When I look at about pages of other big websites there’s usually some generic mumbo-jumbo about being the best-in-the-business about whatever industry the site’s operating in. I could do that for restoration.bike as well but that’s not really me. So I’ll give you a far more interesting and real story instead.
The start
This site was created out of love for the game, the game of repairing and restoring neglected and abused bicycles. It was a hobby I picked up a couple of years ago. Some people work on cars, or clocks, or whatever. I starting working on bicycles.
In a local thrift store I came across a totally beat-up early Cannondale Super V. I had already restored a number of other bicycles including a Scott Town XC and Cannondale M300, and for this bike I decided to put everything on tape and publish on a YouTube channel.
This was not my first foray into content creation and YouTube. Before this restoration adventure, I had created fitness vlogs, and had dived into retro gaming. The biggest difference with those other subjects was, that first the first time I was not dependant on anybody for content. I didn’t need permission to film in the gym, and didn’t need a gaming convention, which are not often enough to create a YouTube channel around.
I quickly found out it was difficult to talk and shoot video at the same time, so decided to create a website with blogs to use as voiceover scripts. A huge part of the articles you can find on this website we’re thus created. Both the channel and website grew quickly, with restoration.bike outpacing visitors outpacing traffic to my webshop.
Product reviews
This website has since added product reviews related to bicycle components and apparel. The following categories are currently represented:
- 26 inch tires
- 27 inch tires
- 27.5 inch tires
- 29 inch tires
- 650b tires
- road bike tires
- bike front lights
- bike saddles
- cycling bibs
- cycling gloves
- cycling jackets
- cycling tights
- flat pedals
- mountain bike helmets
- MTB gloves
- MTB shorts
- road bike helmets
About me
I reckon if you land on this website I’ve done my online marketing part right, not because you want to learn more about who I am. But apart from what you can read on my LinkedIn profile, I think the most interesting thing I can say about myself is that I’ve been doing what I do with this site, not because I’m paid to do so, but because I want to.
I’ve found out doing the things you really want to and trying to get paid for it, is a lot harder than it sounds. I remember once riding part of the Amstel Gold Race with somebody who actually trained for it, and sometimes turning this into a full-time job feels like the mental equivalent of that ride.
Yet every epic cycling ride has equal parts suffering associated with it, and this online journey has proven to be no exception to the rule.