The negative bike review on GuyKesTV

FWIW I don’t mind Guy’s content when I stumble across it. It’s clear from his enthusiasm that he loves mtb – a good thing – and he manages to test-ride some decent kit.

For me, it’s just an opportunity to see the overall spec and general appearance/character in motion of a bike of interest, ridden here in the UK. I agree, the negativity in his reviews is pretty subtle, but some can be found.

Guy K’s content is 3-dimensional compared with Dave Arthur’s formulaic, 1-D plop.

Isn’t most if n semi-professional

I take it manufacturers supply bikes to him for review – so it’s difficult to be negative about them if he wants to continue reviewing them.

I learned the hard way – go and test ride a bike yourself to determine if you like it. Although this is sometimes difficult.

I always remember that time he tested an On One C456 and declared it so stiff that you’d have to stop halfway down the trail for a rest.

A few months earlier the same mag has a “first ride” and said it was really flexy

TBF, I can imagine that OnOne’s QC would see see one frame of half the wall thickness of the other in the same batch…

I’ve read one of his reviews, that was enough!

he’s dropped the ball himself by hardly making any actual review videos and disappearing up his own arse a bit.

Utter utter truth there

Thing is…Is it not just entertainment? I generally like Guys videos (apart from the opening spiel, but I think its just over-familiarity) but I’m not watching them for in depth independent assessment, I’m watching them because he’s a decent presenter, talks interestingly about a hobby I’m keen on, and keeps me updated on what’s new, and as I’ve watched so many now, it’s like having a mate talk about his new bike.  I’m not really interested in his opinion, although I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s talking about, it’s just something to distract myself with while I make a cup of coffee, or doodle in the kitchen.

I watch BKXC for the same reason, pretty much all his videos are the same. But it’s distracting, the scenery is nice and it’s just an escape.

I honestly don’t know how people can really notice a significant difference between many 170mm zeb / super deluxe or 170mm 38 / float X2 bikes.

I reckon they all feel good and it’s a stretch to make one seem particularly bad.

I take it manufacturers supply bikes to him for review – so it’s difficult to be negative about them if he wants to continue reviewing them.

All the professional MTB media get bikes provided by manufacturers for review.

GuyKesTV gets a payment as well, to secure a spot on his YT channel.

I honestly don’t know how people can really notice a significant difference between many 170mm zeb / super deluxe or 170mm 38 / float X2 bikes.

I reckon they all feel good and it’s a stretch to make one seem particularly bad.

It’s all about the mid-stroke support baby 😛

But seriously, this is where good reviewers stand out – by isolating the factors that do differentiate similar bikes.

My bugbear, and we’ve saw a few particularly poor reviews on this site recently, are articles which spend 9/10s of the space talking about the geometry and spec and forget to explain what the bike feels like and how it behaves in different circumstances.

Pinkbike can be just as guilty of this, though they also do some excellent reviews.

I honestly don’t know how people can really notice a significant difference between many 170mm zeb / super deluxe or 170mm 38 / float X2 bikes.

I sold an unused shock a few years ago, and the buyer complained that it was faulty, the shop fitting it had told him there was a dead spot at around 15% travel. (Or something like that!) I was impressed that anyone was so sensitive that they could detect a dead spot in the sag. I was also impressed that he managed to find a shop to fit the shock within two hours of it being delivered in central London, during that Covid crazy period where you couldn’t even get into a shop. I was also fairly certain that he’d bought the wrong size shock. 😀

He definitely didn’t like the old Canyon Lux Trail.

Admittedly I struggled with that review a bit as he seemed to be riding a size too big…