Correct. Would be good if Slowtwitch took the Escape Collective route. But they are very, very far from it currently. I’m not even really a big pro cycling fan. But I’m an EC subscriber because they are doing something incredible for journalism in general.
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Or EC start up a tri channel. It would be trivial for them.
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I’ve only visited EC a few times but I do know what you are referring to. My comment was a bit tongue in cheek. And more to the point that ST rules all in the triathlon world (like it or not). I just don’t see another media company coming in and taking over the tri world. It’s been tried and failed many times. For a variety of reasons.
I also think EC pricing is ridiculous. But there’s a lot more cycling fans than triathlon.
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Indeed. Why not. Got to have a global outlook. With in-depth knowledge of national scenes. A grasp of the history too. Everywhere. Not just Hawaii. Good banter (liker PTN and TTH). Kind of unbiased news and opinion. And some serious deep-dives. They know where to find me.
ST+ is $84 per year. EC is $100. There is A LOT of content
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Correct. The podcasts are very well produced and the writing is excellent. Caley and the other journalists are experienced and entertaining. Lots of boots on the ground stuff too.
Also. Shout-out to Let’s Run. Those guys are definitely opinionated. But they attend many. many meets. And Jon Gault is probably the best non-print journalist in Track and Field.
I actually agree - maybe our sport is too niche for such a site to exist - cycling is huge compared to triathlon (relatively speaking). Very wishful thinking on my part that we can have somewhere to go for regular, high quality reporting and investigative journalism, with beautiful race galleries and interesting behind-the-scenes stories and training insights.
I will say though that although the annual subscription may seem steep, it is in fact good value for what you receive. The quality of the journalism, the fact that they don’t have any brand partnerships and can report without bias (they were recently left out of the new Aethos launch due to some recent reporting they published on Specialized’s manufacturing processes), and the brand discounts they offer for members. My membership has paid for itself almost twice over after buying some new cycling gear.
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I don’t follow pro cycling a ton except for some of the major races. But I would be interested to learn more about things behind the scenes with the industry, pro teams, riders, etc. If they have content along those lines. Color me interested.
I go to their website every couple of months and wonder if I’m missing out by not having a subscription But then I read what they offer and it doesn’t really grab me and seems like I’m just going to get another cycling news and bike radar. So I pass.
Could you share what those discounts are or what brands they had discounts for? Feel free to dm them to me if you aren’t comfortable.
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Last time I looked, ST+ was $60/year. Did it go up?
I just did $7 x12. Maybe they have an annual rate.
7Mesh, Albion, Astral, Attaquer, Bike Tires Direct, Burgh, Cane Creek, Chapter2, DSTNC, Forkmods, Hammerhead, Hunt, Knogg, Maap, Mavic, Old Man Mountain, Ornot, Pactimo, Pedla, Pillar, POC, Posedla, Rex, Rolf Prima, Silca, Tiibo, Velocio, Wove, Ritchey, Feedback Sports, Vittoria. All pretty much 20% off.
The EC sub is the easiest renewal ever. I’ll keep it over any other sub without hesitation.
Thanks!
Looking forward to all the kona talk this week from all the outlets .
Honestly the best thing with kona is the pre week build. hype it up. the race is fine but the build up Monday to Saturday is the best.
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Totally.
This is what makes PTN annoy some, I think. The hosts have skin in the game and unavoidably have biases, but at the same time claim to be journalists and make proud statements about principles. At least Mark clearly recognises the contradiction and doesn’t take it too seriously. Meanwhile Jack is just a fan of the sport that’s mates with a few pros and has a good time shooting opinions. Doesn’t claim to be anything else. Either way podcasters don’t owe anyone anything. We don’t need to be told what to think of the other.
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it’s a fine line. If you get too edgy, you get cancelled. Look at what happened to TRS.
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You’re welcome. Gift link to this gem of a gallery + captions. This is the kinda stuff EC does that I absolutely love.
Here’s a gift article for you from Escape Collective: Of dolphins and drop bars: Remembering Cor Vos through cycling's strangest race
IIRC, he just burned out. Wildly funny, and best interviews ever - asking the questions that no one else would. But what made it good, and perhaps JK has some similar traits, is that he was on the edge - both with the content and personally. It was obvious from the beginning that TRS wouldn’t be around for too long. Hopefully JK can extend his run.
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Exactly.
TRS was very excellent.