I was glad to see TitanFlex. I wish they would have included Aegis.

Haven't seen the mag yet, but it could have something to do with advertising dollars. Advertisers tend to get their products reviewed or show cased a lot more than non advertisers in any type of magazines.

A friend of mine used to publish a snowmobile magazine. Whenever he did a review he was diplomatic not to say anything bad in case it offened the advertiser. Companies which didn't advertise tended to get their products reviewed more objectively and less frequently.

I noticed the K Factor and Kalibur were missing. I also noticed that they didn't have anything critical to say about any of these bikes. I wish they'd really review bikes and give you the good and bad. As it is, the write ups would not be of much help to someone trying to decide what bike to get.

i've heard it said before by an editor at a running magazine (rather then tri magazine) that they don't do negative reviews very often because there are SO MANY good products out there that they would rather talk about great options for their readers then slam a bunch of product. Obviously sometimes advertising comes into it, but more often then not when magazines do these buyers guides they want to talk about bikes, shoes, wheels, etc. that they like since there are many more good bikes then bad ones.

Triathlete Mag reviews have been one colossal joke for as long as I can remember. They never ever find any flaws in a product. If Huffy advertised, they'd be all, "This bike has amazing cornering characteristics! A++++!"

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"Rock and roll, dude." -- Dave Z., on winning TTs in all 3 Grand Tours.

I have to agree, not the most thorough review,almost a glorified catalog, but i liked it better than the inside tri version last month. It at least had price ranges and tri bikes.

Haven't seen the reviews in the magazine but here are a few ideas.

Guess thay could do the reviews like a camera review, 10 points for each of 3 categories. Eg, Speed, Price versus ban for buck, overall ride.

Am and have been looking quite closely at what the magazines are doing because of various reasons related to my website.

If a magazine is getting advertising dollars from a couple of bike companies, then they should and would do reviews of them.

I am aware of 2 of the main tri magazines you have in the USA. Have seen in other countries with a couple of magazines that each one gets certain regular advertisers.

Saying bad things about someones product, or for instance this bike is overpriced for what you get could cause problems for themagazine. for instance most of them have the same components.

So even when they have photos of pros competing they will selective with which gear they are showing off(often times anyway).

The above is some ideas but there will be a bit more to it.


www.triathlonshots.com

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

Thing you have to remember about reviews of any kind is the magazines are given the products by the companies. So a company is going to give out a bike they know is going to get slammed. They send out products that are going to do well.

As far as poor review quality, that's nothing specific to the Tri mags, most bike mags are just as bad, so are just about any of the sports mags.

My personal fav stupid thing is a review was Mountain Bike Action gave a Downhill bike and F grade for it's climbing ability, and actually said they needed to improve it in there written review.............

many of these "reviews" are bought..
In other words, advertise in the mag, get a "review"

It still doesn't excuse their goofy "reviews".

It's sad that we can't rely on the major triathlon magazines for honest reviews. That's why we have SlowTwitch and other websites to find lots of venting and pseudo-scientific reviews. :)

I should invent a horrible product and take out a full page ad in Triathlete Magazine. "This new Mega Ultra Extreme Bar Wrap Tape will shave 40 % off your bike split and cure cancer!"

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"Rock and roll, dude." -- Dave Z., on winning TTs in all 3 Grand Tours.

Bought....yes and no...a lot of times bikes get in because they manufacture has a good relationship with the mag.

I'm not even sure it's possible to really generate a good bike review without some major worth. Things like cars and cameras are much easier to do since it's once size fits all, and you can have a high number of different people testing it. Many times with bike and tri mags, it's one or two peoples opinions.

I just wanted to sign on and point out a few things...

The Bike Buyer's Guide is just that -- a guide. It's not so much of a review as it is a "here's what's out there this year". Our bike reviews can be found in the "Triathlete's Garage" section (formally known as "Bike of the Month"). For 2008, we've decided to do three bikes per month (hence the name change, do you like it?). While this has been great for Jay and I (we get to ride more sweet bikes), our non-editorial staff doesn't seem too happy about the fact that there are a dozen bikes strewn throughout of tiny office right now. If you have specific questions about any of the bikes you see reviewed, feel free to e-mail me (brad@triathletemag.com).

Brad Culp

If you have specific questions about any of the bikes you see reviewed.......

You just used the word reviewed again. The english language is hard to interpret sometimes.

But I get the gist of what you are saying.

Out of interest, how do you select 12 bikes out of the multitude of brands? guess you are looking at brands that are tri-specific?

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.

Of course we mostly do tri bikes, but we are doing a few road bikes this year (and some mountain bikes for our XTERRA issue). Of course we like to do all of the "big" brands (Cervelo, Kuota, Scott, etc). But we are doing some of the more "under the radar" bikes. We have a very funky John Cobb-designed Wilier here right now. Typically, we lay out a schedule shortly after Interbike each year. We get a sense of what's new and talk to each company about doing a review the following year. We've got some good ones coming up...Argon 18 E-114 and Jamis Xenith T2, two of the "hotter" bikes from Interbike last year.

Brad

Here's an example of what I've been whining about. The March 2008 issues says, on the cover "TESTED: TOP WETSUITS". On page 98, the title spread for the feature proclaims: "WETSUIT REVIEW". Now, sure, they may be the "top" wetsuits, but the entire "review" says not a single negative thing about any of the suits. Not one. The small blurbs can barely contain their gushing enthusiasm for every wetsuit, as if by donning one of these $500 wetsuits will let me hang with the lead pro pack.

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"Rock and roll, dude." -- Dave Z., on winning TTs in all 3 Grand Tours.

Did anyone notice in the magazine that most of the pro bikes- HOLY SMOKING CRAP- have spacers? Oh my god they are going to be failures with spacers, what on earth are they thinking?

Sorry, had to...

Bob

How do you explain Leader?

From my perspective, Triathlete mag is by far the best printed resource we have in the Tri world. they consistently bring a ton of great material for the Tri-addicts amongst us each month--it is a very happy day when my mag arrives.

as for the bike review--I loved reading all of it. It's great to see what's out there. I personally own 7 bikes (3 road, 3 tri and 1 MB) and went through a pretty detailed process to purchase each. I wouldn't buy a bike based on any review but the info that Triathlete mag provides has led to several of my purchases through these many years.

those of you who are hung up on the english language need to get out and ride more--we're going up Mt lemmon tomorrow if you'd care to join us. As for Brad, I'm glad we have a true triathlete doing what he does--he is the real deal. it's hard for me to imagine riding what he gets to ride and not being extremely psyched about each bike--there are a lot of great choices out there now!

If any of you complainers get a chance to ride 10-20 bikes then by all means tell us what you think--otherwise, go train!

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Randy Christofferson(http://www.rcmioga.blogspot.com

Insert Doubt. Erase Hope. Crush Dreams.

Somehow I knew the wetsuit review would come up. I personally tested each one of the suits in the review. I tried as much as possible to find the tiny differences that differentiate each suit, but with wetsuits, this is completely futile. We tested the best wetsuit from each company and guess what, top-end wetsuits are all pretty good. They'll all make you a better swimmer. There's not a real quantitative way to measure the "speed" difference between wetsuits (ie, like a wind tunnel for bikes). It would be hard to bash Orca or XTERRA's best wetsuit, because they feel great and they've been proven fast, by fast swimmers. If you want to save some time in the water, buy a decent wetsuit and then spend the rest of your money on swim lessons. Again, if you're considering buying a certain wetsuit and have any specific questions/concerns, feel free to email me (brad@triathletemag.com), as I have tried all of these suits and may be able to answer your specific questions.

As for the Leader bike, as was brought up in another post...I see how it's easy to bash these bikes, as the price is incredibly low. Low to the point where one may think it's made out of some sort of plastic or bamboo. As far as "bang for your buck" goes it's hard to beat. If you've got a kid who is considering getting into tri or you just want to get your feet wet, it's a great option. They're actually very well built and have some features you wouldn't expect from a couple-hundred dollar bike (like horizontal dropouts, 78 degree seat angle, etc). I have no reason to shamelessly promote these bikes. I don't know anyone at Leader and as far as I know, they don't advertise with us. There's a bike for everyone. If you want to win your age group in Kona, don't buy a Leader. But, if you're feeling the effects of the economy and you just want a decent ride to get you from T1 to T2, it's a good option.

Brad Culp

"Low to the point where one may think it's made out of some sort of plastic or bamboo"

I think bamboo bicycles are really expensive!

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Geoffrey Nenninger

Brad, while I respect that your job can be a tough balance at times, your post really just leaves more questions than answers.

Using the wet suit review for example:

If all the suits are basically equal, why not just write that up? Or even more to the point, why even write the "review" at all? Surely there is something else that could be discussed where differences can be examined, and this would provide more value to the reader for his dollar. As for finding the differences that differentiate the suits, haven't you skipped over the the biggest one of all? The FIT? In reading the "review" there was no fit comparison given for any of the suits. This is an area that can be discussed easily and without offending any advertisers. I'm sure if I put more thought into it I could come up with at least a couple other relevant areas to discuss, but then that's what you're paid for.

You also say, that if a reader is considering buying a certain wetsuit and they have specific questions feel free to contact you. Once again, I have to ask what is the point of writing the review? Readers check out reviews in order to have "specific questions/concerns" addressed. Reviews are one of the compelling reasons for a consumer to purchase a magazine. If the reviews aren't serving their purpose by answering these questions and concerns, what is their purpose in the first place? Also, what if a reader isn't an avid poster/lurker on ST? How are they supposed to know that if they are unhappy with the information provided in the review that they can contact you? This wasn't stated in the review.


It's a great disservice to the consumers who purchase the magazine as well as your employers to try and just skate off the fact that you didn't give 100% into the review that you wrote.

rcmioga, I probably missed you on Mt. Lemmon today, I was headed out with Peter Reid's tri camp today, amid group including Sam McGlone and Cliff English (with T.J. Tollakson joining the group tomorrow), and we did part of Lemmon. It's been a while since doing that climb, was heaps of fun bombing down. What a killer day.

To elaborate on Brad's comments, yes, fit is crucial. Every suit is fairly individualized. Everyone's body type even more so. As are everyone's desires and goals in a suit. If Brand X is not good for you because it doesn't have as much shoulder and lat flexibility and stretch, is it a bad suit? What about the consumer, likely an entry-level athlete, who rates flotation and cost higher? I've said it before (and this is just a euphemism, not a literal statement); your spouse may be hideous to me, but if he or she does it for you and makes you happy, isn't that what matters? Should you ditch her because someone else says she's ugly? The right suit for you isn't the necessarily right suit for everyone. Each brand has a different cut, and we do attempt to identify who the target customer would be for a given model. Brad and I have different body types (me being skinny and lean, Brad, well.... envision a bowling ball with feet and arms coming out of it. That said, Brad swim circles around me.) We felt like we gave the review a fair, balanced shake, and were able to speak to the features a particular customer would find ideal.

Jay Prasuhn
Senior editor, Triathlete magazine

Jay, your argument really only reinforces what I stated.

I do believe that most everyone's goals in suit are similar. To have the best swim possible aided by the suit the fits them and their needs the best.

If we are going to use tastes in women as an example, explain to me why it would be so difficult to give some general considerations in your review in order to help the consumer narrow down his options?

Suppose I'm running a dating service and I have to give internet descriptions of several lovely ladies. Description #1 would go something like: Ms. Xterra is built for the type of man who likes a little junk in the trunk and isn't afraid of an athletic build. #2 would go something like: Lady Quintana is tall and thin and looking for a man who can admire her slender build. So on and so forth.

No where in this issue's wetsuit reviews does the article discuss the cut or target customer that each suit is a better fit for.

That you state your feeling that the wetsuit review was a "fair, balanced shake," is particularly disappointing. The wetsuit review was simply a regurgitation of each brand's respective marketing material and catch phrases, re-worded appropriately so as to avoid outright plagiarism.

You can continue with the status quo, but don't fool yourself into believing that you've got no room for improvement and that your product is as polished as it can get. Your consumers are speaking out and expressing their disappointment. Instead of making excuses for your lackluster reviews, perhaps you and Brad should pay closer attention to the suggestions that have been offered and take them into consideration.

Have orca sorted out the neck tightness problem thier suits had a few years back?

The first time i asked someone about it, they replied " haven't you heard of the Orca hickey".

So I assumed it was well known.

Neck tightness would be an area to mention because neck tightness would be an issue for novice swmmers in open water.



Anyway some advice on ST recently was useful. It said with wetsuits make sure you pull them well up around the shoulders/body etc.


I imagine it is pretty hard to do a review on such gear. One way would be to ask a variety of age groupers who enter heaps of tri's/swim events.


Thats just my 2 cents worth.

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http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.