amity bike co

[amitybikeco]

i will go along with that   

Guys, Thanks for all the support & advice, it is really very much appreciated.

[SaMAlex]

We did not invent Taper Lock, but we pay the license & therefore, I think we can call it our own, in the same way that we have our own pivotal seat as do most other BMX companies.

Nice first post. Good on you for getting in there and putting a few things straight 

Im intersted in how the taper lock system works, both on the bike and legaly (but I am a bit sad  ). Thanks for the information.

Good luck with everything, hope it works out for ya

[JT71]

hey, good to see Kane back....these dudes are looking for riders Kane...nudge.


Alex have you seen a taper dropout frame yet? I'm quite interested in seeing one, but kind of think rob's serrated frame and washer idea would work well.

Saw Phil tonight, he was watching Go West at the festival. homo.

[SaMAlex]

Alex have you seen a taper dropout frame yet? I'm quite interested in seeing one, but kind of think rob's serrated frame and washer idea would work well.

No, ive not seen one yet. I really wanna know if it works. There is a chance that the wheel will move back while you tighten it (chain will get too tight and the non chain side will move out of line) and also that the non chain side might get knocked back during hard riding.

I think the problem with Robs serrated idea is that the serrations would need to be tiny to give you the micro adjustment you'd need to get the wheel in the right place.

[Fashionrider]

Guys i dont mean to piss on anyones parade but stolen released a taper dropout system some time ago

http://bmx.transworld.net/2009/06/17/stolen-introduces-new-taper-lock-dropout/

im not sure if it has any similarities to the amity bike co one but its worth looking into

the problem with taiwan is similarities, ukbikeco had the patent for frame designs and heat treating methods for the revolution frame, yet Premium bought out the lowpez which was almost like for like.

If amity are going to proceed with the taper dropout system i highly recommend they be careful when using words such as "revolutionary", "Patent", "Original" etc because theres always someone who's gonna call you out on it.



Thanks JT, ill take it as a compliment you think im good enough to ride for them haha maybe on flow, but im no where up to par with Wallace, Hardy and Taylor!

Marc, keep us all updated on the products man!

[Lazarou]

Alex I wish you'd patented all of your inventions way back! You'd be Oprah rich!


I'm sad too    You could have lent me a fiver.

[harris]

if something has a registered design ,its easily overcome   just a few tinkers and then that can also be a registered design even if very similar.
patent or patent pending is another ball game and can cost,  my last one worked out over 3 grand for world wide 1 year  then had to do a european extention 18 months

if someone has a patent pending on say one of alexs ideas then if he can prove a date and design on his earlier idea then it can be refused or they would need to get their heads together.
so alex it aint all lost yet.   

its not as clear cut as all above but you get the idea.

[Sean 2000]

Good luck to you sir. 

[amitybikeco]

if something has a registered design ,its easily overcome   just a few tinkers and then that can also be a registered design even if very similar.
patent or patent pending is another ball game and can cost,  my last one worked out over 3 grand for world wide 1 year  then had to do a european extention 18 months

if someone has a patent pending on say one of alexs ideas then if he can prove a date and design on his earlier idea then it can be refused or they would need to get their heads together.
so alex it aint all lost yet.   

its not as clear cut as all above but you get the idea.

hey 3k is a bargain for a Patent, when i worked at Ford it was costing them 15k on average!!!!

If this is a copy of someone's idea, then it really does suck & here is hoping Alex has some evidence & he really should try & work with the poacher cus imo it's a great idea.  I for one know how hard it is if you have an idea to get it across without someone copying it or claiming it as their own (normally your boss if you work blue chip lol).  You can't afford to be precious with your IP, but at the same time you can't afford to sit on it either, it's a double edged sword, especially if you don't have the money to secure it.  It was the same when i was making music, you wanna get it out there but there was always a distributor looking to nick your white label & re-press it cutting you out....i doubt that is so much of a problem these days as the 'internet' has nicked all the music & given it away free.

back to taper lock...

The factory do not own the patent for taper lock, but there is (I am told) a world wide patent on the idea & they are licensing it for the frames they produce.  I had heard this week, that is was copied (from someone in the UK), but i do not know who took the idea or who came up with it.  I can tell you that It really does work.  When i 1st saw it on paper i said, no-way i can't see that working, it's gonna slide when you tighten the nuts/bolts.  Having played with the prototype at the factory i was proven wrong.  I think you are going to see quite a few companies bringing out taper lock on their frames, but i am informed by our agent, that we are the 1st to put it on a complete bike.  The main reason our samples are delayed is that the factory have orders for over 200 frames & that is a lot of samples as each is likely to be different....head-ache.  ours should be here within 10 days, i'll let you know how it goes.

[harris]

great stuff,my patent was quite simple and never had any issues it was fast 3 years so didnt get hit with to many problems
some get alot and up goes the money  big big time.
selling or licensing lets everyone have a stab and owner gets a % which works all round.
its a hold your breath period on patents  long road..secrecy and luck...and a back stabbing world out there   ..
i did 5 prototypes and then registered the patent ,then i had a year to get that bad boy sold with the option to let them extent to worldwide , they picked up the tab on that phewww

[Philbert]

two things, purely out of curiosity:

who tipped you off on the site marc/mark that this thread is alive

and danny boy, me old mucca, what did you invent?

[harris]

not allowed to say phil , but as i trust you i will oneday show you,all will become clear oneday soon i hope.

[amitybikeco]

two things, purely out of curiosity:

who tipped you off on the site marc/mark that this thread is alive

and danny boy, me old mucca, what did you invent?

Geez, no-one tipped me off, believe it or not i decided it was time to google search the company name to see if anyone was talking about us yet.  RT had told me quite a few people had been asking him about Amity & that word was getting about.  I searched amitybikeco, nothing google suggested i may have mean't amity bike co, so i tried that I this thread popped up.

[generallee]

Good luck MArc and Mark , nice to have another British bike company on the scene!
Also let me just say , for the sheer hell of it as I think it's so rad - Alex Leech invented Left Hand Drive too!!!
What a dude.
steve

[JT71]

Also let me just say , for the sheer hell of it as I think it's so rad - Alex Leech invented Left Hand Drive too!!!
What a dude.
steve

I'm still blown away by that. 

[SaMAlex]

If this is a copy of someone's idea, then it really does suck & here is hoping Alex has some evidence & he really should try & work with the poacher cus imo it's a great idea. 

I didnt invent the taper lock, never though I had said I had. I have just seen 2 or 3 bike co's say stuff think to make me think they ALL had, but what you said makes sense so thanks for giving your side.

The stuff I came out with was all in the 90s so if you have never heard of Stu Dorkin, then I guess it all passed you by. 

Alex I wish you'd patented all of your inventions way back! You'd be Oprah rich!

Laz, you know Im in BMX for the Love, not the money