Bike reviews, tests, and “first rides” are sometimes helpful, often entertaining. We have never advocated for making a final bike purchase decision based on a review, but we to find reviews a useful tool for:
- Gaining insights about what to look for in your own demo experience
- Getting familiar with the tech specs of the bike
- Creating a list meaningful questions to discuss in-store
When reading a review one is learning about the bike, AND the media site publishing it. Very rarely is a truly bad review published, occasionally prompting the criticism that reviews are advertorial in nature and test rides are “pay to play”. Whether that is true or not, what is not debatable is the need for media sites to appeal to their core audience. We’re not cookie cutter consumers: Some of us are under 30, some are over 50. Some of us spend disposable income on our bikes, and some of us scrape the couch cushions for the latest technology. Some of us curse chair lifts, and some of us feel naked without a full-face helmet. All of these little audience statistics add up to important numbers when measuring website traffic. So, to review a review, one needs to know less about what the site wants to talk about, and more about who the site wants to talk to: and it may or may not be you.
Some sites, like VitalMTB, make their audience statistics public. (Younger, 27.5 wheels, love the park, west coast.) Sites like The Loam Wolf have clearly accepted e-MTB technology more than others, often resulting in a less hesitant tone of voice with product reviews. Pinkbike wields influence on a larger scale, earning the ability to crowd-source it’s news stream effectively. We’re turning the conversation about reviews inside out by offering a review round-up organized according to media site for three influential 2020 bikes:
- 29” wheels: Pivot Switchblade
- 27.5” wheels: Yeti SB140
- E-MTB: Santa Cruz Heckler
