Adventure Cycling Association Forum
Bicycle Travel => Gear Talk => Topic started by: MrCharlie on April 25, 2012, 11:56:39 pm
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Hey all--
I get all bothered when I realize that I don't know the etymology of an abbreviation and have to immediately find out what original term it refers to. Anyway, "barcon" has been bothering me the past hour. I dug around a little and found that the term is an old copyright of Suntour...but nothing more. Is it maybe not even an abbreviation? Anyone know? More importantly, anyone else want to play the game? What have you heard SAG stands for, for instance?
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Regarding barcons, from Sheldon Brown:
Sun Tour trademark for derailer shift levers which mount in the ends of (usually) drop handlebars, replacing the normal end plugs. More formally known as "handlebar-end shifters" or "bar-end shifters," but not simply as "bar ends."
http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ba-n.html#barcon (http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ba-n.html#barcon)
So it's a genericized trademark, not an abbreviation. Sort of how Band-Aid is shorthand for any type of adhesive bandage, though Band-Aid is owned by Johnson & Johnson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark)
SAG-Support And Gear.
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Sounds a bit like handle"bar"- "con"trols...... hhmmmmm....
Tom H
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It actually was Sheldon's site from which I got the trademark bit...you are certainly right about the "genericized trademark" thing. I suppose a better question would be: Was there any "abbreviatory" logic behind Suntour's term? I think Rangertom above might be right...
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Who knows what lurks in the shadows of the marketing department's minds?
Fred