98+ BoTM 1998 --> BoTM. Is it worth it? Have your say

[raidan73]

After a length absence, and following requests from more than a few, I started the 98 BoTM back up again in August last year. Now it's been running for 9 months I am wondering again whether to knock it on the head.

Consider the stats below and cast your vote on the future of the competition. I've allowed two votes per person, in the hope to get some meaningful feedback, so please cast one vote regarding the future of the competition and the other regarding whether or not you would enter.

Month	Number of entries	number of votes
August 2021	17	39
September 2021	7	55
October 2021	15	35
November 2021	9	32
December 2021	1	n/a
January 2022	8	31
February 2022	9	32
March 2022	8	28
April 2022	4	20

 

[retroJIM]

Maybe have one every 3 months?

 

[raidan73]

Not a bad idea @retroJIM

 

[iveto1983]

I like that idea too. I enjoy this BOTM but am basically out of bikes to enter.

 

[Baulz]

We need to find a way to get more people to vote.

 

[Carge]

I've entered once and have two more bikes that would be eligible - although one is in bits at the mo and needs a few things acquiring.
I would have considered entering last month - but there really wasn't much point after the first entry - turquoise and purple Yeti - say no more

I thought we talked about more in that way of categories - 29er - 26er - rigid - full-sun etc. Sometimes it's a bit carrots and knickers - you're comparing very different beasts. Some post '98 are still pretty retro - while some are more cutting edge.

 

[clubby]

Some valid points above. As a past winner I’d like to see it continue, but also don’t think it can sustain a once a month competition. Every three months with a theme would be good. That way we’ve more of a chance comparing apples to apples. A 24 year span is pretty broad to do a fair comparison.

I often forget to vote in the one week window. A two month build up and a month to vote would be nice. Announce winner and new theme together at the end of the three months.

 

[sunympholepsy]

Just me twopence...I can see how 98+ has less appeal for most, but for me personally (as much as I love mostly pre 1990 stuff) it’s still pretty relevant as I was only 13 in 1998. Also cannot boycott it, as my first ever BOTM entry was in the said category, and my bike actually won. However insignificant the win was, it encourages me to keep entering and to navigate to the 98+ section of the forum in general.
Running it every 3 months sounds like a good idea to me.
Cheers.

 

[retroJIM]

@raidan73 maybe push back the steel special for a month or two? No entries yet and we're halfway through the month...

 

[The History Man]

The site hosting makes it harder to find and support threads unless you se them fairly quickly, especially amongst the huge amount of sales traffic that seems to dominate at present.