New Forum Concept

[DRC]

I’ll start by saying that I have no idea how complicated it would be to add a new forum or if it’s even possible. Truth be told, I know very little about this sort of thing so don’t beat up on me too bad if this idea is not feasible.

I think it would be a great addition to this board if there was a forum dedicated to equipment and product reviews. I have several reasons why I think this would be beneficial so feel free to keep reading if you think this idea has merit. If not, thanks for looking but save yourself from my rambling below.

It’s no secret that mountain biking is not a cheap activity. I think it would be great if the users of this board had a place to post reviews, opinions and constructive criticism about products they use so that other riders who may be in the market for equipment can do research or talk with others who are already using a product they are considering prior to making a purchase. I have used the MTBR review forums extensively but my main problem is that a review written by “a weekend warrior from Vancouver BC” doesn’t do me a whole lot of good when I ride in SE Michigan. I’d rather hear from a rider who rides the same trails I do.

Magazine reviews are fun to read but I also want an unbiased review. I want to hear the honest opinion on gear from the guys and girls that spent their hard earned money on a product, not from a magazine editor who was flown to Moab and put up for three days to rip singletrack on professionally tuned equipment.

In my opinion, a good review has a few key elements and if this forum came to fruition – it would be great if there was some continuity in the reviews. Here is my take on what is needed: height, weight and ability of the rider (these can all be ranges, not specifics), trail that product was tested/used and brief weather/trail description (wet, dry, dusty, technical, flowy-etc.). In addition to the essentials, specific products attributes would be really helpful – like if you were posting about a fork , include the PSI you were running. This probably sounds like a lot of work or overkill but if you are 6’2” 225lbs looking for a new bike to dominate the NCT and someone wrote a great review of a Fuel EX7 – it would be helpful to know if that person was 5’5” 130lbs and lived & breathed the Paint Creek trail. Pictures are also great when possible since not everyone knows industry jargon.

This forum could provide us a great way to share info and maybe even offer the opportunity for people to meet up and see gear first hand before they have to plunk down the Visa on something they have only seen online or in a mag. I’d be happy to let another rider check out something that I have if they were in the market for the same thing but wanted to check it out first.

Reviews don’t have to stop at equipment either. I would love to hear people’s take on clothes, shoes, tools, gps, racks, lights, trips – everything related to the mountain bike lifestyle. You get the idea.

This sport thrives on grass roots efforts and I think the community of riders in Michigan could offer some very beneficial input on all the gear options out there.
Anyway – just an idea. Anybody have any input?

[utabintarbo]

Sounds like MTBR.

[DRC]

Utabintarbo - I hear ya and I like the MTBR reviews but like I mentioned in my OP, there is too many poeple from far away lands posting about gear on MTBR. I'd like to hear from the people who ride around here, in Michigan.

[wingzz]

I just think your sample size if you limit it to Mi. would be very low and there for unreliable compared to a much larger sample size you get on MTBR

[mtbfree]

I think it's a great idea. While there are many sources for gear reviews, knowing that they're being written by people who are in a situation that's similar to my own would make them more applicable and hopefully more trustworthy as well. I also can't help thinking that the good reviews in magazines essentially go to the highest bidder... that's the way it's always been with car magazines as well. At least with cars you have outright performance numbers to rely on - not the case with bike reviews which generally come down to some kind of qualitative assessment.

I just think your sample size if you limit it to Mi. would be very low and there for unreliable compared to a much larger sample size you get on MTBR

If you think about it, when you read a detailed review written by an individual, your sample size is always 1. These aren't statistics we're talking about. There's nothing to stop you from continuing to read the MTBR reviews if you want more oppinions. I just think it would be cool to have reviews from local people as well as those from outside the state.

Hope to see this forum added soon!

[DRC]

Wingzz - That's a good point. I assumed this board saw a fair amount of traffic but to be honest, I have no idea how may poeple travel this board daily.

I just feel like many of the reviews I read end up being apples and oranges because the equipment is being used or tested in other regions (or in real mountains) and I ride in SE Michigan.

[pongomoto]

Gonna have to agree with mtbfree on this one. With some reviewers on mtbr you have no idea what the trail is like they tested the component on or how harsh they are or aren't on their bikes. Some bone head posts are easy to spot but others aren't. I think this would be a great addition to our local community to help out new riders who may have upgrades questions or even seasoned riders who aren't up on all the new stuff. Heck this could help the local bike shops by letting them do reviews on new products they have seen or used before we can get our hands on it. Sure you have so many people who will say what they have is the best things out there but you'll also hear from Scotty, Scat and others who would gladly bash a bad part and warn people against it.

In the end I think this forum would defer some traffic from the General Forum making it easier to find information and product reviews. It doesn't have to have fancy Chilly Peppers like mtbr. Just let posters know that they need to rate the 1-5 (maybe even 1-10) system like mtbr and let the person reviewing the component thread do the math to figure out if it's good or not.

[c0nsumer]

I'm moving this to Website Issues, but that's not to discount it. Let me give this some thought.

Adding a rating system will be Complicated, but a section dedicated to gear reviews and discussion might not be bad at all.

[DRC]

In all reality, a rating system might be nice but it's not needed. What I really had in mind was, just as Consumer put it, a place for gear reviews and discussion. I just wanted people to keep in mind that for a review to be meaningful it needs to expand beyond just the name and model of what you are reviewing. Context is very important.

Thanks for the consideration, I can only imagine that this would be a lot of work and I'm sure you guys are doing this in your free time. Hopefully something works out. I think it would be a nice addition to the site.

[c0nsumer]

In all reality, a rating system might be nice but it's not needed. What I really had in mind was, just as Consumer put it, a place for gear reviews and discussion. I just wanted people to keep in mind that for a review to be meaningful it needs to expand beyond just the name and model of what you are reviewing. Context is very important.

Thanks for the consideration, I can only imagine that this would be a lot of work and I'm sure you guys are doing this in your free time. Hopefully something works out. I think it would be a nice addition to the site.

Actually, creating another forum section called "Gear Reviews" with a template that people can copy wouldn't be hard at all, I just want to give it some thought and see if that's the best approach.

[DRC]

Sounds good - let me know if you want any more input. As I'm sure can tell from my OP, I've given this a lot of thought.

[ibisman]

The problem is...products, like reviews on bikes, nobody will admit they bought a stinker. Like bike stores that sell a certain line of bikes, those are the best and anything you mention is junk. I have only heard 1 person ever admit he screwed up on a bike he bought by listening to a rave review by a bike magazine ( who probably got paid to give a rave review). If it's a part that failed, or wore out too fast then it might help but all this forum will end up being is " Giants suck, treks rule! and, 26" wheels are slow and etc".

[Sortaslow]

The problem is...products, like reviews on bikes, nobody will admit they bought a stinker. Like bike stores that sell a certain line of bikes, those are the best and anything you mention is junk. I have only heard 1 person ever admit he screwed up on a bike he bought by listening to a rave review by a bike magazine ( who probably got paid to give a rave review). If it's a part that failed, or wore out too fast then it might help but all this forum will end up being is " Giants suck, treks rule! and, 26" wheels are slow and etc".

There are many reviewers on mtbr who admit what they bought sucked and give good detail as to why.
Oh, btw- I see you are now coming clean and admitting your buying mistake: "26 inch wheels are slow...."