Hatchet Job

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Velocomp
Velocomp CEO
Posts: 7793
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:43 am

Hatchet Job

Post by Velocomp »

I know, I know, some of you are going to point out a very negative "review" of the Newton+, written by Jamie Wilkins, just published.

I have filed a complaint with the editors, which I copy here:

To the editors:

The review of the Newton + just published is out-of date, factually incorrect, and grossly misleading. I know, because I was the person referred to in the review.

I met Jamie in April of 2014, at the offices of Future Publishing in England. I have sent an email to Jamie, which I copy here:

"Jamie:

I just saw your Newton+ review.

It’s unfortunate that you did not tell your readers that I visited you in April, 2014, over 16 months ago.

It’s unfortunate you did not tell your readers that the Newton+ you received and tested in the spring of 2014 is no longer manufactured. We introduced the Newton 5 at Eurobike 2014, with a completely new user interface and experience, updated software, new features, and a big improvement in simplicity.

It’s unfortunate that you did not tell your readers that we are being used successfully this year by several top continental pro teams, who have tested the Newton 5 directly in real life conditions against some of the models you praise.

It’s unfortunate that you claim, with authority, that rain jackets, wheels, helmets, etc. cause accuracy problems. This is utter nonsense, both from a physics point of view and from a practical view, too.

It’s unfortunate you didn't get the price right.

It is unfortunate and misleading that you did not tell your readers and editors that you waited 16 months to publish your review.

But most of all, it’s unfortunate that you did not have the courtesy of contacting me, nearly 14 months after our last communication, to offer me the opportunity to update you on product changes, and to help you with factual errors.

The only thing more frustrating than the allegedly poor “tech” in our product is the reality of out-of-date, poorly informed, factually incorrect and grossly unprofessional reviews like this one.

John Hamann
CEO
Velocomp"

Interestingly, after I sent the email to Jamie, it bounced. He apparently no longer works for Future Publishing. Perhaps he pulled his rubbish review out of the rejections pile of his former employer.
John Hamann
EHB
Posts: 129
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2014 5:52 pm

Re: Hatchet Job

Post by EHB »

I actually read that article. I didn't even think to link to it on the forum as it was so comically incorrect.

I don't really trust the reviews on Bike Radar in general, but that one was particularly poor. Still, unfortunately, there are idiots who are going to believe it.i had always assumed the writers were amateurs, but if they can be sacked possibly not.

My experience has been that even without extra calibration the shape of the curves is similar to my DFPM and it is consistent. The absolute values can be out a bit but if you only use one bike and don't spend your time comparing yourself to people on the internet I don't think it matters.

After calibrating to the DPFM the two curves are sufficiently close as to not matter, as long as the weather isn't dreadful.

To solve the quarms of those who care about absolute values I don't know if it could be an option to hire out a DFPM for a couple of weeks. They could then do an out and back cycle and check calibration. They would then see how close the curves tally, that there is loads of added info from the Newton and post the DFPM back confident in the numbers it was making. It would also mitigate concerns about differences between bikes.
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racerfern
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Location: Baldwin, NY
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Re: Hatchet Job

Post by racerfern »

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=c ... cycling+uk

Hunt him down!

Perhaps Jamie isn't the culprit, it could be someone at the mag looking to fill empty pages.

@EHB, your comment about people comparing themselves to other people on the internet is very true. I say, shut up and ride, make your own numbers go up, except for weight, that needs to go down...at least in my case.
Fernando
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