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And just as unreliable and biased as a mag review.
At the very least!
chakaping - MemberAnd just as unreliable and biased as a mag review.
At the very least!
Yeah, at least with a mag review you may have an idea of how the mag rates different types of bikes, or have some knowledge of how the reviewer rides or thinks about things. For example, I used to happily read Steve Worland's reviews. I wouldn't necessarily agree with him on everything but at least I knew where he was coming from having read his reviews for years previously.
Whereas all I get from the internet is that people think the product they've just spent fortune on is great. What a surprise. People rarely criticise a large spend, preferring instead to justify why they bought it, normally by saying it's great.
(When I listen to albums I tend to mentally rate the ones I've actually bought higher than the ones I've borrowed or got for free. Coincidence?)
I also question the classic STW conspiracy of ads influencing reviews.
Does MBR not still carry full page specialized ads on the rear cover, and inside?
I think it has been written about before by one of writers for MBA in the states?the argument sort of runs; retain your journalistic integrity and increase the chance of going bust, or else tow the advertiser's line and (by implication) lie to your readers...
In reality it's a shades of grey thing, and you may well find nuggets of honesty in amongst the bias...
MBR probably sits closer to the ad-stroker end of the scale and they're known for it, I would ignore the final scoring and who they designate the "winner" and read the actual body of the review looking for those honest comments.
Reducing opinions down to a (rigged) final score isn't actually much help anyway, many buyer's will prioritise different aspects/criteria of a bikes performance to some paid "journalists" trundling round rural Surrey for an afternoon...
Who on earth ever bought a bike soley off the back of a single magazine review anyway?
Surely they should be testing it as it comes out of the box?
Really. Nothing more annoying than reading a review for a bike and finding they didn't get on with as it say had dry conditions low tread tyres and they are sliding around in the slop. The more expensive the bike the worse this is
I only realised how annoying this was when read a windsurfer review. The last line as "The board was total junk with the original fin, budget £70 for a descen one". How refreshing I thought
If anyone asks me about a product I'll give an honest answer... if it was expensive and it's crap, I'll say it's crap. I think anyone who buys something that they're disappointed with will tell you the same however much they paid for it. Unlike the 'advertisetrs', I don't get paid for reviewing or promoting a product. I've bought plenty of stuff that was garbage after seeing an advert or a bum review but I'm then stuck with it - I can't go back to the reviewer or the advertiser and complain. If anyone asks a question about a product on here, I'll tell you exactly what I think of it if I have first hand knowledge of the product. Additionally, Id' never buy a bike after reading a review as reviews of bikes at=re too subjective. The only way to really know is to take a test ride and draw your own conclusions.