GCN fatigue

bungle73

Stueys wrote:

daniellloyd wrote:

Hi Orkneylad.

Sorry you feel like this. Perhaps the jokes are getting old, maybe we need to find some new ones (4 years on, haha!). I'm devastated to read that you think we're up our back passages, though - that's the one thing we've always tried to make sure we aren't.

You are right in that we try not to offend anyone - we're trying to celebrate cycling as the fun and enjoyable past-time / sport that it is, the same sport that we fell in love with and that we're lucky enough to be working in now.

Dan

To be honest, I don't think you do. You all come across as a bunch of mates having fun in the vids I've seen. I think it's a good resource and a good team. My only criticism is the product placement and sponsorship isn't as overtly declared as I would like.

They're all clearly listed under every single video they put up. How much more "overt" can they be??

steve91

Bungle73 wrote:

Stueys wrote:

daniellloyd wrote:

Hi Orkneylad.

Sorry you feel like this. Perhaps the jokes are getting old, maybe we need to find some new ones (4 years on, haha!). I'm devastated to read that you think we're up our back passages, though - that's the one thing we've always tried to make sure we aren't.

You are right in that we try not to offend anyone - we're trying to celebrate cycling as the fun and enjoyable past-time / sport that it is, the same sport that we fell in love with and that we're lucky enough to be working in now.

Dan

To be honest, I don't think you do. You all come across as a bunch of mates having fun in the vids I've seen. I think it's a good resource and a good team. My only criticism is the product placement and sponsorship isn't as overtly declared as I would like.

They're all clearly listed under every single video they put up. How much more "overt" can they be??

It literally says 'With thanks to our sponsors' and then lists them

I enjoy the videos. I don't watch their race coverage but I get the appeal. I've learned a lot from their videos since I started to take riding seriously.

barongreenback

I'm quite happy for a cycling channel not to try to offend anyone - it's a nice change from the combative rubbish on Twitter etc. that stems from the comfort of internet anonymity. They all seem like a nice bunch who love cycling and know their subject matter. I'd love to see some proper reviews but the economics of youtube is pretty fragile so I can understand why they can't go down this route.

chippyk

I quite enjoy it, Lasty gets on my tits a bit but the other three are good. It's gone a bit a product placement mad recently but overall it's good value. I don't think they are up their arses, if anything quite the opposite. I really like the GCN does science or what's faster over the cobbles, Road bike, MTB or CX bike type stuff.

If Mat Stephens reads this I'd like more Kenny van Vlaeminck.

Orkneylad

daniellloyd wrote:

Orkneylad wrote:

Don't know about you, but GCN is really getting me down these days.

They had a purple patch (maybe Q2-Q3 2016?) but these days they just seem to be pushing sponsor merchandise & GCN branded hoohah, with the odd 'celeb bike porn' thrown in. The franchise branched out into GMBN and now the Triathlon channel, it's really all gone just a bit beige.

Plus, let's be honest, that's one boring band of boys; now with the 'tinge' of celebrity they seem to have become lost up their own collective back passage. Think the straw that broke the camel's back was the endless reminder about Dan 'used to ride for Cervelo test team' blah blah blah......too much. Matt Stevens, OK, he's still bearable, but the others are pure meh.

I know durianrider is an obnoxious A-hole, but who said cyclists needed to be liked? GCN are trying to not offend anyone & that's a fast-track to mediocrity.

Hi Orkneylad.

Sorry you feel like this. Perhaps the jokes are getting old, maybe we need to find some new ones (4 years on, haha!). I'm devastated to read that you think we're up our back passages, though - that's the one thing we've always tried to make sure we aren't.

You are right in that we try not to offend anyone - we're trying to celebrate cycling as the fun and enjoyable past-time / sport that it is, the same sport that we fell in love with and that we're lucky enough to be working in now.

Dan

Hi Dan, thanks for the reply, much appreciated.
Reading back, I could have worded that better, I certainly didn't want you to feel devastated by my minority view. When you have success it's natural to bask in it for a while, and you've certainly had success, and to be fair maybe I'm asking too much for any niche show. Perhaps it needs some regular women on-board to make it feel less like a boys-own wattage bazooka thingy?

I certainly don't mean you should offend on purpose, but many times 'controversy' is a natural state of affairs, and sometimes it's all just a little too 'safe' at the expense of a truly honest opinion. Again, this is no-doubt a difficult balance when you have commercial sponsors to keep on-side, and not wanting to alienate even one cyclist, no matter how thin-skinned they might be.

Cheers,
OL

bungle73

barongreenback wrote:

I'm quite happy for a cycling channel not to try to offend anyone - it's a nice change from the combative rubbish on Twitter etc. that stems from the comfort of internet anonymity.

People get offended anyway. Every time they do a video that features nutrition the comments section gets infested by irate, and annoying, vegans.

They all seem like a nice bunch who love cycling and know their subject matter. I'd love to see some proper reviews but the economics of youtube is pretty fragile so I can understand why they can't go down this route.

The BikeRadar channel does reviews, but they have a completely different financial setup than GCN.

phreak

The videos by Mike Cotty and Davide Cassani might offer some inspiration, but I'm not sure either really works with 'Top Gear' style presenting? I mean you guys seem to be based out of Corvara a whole lot, but I'm not sure there have been many videos showcasing the climbs you can do out there.

Tiesetrotter

Not for me, I still look forward to my Tuesday show. They are a bunch of pretty talented ex-pro's giving an insight into the sport that I think is pretty unique. Just watch how welcoming the pro-peleton are to them during the season, that is a lot of respect for some guys who are not part of the pro cycle teams sponsorship duties.

I think they as far away as 'up themselves' as you could ever be!

dodgy

I love the GCN show, I'm a life long cyclist in my early 50s, quite cynical with it, but it's one of the few Internet based shows I look forward to coming available. Great work fellas.
You all definitely pass the "would I go out for a pint with them" test

TonyJams

Honestly only watched one of their episodes where they rode an old Carrera from the 80s (italian not Halfords) and compared it to a new carbon bike. Equally I don't watch Eastenders either.

kingstongraham

They were out filming on the Passo Gardena last week - got a stunning day for it. Looking forward to seeing that footage.

phreak

KingstonGraham wrote:

They were out filming on the Passo Gardena last week - got a stunning day for it. Looking forward to seeing that footage.

Like I said earlier, I'd love for a few meatier clips on these climbs rather than the '5 things...' style list videos. There are some amazing climbs there (and elsewhere of course). What makes a climb challenging? What makes the climb historic (in both racing and historic terms). The Gavia for instance is not only an awesome climb, was not only the scene for Hampston's epic ride, but was also the highest battleground in the world during WW1.

I'd find that kind of stuff interesting, and judging by the popularity of books like Mountain Higher, I'd imagine plenty of others would too.

daniellloyd

phreak wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

They were out filming on the Passo Gardena last week - got a stunning day for it. Looking forward to seeing that footage.

Like I said earlier, I'd love for a few meatier clips on these climbs rather than the '5 things...' style list videos. There are some amazing climbs there (and elsewhere of course). What makes a climb challenging? What makes the climb historic (in both racing and historic terms). The Gavia for instance is not only an awesome climb, was not only the scene for Hampston's epic ride, but was also the highest battleground in the world during WW1.

I'd find that kind of stuff interesting, and judging by the popularity of books like Mountain Higher, I'd imagine plenty of others would too.

Hi Phreak. Is this the sort of thing you mean?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugk6whx6yKo

We have done quite a few 'Iconic Climb' videos. They don't generally get the views of other videos, but we enjoy doing them. Dan

daniellloyd

Orkneylad wrote:

Hi Dan, thanks for the reply, much appreciated.
Reading back, I could have worded that better, I certainly didn't want you to feel devastated by my minority view. When you have success it's natural to bask in it for a while, and you've certainly had success, and to be fair maybe I'm asking too much for any niche show. Perhaps it needs some regular women on-board to make it feel less like a boys-own wattage bazooka thingy?

I certainly don't mean you should offend on purpose, but many times 'controversy' is a natural state of affairs, and sometimes it's all just a little too 'safe' at the expense of a truly honest opinion. Again, this is no-doubt a difficult balance when you have commercial sponsors to keep on-side, and not wanting to alienate even one cyclist, no matter how thin-skinned they might be.

Cheers,
OL

Hi OL

You've got a very good point, and we are hoping to have a full time female presenter on the team in the not too distant future, all being well.

Regarding the controversy, deliberate or not - it'd probably help the overall views of the videos, I guess, as controversy always seems to get more interest in general, but that's just not where we want to come from. It's nothing to do with the partners that we work with, but rather, as I said previously, keeping cycling as a positive and fun sport. That's not to say that we don't express our own opinions on the GCN Show, and we actively ask for the opinions of the viewers in the comments section, or a poll, which we'll sometimes then discuss the following week.

To be honest, the entire journey from the the start has been a huge learning curve, in all respects, for all of involved, and reading feedback like yours helps us to keep evolving and learning.

Cheers. Dan

stevie63

daniellloyd wrote:

You've got a very good point, and we are hoping to have a full time female presenter on the team in the not too distant future, all being well.

Regarding the controversy, deliberate or not - it'd probably help the overall views of the videos, I guess, as controversy always seems to get more interest in general, but that's just not where we want to come from. It's nothing to do with the partners that we work with, but rather, as I said previously, keeping cycling as a positive and fun sport. That's not to say that we don't express our own opinions on the GCN Show, and we actively ask for the opinions of the viewers in the comments section, or a poll, which we'll sometimes then discuss the following week.

To be honest, the entire journey from the the start has been a huge learning curve, in all respects, for all of involved, and reading feedback like yours helps us to keep evolving and learning.

Cheers. Dan

Hi Dan, nice to see you over here. If you're ever stuck for ideas you could always have a look at the most popular threads on Bikeradar. With that in mind I am looking forward to your video on if it's ok to leave a bike on a kickstand.

phreak

Aye, that's the sort of thing Dan. I'm probably not a standard viewer, but I like the David Cassani videos of this nature where they do the climb in real time and natter on the way up. It's great for putting on whilst training on the turbo. The Fedaia or Erbe would both be awesome, especially if you're a Pantani fanboy

ps, great to see you responding to feedback, and glad to see you enjoyed the Maratona. The kids race was a particular highlight of mine, and zipping around with yourself and Bettini must have been amazing for the youngsters involved.

daniel_b

Hi Dan,

avid viewer of the GCN show predominantly, for several years now, but one thing I will say happens, which has meant I struggle to watch it at times.

I train a lot on the turbo, using TR as it happens, but to help with this, I tend to watch races on Eurosportplayer mainly, whilst I ride, and these can be sometimes several days after the stage has finished.
What I struggle with is that sometimes the results bit is splashed up, with little in the way or warning.
So if there was any possibility to either put the race round up right at the end, OR to give a little warning, along the lines of 'If you don't want to know the results of X race, turn away now for so many minutes" I for one would find that REALLY REALLY helpful.

As it is, I tend to try and avoid the show at these times, especially when the one day classics are on, and on occasino then forget to catch up on them!

Which is a shame, as I find them very enjoyable, and informative.

The mechanic guides are especially useful and well presented I find, so keep up the fine work, and I hope it continues to grow and grow for all concerned - fwiw, it certainly seems like the 4 of you have a great friendship and rapport together.

Really liked the John Bevan (?) bit about him carrying out the training and FTP's on TR - did you ever publish any starting FTP figures, and how he progressed after so many programs, and also which programs he completed?
That would be pretty motivational for people I reckon, to see some real world figures for someone who is probably not that dissimilar to themselves - with all due respect, the 4 of you being ex pro's and probably far beyond what us mere mortals can hope to achieve.
Additionally, was there ever a good long show on his actual event, and how he progressed and got on on the day?

I remember a brief bit to say he had completed it, but a more indepth program with some stats and details would be ace - assuming that has not already been done and I have missed it :oops:

Cheers

Dan

chris_bass

Daniel B wrote:

As it is, I tend to try and avoid the show at these times, especially when the one day classics are on, and on occasino then forget to catch up on them!

could you not just watch them a week behind at these times?

daniel_b

Chris Bass wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

As it is, I tend to try and avoid the show at these times, especially when the one day classics are on, and on occasino then forget to catch up on them!

could you not just watch them a week behind at these times?

Admittedly that would be logical, but sometimes on occasion there are multiple 1 day, and 1 week stage races on at the same time or overlapping, I might be watching as much as 3 weeks behind, as I rearely get time to sit down specifically to watch a bike race, it's almost all during my 7 hours or so of turbo sessions per week - and whilst it's still good to watch, it takes a bit of the edge off it if you know who ends up with the victory.

dannbodge

daniellloyd wrote:

phreak wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

They were out filming on the Passo Gardena last week - got a stunning day for it. Looking forward to seeing that footage.

Like I said earlier, I'd love for a few meatier clips on these climbs rather than the '5 things...' style list videos. There are some amazing climbs there (and elsewhere of course). What makes a climb challenging? What makes the climb historic (in both racing and historic terms). The Gavia for instance is not only an awesome climb, was not only the scene for Hampston's epic ride, but was also the highest battleground in the world during WW1.

I'd find that kind of stuff interesting, and judging by the popularity of books like Mountain Higher, I'd imagine plenty of others would too.

Hi Phreak. Is this the sort of thing you mean?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugk6whx6yKo

We have done quite a few 'Iconic Climb' videos. They don't generally get the views of other videos, but we enjoy doing them. Dan

Dan,

I'd love for you guys to take part in something like this (24hr team relay)

http://www.revolve24.com/
(it's at Brands Hatch and won't be till Sept 2018 now)

I think a video of the event would be good fun.

twotyred

I like their stuff. The presenters have some chemistry which is vital and there's a decent bit of humour and piss-taking. It was good to see them giving Mark Beaumont's round the world ride some publicity with Simon Richardson riding with Mark on the first and last days. Liked the recent piece they did on Assos. They do loads of good indoor training videos as well.

ddraver

daniellloyd wrote:

Orkneylad wrote:

Hi Dan, thanks for the reply, much appreciated.
Reading back, I could have worded that better, I certainly didn't want you to feel devastated by my minority view. When you have success it's natural to bask in it for a while, and you've certainly had success, and to be fair maybe I'm asking too much for any niche show. Perhaps it needs some regular women on-board to make it feel less like a boys-own wattage bazooka thingy?

I certainly don't mean you should offend on purpose, but many times 'controversy' is a natural state of affairs, and sometimes it's all just a little too 'safe' at the expense of a truly honest opinion. Again, this is no-doubt a difficult balance when you have commercial sponsors to keep on-side, and not wanting to alienate even one cyclist, no matter how thin-skinned they might be.

Cheers,
OL

Hi OL

You've got a very good point, and we are hoping to have a full time female presenter on the team in the not too distant future, all being well.

Regarding the controversy, deliberate or not - it'd probably help the overall views of the videos, I guess, as controversy always seems to get more interest in general, but that's just not where we want to come from. It's nothing to do with the partners that we work with, but rather, as I said previously, keeping cycling as a positive and fun sport. That's not to say that we don't express our own opinions on the GCN Show, and we actively ask for the opinions of the viewers in the comments section, or a poll, which we'll sometimes then discuss the following week.

To be honest, the entire journey from the the start has been a huge learning curve, in all respects, for all of involved, and reading feedback like yours helps us to keep evolving and learning.

Cheers. Dan

They have World Champion (silver medalist) Annie Last over on GMBM to be fair. (yes, Tom's sister)

mcstumpy

daniellloyd wrote:

Hi OL

Regarding the controversy, deliberate or not - it'd probably help the overall views of the videos, I guess, as controversy always seems to get more interest in general, but that's just not where we want to come from. It's nothing to do with the partners that we work with, but rather, as I said previously, keeping cycling as a positive and fun sport.

Cheers. Dan

There was that time Si cleaned his bike and then lubed the drive train with wd40.......

philbar72

Stueys wrote:

daniellloyd wrote:

Hi Orkneylad.

Sorry you feel like this. Perhaps the jokes are getting old, maybe we need to find some new ones (4 years on, haha!). I'm devastated to read that you think we're up our back passages, though - that's the one thing we've always tried to make sure we aren't.

You are right in that we try not to offend anyone - we're trying to celebrate cycling as the fun and enjoyable past-time / sport that it is, the same sport that we fell in love with and that we're lucky enough to be working in now.

Dan

To be honest, I don't think you do. You all come across as a bunch of mates having fun in the vids I've seen. I think it's a good resource and a good team. My only criticism is the product placement and sponsorship isn't as overtly declared as I would like.

Most youtube vids of this ilk will have some subliminal or not quite so subliminal messages. just look at the cade channel. its a go to for cyclists wearing choakleys and one of his mates jerseys.....

penski

FWIW, I've been watching the channel now for 1.5 years, and as a complete beginner to the sport, I'd credit it as the single biggest thing that helped me integrate and become part of the community.

I don't watch it as much anymore, but that's not because I don't like it. It's still brilliant, and the very different personalities and of the presenters and their chemistry is what makes it great.

PS I've never once considered them to be up their own back sides..hope this accusation won't neuter the fun they provide

penski

philbar72 wrote:

Most youtube vids of this ilk will have some subliminal or not quite so subliminal messages. just look at the cade channel. its a go to for cyclists wearing choakleys and one of his mates jerseys.....

Hahahaha, I've recently started watching this channel whilst on the turbo.

Not sure what to make of it, can't place what draws me to his videos.

Stanley the 2nd

I've been watching GCN since the beginning almost and have massive respect for what they've achieved. It's all about encouraging people to get out and ride their bikes, similar to what Team Sky have done. I've learnt a lot watching their videos. The tech videos and videos filmed at the grand tours are the best.

It's a bit like Top Gear, some weeks brilliant, other weeks maybe less so. I think the only problem they have is coming up with ideas about new videos. I'd like to see them do more videos about getting into racing. Maybe a video diary of a young rider and their race schedule, training etc would be interesting.

ben@31

Bungle73 wrote:

I don't know why people whinge about the paid sponsorship really, as it's that sponsorship that pays for the channel to exist. It doesn't really affect the information they provide.

My only criticism is GCN becoming a sell out to product placement. Yes it does affect the information they provide, as how can we trust videos to be impartial and unbiased, when they are paid to publicise a sponsors product. One particular GCN video wasn't informative but was just like watching a Wahoo advert.
"Pays for the channel to exist?" How much does it cost to post a video on YouTube? When some kid talking in his bedroom about video games can get upto 54.1million subscribers, I don't think you need the budget of Time Warner. Maybe these kids making Youtube videos in their home using a webcam have such a passion for their hobby. that they're happy to talk about it for free without the financial greed?

Alex99

I think it's a good channel. It's good fun and strikes a balance with interest for the experienced and newer cyclists. Obviously, there is a fair bit of promotional stuff in there, but the content is free to access. If the sponsorship and monetization pays for their trips to nice locations, good for them. If it gets boring I'll stop watching. This hosts know their stuff and seems like nice blokes. Apart from that Dan character. They could do without him. Just kidding.

Alex99

burnthesheep wrote:

Orkneylad wrote:

Think the straw that broke the camel's back was the endless reminder about Dan 'used to ride for Cervelo test team' blah blah blah......

I still watch and find it more entertaining than surfing for fail videos.

I do find that annoying. A show or short video recently they made it a huge point to point out that the one guy still has an ftp of 90 to 95% of when he was a pro. But then wouldn't say what it actually was..... :roll:

Ok, who cares. I took a massive poop before work today too.

I can see how that would be a relevant thing to mention in the context of a training video or a viewer question.