I'm not clear what you're saying Rick. Are you suggesting that I shouldn't have made the changes because now I'm not reviewing a stock bike or are you suggesting I should just review the frame?
I think (my opinion) that frame-only reviews - as unwieldy as they are, frankly - have the potential to create the most value for a reader since that's the part of the bike we're buying from the manufacturer. The NX drivetrain performs like an NX drivetrain unless if a frame is delivering some specific value riders could just compare spreadsheets and come up with the best spec/$.
I've attempted to have this discussion via article a few times - my [**Trek Stache Re-Trial**](https://nsmb.com/articles/trek-stache-29-retrial/) is probably the best example - and have come to the conclusion that my bike reviews will never satisfy even a small majority of readers. At the end of the day, I write the sort of bike review I'd like to read. My goals for these pieces are to entertain and inform and focus on what's unique or interesting about the specific bike I'm looking at.
But, I'm also not interested in having shitty rides for the sake of reviewing a stock bike. So I change the components necessary for my comfort (grips, bar) and my fun (tires, sometimes brakes). Now that I'm having fun on the Chameleon I feel I can properly review the frame, which is the unique component here. I think (my opinion) that's much more valuable than putting months of riding onto an OE SRAM hub.
That said, most bike reviews aren't done this way and there are plenty of reviews out on the new Chameleon complete already, so I think folks that prefer that are probably well situated with a quick Google search.
Dec. 14, 2021, 1:44 p.m. - Andrew Major
I'm not clear what you're saying Rick. Are you suggesting that I shouldn't have made the changes because now I'm not reviewing a stock bike or are you suggesting I should just review the frame? I think (my opinion) that frame-only reviews - as unwieldy as they are, frankly - have the potential to create the most value for a reader since that's the part of the bike we're buying from the manufacturer. The NX drivetrain performs like an NX drivetrain unless if a frame is delivering some specific value riders could just compare spreadsheets and come up with the best spec/$. I've attempted to have this discussion via article a few times - my [**Trek Stache Re-Trial**](https://nsmb.com/articles/trek-stache-29-retrial/) is probably the best example - and have come to the conclusion that my bike reviews will never satisfy even a small majority of readers. At the end of the day, I write the sort of bike review I'd like to read. My goals for these pieces are to entertain and inform and focus on what's unique or interesting about the specific bike I'm looking at. But, I'm also not interested in having shitty rides for the sake of reviewing a stock bike. So I change the components necessary for my comfort (grips, bar) and my fun (tires, sometimes brakes). Now that I'm having fun on the Chameleon I feel I can properly review the frame, which is the unique component here. I think (my opinion) that's much more valuable than putting months of riding onto an OE SRAM hub. That said, most bike reviews aren't done this way and there are plenty of reviews out on the new Chameleon complete already, so I think folks that prefer that are probably well situated with a quick Google search.