I grew up with German bike mags and their lab tests and have mixed feelings about them. While in theory they can add useful data to corroborate subjective observations, they often aren't representative of actual usage on the trail and take a single metric out of context, adding a veneer of objectivity where in reality they only add noise.
I sometimes had a suspicion that certain brands designed their products to win the lab tests rather than to perform well on the trail.
July 9, 2024, 9:33 a.m. - Niels van Kampenhout
I grew up with German bike mags and their lab tests and have mixed feelings about them. While in theory they can add useful data to corroborate subjective observations, they often aren't representative of actual usage on the trail and take a single metric out of context, adding a veneer of objectivity where in reality they only add noise. I sometimes had a suspicion that certain brands designed their products to win the lab tests rather than to perform well on the trail.