SkunkWerX

General Cycling is probably where most newcomers post to ask questions. Does anyone think that a Sticky Thread with the basics, and perhaps a FORM (I dislike forms, usually) would assist providing good answers and advice?
With the BF Moderators blessings, of course!

Probably the most general and typical question is someone just starting out, deciding they need to be more healthy, or just want to get outdoors more. The questions posed are usually so generalized, it can be difficult to tailor an answer for their needs.


A Very Rough Draft might go like this:

[Title] ****If seeking help/advice/assistance please read this first!***

In order to provide you with a good answer please try to provide enough detail as it pertains to your question.
If your question is specific enough, the moderators may move it to the appropriate sub-forum where those members can better assist you.

-YOU: Height/Weight? Age group? General physical condition?
-YOUR BIKE: Own a Bike? Make model, how old is it? The bike's general condition? Needs work/rideable/like new?
- NO BIKE?: If you do not own a bike, do you have something in mind and/or what is your budget?
-YOUR AREA: What part of the country? Flat, hilly? Where do you think you will ride the most? Bike trails/roads/pavement/gravel/dirt?
-GOALS: Short term goals? Long term goals?
-TIME: How much time do you think you will spend bike riding, on a normal week, weather permitting?


Does anyone have any comments, opinions, fuel to add....or is this just a dumb idea, or something that has been tried before?

The reason I am even putting this out here, is, many times, collectively, we are asking a lot of questions of the OP in order to better understand their situation.


Disclaimer: What irks me is someone with a Post Count of '1' asking a question, receiving valid attention, and never returning to answer questions, give feedback, or even to say "thanks".
This Sticky idea suggests that they will have to make a bit of an investment up front.

Also, it helps the regulars when someone is vague, they can simply be pointed to the Sticky...."read this, reply, and we will answer your question with much better clarity".

Just my 2 cents, over and out. I can handle criticism, fire AWAY!

10 Wheels

Can you answer every newbies questions.

BF has Different forums for different type of riders and bikes.

SkunkWerX

I agree about the different forums. That's why I included
"...the moderators may move it to the appropriate sub-forum where those members can better assist you."

Collectively, in this forum and the other forums, we might have a better shot with more info.
In the case of newbie questions, at least they can be pointed in the right direction... win/win for the OP and those trying to help.

wphamilton

The whole forum is like one big "sticky" for people seeking help and advice.

The most common questions tend to find their way into sticky threads.

One problem with sticky threads, aside from proliferation, is that they are over-generalized and people tend to inappropriately direct questions there. People like to use special interest forums because they hope for advice from people with specific knowledge and experience.

What I'd like to see, although it's probably not viable with the limited resources of a site like this, is a separate WIKI section to serve that purpose.

ironwood

You forgot to ask what color their bike is. No one can advise anyone about their bike without knowing the color is.

no1mad 

There was talk among the higher ups (above my pay grade) about wikiposts. No idea of timeline or even if that is still possible since the vB 'upgrade'

jade408

The problem with this sticky is that we aren't approaching it from the "beginner's mind."

I'll think about the bike I got a decade ago. I bought it from a coworker. She told me it was a Trek. And a nice bike. And it was a women's model. Or maybe it just had a sloping top tube. The year? Who knows. I know absolutely zero else about the bike. Hybrid, road bike, mountain bike? No clue. How to tell the difference? No idea. It is just a bike.

All those questions are pretty intimidating.

Then what will happen is people will reply well you are riding the city streets and you should get wide road tires for potholes. You don't need suspension. Check your riding position, do you have a threaded or threadless stem? Get a cycle computer so you can track your cadences. Don't spin. Don't mash.

And the poor newbie's eyes have glazed over and they think boy this bike stuff is complicated nevermind.

SkunkWerX

Point taken, to an extent, is there a way to water it down, or split the difference?

I don't necessarily like the rigidity of the questions, either. just need an easy going way to prompt a bit of info.

I don't see where age, height, and where someone plans to ride, or the time they have in their schedule is too threatening.

jade408

I think men are fine to share their weight with the general public, but women loathe to do so as we pass a lot of judgement (as a society) around that number. It doesn't feel particularly relevant to the convo.

I think some questions about riding objective, riding environment (articulated in a multiple choice way) are not too intimidating.

And pointing to some simple resources on bike sizing would help.

SkunkWerX

Bike sizing and types/uses is a good suggestion.
Maybe the height weight thing could just be covered by a general "physical condition" statement so as not to put people on the spot?

Are you saying this is a viable idea, just needs changes? ...or is it just probably not going to work?

jade408

It is viable if it is not too complicated, with too much special vocabulary.

ironwood

For a number of years the General Cycling Forum was at the bottom of the forums, and if someone had a question they had to look at the different forums, and quite often they would find the right forum. Now they stop here.

Another problem with this forum is that it attracts a lot of trolls posing as beginners. But maybe that keeps them out of the other forums.

BobbyG

"I can handle criticism, fire AWAY!"
I commend your desire to want to help newbies as much as possible. But I agree with one of the opinions about too many questions may prove daunting.

AlexCyclistRoch

Question: Who actually reads the "stickies"?

canklecat

From the perspective of a former longtime moderator for other hobbyist forums, I usually find sticky threads to be redundant. They served a purpose pre-Google. But sophisticated, context sensitive searches usually turn up the answers to any questions I have.

Sometimes the info I'm looking for happens to be in a sticky thread. But just as often the answer I need pops up in another thread.

I used to spend a lot of time monitoring active sticky threads and carefully editing comments to stay on topic on another website. I don't miss that chore at all.

Keep in mind that you'll often get better results searching for answers via Google and specifying the website and/or forum to search. Internal searches often don't work as well, even those supposedly powered by Google.

A sticky FAQ can still be useful. But it works best as static content, open to only one or a tiny handful of editors to modify when appropriate. The tricky bit is maintaining the FAQ as intended, otherwise it devolves into a wiki or tutorial. Each is a different thing and has its own function.

Rollfast

I thought the entire site did that.

Machka 

This ^^

We had a whole pile of stickies here, and they were all removed a little while ago.

Sy Reene

Case in point, and I think this sticky is/was supposed to do what the OP is looking for. Not exactly the place to go for fast answers, feedback or advice.
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...ered-here.html