This is why I ride vintage frames
 

I just don't get hipster ironic kids and companies like Surly who cater to them (and apparently hire them to write their blogs.)

If I wanted to spend a bunch of money on an attitude like this I'd...well, I wouldn't do it!

Sure, I know it's supposed to be a joke -except it isn't funny. This attitude is all too common on the shop-side in bicycle history.


Surly Customer Service

This is a public service announcement from Surly Customer service.

We like to start our Mondays with an empty email inbox so we delete all the emails that are sent over the weekend.

Don’t ask us for free stickers on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

If you want us to ignore you, start your emails (or conversations) off with “You guys should…”, “Let me give you some feedback on the build spec for the…”, “Why don’t you guys…” or “I have a great idea for you”

Any email with any of the following words or phrases in it will automatically be deleted: gnar, gnarly, rad, gotcha, just sayin, stoked, epic, seriously, it is what it is, bro, shred, good faith, you know, ASAP, extreme, kudos, redonkulous, same difference.

If you call us while you’re stuffing your face with a bag of chips you will get hung up on.

What’s voicemail?

If you took the time to find our email address or phone number on our website why couldn’t you click your mouse 2 more times to find out what type of hubs come on the Pacer?

Your opinion is wrong.

If you swear at us on the phone be ready to hear our impression of a drunken sailor.

Will the (Insert tire name here) and (insert rim name here) fit on the (Insert bike co. name here that’s not Surly) frame? We have no idea, why don’t you ask (Insert bike co. name here that’s not Surly)?

The moment the word “Rohloff” is mentioned you should be able to feel our eyes glaze over.

No. We’re not going to sponsor your ride across the country/state/mountain range by sending you a free bike. We don’t care how kick ass of a blogger/photographer/writer you think you are. If you were that great, you wouldn’t have to ask.

Go ahead. Talk **** about us on “the forums”. Tell everyone how crappy of a company we are because we wouldn’t warranty your Steamroller with a seized seatpost that was left chained up outside of your dorm room for 5 years straight. See where that gets you.

The most important part of this acronym – ETA - is ESTIMATED. **** happens. Boats sink, trains derail, production slows, things don’t pass QC, we changed our mind, the color sucked, dock workers strike, planes crash, blizzards, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, pirates.

The name is Surly. What did you expect, Flowers and ****ing unicorns?

Don’t forget to vote.

Have a nice day,

Off

Surly makes some pretty good bikes, the Fat Bikes are tops.

Surly they jest.

It's much in the same way a gnarly hipster dude doesn't get Boulder Bicycle. Have a scotch & a cigar, you'll feel better in the morning.

+1

They make OK bikes, but they are amateurs in the industry and always will be. I have yet to see anything they have put out that makes me want to buy it over other American brands.

Snotty is hip these days. I guess. What's a surly?

Is one of their frame colors "Cappuccino" by chance?

Fun for sure.

I ended up with two Salsas though.

Both 29ers and both are a hoot.

Word up. :thumb:

You do realize which massive wholesale distributor backs the Surly brand, right?

http://www.qbp.com/page/brands

They're selling a brand, just like the other cycling companies. There's a group they're targeting, and apparently you're not in it.

I have a friend who runs a bike shop in a big city. He was a good amateur racer back before most of us were born and still has the "hard man" attitude. He really prefers old steel bikes, tubulars, hairnets, and the rest, but in order to make a living has to cater to the hipster/fixie crowd. He loathes them, and they know it - which, perversely, really seems to help his business. So it wouldn't surprise me if that Surly bit is part of what keeps their business running. And frankly, if I had their clientele, I'd be annoyed enough to think (if not write) that way myself.

The shop is still in business so they must know their target demographic fairly well. I guess being hip nowadays involves being talked to like a piece of garbage. By those specs my ex wife's the coolest...

The joke.
----
Your head.

Say no more, say no more. I'll get in this other group. Group "W" I think they call it. :D ;)

Already have my pencils here on then bench.

+1

All I have to say is cool story, bro. Too ironic though, right?

Wish you'd warned me off of her before we tied the knot. But then, there was no way in hell I was going to try to talk the next guy out of it.

Weird and angry. You've got issues.

You showed them! Oh wait... Surly and Salsa are both QBP brands.

Most Surly owners I know are curmudgeons, not hipsters. Even the fatbike owners

Uh oh. Looks like the kids from SS/FG are on a fire mission. Irony incoming!

I didn't get anything, I had to pay $50 and clean up the garbage.

most surly's suck.

okay okay, they do the job the are intended to do in a satisfactory manor, but they never do it well. They are like the guy you work with who doesn't really like his job but doesn't have it in him to grab life by the (insert whatever you wish) and really do something well.

Okay I give in.. surlys are alright.. somas and salsas are better.

Most bike brands used buy 3X the amount of components they really need each year and dump them at grey market outlets that they owned or were involved with. Mail/internet order houses were one such place, others supported small frame brands who couldn't qualify for OE. Then bike brands started their own component lines and forcing the small brands and their distributors off the shelf. The internet sales thing blew up and the mailorder places buy through QBP as almost a franchise. Margins are slim.

QBP is a brand just like trek, spec or the doral lump, driving for the end of the road as quickly as possible.

"-except it isn't funny. "

Worse, I think. It was supposed to be clever.