Spring Product Placement in Every Article....

[Shortsocks]

Hey Folks.

We've all been riding for years, some of us more than others....and every spring you have Cycling Articles pushing the same old lines.

New Powerful Tires
New Light Frames
New Super light Fabrics
New Saddles that dont cause my Balls to fall off.

The Problem I have isn't with new Products. But it seems that As of this year Especially, The Magazines and Websites are Wh*ring themselves out way too
Obviously. I mean EVERY single Review is Positive. Its just so Obvious, that they dont even ride the new products in some far off beautiful place to show how well it excels...they just go to the Manufacturer's office and ride it around.

The writing has been slacking as well. Its seems the MANUFACTURERS are writing the articles. Im sure this has been happening for a while, And Im sure its just me noticing this....

But has anyone noticed how bad its become in the cycling outlets?

[false_Aest]

I've always found publication reviews to be questionable. I don't ride like That Guy. Do you?

Several years ago I rode a bike that was labeled as "harsh" and "twitchy." I put 25mm tires on it pumped up to 90/95 and took it down a twisty, twisty descent and loved the bike. It was Goldilocks under my butt.

Conversely, I've never been über impressed by bikes that are flagship models with über positive reviews. But maybe I'm biased because I recognize that if I ride a $10k bike I'm never going to ride it full-tilt . . . cuz eff that, my legs + arms will heal but I can't drop another $10k on a bike.


On the pub side of things. My gf was head editor for some non-cycling magazines. There are requirements for articles to guarantee $$$. According to her, magazine sales barely pay for the printing + distro costs. The profit is with the obvious and not-so-obvious ads.

[makoti]

On the pub side of things. My gf was head editor for some non-cycling magazines. There are requirements for articles to guarantee $$$. According to her, magazine sales barely pay for the printing + distro costs. The profit is with the obvious and not-so-obvious ads.

She is correct. Circulation is to sell ad space. That's why you can buy the newspaper for a year for the price of a week.

[Cicli]

Do you have a link to the saddle that keeps my balls from falling off?

[FlashUNC]

On the pub side of things. My gf was head editor for some non-cycling magazines. There are requirements for articles to guarantee $$$. According to her, magazine sales barely pay for the printing + distro costs. The profit is with the obvious and not-so-obvious ads.

That's been the model since the penny press in the 1830s. Buying the paper at the newsstand or via subscription is a token pittance compared to the overall production cost. Real money is in the ads.

[Ronsonic]

Everybody who writes reviews for a nutbook is constantly auditioning for a job writing ad copy. Bikes, cars, high end audio, it's all auditioning.

Now about that saddle .......

[Shortsocks]

Do you have a link to the saddle that keeps my balls from falling off?

:banana:

You 100% earned the dancing Banana.

[rccardr]

True story: for about ten years, as a second job, I wrote articles for a hobby magazine. Not biking, but similar in nature- big investment, detail orientation, total commitment, etc. About 175 articles all told, most of which were monthly columns that focused on how to do stuff, how to develop more performance without spending a zillion dollars, etc.

After ten years, had developed quite a following as a guy who told it like it is- honest, trustworthy, someone you could trust when it came to spending your hard earned bucks.

At which point, editor and owner of publication house wanted me to just do product reviews. Based on prior experience, I knew that the manufacturers that advertised with the magazine basically controlled the messages in the review content. I balked, not interested, they bid me farewell.

Somehow, I suspect the business model has not changed.

[that guy]

I've always found publication reviews to be questionable. I don't ride like That Guy. Do you?

I do :butt: