Media

FloSports Settles Class Action Lawsuit

by editors on November 16, 2023

Those creative business people at FloSports have been brought to task for their extremely suspect subscription promotion verbiage thanks to a class action lawsuit filed by the law firm of Lucas Young, Daniel O’Malley, and Charles Buckingham of DuPage County, Illinois. And because of this you may be owed a payment (or refund as the case may be).

Here are the official details:

The Class Plaintiffs allege that they were enrolled in automatically renewing subscriptions for FloSports’ content without adequate disclosures and notice regarding renewal charges and cancellation terms.  FloSports claims its subscription renewal practices complied with all applicable laws and regulations and that it fairly disclosed all terms associated with its subscriptions. Thus, FloSports denies all allegations of wrongdoing, and the Court has not determined who is right. Rather, the Parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation. 

Having subscribed to FloSport ourselves we know the company was extremely inadequate in their subscription plan descriptions and are glad the company was smart enough to settle the lawsuit to avoid being shown to be the scammers we have suggested they just might be.

If you subscribed to the service please click the link for more info https://fsrenewalsettlement.com/. You may be able to get up to $30 of your money back if you don’t choose to sue them your self.

[Link: FS Renewal Settlement]

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Outside Adds Pinkbike To Media Quiver

by editors on July 16, 2021

It seems the BLOAT just can’t keep his hands off more cycling media brands as Outside buys mountain bike community Pinkbike (along with Cyclingtips and Trailforks). In a letter from the editor on July 16, 2021, Pinkbike’s “head of editorial” Brian Park explained exactly why selling out to Outside (formerly known as Pocket Outdoor Media) was such a great thing.

Pinkbike’s mission to be the pulse of mountain biking and to share the ride with the global mountain bike community doesn’t change, only now we have more resources and capabilities to take on even bigger and better projects. . . Our head office remains in Squamish, BC, and we’re about to move into a brand new office space with way more room to grow. We’ll also have access to new equipment and improved test facilities for more scientific, objective product evaluations.

Newly acquired media properties always seem optimistic about how “everything will stay the same, but we’ll have more opportunities to do all kinds of cool stuff” and rarely is this the case in reality. Big brands buy small brands so they can kill off competition and streamline efficiencies. But hey, let’s hope it goes well for Pinkbike et. al. Maybe the new Outside is better than all the media conglomerates that have come before. It could happen.

[Link: Pinkbike]

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Specialized, Lance Armstrong & VeloNews

by editors on July 21, 2020

While doing a little web cruising this morning, wondering whatever happened to some old media friends, we stumbled onto a press release from June 30, 2020 suggesting that Specialized and The Biggest Liar of All Time (aka BLOAT aka Lance Armstrong) have joined forces to possibly control the cycling narrative through media ownership.

Here’s how it goes: VeloNews (and Bicycle Retailer) owner Pocket Outdoor Media just purchased a boat load of “media” titles from another media/events company called Active Interest Media. Not that cyclists should care, but the titles Pocket purchased include: Warren Miller Entertainment, Ski Magazine, Backpacker, Climbing, Yoga Journal, Vegetarian Times, and more.

This got more interesting when Pocket Outdoor Media listed where they got the money to grab the titles. It came from a “Series A” round of funding from three different venture capital groups, namely JAZZ Venture Partners, NEXT VENTŪRES, and Zone 5 Ventures.

Who are these venture firms? Well, JAZZ is a bunch of neuroscience medical start-up brainiacs based in San Francisco, Next Ventures is the BLOAT and friends (yes, he still has some), and Zone 5 Ventures is Specialized’s early-stage investment arm which is run by former and current employees at Specialized.

We haven’t had reason to follow anyone from JAZZ, but before starting Next with the BLOAT managing partner Lionel Conacher was a senior advisor and operating partner at Altamont Capital Partners, LLC which has large stakes in the Billabong, Brixton, Fox (head), HUF, and Dakine brands. Lance’s other partner at Next is Melanie Strong, the former Nike vice president and general manager of Nike Skateboarding.

So why are all these corporate jocks suddenly interested in the action sports media world in general and cycling in particular? Is it because in these COVID times the only thing any of us can do is spend time outside? Is it because distressed action media brands are currently a bargain? Or is it because (as we suspect) The BLOAT and Specialized want to own the cycling narrative from beginning to end?

How do you feel about getting all your cycling news from Specialized and The BLOAT? It doesn’t feel all that good to us. Makes it even more difficult to know what to believe, doesn’t it? For instance, how long will this story on Specialized’s silly trademark lawsuit stay up on the VeloNews website? Click the link to see if it’s still there. 

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Apple’s News+ App Brings Some Cycling

by editors on March 26, 2019

In a keynote address yesterday (March 25, 2019), Apple’s Tim Cook mentioned that the newly launched News+ app is like having an “entire newsstand on your iPhone” and for cyclists he’s not exactly wrong. The new subscription app which charges users $9.99 a month for unlimited magazine viewing from at least 300 different magazine titles does include four cycling magazines in the mix: Bicycling, Bike, Canadian Cycling, Cycling Plus, and Mountain Biking UK.

While maybe not our first choices in cycling magazines currently, when coupled with other titles that we might be interested in reading like The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The Week, et al. this new subscription model might not be all that bad of a deal, assuming of course, that spending $120 a year for magazines that must be read on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple computer is something you’re into. For more info on Apple News+ please click the link.

[Link: News+]

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Pinkbike Buys CyclingTips: PinkTips?

by editors on March 12, 2019

As is rather obvious by our hodge-podge of odd updates and seemingly random posts somewhat relating to cycling, we can’t figure out exactly what cyclists look for when it comes to online content, mostly because we don’t know what we, ourselves, want. We’re not down with the precious, condescending, fetishizations of Rapha podcast missives, nor do we much appreciate the other end of the spectrum at Bicycling Magazine. We’ll occasionally check out RKP for their road racing poetry, and sometimes read reviews on BikeRadar because they come up in our product searches.

Lately, we’ve been noticing the CyclingTips website coming up in our mix more and more and feel relatively positive about it. Can’t really say the same for PinkBike (it’s a blur of MTBing content that we’ve never been able to figure out), however, reading news that BikeExchange has offloaded CyclingTips to PinkBike makes us question a few things. Firstly, what is BikeExchange? Secondly, is consolidation in cycling media good? And finally, will this be good for us as mildly interested cycling media consumers? Obviously, PinkBike founder Radek Burkat believes it’s all good.

“We are excited to commit the talents and resources we have at Pinkbike and Trailforks to allow the CyclingTips team to grow and be the leader in road cycling,” said Burkat.

CyclingTips founder Wade Wallace is also happy about it, saying:

“We are thrilled that CyclingTips has come together with the Pinkbike family. We are confident that this partnership will result in a better product for our readers, members and industry partners.”

Guess we’ll have to wait and see. The entire staff of CyclingTips will reportedly stay with the brand. Thanks for allowing us to think out loud this morning. It likely won’t happen again for a while as we’re sure we’ll be too busy creating highly curated, stylized content for some other failing web property.

 [Link: Bicycle Retailer]

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Bezos Accuses Pecker Of Dick Pic Threat

by editors on February 7, 2019

In a story posted on Medium today (February 7, 2019), Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos claims that Bike Magazine’s new parent company American Media (through its tabloid The National Enquirer) has threatened to publish photos of Mr. Bezos’ penis “as well as nine other images” if Mr. Bezos didn’t call the Washington Post off its investigation of American Media CEO David Pecker’s relationship with Donald Trump, according to a story on the Huffington Post.

Here’s a little of what Mr. Bezos is claiming:

I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten. . . They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn’t stop our investigation.

Usually these stories that have nothing to do with cycling would be well outside our “lane.” But last week’s sale brings it all home to our world. Think about it? This suggests that those left at what once was TEN are now in a not-so-roundabout way working for the Trump Administration. We would imagine this might get some bicycle industry marketing asking themselves, “Do we really want to support Donald Trump by spending advertising and marketing dollars with American Media right now?”

We can say this for certain: if this is how American Media does business, then the people who had their jobs eliminated last week are the lucky ones.

[Link: The Huffington Post]

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Bike Magazine Sold To American Media

by editors on January 31, 2019

American Media, the parent corporation of Men’s Journal, Radar, US Weekly and more famously the National Enquirer (you know, the company run by Donald Trump’s friend David Pecker) is reportedly purchasing all the action sporting brands from Bike Magazine’s parent company The Enthusiast Network. Employees were apprently informed today (January 31, 2019) during an all-hands meeting at TEN’s headquarters in Carlsbad, California. 

Things may not be looking all that bright for current TEN employees. As one media executive who is not involved with either company told us, “I would assume this is going to be brutal. American Media has tons of debt, so I doubt they’re going to invest in anything. They probably see synergies and cost-cutting as a quick way to shape up the bottom line.”

According to a post on Transworld Motocross’s website (which has since been taken down) that magazine has been shuttered and similar things could be happening at other titles at TEN as well. Here is the entire note from TWMX’s Donn Maeda:

I founded TransWorld Motocross in November of 2000. At the time, the motocross magazine marketplace was crowded and we were the eighth title joining in on the fun. It was an exciting time, paired with my good friend Garth Milan and teamed with Revolution Advertising – a freelance agency that laid out the magazine – we built the foundation for what would become the world’s best-selling motocross magazine within only a matter of months.

It’s hard to cover all the highlights that I’ve enjoyed over the past two decades… there have been too many. We’ve produced over a dozen great motocross movies, successfully launched the largest local race series on the west coast…heck we even had a one-year stint helping produce TransWorld Motocross Japan. Most of all, the memories I treasure most are of all the places I’ve visited and the friends I’ve made. Watching racers I’ve met as mini riders grow up, rise through the ranks, and go on to be champions, has been a privilege…

Today, our parent company was purchased by another media entity that sadly, has no interest in moving forward with TransWorld Motocross, in spite of our overall success and profitability. That said, our magazine, web site, and race series are on hold. I say hold, because the same group of dedicated editors and salesmen who have built this brand alongside me are still committed to creating the same great content. We are actively working on a plan to resume business as usual.
So, as cliché as it sounds, this is not a goodbye…it’s a see ya’ soon!

Oh, and if you’d like to read the official press release from American Media about their purchase, please follow the jump.

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Understanding The Haywire Heart

by editors on May 10, 2017

In cycling many (if not most) of those racing every weekend have little understanding of the single most important piece of their cycling equipment: their hearts. Most don’t think twice until something goes wrong: a flutter in the chest, or a racing heart that just won’t slow down at the end of a ride. The truth is, heart issues like these happen far more often than any of us would like to admit. Especially, for those over 35 who are chasing the dream of winning their next masters race.

In a new book from VeloPress titled The Haywire Heart: How too much exercise can kill you, and what you can do to protect your heart, writers Chris Case, John Mandrola, MD, and Lennard Zinn hope to change that and get all cyclists thinking about how competitive endurance training can affect and often damage their hearts.

Here’s how Chris Case describes the book:

“This book is the most comprehensive guide to the subject of endurance sports and heart health. It is filled with sound, practical advice. But it isn’t meant to frighten you into becoming a full-time spectator. We present the information as it is known at this time. What you do with it is up to you, though we certainly encourage caution and thoughtfulness.”

It may not have been meant to frighten anyone, but after reading all the studies, data, and hard evidence provided in The Haywire Heart it’s difficult to look at a 250 mile training week with the same kind of rabid enthusiasm we once did. The authors list a series of research studies that show that far from being rare, heart rhythm issues actually increase with age, with increased training, and with improved fitness. Some even suggest that the fitter you are, the higher your chances are of suffering from some type of heart rhythm disorder.

The Haywire Heart is intensely readable, informative, and necessary reading for anyone who races bicycles. Seriously. Click the link and buy it now.

[Link: The Haywire Heart]

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Cycling Can Save The World Here’s How

by editors on March 21, 2017

In a new book titled How Cycling Can Save the World Guardian writer Peter Walker discusses the ways in which getting more people on bicycles can make the world a better place. Reducing smog and traffic and improving health are obvious, but Walker goes much deeper into the subtle ways cycling can improve nearly everything about urban life. 

In a world dominated . . . by bikes, people can amble, children can play, fresh air can be breathed, conversations can be heard, all without our omniscient, noisy, smelly, lethal modern-day plague,” Walker says. “Cyclists are recognizably human, traveling at human-scaled speeds. As a benefits to urban living, that can hardly be overstated.

How Cycling Can Save the World goes on sale April 4, 2017. To order it, please click here. For a short interview with the author, please follow the jump.

[click to continue…]

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Bike, Camp, Cook: The Book

by editors on September 20, 2013

Help out the husband and wife team who toured the world for two years by bike and blogged about it on the site GoingSlowly.com, with their newest effort the book Bike, Camp, Cook. They’re up on Kickstarter begging for money and with 21 days to go they are only $2,500 short of their $11,500 goal. Yes, it’s another cookbook for cyclists, but this is no Feedzone. This is a cook book for the touring crowd. And it looks delicious. All they need in the money to print it. Click the link and help them out.

[Link: Kickstarter]

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