The Autosnob

I think almost everybody is aware of The Bike Snob. It must drive the original snob nuts that this newcomer now beats him out in search rankings.

Predictably, a few Bike Snob pretenders have popped up, so I created the computerized Autosnob. Among my favorite features of BSNYC (and the part most emulated by the other Snobs) are the "Worst of Craigslist Bike Ads." It's a formula, but it's a formula that works.

Autosnob takes a random BSNYC article and some other random text, matches it up with a random Craigslist bike ad and mashes them together to create something like a new episode of "Worst of Craigslist Bike Ads."

The Autosnob is still a work in progress. The ad mocking algorithm, for example, is far from complete and is currently limited to looking at the colors in the ad, though an exception is made for the SE Bikes Draft (a high tensile steel singlespeed with ashtabula cranks and a BMX bottom bracket). I'm open to suggestions on how to more effectively mock NJS parts, along with brands like Jamis, Miyata, Fuji, Peugot, Bianchi and all the rest.

For those who know Javascript: Yes, I know it's a mess. The thing just kind of evolved slowly.

The Autosnob: check it out.