Further to yesterdays post, Id like to thank commenter Graig, who identified theseAs the missing thingies for this:I dont know much, but what little I do know I learn in the comments of my own blog. Plus, my package from Bens Cycle included these:This means I have basically everything I need to properly freshen up the Bargain Basement Bike:Which in turn would make it a dark horse candidate for the coveted assignment of Summer Vacation Bikethough it would have to unseat the mighty Roadini, currently ahead in the polls:As well as the Farbman, seen here with black tires, which could just as easily find itself swept into office in the event of a late surge:The black tires should be a relief to anyone who couldnt stand those green ones, yet still an affront to anyone who believes cyclocross bikes should sport knobby tires at all times.Hey, as long as someones unhappy then Im doing something right.And of course Im monitoring the spoke hole with the broken socket:For all I know its been that way for years, plus there are 31 more spokes should that one pull through, and being a non-drive side spoke its under less tension anyway, so hopefully the rim can withstand all those DFUs even in its slightly compromised state:Also, isnt a spoke under the most tension when the wheel is not being ridden? That means riding it as much as possible would be the best way to avoid failure.**[Go ahead and upload your comment about how the repeated loading and unloading is what would ultimately cause the failure here.]Speaking of failure, Accell Group is insolvent:And if youre wondering who Accell Group is, they own a bunch of bike brands:Accell is the owner of the bike and e-bike brands Raleigh, Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Batavus, Koga, Lapierre, Sparta, Babboe, and Carqon, and the P&A brand XLC. This year Accell divested two of its brands,selling its titanium frame brand, Van Nicholas, to the Italian cargo brand Velo-ce, and its Nishiki bike brand to Turkeys Kron Bicycle (In the U.S., Dicks Sporting Goods continues to own rights to the Nishiki brand).But while I may be able to answer that question, I cannot answer this one:What the hell do we need all these bike brands for, anyway?Take Nishiki, for examplenow owned by Kron Bicycle, except for here in Canadas Beaded Seat Cushion, where it remains the property of Dorks Sporting Goods. Now consider that Kron will sell you all sorts of different bicycles, such as this gravel bike, which costs 58,000 squiggly things:I have no idea if 58,500 squiggly things is a lot or a little, but it really doesnt matter.Anyway, I have no issue with anyone who rides a Nishiki, and in fact I myself am a proud Nishiki owner:Actually, thats not true. I mean I do own a Nishiki, but Im not proud, and Im always thinking about removing the decals. Also, any value it has is derived from the fact that it was in fact made by Viner.So why in the world would any company pay money to use the name Nishiki in 2026? What association does this have for anybody shopping for a bike today? Wouldnt it be cheaper to just think up a name for free and use that? As long as its not something horrible thats going to embarrass the owner what difference does it make, anyway?[AI still hasnt quite gotten the mutant handlebar thing out of its system, has it?]I mean someone looking for a bike in Istanbul or in Dicks Sporting Goods or wherever else fine Nishikis are sold isnt going to not buy a bike because its a Nishiki, but theyre also not going to buy a bike because its a Nishiki. Theyre going to buy it because its a bike. Plus, even in their heyday its not like Nishiki was some coveted, storied brand; it was mediocre even then, locked in a head-to-head battle with Univega over who could be the most adequate while having the least cachet. Thats why nobody in the world goes, Oooh, look at that, a genuine Nishiki, name your price!As for Dicks Sporting Goods, if theyre going to pay good money to use old brands[wait for it]THEN WHY WOULDNT THEY USE THIS ONE?!?!?[Classic Cycle]Like seriously, what are their marketing people even doing all day? Then theres Raleigh, which actually, was a storied brand, and for people old enough to remember evokes images like this:Or this:[Via Classic Cycle, where else?]Or even this:It was with bikes like these that a British company was able to take America by storm:**And its why every Gen-Xer remembers tying on a headband, hoisting the Union Jack, and going cycling with Mom and Dad:I mean really, whats more quintessentially American than that?**[I think maybe at that time the British Raleigh and the American Raleigh were two different companies, but youre reading a throwaway bike blog post hastily composed for purposes of amusement, not a historical document.]But by the aughts Raleighs offerings conveyed little sense of that heritage:[Wait a minute. The bike improves visibility?!? Wouldnt that be the glasses? Maybe it came with the glasses]But they did literally hit pay dirt when they stumbled upon the idea of the dedicated gravel bike:[In 2013 you could still do bro stuff like make Anchorman references in your branding.]Sure enough, the gravel concept took offbut Raleigh didnt.Now I guess theyre another one of those bike brand names that floats around out there like so much confetti.