Let's Not Be A-Holes - Opinion

Feb 8, 2017 at 13:35
by Vernon Felton  
Allow me to put forth a modest proposal: Let's all agree--for the sake of the children, or the pandas or the puppies--to do our best not to be flaming a*sholes to one another.

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"Wait," I can almost hear you saying, "when exactly have I been an a*shole?"

Well, maybe you're the kind of person who reads an article or a comment on the forum that they disagree with and simply takes a deep breath and moves on with a Ghandi-like calm. If that's you, congratulations, you're already a step ahead of the pack. There are so many others out there, however, who are struggling to muzzle their inner wanker. It is to the rest of us that I make this pitch.

Have I alienated everyone already? First paragraph in and I've already plumbed the depths of the author-likeability index? Well, maybe it's me that's being the jerk here. Maybe. But I'm confident I'm not the only one. Click on just about any story on Pinkbike and scroll down through the comments section. Jesus. Friggin'. Christ. It's a political bloodbath in there. Admittedly, the Pinkbike forum has never been for the faint of heart. The whole blood-in-the-water ethos of the forum has always possessed a special allure for some readers. It's the cyber version of a car wreck. People slow down and look. Sometimes they stop to throw rocks for good measure. C'est la vie.

But during the past few months, our comments section has become a darker, nastier place.

KUMBAYA & RAINBOW PONIES
Before you suggest that I am being overly idealistic here, let me be clear: I am not suggesting that everyone hold hands and sing Kumbaya while riding off into the sunset on rainbow ponies. It's okay to disagree. In fact, let me go one step further: disagreement is absolutely essential. Sharing opposing beliefs, fleshing out your ideas, wrangling with one another--these are the lifeblood of a free society and any website lacking that freedom isn't worth a minute of your time.

I'm all in favor of our candidly and passionately disagreeing with one another. What I am saying is that we can disagree without being douchebags to one another. And, make no mistake, the amount of name calling, flaming and general feces-flinging going on these days amounts to douchebaggery of the highest order.
pony
Crystal Pony courtesy of mysteriouskaos

Perhaps an example is called for. Okay, here's just one: I recently wrote a review of a balaclava. A balaclava. Who can argue about a goddamn balaclava? We can. That's who. And I'd be completely cool with that had the arguments centered around things such as snot build up, venting, the merits or lack thereof of using magnets to connect the face mask portion of said balaclava, etc. The comment thread, however, quickly devolved from a debate about the relative merits of winter apparel into a shouting match about ISIS, Nazis, fascists, liberal hand wringers and knuckle-dragging white nationalists. Had the same discussion been conducted in a bar, someone would have lost an eye. No doubt about it. I had to scroll back to the top of the page a couple times, just to make sure that the comment thread was, in fact, still a response to a review of what amounts to a do-rag for snowy days.

To be entirely fair, this is clearly not a phenomenon exclusive to Pinkbike. Right now people on the Cat Fancy forum are threatening to disembowel one another over a post about the pros and cons of organic kitty litter. It takes all kinds and right now, the entire Internet is all kinds of crazy.

River Styx
Dante and Virgil enjoy a pleasant cruise across the River Styx, which teems with the souls of those who failed to attend anger-management therapy. Just another balmy day in the fifth circle of hell.
THAT FIFTH CIRCLE OF HELL
How did we wind up here?

Well, I guess that's a rhetorical question. Brexit. The Orange Guy. Marine Le Pen. Polar bears eating one another because they can't find a decent patch of ice from which to bushwhack seals. The Great Wall of America. The recent American ban on Muslims... Take your pick. We live in unusual times.

People are pissed off on both sides of the political spectrum and I respect the intensity of their emotions. In fact, if you can look at what's happening around the world without feeling some flicker of anger, I question either your sanity or your choice of sedatives. I personally spend plenty of time banging my head against the wall whenever I turn on the news.

But here's the thing: We can disagree without being complete dicks to one another. Really. It's that simple.

Consider this an Internet Golden Rule of sorts. Before you type a response to someone who thinks SRAM Eagle is superior to XTR Di2 or who has the temerity to question your choice of rear tire ask yourself, "Would I say this thing that I am typing right now to their face if we met on the street?"

And follow that question with another: "Could I say this to their face without also getting my own face broken?"

If the answer to either question is "No," you're probably at risk of being an a-hole.

Stop. Breathe deep. We've all been there. Myself included. Many times now. This is a perfect time to rephrase your objection in a way that doesn't leave the other commenter in a pool of e-blood. Do that and move on. In fact, do that and go ride a bike. Every time I feel like reaching through my laptop screen and throttling one of my readers, I remember that, hey, maybe I'm the asshat here and maybe I should just stop typing and go for a ride. Because you know what? Riding your bike is about five million times better than arguing about riding your bike.

And politics? Well, when politics are germane to the actual article (and at times they certainly are), go ahead and talk about them. But remember, a lot of us are coming to Pinkbike to forget--for just a moment--about all the hate and vitriol bubbling up around the world. Even when we are debating politics, we don't need to insult one another to make a point.

Or if all that sounds too cerebral and mamsy-pamsy, we'll leave it at this: Let's agree to not be a-holes.

Author Info:
vernonfelton avatar

Member since Apr 11, 2014
202 articles

402 Comments
  • 289 17
 I want a safe haven where i can talk about riding my eMTB Plus Bike with boost axles on your trails.
  • 55 6
 On muddly, closed trails too I bet LOL
  • 33 7
 Did you charge those ebike batteries using decomposing unicorn dung? You know it's the only truly globally accepted guilt free energy source outside of pure cold-pressed hatred of those who don't fall in line.
  • 17 8
 @matadorCE: With a 3kW electric motor so i can out run mildly angry XC Strava*sholes.
  • 17 10
 DONT BREAK MY SAFE SPACE!!!
  • 90 2
 I am a horseback rider and I only come here to find out who the a*sholes are...
  • 46 16
 Bernie Got Robbed!
  • 90 1
 I still ride 26".
  • 10 1
 Bet you strava too!
  • 6 2
 @Warburrito: oops. I didn't. I also just reupholstered my saddle with poached unicorn hide. I think I did a bad thing...
  • 13 2
 @KCs-Sphincter: what the f*ck did I just read
  • 4 1
 @jts429: its a troll. if we don't feed it, it might go away.
  • 2 1
 @KCs-Sphincter:you said bill cosby....
  • 3 0
 With hands in airand backing away saying "I feel threatened, I feel threatened!"
  • 2 0
 @weebleswobbles: you may wobble, but you would never fall down
  • 12 30
flag ibishreddin (Feb 9, 2017 at 21:35) (Below Threshold)
 captalism>socialism
  • 1 0
 @dtax: I try not to!
  • 3 0
 @dtax: what was the safe word again?
  • 2 0
 Apparently epinkbike.com is taken.
  • 2 1
 @rlaws: I bet you also ride XTR Di2, SRAM Eagle is far superior...
  • 2 1
 @weebleswobbles: Snowflake!
  • 2 1
 Too far.
  • 4 1
 @ibishreddin: u just melted 8 or 9 snowlfakes.
  • 2 0
 @shakeyakey: there is an ebike selection for strava. my specialized mission control automatically syncs it that way. your regular bike times are safe with me Smile
  • 1 0
 @weebleswobbles: with the iphone light on too....
  • 4 2
 donald trump
  • 1 0
 @rpinney206: At this point, I want to see how hard it would be to hack a Di2 setup to run 12-speed... because reasons.
  • 2 0
 @tehllama: ahhh mate, I was only joking about a line from the article. I still have my useless 1x10 on 26", I can barely pedal uphill...
  • 1 0
 Cacow!
  • 1 0
 @Bulldog1: what did you call me?
  • 2 0
 @matadorCE: just had two of those come down a trail(guy n gal) in laguna while park was closed(rained just hours earlier) on their specialzed ebikes(which are illegal anywhere in laguna dirt)..and totally kill all my fresh trailwork..fn idiots lucky i couldnt catch up.
Probably had strava goin or worse..u tube
  • 2 1
 @jrocksdh: man, that's frustrating! This has me thinking...you know how mounting strong electromagnets around a door frame will wipe a hard drive?...I wonder if a similar device could be used to render evoke batteries useless if illegally used in trails. Wed have to make the devices NOT wipe cell phones of legitimate riders though.
  • 122 2
 Wait, so there's a comment section?
  • 103 7
 Shutup you asshole!!!!
  • 22 6
 Fucken d-bags
  • 24 6
 @scottay2hottay: Dude obviously forgot rule #23:
"Choose a wheelsize(insert any other part of biking), be a dick about it."
  • 10 5
 @scottay2hottay: Pinkbike comment section- 24/7 a*shole festival . But if you can't beat them......join them .
  • 8 3
 And BTW - your all a bunch of tweakers, lol
  • 3 2
 I'm gravely offended by your comment. Stop being a darn asshole!!
  • 6 2
 only so we can write "looks like a session"
  • 1 1
 @moefosho: That is clearly rule #29
  • 15 30
flag chasejj (Feb 9, 2017 at 15:04) (Below Threshold)
 Vernon- I get your concern. But you consistently put lines in your titles and articles that are clearly meant to inflame. Then you get the expected response and now you are calling for calm? Hypocrisy much?
I come to PB for the great reviews on products and places and races. In that order. The comments are the dessert.
But when you plant a clickbait line in a story, don't bitch if we defend our ground.
  • 8 5
 What a fucking shit article
  • 2 1
 Take a seat and calm down back there...
  • 2 0
 I mean we're all Mountain bikers. Aren't then by definition a*sholes?
  • 3 0
 fucking hate e bikes
  • 83 3
 THIS:' "Could I say this to their face without also getting my own face broken?" If the answer to either question is "No," you're probably at risk of being an a-hole. '
  • 27 2
 As a proud American and your neighbor to the south, I agree 100%. Kudos
  • 42 2
 We shouldn't just discuss how not be as*holes, we should also discuss how not to take things personally and laugh at stupid shit. It's okay to be downvoted, it's okay if someone is being a wanker. Life will still move on.
  • 18 4
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivORI9v4z8c

Great stuff again VF. It is the beginning of the quiet revolution, right here, right now, where the meek begin to inherit the Earth. Thanks Vernon, PB commenters so needed someone to say this.

Oh, and if one finds Vernon's words inspiring, try the Catfish Cooley approach to life (see the link).
  • 5 1
 @orientdave: ha..I love that guy....
  • 7 0
 Its the internet! its not real...

here in lies the key issue: we attempt to communicate through a suboptimal medium with little or no serious repercussions towards what we say. Give people total freedom and chaos will always prevail because the sane ones will always be either pushed to the side or f*ck off somewhere else cos they can't be arsed with being around a*sholes all day.
  • 10 1
 There's a great book titles "The subtle art of not giving a f*ck". Everyone should read it's brilliance. And stop giving a f*ck about things they can't control, influence or generally don't apply to them. That's the problem with trolls and e-holes, they care too much about shit that doesn't matter. Guilty of this myself. Something we can all work on.
  • 3 0
 Unfortionately the days when a quick punch in the nose that settled things is gone. In today's politically correct world world we prefer to internalize things and fester - hence the reference to Dante's 5th circle of sullenness.
  • 6 0
 @NCKingsting: Hah yeah. I actually made a few friends back in the day (yes I'm old) after quick tussle, which was then followed a cold beer. These days you try that and someone just tweets at you, "I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT"
  • 5 1
 @abzillah: Indeed. Just ask Waki...he seems to handle it just fine.
  • 3 1
 @orientdave: That was a great video. Funny, thought provoking and honest.
  • 2 1
 I don't think so. History is littered with many examples of people having their 'face broken' for completely unjustified reasons. Our lives are better because of the bravery of many people who acted despite the consequences to themselves. That's not to say that there aren't instances where it's not justified, of course there are. The thing to think is, "would I break someone else's face if they said it to me?"
  • 4 1
 I think a large part of the problem is also that people comment under anonymous user names. If you are going to broadcast your voice across the internet you should man up and own what you say.
  • 3 7
flag KeithReeder (Feb 10, 2017 at 11:42) (Below Threshold)
 @bman33: "As a proud American"

Want to end the kind of douchbeggery the article bitches about?

Stop with this "Proud American" shite...
  • 3 4
 @NCKingsting: "politically correct"

It's NOTHING to do with political correctness.
  • 3 2
 @EricHarger: "If you are going to broadcast your voice across the internet you should man up and own what you say."

Well said, man.
  • 1 0
 @robwhynot: thanks man! Guilty too. This world is definitely getting crazy
  • 2 0
 Nice one @orientdave: , I like that perspective!
  • 104 23
 i just wanna say, if you think you need a 50t rear cog to go with your 28t front ring you might be a cunt.
  • 198 12
 I feel the same way about size 34 pants. I've been wearing size 32 pants for years with no problems, so I can't imagine why anyone would need a size 34.
  • 6 0
 word is bond dude
  • 8 1
 I laughed so hard at this just now! Cheers!
  • 24 0
 This is why I read the comments
  • 2 2
 you my friend have summed it up beautifully
  • 6 1
 I may have used to think that was an entirely absurd gear combo.. however after a month of bike packing in Oman in the Al Hajar mountains with fully loaded bikes, 4 days of food, and 14 liters of water (which was never enough), I would have given just about anything for a 50t cog and a 28t chain ring. A quote from one of my favorite songs that seems to put the whole cycling world in perspective:

"It depends on what you look at, obviously, but even more it depends on the way you see." - Bruce Cockburn
  • 3 0
 @tttyyler: Whenever I think about pants sizing I often go back to the quote in the "Hangover" movie where the "lone-wolf" guy says he's a 42 slim...haha makes me laugh everytime!
  • 4 0
 Says a man that lives on a flat island.
  • 1 0
 Time for reflection.
  • 5 0
 @tttyyler: i wear 34s, im offended, now what happens? --------------------------------nope nothing still breathing everything is dandy.
  • 2 0
 Everyone can have their own opinions and do what they want if it's their bike. If we just accepted other people's options this would be such a better place.
  • 2 0
 Oh this was satire btw. And how the hell did I get 70 props? I was expecting neg prop into oblivion lol
  • 2 0
 @timkoerber:
"Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change."
-Wayne Dyer
  • 79 0
 Vernon: your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries.
  • 62 0
 Now, I can always respect a Monty Python response....
  • 28 0
 @vernonfelton: now go away or he will taunt you a second time.. You son of a window dresser
  • 7 2
 @vernonfelton:

VF, I'll try to read this flaming pile eventually, just wanted to say I'm a little disappointed with each additional Bible review that you're not present. It's just not the same ????.
  • 7 0
 @vernonfelton: and now for something different.
  • 6 0
 Come another step further and I'll fart in your general direction!
  • 2 0
 @weebleswobbles: damn, you beat me to it! Big Grin
  • 5 0
 @Satn69: "COMPLETELY different"...
  • 1 0
 @KeithReeder: haha Aaahhhhhhhhhhh yes! Ni! Ni! Ni!
  • 2 0
 @oneplanka: haha a second time- a
  • 2 0
 @PacificNorthWes: that whole scene is responsible for my extremely warped sense of humour
  • 3 0
 @Satn69: We are the Knights who say ? You must cut down the largest tree in the forest with.... a HERRING !!!! and you must bring us a shrubbery... one that's nice, not to expensive with a nice little path running down the middle...
  • 2 0
 @Satn69: If you do not apease us we shall say NI to you again... NI NI
  • 2 0
 When do we get to the spankings?
  • 71 3
 Keep in mind there is some good comedy in the comments section. Never fails to give me a laugh when I need it.

Btw there are certain posters who are among the worst culprits and are supported by Pinkbike. Maybe muzzle him . . Er them?
  • 1 0
 @luvAZ does that person's name sound a bit like snackyresigns and seems to be suspiciously absent form this debate?
  • 62 1
 scrolled straight to comments
  • 8 0
 Bastard beat me to it !
  • 6 1
 @bigburd: woah woah woah, let's not b a-holes here Big Grin

cheers mate
  • 57 6
 Looks like a session
  • 2 0
 somebody had to! Big Grin
  • 1 1
 Oops fat fingers accidently down voted. Not trying to be an a hole.
  • 42 1
 @vernonfelton man, I hope you read this. I hardly ever go on PB anymore (for reasons relating to the subject matter of your post), and never comment. But this seems like a great time to tell you I have been following you in print for a very long time and have always loved your work. If only some puppy posters had any idea of your badass history.... But I digress.
Thanks for the article, I knew what it would be about from just the title. 'cause whether its out on the trail, or in the ridiculous comment section, there is no question people are being meaner to each other generally speaking.
And its totally okay and admirable to advocate for a backing off. Anyone who could find a way to disagree with that premise, someone needs to tell them they are the people to whom you are referring. Great article thanks man. ps ! this also goes for parking lots, store aisles and checkouts, and everywhere else people are being angry.
  • 4 0
 Hello friend in Peru! I think in fact most people are quite nice in fact. I've traveled in middle America's, most of America, Canada, Europe, Asia and so on. I hardly have a hard time finding any other distinction! So, don't be discouraged and do come and visit. Cheers!
  • 38 1
 I get the feeling amount of negativity and bitching on PB goes up when the northern hemisphere is in winter, and everyone stuck indoors.
  • 6 0
 So pinkbike needs more vocal Australian riders! Come on lads chip in...
  • 24 0
 @kipvr: An Aussie response took three hours because we're all too busy riding... in the sun... along the beach. And cold beer at the end. Suicide rate is low in Australia 'cause we live in heaven (and NZ is only a short flight away).
  • 5 0
 Whenever my fuse gets short wife sends me out for a ride. I'm back very soft and mellow. It's been difficult lately and snow is not helping.
  • 6 0
 @iamamodel: are you saying nz is where aussies go to die? I thought they only went there to lose at rugby... (no, I wouldn't say that to an aussie's face, not unless they were a very old friend...and no, I haven't ridden in months, can you tell?????)
  • 3 0
 @iamamodel: Heaven. Land of the poisonous everything
  • 1 0
 Exactumundo
  • 1 0
 @iamamodel: you can go off people :-)
  • 1 0
 @ICAS: Sounds like Ozzie ? common brown snake, yep it'll kill yas common black snake. yep that"ll killl ya too..
  • 39 3
 Honestly I hate all you guys and this article sucked!!!
  • 12 0
 Finally the truth! ! !
  • 37 2
 That balaclava WAS proper shit though.
  • 3 0
 Snot it was a rag
  • 57 29
 No, here's the problem, it's the bike industry, and the way it's run. $5,000 to $10,000 dollar bikes that don't work right, but they're marketed like sports cars so rich dudes buy them as status symbols and don't ride them, and the real riders break them and get shitty service cuz they were never meant for 200+ pound dudes to plow chunk and hit 6-foot drops in the first place.

That's why we're pissed off.

Or do you want to talk about standards, and how I can't take the wheels from my 3 year old bike that broke, and put them on my new bike cuz someone made up some bullsh!t that the slightly bigger wheels are better, or that 3mm on either side makes a huge difference, and left the riders with no choice?

How about dropper posts? f*ckin' Reverbs cost $300+ dollars and Pinkbike wrote rave reviews while all the rest of ours were failing mid-ride. Is there even one that's reliable yet? Maybe GravityDropper, but you get demoted to cult-follower status for saying that...

Shall I continue to explain why mtn bikers are pissed off, oh Holy One?

Let's talk about access to riding areas, and the dumbing down of trails...
IMBA...
.......
  • 8 19
flag plumberso (Feb 9, 2017 at 14:09) (Below Threshold)
 That's exactly how I feel. And Sram is shitty.
  • 74 2
 I think I'm being clear in the article that people should write about what pisses them off and should be able to disagree passionately with one another. As I stated, disagreement is essential. The distinction I am making is that we can disagree and be pissed off about things without being dicks to one another in the process. The forum is meant to be a free forum. I'm saying we can have a lively and interesting forum without it also being a toxic one.
  • 6 0
 @vernonfelton: and the internet is telling you that you are wrong. Twitter has been battling this issue for years - without success. But I dig hope.
  • 37 19
 @vernonfelton: I admire your optimism Vernon, but when a lump of orange toxic waste used the internet to ride a wave of bile, hatred, racism, xenophobia and lies all the way through the doors of the White House, I fear your optimism may be a little misplaced.
  • 43 10
 @Fix-the-Spade: Is that you Hillary?
  • 6 10
flag WaterBear (Feb 9, 2017 at 17:29) (Below Threshold)
 @Fix-the-Spade: I meant to +1 your hatred of the Orange Terror. My bad.
  • 1 0
 @vernonfelton: This is nothing. You should have seen the comment sections in thecomeupbmx.net when users could remain anonymous.
  • 13 0
 @vernonfelton: it's been pretty bad lately, as there has been too much venting that's likely not coming from actual biking as you rightly pointed out...on the other hand, I am quite happy to say that the whole rating women riders like pieces of meat has significantly been reduced , largely due to a lot of the guys in the comments taking a stand and down voting the douchebags that need to make everything about sex....so there is hope....f'ing world is a shit show...and since the comments on actual news make me cry I have returned to Pinkbike where at least some of them make me laugh out loud....
  • 5 2
 @Fix-the-Spade: Sounds like someone triggered your PTTD. (Post TraumaticTrump Disorder) in case you're wondering.
  • 4 0
 ^ Uhhh... like me, I think you may just need to get out and ride more. Sure, my reverb as air in the oil and whatever, but I don't care at all when I'm out riding.

I know the snow is deep, but the riding will be for real soon. No need to have anger when we have such an amazing outlet!

P.S. If trails are too easy for you, let me introduce you to my little friend, the Canadians!
  • 4 2
 @Fix-the-Spade: well said!
  • 1 0
 @vernonfelton: good point, well made Verdon, keep it up. Personally I would like a freeze on the comments section for a day or so after an article is posted, that would give me a fighting chance of coming up with something almost witty to write before all these other f#€king jerk beat me to it.
  • 3 0
 @vernonfelton: Think you were referring to pub culture when people actually used to talk with one another. In those settings disagreement was acceptable and in many times agreeable. Many times you might actually learn something too. I may be an optimist but generally I think if most of us would be decent to one another if we were sitting around a trail head drinking a beer after a great ride. Not so sure if that would be the case if some of us were sitting alone typing away in anonymity. Two final thoughts to conclude my thoughts on the matter. First, remember that character is what you do when no one is looking (hope you like what you see in the mirror every morning) and second we have much more in common then we are recognizing here. Take some time on your next ride and say hi to your fellow riders. You may find that you like what happens next.
  • 1 0
 @Fix-the-Spade: 'the Internet' doesn't make decisions or tell you anything. That's our job. The fact that there are forums in which this isn't going well is absolutely no argument for jumping on the hate wagon. It's in the nature of collective responsibility; we can all choose to be a little nicer as individuals, and if more people do, we'll all have a better time.
  • 1 2
 @vernonfelton: "The forum is meant to be a free forum. I'm saying we can have a lively and interesting forum without it also being a toxic one."

If you want that, you have NO CHOICE but to ban (and back the ban up) anything remotely political/nationalistic/"patriotic"/religious.
  • 2 1
 @dominic54: "'the Internet' doesn't make decisions or tell you anything. That's our job."

The internet IS us. Fix-the-Spade is entirely right about this.
  • 2 6
flag Eatsdirt (Feb 10, 2017 at 12:16) (Below Threshold)
 @vernonfelton: Perhaps leading by example is a good call. Not sure what you expect here when you in particular are guilty of inflammatory bullshit.
  • 7 0
 @Eatsdirt: Let me ask you--have you ever seen me flame someone? Ridicule them? Throw out a misogynistic or homophobic taunt? I know I haven't. I'm not saying I'm perfect. Hardly. I'm probably an a*shole in some other corner of my life for completely different reasons.

What I'm saying is that even when I disagree with people, I do my best to do it respectfully no matter how pissed I am (and, trust me, I get pissed).

I'm not sure what you mean by inflammatory? I do write the way I talk and that may rub people wrong. My beliefs or my language may rub people wrong. And I'm completely cool with people taking issue with that. I'm all for a free and open dialogue. What I am saying we should avoid--and I'm including myself in the "We" here, as I did in the article--is that we should avoid being nasty and rude to one another. If I wouldn't say something to your face, I won't type it online. Furthermore, everyone knows who I am. There's no anonymity for me. I try and practice what I preach.
  • 1 4
 @vernonfelton: Perhaps a fap piece like "What's the Story?" would be an example of your work that wouldn't promote a civil culture here. You might find some sliver of journalistic integrity in it but it's basically a bunch of shit talking you wouldn't say to someones face. Douchbaggery if you will... While many here stroke it right along with you and give you justification... I'm not a fan. Want a group hug? Lead by example.
  • 3 1
 @Fix-the-Spade: "Orange toxic waste" that's the funniest description of him I've heard!
  • 28 2
 3 things...Don't Pinkbike when your drunk, remember that everyone is 10ft tall and bulletproof online, and finally...the fact that someone, somewhere, that knows nothing about your said something unkind to you really doesn't matter...don't get bent, don't lose sleep over it. They don't know your heart.
  • 5 0
 @Sycip69er: that dude is a beast
  • 4 1
 Always Pinkbike when drunk, you should do nothing but Pinkbike when drunk. Far fewer STIs than what people usually do drunk...
  • 3 0
 I only EVER drunk pinkbike Ok, I sleep deprive pinkbike too
  • 1 0
 Im drunk on pinkbike and realizing that your word count is about at the maximum readable length. Way too many words and not enough pictures on this page.
  • 6 0
 @Fix-the-Spade: I don't know about that, I not proud of it but, sometimes when I get really smashed I go online and look at Road bikes, woke up later to find I'd ordered a shimano STI shifter with next day delivery. I felt pretty dirty...
  • 1 0
 @Kickmehard: Well then, you are doomed forever to hurt yourself in the company of people wearing spandex. Whatever turns you on.
  • 29 3
 This is Pinkbike - PICK ANYTHING AND BE A DICK ABOUT IT!!!
  • 7 1
 Where's the superlike button?!
  • 4 0
 @mattbanks54: I'm picking the 'superlike button' to be a dick about.
  • 24 2
 WAIT, who thinks SRAM Eagle is superior to XTR Di2?
  • 18 3
 Your mamma!
  • 5 6
 It is!!
  • 10 2
 That has to be an idiot. Nothing is better than Shimano. Anybody disagreeing either has no clue about bikes or is an a-hole Wink
  • 4 3
 It is! Who needs 11 speeds when you can have 12? On a completely unrelated note, I love new standards!
  • 2 0
 @bikeis4life: lets fight!
  • 2 1
 @atrokz: Before you type a response to someone who thinks SRAM Eagle is superior to XTR Di2 or who has the temerity to question your choice of rear tire ask yourself, "Would I say this thing that I am typing right now to their face if we met on the street?"
Did you even read the article? Lol almost everyone here is here for the comments. Kidding about standards, I still run 12x142 but have eagle because I can see an actual performance gain with the larger chainring and the same climbing gear.
  • 12 0
 @bikeis4life: yea but would you tell me you have eagle, TO MY FACE>?
  • 2 0
 @atrokz: and he should say it whilst wearing spandex
  • 1 0
 @atrokz: Yea, cuz it's on my bike.
  • 3 1
 @MMOF: Funny Story, I still race high school XC races in baggies. I don't even own spandex.
  • 3 1
 A man without a USB charger.
  • 2 1
 @bikeis4life: Good for you. Stay that way. Next you need to ride flats as well :-)
  • 3 0
 @MMOF: Done
  • 12 0
 Your ego is not your amigo
  • 8 0
 Lot a good comments and funny tongue in cheek comments. Sometimes I read the comment section and worry not enough riding is going on. Hard to be so angry after a ride. I've started by trying to be super friendly to everybody I meet on the trails. Especially noobs and out of towners. Also I bring beer for my riding buddies. Cheers.
  • 3 0
 right on. me too.
  • 10 0
 But what if riding anything other than 26" actually does shrink your penis?
  • 4 0
 Quick check it against a AA battery, when you get to AAA take up another sport.
  • 1 0
 @lake-st: if you started at size AA you should probably put down the steroids
  • 10 4
 As much as I agree with the sentiment of this article, you're trying to fight years worth of internet culture. Anonymity breeds extreme responses that no amount of reasoning can really change. But I suppose if we to help, we have to try somewhere. I fall into the first part of people in your opening paragraph, so I'm doing what I can already.
  • 22 0
 Anonymity does breed extreme responses. For sure. And PB is just one of many, many sites where some people go for the fishhook or eye-gouge first when responding to one another. That said, as someone who works on the site, I feel it's my responsibility to at least point out that we can do better. Am I tilting at windmills here? Yeah, probably, but I feel better about at least trying.
  • 15 1
 @vernonfelton: it's really not that bad here though. There are far worse board cultures. To your example NSMB is far worse. It's civil because its empty. There's so little traffic there. And what there is is uniformly homogeneous - mostly white people from Vancouver complaining and comparing first world problems.

Pinkbike is far far more geographically and ethnographically diverse. A quick glance at travel articles especially to far off lands for example tells you that audience participation and comments in that sphere is very interesting
  • 12 1
 @leelau: Hey, Lee. You have a point about the sheer number of people visiting PB--given the high traffic, you have to expect a certain number of flaming troll comments. I give you that. The readers have also done a good job, historically, of moderating themselves. In the past few months, however, comments about tech pieces or even rider profiles have a greater tendency to spiral into vitriol--usually with a political slant to it.

As I noted in the article, I don't actually mind the political comments when the subject is germane, but in so many cases lately, the political poo flinging has nothing to do with the article being, ostensibly, commented on. Know what I mean?

Bottom line, I KNOW we can have a vibrant, kick-ass forum where people challenge each others and debate daily without anyone being a dick in the process. Totally feasible.
  • 2 1
 Anonymity? If you are good enough at 'research' and you have enough datapoints, no-one online is anonymous.
  • 4 1
 @vernonfelton: Fair enough. I guess I've been skiing and not looking at gear comments or rider proflle comments. Gotta hand it to the PB crowd for self-policing much of the gutter language in the yoga articles and woman rider profles (hope that's not one of the cases where the trash has come out)
  • 3 0
 Internet and anonymity just give us a safe way to let all that shit to come out from inside of us. It's already there. Just saying...
  • 2 0
 @vernonfelton: Don Quixote - "Windmills? Charge!!!!"
  • 2 0
 @vernonfelton: ahh there you are don quixote
  • 3 0
 @leelau: What do you think- You have a prejudice against NSMB, I have a prejudice against PB, or the reality lies somewhere in the middle? I do feel like I could make a case for a higher proportion of thoughtful, insightful comments, and a lower proportion of really stupid or inflammatory comments on NSMB. Maybe I'm wrong though, and it would take some effort to actually crunch the numbers. Certainly more time than I have to something inconsequential like that.

Fair point about the relative lack of commenting there. It's probably an order of magnitude lower, maybe slightly more. I wonder about your point on diversity though. There's a number of regulars from outside Canada, and many from outside the local area or even sea-to-sky. And there are many commenters here from Canada and the US. The proportions might be comparable.

I do have to say though, a quick survey of the comments here, and despite the civility, there's not a whole lot of comments that I'd take on board to inform my perspective.
  • 2 1
 I agree. Anonymity is a huge part of the problem.
  • 1 0
 @leelau: other than"white people from vancouver" how is that different than the comments section here (or the content for that matter)? A whole lotta first world complaining and comparing problems going on here. Bike media is all about first world problems,first world access, first world reviews, etc.
  • 1 0
 @EricHarger: The perception of anonymity is the problem... it's an illusion
  • 6 0
 ARE YOU MENTAL!!!! I will claw your insides out and drag your entrails across the living room floor if you dare suggest for one moment that recycled paper mulch is a superior product to ethically grown, organic beech granule clumping litter!!! On urine retention alone, OBGCL shits on your yesterday's tabloids filth!!! Oh wait, sorry, wrong forum...
  • 7 1
 I never like articles that try to discourage angry, trolly comments by shaming the commenters. Surprisingly, that doesn't motivate the average monkey to put down his poo.

A much better way to phrase the argument against crap-posting, IMO, is this:

Free speech is great. We can post awesome, insightful, respectful things. Or, just as freely, we can post garbage and contribute to the car wreck. Let's be the group of commenters that chooses to be greek philosophers instead of gladiator pit lions. We don't have to make that choice - the world is a wonderfully agnostic place, after all. But here are the reasons we should encourage thoughtful, respectful debate:

[article author inserts various arguments here].
  • 6 0
 Do we really want to be Greek philosophers? If I remember correctly, after Socrates defined a human as a hairless biped, Plato brought to him a plucked chicken and said something to the effect of "behold: a human". Greek philosophers could be trolls too.
  • 6 0
 @pseudomugil: Arguably, that's the trolling the world needs.
  • 1 0
 @WaterBear: I could get behind that
  • 7 1
 Pinkbike comment are now proving Godwin's law, according to this piece.

Godwin's law (or Godwin's rule of Hitler analogies)[1][2] is an Internet adage which asserts that "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Hitler approaches 1"[2][3]—​​that is, if an online discussion (regardless of topic or scope) goes on long enough, sooner or later someone will compare someone or something to Hitler.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law
  • 13 0
 by commenting this you just proved Godwin's law
  • 3 0
 @colemanb: It's like a Goose Stepping version of THE GAME.
  • 6 0
 @vernonfelton admit it dude, you wrote this whole thing to get more hits on your balaclava review because your getting kickbacks from Kleenex conglomerates to continue pushing riders into the foolhardy decision of smashing their nose into thick neoprene creating an ice bugger dam in their nasal cavities which in the end is a larger conspiracy with the dental industry because the more times spent with post nasal drip results in swollen lymph nodes that aggravate your wisdom teeth leading to excess and needless molar removals providing extra cash for dentists to buy 10 thousand dollar wonder bikes which slowly but surely is driving up the cost of mountain biking until it becomes the "new golf".
  • 4 1
 @stiingya, My dastardly balaclava conspiracy revealed! You have a discerning eye, sir.
  • 1 4
 Precisely and the Vernon felton gets to review said $10000 bikes while the masses get the leftovers, and who is the a hole now I ask?
  • 1 0
 Kleenex is a brand its tissues dammmit, maybe nappies for Brits, notice I said maybe.
  • 8 2
 It's too expensive, at least more than a YT. It doesn't come in 26. 29ers are lame. Anything that doesn't exactly apply to the type of trails I have where I live sucks. Did I mention it's too expensive?
  • 4 0
 My idea of winter is obviously different than yours. Obviously the solution to everything is a fanny pack. It doesn't have a space for a water bottle (that I won't use anyway).
  • 9 2
 Sounds like I missed a good one on that face mask article, better go check it out.
  • 14 0
 Hoooookay then. Wish I hadn't tbh!
  • 2 0
 Snot a face mask
  • 2 0
 @ThomDawson: that's exactly what I just did. That escalated quickly.
  • 8 0
 My 6-year-old daughter says that's actually Rainbow Dash.
  • 5 0
 Nope Rainbow dash has rainbow coloured hair. This is a get of court free rendition of a certain pony that may or may not have rainbow hair. lol
  • 5 0
 Despite the entertainment factor, we are all on the same two-wheeled team:

s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/10/01/94/10019453d37a42cd09f591f157fe493b.jpg
  • 4 1
 I am always getting attacked in the comments for speaking about my 10 grand electrical fat bike that I bought when I decided to start mountain biking even though I didn't know how to ride a bike. I think it is amazing with its v breaks, carbon drive chain and it long stem and short bars. I don't understand why everyone gets so triggered over it.
  • 7 4
 "In fact, if you can look at what's happening around the world without feeling some flicker of anger, I question either your sanity or your choice of sedatives."

Well....just try not giving a f***!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wS5xOZ7Rq8

It's been working flawlessly for me for the past 8 years+ Smile
  • 7 1
 Hey, @vernonfelton if I ever meet you beers are on me. You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.
  • 1 0
 He could travel all around without giving a cent for a beer and still get drunk every day
  • 5 2
 we're never going to ride off into the sunset on ponies, you're all just going to ride off into the sunset on 160mm 'do it all' 29ers. fuck the industry, fuck the system, fuck your Eagle. You see one trail bike and really you've seen them all MTB has been infiltrated by Illuminati clones.
  • 5 0
 How about a 160 mm do it all 26er?
  • 1 0
 @weebleswobbles: no idc same principles would apply
  • 1 0
 @weebleswobbles: I love my old 26ers. Ride em every day. They have a place.
  • 1 0
 @fattyheadshok: I even get out the old eliminator with 24" double sided from time to time. It's more fun than any of them
  • 1 0
 Double wide f@cking autocorrect
  • 7 0
 Like Kelly McGarry would say, less typing, more biking!
  • 3 0
 I dunno man. There's a lot of bullshit out there making its way through all the stop gaps. Because everybody wants to be too nice. If more people told it how it is at more points along the way maybe we wouldn't be standing around angry about all the shit we've got on our hands.
Take for example, buying a 300-1000 dollar product that needs "service" 3 or 4 times a year, or just plain breaks during regular use.
A situation that should be warranty, shouldn't cost the customer any money, but it does cuz they guy at the warranty department can't fix it as good as it needs within a reasonable amount of time that allows us to keep riding. Or they don't have the spare parts to solve the problem. Or the "fix" isn't a fix at all.
So we pay for the service, or we don't get to ride our bike, or we buy a whole nother siper exoensive back up product just so we can ride.
Who isn't mad about this kind of shit?
Where's the service for the end user?
Who's got my back?
My local bike shop? Not really
Chain reaction? Certainly not
The rep? Maybe but not usually.
Deal with this issue as a whole bike industry and you'll get happier people on pink bike.
  • 1 0
 My Thomson elite dropper post works amazingly well. Sensitive to the lever smooth adjustment. Has held up through multiple crashes and I honestly ride in all conditions.
  • 1 0
 @fattyheadshok: I'm glad you've had that experience.
A lot of people have the exact opposite story about many different supposedly high quality bikes and bike parts from brands all across the board.
  • 9 2
 Road cycling
  • 15 1
 Please no offensive comments. Yeesh
  • 3 0
 That's out of order. Are you looking for some bovva?
  • 5 0
 Woah. I think you should leave....
  • 1 0
 Ssshhhh, there might be little ears listening
  • 4 2
 The world is in a massive disruption cycle and there will be fragmentation and social reorder. And you are worried that people are being too harsh about their recreation clothing, like or dislike of. K, suggest perhaps another occupation then if concerned now as have an outlet for your voice. What ever happened to the sticks and stones bit?
  • 6 4
 Good luck with that is about all I can say.

Oh, and it's already been mentioned in the article but i'll second it - remember when discussing matters in the comment section, 99.9% of what you say is your opinion. Sure that opinion may have some facts backing it up, but it's still your opinion. Someone else could have the opposite opinion and MORE facts to back it up. So always remember that no matter what you say, you COULD be wrong. That's how I try to approach my posts. Work hard to maintain that attitude and you'll come across as much less of an a-hole.
  • 3 4
 Well said. But, actually 100% of what you say is your opinion. Even if based upon those things you perceive as "facts" its still your opinion. At least that's my opinion. And we do live in the time of alternative facts, which really makes it more difficult for all.
*no animals were harmed in posting this comment* *No offensive language was used* *No overt political positions were expressed* :+)
  • 2 2
 @econ2001: Well, I mean technically you could say "29 inch wheels are 24.5 inches in diameter" and that would be a fact. I just meant to say that we don't usually argue over facts, it's almost always opinions.

But yeah, that's pretty much what I was saying.
  • 7 1
 Safe spaces are for people who can't deal with evident realities.
  • 8 4
 Honestly, the bike pictures are cool the vidoes are cool, the reviews are lame, and the comment section is hillarious. Makes for quality bathroom time.
  • 2 0
 I actually enjoy the comments; the negative comments I usually see are aimed towards the ever changing bicycle standards. I find the industry being irresponsible a*sholes with the fly by the seat of your pants standards. Either nothing is thought through or they are simply changing standards for the sake of the almighty dollar. You editors also throw your opinion out like it's gods word and if anyone disagrees, you get butt hurt.. I guess we're all a bunch of a*sholes.
  • 2 0
 I cite the dodge vs ford court ruling. Corporations owe nothing to anyone- except their shareholders. They have no conscience, common sense, or emotion. If they start dropping prices, and paying their employees more, they can be sued by their shareholders for purposefully dropping their profit margin. Since then, (early 1900s) planned obsolescence has permeated most aspects of the economy. Bikes are no exception. The NewNew is like a car- they all have 4 wheels, but paying $50,000 more than the next guy advertises oneself as being a better potential mate for the gdhs out there. I like biking! I really like putting over- spenders in their place, riding setups that cost 1/10th the price, leaving them in the dust. Once again, there is balance in the universe.
  • 3 1
 When PB stop giving out props to known antagonists, and elevating these people above the other commentators with their own little emoji, I think we can then begin to align ourselves with your request for more respect. The worst proponent of this was recently called out for actually making people not comment for fear of being mocked. A suggestion was to remove the right to comment for 24 hours on anybody repeatedly getting down voted.....this is a self policing thing and would work better than asking everyone else to be "the bigger man" and not argue with some frankly alarming views. Engaging in debate is fine, I am not defending name calling. But, conversely, if it looks like a duck, and it sounds like a duck....it probably is a duck.

My old man used to say...don't argue with pigs, you both get dirty....and the pig likes it. I try to bite my tongue but....
  • 9 4
 But isn't this what Pinkbike is all about?
  • 4 3
 Still can't wait for the snow to melt so I can ride dirt... Now we don't even have balaclava's to review.. we just get scolded by PB editorial board.
I like that my eyeballs still work, and that I have the power to not read offensive comments if I choose not to.
I also enjoy the occasional rant.
Toughen up kiddos. Don't be a &ick, and don't be offended by &icks.
  • 2 0
 ad ho·mi·nem
ˌad ˈhämənəm/
adverb & adjective
1. (of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.

Why? Because they can. The internet is a safe place.
  • 2 1
 the best way to not see threads disintegrate is if people have the discipline to NOT feed the troll. Once the troll isnt fed the thread doesn't spiral into a wasteland of insults and assumptions about each other. Its the only thing I know that works.
  • 1 0
 Great editorial. This is true of all e-forums; the genuinely useful advice, comment, debate and information is drowned by irrelevant attacks on the person posting. And the personal attacks are all so witty and original -- not.
  • 1 1
 "comment, debate and information is drowned by irrelevant attacks on the person posting"

Sometimes - often, in fact - it's the person posting that needs to be attacked.
  • 1 0
 When I don't ride enough, I turn into an asshole. Ask my wife. I'm guessing half the jerkoffs that post negative comments with very little to do with the article need to spend more time on their bikes and less on their computers. Ride more. Period.
  • 1 0
 I bet you see this dip in politeness every year around this time winter is still here and as such half the northern hemisphere has S.A.D. So they come online and see that people are still having fun on their bikes and they get a little bit jelly that they're sat in the office all week and can't ride after work due to inclement weather or lack of light. But seriously I'm just kidding, fuck you all!
  • 1 0
 I understand the sentiment of asking people not to be a-holes, but it does no good at all. The a-holes don't care. You can have a talk like this with people you know, with friends, with colleagues in a workplace and affect some kind of change. Because there are actually relationships and personal contact interaction involved. There is mutual interest involved. This is not what the internet is. The people on forums are not your friends. You don't know who they are, and they have no vested interest in making you happy. It is a very selfish medium. Sure there are people that are helpful, and you can get good information. But if someone gets pissed off, or needs to vent, or generally just thinks its funny to try to rile people up they are going to do it. There is only one way to enforce a forum content and that is via a moderator, and you cannot moderate 'a-hole-ish-ness' because who then determines what is over the line? It is the price that you have to pay. The only way to combat the a-holes (or should I really say a-hole-ish comments, I'm sure everyone has said something a-hole-ish at some ponit), is to ignore them. If someone gives a a-hole-ish reponse to you, ignore them, you don't need to answer them. Only reply to the posts that are of interest to you. If a group of people go off a politically charged side track just ignore them let them have their side conversation - you don't have to join it. You don't have to read it, you don't have to respond to it. What do you care what an anonymous person on the internet says? It has no effect on you whatsoever. And asking people to generally stop talking politics right now isn't going to happen. Some people are sick of it, but some are still finding a way to vent. Some people are still too upset and frustrated and cannot yet help themselves, they need to find an outlet and there are others that just find it too amusing to try to set these other people off by stirring the pot. Telling them to step is at best changing nothing and at worst riling them up even more. It will die down eventually, but it is going to take more time. You have the ability to filter it all out at your whim; it's all just electronic ink.
  • 5 0
 The internet makes you less happy.
  • 2 1
 I haven't been here for very long, but I did notice a lot of off-topic stuff that led to a downward spiral. I enjoy reading the articles and have to admit some of the puns are pretty funny. That said, why not disable the comments section for articles and people can discuss these topics in the forums?

It would be cool to see the writers not get attacked right away, as well as see you guys ad gals engage in discourse in the forums.

Just my $0.02. Kudos to you Vernon, for holding folks accountable. This is an amazing site; I'd like to let my son enjoy it as well one day.
  • 2 1
 I love pink bike. but I have a confession. since finding this website I have developed an addiction. Its sad really but I search the for sale section daily for bike parts that I usually don't even need. I have developed a strange addiction to saving weight on my nomad when really I have never cycled it and thought it was heavy. Dam you pink bike with all your next best thing reviews and pro bike checks...
  • 2 1
 @vernonfelton Vernon, I agree with you on the essentials here, however you'd like to cut it we now live in an extremely polarized country and world. Unfortunately our society now no longer agrees on what it's common goals are let alone expressing differences in how to achieve said goals. It's ok to vociferously disagree on methods of achieving a common societal goal but when even the goals are at opposite ends of the spectrum you no longer have a functioning society. Which of course breeds confusion and vitriol, which of course then gets reflected in comments about a balaclava. That being said, I wrote you an email on Jan 19th regarding my anger and alarm at the current movement within the govt. right now to give away the majority of federally held public recreational land to states and private interests. This of course would lead to massive destruction of these lands and by consequence the trails within them. My email was indeed an angry rant wherein I proposed the idea of starting a radical save the trails movement. It was just the germ of an idea and maybe even a misguided one. But... I said that saving trails and wild places would most certainly find common ground within the Mtb community. The key here is to find some commonality among disparate views to rediscover our humanity and let our elected leaders know that their proposals may in fact be selfish and misguided. A movement to save trails may be the key to that very commonality that we need. You never responded to my email.
  • 1 0
 Hey, @fattyheadshok, thanks for chiming in. I've been thinking about your email for a good long while. Trust me, I'm as pissed as you about the move to sell off federal land. I'm working on a piece about it and, more importantly, like you I'm trying to figure out what I can personally do to help put a halt to it. I apologize for not responding to your email--a combination of brain fart and deadlines. My bad. Thanks for sending it.
  • 4 1
 @vernonfelton:

i'm almost always in agreement with you homeslice...

except i believe we all have a responsibility to call out racist dickhead alt right dipshits....they are indeed knuck-dragging blockheads - thats a given. so i apologize for my past vitriol towards them and i apologize in advance for any comments i make towards them going forward.

peace love and mtn biking, signed another left coast progressive ..
  • 4 0
 @ledude: "except i believe we all have a responsibility to call out racist dickhead alt right dipshits....they are indeed knuck-dragging blockheads - thats a given"

It is - and that's why we shouldn't apologise for calling them out.
  • 1 0
 @vernonfelton "Because you know what? Riding your bike is about five million times better than arguing about riding your bike." Quote of the year thus far my man. I too often enjoy your articles and this one is no different. Thanks! Now lets go ride bikes!
  • 4 2
 Everyone's an asshole over something. But it's the people around said person that can decide whether to let the asshat have an audience or just be ignored.
  • 4 0
 I juist wanna ride some bikes and drink beers with all of you guys.
  • 8 5
 Vernon posting a whiney article? Is it Sunday/Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday already?
  • 1 2
 Lots of whiney people around these days
  • 4 0
 I respect your opinion. But you're wrong and I hate you for it!
  • 4 0
 I still ride and believe that 26" are the best
  • 4 1
 So.....is someone going to not let Wakidesign never post again then Smile or protour
Please say yes
  • 2 1
 Meh, let it all oot. That's what internets are for. Vent some uninformed opinions that don't matter none anyway, then have a wank to some lesbian shit & fart eating porn. Relax guy, jus' let it all oot.
  • 2 0
 I am waiting on buying a new MTB until the 1x13/ the change back to imperial of the shocks/ 26.75 tires and the banana seat is introduced. Any one have a time frame
  • 3 0
 Perhaps I'll be the first to note that the devil is double stroking that shaft over this article!
  • 3 0
 Must be a bunch of dentist pinkbikers who recently switched from beer to Zima, and now they are sensitive.
  • 11 7
 Vernon when is your sex change scheduled?
  • 10 3
 Veronica!
  • 2 0
 Thanks for the colorful read, I can attest to to your way of thinking and appreciate benevolence behind it! Two thumbs up homes ????????
  • 2 0
 I promise not to be an arsehole if ol mate changes his picture to someone that doesn't look like a complete dero deadshit. lol
  • 2 0
 "Because you know what? Riding your bike is about five million times better than arguing about riding your bike. "
The best piece of advice.
  • 1 1
 comments fall in to mostly 2 categories....those that gladly accept the review comments on new stuff and would gladly buy... and those that dont.

thats were the majority of disagreements come from or so i think but feel free to disagree :-)
  • 11 8
 Fuck you Vernon..................kidding honest .
  • 4 2
 Hahaha i had to upvote as you were minus 2 haha ice cold scoot XD
  • 2 2
 Was on IMDB the other day,they are closing their forums, they state its because everyone uses FB etc, but you only have to spend a few mins to see what a den of scum live on there to see the real reason,
  • 3 0
 If releasing my inner wanker is wrong, I dont want to be right,
  • 5 3
 If we can't be dicks or aholes on here, then what is the point of pinkbike? We come for the comments not the articles!
  • 3 0
 Yeah, to be fair the articles on any site all read the same....every bike is 9/10 and every direct to market bike is great VFM. Bit transparent really... and a 2015 bike winning 2016 bike of the year really topped it.
  • 2 0
 I'm going riding in Sedona for the next 2 weeks, enjoy bitching about whatever the fuck everybody is bitching about....
  • 2 1
 Every time "I" make a comment, it is a fact. Ever time "you" make a comment, you are merely sharing your opinion. This is how the internet works.
  • 3 0
 "...struggling to muzzle their inner wanker."

Top comment!
  • 1 0
 Pinkbike Comments: Further incontrovertible proof to John Gabriel's Greater Internet f*ckwad Theory

www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19
  • 1 0
 I honestly just look at the comments to watch the public s*itfest go down. It's like a mtb based comedy act. Lmao i never really comment tho
  • 6 3
 I think MTB ebikes are the best and the future of MTB....
  • 7 1
 Terrorist!
  • 3 1
 2017 started the same way 2016 ended with lots of duschebaggery. Humankind has lost it's moral compass.
  • 3 0
 So, when did the Angry Single Speeder start writing on PB?
  • 3 1
 Yes! There isn't enough popcorn for this comment section! The dark side is strong in this forum!
  • 2 0
 This weirdness all started when they turned on the large hadron collider. Just sayin'.
  • 1 1
 Really, no need to be offensive to complete strangers on the internet... But if you can't handle strangers on the internet being offensive, how do you cope with the real world?
  • 1 0
 "But if you can't handle strangers on the internet being offensive, how do you cope with the real world?"

This stuff doesn't happen in the real world.
  • 3 4
 I like how you write an article about being civil but use an insulting term for the new US President. There is a difference between using a disparaging name for a public figure and insulting and abusive comments towards other posters of course, but it just seemed incongruous in an article about civility and manners.
  • 1 0
 @preston67, Fair enough. Good point.
  • 1 0
 @vernonfelton: "Well, I guess that's a rhetorical question. Brexit. The Orange Guy. Marine Le Pen. Polar bears eating one another because they can't find a decent patch of ice from which to bushwhack seals. The Great Wall of America. The recent American ban on Muslims... Take your pick. We live in unusual times."

I like the point you are trying to make, but you fail to come across as genuine. You're writing an article about how we should get along and not attack one another, then every example you give is derogatory towards one side of the political aisle. It's disingenuous for what you are trying to achieve.
  • 1 0
 Di2 is not amazing enough for me to bother with, I hate sram very much also, so it seems like Shimano 1+11 32-46, is what I'm updating to at some point
  • 26 23
 But 29ers are still gay.
  • 21 14
 and 26 is still dead.
  • 6 9
 @TheRaven no fckin way. And screw your xc and your 650b
  • 8 3
 And it still looks like a session.
  • 11 1
 steel is real!!!
  • 2 1
 @RedBurn: Matt Dennison quote right there^^
  • 2 1
 Opinions are like a*sholes, everybody has one! (mind you it doesn't mean we have to be one, like the man says)
  • 3 0
 ...and most of them are full of sh*t!
  • 7 1
 & northerners have dirtier ones too cooze deey coont ooford sooap
  • 4 2
 Where's Waki when you want to lol / disagree phnar phnar
  • 6 0
 Go stand in front of a bathroom mirror in the dark and say his name 3 times.
  • 4 3
 I've been waiting for this article for a while.... hit the nail right on the head!!!!
  • 1 1
 then maybe we should stop taking comments off post that we don't like, if we encourage different opinions for progression sake
  • 4 2
 F*#K Ya'll

26 ers Rule !
  • 3 1
 Be careful...your inner wanker is showing.
  • 1 0
 Remember Friendster? We need a new one called Douchester, for when 140 characters just aren't enough for being a douche.
  • 1 0
 As the sane goes, "You are what you eat" So everyone is either a pussy, an ass, or a dick. =) just playin around.
  • 2 0
 Who actually reads the comments this far down... You people need lives!
  • 1 0
 temerity: noun
excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.
I learned a new word today! Solid article Vernon.
  • 1 0
 When people can't get out and ride their trails, they go ride their pinkbike for a reason...
  • 1 0
 PB has it own unique culture and to be honest......the shit talk is a bit of a guilty pleasure.
  • 7 4
 What an a hole :-)
  • 6 5
 I think asking PB users to not be assholes is a little unrealistic. If you want nice, calm people, go to MTBR or Vital.
  • 8 7
 Pinkbike: we have to leave politics off of pinkbike!
Pinkbike: *posts article sighting current political events*
  • 5 0
 Was about to say something about this. Didn't even try to keep his comments neutral either, almost like he wants to start arguments, which will inevitably lead to people being assholes.
  • 2 0
 Still riding a 24 out back. Come at me bro.
  • 2 1
 Can we maybe add that disagreement should be accompanied by a fact or argument, and not just vitriol and hate?
  • 2 0
 absolutely not ya dik 'ed
  • 2 0
 700x35c is all you need for offroad. Screw mtb standards XD
  • 1 0
 Haha But I thought Vernon felton just joined unior tools team haha and here he is back to being aa journo! Bravo sir
  • 2 0
 I like to ride my bike. Hah! Find a way to be a dick about that!
  • 1 0
 Is it an Intense?
  • 2 0
 Looks like a session
  • 1 0
 Last 50/01 post downvote fest warm my heart. This is how it should be : fun.
  • 1 0
 can someone provide a summary of the comments please so I can use my 'bashing time' effectively? ta.
  • 1 0
 May I ask why mt comment was deleted ? I don't think I've said anything wrong
  • 2 1
 we need safespaces on pinkibike #triggered
  • 2 1
 even if you win an argument on the internet, you are still an idiot
  • 1 0
 What's with the little star
  • 1 0
 I cold have used that balaclava today. Minus 19, brrr.
  • 4 3
 I only said "they would kick me out of America".
  • 2 1
 I laughed out loud at that comment....
  • 1 0
 Say bollocks to bolitics. by the way, great article againtup
  • 3 3
 Always stand up for what you believe in. If it means being an a****** and you believe in it then do it.
  • 4 0
 I really believe I'm an a*shole
  • 2 0
 @truffy: than be the best a*shole you can be
  • 1 1
 @properp:
You don't have to be an a*shole, that is the point...

You don't need to call someone a c*nt to get your point of view across to them. Just say your opinion and leave it at that.
Or don't even state your opinion at all because lets face it, who has been in an internet argument and actually agreed with the dude they're arguing with at the end of it? No one.
  • 1 0
 I'm pretty sure I can take your punch, noodles.
  • 2 0
 W⚓️'S Ahoy!!
  • 1 0
 Hell, this is like the "Lopes on Ellsworth" story.
  • 2 1
 Who would you rather be: Dick, douchebag, or a*shole?
  • 2 1
 This American Life will self correct. It always does.
  • 1 1
 "This American Life will self correct. It always does"

Usually at everyone else's expense...
  • 1 0
 When was it ever right ?
  • 4 7
 Point taken Vernon. As a schooled shit kid I blush. Balaclava was a stupid escalation indeed but it I saw no sht throwing at each other there. No way this would end up as a bar fight, sorry. Unless you would like to support some stereotype about certain topics in bars in a certain country. In fact I do talk about sht like that in a bar... At least most Europeans don't put a finger up their arse when racism or terrorism comes up. We point it over the Atlantic ocean hahahaha. Sorry... Brian on Ellsworth was waaay worse, you probably weren't visiting PB in 2011-2013 when Aaron Gwin was ragged under each article involving him. Then we can talk about what Specialized gets, how Fox was treated few years ago when they won product of the year, finally E-bikes... whatever, I'm sick of it anyways. It's been fun
  • 2 1
 Everyone on this forum is an as5hole.
  • 1 0
 do comments get locked (test)
  • 3 3
 I just looked at the pictures. Read the comments and made a comment.
  • 1 0
 Well said.
  • 1 1
 Couldn't have said it better myself
  • 1 0
 preach it bro
  • 5 5
 Political correctness is so over
  • 2 2
 lol the truth is we all love the smack talk and hate i think.
  • 1 2
 Can we repost this across the world...on youtube and everywhere there is an unmoderated forum.
  • 2 1
 Where the hell is Waki?
  • 2 0
 Say his name three times in a row and he will appear.
  • 1 0
 TL;DR
  • 1 1
 We need a PC Principal moderator here. Smile
  • 2 1
 Grow a pair.
  • 1 1
 Thats the dream
  • 2 2
 Amen brother
  • 2 2
 Moar Rootbeer
  • 5 6
 There is no muslim ban.
  • 3 1
 Yes welcome terrorists? liberals love ISIS? It's confusing
  • 1 0
 @markar: ha ha you are so true
  • 3 6
 who wrote this wank
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