The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 141 - Why The Comments Are Important

Sep 1, 2022
by Mike Levy  
Pinkbike Podcast
Art by Taj Mihelich


The internet told me that the earliest comment section opened way back in 1998, and I think that was followed by someone posting "First!" less than thirty seconds later. The general consensus seems to be that things haven't gotten much better since, with countless major websites closing down their comments while blaming trolls, doxxing, and a lack of resources to moderate and keep discussions pointing in the right direction. If you need more evidence, there have been all sorts of studies looking into people's online behavior, with some saying that up to 25-percent of forum users have posted at least one toxic comment. In other words, not exactly a friendly place to hang out.

So, why bother having a comment section? Today's podcast sees Henry Quinney and I chat about how Pinkbike is a community and the comment section is a visible, living extension of that community, article feedback and online interaction, moderating mistakes and banning users, and why we'll never close our comment section.

Have a comment about the comments? Post it below and we might read it in a future podcast.





THE PINKBIKE PODCAST // EPISODE 141 - WHY THE COMMENTS ARE IMPORTANT
September 1st, 2022

First!


Featuring a rotating cast of the editorial team and other guests, the Pinkbike podcast is a weekly update on all the latest stories from around the world of mountain biking, as well as some frank discussion about tech, racing, and everything in between.

Podcast presented by Canyon
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Subscribe to the podcast via your preferred service (Apple, Spotify, RSS, LibSyn, etc.), or visit the Pinkbike Podcast tag page for the complete list of episodes.

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Podcasts The Pinkbike Podcast Henry Quinney Mike Levy


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213 Comments
  • 88 0
 Henry Quinney is the comment section in human form: opinionated and contrarian, hasn't ridden a bike in months.

Love him though. Wink
  • 13 90
flag bigmeatpete420 (Sep 1, 2022 at 7:59) (Below Threshold)
 He became the worst Pinkbike personality over night. He started quiet and easy to listen to now he says f*ck ever 4th word doesn’t ride and complains about the sport/ equipment progression.
  • 31 2
 all those fucks he wanted to say on GMBN but couldn't
  • 20 1
 @AyJayDoubleyou: All those years caged up at GMBN, he's jus overflowing with f*cks. Maybe our American friends just don't understand how much British people swear.
  • 19 0
 @freeridejerk888: username checks out?
  • 32 1
 @freeridejerk888: funny... You mentioned all the things I like about Henry..
  • 1 0
 True, biting, funny. Henry would approve I guess. Comment gold
  • 1 0
 Noah Colorado 's comment I mean
  • 3 0
 @freeridejerk888: Henry has much thicker skin than other pinkbike employees…
  • 4 0
 @freeridejerk888:

That’s definitely a cultural difference, every other word is f*ck over the pond
  • 16 0
 @freeridejerk888: Wait til you find out how often we call someone a c*nt...
  • 1 0
 @TimMog: especially when the word bloody precedes it..
  • 1 0
 @freeridejerk888: What the f*ck are you talking about?
  • 15 0
 Henry is fantastic and a huge asset to the PB team.
  • 3 0
 @TimMog: c*nt is a great word, one of my favourites!
  • 2 0
 @TimMog: last night I found myself having to explain to some Americans what see you next Tuesday means
  • 1 0
 @TimMog: daily. It's so versatile
  • 77 0
 Dick Pound
  • 24 0
 hard...to beat...this comment.
  • 17 0
 @mildsauce91: Yeah man so many classics. If they removed the comments section, I swear to god I would just stop posting.
  • 1 0
 @scott-townes: Mine at least wouldn't be excessively long anymore.
  • 2 0
 Bmx background
  • 1 0
 Look no further than latest Sam Harris podcast about Status Games with Will Storr… this is what comments sections works towards and it’s a good thing, the net effect is a more evolved culture, admit it to your yourself, status matters, virtue, dominance, and success are the 3 main routes (all readily available here on the comments section)
  • 47 2
 I’m going to try this again @mikelevy @brianpark. Still no word on Beta and it’s employees? I asked about this a couple months ago and you responded “we don’t even know what’s going on.” I was also assured I would be contact about my subscription. Still nothing! You need to update the community on this issue. I have already not renewed my Outside magazine subscription because of the actions taken by the new ownership. Please update “the people.”
  • 9 0
 Good point. I gotta say I was not inspired by Beta simply as an Outside product, and that's probably cliche to say but as an OCD mag-fan I'm in mtb mags, period. Mags are the best in sense b/c there's so much online content, it tends to get lost - can be reread repeatedly, show a progression on paper, mobile for remote / plane (whatever reading). But mostly it sounds like Palmer & others - and the subscribers - got dissed, and quick, with just about zilch explanation so yeah, I'm curious.
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy

If Pinkbike was shut down, we would be asking Nicole Formosa what bar you have been drowning your sorrows in. It's only because we care. PS to @outside750: it appears that Kristin Butcher has landed well.
  • 5 1
 Engaging with the community is a priority when it's fun stuff, but on stuff like this, you get crickets. Was always very supportive of @brianpark, but he's really dropped the ball on this one.

It's a terrible look for Outside to openly promote a magazine and then shut it down a few weeks later.
  • 34 1
 I wish I had an answer for you but I don’t. I’m not involved with that part of the website but I do know it sucks that people are still waiting for an answer on this - it will be sorted out, just not soon enough.
  • 9 1
 @mikelevy: thank you for acknowledging it. With that said, why is this so complicated to resolve? This is something that gets solved in an hour conference call, not three months and counting.

We don't have to over complicate it. Refund the subscription, and/or offer a free year of Trailforks (or credit for additional time if already a subscriber). There, I just solved it. I don't think any of us are too concerned about the money, it's the total lack of response for something we tried to support.

Is there a reason @brianpark refuses to speak on the matter?
  • 20 0
 @mikelevy: I had kinda hoped Palmer would have been slid over to PB...
  • 19 0
 @lumpy873: Yeah same here. Hopefully we’ll work with him in the future, he’s one of my fave bike industry folks for sure.
  • 18 0
 @brettbob: Spoiler alert...there will be no refund nor acknowledgement of the situation. Let's just move on, you're better off badgering Robin on Twitter or LinkedIn than taking your anger out on Levy and Brian who are cogs in the Outside wheel (no disrespect).
  • 4 0
 @wolftwenty1: It's sad, but likely true. I fully respect the crew at PB, just so disappointed that when they openly committed that they were working on something and publicly stated that on the podcast. I guess we should all just request a charge back on our credit card and be done with it.

I'm sure working under Outside is no picnic. All these industries following the consolidation/disruptor formula that is all the rage now seem to going in awful directions.
  • 10 1
 @brettbob: you're barking up the wrong tree if you think you'll ever get anything from Brian. He banned me for downvoting a couple of his comments once, I had to fight for months to get my account back
  • 1 0
 @kookseverywhere: I would come as a surprise to me if the editors can see how people have voted on posts
  • 2 0
 @brianpark i think in a podcast a while ago it was said there would be something done for those who subscribed to beta only for it to be taken quickly away. Still nothing?
  • 7 0
 @pmhobson: I was surprised too but they definitely can. Downvoted two Brian comments as he was spewing outside marketing talking points, didn’t make a comment, and was banned for 90000 hours two seconds later. Had to appeal to every @pinkbike.com email address for months to get my 10 year old account back
  • 24 0
 As a relatively newer pinker (~3yrs) I think the comments are great, definitely add a lot to my enjoyment of the website. I don't comment a lot myself but enjoy reading the community's dialog. Yes there are plenty of annoying comments too but I think the downvote feature helps massively to keep them out of sight, and I skim past the nastier stuff. I can totally understand that PB staff might get tired of some of the negative comments directed at them, but I'm happy to hear that it's not enough to think about switching comments off.

The biggest annoyance for me is the repetitive copy/paste negative comments week after week for series like PBA and budget/baller. And if that's my biggest annoyance I think life must be pretty good!
  • 14 0
 For sure, the downvoting has been a huge help in minimizing the annoying comments. It was much rowdier before. But I couldn’t imagine creating something and not having that feedback from users - it’s so important.
  • 5 0
 Reg copy/paste - one exception for me - gotta hand it to sewer-rat for keeping the holiday traditions alive.
  • 13 2
 @mikelevy: I think the threshold for hiding comments could be a bit higher.
The way it is now, any slightly controversial opinion is hidden.
  • 4 0
 @IntoTheEverflow: Agreed!
  • 6 0
 @mikelevy: I love the comment section and the way it is set up is the best I have seen. There are so many other solutions where the first 2-3 comments are toxic and because they are not moved, sets the tone for the entire discussion. I like that all is on one page, easy to follow threads and new comments. I hate solutions where you have to click through page after page because they only display 10 at a time.
I don’t see the down vote as an attack on me. I can have an opinion and someone disagrees with it. That’s fine. If I say that drop handlebars are the best solution for the aerodynamic problem in DH racing, then a “disagree” is fine. I don’t see it at someone calling me the scum of the earth.
Then again, I haven’t finished the podcast yet (half way through) so I don’t know how much moderation you have to do.
  • 5 0
 @mitochris: I hear you on those early comments - they can determine how the entire comment section goes, so we do pay more attention to an article when it first goes up.
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy: Mike, could we also kindly ask for a possibility of turning off notifications for comment threads?
  • 17 0
 Every podcast with Henry in makes me love him just a little bit more
  • 6 0
 Same tho
  • 2 0
 I agree...
  • 1 0
 Yeah. Except the mtb music ep where he admitted to numerous warcrimes.
  • 1 0
 @Tanglefist: Yeah thats true, that speaker shit is unforgivable.
  • 13 0
 Great podcast every time, @henryquinney humour is always good and I like that neither Mikes ever agree, the rest of the crew is awesome too! My only complaint is that it's not a weekly drop and I need to check everyday if a new one is out! Keep on making these thanks!
  • 5 0
 Keeping ya guessing haha
  • 13 0
 I really enjoy Henry's contribution to Pinkbike and the podcasts especially. I may not always agree with his opinion, but at least he has one and can articulate why. Plus, the world needs villains. And we all know the best villains are always British. It's interesting that you mentioned automotive journalism in this podcast. Unfortunately, the current era of auto 'journalism' is a quagmire of payola and cash for comments and has been for the past 5 to 6 years. It's quite unbelievable how rotten the entire industry has become, to the point that manufacturers are releasing genuinely terrible cars with no fear of being held to account. I know there is some of this in the MTB arena and I hope it can be held at bay more successfully than it has in the auto world.
  • 3 0
 What auto websites or magazines would you say do the best? I've been surprised with how underwhelmed reviewers have been by the Emira, SF90, and a few others. Not sure what they're saying about the more common cars.
  • 2 0
 @drbino: agreed 110%
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy: @savagegeese on YouTube is hands down the best auto content
  • 2 0
 @xaanec: SG is incredible - so much tech detail, but also the right amount of humor and salt as well. I watch their longest videos about cars I give zero cares about just because he does them so well and I always end up learning something. I like Carfection etc but they kinda seem to be more about making a gorgeous video than really reviewing cars.
  • 1 0
 @xaanec: +1 for savagegeese satire, and frickin turbowski
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy: thesmokingtire is one of my favorites. Mostly the podcast.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: To be honest I've tuned out of almost all car media over the last few years. Working for both a major manufacturer and a publisher in the auto space over the last 15 years has left me a jaded old man. Luckily I've fallen back in love with bikes! Doors and windows etc. You would be genuinely appalled with any of those vehicles you mentioned if you were lucky enough to plonk down the fun tickets.

I don't mind a bit of Harry's Garage though.
  • 16 2
 A "report comment" button that actually works to get moderators to look at what's going on would be a quantum leap in improving the quality of the comments section.
  • 13 0
 Oh shit, that’s a great idea. I’ll pass this along. Thanks!
  • 3 5
 This will only end in a giant headache for Pinkbike moderators.
  • 8 2
 Not that I'm against it, but you have to call it a Snitch Switch or something
  • 2 0
 @DizzyNinja: I like that idea. It might make all the thin-skinned crybabies out there think twice. Look, if there’s a legitimate reason out there to report a comment (credible threat to do bodily harm to someone, etc.), I’m all for it. I just know people will be reporting each other because someone called them a “knob” because they don’t like eBikes or mullets or whatever. Mark my words. It would become a giant headache for moderators.
  • 2 1
 @mikelevy: One thing you guys might consider is locking comment threads when enough has been said. Like that Truckworx article. After 400 replies and a week’s worth of time, everyone has said all that can be said. No one’s mind is going to be changed. Enough is enough. Just lock it.

Or maybe a feature where when I’ve had enough and am no longer interested, I can push a button to check out of the conversation. Let those guys keep arguing about Trump’s wall. I’m out.
  • 1 1
 @TheR: Those are good ideas as well. Added to the list.
  • 2 0
 @TheR: "Or maybe a feature where when I’ve had enough and am no longer interested, I can push a button to check out of the conversation" oh dear goodness please yes. I really don't need a notification every time those last two people who just can't let it go have another pop at each other!
  • 1 0
 @DizzyNinja: Snitches get stitches!
  • 10 0
 @mikelevy I have noticed the PB comment section seems toxic at first but is more like a bunch of squabbling siblings (for the most part). While other comment sections on Reddit, YouTube, and Instagram are horribly toxic, misogynistic, and racist. Which is rather interesting.
  • 8 0
 I love the consistency - I’ve seen many Pinkers commenting for over a decade. Amazing 3
  • 3 3
 @mikelevy: You'r old. I also have a question for you editors, are you guys worried about aging? and what will you do once you become older? will you keep testing bikes?
  • 3 2
 @Sethsg you might change your mind if you follow the comments on this one www.pinkbike.com/news/christchurch-adventure-park-bro-zone-renamed-o-zone-following-social-media-backlash.html
  • 9 0
 @Sethsg: I am old-ish but I don't worry about aging. I'm getting close to three decades of mountain biking but I'd like to think that I'm fitter and stronger than I've ever been... I also have waaaay less courage than I used to and take waaaay fewer chances. I'll likely be doing the same thing when I become even older than I am now.

Excellent question for a future podcast.
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy: thats cool that you don’t mind ageing, North American culture is funny beacuse people are always so worried about being old. While in so many other cultures the older you are the respected you are.
  • 3 0
 @Sethsg: It helps that I look 25 and act 15 haha
  • 9 0
 I appreciate what you guys do, and I'm envious of what and where you get to ride. I will sometimes give you shit, but I really try to avoid being mean. My thanks to all of you at PB.
  • 6 0
 Ruh-Ro… can't wait to see what the comments will be on this one. Can we also do a cast on why up and downvoting like early 2000s Survivor episodes matters? I'm fine to just skip all that and read the comments for the (moslty) good and sometimes crap they are, but I'm sure it adds up to something in DataLand....

Totally unrelated but how about an episode on the history of DH and enduro privateers, the wild stories, who railed it, how teams changed that, who's left and what the privateer forecast may be. No illusions here that teams suck: they're great, but lots of current team members were privateers very recently, there are still some serious shredders out there w/ zero team support - which in a way is more hardcore than getting all the massages - its a great thread in mtb life.
  • 1 0
 I’ve got plently dude…remember my mega comment that went a bit wild. Been trying !
  • 1 0
 @cristiantomlinson: Me too though I'm usually too wind-bagging and probably irrelevant and irreverant about them. Direct me to yr mega-comment...
  • 4 0
 I wanna see running totals accumulate over time, and awards given out for highest and lowest annual totals
  • 3 0
 @Mtn-Goat-13: this one, top chat

www.pinkbike.com/u/edspratt/blog/video-raw-chaos-and-carnage-from-megavalanche-2022.html
  • 4 0
 We didn’t really talk about propping and why we have it - we’ll hit on that in the next podcast.
  • 4 0
 @cristiantomlinson: Oh THAT comment - I recall commenting that your comment was comment worthy enough to be its own podcast. Yeah. YEAH! So hey @mikelevy - howsa bout adding this one to your 100's long list of podcast ideas? I forgot to save that page...that's one of the best comments ever.
  • 2 0
 @Mtn-Goat-13: lol I’ve been nudging @brianpark for ages. Question is did @mikelevy even see it. Either way no drama-rama but ya can’t blame a guy for tryin’
  • 6 0
 This was a good podcast, and they touched on some great points. Some thoughts:

1. I worked behind the scenes in a fairly prominent sports organization. Reading the comments on our sport’s version of Pinkbike, you see just how clueless all the commenters are. So often, they just really have no idea what they’re talking about. I try to remember that when I comment. Do I really know all the facts and details, or do I truly know more than the president of the company, the the chief engineers or anyone else who really knows?

2. Levy was right about the dawn of message boards and comment sections, people were much more respectful of their community. You didn’t used to read trash. Discussions were much more civil than they are these days.

3. I notice these days, people are much more ready to downvote a comment they simply disagree with, rather than engage in a discussion. When I joined Pinkbike all those years ago, downvotes seemed a little rarer and reserved for the most extreme, idiotic or goofy posts. I always had a personal policy of never downvoting anyone simply because they made a statement I disagree with. If I want to engage, I’ll engage. If not, I’ll keep scrolling. I just think people are a lot more intolerant and touchy these days.

4. Posting something like, “Yeah bro, nice bike,” leaves no mark. If you want your comment to stand out, put yourself out there. Make a statement. Have a real opinion. Upvotes and downvotes be damned. High numbers in either direction means you said something. Otherwise it’s just boring. Take Waki, for example. Love him or hate him, you knew damn well who he was. Still a legend, and he deleted his account like three years ago.
  • 4 0
 @TheR: Couldn't agree more with #4. The "sick" and other one-word comments are fine, but it's way more interesting when someone has a dumb opinion but they can also back it up. I think the propping system had to be used and it makes sense, but I also think that it can keep people from interacting sometimes.
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy: I don’t have a problem with the propping system. It’s just I’ve noticed people use it more these days to just downvote a comment they don’t like, rather than engaging in a discussion. Downvote me all day, but let me know what you have a problem with, and maybe I can explain my point of view better, and we can reach a middle ground. Or call each other names for 100 replies. Either way, more interesting. Haha.

I will also give Pinkbike credit… you guys censor or limit comments far less than the other sport site I was talking about above, and many others I have seen. It’s refreshing for a site to let the opinions flow. Kudos to you all.

You guys also mentioned how other news sites have turned off the comments altogether. I think that’s cowardly. They put out some news or an opinion, and they don’t want discussion? Opposition? Questioning their authority? Bad form. And they wonder why trust in them is at an all-time low.
  • 2 0
 @TheR: Agreed, but I also think it takes a ton of technical and editorial investment to moderate the comment sections on huge websites that make PB look like a tiny blog no one goes to. But I'd argue that investment can be worth it - you're speaking directly to/with the community that's coming to your website. If you're not letting people comment and discuss, you might as well be making a magazine.
  • 1 0
 @Mtn-Goat-13 +1
  • 1 0
 Is this a Support that Megavalanche comment comment?
  • 1 0
 @Mtn-Goat-13: it was me illustrating what can happen without the upvote button
  • 1 0
 @Woody25: I can honestly see the point of up voting but usually the first few commenters get up voted and then other people just pile on so it’s not necessarily that meaningful. There’s no broom whatsoever for personal attacks, racist or sexist comments, and I think the majority of us are down with that but I read all of the comments on any article I plan to comment on anyway so voting or down voting doesn’t do much - just makes me have to click “show comment” for downvoted words
  • 9 0
 Comments are necessary just in case I forgot that bikes are expensive. Two dozen reminders in each section.
  • 5 0
 Oh man that was a great episode! You two just talking sh@$ the whole time while I was digging trail really made my day. @henryquinney don't ever change! Your contrarian view points are a breathe of fresh air in a community that tends to be monolithic at times. @mikelevey I hope admitting that authors are responsible for their own comment sections doesn't come back to bite you guys! lol

Question for an episode as I think it would be hilarious to hear Quinney piss a lot of people off: In a similar area to most people being over-biked to you think most people are over-tire(d)? I rode with some friends of a friend recently and they talked about how "worthless" EXO casings are. They acted as if they just tear if you look at them wrong. They were all running DD casings on their mid travel trail bikes meanwhile I was sitting there with EXO+ on my big plow bike. Maybe it's because I grew up in Colorado and was forced to learn how to pick lines or pay the price but it's been years since I last had a tire failure that I couldn't immediately be like "yep that was my fault". Maybe I just don't get the appeal of running a DD at sub 15 psi because eventually you have to pedal that slow rolling heavy turd back to the top of the hill. Maybe the low PSIs are why they feel they NEED heavier casings or maybe they need to pick better lines.
  • 5 0
 Added to the list for a future podcast. I love talking tires and would definitely say that some riders do over-tire their bike, and that (depending on how/what you're riding) you can have too much traction. The same goes for the casing - pushing around too much tire is a surefire way to detract from some bike's strengths.
  • 6 0
 And here it is - a comment section morphed into a self moderating, self-deprecating, stoking organism with more wit than a cornish sheep herder.
  • 8 0
 TLDL - I'll just read the comments.
  • 7 0
 If it weren’t for the comment section, where would all the engineers on here go to express their opinions?
  • 1 0
 Brilliantly said !
  • 4 0
 This will sound rather fanboyish, but I've tried to listen to other bike podcasts. Usually listen about 10 minutes and turn off. Either too silly or too serious. PB team usually hits a perfect balance between expertise and humor and I've enjoyed listing to most of them several times. Great job everybody Also maybe hateful comments get deleted before I see them but have yet to see anything I would call offensive in the comments.
  • 2 0
 Certain types of articles bring out the bigotry in the bigots. The most recent dumpster fire comment section I can remember is on the article about the "Bro Zone" trail being renamed. The Bros were super butthurt.
  • 1 0
 While it took me a while to get it to it, the downtime podcast is like a long form version of the pinkbike podcast. A wide variety of guests and topics are covered in detail and the producer/presenter clearly puts a lot of effort into the structure and content of each show. Great for those longer train journeys.
  • 2 0
 @coombsd: thanks for the kind words
  • 4 0
 I am so thankful for an authentic platform like Pinkbike. There are so many personalities on the web and I feel like a lot of them are so cliche or they pander to a particular audience. Pinkbike is so unique in that it’s personalities are determined by the authentic voice and lives of the people creating content and the audience that is receiving the content. I don’t ever feel like I’m getting watered down or “sponsored” content. It’s riding bikes and the culture surrounding riding bikes. Never change, my friends. I’m thankful for voices and personalities like Henry, Sarah, Mike, and all those who commit their time and energy to this community.
  • 4 0
 @mikelevy I'll admit I've always thought of you all as "journalists".

To me there's a difference between people who try to discuss the facts of something (journalists, scientists) and those who are trying to give something a particular spin for some sort of gain (marketers, ad writers, influencers etc.).

Brian has talked in previous podcasts about brands paying to be on field tests and to win reviews etc. in some publications and that really opened my eyes. Someone particularly called out Dirt magazine for that I recall.

I've always thought/hoped PB tech editors are trying to expose the facts around what they are writing about - if a bike has a shitty spec, or rides bad I trust you all to tell us that, even if that brand has a massive sponsor deal with you and even if that means you take some heat. That makes you journalists to me.

I hope that's the way you all approach it too, but I think that's also what's important about the comments section - to a degree it provides an immediate bullshit detector because what ever is being written about, someone out there has knowledge and experience too.

One more point on the journalist thing - I take Henry's point about bikes just being toys, but so is a violin and we don't think of musicians as just playing - we see their music as art and the essence of being human. I think a lot of us get passionate about bikes because they scratch that same creativity itch for us and also calm our minds and souls. I'd be the first to say my riding is far from art, but the need to do it comes from some place inside!
  • 6 0
 The pay-to-play thing is very common, but we have a hard time calling anyone out as it's hard to make a living doing this and PB has done plenty of stupid things over the years. P2P doesn't mean a positive review, either, although it's easy to assume exactly that these days. PB is very lucky to be in a position where we don't need to go down that road, but there are also P2P websites making great content. I just wish it didn't need to be like that. We've definitely had more than a few angry brands, some of who were advertisers and ended up pulling their ads. Some have been surprised we've said anything critical about their products. Thank you very much for the kind words!
  • 4 0
 @mikelevy

I have a question for a future podcast: in the latest field test videos I heard the reviewers talk and compare a bike that had shorter reach/slacker head angle to a bike that had a longer reach/steeper head angle but similar wheelbase. Could you ask them to dive into that deeper? What makes each one different or similar?
  • 1 0
 For sure, added it to the list.
  • 3 0
 @mikelevy: Question for next time... Can you folks discuss whether size specific chainstay lengths affect rear travel numbers and leverage curves? Do the companies that offer bikes with size specific chainstay lengths change the linkage for each size to keep the kinematics the same?
  • 5 0
 Henry Quinney, get us more budget reviews from Aliexpress parts :-) !

Like those ZTTO 5EUR grips www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-t4Mx_H22g
  • 10 0
 Henry might have ptsd from Budget vs Baller tbh haha
  • 20 13
 First!
  • 6 2
 no your not i am
  • 4 2
 Sorry you got downvoted by the guy on dial-up.
  • 10 1
 thirst!
  • 2 1
 1nd!
  • 3 0
 I just wanted to say I really enjoy what you’re doing with the pinkpod and pink bike in general, I’ve used the site for a good few years now and I really think it’s great. Keep it coming
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy I loved Budget vs Baller, thought it was entertaining. It was nice to see something about used bikes, so much of the content is about the latest and greatest. I think it would be fun to give two people a set budget to spend on a bike with a challenge/goal in mind, complete a race, etc. Kind of like challenges on Top Gear, but bikes not cars. It was always entertaining to see what cars they chose. Maybe some Mike vs Mike content
  • 6 0
 Herbold cut the course looks like a session bring back freecaster
  • 4 2
 I don't know why the comments would be closed on PB. It creates really effective engagement for the site and people are generally respectful and here to talk about bikes. There are rude comments occasionally but nothing like most social media.
  • 6 0
 For sure, we’ll never close the comments.
  • 6 3
 @mikelevy something that wasn't mentioned, but the shit show that was the Troy Lee Designs A3 review, where the Troy Lee account was bitching off at people in the comment section.
  • 9 1
 I didn’t see that specific article but it’s something we definitely could have talked about: how brands interact in the comments. Some do better than others, some *look like* they’ve told all their ambassadors to rain down positive comments, and some clearly don’t understand the internet haha
  • 2 1
 @melonhead1145
What is your point, what are you asking here (serious question)?

Yes, I saw the interaction... However, from my point of view, it isn't a publication or moderators' job to inform a spokesperson how to behave in a public forum (or specifically a comments section). Ultimately karma will handle that because word will get around and either A) that person will be fired or reassigned and the situation will correct itself, or B) the brand will quickly lose its luster and its connection to the market and people will go elsewhere.

PS; love your handle as it relates to the TL helmet review Wink
  • 2 0
 Hmm, lot's of interesting thoughts but isn't it just something that boosts page views? You know, something you make money from Wink In fact you want them to be spicy and engaging. Of course you don't want to have a troll swamp or get sued but you also don't want boring intellectual discussions. PB comment section is about perfect, anyone that thinks it's too rough does not understand its purpose - more page views, this is just business and PB is just a product. Do you really think it looks like this by accident?
  • 3 0
 I wish there were two “down vote” buttons. One to say “I disagree” and one to say “this person is being rude/toxic/insulting/etc”.

That way I could see the unpopular opinions but not see the garbage hate.
  • 2 0
 @mikelevy @henryquinney: For what it's worth, I really enjoyed the baller vs. budget series. It was entertaining and enjoyable to watch. It would be fun to see another one where Jason and Henry each have a set budget to work with and have to pick and choose where they spend money on upgrades or something like that.
  • 1 0
 We'll probably do another season but the two bikes will be closer in price.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy Love the podcast, but as you get more into "Ad reads" I'd suggest you improve the flow of show and production quality. Check out "Spittin Chicklets" podcast where they read some bizarre product ads w/o shame, and at the same time they don't sound like they're being ironic or selling out on their personal opinions. No need to be slick, just time to up the game a notch.
  • 1 0
 Hello there! I have created an account after listen the podcast, and after weeks my account was accepeted. I am not a Mountain Biker nor have interest in become one, but love to listen the podcast.
How I ended up here: searching youtube information about bits and bolts and screws I found a video from mister Henry Quinney to GMBN and youtube suggest me to watch Mike and Sarah in something called impossible trails.
You guys have a nice community. And as aways on the internet, your community is a reflection of your own work and you guys should be proud.
  • 5 0
 Does anyone actually win the win it Wednesdays? Clicks enter!
  • 4 0
 You can see all the past winners here: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/tags/win-it-wednesday/
  • 1 3
 @sarahmoore: sarcasm detection fail or sarcasm fail? Clicks Enter!
  • 2 0
 Surfing’s version of PinkBike finally put their comments behind a paywall to clean things up and make moderating more manageable. Surfers are worse people than bikers, though (even when they are the same people).
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy you mentioned that the moderators sometimes don't get to the hate speech and personal attacks as quickly as would be preferable. Is there a reason the site doesn't have a 'report this post' feature to allow other site users to flag up of hate speech etc. and perhaps some sort of automation to hide a post pending review if too many people report it? I think that would probably help a lot.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy

bring back RC content! Saw a bunch of his creations on display via a friend in a shop in Nebraska (I think) and I want more. Maybe on YouTube with explanations?

This pod was great. Much love for having actual opinions.
  • 2 0
 We definitely need to catch up with RC.
  • 2 1
 "Protection of the environment has to come from the top" is the cheapest excuse for not acting and a very sad opinion in an outdoor sport. Sign of the times though. Having kids instead of oh so cute trail-dogs might make you think twice.
  • 2 0
 No, it doesn’t mean not acting or not taking care of things. You always need to be responsible, of course. But it does mean acknowledging that there are much larger things at play.
  • 2 0
 Upvote, downvote, and FLAG. That could be an option. Someone already mentioned a downvote button as a "disagree" button. How about you just type "disagree." Even better: disagree and explain why.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy budget vs baller was one of my favourite video series on PB. Learned loads. Really worthwhile, especially for a guy I ride with who has that exact bike. Get the next series planned!
  • 2 2
 When comparing the Claymore to the Megatower, you asked why it's possible that the Claymore frame could be cheaper than the Megatower frame when Deviate is a smaller brand - Deviate offers DTC while SC does not. Couldn't this difference (DTC vs Distributor) more than account for the ~10% price difference between the two frames? I was surprised that this point wasn't discussed during the comparison.
  • 4 0
 Shops usually get 30% margin on a bike, so without it a SC should be 20% cheaper than the Deviate. Now consider that SC would pay much less for production than a tiny company like Deviate and have the advantage of rationalized cost due to more sales volume and that explains why a direct to customer SC would be 20% cheaper than a Deviate can do now and why Deviate is "only" 10% cheaper than a SC. Thing is, if any of the big makers go direct you will never see that 30% discount, they will need more margin to pay teams of customer service and they will probably seize the opportunity to improve their already juicy margins.
  • 3 0
 @Balgaroth: The real answer is you sell for what you can sell for. If you're selling bikes faster than you can make em, I can't really blame companies for seizing hold of that, and I especially can't be mad at SC who clawed their way from Deviate status.
  • 1 0
 @Kabrex: Indeed, as long as consumers are willing to pay, companies are going to keep charging, why wouldn't they ? Somewhat true about SC clawing their way to were they are at now, but is is still SC considering they are now just a brand from a big holding portfolio ? Same question apply to Fox, GT, Cannon, Sunn and many many more.
  • 2 0
 It's not about possibility at that price, it's about how much pocket-stuffing they want to do. And we can clearly see how much pocket-stuffing SC is doing.
Because, let's not forget that there are motorcycles that cost as much as the Megatower. And those weigh hundreds of pounds, need to be shipped long distances, and also have distribution markups. So, this has nothing to do with where they "can" save money
  • 3 1
 @Balgaroth: I understand what you are getting at, but I think there is some confusion around gross margin and net profits. The shops 30 percent margin is not profit. After operating expenses shops don’t really make that much money. To say any part of the bike industry has juicy margins is probably not that accurate, even the biggest companies don’t have massive net profits, SC while expensive is not a large manufacturer and their overhead is probably way higher then let’s say Giant, who happens to be the worlds largest cycling manufacturer.
  • 2 0
 Keep in mind.. Santa Cruz is a bigger company with more paychecks to sign.. There's a bunch of things that factor into the price of a bike..
  • 1 1
 @Balgaroth: shops don't get 30% on a Santa Cruz and haven't in a long time. Lots of big brands (and don't be mistaken, Cruz is the KING in the full suspension market in north America dollar for dollar) have squeezed a percent off every couple years, even for their top shops, on the high end stuff. You might get 36% on a hard tail and 22% on a nice carbon bike like a Cruz.
  • 2 0
 I spent a week hanging out at Pivot and heard Chris Cocalis say many times that they and other bike builders change the bikes because of Pinkbike reviews and comments.
  • 4 0
 the comment section is the best part of pinkbike
  • 3 0
 as always - great vibes - glad that that free ranging discussions between good people can be shared
  • 1 1
 @mikelevy: I use to read them all and follow all their articles but now, I only follow Evo Magazine(Meaden, Bovingdon, etc). (as a side note, TG became such garbage in ther last few years, it isn't really worth reading it and 200% it isn't worth watching... but, when I was young-ish/-er, it was in my top, maybe even number one, especially articles by Tom Ford)
These days(youtu.be days), state side: Hagerty for smart and comprehensive, saavsgegees for real no nonsense stuff and technical and throttle house for funny top gear reborn, on a budget; revzilla and big rock moto for.. well.. moto.
Across the Atlantic, Harry's garage, Carfection of course, JayEmm on Cars, Joe Achilles and supercar driver. +Tim Rodie rides motorbikes, everything from Chris Northover from Bike World, everything from Simon Hargreaves from Bennett BikeSocial... and..pretty much, that's it.
Rest of them are pure garbage bla-bla with no real value on their videos. (still being puzzled on how garbage content like doug demuro gets so many views)

aa.. one more to mention...for deep f1 analysis and inside discussions/info.. all from Peter Windsor.

cheers!
  • 1 0
 Great list. I'll add Jason Cammisa - so good!
  • 3 0
 Unfascinating fact - the Harry's garage clips are mostly filmed on the road I used to drive to school. There was an unofficial league table of who could do it the quickest which some of our teachers participated in!
  • 2 0
 I got a shoutout on the live crankworx stream by Can Mc for the calibre of my pinkbike comment.

Proudest moment of my shitposting life.

@mikelevy
  • 3 0
 Thanks for all you do Henry is well spoken and hilarious.
  • 2 0
 Engagement, analytics and a couple other marketing buzzwords. That's why comments are important.
  • 4 0
 Henry for UCI president!
  • 2 0
 Of course comments sections are important, how else would you decide who to vote for ? #RonPaul2012
  • 1 0
 @henryquinney come visit us in South Wales. At the top of every hill there is at least a couch, a kitchen and a pram. You can choose in which order you want to use them. Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Read kitten, was quite alarmed for a second
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy for the next Q&A podcast: what ahppens with the Win it Wednesdays? We see the posts, but winners are never ever announced. What is the story here?
  • 2 0
 What does Henry think of McVitie's Hobnobs?
  • 1 0
 Absolute amateurs. An entire podcast without direction, F1 wasn't mentioned once; what a waste.
  • 2 0
 So you all can be edumacated by my opini... I mean facts.
  • 3 0
 how to put this...
  • 2 0
 Replace "Comments" with "Speculation"
  • 2 1
 @mikelevy @henryquinney .... only turn off comments on an article where the comments will all be "Looks like a session"
  • 1 0
 If we didn't have the comments, we might have to listen to the podcasts or watch the videos.
  • 1 0
 Quinney is a cool dude, even though he rags on slopestyle.
  • 1 0
 What a great topic idea, can't wait to listen!
  • 2 0
 Norbs got robbed
  • 1 0
 @henryquinney I loved that Chris Porter GMBN Podcast FWIW.
  • 1 0
 Henry be like: biased and unbiased are the same. #WEHEARTHENRY
  • 2 1
 @mikelevy any chance we get video podcasts? i think they would be gold
  • 2 0
 Yup, I’ve just been putting it off tbh
  • 1 0
 That's the only way to stop offtopic comvosersations.
  • 6 9
 @mikelevy - Trucksworx article: The issue there was a seemingly cluelessness of the image of toxic petromasculinity and consumerism it projected. Celebrating people who choose to blow a hole in the sky while spending insane amounts of money doing it just seem off. And yes, showing off a thing normalizes it and is a form of cheerleading.

That 'look at the awesome planet killers" was exactly the tone of that Truckworx article - let's all celebrate this thing we all know is a negative thing future generations will look back on like we look back on lead paint, DDT and the slaughter of the bison.
  • 4 3
 Oh man, disagree for sure… but we don’t need that discussion in here haha agree to disagree Smile
  • 8 2
 “Toxic petromasculinity…” geebus. Just when I thought I read it all.
  • 2 0
 Yeah, but think how much co2 and methane was saved from atmosphere when the bison were obliterated.
  • 1 0
 @TheR: I like the word. It belongs up there with the gems of the english language. Like 'defenestration'
  • 1 0
 @Greyfur: Except “defenestration” is actually a word.
  • 1 0
 @TheR: it should have been Toxic Petromasculinity. Lost opportunity by the troubled soul above.
  • 1 0
 Fly tipping or Trash 2 Treasure as it’s called in the Koots.
  • 1 0
 No Comment!
  • 1 0
 Pun farm.
  • 2 0
 Do any other sites have a pun-tradition like PB? I feel like that's a unique feature of this site. Also, Dick Pound.
  • 1 2
 Typical comment section here where all the top comments have little to do with the article.
  • 1 0
 POLITICAL COMMENT!!
  • 1 1
 The 2000s called, left a voice message "welcome to the internet"
  • 1 1
 Henry thanks for curing my insomnia
  • 2 5
 We need a post just for comments no moderation just anything goes. Race insults and all.
  • 1 0
 What benefit would that provide?
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