Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Wtf, My Hero Is Destroyed

I was reading trackgenie.blogspot.com and they showed me this link to FGG:



here, i'll post it here:

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/adverts/rates/


Basically, i guess fixed gear gallery gets paid for their reviews and i know that's not totally uncommon, it just sucks because can you really trust a a website's product review if they were paid by the producer to review it? Honestly.

I'm terrible at grammer, btw.

so what?

If you've noticed the "FGG Jackass of the day" thread probably lets you know how much respsect FGG has around these parts.

Basically, i guess fixed gear gallery gets paid for their reviews and i know that's not totally uncommon, it just sucks because can you really trust a a website's product review if they were paid by the producer to review it?

I quite think you can. In a world where a website gets burned at the stake by its fans for even so much as thinking of advertising, it would certainly behoove FGG to keep their reviews clean.

no ****. go read the review of Alien bikes. It's a god damn joke. You can tell the reviewer thinks the stuff is absolute ****. When he talks about the hub you can almost hear him laughing.

Buzzards gotta eat, same as the worm.

no ****. go read the review of Alien bikes. It's a god damn joke. You can tell the reviewer thinks the stuff is absolute ****. When he talks about the hub you can almost hear him laughing.

I'm rocking the hubs, they are fine. Review was spot on about the positive things.

I don't know if you've ever read a review on that website, but they tend to fall heavily on the positive side of the scale. I think it's a good website, but not one I'd go to for product review.

I don't know if you've ever read a review on that website, but they tend to fall heavily on the positive side of the scale. I think it's a good website, but not one I'd go to for product review.

Since they're probably receiving said products for free, of course the reviews are going to be positive, or at the very least on the plus side of neutral.

Are you gonna kill the golden goose?

I've always found the fgg reviews to be uninformative puff pieces, left field jackassery or some combination of the two. One of the stupidest things I ever read in a bike frame review came from fgg:

"As I mentioned previously, this bike is a thing of beauty. No ugly welds, no cheap paint, no extra bosses, hangers, etc. Incredibly clean and simple, as a dedicated track bike should be. The one exception is the conspicuous drilling for a rear brake. Milwaukee, and even more so, Waterford, would benefit from leaving the rear bridge undrilled, as it makes an otherwise gorgeous frameset look like a conversion from the rear."

*facepalm*

*facepalm* indeed.

It bothers me to see how many FGG submissions say "donation coming!"

Wtf? I think some of them are sheep and would actually pay if it were a requirement, but most are probably under the mistaken impression that a) they have to pay, b) donations are the polite norm because FGG is non-profit and primarily funded by them.

Since when do money-making ventures get so many donations? Or am I mistaken, and despite all that advertising they don't manage to make a profit? FGG seems to obfuscate what they really are.

I've been wondering about the donation thing for a while. Can the 30 or so sponsors flashing down the side of the page not pay the fees? Or has this small site become a full time job?

A simple piece of software could rotate the sponsor links, post those images every day and do a better job of turning them right-side-up and cleaning up the email text.

A piece of software could also probably write those reviews.

OMG! capitalizm sux

^^ You have missed the point

I'm rocking the hubs, they are fine. Review was spot on about the positive things.

I'm not saying the hubs suck, but go read the review. He acts like them eliminating the freewheel threads is the smartest thing anyone has ever done.

In terms of donation/ads, how is this site different?

I'm not baiting, just not very familiar with fgg.

In terms of donation/ads, how is this site different?

I'm not baiting, just not very familiar with fgg.

Since the sale of bikeforums to the marketroids that bring you the wtf banner ads you're probably loking at now, a lot of the communitarian cachet seems to have dropped out of having a red star. Who knows where fgg is in relation to bikeforums now... I wouldn't donate to them though.

Since the sale of bikeforums to the marketroids that bring you the wtf banner ads you're probably loking at now, a lot of the communitarian cachet seems to have dropped out of having a red star. Who knows where fgg is in relation to bikeforums now... I wouldn't donate to them though.

Yeah, donating to them made more sense back when he didn't have 100 ads all over the place. But I'm sure he's doing just fine financially now.

One thing's for sure. At least when you're browsing FGG, you aren't getting database errors every time you refresh.

you should read the review of the Don walker frame.

Since they're probably receiving said products for free, of course the reviews are going to be positive, or at the very least on the plus side of neutral.



+1

Just about all magazines do the same stuff, each on a different level of course. Having worked for a few bike companies I vouch for this fact (Im not exactly at liberty to say which mags of course lol)

They were honest with my review...in fact, i thought it kind of got a bit harsh, since I am not the one painting my bikes, but its part of the products and therefore gets the same scrutiny.

DW

you should read the review of the Don walker frame.

I missed this...and yes. it was painful. The bike performed better than anything he had ridden, but my paint sucks...ouch!

DW

So wait, Fixed Gear Gallery is the OP's hero?!? WTF?

Advertising Rates Website Banners
Banners at the Fixed Gear Gallery are $400.00 for 12 months. We can bill your annually, every six months or quarterly if you prefer. I rotate them bottom to top at every update, which is usually 6 times per week. Additionally, there are special event banners (such as at our Interbike 2007* coverage) that are available first-come to regular banner advertisers at varying rates.
The banner size is 300x50 pixels as a jpg or gif, and we don't accept animated images. I can modify any of your current images to fit that banner size, I've probably done that with half or more of the exiting banners. Or, you can have your designer create it..
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/adverts/rates/spacer.gif sample regular sized banner
You can change the banners periodically, but if you want to do this, then please supply me with the replacement banners in the proper size. There is no charge for banner swapping.
*Special event banners like Interbike and NAHBS are $250.00.
Product Reviews
We've been providing product reviews and interviews for the last two years, and they have exceeded our expectations. For example the review of the Soma Rush (http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/framebuilders/somarush/) frame has been on-line since October, 2005 and has received over 43,000 hits. Typically each review page has a counter at the bottom so you can easily see the activity. Soma got double-duty from our review by linking to it from their own front page.
I'm open to suggestions of other ways of specifically highlighting your company. We do all of the production of these reviews ourselves including photography. All of the items we test will be displayed at the 2008 Symposium (as we did in 2006 and 2007) and will be available for attendees to try and to evaluate firsthand.




i don't know how many people actually read that page. but they are charging people for advertising. that is how people make money. thats how tv stations stay on air. it's how internet sites exist when they don't sell anything. how is it a problem that fgg sells advertising space? i don't see anywhere on this page that they are charging for reviews.

edit: okay i just did some math, with the banners visible on the front page FGG is making $23,000 a year. this is probably less than working at taco bell full time. i would also imagine that it is pretty close to whatever the minimum operating costs for a website like that. anyone know how much it costs for that kind of bandwidth and server space?

i don't know how many people actually read that page. but they are charging people for advertising. that is how people make money. thats how tv stations stay on air. it's how internet sites exist when they don't sell anything. how is it a problem that fgg sells advertising space? i don't see anywhere on this page that they are charging for reviews.


It's like when we found out Milli Vanilli was lip-synching. Just say it ain't so, Joe...........

It's like when we found out Milli Vanilli was lip-synching. Just say it ain't so, Joe...........

give him a break. its hard to dance and sing at the same time!

Advertising Rates Website Banners
Banners at the Fixed Gear Gallery are $400.00 for 12 months. We can bill your annually, every six months or quarterly if you prefer. I rotate them bottom to top at every update, which is usually 6 times per week. Additionally, there are special event banners (such as at our Interbike 2007* coverage) that are available first-come to regular banner advertisers at varying rates.
The banner size is 300x50 pixels as a jpg or gif, and we don't accept animated images. I can modify any of your current images to fit that banner size, I've probably done that with half or more of the exiting banners. Or, you can have your designer create it..
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/adverts/rates/spacer.gif sample regular sized banner
You can change the banners periodically, but if you want to do this, then please supply me with the replacement banners in the proper size. There is no charge for banner swapping.
*Special event banners like Interbike and NAHBS are $250.00.
Product Reviews
We've been providing product reviews and interviews for the last two years, and they have exceeded our expectations. For example the review of the Soma Rush (http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/framebuilders/somarush/) frame has been on-line since October, 2005 and has received over 43,000 hits. Typically each review page has a counter at the bottom so you can easily see the activity. Soma got double-duty from our review by linking to it from their own front page.
I'm open to suggestions of other ways of specifically highlighting your company. We do all of the production of these reviews ourselves including photography. All of the items we test will be displayed at the 2008 Symposium (as we did in 2006 and 2007) and will be available for attendees to try and to evaluate firsthand.




i don't know how many people actually read that page. but they are charging people for advertising. that is how people make money. thats how tv stations stay on air. it's how internet sites exist when they don't sell anything. how is it a problem that fgg sells advertising space? i don't see anywhere on this page that they are charging for reviews.

edit: okay i just did some math, with the banners visible on the front page FGG is making $23,000 a year. this is probably less than working at taco bell full time. i would also imagine that it is pretty close to whatever the minimum operating costs for a website like that. anyone know how much it costs for that kind of bandwidth and server space?


yeah, but the problem people are talking about here is the same problem as with tv and radio stations. for example, ge owns nbc. you'll never hear them trash ge. a lot of products advertised are owned by that company and others that are influential, and you won't see them in the "guess which household item will kill you!" segments.

likewise, reviews in magazines, on websites, anywhere there are advertisers, tend to kiss a lot of ass. dirt rag is one i can think of that doesn't kiss too much ass, although they still fall into the category of not trying to piss off advertisers.

yeah, but the problem people are talking about here is the same problem as with tv and radio stations. for example, ge owns nbc. you'll never hear them trash ge. a lot of products advertised are owned by that company and others that are influential, and you won't see them in the "guess which household item will kill you!" segments.

likewise, reviews in magazines, on websites, anywhere there are advertisers, tend to kiss a lot of ass. dirt rag is one i can think of that doesn't kiss too much ass, although they still fall into the category of not trying to piss off advertisers.

but thats just a fact of life! the market just isn't big enough for them to find advertisers that aren't making something people want reviewed.

meh, yeah, it's how things are, and to think it could be any other way puts a little more faith in people than they deserve, but still...that doesn't mean it's not a lamentable fact of life.

I generally prefer the user reviewed web pages (though there doesn't seem to be one for fixed gear bicycles specifically). You have to sort through it more carefully, but you get the disgruntled as well as the ecstatic. I can't trust anyone who never gives bad marks, and that is very rare in a commercial publication.

I didn't realize that FGG asked for donations.

meh, yeah, it's how things are, and to think it could be any other way puts a little more faith in people than they deserve, but still...that doesn't mean it's not a lamentable fact of life.

the amount of naivete and ignorance displayed on this site is constantly confounding.

this entire thread basically amounts to "omfg i just found out what hot dogs are made of!"

i don't know if that was directed at me, but i'm thinking (not for the OP, obviously) that for me and others on here, it's more "yeah, i know what hot dogs are made of, that's why they're gross, but i still eat them/that's why i hate them".

I think you have missed the point doomkin, just like the guy on the last page. It's annoying because the posters in this thread arent the idiots you make us out to be. I don't care that fgg is making money, i care that their reviews are gererally (i repeat myself) uninformative puff pieces, left field jackassery or some combination of both. As the op pointed out, this is partially due to their bottom line. Fine, but the reviews still suck.

i don't know if that was directed at me, but i'm thinking (not for the OP, obviously) that for me and others on here, it's more "yeah, i know what hot dogs are made of, that's why they're gross, but i still eat them/that's why i hate them".

sorry, yeah, i didn't direct that at you.

i think everyone on this site who isn't an idiot (minority) ought to know by now that i'm not targeting them. i'm not better than everyone on this site and i hope some of you guys realize that.
























i'm just better than most people on this site.

I think you have missed the point doomkin, just like the guy on the last page. It's annoying because the posters in this thread arent the idiots you make us out to be. I don't care that fgg is making money, i care that their reviews are gererally (i repeat myself) uninformative puff pieces, left field jackassery or some combination of both.

so don't read 'em. i realize that's the easy answer and can be reapplied to all sorts of problems, like why there are so many stupid posts on bfssfg but i'm bored and work on a computer all day so i'll stay around and complain harder. as for reviews, the best way to find out is to go to your LBS. i'm lucky enough to live near some great shops and bag makers so i can always get what i need to know first hand.

but honestly most people around here have a LBS and should be supporting them instead of getting fat on the internet.

Haha, I'm way ahead of you, I quit reading fgg over a year ago :)

I actually find this forum a very useful place to gather product info, believe it or not (site:bikeforums.net google search helps). A lot of the time lbs people just don't get the kind of cycling I'm interested in.

Haha, I'm way ahead of you, I quit reading fgg over a year ago :)

I actually find this forum a very useful place to gather product info, believe it or not (site:bikeforums.net google search helps). A lot of the time lbs people just don't get the kind of cycling I'm interested in.

that doesn't mean they don't know the parts well. personally i find a lot of the larger local fixed gear websites to have ton's of great information. better organized, fewer repetitive threads and more active mods.

I think you have missed the point doomkin, just like the guy on the last page. It's annoying because the posters in this thread arent the idiots you make us out to be. I don't care that fgg is making money, i care that their reviews are gererally (i repeat myself) uninformative puff pieces, left field jackassery or some combination of both. As the op pointed out, this is partially due to their bottom line. Fine, but the reviews still suck.


Most reviews are little more than personal / biased opinions. Ask for a reviews of any given product here, you'll get fan boys and critics. Hardly surprising.

One problem with shopping online is that retailers and manufacturers usually have one small picture of the product and a description that rarely goes beyond the basic specs, if that. FGG reviews are great because they have large photos of the product from every angle and a lengthy description of what it's like to actually use the product. The purpose of the reviews are not so much to convince you to buy the products, but to give you a better sense of what they are like in person, so that you can make a more informed decision. Ordering something online and then getting it in the mail and finding out it's not at all like you expected is annoying.

Sponsors are paying to have their products included in that range of informed choices. You can't tell people what to think, but you can tell them what to think about.

The true test of a product is to use it on a regular basis and see if, when and how it fails. This is something very few reviewers are able to do with every product that crosses their desk. Also, it's my understanding that the actual products they review are demo-specific units and must be sent back afterwards. If the reviews err on the side of positivity, that's decidedly better than dismissing something as crap without actually knowing how it will hold up over time. Negative comments are certainly included, and they're usually along the lines "kind of cheap looking" or "overly complicated mechanism," etc.

As for the amateurish writing, were you expecting Roger Ebert?

Don't like the reviews? Start your own board and do a better job yourself. Yeah, the reviews are not heart-poundlingly brutal, but that's because the vibe over there is much different. People are nicer and it is more of a community than an aruing forum like it is here most of the time.

You have no idea how much it takes to run a board like that. The admn is not making money off of it.

By the way, this very matter was addressed by FGG's own members over a year ago. Search.

God, there are FGG apologists?

I, for one, do have an idea of what it takes to run a website and messageboard like that, and if he's not making money off of it, then he's doing it all wrong.

God, there are FGG apologists?

Well now that Ron Paul has dropped out of the primaries......


I, for one, do have an idea of what it takes to run a website and messageboard like that, and if he's not making money off of it, then he's doing it all wrong.

You could get the equivalent with a nicely set up spot on Blogger.