dishing out advice

Anonymous

firstly im not sure if this is my place to comment and if i am out of line i accept the removal of this thread.

after a while on this forum i have noticed (in recent weeks especially) there are indiviuals who are posting advice which is unfounded and based purely on what has been said in previous replies or general internet and magazine reviews.

this in itself isnt a problem but for the fact the inividuals concerned are passing this advice off as personal experience. this means the newer members or less experienced members of the forum requesting advice are being told information which appears to be based in truth as opposed to hearsay,

how many of you had recommended formula brakes recently without having used or even seen them before? this further produces an issue that plenty of excellent kit (not just brakes as in this example) is being over looked and half of the forum members think you cant buy a brake for less than 200 quid if you want to stop safely.

when giving advice based on what you have read or heard, make it clear that this is the case, dont dole out re-gurgitated information and try to pass it off as if you are an expert, some folk will believe you and end up mislead

i am certain half of the useless comments posted recently are for the sole purpose of boosting members post counts and is a practice in my opinion which leads to threads being filled with useless and uniformative ramblings, there are places on this forum for such behaviour.

to that end i vote for the removal of post counts and lets see how many folk chime up with dog toffee replies on the forum after that.

zero303

amen!

No harm in regurgitating what the mags say but make it clear that you're doing so!

omegas

Its called Brand Blind, many people that have a item , think it’s the best thing out there, that’s why you see so many of these type post.

For anyone new to mountain biking the forum is a probably one of the best places to come to learn and find information to help them through the minefield of products .

Sometimes you will see some good/ bad reviews and experiences from a product or item, they can be of great value to others.


All the post you see “ what bike should I get” I never read as choosing a bike is a individual thing and they are full of posts with “oh I have a xxxx bike and its very fast” “I have a zzzz bike and it goes up hills great” just worthless junk .

The choice is yours, you don’t have to read them and after all it’s only an opinion but an interesting post from sheepsteeth and probably very true what he is saying.

Shadowduck

+1 for the removal of post counts. Always leads to the same sort of behaviour, whatever the forum.

supersonic

Shimano Deore brakes for value ;-)

As for posts counts, erm lol

nicklouse

Sorry disabling post counts not possible.at the moment.

Nothing wrong with diatec brakes. But the
Ones are great.

Anonymous

well i think of the many people responsible for giving valuable advice, nick and sonic have secured their positions as actual experts.

my gripe isnt with advice in general, just how its portrayed, and it's basis in fact or hearsay especially when advising beginners in matters of what to buy.

Amos

It does grate me when someone asks what bike they should buy and the replies are "i have this bike, its better than all the rest, it goes uphill fastest, its fastest down, and its british, spam spam spam".

:?

supersonic

Often is just a case of nudging the person in the right direction - give them some products to look at, links, reviews, explain a few bits and bobs. Nick and I are lucky to have worked in the bike trade, but I suppose we may both be a little obsessive!

Anonymous

there are dozens of folks on here who offer good advice based on experience, i like to think i fall into that category, i try only to pass constructive advice based on what i have used and will quote advice on products i havent used only after i have researched it myself.

yipee, another in my post count

nicklouse

sheepsteeth wrote:

yipee, another in my post count

just for that.....

omegas

We all welcome the advise from supersonic and nicklouse.

I am just wondering why we are not all riding a Zaskar or I-Drive ????

supersonic

I wonder that myself ;-)

nicklouse

omegas wrote:

We all welcome the advise from supersonic and nicklouse.

I am just wondering why we are not all riding a Zaskar or I-Drive ????

why would you want to ride those Crap bikes?

the Zaskar is an out dated design with stupid extra metal in the tipple triangle design.

and the I drive dog bone! WTF is that about?

supersonic

He's just jealous ;-) Hans stills rides one. Well, about 6!

Anonymous

nicklouse wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

yipee, another in my post count

just for that.....

nicely done, err i mean, stop it.....

nicklouse

sheepsteeth wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

yipee, another in my post count

just for that.....

nicely done, err i mean, stop it.....

BTW nicely done


good post for 1000.

Shadowduck

Errr... I agree with what everyone else said!

*curses ... I'll never get to 1000 at this rate*

dunker

i'm probably guilty of this at some point, i have tried to curb my "buy a malt4!" habit recently. those oro's sure do look loverly hehe

jeffers696

supersonic wrote:

Often is just a case of nudging the person in the right direction - give them some products to look at, links, reviews, explain a few bits and bobs. obsessive!

this is the main thing why i come to a forum. at the end of the day its an individual decision what you buy.

stumpyjon

It can be quite difficult to give advice on different kit, most of us never get the chance to try more than one or two different brakes, cranks, helemts etc. so the advice we can give is limited. However if we don't post a lot of people don't get any response to their questions (Nick & SS can't be everywhere all the time :shock:).

However just recommending something because you have it isn't helpful, but explaining why you like an item or what niggles you have had with it can be useful. That way someone can weigh up a range of experience from different people and use that wealth of experience to inform their own choices. Maybe it should be in the forum rules that you shouldn't comment on kit unless you have direct experience of it or you reference where you are getting your information from, e.g. this wheel/bike/bell did really well in the latest WMB / MBR / Singletrack grouptest.

Anonymous

in my opinion the purpose of getting advice on the forum is to see what products are actually like to live with, from people with experience in using them. it is easy to find out if summat is good or bad by looking the reviews section usually but if people with experience can confirm a review, you are on the right track to find the right product.

it is true that it is difficult to give advice due to lack of actual experience with a product and it is for that reason i have started the thread, if some one asks what an item is like, only answer if you actually know, dont feel compelled to sound off for the sakes of it.

ask your self, is there any value in chipping your 2 pence worth if it is no different to the same review as the person asking the question has read themselves. to confirm a products reputation just to put an answer on the site without knowing what you are saying is true is out of order.

however if you can truthfully confirm that something is good, get stuck in or if you can offer advice from what you have read to an individual who doesnt know where to start get stuck in too.

to say: "formulas are supposed to be excellent" in reply to the question "what brakes for trail use"

is very different to saying: "get formulas, they are excellent" without having used them.

(this goes for any product)

Brighty

Hands up, whenever there's a 'what bike for a grand' question, i usually chip in on the side of the rocklobster, but that's only because in my opinion it's a great bike, if you like steel get a 853, i did, if not theres the SL. I think it's hard to beat for spec per quid. It is just my opinion and the bike might not suit everyone, but it's well worth putting in the mix.

supersonic

Brighty wrote:

Hands up, whenever there's a 'what bike for a grand' question, i usually chip in on the side of the rocklobster, but that's only because in my opinion it's a great bike, if you like steel get a 853, i did, if not theres the SL. I think it's hard to beat for spec per quid. It is just my opinion and the bike might not suit everyone, but it's well worth putting in the mix.

So do I, I have never ridden one, but often say it in the context of 'have a look at this, good value on paper' or 'gets good reviews, many riders here have them' or even just a comment on a part or its weight. Its making that distinct difference between saying 'buy this, end of' as Sheeps point out, and which you have done anyway. Nowt wrong with opinions!

Anonymous

there is nothing wrong with offeing good advice, we will all have our list of fav kit/bikes in whatever price band and for whatever type of rider

i always suggest:

full sus over hardtail,
reba for a 100mm fork
high rollers for tyres
orange are too expensive.........

but i always include that these are either my opinions or my experience and dont just sound off for the fun of it.

this thread is reffering to the minority, not the majority, i often seek avice here myself but know what advice to trust and what to ignore.

supersonic

Oranges are too expensive haha!

Brighty

full suss over hardtail? pfff, i thought you knew what you were talking about.

Shadowduck

Brighty wrote:

full suss over hardtail? pfff, i thought you knew what you were talking about.

Of course he does! He's got over 1000 posts, you know!

Anonymous

i'll conceed my advice may not be good, but definately honest

Anonymous

just you wait untill ive got 2000 posts, i'll be preaching a new sermon every saturday!!

"do you know what grinds my gears............"

Brighty

If you spent more time riding than getting to your 2000th post, people might take your advice more readily, lol

Sorry, just kidding, been packing for the big move all day and i'm now well on the beer

Brighty