General Cycling Discussion - How many cyclist out there know about these forums?

What are the odds that a fellow cyclist you see around town has been to bikeforums.net? If you look at the number of views and active members on the boards, it is less than a few hundred. But they are hundreds of thousands cyclist out there. So does this mean that 99.9% of cyclists don't have a clue about the wealth of information that is available in this forum? Without this forum I would have no idea what bike to buy, lights to get, vehicular cycling techniques, and lots of other lifesaving things.

It's kind of shocking that the vast majority of cyclists just rely on their LBS or their own instincts. I suppose some do consult magazines.

Boy, you said it. Just think how many cyclists out there don't know how to urinate on the bike: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=557627

Well, to give you an idea, the Tour Dallas has about 2,000 riders, and there's maybe a dozen of us on these forums that rode it. So yes, it's a pretty low percentage.

not that many, I see only one person from my area that regularly posts on here

I certainly wish I had found this place sooner

I have met a fair number of riders from my area through these forums. Thus, my response is a tad biased.

Maybe most cyclists spend their time riding instead of talking about it.

But obviously I'm not one of them. :)

Well - how did you find this forum in the first place? I'll start: I Googled for bicycle mechanic forum. Found this and some others. Changed the search parameters - found others. So I was actively looking for something like this.

And you?

If memory serves, I first heard about BF on the rootsradicals board.

So does this mean that 99.9% of cyclists don't have a clue about the wealth of information that is available in this forum? Without this forum I would have no idea what bike to buy, lights to get, vehicular cycling techniques, and lots of other lifesaving things.

It's kind of shocking that the vast majority of cyclists just rely on their LBS or their own instincts. I suppose some do consult magazines.

Perhaps 99.9% of cyclists don't give a darn about divining "clues" from amongst the pile of dreck and conflicting and fooish posts. Especially the "clues" from the self appointed experts on the subjects of "what bike to buy, lights to get, vehicular cycling techniques, and lots of other lifesaving things."


In fact maybe 99.9% of cyclists already have a clue about the bicycling that they wish to do, and recognize that bicycling isn't Rocket Science and it isn't necessary to get an "idea" about what is the "ultimate" gee-gaw before "pulling the trigger."

Some cyclists, maybe .01%, find the entertainment value quite appealing.
BF is fun for those who participate for entertainment. If some actually learn something useful, wonderful. I did learn about Alert Shirts from this list, after all.

there are too many bike forums all around.

some people likes to stick with their local BBS forums of their communite

some sticks with certain brands

and the rest of us that likes to know more about the world comes to bikeforums.net

do not get confused with bikforum.net which is motorcycle site.

:D

<------ lurked a few months after finding this place in a search for touring tips

What are the odds that a fellow cyclist you see around town has been to bikeforums.net?

So low it might as well be zero; I've never met anyone in real life and later found out that they're on BF.

There are many experienced and accomplished cyclists out there that heve never been here. Or here (http://www.cyclingforums.com/), here (http://forums.bicycling.com/), here (http://bicycleforum.net/Bike/), or here (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=32).

What are the odds that a fellow cyclist you see around town has been to bikeforums.net? If you look at the number of views and active members on the boards, it is less than a few hundred. But they are hundreds of thousands cyclist out there. So does this mean that 99.9% of cyclists don't have a clue about the wealth of information that is available in this forum? Without this forum I would have no idea what bike to buy, lights to get, vehicular cycling techniques, and lots of other lifesaving things.

It's kind of shocking that the vast majority of cyclists just rely on their LBS or their own instincts. I suppose some do consult magazines.

The forums stats at the bottom of the main page list 155,931 members with many more visitors. Now if each member told five other cyclist they know of ,or find on the web, and those people told five more people etc. this wonderful forum would grow by leaps and bounds! :thumb::thumb:

The forums stats at the bottom of the main page list 155,931 members with many more visitors. Now if each member told five other cyclist they know of ,or find on the web, and those people told five more people etc. this wonderful forum would grow by leaps and bounds! :thumb::thumb:

And the signal-to-noise ratio would get lower. No, thank you. :rolleyes:

I wish I found this place sooner. How about we get some jerseys made up :D

I wish I found this place sooner. How about we get some jerseys made up :D

There have been many attempts to do this; at least one or two of them must have gotten off the ground.

By way of comparison, I spend about 2 hours a day in a car, and don't ever visit a car or driver forum, and have never thought to look one up.

So does this mean that 99.9% of cyclists don't have a clue about the wealth of false information that is available in this forum?

Fixed.

So low it might as well be zero; I've never met anyone in real life and later found out that they're on BF.

There are many experienced and accomplished cyclists out there that heve never been here. Or here (http://www.cyclingforums.com/), here (http://forums.bicycling.com/), here (http://bicycleforum.net/Bike/), or here (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=32).

I didn't know there were so many other forums. I've met 2 people that are on this forum, and met one after I found the seat bag that fell off his bike earlier when he came back to look for it.

I smell 'operator' around here....<sniff> <sniff>

And the signal-to-noise ratio would get lower. No, thank you. :rolleyes:

Bull puckey!!:roflmao2::roflmao2: Every salesperson worth their salt knows that word of mouth is the most powerful way known to man to gather sales or a crowd.:rolleyes:

Perhaps 99.9% of cyclists don't give a darn about divining "clues" from amongst the pile of dreck and conflicting and fooish posts. Especially the "clues" from the self appointed experts on the subjects of "what bike to buy, lights to get, vehicular cycling techniques, and lots of other lifesaving things."


In fact maybe 99.9% of cyclists already have a clue about the bicycling that they wish to do, and recognize that bicycling isn't Rocket Science and it isn't necessary to get an "idea" about what is the "ultimate" gee-gaw before "pulling the trigger."

Some cyclists, maybe .01%, find the entertainment value quite appealing.
BF is fun for those who participate for entertainment. If some actually learn something useful, wonderful. I did learn about Alert Shirts from this list, after all.

so the "clue" you got regarding the "ultimate" gee-gaw in cycling shirts was from BF when you "pulled the trigger" on your alert shirt. :D

...and did you know that you constitute a big part of that .01% of the entertainment value here? :thumb:

...and did you know that you constitute a big part of that .01% of the entertainment value here? :thumb:

Yep, I know it. Intelligent BFers can appreciate, maybe even enjoy discussing different points of view; the morons and jackals/jackasses can't.

My thought was, it's a wonder some of you folks manage to get your own shoes tied, given the apparent inability to do anything without first consulting an internet forum to find out if anybody else does the same thing. I swear, if I open up Bikeforums some morning and see a thread titled, "Do you fold or crumple your toilet paper?", I won't be one bit surprised.
:rolleyes:

By way of comparison, I spend about 2 hours a day in a car, and don't ever visit a car or driver forum, and have never thought to look one up.

That is a good analogy. The barriers to entry for cycling are so low that anybody can do it. As a result you have a huge majority of uneducated and uninformed participants in the activity. On the other hand, playing a musical instrument, takes a little bit of skill. As a result most musicians can agree on basic techniques. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for cycling.

That is a good analogy. The barriers to entry for cycling are so low that anybody can do it. As a result you have a huge majority of uneducated and uninformed participants in the activity. On the other hand, playing a musical instrument, takes a little bit of skill. As a result most musicians can agree on basic techniques. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for cycling.

Probably 99.9% of cyclists who are no longer using training wheels, are satisfied with their current technique or can figure out for themselves what they might wish to do differently. Then there is the 0.1% clique who feel it is their mission to instruct/inform the other 99.9% cyclists of their lack of education and/or incompetence in proper cycling technique.

What are the odds that a fellow cyclist you see around town has been to bikeforums.net? If you look at the number of views and active members on the boards, it is less than a few hundred. But they are hundreds of thousands cyclist out there. So does this mean that 99.9% of cyclists don't have a clue about the wealth of information that is available in this forum? Without this forum I would have no idea what bike to buy, lights to get, vehicular cycling techniques, and lots of other lifesaving things.

It's kind of shocking that the vast majority of cyclists just rely on their LBS or their own instincts. I suppose some do consult magazines.

I found Bike Forums when it was casually mentioned on another, non-cycling comic-strip related blog. I was already a long time cyclist so I was immediately drawn in. I don't necessarily seek specific information, but I've picked up a lot of ideas and advice that have changed my riding style and performance. It's especially appreciated since I ride solo. It has been gratifying to hear that other cyclists have pondered so many topics as have I.

It seem Boston has a large BF contingent, but I haven't met personally any subscribers, though I've enjoyed corresponding with some. I do mention the Forums to riders I've met, but I 'm not aware of any that have become active. Two college friends of my son though are familiar with this site; one is a fixed gear rider who posts, and one a college bike racer in a Rocky Mountain state who lurks.

A little bit of a redirect. I was just granted an account activation to another forums for this subject (cyclingforms.something) that I registered for in DECEMBER of LAST YEAR. I opened a thread, complained, told the mods to delete me, and referred them to here if they were interested. How in the world do they have more members?!?!?! 7 months of activation is ridiculous. The FL Fixed forum with probably one mod/admin took a two day turnaround.

Back on track, I found BF when Googling a very specific bike question and I suppose someone had the same problem.

I know a handful of people that are members on here, but not active members.

I think BF has the most active members of any cycling related forums.

Z415:

I got the same - also tried in December. That forum is full of kids from Arabic nations. No good forums that aren't packed with 12 & 13 year olds. So forth. I suggest you take a look - then ask to be banned. Move on. I'll bet it's a Homeland Security honeypot.

Z415:

I got the same - also tried in December. That forum is full of kids from Arabic nations. No good forums that aren't packed with 12 & 13 year olds. So forth. I suggest you take a look - then ask to be banned. Move on. I'll bet it's a Homeland Security honeypot.

I actually went through and lurked and saw that I could contribute, especially in a mechanical sense so I decided to join. On here, the dumb answers have seemed to tone down so I felt I could help elsewheres, but seven months is ridiculous.

I made a thread complaining and asking to be deleted as a member or if vBulletin won't work that way then to permaban me. Not that it is necessary. The site is blocked for me now, of my own accord.

Now I just found out I have to spam block them from email because apparently replies are notified in email form:notamused: Someone saying his request took 12 months or something. How quiant - it clearly says in the user feedback forum to 'POST IF YOU CANNOT REGISTER', yet you can't post if you can't register..... Its like asking me to go to college without applying.

Yes! We ARE on the same page here! I had all those problems, too. I thinks it's run by an 8 year old in Dubai. What a pack of ding-dongs! :roflmao:

I actually went through and lurked and saw that I could contribute, especially in a mechanical sense so I decided to join. On here, the dumb answers have seemed to tone down so I felt I could help elsewheres, but seven months is ridiculous.

I made a thread complaining and asking to be deleted as a member or if vBulletin won't work that way then to permaban me. Not that it is necessary. The site is blocked for me now, of my own accord.

Now I just found out I have to spam block them from email because apparently replies are notified in email form:notamused: Someone saying his request took 12 months or something. How quiant - it clearly says in the user feedback forum to 'POST IF YOU CANNOT REGISTER', yet you can't post if you can't register..... Its like asking me to go to college without applying.
What list are you two talking about?

What list are you two talking about?

List?

I was speaking of an alternate bike related forum that I find sub par to here.

I googled for a bike problem and ended up here... been here since.

List?

I was speaking of an alternate bike related forum that I find sub par to here.

Does it have a name?

So does this mean that 99.9% of cyclists don't have a clue about the wealth of information that is available in this forum?

At times it appears that 99.9% of the cyclists already here don't have a clue about the wealth of information that is available in this forum...at least judging by the number of questions that are asked over and over and are already answered in the stickies or by a simple search. :rolleyes:

back on track, I found BF when Googling a very specific bike question and I suppose someone had the same problem.


Same here.

I know a couple of people who are BF members and also live near me. Despite the well stated shortcomings of this forum, which is true of almost every forum, I like being able to talk with people who share a common interest, biking.

I like baseball and if anyone thinks the member base on this forum is bad, than try logging onto to Yankees or Red Sox forum sometime. They just both suck. Red Sox fans hassling Yankees fans, Yankees fans hassling Red Sox fans, the hositilty driven drama gets old. It's rare that people even bother to discuss baseball.

A little bit of a redirect. I was just granted an account activation to another forums for this subject (cyclingforms.something) that I registered for in DECEMBER of LAST YEAR. I opened a thread, complained, told the mods to delete me, and referred them to here if they were interested. How in the world do they have more members?!?!?! 7 months of activation is ridiculous. The FL Fixed forum with probably one mod/admin took a two day turnaround.

Back on track, I found BF when Googling a very specific bike question and I suppose someone had the same problem.

I know a handful of people that are members on here, but not active members.

I think BF has the most active members of any cycling related forums.

I went there for a little while, and found there wasn't much content there. But there was a lot of spam, and the members seemed to be mostly European. I don't plan on going back.

Does it have a name?

Yes.


A little bit of a redirect. I was just granted an account activation to another forums for this subject (cyclingforms.something) that I registered for in DECEMBER of LAST YEAR.

Most people I tell about BF don't seem too interested. Some people just aren't into internet forums at all.