Microsoft Windows (just the OS, there are lots of ways to fill the office suite hole today)
Google Android
Levi Strauss (nothing else fits right)

I'm really at a loss to come up with much else that fits the "Irreplaceable" standard, or even a lesser standard like "inconvenient", or "annoying".

1. grand mas .. home made hefezopf & marmalade + self made bobble hats in favorite colors
..
..
100. Selle Italia .. Flite
101. Time .. pedals
..
..
121. Sony Ericcson .. K750i
..
..

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___/\___/\___/\___ the s u r f b o a r d of the K u r p f a l z is the r o a d b i k e .. oSo >>

Wasn't eBay essentially Amazon before there was an Amazon?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I have been pondering this question for a couple hours.
I can't really come up with any brands that would really put me out if they closed up shop tomorrow. I mean, I have lots of brand loyalty because I'm just familiar on how it works. I have used an iPhone for 10 years, if they close up tomorrow, I'd be annoyed but would pick up a Samsung and in a few days I'd be back up and running status quo.

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Ask me how much I love my Kiwami LD Aero Trisuit

Amazon PRIME.
Google.
Graham Crackers.

Hello Slowman and All,


Slowman writes in part: "i've been thinking about something for a few weeks."


"apple
microsoft
adobe
hoka one one
directv "

I think those brands could be replaced by parallel Chinese brands in a New York minute ..... and we would hardly feel a ripple ..... how many of those brands are actually made in China anyway?

However .... these I would miss ...........

Blenheim apricots, vine ripened Beefsteak tomatoes, Russet Burbank Idaho potato, Paco Rabanne after shave, Oakley sunglasses, OK scratch Oakley .... lots of substitutes .... but I would still miss my Oakleys .....
they are like an old friend now ..... and of course branded beef steak from branded cows ....



https://core.ac.uk/...load/pdf/6550739.pdf

Product differentiation through branding is especially prevalent in steak cuts.

The steak market is intriguing because the interaction between numerous physical attributes and marketing characteristics have been used to differentiate the product. However, limited information exists on consumer preferences for steak attributes and the equity of steak brands.

Revealed preference theory is used in this article to determine consumer preferences for retail steaks. This study determines the value consumers place on descriptive characteristics of steak, especially retail brands and estimates factors associated with brand premiums and discounts. Knowing brand value will provide important information to help design beef industry product branding strategies.

This study employs a two-stage hedonic analysis. First, an hedonic model is used to recover implicit prices of retail steak characteristics and reveal information on underlying preferences for these characteristics.

The retail steak market is transforming from offering relatively homogeneous to differentiated products and a proliferation of brands. This analysis also determines price premiums associated with product breed claims, organic labeling, and religious processing methods.

Our second-stage differs from most second-stage hedonic analysis. Estimated brand coefficients, unobserved effects, from the hedonic price model are utilized as a dependent variable to determine factors impacting brand premiums and discounts, or brand value. Knowing how branding initiatives affect brand value will help identify which brand strategy is best for targeting consumers.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Maybe? I shopped a bit on eBay in the early 2000's, but it was primarily an auction site then, most stuff being sold used. It started morphing into something more similar to Amazon, but by that point Amazon took off. At least that's my memory of it.

I'm sure something would fill Amazon's space, but I just think it would take a while.

Now? My sport is broader. My life is broader. But when you’re in the middle of it? The way it was for m then? At that point ironman was probably the most important idea in my life.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Sport related:

Garmin- yep, there are other options but I have no idea which ones I've even contemplate as a bike head unit and separate gps watch that work on the same platform

Speedo- Goggles and suits. It's all I buy. I've tried other brands and keep coming back.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Pasta
Zwift
Amazon
Beer

Ironman itself is not brand loyal. Swamping out branded races, adding new, dropping old. Somewhat like the shoe companies with their ever changing model selection. Sponsorships change as does focus of what is offered with regard to sponsorship roles. While some of the IM races always have the best of the best, pros change from race to race while some of their races have no pros. However, for the athletes, Ironman consistently allows all participants the opportunity to experience a top notch event at all their races. People I know seem to train harder for those events, not wanting to let them or others down in their performances. They know too that some really good athletes will always be at the IM races so they tend to want to step up their performances for them. Contestants know to expect high levels of volunteers, stocked aid stations, toilets, pre & post race activities, held at desired destination locations for vacation/adventure/relaxation, offer family friendly set-ups, entertainment before/during/after events, and more. Participants pay for the premiums but the premiums provide memories that last a life time. Other brands offer similar experiences and many top notch unique but not on the same scale or consistency of IM. If the Ironman brand went away, triathletes would find epic races to fill the void. RD's would step forward to create epic races. Some business oriented group of people would recognize the opportunity to string together epic races and dominate the market for a period of time. And the cycle would repeat. Remember Bud Light Series, Tri-Fed. ABA. AFL. Goodwill Games. ……

USAT is more like Choice hotels. Franchising their name out to different owners/operators with different brands, locations, distances, and whatnot. A participant is never certain what they're going to experience from one race to the next, or this year to the next. Their exception are the National Championships. Participants at Nationals experience a grand presentation of premier racing events.

Triathlon as a sport is a great experience thanks to Ironman, USAT, RD's, sponsors, other nations' tri federations, and more. But as voids appear or opportunities present themselves, people will fill them in like the water we start our races in.

https://www.palmtreesahead.com/feed
https://www.palmtreesahead.com/today-s-tip-tomorrow-s-workout

CrossFit

Salsa bikes


Isn't dish Network the same thing as DirecTV?

Speedplay
Pearl Izumi running shoes (I still tear up knowing they are no longer... Men's 10.5 N2s if anyone has a source)

perhaps, but i don't see it that way. USAT has been a bulwark during various race insurance crises. i see USAT more like a level 1 internet backbone provider. it sits there in the background, you don't think about it much until it's not there and you find out how much you really depended on it.

maybe we'd find we don't need it as badly as we thought. but a little over a quarter of a century ago the entire country was in a liability insurance crisis, and USAT saved the bacon of a lot of RDs.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

The USAT one is interesting, people complain because it exists to an extent. I don't know how the ITU runs itself at the top but I suspect it could be relatively similar to World Rugby in regards to USARFU.

At the lower levels people complain and even try different forms of secession because they believe they aren't getting what they should from the governing body. Granted right now we're in the midst of a crisis and USAT looks to me like a golden child because USAT as a governing body is extremely well run and flush with cash. USA Rugby is not flush at all and is struggling off the field. But on the field the NT is doing well. One of the things people complain about is that liability insurance and secondary insurance due to poor administration at club level. But what people don't seem to understand is that we need the National Union to govern the sport, if you secede from it or get rid of it you have all sorts of issues. Yes Triathlon is an individual sport but I would guess the same issues would exist.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

The 2 consumer brands that keep me sane and are therefore irreplaceable:

Shark Week
Will Ferrell

Slowman (originated posts).
Finding the hidden purpose of seemingly random posts is better entertainment than the daily crossword puzzles. The goal is to find the implied or sought answer.

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NO

Park Tool.

I mean, how am I going to get that godd*mned seized square taper bottom bracket out of that early-2000s tri bike my "friend" (and I use that term loosely) asked me to replace with a nice new hollowgram one without a wide collection of Park Tool items?

I honestly can't believe it wasn't in Slowman's OP list.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

yeah, i thought that might come up. it surprised me when that was an answer (in the other forum). that was the furthest thing from my mind. but i can't blame the cynic.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Injinji Toe Socks, because no other sock, shoe, or contraption has ever solved my between-the-toes blisters. From day one like fifteen years ago, I have never had another blister.

Saucony running shoes because no other brand has ever fit my foot quite right.

Lake cycling shoes because my irreplaceable custom carbon cycling orthotics were built upon and within one of their specific lasts.

Mt Dew. I'd need therapy along with an extended vacation in a detox facility.

Gasflux. I can braze up anyone's tubes, but the Gasflux fluxes are without equal to me.

Merrell "glove" series shoes. Altra is a close second, though they seem to have abandoned the minimalist shoes they started with.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

Same! I bought at least 4 or 5 pairs of gen 1 trail gloves and am down to my last pair that are allowed in the house. I have a gen 3 that's nearly as good. Huge into Altras as well since I'm running just about every day. I'm not sure if I (and my dogs) would be running if it weren't for Altra.

Red Burgundy. Nothing really quite like it.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Jif
Diadora- Their bike shoes just fit my feet right. Everything else I've used gives me numb feet.
Lucky Jeans- They just fit me right

I’m sure I’m an anomaly but I’ve been racing since 1985 with over 100 multisport races and I’ve never raced an IM branded race.

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Formerly DrD