If you click HERE you will be magically teleported to DEFGRIP’s round up of all their original video content from 2010. It is stacked with cleanly executed, truthful journalism, inspiring stories, and portraits of the people and lifestyle of BMXers. My favourites are the Ruben Original and the Oakley/DEFGRIP Chase Hawk videos. Showing that simple insights about a persons life away from the bike can be inspiring to bikers. Go look deeper for more of the DEFGRIP Originals particularly the Adam22 and Cory Nastazio ones.
On the other side of the coin we have some original content from that website. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s good that they are allowing amateur photographers the chance to display their works, and even if the photos are really crumby (which they are), it’s good that younger aspiring creative types are given a little carrot on the stick. However, looking down at the comments highlights several things: that the audience of that site really wouldn’t know quality if it knocked down the door and ass banged their mum on the table at dinner time; that the audience is obviously very young and immature (look at the comments further down that are attempted rebuttals at a little critique); that this is the kind of content we can expect more of from that website because the kids are calling out for it; that is this really a quality readership? Do advertisers really need to pour much more of their resources into advertising with this site if the audience do not have economic means to purchase or are unscrupulous market that talk more through avatars on forums than by being informed well researched and considered consumers? Does a gaggle of 14 year old dirt jumpers have purchasing power? Sure, perhaps they pull their mothers purse strings or will grow up to be be a powerful buying market, but until then do we have to deal with this toxic crap getting washed into our drinking water supply?; does this piece really deserve front page on mountain bikings (supposedly) largest website? If I was a first time reader and new to biking and I opened this content then I would assume all bikers are plebeians with shit for brains; and does this mean that delusional megalomaniac is right? Is quality dead? Does quality count? Should everyone just give up and start giving away?
I think this website will blow itself up at this rate. I hope so. I do think it’s important for a big website that is full of news (read as regurgitated press releases), reviews (read as regurgitated press releases or spurious tales based on handshakes), and reader content (read as forum caves where the goblins can retreat to and stir their own porridge without affecting the lives of the rest of us)…but then aren’t we just creating Mountain Bike Action: The Website?
No offense to Mountain Bike Action, they know what smut they pedal and surely they aren’t deluded to think what they do is quality (“We need a cover page shot boys, and quick!”, “How about we take this shot I took on my holidays to Utah and turn it 30Degrees to the right so it looks way gnarlier?” “Great idea!”)
I admit that at this stage this website is worth checking out once in a while, however, I check it only for entertainment sake to see what crap the monkeys are throwing around and not for gathering any news or important information. If it’s big news or worth watching/reading/looking at and it’s worth knowing about, then any number of other websites will have the same news or content, and Facebook or Twitter fill the rest of the gaps. I have begun checking this website only once a week, and do you know what? I am missing out on nothing and I save myself a lot of time by just compressing my giggles into one dose of hysterics per week. I urge you to try it too. I bet you won’t miss anything.
2FLAT 
Pinkbike is pants. Its lack of substance is the product of its content, relying on its community of opinionated children who know little and find solitude amongst their kind.
But Pinkbike is huge, its figures are frightening and I’m sure they make a lot of money. I would love to have access to both their viewers and resources and turn a chapter that could change our sport and push it forward as the potential is there.
With the kind of power Pinkbike has with its readership, comes with great responsibility as they say. I just hope it pops. Sorry, but I do. Because they could do something far better, but that will never happen as the kids are in control!
As someone who looks at what BMX and other sports do online, and then return to the MTB sites, I shudder with the feeling that were not doing ourselves any favors, but at the same time, is this what mountain biking is? Am I wasting my time trying to build something different, something fresh and potentially something that only a handful of people will appreciate, who all, so far, work in the ‘industry’.
Mountain biking is one of those sports that is only really ‘cool’ to those already involved in it. I don’t know whether that is something which makes us better, maybe we welcome those who other ‘extreme’ sports wouldn’t allow into there ranks for lack of tattoos, skinny jeans and a Minor Threat T-shirt. I don’t know, but I do know I’ll quit while I’m ahead before I spend an afternoon ranting on here.
I’m trying to do something different, maybe you’ve had a peek, I have tried to leave a trail of bread crumbs to my site in the vein hope of you seeing what I’ve been up to. It’s not ground breaking, but I do have a few things up my sleeve that no else has done, especially where 26″ wheels are concerned, all of which will arrive on the site come January.
I will continue to read everything you write, honesty is a rare thing.
Olly.
you nailed it, Olly. they have the power to do good, but choose not to, and in the end, the sport suffers.
You write from the heart Seb, a rare trait. I always enjoy reading your work, you don’t write in shades, it’s black and with you and there really isn’t enough of that sort of thing. With that said, I think that it’s unfair to single out Pinkbyke. What is ANY other site doing better? I can go to any of the popular websites right now and see nothing but the same filler: press releases, uninspired content, and front page news that are simply forum posts. What we’re seeing is these websites putting up content for the sake of putting up content. You call out Pinkbyke for the inane comments, but have you checked out any other site that allows users to comment on posts and has the same following? Fuck me, try reading the comments on anything from CNN, Time, to VBS ect, and those are supposedly more grownup and “readed” users. I don’t think for a minute that the comments would be any better on any other site. At this point in time every single cycling website is terrible and basically needs to be flushed down the shitter, the lot of them! Fuck I sound emo. Thoughts?
So what should they do? I don’t know, but I’m going to the local news stand to pick up a copy of Bike, Dirt, and even MBA. That’s right, MBA, mother fuckers.