The negative bike review on GuyKesTV

It's all bollix, and a way to get a free bike.

Yeah completely worthless for objective reviews in my opinion. If he ever started criticizing bikes his gravy train would come to a screeching halt.

I would say quite the opposite in between the superlatives appears to be short sections of heavy out of breath trail riding , Cant stand to watch to be honest so I havent.

I consistently find anything that Guy rates I find to be bobbins. I have no idea if his reviews are genuine or not so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. But I've ridden plenty of bikes that are total rubbish. Maybe he's just easily pleased

He's very rarely actually negative but there's clearly some bikes he's much less keen on. I seem to remember he didn't seem keen on the Canyon Spectral 125 and or the Santa Crux Tall Boy (

about 14 mins in)

There is a shoot load of this rubbish on Social Media now.

I thought he used to review kit but rephrased it now as a promoter or some such.

He does very occasionally bash a bike. Really didn't like the current Stumpjumper (non Evo) or 2020 Epic. Don't think he was a fan of those Challenge tyres last week either lol

I think you have to listen to what he's saying quite carefully because often he does mention problems or negative aspects, but he will spin it into a positive. And if he does say something bad he understates just how bad it really is. Guess the supply of products to review would dry up if he went full restaurant critic.

He didn't like the current stumpy with the flex stays.

I found his review of the Hello Dave to be pretty accurate and did mention the elements that he wasn't keen on which I changed out too, like the tyres, bars and grips.

I enjoyed his review on the Specialized Chisel, I really fancy one them but can't really justify or afford one..

I like his enthusiasm but need a break between videos as I find him a bit much.

Are there any truly bad bikes these days?

finding some negatives and stating them (while also mentioning the good points) seems to be a fairly honest review and about on par with the other major reviewers including this place.

I always remember that time he tested an On One C456 and declared it so stiff that you'd have to stop halfway down the trail for a rest. Presumably the fork was ****ed or something but even if it seemed like it was the frame mid frustrating ride, how do you sit down in the cold light of day and write something like that and have it go to print? How does any frame have that effect? Just ridiculous.

A few months earlier the same mag has a "first ride" and said it was really flexy 🙂

All power to him if he can get paid to ride bikes on his own terms though

I can think of a lot of bikes he hasn’t made videos on. Not posting negative videos doesn’t mean you like all bikes. If you have nothing good to say… don’t waste your efforts making a video about it. Try out his written reviews if you want more of mix. Having been on the end of one very negative (and in hindsight entirely fair) written review… I can assure you they happen. His video business isn’t like his other work… he’s his own boss… he only has to make videos of stuff he likes… and has little to gain making videos of stuff he doesn’t.

between the superlatives

There’s a “between”?

He had a moan at Hope over the useless cleats for their clip in pedals I seem to remember.

Are there any truly bad bikes these days?

There's definitely loads of them. The big problems mostly become apparent when you have to live with something for a while, fixing and maintaining it with your own time and money.

By the time your shiny plastic superbike has shit itself the reviewer who convinced you to buy it has tested another dozen bikes.

i read this little article yesterday, with mentions a few issues the modern bike reviewer faces:

https://nsmb.com/articles/stop-trying-to-make-fetch-happen/

And as its been mentioned, bikes are so good these days. All you have to do is look at some recent PB reviews and the negatives are often tiny nit-picks, as thats all they can find to gripe about.

The formula of building a decent frame/bike is pretty tried and tested these days and cheap end gear is very good, so if it is 'lower' spec, it still works well.

The last bike i remember getting a slating was the Ghost something or other from a PB group test.

But for context, i dont follow or watch Guy, so maybe i am missing the mark and he is now just a corporate whore 😀

I much prefer Guys written reviews to his 'Fast show BRILLIANT kid' video reviews.

Over the years I've found his insights in the mags to be genuinely useful, unlike nearly all the other reviewers.

The latest Pace HT review begins with a 10 minute Adrian Carter worship session. I was f***ing embarrassed for him.

I think his message is bike are great to ride and that’s what he says when he rides them. I think he’s right.

He does do downsides you just have to tune in to spot them. The are often prefaced with “So”

From memory

One one boot zipper

I’m having a great time on this trail and enjoying the direct ride, so the fork weighs more than some suspension forks but I’m still having a good time.

Santa Cruz chameleon

So you could buy an equivalent Nuke Proof for a fraction of the price but you’d be missing out on that connection to an iconic brand

Agree with above, I've often noticed he does point out the negative, you have to pay attention.

I bought a bike that he reviewed (I watched the review once I'd already made up my mind to buy), and agree with his thoughts about the bike. There's a couple of things on the bike I don't like, but overall I love it.

He's much better, and more likeable than "Dave Arthur - Just Ride Bikes!" Who you could draw similarities with - no negative reviews. (well maybe he does, I haven't watched him in ages as I dislike him)

Haha, the OP here was better than any of the April Fools I saw.

I think he's been honest in the past about basing some of his written reviews on a very short time on the bike. Which I thought was a weird thing to brag about.

And since his videos are advertorials, they're pretty useless to us - unless we just want our biases confirmed.

So you could buy an equivalent Nuke Proof for a fraction of the price but you’d be missing out on that connection to an iconic brand

I'm not seeing the positive in that phrase...I'm reading that as you can buy the same for less elsewhere or buy this for a lot more and pay for the badge...

Speaking of negative reviews how is Paul Aston getting on with his YouTube career? He criticizes everything and from what I can see the algorithm has buried him.

I see his youtube reviews as slightly more pragmatic entertainment rather than the direct advertising for brands which some other YouTubers seem to do - generally he's very positive, but the things that do genuinely annoy him he does mention, tyres, grips etc.

I also think he only really reviews, or shares reviews of products that he's interested in himself, which automatically puts a bias position unless it's a complete lemon.

I subscribe to his you tube, but only watch the stuff that interests me, or I 'may' think about purchasing in the future.

Speaking of negative reviews how is Paul Aston getting on with his YouTube career? He criticizes everything and from what I can see the algorithm has buried him.

I was excited for him when he started. His long term review scheme was a good idea, and I think he got one brand to update their suspension hardware because of issues he had.

But he seems to have painted himself into such a niche corner with super-enduro-pedallable-DH-rigs being his only interest. Thats what he likes and it suits his location and riding style. But its going to alienate a lot of potential market audience who don't have the terrain or skills to use one.

Speaking of negative reviews how is Paul Aston getting on with his YouTube career? He criticizes everything and from what I can see the algorithm has buried him.

He often pops up in my recommendations, even though he only ever seems to be flogging raffle tickets now.

I think his supposed USP of "independent" bike reviews had promise, but he's dropped the ball himself by hardly making any actual review videos and disappearing up his own arse a bit.

GuyKes hardly ever shows up in my feed, despite his higher workrate.

He’s much better, and more likeable than “Dave Arthur – Just Ride Bikes!” Who you could draw similarities with – no negative reviews. (well maybe he does, I haven’t watched him in ages as I dislike him)

I suspect that his videos are actually AI-generated. It's a bit like being spoken to as if you're a six-year-old kid or someone who is very, very stupid and needs even the simplest thing explaining. Tbf, it is aimed at roadies.

I guess the wider issue here is how openly working with channel sponsors impacts perceived objectivity. GCN and GMBN etc get away with it to a degree by 'featuring' stuff 'coincidentally' rather than openly reviewing it, but I doubt that's viable for one man band-type content.

While I accept the overall idea behind the OP, I’ve found that I personally steer away from YouTube channels which slate a lot of stuff. I can be negative enough, all on my own, without needing anyone encourage me to feel more whingey.

I’m not saying reviewers should lie, or even downplay negatives. But I’ve noticed that if someone has a negative, overly judgemental bias in their channel, I’m really not interested in spending large amounts of time on those channels.

if I was thinking of a potential bike purchase, Guy's channel is one that I’d definitely check out.

GCN and GMBN etc get away with it to a degree by ‘featuring’ stuff ‘coincidentally’ rather than openly reviewing it, but I doubt that’s viable for one man band-type content.

And to be fair a lot (all?) of their videos that do this have an 'AD' marked on the top right of the thumbnail that I've noticed.

{edit} Wrong thread

I don't think GMBN do "reviews" as such, do they?

I actually quite like watching Steve Jones ride and talk about ebikes, even though I'm not really after one. He might be shilling for the industry in general, but he's still quite engaging and has a lovely calm manner.

Sorry that's a bit of a tangent, but maybe shows how "sponsored content" doesn't have to be worthless.

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I’m not seeing the positive in that phrase…I’m reading that as you can buy the same for less elsewhere or buy this for a lot more and pay for the badge…

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I’m not seeing the positive in that phrase…I’m reading that as you can buy the same for less elsewhere or buy this for a lot more and pay for the badge…

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That's my point. The negatives are there.

if I was thinking of a potential bike purchase, Guy’s channel is one that I’d definitely check out.

Really? I sort of have guy in the same category as Dave Arthur, a bought and paid for spec sheet read through with some superlatives lobbed in, all to persuade dentists and fund managers to part with a few grand they'll probably not miss. Not really worth normal people's time.

 his ability to do a quite in depth review whilst riding some tricky terrain with pretty good continuity.

Has always impressed me

Really? I sort of have guy in the same category as Dave Arthur, a bought and paid for spec sheet read through with some superlatives lobbed in, all to persuade dentists and fund managers to part with a few grand they’ll probably not miss. Not really worth normal people’s time.

Read this post an hour ago and have since been watching the Canyon Spectral 125 and SC Tallboy videos, if you listen for it, the negatives are there. I think, if you're not looking at buying the specific bike, you'll miss what he's saying as you may not be paying attention.

Is anyone else's YT playing up? blatant AI vids mid video for some rubbish thing which don't have the skip after 5 seconds and then once played, dont skip back to the video? instead just finish and stop on the last frame of the ad?

He didn’t like the Salsa Fargo.  I disagree with him as I think it’s a great bike.

I can think of a lot of bikes he hasn’t made videos on. Not posting negative videos doesn’t mean you like all bikes.

If you are marketing yourself as an independent reviewer then you should definitely have some negative videos if only to maintain some level of credibility around your independence. Endless videos say this bike is amazing is neither helpful of credible.

I don’t think GMBN do “reviews” as such, do they?

Exactly, it's basically their commercial model, working with brands as 'partners'. They 'feature' bikes and other items from the brands they work with, but it's more a sort of product placement on steroids exercise - 'We ride the hardest climb in Mongolia on our Pinarello gravel bikes and use this handy Wahoo computer to cunningly display the changing gradients' or whatever.

They probably also contain subliminal 'BUY A PINARELLO NOW AND BECOME IRRESISTIBLE TO GIRLS' frames that permeate your subconscious, but no overt reviews 🙂

It's interesting looking at various Youtubers when their sponsorship ends, and whether they then continue to use the product that they were raving about. Canyon's KIS system will be the next one to look at IMV, people sponsored by Canyon raving about it, people who are not (pink bike etc) saying "Meh".

FWIW I don’t mind Guy’s content when I stumble across it. It’s clear from his enthusiasm that he loves mtb - a good thing - and he manages to test-ride some decent kit.

For me, it’s just an opportunity to see the overall spec and general appearance/character in motion of a bike of interest, ridden here in the UK. I agree, the negativity in his reviews is pretty subtle, but some can be found.

Guy K’s content is 3-dimensional compared with Dave Arthur’s formulaic, 1-D plop.

Isn't most if n semi-professional

I take it manufacturers supply bikes to him for review - so it's difficult to be negative about them if he wants to continue reviewing them.

I learned the hard way - go and test ride a bike yourself to determine if you like it. Although this is sometimes difficult.

I always remember that time he tested an On One C456 and declared it so stiff that you’d have to stop halfway down the trail for a rest.

A few months earlier the same mag has a “first ride” and said it was really flexy

TBF, I can imagine that OnOne's QC would see see one frame of half the wall thickness of the other in the same batch...

I've read one of his reviews, that was enough!

he’s dropped the ball himself by hardly making any actual review videos and disappearing up his own arse a bit.

Utter utter truth there

Thing is...Is it not just entertainment? I generally like Guys videos (apart from the opening spiel, but I think its just over-familiarity) but I'm not watching them for in depth independent assessment, I'm watching them because he's a decent presenter, talks interestingly about a hobby I'm keen on, and keeps me updated on what's new, and as I've watched so many now, it's like having a mate talk about his new bike.  I'm not really interested in his opinion, although I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about, it's just something to distract myself with while I make a cup of coffee, or doodle in the kitchen.

I watch BKXC for the same reason, pretty much all his videos are the same. But it's distracting, the scenery is nice and it's just an escape.

I honestly don't know how people can really notice a significant difference between many 170mm zeb / super deluxe or 170mm 38 / float X2 bikes.

I reckon they all feel good and it's a stretch to make one seem particularly bad.

I take it manufacturers supply bikes to him for review – so it’s difficult to be negative about them if he wants to continue reviewing them.

All the professional MTB media get bikes provided by manufacturers for review.

GuyKesTV gets a payment as well, to secure a spot on his YT channel.

I honestly don’t know how people can really notice a significant difference between many 170mm zeb / super deluxe or 170mm 38 / float X2 bikes.

I reckon they all feel good and it’s a stretch to make one seem particularly bad.

It's all about the mid-stroke support baby 😛

But seriously, this is where good reviewers stand out - by isolating the factors that do differentiate similar bikes.

My bugbear, and we've saw a few particularly poor reviews on this site recently, are articles which spend 9/10s of the space talking about the geometry and spec and forget to explain what the bike feels like and how it behaves in different circumstances.

Pinkbike can be just as guilty of this, though they also do some excellent reviews.

I honestly don’t know how people can really notice a significant difference between many 170mm zeb / super deluxe or 170mm 38 / float X2 bikes.

I sold an unused shock a few years ago, and the buyer complained that it was faulty, the shop fitting it had told him there was a dead spot at around 15% travel. (Or something like that!) I was impressed that anyone was so sensitive that they could detect a dead spot in the sag. I was also impressed that he managed to find a shop to fit the shock within two hours of it being delivered in central London, during that Covid crazy period where you couldn't even get into a shop. I was also fairly certain that he'd bought the wrong size shock. 😀

He definitely didn't like the old Canyon Lux Trail.

Admittedly I struggled with that review a bit as he seemed to be riding a size too big...