James Huang is Heading to Substack

[Philster]

According to his instagram, James is on Substack under something like Nminus1. If you don't know, Huang is a long time bike tech writer.

I like James but know nothing about Substack and really don't want to join another social media platform.

Anybody planning on signing up?

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by Philster

I like James but know nothing about Substack and really don't want to join another social media platform.

Substack is less a social media platform and more a blogging platform, with the claim (from them) that the author owns and retains rights to their work. Some substacks require a subscription to read, some do not.

[mhespenheide]

Link: https://substack.com/@nminus1bikes

[geordanh]

Called it =D

[AngryScientist]

It was there or here.

[prototoast]

Not sure if I'll subscribe or not, but I can understand where he's coming from. There is so much dead weight at escape collective, it would make sense if he's thinking he's driving 20% of the subscriptions and getting 4% of the salary. I hope he's successful here, so I must admit I'm not particularly fond of The branding.

[AngryScientist]

Going out on his own, IMO makes things a bit tricky.

I follow some folks on youtube/insta, etc who do product reviews, particularly on running stuff.

When they start out, they are unbiased and appear to be very genuine and upfront.

As they get established companies start to send them stuff for review; then they pay for them to go on exotic trips to fun locations to test products.

Pretty soon every review is a positive one.

Who would bit the hand that feeds them? Who is going to give a brutally honest review if a company just flew you around the world, put you up in a nice influencer pad and gave you free product? You're sure not to get a repeat invite if you trash the product.

The influencer culture for products is just wierd. Even with the best intentions and slimy enough disclaimers, I dont see how most can stay true to their credo while getting more successful. That's doubly hard when you are the lone voice of your brand.

Again, IMO.

[glepore]

I subscribed, free for now. I like his stuff, will see. Managing all these multiple subscriptions becomes a pita...

[EB]

Substack offerings suffer from a lack of two underrated things that traditional media provides - editors and fact checkers. Many prominent writers have demonstrated via substack that they really are better off with a good editor holding them in check.

That being said, traditional media seems to be on its last legs, so perhaps substack is the future.

[old fat man]

I wonder if he will delete the flury of recent free content he's been posting on Instagram?

I like James, I hope he finds a very lucrative way to continue doing what he's been great at for years. Personally, I don't subscribe to any paid cycling media or content and don't see that changing just for his content.

[DrakeRamoray]

Project Farm is the only reviewer I trust.

[kiwisimon]

To be honest I haven't missed him at Geek Warning.
The current lineup (mostly Dave and Brad) is good and last week when the phrase "FC-7800C" was being celebrated, I knew I was in the right place. 100% geeked out.
Suvi Loponen is a welcome new voice in the cycling podscape.

Good luck to James.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Going out on his own, IMO makes things a bit tricky. <snip>

Fair points all but there are exceptions who seem (AFAICT) to succeed because people value their objectivity. E.g., DC Rainmaker.

[Old School]

Originally Posted by DrakeRamoray

Project Farm is the only reviewer I trust.

(buys 20 Shimano cranks, hooks them up to tractor, and pulls on each them (on go pro) for 24 hours each.

Makes a spreadsheet.

Correlates with cost of diesel used.

Ranks each Shimano crank with how many 2024 dollars of diesel fuel are needed to break crank.

Posts content for free.)

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

It was there or here.

I mean, how much anodized purple is he going to show off on his only fans? Asking for a friend.