Most popular articles of 2016

It’s been an amazing year for us and we’ve had some mind-boggling success. We always focus on quality content and nothing pleases us more than seeing you all enjoying what we do. Some articles surprise us with their popularity. Some have been staggeringly successful. 

Below are the 5 most viewed articles we wrote in 2016

5. Canyon Ultimate CF SLX review

The only gear review that made it into the top 5 was perfectly timed to board the hype train of Canyon’s arrival in Australia. Glen O’Rourke flogged this bike. I mean, REALLY flogged it. He did a lot of kms on mountains like Donna Buang, in crits, on dirt, and everything else. It’s a comprehensive review of a very popular bike. We love reviewing bikes, so keep on clicking those reviews so we can do more!

Quote: “Is the hype around Canyon landing in Australia deserved? If the performance of the Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Aero is anything to go by it's a definite yes from us. A top end package that is fast, comfortable in all conditions and wants to pull you towards whatever finish line you want to set.”

Read the full article here

4. Is it time to register Kangaroos?

The satirical story of a man getting hit by an a-roogant kangaroo is actually based in truth. I got nailed by a kangaroo jumping across the road in Adelaide during a High Rouleur attempt I had to abandon. Fuzzy bastard made a mess of me and the bike. Conversations about the accident inevitably turned to jokes about registration and a parody article about the cars V bikes issue was born. We were pretty excited by the response, incuding a re-tweet by Matthew Hayman!

Quote: “A spokesman from the Adelaide Zoo, who wants to remain anonymous, feels that a kangaroo identification system would be: “Very difficult. Logistically, fitting a licence plate to a kangaroo would pose too many challenges. I would support a mandatory identification system. They already have pouches, so there’s nothing stopping them from carrying ID at all times.”

Read the full article here

3. The Difference between Melburn and Radelaide

The annual pilgrimage of cyclists to Adelaide for the Tour Down Under shines a light on the differences in cycling cultures. Myself and Dave exchanged a few quips about the difference between Adelaide and Melbourne cyclists on day, and Dave ran with the idea. It proved very popular because all good satire is based in truth and Dave expertly describes the interaction between the oh-so-cool Melbourne scene and the very relaxed Adelaide attitudes.

Quote: “If your bike is more than 12 months old, and you live in Melbourne, then you may as well retire from cycling…. Unless it is now over 25 years old, is steel, and fitted with original Campagnolo parts.”

Read the full article here

2. Dating a Cyclist - what you need to know

Katie Quinn’s scarily accurate Guide to Dating Cyclists led to much laughter among the cycling community and many groans and eye-rolls from the non-cycling people who somehow manage to tolerate our objective weirdness. She nailed it. Her article held a mirror up to us and showed how strange we are. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go sort my ludicrously expensive sock collection.

Quote: “And if it all ends badly, and you come off second best to their noble steed don’t rush to cry on Dr Phil’s couch. You can sleep soundly knowing that while they’ll miss you terribly their passion for life on two wheels will not fade, if anything it will be increased. Your loss will be Rapha’s gain as the cyclist will fill the void in their life with stylish apparel and overpriced essentials."

Read the full article here

1. Data disconnection - Man forgets Garmin, phone, realises he hates riding bikes

A Facebook group conversation sparked the half-joking-half-serious question of, should I bother going for a bike ride if my Garmin and phone aren’t available to record it? The correct answer is: no. You shouldn’t. 

The fake story of a hapless Josh Fallimento (Italian for ‘failure’) forgetting a way to tell the internet he went for a bike ride was a global smash hit for us. We’ve watched this monster rack up 185,000 views at time of writing this article. It got shared by heavy hitters like Drunk Cyclist, BikeRadar, and many many individuals.

We could never have anticipated the success of this article. So many people identified with this story of the modern, technology and image-obsessed cycling scene. Some saw the funny side, some completely missed the fact it was a joke, and some left angry comments. For us, it was a glorious to watch this snowball. We may never re-create its success, but at least we had that one shining moment.

Quote: "Without my devices there isn't a single PR, selfie, KOM, or kudos from this ride. I can't even analyse my training peaks data. How will brands be able to like photos I tagged them in? This shit is pointless."

Read the full article here

LA VELOCITA. REVIEWS.