I pontificated:
> > "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.
Stevan Thomas replied:
>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.
They're called "bar ends." See above.
>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.
They are not all that different; same basic device, different brands, differing about as much as one company's derailers differ from another's.
There's a long history of trademarks fading into generic usages, a
normal progression when the legal department of the trademark holder
doesn't zealously defend the trademark.
>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.
Nope, I have nothing against nicknames within reason. Still, calling
them "Type" hubs seems to me to indicate a misunderstanding of the
meaning of the name.
>Why get apoplexy over that and be lazy about bar end vs. barcon? It's not
>about defending the SunTour TM.
It's not laziness, it's partly to avoid the confusion of having the term "bar end" refer to two totally different items; partly 'cause "BarCon" is such a nice term it seems a shame to allow it to disappear with the demise of the product that it is a trademark for.
Sheldon "Don't You DARE Call Me 'Shelly'!" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
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| Man invented language to satisfy his |
| deep need to complain. -- Lily Tomlin |
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