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Special Report – Part 3/3, Before going further, a reminder: Part 1 explored the positive contributions of cycling influencers. Part 2 analyzed commercial excesses and the loss of neutrality. If you haven’t read them yet, we recommend starting there to grasp the entire report. And for this final installment, let’s address a deeper question: what happens when influence goes beyond cycling, reason… and sometimes common sense? To answer, let’s briefly revisit a very real experience.
By Jeff Tatard – Photo: @jefftatard
The day we stumbled upon an Herbalife seminar in Canada
The story goes back to a trip to Canada. A mundane, touristy, normal stay.
Breakfast in a hotel near a large conference room. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
And then, leaving the buffet, we came across… an unreal scene.
A room with over 1,000 people.
An electric, even hysterical atmosphere.
A “coach” on stage, headset microphone, guru-like posture.
And facing him: a hyped-up crowd, North and South American salespeople ready to spread the “good word” of Herbalife.
We weren’t at a product training. We were at an indoctrination ritual.
The message was simple, hammered home, hypnotic: “We have THE solution. You must convince. Convince again. Always convince. Every new convert must convince other people…”
A nearly perfect, well-oiled, assumed pyramid scheme. A machine designed not to create customers… but relays of influence. People willing to sell anything, to anyone, as long as the pyramid continued to rise.
And that day, we understood something: when influence becomes a system, it erases nuance, neutrality, reason.
In short, no one questions anymore. No one doubts anymore. We sell. We preach. We convert.
And the product? It becomes a pretext. An alibi. A totem.
In that room, we found the same mechanisms as in certain excesses of the cycling world:
- repetition of simplistic messages,
- absolute certainties,
- social pressure,
- calibrated storytelling,
- dependence on charismatic figures,
- total loss of critical distance.
It was impressive. Fascinating. Disturbing.
And it reminded us why, at 3bikes, we value neutrality, distance, and independence so much.
Because without it, everything can go wrong. Very quickly. Very badly.
Our role: to protect you from losing clarity
If we insist, sometimes heavily, on transparency, it’s not just for show. It’s because we’ve seen what a system becomes when everyone influences everyone else without ever questioning anything.
We deeply believe that:
- Cycling must remain simple.
- Information must remain honest.
- Criticism must remain possible.
- Enthusiasm must not be monetized.
- And editorial independence must be total.
You can continue to count on us to analyze, dissect, and put things into perspective, without ever succumbing to the siren call of sponsored complacency.
Even if, of course, some may reproach us for having our own biases, our preferences, our habits. And they would be right. Because no one is perfect. And we claim that. That’s why several of us test equipment at 3bikes. Because everyone is different. But our opinions are always sincere. That’s what you need to remember and what makes the difference with influencers.
Conclusion: driver or deviation?
So, influencers: a blessing or a deviation?
Both. A powerful driver when it inspires. A trap when it misleads.
But the truth lies elsewhere: in each person’s clarity, in the ability to say yes, to say no, to remain free, to love cycling for what it is, and not for what it sells.
Cycling will always remain a space of freedom: two wheels, a breath, a movement.
The rest, drones, filters, gadgets, matching outfits, well, all that stuff, they’re just options. Sometimes very pleasant. Often accessories.
It’s up to us, collectively, to hold the handlebars.
Alright: put away the smartphone. Clip in the pedals. And let’s go get some fresh air.
=> Part 1 of the report
=> Part 2 of the report
=> The influence economy: understanding an indispensable system
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