Alright a total newbie question but I just wondered what the XL meant
in Semcycle’s XL model. I know it can’t be “extra large” and probably
it is a really obvious thing but I can’t figure it out. Enlighten me,
anyone?
Thanks,
Erin
i would guess X-tra Light.
Re: What does the “XL” mean in Semcycle XL?
Funny you ask this now. I happen to have heard the explanation last
Sunday from Carlos “Apo” Abrahams (Sem’s father) who claimed that he
came up with the name. It stands for excellent. When they started
making another model besides the original Semcycle (now typenamed
“Pro” or “deluxe”) he toyed around with ways to shorten “excellent”
and ended up with XL. Later on others also shortened excellent (or
excel) to XL (a popular spreadsheet programme for one) but Carlos
thought there were no prior examples.
Klaas Bil
beandawg@direct.ca (rif raf) wrote in message news:<164553c0.0206252055.2b272e41@posting.google.com>…
> Alright a total newbie question but I just wondered what the XL meant
> in Semcycle’s XL model. I know it can’t be “extra large” and probably
> it is a really obvious thing but I can’t figure it out. Enlighten me,
> anyone?
>
> Thanks,
> Erin
RE: What does the “XL” mean in Semcycle XL?
> Alright a total newbie question but I just wondered what the XL meant
> in Semcycle’s XL model. I know it can’t be “extra large” and probably
> it is a really obvious thing but I can’t figure it out. Enlighten me,
> anyone?
I’m going to take a guess, but I hope somebody who really knows will read
this and chime in. I am guessing it is a made-up name, like Nimbus or Wilder
or the other names people have chosen for their products. Just as many cars
have letters in their names that don’t necessarily stand for anything
(Datsun 310 GX), my guess is that XL means “Excell” or some other
cool-sounding concept. It rolls off the tongue nicely.
The XLs were probably originally spec’ed from a selection of available
unicycle parts from factories in Taiwan. Like the rest of the bicycling
industry, cycles usually come from many different manufacturers, and the
company owning the cycle’s name does not necessarily make any of the parts
themselves. The earliest XLs probably didn’t have much direct Semcycle
input, other than in the selection of which available components were used.
Over the years my guess is that they have had more influence and been able
to have more and more parts made to order. The XLW frame is one of the most
obvious examples of this.
Now what Semcycle could use is a better way to differentiate the different
models. It is going to get more confusing as more variations become
available, such as XLW, but at least that one has a clear name of its own.
It gets confusing when people just say “Semcycle” because there are multiple
models. Originally there was just one Semcycle, which I now think of as the
deluxe model. But the XL is also a Semcycle.
The Semcycle Web site doesn’t help, as it starts off with this: “Our two
unicycle lines: Semcycle and XL”. So is the XL not a Semcycle? Of course it
is. There are too many unicycle brands out there to not have a company name
and a model name anymore. Especially with unicycles using similar parts,
such as the XL and Torker frames. Somebody may ask of your XL, “Where did
you get it?” Assuming you bought it direct, you’d say Semcycle. If I buy a
plastic spinning plate from Semcycle, I consider it to be a Semcycle plate
(though some of the other products are sold under their own brand names).
Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com <http://www.unicycling.com>
“This unicycle is made all from lightweight materials. But it uses a lot of
them.” – Cliff Cordy, describing the very heavy new prototype unicycle he
brought on the Downieville Downhill
Re: What does the “XL” mean in Semcycle XL?
“John Foss” <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.1025107076.9768.rsu@unicycling.org…
> > Alright a total newbie question but I just wondered what the XL meant
> > in Semcycle’s XL model. I know it can’t be “extra large” and probably
> > it is a really obvious thing but I can’t figure it out. Enlighten me,
> > anyone?
>
> I’m going to take a guess, but I hope somebody who really knows will read
> this and chime in. I am guessing it is a made-up name, like Nimbus or
Wilder
Nimbus and wilder are both English words, not made up.
Hi!
I believe that it means “X-tra Loose”. I mean that in a good way. 
Lewis
RE: What does the “XL” mean in Semcycle XL?
> Nimbus and wilder are both English words, not made up.
Oh golly. If you want to get technical, all words are made up. It’s just a
question of who made them up and when.
I know the origin of Wilder for its use in unicycling, but I don’t know
about Nimbus. I believe Roger came up with that one, but perhaps he’d like
to share where the idea came from?
Thanks,
JF
Re: What does the “XL” mean in Semcycle XL?
> > Nimbus and wilder are both English words, not made up.
>
> Oh golly. If you want to get technical, all words are made up. It’s just a
> question of who made them up and when.
Touché!