(03-11-2023, 08:33 AM)Sybian Wrote: Review the saddles specifically being equipped as stock components. Are saddles provided with the option of choosing a range or one saddle model for a given bike example? One saddle does not fit all just as one frame size does not fit all.
Provide the country of origin/company of origin pertaining to the manufacture of all components and the frame; i.e. if a bike says "Made in Italy" then I would expect the entire bike (components and frame) to be made in that country. If a bike says made by Trek I expect the entire bike to be made by them not just the frame. Something that a company like Raleigh could say of their bikes at one time since their factory essentially produced all of the components and frame; I think the tires were the only thing made by another company (which they may have oened anyways). If a frame is designed in a country different from where it is fabricated then that should be clearly stated. It seems nowadays that most frames (by many companies) are made in Taiwan by another company, and many are made by the same company but branded as being another company's product. I know this has gone on for decades, but a little transparency would help; e.g. Trek: "designed and built in USA by Trek", "designed and built in Taiwan by Giant for Trek", "designed in USA by Trek, built in Taiwan by Giant for Trek". Any company that has pride in their product and brand, and wants me to spend my money on it should have no problem telling me the specifics without the marketing double talk and brand name usage just to sell their product. As with most multi-part/multi-assembly products be they bikes or dishwashers the consumer should have all the facts clearly stated as to who and where the item was designed by, manufactured by, and had final assembly and quality control testing done by. I do not care of that would take paragraphs to print as long as it is provided truthfully.
Interesting concepts here! I do review all the contact points on bikes including the seats and its good because some are just awful! I have never personally seen a bike with saddle options, it is often such a personal choice option most brands will simply assume the consumer will swap the seat and choose one based on cost or design.
Country of origin is another interesting one, it's very hard now as design and manufacturing happen in different places, all items such as the frame will have an origin, but often its honestly unimportant. More important is the track record and quality control of the company. They could manufacture in several different countries so long as standards are high you will never notice a difference.
Having a single brand create every component is a challenge as well, so much technology goes into these items it would be almost impossible! Brands like Shimano, Sram or Suntour have been around for a long time, and are amazing at the products they produce. You know when you get a specific component from Shimano how it will perform, and there is no need for Trek to try to compete with them to create the same item.
By using components from different well-established brands it lets all the technology progress at the same time forward, no need to reinvent the wheel. Different brands all work towards different goals and we get this amazing eco system of components and frames that you can mix and match and swap. I mean look at mullet setups! Who would have though of that one.
I agree with you about transparency though, but more so about the quality level and design rather than where it is made. I also think we pay a premium for many products that are excessive, and quality is sometimes forgotten quickly.
If you look in our reviews you will see I have broken down each component for you in the "spec:" section. This should give you all the info you need to find out the specifics of the bike. If something is missing please leave me a comment on the video, or here and I will gett the info for you!
(03-11-2023, 11:49 AM)Sybian Wrote: (03-11-2023, 09:52 AM)ichitan Wrote: A lot of bikes may have the frame made by one company, and use components made by others. For example, some bikes may use a Shimano derailleur.
There are also bike manufacturers that use components that are readily available, and these may change from time to time. So if you buy a certain make and model of bike now, and buy the same make and model of bike in 6 months time, there may be some different components.
Shimano is a Japanese company, with factories in China, Malaysia, Singapore, and other places. It is probably impossible to find out, which factory the components on a certain bike came from.
People doing reviews can provide whatever information is available. But if you want all of the details about everything, it may be necessary to do some research.
Unfortunately, you are telling me nothing new. Manufacturers can easily obtain information of the source country and factory for their parts. Everything is coded by lots to keep track of quality control. It is the resposibility of a company to be honest and open about where everything is made. How do you think they do recalls on faulty parts. There is no need to recall all parts even if it is the same model used on different equipment only the bad lot is recalled from a specific factory made during a specific time period. Please understand that these companies know where their parts are coming from, but the comsumer does not, and that is the issue. Perhaps I have an ideological issue with a particular country and I do not wish to support its economy. It stands to reason that I should be able to avoid providing support for that country or any company that does business with them. Again, all parts can be traced to their source, but manufacturers are not providing the consumer with that information. They could easily cover all bases and state that the parts might be sourced from multiple countries and companies by listing them all. Quite simple and without extra cost. Sorry you think the consumer needs to do extra work when a company already should be doing it. I guess if you sold something I would avoid purchasing it because you would not provide that information which you would either already know or would be able to readily obtain as the commercial buyer.
In my country there are warnings on food that it may have been produced/processed on equipment that could have been used for other food processing. I do not need to contact the company first and ask them if it was since the information is provided by them knowingly, and it allows me to make a decision on whether I want to purchase their product or not. Even if they have multiple processing plants their product is traceable to its source. I will stop commenting here. It has not helped anyways since I expect the individual who started this thread to respond in kind as to their ability to do what any reasonable and honest company can to do to provide information to its potential customers. Nothing impossible or difficult for a company to do.
(03-11-2023, 09:52 AM)ichitan Wrote: A lot of bikes may have the frame made by one company, and use components made by others. For example, some bikes may use a Shimano derailleur.
There are also bike manufacturers that use components that are readily available, and these may change from time to time. So if you buy a certain make and model of bike now, and buy the same make and model of bike in 6 months time, there may be some different components.
Shimano is a Japanese company, with factories in China, Malaysia, Singapore, and other places. It is probably impossible to find out, which factory the components on a certain bike came from.
People doing reviews can provide whatever information is available. But if you want all of the details about everything, it may be necessary to do some research.
Unfortunately, you are telling me nothing new. Manufacturers can easily obtain information of the source country and factory for their parts. Everything is coded by lots to keep track of quality control. It is the resposibility of a company to be honest and open about where everything is made. How do you think they do recalls on faulty parts. There is no need to recall all parts even if it is the same model used on different equipment only the bad lot is recalled from a specific factory made during a specific time period. Please understand that these companies know where their parts are coming from, but the comsumer does not, and that is the issue. Perhaps I have an ideological issue with a particular country and I do not wish to support its economy. It stands to reason that I should be able to avoid providing support for that country or any company that does business with them. Again, all parts can be traced to their source, but manufacturers are not providing the consumer with that information. They could easily cover all bases and state that the parts might be sourced from multiple countries and companies by listing them all. Quite simple and without extra cost. Sorry you think the consumer needs to do extra work when a company already should be doing it. I guess if you sold something I would avoid purchasing it because you would not provide that information which you would either already know or would be able to readily obtain as the commercial buyer.
In my country there are warnings on food that it may have been produced/processed on equipment that could have been used for other food processing. I do not need to contact the company first and ask them if it was since the information is provided by them knowingly, and it allows me to make a decision on whether I want to purchase their product or not. Even if they have multiple processing plants their product is traceable to its source.
I will stop commenting here. It has not helped anyways since I expect the individual who started this thread to respond in kind as to their ability to provide the information in their reviews. If you want to make reviews of a product without that information being provided than so be it. You as a reviewer are supposed to provide what any reasonable and honest company can to do to disclose information to its potential customers. Nothing impossible or difficult for a company or someone who wants to provide indepth reviews can do as part of their job.
I am just trying to figure out what you would like to know! If you look at the written review for each bike I have a complete list of all components, I do a lot of research to bring you specific part numbers and items. When a part is generic such as "Shimano Alivio" I do not give a part number or origin.
Shimano has plenty of info available on the performance, production, and origin of the component group and its performance is known. It's not so important where it comes from, but how it works overall in the system.
For expensive bikes where the parts are very specific and performance is indicated by a slight change I get very specific.
Do you have any questions you would like me to answer for you about the bikes currently being reviewed? If something is missing, or you would like to know something about one of the bikes let me know
I value all comments here and hope everyone will continue in the conversation!
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Here is a sneak peek into some of the bikes we have for testing right now!
(03-10-2023, 04:44 PM)ichitan Wrote: You could do reviews on strong bikes for large riders. See if you can find low cost strong bikes.
With all of the reviews, include the maximum recommended weight.
Also bikes for tall riders. With less frame sizes available now, tall riders have less choices.
Some of us buy a bike, and raise the seat and handlebars so we can ride it. Then it is not long before things start breaking. It would be nice to have a bike I can just ride, and have nothing break.
I know you can't do everything in a short time. But you may come across bikes like this.
I've actually just had to call out a bike for this in my most recent review (unreleased) They state the bike will fit a rider 5'8" to 6'10" but I barely fit at 6'! The bike seat would not extend far enough to reach a good position.
I do add the max rider weight to all bikes in the "specs" section of the written review, but I wonder sometimes if this gets missed by people. Maybe I should state this info in the video review as well?
(03-11-2023, 01:36 PM)enkei Wrote: (03-01-2023, 09:47 PM)ReapThaWhirlwind Wrote: Do you guys review components also? There's a huge demographic for that.
It would be super intuitive to review some of the Chinese-branded components from AliExpress too.
Good idea. There's a ton of stuff coming from China. Some of it must be good. After all, there are plenty of serious cyclists in China.
Yes there definitely is, I think Chinese products can get a bad name. Like everywhere it is about quality control and product design more than origin!
I have recently had some good experiences with some unbranded Chinese hydraulic disk brakes which showed good results on par with larger name brands.
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