Bicycle Mechanics - BicycleTutor.com now charging to view vids

The website bicycletutor.com was a great resource for learning how to fix and maintain your bike. It was free with a "make a donation" button. But it seems that this week they've gone to a $6 a month or $50 a year payment plan to view any of their videos.

I don't mind them earning money from their fine videos, but I find the pricing a tad high. Seems like about double what makes sense to charge.

Anyone else use them before the new pay wall?

yes i have use them . he has a link and reasons on facebook why . not only to support his site but also what he will like to do in the future with it .

Or you could buy the Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repairs or the Zinn and the art of bicycle maintenaince publication for about thirty dollars. Bicycle Tutor completly lost my respect with some of the ridiculous videos posted which were based entirely on uneducated personal opinion. The one in particular I remember was ` Why you should never use WD40 on your chain - its worse than using nothing at all`

The shops I work in use a rag with WD40 to remove exterior grease and grime on a chain before lubing and I have no issues about spraying a chain with WD40 after driving in the rain. It displaces water and will protect the innerard until I can attend to it properly. And it would actually be OK as a chain lube if you only drove once a week and were prepared to lube the chain before each ride.

Make your own damned videos if you think his fees are high.

He has invested his time to make the videos, he has invested money in equipment to shoot the videos, he has invested money to upgrade his equipment, and he has indicated in the past that he plans to invest more time to re-shoot some of his videos to make them better and more comprehensive.

If you think his product is good then invest in him. If not, make your own and see for yourself how much less you should actually charge to even break even in a reasonable amount of time.

Sheesh,
-j

All I'm saying is that I think the pricing model is wrong. Websites that move from a donation model to a pay wall have a very hard time staying in operation.

Look I operate 6 websites of my own. I have millions of visitors a month and nearly 100,000 registered members. I've been in business for 12 years with these websites -- longer than most websites have been on the internet. My sites are number one in Google for their niche. I earn my entire living running these websites and have for years. I know exactly what pressures he's facing.

Visits and membership in my websites would be cut by 75% or more if I tried to charge $50 a year to use the website.

That's all I'm saying so please back off if you please. No one is give you a hard time. "Sheesh" indeed.

I used to donate for the videos that i found helpful at bicycletutor, but i dont see why i would need to subscribe monthly. Besides, i found youtube to be more helpful.

Those videos sucked anyways, good riddance.

None of their procedures detailed in their videos gave a complete and methodical adjustment procedure. You could've learnt any of those noob techniques from any number of relevant google searches.

I've watched the bicycletutor.com videos and I think they are good. And, I'm all for a guy making a buck. But, I think they will have a difficult time selling this. There just isn't enough content to support $6/month. As an example, I subscribe to jamplay for guitar lessons. They have hundreds and hundreds of videos for a similar price. And, they add probably 20-25 new videos a week. Bicycletutor really needs to work on volume (and, of course quality) before they can really make a go of it.

I joined his forums specifically to ask him if he thought charging for previously free material was appropriate or ethical. Suggested that he move the old stuff to Youtube and charge for new things if he thought he could support himself.

He IP-banned me. Ha, ha, ha.

The price is way too steep, and the quality just wasn't that great. I'm sorry that he is apparently having tough times financially, but this isn't going to help.

I joined his forums specifically to ask him if he thought charging for previously free material was appropriate or ethical. Suggested that he move the old stuff to Youtube and charge for new things if he thought he could support himself.

He IP-banned me. Ha, ha, ha.

The price is way too steep, and the quality just wasn't that great. I'm sorry that he is apparently having tough times financially, but this isn't going to help.

Yeah - there are a few `experts` on the Internet that ban/delete all posts or comments that aren`t glowing reports about what a great job is being done. Bicycle Tutor is one of them. So much for honesty and freedom of speach!

he a Canadian not a American .

So much for honesty and freedom of speach!

It's his forum, he can do what he wants. "Freedom of speech" only refers to the government not taking away your rights to speech. Not a private business. He can do whatever he wishes.

I'm fricking SICK of every effing website on the internet trying to get my money via subscription fees, sorry but I'll buy a book before I'll pay for another website fee. i found some of the videos mildly helpful for beginners but not anything that can't be found for free elsewhere.

To charge 5/month is ludicrous, who is going to be watching that many videos a month? All most people use it for is a specific subject once in a while. He'd be smarter by far to charge say, 99c per video. Well maybe this is a good chance for someone else to make a better website on the subject.

I'm fricking SICK of every effing website on the internet trying to get my money via subscription fees, sorry but I'll buy a book before I'll pay for another website fee. i found some of the videos mildly helpful for beginners but not anything that can't be found for free elsewhere.

To charge 5/month is ludicrous, who is going to be watching that many videos a month? All most people use it for is a specific subject once in a while. He'd be smarter by far to charge say, 99c per video. Well maybe this is a good chance for someone else to make a better website on the subject.

Park Tool USA should just start making short videos available on their website and put him out of his misery. $5/month? What a joke!

I'm fricking SICK of every effing website on the internet trying to get my money via subscription fees, sorry but I'll buy a book before I'll pay for another website fee. i found some of the videos mildly helpful for beginners but not anything that can't be found for free elsewhere.

To charge 5/month is ludicrous, who is going to be watching that many videos a month? All most people use it for is a specific subject once in a while. He'd be smarter by far to charge say, 99c per video. Well maybe this is a good chance for someone else to make a better website on the subject.

The beauty of the free market economy is just what you have suggested. If he cannot gather enough revenue in the manner he has chosen to support his plans, he will scale down his plans, lower his price or get out of the business. You are free to pay or go elsewhere. I don't see what there is to complain about. Personally, I won't bother visiting or sending newbies as I used to do since his free content is only one of many places to find the info.

As far as the freedom of speech comments above, they don't apply here at all. First, his is a Canadian company and not bound by the US Constitution. Second but even more relevant, he is marketing his business! Naturally, he is posting only the best reviews - as well he should if he is to sell his site's benefit to potential new subscribers.

On the contrary, Neil Gunton (crazyguyonabike.com) is much smarter compared to bicycletutor dood.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/website/faq/#why_donate
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/website/sponsors/donate/?o=RrzKj

Niel actually quit his full-time job so that he can support CGOAB site.

To charge 5/month is ludicrous, who is going to be watching that many videos a month? All most people use it for is a specific subject once in a while. He'd be smarter by far to charge say, 99c per video. Well maybe this is a good chance for someone else to make a better website on the subject.

Ditto.

Suggested that he move the old stuff to Youtube

I wonder how many views his videos have. At least Youtube pays you a little something when your videos gather views.

the canadians in this thread hate this guy.

I used his videos religiously right after buying a park tool stand and tool kit. What they are is a great introduction into bike maintenance/repair CONCEPTS. I'd set up my laptop right in my bike room and play the video while trying out the various repairs/tune ups.

Would I pay for this? No, only because he isn't the end all be all of repair. He frequently only uses his older MTB as the bike in his repairs which still has a quill stem. I have a couple hybrids/a road bike/an 80's road bike.

I often would view his video as a way to figure out the concept(s) behind a repair - for instance rear derailleur video. Then I'd hit youtube to see if there were any specific repair videos for a SRAM red derailleur installation/adjustment and work from there.

So in a sense he's actually a bike professor not a tutor. because like with college professors they just should give you the concepts behind a lesson and you should do your own reading/research into the subject further to really learn what you need specifically.

In that sense biketutor monthly/yearly payment isn't really worth it in my opinion because you can still learn the concepts for free by searching youtube or checking out bike repair books from the library.

The nice thing about his site was that all the videos were in one place. But that won't make anyone want to pay to view them. There's just too much stuff available elsewhere, of equal or even better quality.

I doubt that even Sheldon Brown could have made money on a pay-only site. Too many people will create videos for free, that explain things "well enough", that no one can hope to turn a profit. Blogs and youtube's and ad revenue might give you a little walking-around money, but far from enough to support yourself.

When I posted on his forum, I hoped he would talk about what his business model is. Whether he's put any serious thought into this at all. I think I have my answer.

Just discovered that he's gone to a pay system.. I found the videos useful but i can't see many people paying for a subscription. maybe $1/month.. but for $5/mo there better be some naked women involved :lol:

the videos had good production quality though, and there were lot of them. he probably wasn't making enough through donations so went to a pay model. i would recommend he talk to an expert in monetizing sites cause i don't think this move will be a success for him.. though i could be wrong. One problem he has is most people who want to learn to fix their bikes are people too cheap to pay someone else to do it :lol:

No free trial? Or, at least I didn't see it. At least PJTV gives you 5 free "views", sort of. . . anyway

I've used WD40 as chain lube and got a dozen rides in no problems. I agree with Burton, the whole 'don't EVER use WD40 on your bike EVER' thing is overblown. The fact is it does have a light lubricant in it, so as long as you know you'll need to properly clean/re-grease-lube whatever parts you're hitting with it, it's better than no lubing at all. If you're lazy, prefer riding to cleaning, or just plain don't like wasting time cleaning stuff, then WD40 is A-okay in my book. But WTF do I know?

+1

WD40 can work wonders on a dry or rusty chain. It is definitely better than nothing, as long as you realize it won't last forever. It actually does a good job of cleaning the chain too if you run it along the chain then wipe off the excess with a rag.

But a good chain lube (oil) is still better in the long run.

I guess we can take it as: Never use WD40 until you know that you can.

I suspect that the "chain cleaner" that comes in really small cans for like $5 to $12 is basically the same stuff.

But for PCBs? Yeah. I spray it in my phone and laptops whenever apart for upgrade, cleaning, repair. Never have to fear transient moisture or even a dunking.

There are tons of free bids on YouTube, and even when you can't find anything, there is always this place plus Google.

Paywall = fail.

I bet this leads folks to create a Youtube alternative, if there isn't already a channel for bike repair.


...WD40...

But for PCBs? Yeah. I spray it in my phone and laptops whenever apart for upgrade, cleaning, repair. Never have to fear transient moisture or even a dunking.

Hey, neat tip.

dp

Sadly he doesn't have a strong grasp of business. Putting everything behind a paywall is the unwise thing he could have done.

What he should have done was have the basic video out for free to hook people, then charge, per video, for the advanced ones.

For example. Changing a tire video free, installing a disc brake, charge $0.99

I agree with just about everything people have posted here. Nevertheless, I am currently subscribing to bicycle tutor.

It's really a timing issue. I got hooked watching the videos about a week before the paywall started. I was just teething my bike mechanic skills as I bought a bike I wanted to restore. The same day my repair stand and tools arrived from Amazon.com, the paywall was up. It's disappointing to have to pay to watch videos I've already perused. But, I like to have the state of mind of having the videos handy.

Probably only two videos have helped me so far and, turns out, none was for my bike restoration. The cassette removal vid helped me swap cassettes from one wheel to another. And, I forgot what the other video was.

I am about to swap handlebars on my restoration bike. And, I looked up the handlebar tape vid on bicycletutor.com. I actually don't think the video is very good. It does a not so good job of explaining how to take around the brake lever. I found another video on bicyclebikes.com that does a much better job explaining how to tape around the brake lever.

I actually took an advanced bike mechanic class at REI last week. That was an enlightening course especially since I learned a lot of neat tricks to fine tune my road bike components that I haven't found on the internet.

I know that this sounds very "crumudgeonish" of me... but does nobody know how to read anymore? Why does everyone need a silly video to show them how to do the simplest things?

Why does everyone need a silly video to show them how to do the simplest things?

a picture is worth a 1000 words, and a video is made of 1000s of pictures ;)

Hi,
First I like to answer to frantik that he wrote; "One problem he has is most people who want to learn to fix their bikes are people too cheap to pay someone else to do it"
Do not correct at all. this can be also for hobby reason, faster to repair at home, can trust more in your own work, more enjoy to use the bike and know everything about when you are in way. Naturally can repair if anything happen on that ways.
I like to write that I am agree with Burton about the W-40. totally confuse what he told there. W-40 can use to degrease mechanical part an in some cases can be very useful fro example when take in hand an older bike that was not in use long time and the changers are not moving at all. After use W-40 important to dry and oil the place if that necessary. Now about the site.
Economic part of it. I think he has to make CD or DVD and sell it by orders (I will write to him in case he not read here.) He is doing what he feel to get payment what he did and he has the right do this also and he is right to try what he thinking. Probably he can find better way to do it also. I wanted and want support him what he did and will do on the old way for his effort for his wanting to help.
Professional part. I write from a point of view of a quite beginner. He shows the jobs on a simple way that everybody can understand. He shows some "tricks" that worthy to look worthy to support. (1 how to determinate a new chain length, how to decide if a chain is still OK or you have to change) and for these and other honor to him. About the quality of the videos I not write. The good has no limit and anyway he do always (ALWAYS) can do it better. He was the one that he made it like this and honor to him for this also.
losi

Instead of a paywall, he needed to sell advertising. Make someone sit through a 30 second ad before the video starts.

His name doesn't really mean anything to me. I was searching for some videos the other day, and his came up. Saw you had to pay for them, and I moved on to something else. Why would I pay for a service whose quality is totally up in the air? It's not like he's a known quanity or has a known affiliation for him to be someone I would go and seek out. It's just another internet know-it-all for all I can tell, and it's certainly not like he has a monopoly on the information.

Contrarily, like someone else here mentioned, if it was a Park Tools website, I might be more inclined to pay. I have familiarity with Park Tools, and would trust that they put out a quality product. But "bicycletutor"? Nope.

When I used it a few times I recall there was a click-on donation that went something like, "IF YOU LIKED, OR FOUND THE VIDIOS HELPFUL, YOU CAN BUY ME A CUP OF COFFEE." Did anyone other than "ALSO NOT ME" click and buy him a coffee?

Bob

Just thought I'd drop in here. I was changing my cassette and chain for the first time. Checked out Sheldon Brown, did a google search, which bicycletutor was a top hit. I wasn't particularly aware of the site, so when I found I had to pay to watch a video, I went elsewhere. I was always planning to watch more than one video - so you can get a consensus - so why pay for one? Also, stop what I'm doing, get out my credit card, remember to cancel it later etc etc.

Also, the first page I looked at quoted Sheldon Brown and used his images - so when I saw he was charging for the videos, it seemed like he was charging for what Sheldon is ... eh, was .... offering for free.

You do get some weird stuff on youtube, like the guy who said that cassettes need to be replaced every 200 miles, but if you just watch a few, you can sort out what is standard from what is fringe.

Going forward, he's got to start making money from people like me - and I don't see how that's going to happen.

a picture is worth a 1000 words, and a video is made of 1000s of pictures ;)

Have you seen this site? Not sure how long it's been around but seems pretty good. hd videos, images AND text! should put and end to that argument :)

oh, seems to be free too.

http://www.madegood.org/bikes/library/