I think a lot of co's send out parts that have already been gone through to insure the best review possible, especially suspension components. I don't think that's inherently wrong, but I think it can provide a bit of a sticking point between the reviewers' experiences and the end user who shells out for one. I picked up a Trace 36RC for a song, and it felt like a sticky mess out of the box. Dropped the lowers and there was zero lube of any sorts in the legs. Soaked the wipers, added 5cc to each leg, and checked the air piston while I was at it (that was a bit over greased), and the fork felt 1000x better. If I was not as tech minded I would be left feeling the fork was a hunkhunka burnin' trash and I shoulda saved my cash while the adage 'buy cheap, buy twice' was ringing in my ears. It's this scenario that I respect what Aston is doing, paying for stuff out of his own pocket and testing it outright. He may get, how you say, excited when reviewing a product, but there's some solid insight/Voice of Consumer in it. Certainly some co's are better at assembling their wares than others, and that in turn can drive a rebuild prior to sending for review. One could see that as dishonest on the part of the co, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong.
Aug. 29, 2023, 6:51 a.m. - JT
I think a lot of co's send out parts that have already been gone through to insure the best review possible, especially suspension components. I don't think that's inherently wrong, but I think it can provide a bit of a sticking point between the reviewers' experiences and the end user who shells out for one. I picked up a Trace 36RC for a song, and it felt like a sticky mess out of the box. Dropped the lowers and there was zero lube of any sorts in the legs. Soaked the wipers, added 5cc to each leg, and checked the air piston while I was at it (that was a bit over greased), and the fork felt 1000x better. If I was not as tech minded I would be left feeling the fork was a hunkhunka burnin' trash and I shoulda saved my cash while the adage 'buy cheap, buy twice' was ringing in my ears. It's this scenario that I respect what Aston is doing, paying for stuff out of his own pocket and testing it outright. He may get, how you say, excited when reviewing a product, but there's some solid insight/Voice of Consumer in it. Certainly some co's are better at assembling their wares than others, and that in turn can drive a rebuild prior to sending for review. One could see that as dishonest on the part of the co, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong.