Bike radar reviews ... Getting plain silly

jimbo0023
jimbo0023 Posts: 96
edited October 2012 in Road buying advice
Come on bikeradar...

How about reviewing some gear people can actually afford and care to buy??

A £7000 bike just takes the biscuit! Hmmm think I'll buy one and change the saddle to a £300 fizik.

And maybe adjust my chain with a £450 tool kit... Then I can go measure my power output with a £1000 power metre..

:shock:

Comments

  • MaxwellBygraves
    MaxwellBygraves Posts: 1,353
    To be fair to them, they do try and review a mix of stuff each mag, not just the pro level stuff.

    And anyway, I can only speak for myself but I enjoy reading about high quality kit once in a while, even if it's not obtainable.
    "That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college! " - Homer
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Seriously? BR have reviewed everything from entry level to pro kit since its inception. I for one appreciate it, especially the Domane review which I've been waiting for.

    They don't just review things for you. My saddle isn't far from that price pint, and the minute a decent power-meter comes out at sub 1500 quid I'll be all over it like a fat kid on a cupcake.

    For many of us cycling is more than just a hobby...
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • Mr Dog
    Mr Dog Posts: 643
    Don't you do the lottery? Dream of the day when you're as rich as a city banker :D
    Why tidy the house when you can clean your bike?
  • jimbo0023
    jimbo0023 Posts: 96
    Well just my opinion..

    I agree nowt wrong with a bit of eye candy stuff to drool over, but I'd also like to see some reviews of entry level stuff aimed at the mass market.

    What's wrong with reviewing the latest winter bib shorts etc.. Enough of usk about them in the forums don't we?

    Anyway was only a light hearted comment. Maybe one day us plebs will be able to spend 1500 quid on a power metre :p
  • richard_farrant
    richard_farrant Posts: 231
    jimbo0023 wrote:

    What's wrong with reviewing the latest winter bib shorts etc.. Enough of usk about them in the forums don't we?
    :p

    Haven't they just had a feature on Autumn clothing?
    Dolan Mythos
  • jimbo0023
    jimbo0023 Posts: 96
    Richard Farrant wrote:
    jimbo0023 wrote:

    What's wrong with reviewing the latest winter bib shorts etc.. Enough of usk about them in the forums don't we?
    :p

    Haven't they just had a feature on Autumn clothing?
    Just had a nosey in the reviews/features section and can't see it? Do you have a link? Ta
  • northpole
    northpole Posts: 1,499
    Anyway was only a light hearted comment. Maybe one day us plebs will be able to spend 1500 quid on a power metre

    I certainly hope not - I think I would find the truth about my power output more than a little depressing!! :oops: I'll continue with my philosophy of what I don't know won't harm me.... :)

    Peter
  • chadders81
    chadders81 Posts: 744
    Anyone read the new Cyclist magazine? It's good but the kit in there is all ridiculously expensive. It's aimed at people who do a few trips to Alps per year and have a wardrobe rammed full of Assos.

    Don't get me wrong - that would be me if I had the money but I haven't.

    Luckily, I get a load of cycling mags on free subscription.
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    jimbo0023 wrote:
    Come on bikeradar...

    How about reviewing some gear people can actually afford and care to buy??

    A £7000 bike just takes the biscuit! Hmmm think I'll buy one and change the saddle to a £300 fizik.

    And maybe adjust my chain with a £450 tool kit... Then I can go measure my power output with a £1000 power metre..

    :shock:

    Perhaps you can point Bike Radar in the direction of some low cost power meters ? Should they only review kit that you can afford ?

    If you're using a whole £450 tool kit to adjust your chain, I'd suggest that you should save your pennies and go on a bike mechanics course.

    Not sure what you're moaning at to be honest.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    Top Gear would be so much better if they only reviewed cars I could afford, like 2nd hand mondeos or a Hyundai i30. No ones interested in the latest Ferrari.
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • mrjam
    mrjam Posts: 7
    I'm not particularly bothered about the price points, and feel there is a range of budgets catered for, some of which for many are aspirational. However I do think the reviews are a bit lazy and samey. Seems that often the only thing they can find to distinguish between bikes is what tyres it's 'shod' with, or how the bar tape feels. Surely there must be something more interesting or fundamental to say about a bike than that?! Also think the Cycling+ mag would benefit from more of a balance between kit review and articles on actual riding, at the moment it reads like a marketing brochure for Trek, Fizik, Mavic or whoever.
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    The problem with reviewing bikes is that the overriding factor in how a bike rides is whether it fits perfectly or not.
    Then the saddle, saddles are a very personal choice. I love a Fizik Aliante but my bezzie Dan thinks they are an Ass Hatchet (despite him not being American).
    There isn't that much difference between the top carbon bikes other than geometry differences, which comes back to the fit.

    Hence the reviewers always seem to try too hard IMO.
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • Scrumple
    Scrumple Posts: 2,665
    Go and have a walk round Aldi, take a few deep breaths, and calm down.
  • jimbo0023
    jimbo0023 Posts: 96
    [/quote]If you're using a whole £450 tool kit to adjust your chain, I'd suggest that you should save your pennies and go on a bike mechanics course.

    Not sure what you're moaning at to be honest.[/quote]
    That was tongue in check comment meaning who the hell pays £450 for a toolkit? :shock: I've owned motorbikes cost less :D
  • jimbo0023
    jimbo0023 Posts: 96
    Scrumple wrote:
    Go and have a walk round Aldi, take a few deep breaths, and calm down.
    Gorgeous wilier cento by the way!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    I like the reviews of the high-end stuff, it gives you something to aspire to. The problem is that any review of a bike which is of lesser quality/performance/tech level to the one the reader already has is of absolutely zero interest. Something above your justifiable price point at least provides potential for wishful thinking. So by biasing slightly towards the higher-end stuff the total interest potential amongst all readers combined is maximised.. :wink:
  • mallorcajeff
    mallorcajeff Posts: 1,489
    these reviews are handy to look back on when the bike is second hand for £3000 in 18 months time. Thats how i look at them, as a future purchase but not new. I did it with top gears when i was kid proper sad ended up with abotu 15 years of top gears on vhs tapes. I hooked some out years ago and it was the test drive of the new Austin Meastro that talked to you. my god what a waste of a childhood.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    jimbo0023 wrote:
    MattC59 wrote:
    If you're using a whole £450 tool kit to adjust your chain, I'd suggest that you should save your pennies and go on a bike mechanics course.

    Not sure what you're moaning at to be honest.
    That was tongue in check comment meaning who the hell pays £450 for a toolkit? :shock: I've owned motorbikes cost less :D

    I must have accumulated thousands of pounds worth of tools over the years. I should really work it out; it would cost me a fortune to replace them if they got nicked.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • Hoopdriver
    Hoopdriver Posts: 2,023
    DesWeller wrote:
    jimbo0023 wrote:
    MattC59 wrote:
    If you're using a whole £450 tool kit to adjust your chain, I'd suggest that you should save your pennies and go on a bike mechanics course.

    Not sure what you're moaning at to be honest.
    That was tongue in check comment meaning who the hell pays £450 for a toolkit? :shock: I've owned motorbikes cost less :D

    I must have accumulated thousands of pounds worth of tools over the years. I should really work it out; it would cost me a fortune to replace them if they got nicked.
    Same here.

    Kind of a worry actually...
    http://www.My-Bicycle-and-I.com
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    DesWeller wrote:
    I must have accumulated thousands of pounds worth of tools over the years. I should really work it out; it would cost me a fortune to replace them if they got nicked.

    Bike specific tools? How did you manage to spend thousands on bike specific tools? There's only really so much you need....
    NapoleonD wrote:
    Top Gear would be so much better if they only reviewed cars I could afford, like 2nd hand mondeos or a Hyundai i30. No ones interested in the latest Ferrari.

    To be fair, the real world difference between even a £500 Halfords Carrera and a £5000 Colnago is miniscule compared to the difference between a Ferrari and a Mondeo. I'd say the Carrera is proportionately far more interesting than the Mondeo. If Top Gear tried to do bikes in the same way they do cars all Clarkson would be able to do is get excited about how light the Uber Bike was when he picked it up and how nice the carbon weave was. And then of course, he'd just carry on with the usual BR style guff about how eager the bike was to climb......
    Faster than a tent.......
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Nah, that's all tools - everything in the shed. Bike- only tools are probably worth a few hundred though. It's amazing how quickly it adds up.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Rolf F wrote:
    To be fair, the real world difference between even a £500 Halfords Carrera and a £5000 Colnago is miniscule compared to the difference between a Ferrari and a Mondeo.
    Hmm, not sure about that. The real world advantage of performance cars is hugely overrated IMHO. Any car will get you comfortably from A to B and happily exceed the legal speed limit. I think it's even more about status and bling than high-end bikes are. Small performance gains do matter when your legs are the engine, and you will definitely notice the difference between a £500 bike and a £5000 one when sprinting up a small hill...
  • buzzwold
    buzzwold Posts: 197
    mrjam wrote:
    I'm not particularly bothered about the price points, and feel there is a range of budgets catered for, some of which for many are aspirational. However I do think the reviews are a bit lazy and samey. Seems that often the only thing they can find to distinguish between bikes is what tyres it's 'shod' with, or how the bar tape feels. Surely there must be something more interesting or fundamental to say about a bike than that?! Also think the Cycling+ mag would benefit from more of a balance between kit review and articles on actual riding, at the moment it reads like a marketing brochure for Trek, Fizik, Mavic or whoever.

    I agree with most of this although I think it's probably unfair to call the reviewers lazy. My biggest issue is the way that one bike in a group review can be marked down for one minor element of the bike whilst in the same review another bike with what sounds like bigger problems keeps it's star.

    Also, what is the point on commenting on the groupset other than to say whether it's decent value for the price point, end of.

    Final point, a five star system is always going to be weak. For anyone who has dipped toes into Cycling Active, the reviews are much better and the riding stories are none too shabby.

    The autumn clothing article was a bit of a joke. Price points all over the shop, and why worry about shorts. A lot of us are already wearing the full length or three quarter condoms.
    Someone's just passed me again
  • mallorcajeff
    mallorcajeff Posts: 1,489
    The difference between the cars thing is overated I think.
    I am lucky with my job on a daily basis I have the option to drive a huge selection of performance cars including ferraris, Porsche, bentley, AMG mercs, Lambourghini, and a few others. Yes there is a difference in gear change for example on the ferrar 599 (It is brutal and I mean frightening) and the AMG SLS is gutsy and full of tourque, but when you drive them regularly they all blend into the same thing. Its like anything what you get used to is not special anymore. I used to be a real car head, and I have been fortunate to fall into the job I have and to be honest my favourite everyday car? a 2.0l Diesel golf gt. I love it. It does everything i need it to do and can park it anywhere. Bike on the other hand I notice a big difference between my new bike and my old one. My Current bike is a pro level bike with DA di2 and ilove it. I dont what its fully capable off because im not a pro rider but I notice a world of difference from my Wilier I had before, and even bigger difference from my cube before that. Hard to explain but I notice a difference between my bike and previous ones but I dont get the reviews in the magazines half the time. And the cost of stuff seems to be going up more and more at the same time its become "fashionable" funny that.
  • lawrences
    lawrences Posts: 1,011
    I much prefer the reviews of higher end kit. Like most bike riders I already have a bike, my only other interest in reviews is the engineering and technical aspects of what can be done with a massive budget.

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