Slowman wrote:
burnthesheep wrote:
Slowman wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
Slowman wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
The high end reviews are fine, But I see an opening for slowtwitch to have a beginner's oriented series...gear, training, prep, planning, how to etc etc.except that when we do write about $700 wheelsets (as i recently did) or $499 direct drive smart trainers those reviews don't interest you. it's only interesting to you when we write about something expensive, so that you can complain that we did so.
Hey Dan, what I was pointing out is an opening or gap in market coverage. That is something a of publication can pounce on. Triathlon Magazine Canada went with high end and Ironman coverage at least in most of what I see. The market gap in coverage someone like you can fill and I think it would be valuable to many. I am not complaining about ST coverage. I was commenting on industry wide coverage that is slanted towards the Ferrari end of reviews. I think the entry triathlete is a good demographic worth servicing that it seems many are ignoring. Is that an opp for ST to fill? If I talk to entry level triathletes many are even intimidated to come here.
Would be glad to contribute in the future in that capacity but at this point in life taking on additional responsibilities is tight. Maybe a few years from now.
here is what i have learned over 24 years of publishing product stories:
1. nobody EVER comments about how helpful it is that an entry level product was reviewed. but like clockwork i'll get snarky hate comments every time we publish on a top-range product.
2. when we publish on halo product it's not because we necessarily think you all should go out and buy it. when we publish on dura ace electronic 12sp it's because this is the direction shimano is going. in 2yr you'll find 105 12sp darned near as good at half the price. when we publish on a $1,600 or $1,200 direct drive smart trainer the features and specs will show up in a $500 version in 3yr or 4yr.
2. while tech trickles down, it only trickles to a certain level and that's possibly more than you want to spend (even $500 for a direct drive smart trainer). if you look at what people actually buy, it tends to be what we write about. what does not sell is the product people say they want. for example, where are the $1,500 or $2,000 tri bikes? they don't sell, you won't buy them, so they aren't in the product catalogs of the major players. now, having written this i can almost promise you someone will post to this thread about a $1,500 or $1,800 tri bike and, yeah, somebody is selling it. and when i count bikes in kona there are 7 of them. or 12. as opposed to 500 canyons and 600 cervelos. there is no reason canyon can't make a $2,000 tri bike. the problem is that they can't sell $2,000 tri bikes. that's not the canyon people want.
i don't mind your theorizing, but as a manufacturer (formerly) and media type guy (for the last 2 dozen years) the people who complain bitterly about expensive stuff getting written about don't want to hear that a typical tri bike maker's mean sale price is, say, $6,500 or so. but that's the reality.
all that said, i think you're right that there's an affordability issue and one of my and eric's plans is to bulk up the classifieds forum as that place where affordability exists. pros closet got too choosey in what it wants to sell, and you can't find the $1,500 or $2,000 tri bike there. but that bike exists on the secondary market and we have plans for that forum.
I found my first tt bike used on CL for free. I put $500 in it with tires, Chinese base bar, used Renn disc, used brakes. Got the brakes off here in classifieds.
That thing flew!
I also like that idea. Nobody new to a sport needs flashy brand new. I was a fairly elite junior golfer and half my bag at any point was used clubs.
People always forget that an âalso ranâ competitor is infinitely greater than a âI quit cause I cannot buy the expensive fast stuffâ. The person out there on a used Schwinn is a hero, the complainer at home is a freaking zero.
look, i'm not so old i don't remember when i started in this sport. my first race bike was a used raleigh international. my second race bike was a used colnago frame, onto which i swapped the used parts from my original used bike. i did not buy my first NEW bike until i'd been in bike racing, and then triathlon, for about 7 or 8 years. when i show pics of my first kona, in 1981, that was on the "new" used frame onto which i swapped the used parts.
i bought flatted sew-ups for $5 each and i cut the thread, unwrapped the casing, pulled out the latex tube, patched the tube, sewed the tire back up. that was my "new" race tire. i bought what i could afford, raced it, upgraded when i could. i wish i was as fast now on my new fancy stuff as i was back then on my patched tires and used frame and parts.
Reminds me of the Obre autobio. He did the same thing, re-sewing tubs after repair then racing.
Maybe an idea is a classifieds section of newbies asking for help to locate or search for bargains and build into the sport and vets can help with local CL links or ST classified links or good budget minded guidance.
I have in past cruised a personâs local CL and ebay for them and gave suggestions.