Yes, it’s taken them too long to produce one, and yes, the remote lever looks like it was stolen from a hydroelectric dam’s control panel, but Fox’s D.O.S.S. is one of the brightest signs I saw at Interbike.
Why? Because it signals actual growth and development. Sure, a lot of us remember the original design, but dropper posts are A New Thing, and if you’ve read most of my rants heretofore, you know I’m rooting for innovation. Any time an entirely new category of products hits the market, and established brands begin to support the category by making products, it’s a good thing.
Maybe I’m hyper-sensitive to this right now because my country keeps being declared a has-been when it comes to innovation, and I’m old and cranky enough to remember when we did actually make some pretty cool stuff for these newfangled bicycle with gears and big, fat tires. And yes, I know the Oregon Manifest is going on as I type, and that some of the most beautiful bikes in the world will be on display in Sacramento this March. Yes, beautiful things are still crafted in the U.S. But that’s not the same as engineering. Confused about the difference? Let me help.
1. Built in the U.S.A.
2. Engineered in the U.S.A.
Sure, the Escort probably gets better gas mileage, even with the leaking tank, but I can promise you a lot of thought went into that second one, which seems to be a variation of the new Oshkosh M-ATV military vehicle. They were doing brake tests on it on my mountain when I was driving one of the kids home from school the other day. Apparently, it has no defense against idiots passing it and snapping photos.
So, while there are a lot of artisans around, when it comes to U.S. engineering in the bike industry, there doesn’t seem to be much going on, with the exception of precious few guys like Lance and Chris Canfield . While it’d be nice to see more manufacturing going on here in the States, Fox having to play catch-up means at least some product development is still breathing, and that involves smart people in the United States of America who know complicated stuff like math. Regardless of where their stuff is actually made, I know that Fox has U.S. engineers–real, genuine human being ones–that actually live in the United States. I know this because I’ve seen them.
Unlike the case in so many industries, there is still a spark of bicycle engineering left in my country, and every time a brand enters a new category, it means people who ride bikes thinking about how to make them better. When I see that putting food on the table for somebody who knows how to use stuff like PTC, Solidworks, or AutoCAD, it makes me happy.
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