Re:
Thanks for the information regarding the Bob Jackson shop closing. Being from the other side of the pond, I rarely (and I mean rarely!) see one; on the streets or for sale. I'm sure they will be even more obscure here now with the closing; people will be trying to buy them up before value starts increasing more due to the lack of new product. Seems that the "death" of something always has a silver lining somewhere. Interesting that when my bike co-op said they were closing the entire cycling community in my area came to help out with clearing the place out of inventory only to find out that half the stuff wasn't for sale or the staff didn't know what prices to let things go at. In the end, the small boost of "last minute" sales and interest amongst the regulars and "fly-by-nighters" caused a reversal of decision, and the shop did not close (it's been over a year). I can't imagine how they manage to operate now since they cutback on work, and those with memberships have to set-up an appointment to get in and use the facility and tools like before. I have only managed to get by one time in the last 7-8 months; before I was there weekly and often daily. I did manage to run away with a Rossin "SL" frame before they realized what I bought for a steal at $100. Apparently the young staff is not familiar with vintage older bikes "pre-threadless' stems and the like, and they certainly are not as adept at working on older frames/bikes from the era that I live in.
Yes, I agree with the stoppage of use of the marque's name from other builders; although I cannot blame those who established the brand wanting to gain some last revenue out of it. I know I would not "lend/sell" my business name to another without an absolute guarantee that the same level of quality and service be maintained by the new "custodian" of the marque; which is a near impossibility when dealing with something like this. That happened to me with my old business when I left it to my "partner"; a business I ran by myself for over 6 years. It folded within 4 months after the staff of 3 couldn't provide the same level of quality, pricing (had to charge a lot more to pay that staff), and customer satisfaction. Even years later people who see me out and about ask if I am still doing that work, or plan to to open another shop; all the awhile expressing their grave disappointment at what my old business turned into: "a bunch of greedy sales staff" who didn't know their butt from their elbow!
Good luck to the folks at Jackson's, hope they all fare well in the future!
