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Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: October 29th, 2013, 2:39 pm
by vpc66
It would be nice to see one up close so you could check the frame side by side and see just how close they are because from his picture it seem to be the same. Could you post close ups of your bike in detail, that would be nice to see and compare ? At the time he bought the bike Ross was making the Cuda, why did they hand out a manual from the Durango plant..if they were tied you would think it would be a Ross ?

Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: October 29th, 2013, 3:39 pm
by Mark
I'm not thinking they gave out Barracuda (Durango) manuals with every one of these.. I think they had one lying around and tossed it in.

Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: October 29th, 2013, 4:40 pm
by expatevo
Mark wrote:Oh, please don't take my comments in a negative way; not intended as such and I'm certain you weren't making absolute claims. No harm, no foul.

The perplexing items in this discussion are (in my opinion):
- The use of dihedral top tube.
- The fact that you received a manual from the BBC of Durango.

We're talking 1996 here, so it's possible (we'd have to do a lot of digging) that Ross licensed out the name Barracuda for use. I don't believe that there were any patents held regarding dihedral tubing, so I'm sure anyone could have produced a bike with that type of tube easily without much fuss at all. But if Ross licensed out the name, why wouldn't they also allow for the brand (decals, paint scheme, etc) go with that? Seems odd to allow others to call their bikes "Barracudas" and let them come up with something completely different regarding the look and feel of the bike. After all, Ross made a Barracuda line in 1996, so why would they allow for competition to use the same name? Doesn't seem to fit in my head.

It's my belief that the retailer you bought your bike from, simply tossed in a manual from the "other" Barracuda. This fits, because I believe the stems used (and I think they're referenced in the manual) were the flip-flop kind which could be reversed for a lower (or higher) rise. Your stem is not likely one of this type. Kind of proves that the two items (the bike and the manual) don't belong with each other.

So I'm 99% positive the two companies and their bikes are completely unrelated, but there is always a nagging 1% which won't go away.. I'm game to keep looking at this if someone wants to pick this one up.. :)


Mark, That all makes a lot of sense, i'll post some more photos of the bike for Vinnie.

Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: October 29th, 2013, 7:42 pm
by Mark
One last thing.. pull up a chair and get comfy! Welcome to the board - I'm looking forward to seeing this discussion continue and I'm also interested to see the images of the bike. ;)

Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: October 30th, 2013, 3:03 am
by neo_pop_71
What about Ross working backwards from the Taiwanese manufacturers perspective? Ross is looking to expand overseas quickly, the frames are already in production and they pick up Moore Lorge & Co Ltd as a UK distributor who use their own designer to come up with a logo and decals. They'd be the same frames with the full of the UK and Europe to press sales with the new look. Just a thought...

Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: October 30th, 2013, 9:14 am
by vpc66
That is kind of what I wrote right off D. It is known that same product will be used in different countries set up to work with the market in that area...like that last GTO before Pontiac died, it was a small sedan used over seas but here they stuff the V8 in it and called it the GTO. That frame he has looks to close to NOT be a Cuda in some way. You went with Ross making the deal, but I heard things in the past and believe I read things on the internet about the first owner ...could a deal have been made at the time they were selling out to gain funds for debt incurred. Just when did the over seas company start selling these bikes compared to the start of Ross having the brand name, I would like to know that ?

Re: Hello from Connecticut via England

Posted: November 4th, 2013, 2:05 pm
by Mark
neo_pop_71 wrote:What about Ross working backwards from the Taiwanese manufacturers perspective? Ross is looking to expand overseas quickly, the frames are already in production and they pick up Moore Lorge & Co Ltd as a UK distributor who use their own designer to come up with a logo and decals. They'd be the same frames with the full of the UK and Europe to press sales with the new look. Just a thought...


Sure, it's possible, but why waste money and time on creating a new brand, new decals, etc. when you already own the originals, which are obviously nicer? I don't feel that this question can be satisfactorily (sp?) answered. Also, Ross and Barracuda both had distribution throughout the world set up for some time. They didn't need another to place bikes in Europe.