Stages Cycling Lays Off Entire Workforce

[nickf]

I have had my gen 3 arms for a few seasons now. They read pretty much identical on the same routes/efforts. I have yet to have issues or even a failing battery door. Are people ham-fisted when trying to replace the batteries? The end users are usually the problem with most products, not the product itself.

[AFE]

I just got my stages sb20 replaced within warranty. Hope this one lasts longer.

[BernieMoves]

I have had my gen 3 arms for a few seasons now. They read pretty much identical on the same routes/efforts. I have yet to have issues or even a failing battery door. Are people ham-fisted when trying to replace the batteries? The end users are usually the problem with most products, not the product itself.

IMO it's a cheaply and easily avoidable point of failure... losing an o-ring or battery door would render the entire unit useless instantly. I don't think its a weak point of the product, but supply of replacement parts will become inevitably inexistent a few years down the line.

[toxin]

How hard is it to just put some black duct tape over it if its such a problem

[AJS914]

How hard is it to just put some black duct tape over it if its such a problem

Not hard but ugly and a PITA. On the left power meter, it's not just a cover. It center the battery in place. I'm sure though that people will be able to rig a solution. Or someone will 3D print them.

I looked at r2bike. They want $30 for shipping the US! Maybe I should buy 10 and resell them on ebay in the US? It would be nice to have a spare.

[satanas]

Just downloaded the Stages app .apk file as I have a LHS power meter for a new build still a ways off. I suppose the crank will still work even if the PM doesn't. Sigh.

[TheBelgian]

How do you lose a battery cover on those devices? I don't get it.

[Lina]

How do you lose a battery cover on those devices? I don't get it.

The same way people break and lose their phones, glasses, watches, etc. Some people just can't be trusted with things that are more delicate than a hammer. Because everything they see and/or touch is treated like one.

[wooger]

I fully agree with your comment. Customer service at Stages Europe was top notch and very responsive. I'm really sad to see them go.

This certainly wasn't the case last year, literally 5 months to even respond to my support ticket.

Anecodtally, my stages left sided gen3 crank PM has been nothing but trouble; Despite calibration before every use, it over-reads dramatically, it cuts out, and the battery just dies completely with incredible regularity. There must be a major flaw in the electronics and / or the battery sealing from water.

It's worthless as a training tool, and is just embarassing when my rides upload with ridiculous peak power numbers, or my garmin tells me it thinks my FTP is now 500 watts.

This hobby cannot lose Escape, like we did CyclingTips.

Meh, cyclingtips was just a cycling magazine. I'm fond of a couple of their podcasts (The geek one, and Ronan's one), but the rest are both days behind the rest of the cycling podcasts in terms of event coverage, and just another cycling podcast, but with some American accents. Their other content is hard to remember to go read as it doesn't get shared like non-paywalled stuff, and their use of discord rather than a useable, searchable forum is really annoying.

[RDY]

Not that CT was great in its latter days, but Escape seems worse. Most of the content seems to be written through a lens / paradigm of "don't bite the hand that feeds" - so exactly like the rest of the cycling industry. Content may be a bit more thoughtful and discursive, but uncomfortable stuff is generally avoided and positive spins are inserted.

[jever98]

Not that CT was great in its latter days, but Escape seems worse. Most of the content seems to be written through a lens / paradigm of "don't bite the hand that feeds" - so exactly like the rest of the cycling industry. Content may be a bit more thoughtful and discursive, but uncomfortable stuff is generally avoided and positive spins are inserted.

I can't subscribe to that point of view at all.

There is pretty much no product pushing or softballing reviews that you see on so many other publications. They also have a lot of quirky, different, vulnerable stories that are quite unique. But to each their own.

[Maddie]

Not that CT was great in its latter days, but Escape seems worse. Most of the content seems to be written through a lens / paradigm of "don't bite the hand that feeds" - so exactly like the rest of the cycling industry. Content may be a bit more thoughtful and discursive, but uncomfortable stuff is generally avoided and positive spins are inserted.

I can't subscribe to that point of view at all.

There is pretty much no product pushing or softballing reviews that you see on so many other publications. They also have a lot of quirky, different, vulnerable stories that are quite unique. But to each their own.

Fully agree. To me, Escape represents a very different view of things in the cycling industry.

[toxin]

The jumbo PR spin of vingegaard dominating tdf tt bcs of recon and 100g of bike paint removed and not bcs he was doing numbers that would make pantani blush, came straight from escape.

[bedampft]

Not that CT was great in its latter days, but Escape seems worse. Most of the content seems to be written through a lens / paradigm of "don't bite the hand that feeds" - so exactly like the rest of the cycling industry. Content may be a bit more thoughtful and discursive, but uncomfortable stuff is generally avoided and positive spins are inserted.

What? They're 100% funded by readiers/subscriptions.

[jever98]

The jumbo PR spin of vingegaard dominating tdf tt bcs of recon and 100g of bike paint removed and not bcs he was doing numbers that would make pantani blush, came straight from escape.

If you are referring to this article (https://escapecollective.com/optimising ... ime-trial/) - it was written BEFORE the time trial and looked at the different ways to optimize for the time trial, including heat, pacing, weight, etc.