Reviewed. I鈥檓 always amazed how different magazines and
blogs interpret that word. Some publications call in a product, use it a time
or two, and then print their opinions鈥攚hich yields a pretty cursory and
fleeting impression. Others scan the Web for ideas and reviews and dress up
some background knowledge and trips to media launches as critical advice. And
then there are the 鈥渂uyer鈥檚 guides,鈥 which pose as gear critiques even though
they are often nothing more than product listings and prices.
At 国产吃瓜黑料, we're demanding about our reviews, especially
when it comes to bikes. Our bike reviews are the result of a months-long
undertaking that involves some 100 bikes, dozens of testers, and thousands of
miles of riding.
Consideration on the bikes that you see in our reviews in the
Summer Buyer鈥檚 Guide and May print edition actually begins eight months before the magazines hit the stands聽at , the industry trade show where we scour the floor for the
most interesting- and innovative-looking rides.聽In the weeks following the show, we begin contacting manufacturers for their products, and the bikes begin pouring in to our local bike shop, , which unboxes and builds them up.聽Meanwhile, I鈥攁long with a host of editors and testers鈥攄o my best to log a couple of hours on each test bike by New Year's.
Testing begins in earnest in early January鈥攖his week. After humping all the bikes to Tucson (56 of them in a Penske this year, and a handful are still on the way), we assemble a dozen testers a day and spend a week riding in circles. Each day is devoted to a different genre (XC Race, for instance, or aero road), and from 8 a.m. 'til 3 p.m. we ride hour-long test loops, stopping between each lap to record our thoughts and trade bikes.聽At night there鈥檚 bourbon-fueled discussion of the bikes we rode that day and lots of tubes to patch.
By the end of week, we amass around 300 review forms, which become the basis for choosing the bikes that make the magazine. The top聽mountain听补苍诲听road聽picks become our聽Gear of the Year聽winners. And then comes the least enviable part of the process: boxing up all the beat-up bikes and shipping them back.
Over the next week we鈥檒l be zinging around the cactus-lined trails and rough back roads around Tucson to pick our favorite bikes of 2013. Check back here for pictures, initial impressions, and tales of the desert shenanigans. And if you have questions about the tests, send them along.
鈥擜aron Gulley