Review website

[Jon]

Is there a website for reviewing electric bikes?

I have had experience of building review sites before and im considering starting to build one for ebikes and it would also give the opportunity to rate ebike dealers. It would be a standard form you would complete and have a star rating out of 10 for certain categories such as (i would put more thought into the criteria so dont kick off over what i put lol)

Overall looks
Easy to ride
Brakes
Suspension
Acessories
etc

For dealers it would also put them on a Geomap so once a listing was created which could be done by a dealer it would have a couple and street view map
etc

Its just an idea and i would need to put a lot of thought and time into plus cost but i think it may well be worth it if it will help people make informed decisions. It would be a free site to use as well.

What are your thoughts?

 

[DBCohen]

The AtoB site does a lot of that already, doesn't it?

 

[flecc]

There are two already as well as A to B Magazine's site.

Electric Bikes Experts

Electric Bicycle Guide
.

 

[Jon]

Thanks for that info i wasnt aware of that mag but no it would be diff. I would like users to review bikes themselves. Plus that site aint free to read specific reviews. I would create a free user led site. Thanks for the suggestion though. Is there any others? Oh and the aim is not to replace this community site by the way, infact i think i could compliment it. Im at Capesthorne Hall today and the net is very slow so if my responses are short and sporadic thats why. If your near pop over its a massive craft fayre were selling home made scented candles

 

[flecc]

I've replied just above with two links as you posted Jon.

Personally I don't value user reviews very highly against independent ones, people who have bought something are notoriously biased in favour of their choice of course.
.

 

[rsscott]

Thanks for that info i wasnt aware of that mag but no it would be diff. I would like users to review bikes themselves. Plus that site aint free to read specific reviews. I would create a free user led site. Thanks for the suggestion though. Is there any others? Oh and the aim is not to replace this community site by the way, infact i think i could compliment it. Im at Capesthorne Hall today and the net is very slow so if my responses are short and sporadic thats why. If your near pop over its a massive craft fayre were selling home made scented candles

Hi Jon,

We have a reviews system for the new site that will structure the existing reviews a lot more. It is configurable in that as per your original suggestion a specific set of questions can be asked. I should have it working on the test site in the next few days if you want to take a look.

 

[EdBike]

Hi Jon,

I was talking with Flecc a month or so about this - in short:

1. The largely human element makes it difficult to be objective. Each reviewer will have different fitness levels, terrain, abilities and bias's...
2. The amount of time taken to source the dozens of different bikes available now in the UK, give them all enough care and attention to make it worthwhile, and then write it all up may not necessarily pay *yet*. The markets not quite big enough yet to do extensive, comprehensive reviews.
3. Besides A to B Magazine already mentioned (their latest issue arrived this morning - very good!), Peter Eland at Electric Bike Mag is doing a phenomenal job reviewing electric bikes already (latest issue online: http://www.electricbikemag.co.uk/downloads/ElectricBike02-72dpi.pdf) and I know he's planning on 'HTML-ifying' the whole lot shortly.

That's why we're not going to be doing editorial reviews at Electric Bikes Experts just yet... but we've got another project to help achieve the same goals rolling out this month. Watch this space!

One of the things we'll definitely be introducing shortly is owners reviews (where bias may be more obvious and accepted), similar to how we've seeded some e-bike owners "life-changing stories" here: Electric Bike Owners and Stories | Share Your Own Stories

Jon, if you can pour lots of time into this, the manufacturers and dealers are mostly happy to lend out bikes to review. What you'll have to consider besides the actual content creation (reviewing, photographing, editing, uploading...) is building the targeted traffic to pay for your efforts!

Ed

 

[EdBike]

Worth also taking a look at some of the other electric bike resources we've found here: Best Electric Bike Websites Awards

 

[Jon]

I will respond individually when i get home but i think people would value owners feedback, i know many people thay buy producys, services or holidays based on user reviews. I understand the concern though flecc. The system i design give an overall average too plus search facilities etc. Im not really expecting to make money from it well not in near future it was more of an idea just to help people out. With it being a user led experience it would self populate. Similar to trip advisor really.

 

[Jon]

Hi Jon,

We have a reviews system for the new site that will structure the existing reviews a lot more. It is configurable in that as per your original suggestion a specific set of questions can be asked. I should have it working on the test site in the next few days if you want to take a look.

I would love to take a look, im not a professional web developer though i do this for fun but have built two sites in the past and im working on one now.

Hi Jon,

I was talking with Flecc a month or so about this - in short:

1. The largely human element makes it difficult to be objective. Each reviewer will have different fitness levels, terrain, abilities and bias's...
2. The amount of time taken to source the dozens of different bikes available now in the UK, give them all enough care and attention to make it worthwhile, and then write it all up may not necessarily pay *yet*. The markets not quite big enough yet to do extensive, comprehensive reviews.
3. Besides A to B Magazine already mentioned (their latest issue arrived this morning - very good!), Peter Eland at Electric Bike Mag is doing a phenomenal job reviewing electric bikes already (latest issue online: http://www.electricbikemag.co.uk/downloads/ElectricBike02-72dpi.pdf) and I know he's planning on 'HTML-ifying' the whole lot shortly.

That's why we're not going to be doing editorial reviews at Electric Bikes Experts just yet... but we've got another project to help achieve the same goals rolling out this month. Watch this space!

One of the things we'll definitely be introducing shortly is owners reviews (where bias may be more obvious and accepted), similar to how we've seeded some e-bike owners "life-changing stories" here: Electric Bike Owners and Stories | Share Your Own Stories

Jon, if you can pour lots of time into this, the manufacturers and dealers are mostly happy to lend out bikes to review. What you'll have to consider besides the actual content creation (reviewing, photographing, editing, uploading...) is building the targeted traffic to pay for your efforts!

Ed

Thats the problem with any site is traffic. I bet Russ had a similar concern with this forum. Like i mentioned before my idea would be to give users a platform to build on rather than me get bikes off manufacturers and do editorial reviews although if anyone does want to send me a bike to review i wouldnt say no The system i use works by

I have a say Jon bike and want to write a review as i think its an awful bike but there are a few good points for improvement i go to this review site sign in search for a Jon bike oh its not listed. Ok i now click add a listing, i complete some details about the bike upload a picture of one (optional) now the listing is there i can add my review. Rate it and then im done.

Or

I am the importer of Jon bike and i want to publicise my bike so i go to this website and as Jon bike is new i add a listing i put all factual info on there and a promo pic there we go i now wait for users to review it. I can also use this feedback to make imporvements to the bike for the next model

These things dont happen over night and it is reliant on users but as i have been speaking to company directors
they have been telling me how many bikes they are shifting per month. If this figure is accurate there are loads of potential reviews. Yes some cant be arsed but through say this forum, dealers and importers letting users know of its existence it could work and then we will have a db of user reviews and not editors. I find that because editors get sent top end bikes as well as lower end they "can" be a bit snobby about bikes. This was also the opinion of some dealers. Therefore when a budget bike comes out that bike will get slated more than what is fair. I know there are exceptions as always but newbies dont trust editors they trust tother consumers that i do know. That was the original idea i had, it was a spure of the mo thing and i blurbed lol

I've replied just above with two links as you posted Jon.

Personally I don't value user reviews very highly against independent ones, people who have bought something are notoriously biased in favour of their choice of course.
.

Hi flecc see my paragraph above. The thing is you sound that experienced that you wouldnt trust a general consumer. I am the same with cars i feel i have the skill to trust my own knowledge i dont even trust Parkers etc as i think they are easily influenced and Topgear well they are just grown men making a funny tv show lol. Most people that arnt clued up do trust other consumers is that logic built on sand im not sure but i do know i would rather read real world consumer reviews on "most" things i buy.


Thanks for your replies though, very constructive

 

[flecc]

The thing is you sound that experienced that you wouldnt trust a general consumer. - - - - - - - - - - - - but i do know i would rather read real world consumer reviews on "most" things i buy.

I also read them Jon, and give them some value. What I said was that I didn't rate owners views highly against independent reviews, and that's surely sensible. Only a very few brave individuals publicly admit they've made a mistake with their purchase. Human nature being what it is, most seek to justify their choice.

 

[Caph]

I don't know why bikeradar.com and mtbr.com don't just add electric bikes to their sites. They have a mixture of a professional review and loads of user reviews per bike. It works really well. I wouldn't buy a bike or even just a frame without checking these sites first.

 

[Jon]

Flecc.

Yea i suppose in that sense you are right, in an idealistic world i would hope people would be honest i know i would but then im not most people or most people arnt me. I got an expensive telly the other month and when i reviewed that i gave positive and negative points to try and construct something that wasnt a bias review basically to help people make an informed decision. I also suppose an issue would around how people write and how people perceive text rather than hearing it. I enjoy watching youtube for reviews as you can get more of a feel for honesty and you can understand the context of which a word or sentenced is used.

 

[Jon]

I don't know why bikeradar.com and mtbr.com don't just add electric bikes to their sites. They have a mixture of a professional review and loads of user reviews per bike. It works really well. I wouldn't buy a bike or even just a frame without checking these sites first.

Bikeradar seems not a bad site, layout is nice and so is functionality. mtbr sorry i thought this was a rather poor site. There is too much white space, the page is not conforming to some sort of standard width like say 960px, there are far too many clicks to go through to find something useful, design needs looking at and a few other stuff i just didnt like. Im sure the content is useful once you find it but if i come across that site looking for bike reviews i would just move on to bikeradar and stick with that one

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Harmony-Central is a website for music equipment etc. It's v ery popular and has been going for years gradually expanding its content. It's used as a vital resource for choosing from the vast range of equipment. Naturally there's bias in the reviews, but it's still good for evaluating because the best stuff still gets the best reviews and the rubbish stuff usually gets enough bad reviews to paint the picture. It worked for them, so there's no reason it shouldn't work for any other product.
here's an example: Harmony Central

 

[rsscott]

I would love to take a look, im not a professional web developer though i do this for fun but have built two sites in the past and im working on one now.

OK, I'm just setting it up at the moment so I'll email you the access details.

If anyone else wants to help drop me a PM or if you have any suggestions on what questions should be asked of a reviewer.

 

[LeonardYoung]

I don't think bike reviews are much different from reviewing any other product. The key is to have access to many reviews, whether user feedback or dedicated websites. I've never bought anything on the basis of one or even two reviews unless the financial risk is small.

I design simulation software and the interesting thing is that in the last few years, the many magazines and websites that review such things are often bypassed in favour of user feedback, and sales of some products are nowadays far more influenced by customer reaction than media reviews. In my industry this is undoubtedly because potential buyers simply do not trust the media owing to commercial links which often taint the review.

On occasions I've been told in frank terms that unless I advertised with certain websites they wouldn't even consider reviewing anything. The result is that many reviews have hidden agendas and some reviews are glowing on condition that advertising is paid for. A while back I posted my concerns about this website having forum posts which I felt were on the cusp between information and advertising. It's a difficult area to tread, however good the initial intentions are.

I think that is the main reason why user feedback is on balance better, provided such posts are numerous. I take Flecc's point about users who are reluctant to admit that they might have bought substandard kit, but intelligent readers can probably factor this in when they are surfing around for advice.

If you look at the development and progress of Google and other search engines, there has been a lamentable movement from searches that are subject led, to searches that are wholly commercial as to results. This of course is a total betrayal of Google's published intentions when they started up.

Their advertising was meant to be exclusively confined to the right hand column and lists, but now any subject search is festooned with hundreds of main page area commercial links way before any objective or informative website is listed.

 

[flecc]

The result is that many reviews have hidden agendas and some reviews are glowing on condition that advertising is paid for.

This is why I said independent, valuing them more highly than users ones. It's fairly easy to detect the commercially tainted ones. They aren't the only suspect ones of course, there's the ill-informed ones that result from getting a newspaper reporter or minor celebrity to ride an e-bike for the first time and report on it.

As you say though, the greatest value is gained from multiple review sources and I read most that are available when contemplating an expensive purchase, extracting what is useful.
.

 

[Jon]

Harmony-Central is a website for music equipment etc. It's v ery popular and has been going for years gradually expanding its content. It's used as a vital resource for choosing from the vast range of equipment. Naturally there's bias in the reviews, but it's still good for evaluating because the best stuff still gets the best reviews and the rubbish stuff usually gets enough bad reviews to paint the picture. It worked for them, so there's no reason it shouldn't work for any other product.
here's an example: Harmony Central

Now that is a good site, easy to use and navigate. A few aesthetic touches needed on the reviews side to comply with RNIB standards but most of that is very very minor stuff. I like it and it works well, if i had created that site i would be proud.

 

[Jon]

I was after a router the other week and i was reading reviews from many places like Argos, PC world, Play, Cnet etc. One problem i was finding was the home idiot. The person that thinks they can set something up but when in fact they cant. So after many amusing reviews and filtering them out i had a collective of useful ones. The problem was i discovered many "expert" reviewers that were totally useless. So what i do is find many sources and work out the average response.

If im looking for extensions for joomla i will only look at the item description to see if it meets my needs. I will then look at how many reviews it has in total and how many points it has. I would always favour an item with 383 reviews with a score of 4/5 over an item with 10 reviews with a score of 5. So far that principle on Joomla has not let me down. The reason for this is generally people that use Joomla know what they are doing so mostly, you dont get that home idiot.

In terms of a system that i play with check this out Tangit Accessibility Review Website - the worlds number one place for disability and accessibility reviews Its a semi live site, basically its a site that i use to test new features on and see how it reacts and im trying to work out the new Google algorithms as they were changed end of last year. Im optimising it for key words and ive managed to get to number 3 for "accessibility reviews" which is a main search term for that field I think within the next month im actually going to finish that site off and treat it as a live working site and start a new project for testing.

As you can see tangit is a review site with intergrated google maps, im not totally happy with template yet but i never am. Oh by the way should anyone want more info on the site feel free to ask as i would be keen to populate and get more reviews on it

"hmm have i just put myself in front of a firing squad lol"