Cutting my losses; Crazy Arm Cranks shelved.

Ouch… no matter what people have said to you in other threads I don’t think that was called for here. Nobody is being rude to you, or deliberately saying anything to offend you. Obviously the whole business has made you feel frustrated but unfairly lashing out against “young folks” isn’t helping anyone.

I don’t think anybody here has made any immature or unreasonable comments on your invention. I realise you’re probably selling these below cost when taking into account what you could make by spending the same amount of time on your day job. Obviously charging less wouldn’t make much sense, unless you’re trying to cut your losses financially.

The comments about price are feedback from potential customers. I don’t believe they’re saying you should work for free, they’re saying they can’t afford your product. It’s feedback. If you could find a cheaper way of building cranks - maybe a more limited design - maybe they’d be able to buy it. But that probably doesn’t matter right now, because for the Crazy Arm Cranks they probably aren’t in that market segment anyhow.

The main use I see here is fairly serious 36er riders. Folks who are seriously into distance riding and cokering typically have deeper pockets - the good kit is quite expensive. These guys can afford your work, but they’re thinner on the ground, so you’re going to see less comments from them here. it doesn’t mean they don’t exist, though.

I wouldn’t count myself as a particularly accomplished distance rider, but nevertheless I have the spare cash and am always interested in new innovations, custom work, etc. I’m prepared to shell out fairly steep prices to get something that Just Works for doing comfortable long distance / commuting / muni all on the coker. Your cranks being tool-free is a bonus that no other solutions I’ve tried have. There are plenty of folks out there who are similar to me in this respect. I’m not going to pretend I’d rush out and order your cranks straight away, I’d at least need to read some good reviews and then lust over them a bit before stumping up the cash. But they do look like something that could be good for the niche of serious Cokeurs doing varied riding.

Yes, they’ll get by - free market and all.

Here’s what I hope is a more constructive and feasible suggestion if you have any interest at all in selling some of these, or maybe just in showing people what you did. Why not finish off one set, and see if you can loan them to Uni Magazine for review. If the Uni folks find they’re good then maybe you’ll get some more interest and be able to reach a wider audience than the regular forum readers. Worst case, you’re without one set of cranks for a little while, then you get them back.

If you’re really sick of getting negative comments on your project then I understand you giving up. Internet forums are an abundant source of “stop energy” and it’s hard to make people understand what you’re trying to do and why. For the record I think the design looks potentially very interesting - and I’m speaking as a consumer, not as an engineer (because clearly your knowhow outstrips me).

I agree. He’s being a total jerk.

How old are you sir?

I have not read the whole thread but you sound about 6.

Sorry for not buying your product and sorry for not taking any interest in your product.

I am sure it is a wonderfull invention but do try take some of the blame, dont dump it back onto us younger forum members.

Welcome to the world of economics, your price is high therefore the quantity demanded is low and you have a surplus of products. no need to bitch at people, it was your own fault for not doing proper a market analysis. Also I have never even heard of these cranks nor have a lot of people in this topic so you are/were obviously not promoting them very good.

ill buy a set when a decent airfoil wheel comes out…
the problem is s there’s no high end wheels worthy of these cranks.

A pretty level-headed suggestion in a thread that has otherwise deteriorated into a bi-directional bitchfest. Like JC, I have a pair of the tri-adjustable Kookas from pdc, but that doesn’t necessarily take me out of the market. I’m interested in the “no tool” comment I saw. I’d love to look at these, but unfortunately, every link to pic or video is broken, because they’re all housed on the cursed Gallery. Any chance of posting a link on a photo site that works?

I change the length on my Kookas a lot. While I’m currently trying to ride everything on the 130 setting, a few big hills tonight reaffirmed to me that I like having the flexibility. In regard to the review suggestion above, I’d be willing to ride and review them as well. I’m in active training right now for a 100+ mile charity event in September, and both my training rides and the event is a mix of lots of flats and rollers punctuated by Big Climbs. Exactly the terrain your cranks would excel at. I’m also about to rotate my wheel, so I’ll be pulling my cranks off anyway to do that. In other words, the timing is perfect. From a “security” standpoint, I’ve been on these fora for a while, lots of long-time members know me and know where I live. I’m not going anywhere. I’m an adjustable crank fan, so if they work well I rave about it in some detail, which might inspire some others to buy. Plus I’d buy the (slightly used) pair you send me.

PM me if interested and we can take it from there.

Wow…

I was just trying to be nice… I hate people like you, you guys think that all young people like me are retarded little freaks that cant even think for themselves… When people try to be nice to you, you dont just say stuff like that. I wasnt trying to offend you, I was trying to be NICE…

For you’re age you are very immature, You remind me of one of those 5 year old kids that think that they know everything.

And what you’re saying makes absolutely no sense… Why would you rather not sell them than Sell them for a cheaper price. When i said lower the price i meant maybe $20-40 or something

Wait… YOUR 50???

Wooooooow… I thought you are like 20 at MOST by the way you are acting…
You are older than my dad and you’re talking like that…

That really is just sad
I honestly don’t know how to express my feelings right now, because the only time anyone talked to me like that was when i was in elementary school :thinking:

PLEEEASE tell me that you aren’t 50 years old…

Haha, overreacting on both parts here is making me laugh.

Simmah Dahn Nah!!! Just Simmah Dahn!!!

Al : forget the bad remarks.
I think there is always a market for things such as your cranks
because there are people able to indulge in support for inventors
(fancy goods people know that)
I do not know the price (I didn’t even know they were for sale).
could you please tell us (or PM me, I am going to New England this August but I do not know in which part of the states you are).

You can’t just make a for sale thread on the forum and expect people to shell out that much money for an obscure product. Marketing is about repetition. Send a set to Uni Mag, let them review it. Then send them to riders like TB who will give reviews here. Do a better job of getting the word out. If the product works and reviews are good, people will notice. They will “lust over them a bit”, ask questions about your product, and then orders will start coming in. Seems like something I’d be interested in, but your marketing sucks. This thread made me laugh though, thanks for that.

Who’s “TB”?

I personally am not in the market for cranks like these, but I can see myself willing to purchase a pair in a year or two, when I have developed more skill.

I now there are a bunch of people who would get them right now for your price, if they were available. I would bet that there are enough interested riders out there to sell most of your first batch fairly quickly. (Was it going to be 100?)

+1
IMO this should have been one of the first things done.

Some people just swear a lot, but IMO totally unessesary.

I’m sorry but I really think that 150 is actualy a GOOD price. If you look at PDC’s tripple holed cranks they were that price, they sold well, and these cranks are way better!

At first I thought you were going a bit overbored with all the quitting and stuff, but seeing the way people are treating you and such, I can definatly understand why you have no will to push on. Its too bad that such an amazing product can’t be produced, but I guess thats your choice.

Hey can we buy the one you made I would really like some, but don’t have the money now, but might in a couple months or so.

150 is a great price. At least I think so for something hand crafted. People don’t realize your paying for the time to make it, materials and so fourth. So 150 is a good price factoring all of that.

if 150 is the price: I’ll get a pair … if still possible :o
(for us Europeans dollars don’t cost that much nowadays :smiley: )

Hello AL,

I am sorry to see this has turned out to be a bad experience. Your design looks very promising. I immediately subscribed to your announcement thread to watch the progress. I know $150 is a terrific bargain for a well made innovative design.

[/QUOTE]
Ya’ll
The rest of you will get by just fine without them.
[/QUOTE]

I know where you live!!! not really, I want to use an accent on the internet…

I wouldn’t get too down on the deal…There are lame-o’s in every line of business.

I’m a tattoo artist. Just the other day I had a guy who came in and wanted me to compose a tattoo (1/2sleeve) from wrist to elbow AND produce a color drawing for him just to decide if he wanted to get it or not…and he didn’t think that he should leave any deposit for my time. This would’ve been at least 4-6 hours of my time. I don’t know what his deal was, but I told him politely that this is a business and not a charity. Not forgetting to mention that this is permanent artwork that will last his whole life. I charge $130 per hour, and I wasted over 1/2 hour consulting with this guy about this project that he wanted…I want a reimbursement for my time!

I should’ve told him to go out and wash my jeep and if I thought he did a good enough job, then I’d consider paying him for it.