In a message dated 1/15/03 10:33:56 AM Pacific Standard Time, CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com writes:
> "BarCon" was a trademark of SunTour, but given that SunTour is
> basically defunct, I see no reason for zeal in defending that
> trademark, so I have no problem with using it as a generic term. At
> least it's better than calling them "bar ends" since that term is
> more properly used for the add-on doodads that go on MTB handlebars.
>
> On the other hand, I get apoplexy when people speak of "Tipo" hubs!
> "Nuovo Tipo" is Italian for "New Type." so calling them "Tipo" is
> equivalent to calling them "Type" hubs. All this does is call
> attention to the speaker's laziness and ignorance of the Italian
> language.
>
Hmmm, they were "bar ends" in the 70s, way before MTBs, and not being a MTB guy, I have no idea what you call those add on handlebar extensions. The idea of language is to accurately communicate. If you say BarCon, the image that pops into my mind is the SunTour trademarked product. They are two different products with two different names, it's easier to keep a discussion straight using the right terms. It seems lazy not to.
Calling them Tipo instead of Nuovo Tipo is sort of like calling Giuseppe
Saronni "Beppi". It's a nick name. I know quite a few people who routinely
say Campag or Campy, instead of Campagnolo. That makes them neither ignorant
of Italian, nor lazy.
Why get apoplexy over that and be lazy about bar end vs. barcon? It's not
about defending the SunTour TM.
Stevan Thomas
Alameda, CA