GivememyC64

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but it affects us roadies I think. Not sure if you all have been following, but the content on cycling tips has fallen off a cliff lately. The parent company Outside laid off a bunch of staff, including the editor. And now there's nothing. Like one story a week. It sucks.

I'm bummed about it. In addition to lurking here (longtime lurker, first time poster) it was my morning routine.

Anybody know what all the writers who left are doing? Where can I get my fix?

Caliwild

From their site:

Dear CT readers,

In the coming weeks we are migrating the entire CT site over to a new platform within Outside. During this transition you will see some of the functionality and sections change while we complete this process. We are doing our best to make this as seamless as possible and please accept our apologies if there are any changes in your reading experience while we complete this task.

Thank you!

https://cyclingtips.com/2023/01/a-ne...ming%ef%bf%bc/

msu2001la

I don't really understand the plan here for Outside, but it's sad to see CyclingTips swirling the drain. There are still a few talented writers there and hopefully they find a way to continue doing what they do.

Caley Fretz, along with a handful of others has continued to produce a podcast called "The Placeholders" which generally picks up where the CT weekly podcast left off - a heavy focus on pro racing with a little bit of tech/industry news sprinkled in.

He and Wade Wallace also seem to be up to something new soon:
Substack: https://substack.com/profile/2449888-wadewallace

msu2001la

Some relevant discussion from November/Dec here: Cycling Tips just fired a bunch of quality staff.

mstateglfr 

Wade Wallace, the guy who started Cycling Tips, just announced he is going to partner with Caley and they will create a subscription based cycling site. No details of who will join, but since Caley is hosting 'The Placeholder' with Dave Rome and Dane Cash, I would hope those two will have the option to join on.
As a podcast, The Placeholder is great. It isnt Nerd Alert and nothing will be as good as Nerd Alert until they pull James and Zach Edwards over, but The Placeholder is entertaining.

datlas 

This.

Everything changes. Change is not always good. It happens.

seypat

Elvis?

datlas 

How about "Cycling Tips is Dead. Long Live BikeForums!"

seypat

tempocyclist

It seems Outside have shut down the Cycling Tips forum as of today also! I guess it was getting too anti-Outside in there (not surprisingly).

Change happens of course, but I do find this quite sad. Cycling Tips used to be my "go-to" place for road cycling coverage, tech reviews, a bit of humour, and some great journalism. And the Secret Pro of course!


Neither do I. What have they gained from buying Cycling Tips? Just removing some competition?

What was the desired outcome for Outside regarding the CT purchase? 🤔

mstateglfr 

Outside didnt buy CyclingTips. Outside bought PinkBike and with that purchase came CyclingTips.
Thats worth mentioning as it is a significant distinction.

tempocyclist

Ah yep, good point. Pinkbike seems to be thriving!

Jughed

Long live Hambini and people that tell it like it is,

datlas 

The pen is still working?

seypat

It should be. It's mighter than the sword, after all.

Jughed

Yep, the hairdresser makes sure of it.

mstateglfr 

Hambini is good for an observation or two in each video. You have to sit thru 20min of filler to get those little nuggets though.
I do chuckle every time he pulls up a brand's site and doesn't know what something is, then dismisses it as useless or guesses incorrectly.

You would think that videos which exist to show people what's wrong and how to correct the issues, would have more accuracy.

He tells it like he sees it, that's for sure. Whether that aligns with how it is though?...for sure hit and miss.

GivememyC64

This is what I was looking for, thanks!

Just read Wade and Caley's letter. I like the idea of it. If it means a big media title that isn't beholden to advertisers, that's good for all of us.

merlinextraligh

wish that were true. Unfortunately, I think BF is just on a slower downward spiral.

Koyote

What, you don't enjoy a good rim vs disc brakes thread? Or being told that you're a doofus for not riding a recumbent?

rsbob 

Unfortunately true. The negativism, sniping and perpetual arguments by a handful of individuals really poison what could be a collegial, helpful site. I know I am spending far less time here because of it.

merlinextraligh

l don’t doubt that’s true. However, the arguments , sarcasm, banter can add to the entertainment value and keep people engaged, as long as it isn’t over the top and mean spirited.

I think the bigger problem is that people,looking for actual information find it elsewhere, such as YouTube. Leaving BF on about the same trajectory as print newspapers.

And, get off my lawn.

retswerb

I'm fairly new here as a participant, but have been on the site many many times over the past few years as BF tends to be pretty high in Google results for a lot of bike searches, especially ones relating to maintenance and repair.

The amount of useful content already here will guarantee traffic for years to come even if participation were to dwindle. As a relative outsider though I would definitely say that the culture here is... mixed. There's an incredible amount of dead-horse-beating that goes on around here in ways that are tiresome and circular. The various bicycle-related subre*dits that I follow often seem like friendlier places than here, and that's saying something.

Colorado Kid

I heard that Bicycling magazine is undergoing "hard times" due to the lack of readership and changes from their parent company. I wouldn't shed a tear if they go under! It's not worth wrapping fish in now a days.

datlas 

Agree, the collective knowledge here is not easily (if at all) found elsewhere. In spite of the occasional trolling and/or vitriol, it’s still an amazing resource.