Singletrack

WORDS BY MARK ALKER & CONTRIBUTORS

All walks of life have a Room 101 into which they can throw the daft, self-defeating and just plain annoying, and the Bike Industry is no different. In this spread we invite you to suggest the items, concepts or even people from the bike world that you think deserve to be kicked down the cellar steps that lie beyond the door to Room 101. Our Judge Mark will preside over your case and sentence your topic accordingly.

PICTURES BY VARIOUS

ROOM 101

Applicant: Rufus Copping

Submission: Crowdfunding bike ‘inventions’

Argument: Hi, I’ve invented something which I think is cool, but I can’t be bothered to write a proper business case for it (or if I did it would add up to a big hole in my bank balance), so please give me some money. In return, if I manage to fool 1,000 suckers into thinking this hitherto unthought of and unwanted item is actually a brilliant idea, I will find a factory in China to make 10,000 of them. I will then send you one. The other 9,000 items will then tour trade shows until I make my fortune. At this point you will be able to say you had one first. Alternatively, I will continue to tour round village fêtes and local markets until I sell them all or successfully crowdsource funding for a long-term storage unit.