Can we trust magazine reviews?

[arawa]

I am still annoyed that spares and accessories are not available for the Flyon – and the best the UK dealer can/will say is that they are on order - with no delivery date known. Haibike HQ did not reply.

Given the unwillingness of Haibike to communicate, I contacted two of the bike magazines to ask why they had not covered the Flyon delays and teething troubles given their glowing reviews when the model was first announced. Neither replied.

I assume the magazines do not want to risk any advertising revenue, but if that is the case how much credence can we place on their reviews in the first place??

 

[miPbiP]

back when I was into computer games and used to buy the magazines, I noticed after a while the mags never put "no good new games this month, save your money" on the cover.

 

[Beekeeper]

back when I was into computer games and used to buy the magazines, I noticed after a while the mags never put "no good new games this month, save your money" on the cover.

The ones that took 10 mins to load

 

[arawa]

The ones that took 10 mins to load

Just 10 minutes!! You obviously never played Manic Miner on a Sinclair Spectrum ?

 

[Beekeeper]

Just 10 minutes!! You obviously never played Manic Miner on a Sinclair Spectrum ?

That was one of my favourites ?

 

[Beekeeper]

Just 10 minutes!! You obviously never played Manic Miner on a Sinclair Spectrum ?

Just timed it. 3 mins to load manic miner ?

 

[miPbiP]

/thread ruined.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Just 10 minutes!! You obviously never played Manic Miner on a Sinclair Spectrum ?

R-type, where you had to load every level and fingers crossed it wouldnt crash between them

 

[arawa]

Just timed it. 3 mins to load manic miner ?

Ah. You assumed it loaded first time.
And you still have a cassette deck and a Spectrum!,!, Are we on the right forum?

 

[Beekeeper]

Ah. You assumed it loaded first time.
And you still have a cassette deck and a Spectrum!,!, Are we on the right forum?

I have an emulator on pc

 

[Beekeeper]

Ok I’ve going to save the thread...

How about a Sinclair ebike....

It was called the Zike

 

[Nicho]

Ok I’ve going to save the thread...

How about a Sinclair ebike....

It was called the Zike

View attachment 26326

Clive Sinclair.
A clever man, but not clever enough to work out what length of trouser to buy!

 

[arawa]

Hey. What about my gripe about magazines refusing to bite the hand that feeds them

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have an emulator on pc

How do you wobble the ram pack ?

 

[Pdoz]

I knew it'd happen eventually....if you put computer stuff into bikes then start an internet forum .....sooner or later someone would google "cassette " and find a reference to a computer.

Ah. You assumed it loaded first time.
And you still have a cassette deck and a Spectrum!,!, Are we on the right forum?

 

[miPbiP]

Hey. What about my gripe about magazines refusing to bite the hand that feeds them

definitely requires more attention.

start a new thread?

 

[Zimmerframe]

sooner or later someone would google "cassette "

Hey. What about my gripe about magazines refusing to bite the hand that feeds them

Weren't there a few magazines which came with a cassette ? I think the thread is converging ...

 

[arawa]

Weren't there a few magazines which came with a cassette ? I think the thread is converging ...

I don’t remember that. But I do remember copying in line after line of code from magazines.
I also remember, several years later, having a 2400bps modem that cost a month’s salary that was the envy of my friends, Makes emtbs seem cheap

 

[Pdoz]

Weren't there a few magazines which came with a cassette ? I think the thread is converging ...

gun thread now?

 

[Doomanic]

I used to review RC cars for a magazine. On more than one occasion the editor had to tone down some of my criticism of the model on review and even then he got complaints from the supplier. That mag definitely relied on ad revenue.

 

[Levo-Lon]

What was the question....?

 

[miPbiP]

Can we trust magazine reviews?

I don't think they lie or intend to mislead.

But:
* I don't think anyone wants to read a channel of negative reviews
* imagine being plucked from the wettest English winter on record to dry dusty trails somewhere exotic - that's going to put you in a +ve frame of mind
* a couple of days is not long enough to find the ownership niggles of a bike
* as you say, the channels can't exist (other than as hobbies) without good relationships with manufacturers

 

[Zimmerframe]

I don’t remember that. But I do remember copying in line after line of code from magazines.
I also remember, several years later, having a 2400bps modem that cost a month’s salary that was the envy of my friends, Makes emtbs seem cheap

I can't remember which magazine it was came with cassettes .. it was "premium" priced and more than my paper round money

The cheaper ones sometimes came with a soft plastic "45" record. You copied that to cassette and had your programme ... except you didn't .. what you had was a three week long puzzle as you went through the code finding all the errors which were created copying data from a floppy 10p record.

 

[Beekeeper]

It was only after playing a football manager game on the spectrum that I fully appreciated the awesome power of compound interest. It changed my way of thinking forever and is probably the reason that I can now afford an ebike

 

[Beekeeper]

I feel I’m ignoring the thread so here is my two pennies worth...

When comparing 2 bikes with the question... Which of them is best, I’ve often heard reviewers sit on the fence and simply say “one is not better than the other, they are just..... “different”

 

[Redbikejohn]

I remember the dirt bike mag TBM had loads of trouble from motorbike manufacturers that didn't like the smallest amount of criticism, some pulled their advertising. So no you can't trust them really.

 

[Gary]

People still read magazines?

 

[B1rdie]

On my shifts, a 24 hour turn, I have been reading french vtt magazines ?
Moutain bike action, that mag fooled me into two products with obvious design flaws, noticeable on a first ride: the spec epic 2012 and a mavic wheelset with bladed spokes.

 

[MattyB]

People still read magazines?

Not many it’s true, but you can equally apply the same arguments to YouTube and website reviews. Look at the recent Levo SL launch - there were paid advertorials everywhere, and @Rob Hancill ’s video was the only one I saw that had even a whiff of faint criticism in it. If reviewers bite the hand that feeds they won’t get invited next time; that’s clear from the number of manufacturers who won’t give Rob a bike to review, presumably because they are worried he won’t give a 110% glowing appraisal...

 

[R120]

I still love to buy all the magazines, they are next to the "desk" in my "office" if you know what I mean