The reason I think this will be a big success is similar to how (the original) Top Gear worked. The only place it could work is on the BBC where it wasnt largely commercial supported. They couldnt do a bit trashing the new Ford Something-or-other, only to go to a commercial break about a new Ford… as you might imagine, that well would dry up quickly. Theyre gonna have real reviews where they can say whatever the hell they want without the worry of getting ads pulled. I also want to see them successful as a big F-you to Outside, who IMHO is ruining print media.
I genuinely look forward to their podcast (mainly the tech one, not so much the race recaps) and I think they have a great line up. Im excited to see what their articles will look like as well.
Ill gladly pony up $100 to see where this goes!
I also prefer Geek Warning to the, mostly, racing podcast. They’ve said there are other topics coming too.
Not sure if it’s up your alley, but I also like Wade Wallace’s “From the Top” podcasts where he interviews the founders of big brands like Rapha, Wahoo, Skratch, Zwift, etc. I’m hoping those will come back. I’d love to hear him talk to Nate.
I like podcasts a lot more than YouTube content because I can listen while I do other things.
I hope you guys will indulge me, but there’s a bit more to add here.
After Caley, Dave, and one other major behind the scenes guy got fired, CT kept on chugging, but it didn’t seem like they were getting much direction. Editor in Chief is sort of like the CEO or COO of a newsroom. If you let someone like that go, you should normally have some sort of continuity plan. I don’t think any of the subscribers saw any evidence of such a plan.
CT kept on chugging with James Huang still there, plus a few other people. I think that many of the contributors may have left. Eventually, we saw that job posting on Outside’s site for a tech lead editor plus a tech editor. Did Robin Thurston not know that he had James Huang? Did he not know what Dave Rome did? Did he just want to get replacements at a lower cost? This was the last straw for me and a bunch of other subscribers. Some had quit before then, others were thinking OK, we want to be supporting James and the other remaining staff. But Thurston’s actions made this position untenable.
One thing to know is that I think CT was a minor part, relatively speaking, of Pinkbike. So, perhaps CT just fell under Thurston’s radar. Also, I am under the impression that Peloton Magazine and possibly Velonews may not have been profitable, and without Outside Inc’s takeover, they might have gone under. A reasonable observer might conclude that maybe there was no choice but to consolidate the cycling brands under one umbrella, like they’re doing. My response would be that if this were true, then the way it was handled was not good.
The thing that really erk’d me about outside was the head honcho went on the pinkbike pod talking about how hes a huge cyclist and mtb’er and his goal was to keep it the same but get these sites profitable. He literally did the exact opposite of CT, and learned the hard way that people dont go to the site for the website, they go to the site bc of the people that make the site what it is/was. That said, I dont blame Radek one bit. The goal of every business is to eventually sell it and ride off into the sunset after a payday. It sucks that it happened, but you can say you wouldnt do it until the contract is in front of you and you have the opportunity to change your life. Id do the same…
I dont listen to the TR pod bc I like the name, I listen bc the hosts do a kickass job, I come to the forum bc the members have useful things to contribute. If that dries up, ill find another place…
Hopefully you are in by now, but there is a link to the discord if you log into the website and scroll to the bottom of the page. It was next to the other social media links, and I am pretty sure it only shows up if you are logged in.
Thanks! They also sent another email and I read that more carefully.
90% funded as of my check just now.
Man, that was crazy fast.
I think it speaks to the dearth of quality cycling journalism that they are able to potentially fully fund that many people’s salaries to have the content people actually want. I understand why most websites are under a paywall - but I the only paywall I ever paid for was CT. Their content was so much better it was worth it. Hopefully it reaches that final 10% soon so I have something other than this forum to read!
Same here. CT is the only paywall I’ve ever paid for, but I also paid for it before it was a paywall.
I follow him on the 'gram and he joined at the 11th hour, having said it wasn’t happening. He was on the Geek Warning pod late last week.
I’ve gone full in on the lifetime membership, looking forward to something new.
The latest from Wade:
Dear readers,
I’ve got an exciting update for you today.
Yesterday we were 90’% of the way to our target members who will enable us to get Escape Collective off the ground and running by Milan san Remo (March 18).
This morning when I woke up we were just 500 members away!
I’m blown away and it’s incredibly humbling that we’ve seen so much support in less than a week after launch.
So here’s what we’re doing to push this over the line.
The individual who signs up and gets us to 100% of our target will get two things:
- We’re reserved lucky member #13 for this special spot in our history. We’ll even figure out a way to pin this upside down for you on the Founders Wall. It would be back luck otherwise, right?
- This member will be upgraded to a lifetime member and be in esteemed company on our Founders Wall.
We’re so close people. Get on board to support the launch of Escape Collective and the member who tips us over to success will be stuck with us for eternity. Who doesn’t want that?
Hmmm. So reward a latecomer who’s buying a $99 lottery ticket for a chance at a lifetime membership rather than putting the first 5000 who sign up in a drawing….
you seem really bitter…
Nothing is being taken away from the previous 5000 who signed up. It is one fun little incentive to get them to their stated goal which does benefit all the previous subscribers.
Seems like they will push it over the line any day now…great news.
Can I make a request - please use some of that money to get everyone on the pod a decent mic? Listening to Kate and Ruth (among others) the last two pods has been really difficult. Different volume levels and muddled audio quality.
OK, minor rant over - can’t wait for you guys to officially launch by MSR!!
Ha. I didn’t notice Ruth’s as much but Kate definitely needs some better gear.
Super stoked to see a racing specific Pod. That and some sign of a similar sort of XC thing could get me across the line for signing up.
I sure do like an upside down 13 race plate 
ETA: Pretty Serious Bike Racing is the name of the Pod. Can’t find a link, but it’s on the Placeholders feed this week.
Thank you so much for your generous support and enthusiasm folks! We made it to the start line!