> hetchins, us. Mr Millar even lets another company make fake hetchins in
> Australia! surely that's not correct, we can't stop this due to the legal
> costs involved.
>
> Never at any time was it our intention to cause all of this fuss and
> controversy, we do believe that we had and have every right to do what we
> did, both legally and morally.
>

> Many Thanks

>

>

>

> Mark