Good link and advice here:
http://bluecollarmtb.com/2008/01/11/cheap-starter-toolkit/
http://bluecollarmtb.com/2008/01/11/cheap-starter-toolkit/
Starter Tool Kit
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
NJ-XC-Justin
KY-DH-Freddy
thirty five bucks is a really good deal, though Park can't be happy about other companies putting out bike tools with the exact same blue color grips.
On one hand, it really bugs me that a company can trademark the fucking color blue. Very few things suggest that society is broken any more than an action like that.
OTOH, the company in the link is clearly trying to pull the wool over the eyes of consumers, thus adding more fuel to the fire that society is indeed broken.
Anyway, I guess the tool set will be a collector's item soon. Well, at least for people like Oscar the Grouch.
OTOH, the company in the link is clearly trying to pull the wool over the eyes of consumers, thus adding more fuel to the fire that society is indeed broken.
Anyway, I guess the tool set will be a collector's item soon. Well, at least for people like Oscar the Grouch.
Fogerson
Former Resident Nerd
Dunno' 'bout that...looks like a different shade of blue from the pictures (little darker, a little more purple/red).
I would imagine if you can trademark a color, that trademark would have to be very precise in RGB/HSV/etc.
A little silly in this case though...anybody who'd know who Park Tools is, and what they are, would know a tool kit at $35 isn't Park...no matter what color it is. No matter how shiny the chrome is, you know that a boxed end wrench set for $20 ain't Snap-On...
BiknBen
Well-Known Member
I own a nearly identical kit. You will quickly notice a difference in quality. They are not cut to the same tolerances and are not as comfortable in your hands as Park or Pedros tools. Nonetheless, they get the job done.
I bought the kit specifically to keep in my car. It's nice not to have to remember to bring the tools along with all the other bike gear for a ride. I've also made many friends in parking lots before rides. 🙄
I bought the kit specifically to keep in my car. It's nice not to have to remember to bring the tools along with all the other bike gear for a ride. I've also made many friends in parking lots before rides. 🙄
Trademarking a color is pretty relavant and quite reasonable from Park's perspective. Anyone who is familiar with bicycle tools would recognize that color as Park's, and the site of blue tools on someone's bench or toolbox gives you the signal that they are using quality tools. ON the other hand, if every knock off company began making tools in the same color, or with similar markings, you couldn't rely on the site of blue tools to be that of a quality tool, thus the park tool becomes either less recognizable, or they simply lose their association with quality products simply by color alone.
Companies have been trademarking colors for a very long time because very often there is alot of good will associated with a certain color or color combination. Fast food restaurants have litigated over seemingly innocuous things like color combinations of benches and tables because they feel there is that much brand association wrapped up in such things.
In the case here, it's pretty obvious. I suspect that many of us clicked the link and either thought, wow, park tools for 35 bucks! or wow, those tools really look like park tools. Either way, most of us, weather we admit it or not, quickly associated those tools in the link to Park tools.
Whatever.
Companies have been trademarking colors for a very long time because very often there is alot of good will associated with a certain color or color combination. Fast food restaurants have litigated over seemingly innocuous things like color combinations of benches and tables because they feel there is that much brand association wrapped up in such things.
In the case here, it's pretty obvious. I suspect that many of us clicked the link and either thought, wow, park tools for 35 bucks! or wow, those tools really look like park tools. Either way, most of us, weather we admit it or not, quickly associated those tools in the link to Park tools.
Whatever.