So... is this site dying on the vine?

38 replies · 1,991 views

ljsmith
762 posts
#21Apr 18, 2024, 12:25 PM
This site is dying. It was the reviews that drove traffic to the site, now that those are gone things have really gotten quiet. Also most people tend to be a roadie or a mountain biker, there are very few dedicated gravel riders. So most people tend to spend more time on road or mountain dedicated sites. I spend more time on MTBR, their “cyclocross/gravel” section gets way more traffic than this entire forum.
1
SWGraveler
247 posts
#22Apr 18, 2024, 3:55 PM
This site is dying. It was the reviews that drove traffic to the site, now that those are gone things have really gotten quiet. Also most people tend to be a roadie or a mountain biker, there are very few dedicated gravel riders. So most people tend to spend more time on road or mountain dedicated sites. I spend more time on MTBR, their “cyclocross/gravel” section gets way more traffic than this entire forum.
Pretty much how it seems; def a bummer but I think you are calling it accurately..
0
frontrangegravel
453 posts
#23Apr 19, 2024, 1:15 PM
Pretty much how it seems; def a bummer but I think you are calling it accurately..

This site is dying. It was the reviews that drove traffic to the site, now that those are gone things have really gotten quiet. Also most people tend to be a roadie or a mountain biker, there are very few dedicated gravel riders. So most people tend to spend more time on road or mountain dedicated sites. I spend more time on MTBR, their “cyclocross/gravel” section gets way more traffic than this entire forum.
It's actually the forum that has always seen the most traffic. What has come on in the last couple years and heavy the last year is Reddit. Not saying that you all didn't read GT's stuff, because you clearly did, as you noted. But, the one stop shop of reddit is the big dog in the forum world
0
ljsmith
762 posts
#24Apr 19, 2024, 1:41 PM
It's actually the forum that has always seen the most traffic. What has come on in the last couple years and heavy the last year is Reddit. Not saying that you all didn't read GT's stuff, because you clearly did, as you noted. But, the one stop shop of reddit is the big dog in the forum world
Maybe there are a lot of people going to Reddit, but it’s not a place any serious rider would go to discuss bike things. The answers to questions on Reddit mostly give totally useless replies or wrong info.
1
3TX
55 posts
#25Apr 19, 2024, 6:59 PM
Maybe there are a lot of people going to Reddit, but it’s not a place any serious rider would go to discuss bike things. The answers to questions on Reddit mostly give totally useless replies or wrong info.
Reddit is social media rubbish. Agreed, no serious gravel rider would bother going to reddit for anything.
2
frontrangegravel
453 posts
#26Apr 20, 2024, 7:16 PM
Serious, perhaps not. That's why you're here. But, there is a lot there for the new people, showing bikes, chiming in with basic questions that you'd all jump in and answer. Without that mass of people, it's just less discussion, that's all.
0
TwoWheeler
177 posts
#27Apr 30, 2024, 5:26 PM
It must be. Even the Carbonda thread seems to have tanked.😝
0
Zurichman
1,526 posts
#28Apr 30, 2024, 7:14 PM
It must be. Even the Carbonda thread seems to have tanked.😝
Wow if that thread is done. Just Wowser.

Zman
0
SWGraveler
247 posts
#29Apr 30, 2024, 8:02 PM
With taps playing softly in the distance, I'll dedicate my next gravel ride to those here who helped me with various things, especially my tubeless struggles which were, for me, real and very trying..

Ride safe folks, we were all here for a shared passion and that rolls on..
0
Zurichman
1,526 posts
#30Apr 30, 2024, 9:46 PM
With taps playing softly in the distance, I'll dedicate my next gravel ride to those here who helped me with various things, especially my tubeless struggles which were, for me, real and very trying..

Ride safe folks, we were all here for a shared passion and that rolls on..
Yeah SWGraveler pretty sure I saw the discount code on here on how to buy the Raleigh Tamland 1 direct from Raleigh back on Easter 2017 that Ted Guitar help design with Raleigh. Now Raleigh isn't even mfg. gravel bikes. Almost as sad as the going downhill of this site. I gleaned as much info as I could on this site which helped me a lot on not making mistakes others had saving me some mega buckaroos.
0
A_SingleSpeeder
47 posts
#31May 7, 2024, 12:43 PM
A gravel race calendar would be awesome! One place to go to view all races or a large portion of races would make it so much easier to plan events I wanted to attend. Users could add other events like grass roots, large gatherings, etc. that the rest of us may be interested in.
0
Renegade
76 posts
#32May 7, 2024, 4:43 PM
A gravel race calendar would be awesome! One place to go to view all races or a large portion of races would make it so much easier to plan events I wanted to attend. Users could add other events like grass roots, large gatherings, etc. that the rest of us may be interested in.
Bikereg already has that. You can sort by disciple-road, gravel, cross-etc and even specific states/regions
0
Zurichman
1,526 posts
#33May 7, 2024, 4:49 PMedited
Bikereg already has that. You can sort by disciple-road, gravel, cross-etc and even specific states/regions
Renegade
You are correct in that Bike Reg has that. Kicker is I found that out that Bike Reg had that. Before that I use to come here and look for races. Having a race calendar here might help drive new people to the site. Here is a gravel fondo race calendar too.

https://www.granfondoguide.com/Events/GravelGrinderCalendar/North%20America/All/All/All

Zman
0
frontrangegravel
453 posts
#34May 9, 2024, 9:01 AM
I think a calendar linked to a discussion would be the best option.
0
MartenRat
2 posts
#35Aug 23, 2024, 7:03 AM
As I scan thru the past year's posts, I can't help but notice that there is more emphasis on what people have as far as rebuilds and "the latest and greatest " parts that they have put on their bikes. Alot of the 1 upping of the Jones' ! I see gravel riding as enjoyable and I know for a fact that my $390 12 year old hardtail can do as much, if not more, than the $2000+ gravel bikes. What I'm trying to say is folks need to realize bike riding is probably the most enjoyable activity there is and it doesn't matter what new parts the manufacturers have lured you into buying, or what upgrades you have done, bike riding is FUN! If the forum wrote more on where they rode, what they encountered along the way, animal and plant sightings, biking mishaps...more folks would be connecting to the site and the forum. Enough said. Keep biking for peace of mind!
0
stu
646 posts
#36Aug 24, 2024, 12:31 AM
Yes, I have fun on my single-speed errand bike but I can't get up (or safely down) steep hills on it. But I'm enough of a gear head to always be thinking how I could improve my good bike. And I've had a few too-close animal sightings and crashes I wish I hadn't.
0
Zurichman
1,526 posts
#37Aug 24, 2024, 7:30 AM
At my end I started gravel riding/racing in the Fall of 2017 riding the Pony Express Gravel Dash at Marysville Kansas. I bought the Raleigh Tamland 1 that was helped design by Ted Guitar on here I am told. Bought it on the cheap after seeing the discount code on here and buying it direct from Raleigh. Didn't know if I would love Gravel riding or not. Fell in love with it after riding the first B road. That winter I upgraded to the Roker Comp and did lots of upgrades to it. Redshift shock stem/custom wheels non carbon and the new GRX 810 which first came out with a 48/31 crank and a 11-40 rear.
This Christmas I upgraded again buying a Lauf True Grit Weekend Warrior Wireless and bought a set of Hunt carbon wheels for it and just had my wrench put on a 11-52 cassette on the rear which I guess everyone calls the mullet set up.
Lots has changed over the last 7 years. Raleigh no longer mfg's gravel bikes. 2 of their engineers left and formed Noble bikes. I think they struggled for awhile but hopefully are back on their feet now. Use to be only the big races would charge over a $100 for their races. Now lots are charging that. I have no idea of all the expenses are to run a race. I do know at my end I am holding out and only supporting the grassroots races and then throwing in maybe a big race every now and then.
On how to improve this site I am not sure. I am very thankful for all the help and advice I received on here though when I was a newbie gravel rider/racer and maybe that is what the site needs to get back to. Ride on everyone.
Zman
0
Roller
3 posts
#38Aug 24, 2024, 10:37 AM
I came to this site looking for discussions of current equipment such as tires and drivetrains. As others noted, there are more active discussions on mtbr. Even the venerable bicycles.stackexchange.com has more activity.

Forum success seems to be a mysterious formula. I wish I could offer a magic recipe to make this site more appealing. Other sites feel like they have less "friction". This site leaves me mostly confused and bumbling around looking for relevant discussions. One example is the inconsistent datetime formats. I see at least 4 different formats between the home and forum pages. I tried to attach screenshots to illustrate my point but the "insert photos" function is not working for me. That further illustrates my point about friction.
0
3TX
55 posts
#39Aug 30, 2024, 1:52 AMedited
We live in a dynamic media world which requires expert management and constant change to keep an audience interested.

With all the mainstream cycling magazines now embracing Gravel as a major category in its own right (which fits into both MTB and Road platforms), this forum needs to become more dynamic. It needs its own professionally written stories alongside member content. (The last ‘News & Review’ was in Nov 2023 and they’re all written by just one author). The site needs excellent images and video. It needs to have excellent coverage of worldwide gravel events. All expensive I know, but that will be what it takes to make this forum what it deserves to be.

All of the above also needs to be wrapped around a major site upgrade.

Being greeted with three identical banners advertising GRX stacked one on top of the other, as the only visual content on the site, is not all that conducive. Nor is the site crashing every 5 minutes (at least it seems to autosave half composed messages).

Unfortunately the professional the media world in which we live doesn’t really support small forums without some serious hooks.

The best thing about this forum is the straight talking, non-social media tenor of the discussions. That’s why I’m here. But I’d be here a lot more if some or all of the above was improved.

Cheers
0

Related threads

Article about mitigation of whole body vibrationsGravel Riding · 15 replies · Mar 1, 2021
Straight pull vs J-bend for heavy rider wheel buildGravel Wheels (Wheels, Rims, Hubs, Etc) · 11 replies · May 31, 2016
Torn 4 ways on which bike to chooseBikes · 52 replies · Oct 20, 2015
NEW - BACK TO IT - NOVEMBER 2026FORUM LOG ON FOR NEW MEMBERS - PLEASE READ · 0 replies · Nov 9, 2026
New here ... at the " old hybrid bike as the first venture into gravel riding" stage, any advice?Gravel Riding · 29 replies · Dec 16, 2022