#!markdown
The Aztec could have been capable of flying to the moon and plumbing the
depths of the Pacific, but that wouldn't change the fact that it looked like
the entire staff of the GM headquarters tried to use its face to put out a
fire. Function is irrelevant to this discussion because, in your opener, you
stated that "Its a pretty rad sled, but…. man its hideous." We're talking form
here, function be damned.
Too often, suspension engineers are left in charge of the ID, and it's just
not what they're trained to do. Some are skilled at it, but in what other
business are the people that figure out HOW to make something work the same
ones that decide WHAT it looks like? Not many - at least not many where shit's
as complicated as it is with bike suspension kinematics. Anyway, they actually
are pretty good at it at Rocky, but one of the designers there used to be a
guy who was actually trained in industrial design. He works in the middle of a
garlic patch now, for the big red S.
Little history lesson: the Thunderbolt is essentially an evolved Element MSL
(Marathon Super Light) with 27.5″ wheels, which was the longer-legged brother
of the re-released Element RSL (Race Super Light), released in 2010. The
design brief for that Element made very clear that the visual identity of the
bike needed to be consistent with the one that won Mountain Bike's Bike of the
Year award all the way back in 2000. And the biggest visual indicator is the
horizontally-oriented shock mount, below the top tube - which is exactly why
it looks like a 2001 Slayer.
But not a 2008 Slayer. Just look at that thing.
<http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaupload/tmp/ed1f7bdd5dd396e9b889b6e34783000f8546f8fbc0b504cc6ef64f51/original.jpg>
So, yeah, it may not look revolutionary, but that wasn't the intention. Fair
play if you don't like the look, but there are a lot of people that do think
it is a sexy looking weapon. I'm still one of them, but what breaks it down
for me a bit is that all Rockys look too similar…Thunderbolt is a fine looking
bike, but if it has four siblings with the same hairstyle, is it considered a
good looking family, or one that is using hand-me-downs overly judiciously?
Unfortunately, the Robot's days of unleashing tirades in the way we love seem
to be over - he lost the ability to do that once he became a sponsored racer.
Too bad because his legacy as an online satirist could have been way more
legendary than his racing career likely will be. And that's not a hack on his
ability to go down - he's pretty quick but his writing is even better.
April 26, 2016, 4:32 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
#!markdown The Aztec could have been capable of flying to the moon and plumbing the depths of the Pacific, but that wouldn't change the fact that it looked like the entire staff of the GM headquarters tried to use its face to put out a fire. Function is irrelevant to this discussion because, in your opener, you stated that "Its a pretty rad sled, but…. man its hideous." We're talking form here, function be damned. Too often, suspension engineers are left in charge of the ID, and it's just not what they're trained to do. Some are skilled at it, but in what other business are the people that figure out HOW to make something work the same ones that decide WHAT it looks like? Not many - at least not many where shit's as complicated as it is with bike suspension kinematics. Anyway, they actually are pretty good at it at Rocky, but one of the designers there used to be a guy who was actually trained in industrial design. He works in the middle of a garlic patch now, for the big red S. Little history lesson: the Thunderbolt is essentially an evolved Element MSL (Marathon Super Light) with 27.5″ wheels, which was the longer-legged brother of the re-released Element RSL (Race Super Light), released in 2010. The design brief for that Element made very clear that the visual identity of the bike needed to be consistent with the one that won Mountain Bike's Bike of the Year award all the way back in 2000. And the biggest visual indicator is the horizontally-oriented shock mount, below the top tube - which is exactly why it looks like a 2001 Slayer. But not a 2008 Slayer. Just look at that thing. <http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaupload/tmp/ed1f7bdd5dd396e9b889b6e34783000f8546f8fbc0b504cc6ef64f51/original.jpg> So, yeah, it may not look revolutionary, but that wasn't the intention. Fair play if you don't like the look, but there are a lot of people that do think it is a sexy looking weapon. I'm still one of them, but what breaks it down for me a bit is that all Rockys look too similar…Thunderbolt is a fine looking bike, but if it has four siblings with the same hairstyle, is it considered a good looking family, or one that is using hand-me-downs overly judiciously? Unfortunately, the Robot's days of unleashing tirades in the way we love seem to be over - he lost the ability to do that once he became a sponsored racer. Too bad because his legacy as an online satirist could have been way more legendary than his racing career likely will be. And that's not a hack on his ability to go down - he's pretty quick but his writing is even better.