Bikeradar Target Audience ?

acr

Hi All,

I'm curious, what is the target audience for bikeradar.com ie. who are you aiming at ?

If I had to us one word to sum up the website based on first impressions I'd go for 'Eliteist'. I note that you have the Bike & Gear review on the opening page, and the cheapest is £799, ranging to £2K+. Any reason why ? I'd be lucky to get £400 to spend on a bike so why the focus on high-end.

I'll confess that I'm never going to be a Tour De France rider or professional MTB'er. On the opening tabs I'll aim for commuting or family, not much interested in the rest. However a Moulton for £5K on the opening page will not do much to entice the beginner/family cyclist to the site.

Thoughts ?

Cheers,

Ade

Thantos

So far, what i've seen from the opening page is always very informative.
It always changes and i believe it to be one of the best biking websites around.
As it is one site, it has to cater for people with £400 to spend aswell as people with £5000.
Future publishing who own the site and the magazines don't often publlish tests with £400 bikes in. I guess because there is a limited choice, it isn't worth their while testing the bikes.
I'm not suggesting that it is anyones fault, i have little more than £400 to spend on a bike.

Steve Worland

What Mountain Bike and MBUK regularly group-test bikes under £400

John Stevenson

'Beta' refers to editorial priorities and process as well as site and forum technology.

There will be less expensive bikes on the front page. In fact, there's one there now.

vorsprung

acr wrote:

Hi All,

I'm curious, what is the target audience for bikeradar.com ie. who are you aiming at ?

Me too

If I had to us one word to sum up the website based on first impressions I'd go for 'Eliteist'. I note that you have the Bike & Gear review on the opening page, and the cheapest is £799, ranging to £2K+. Any reason why ? I'd be lucky to get £400 to spend on a bike so why the focus on high-end.

800 quid isn't "high-end". Most people see bikes as a toy and only expect to pay 100 quid. If you want a proper bike you have to pay the going rate.

I'll confess that I'm never going to be a Tour De France rider or professional MTB'er. On the opening tabs I'll aim for commuting or family, not much interested in the rest. However a Moulton for £5K on the opening page will not do much to entice the beginner/family cyclist to the site.

I'm not ever going to be a Pro either but it's nice to see loverly bikes

Eat My Dust

Here's the exact target audience!!

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 5&print=72

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 3&print=70

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 6&print=99

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 4&print=71

nicklouse

Eat My Dust wrote:

Here's the exact target audience!!

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 5&print=72

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 3&print=70

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 6&print=99

http://www.future-advertising.co.uk/ads ... 4&print=71

now that is interesting!

and not represented by the fora. Or is it?

h i r 0

Average age of 18 with an average salary of £33k? AND time to go mountain biking.

Why did I go to university again? :P

passout

The target market of a printed magazine must be more focussed than the target market of a website. Websites tend to have many more pages and clearly separate sections - notably an offroad and a 'roadie' section in the case of Bike Radar. Therefore several different types of riders (or markets) can access the site without conflict, by selecting their area of interest. From looking at the website I would guess that bike radar is aiming at a number of market segments within the wider target market of 'cyclists'. This seems wise since these markets actually overlap, for instance I cycle both on and off road. In twenty years time I might buy a Dawes Galaxy! Markets are fluid.

As for reviewing cheap bikes, I'd make a comparison with Top Gear (not a reference to the Tour De France). I watch Jeremy Clarkson and friends drive super cars because I like them, not because I'm going to buy one. I may want to read about 'affordable' bikes (sub £1,500 in my view) when I'm planning to buy, but otherwise bring on the 'bling'. I would skip right over a review of £400 bikes. Besides, if that's your budget I'd suggest the second - hand route anyway.

supersonic

Plenty of very good bikes to be had for 400 quid or so. I would say entry level is the 200 quid mark nowadays, 400 quid can get you bikes with 9spd, damped fork, hydro discs and perform superbly.

Big Red S

'entry level' depends on the style of bike. For a road bike it's about £500. For MtBs, i reckon it's still £300+. For hybrids and not-quite-sure-what bikes, it's probably £200.

passout

It's not black I white, granted. I guess it depends what terrain you ride and how long you expect your bike to last. I ride my MTB in the Lakes once a week. I tried cheap bikes (about £500) - they all broke fairly quickly. By break I mean bent & fractured frames. For a half decent full susser which will take a regular beating I reckon a grand absolute minimum. And I'm not talking premuim brand either. Of course you can get a reasonable hardtail for about £600. Road bikes are up for debate a bit more as they don't tend to break as much.

supersonic

What frames were these? Most frames in this price bracket (£500) are just as strong, albeit heavier (given they are used for what they are supposed to be used for!). In fact many frames at this price are used higher up the range ie Giant XTC, trek SLR, GT Avalanche etc.