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Here are answers to questions about RoadBikeRider.com issues and the operation of this road cycling website. If you have a concern not addressed here or would like to make a comment or suggestion, please write to feedback@roadbikerider.com.
What is RBR Publishing Company? It's the legal name of our corporation dba RoadBikeRider.com. In fact, RBR is short for RoadBikeRider. Incredibly creative, huh? RBR Publishing Company has four components: this public website, our members-only Premium Site, our weekly newsletter, and our eBook publishing division. RBR's principal officer is Ed Pavelka. Read more on the About Us page. RBR's Premium Site has more than 250 web pages of exclusive road cycling information. We've done our best to make it the internet's No. 1 source of "how to" advice -- an online reference center, if you will, for riding better and getting more fun and fitness from road cycling. Premium Site access is by paid membership. There are two options: 1 month for $9.99 or 1 year for $24.99. The annual membership includes an automatic 15% discount on every eBook, eArticle or other product purchased in the RBR eBookstore. The 1-month membership comes with all benefits except the 15% discount.
Our promise to you: RBR Publishing Company, dba RoadBikeRider.com, will never sell, rent, trade or provide your name or address to any other company for any reason. Period. You won't receive any unwanted marketing material (spam) from us. Yes, our newsletter and website will promote the cycling products we and other companies sell, but you won't find any unexpected RBR pitches clogging your inbox. If you place an order for an eBook, eArticle, Premium Site membership or other product through our website, rest assured that our security complies with strict industry standards. Your personal information and credit card numbers are encrypted. Transaction processing is performed by a leading e-commerce institution. If you subscribe to our RoadBikeRider.com Newsletter and wish to cancel for any reason, we will automatically remove your e-mail address without a hassle. Simply click Your RBR Account (the link can be found at the bottom of the home page and at the top and bottom of every other web page). Or, send a blank e-mail to leave@roadbikerider.com from the address where you receive the newsletter. Unsubscribe instructions also appear in each newsletter. We'll miss you, but you won't hear from us again. You may already have one! RBR has made an account for everyone who has subscribed to the newsletter or purchased a Premium Site membership or product from the eBookstore since December 2003. To find out if an account exists for you, login with your subscription e-mail address or the address you used for your most recent purchase. Important: The e-mail address used for your most recent purchase is the one we have in our sales records. Therefore, an address will work for the login even if it's "dead" or you don't use it anymore. However, only current subscription addresses can be accepted. For first-time customers who aren't newsletter subscribers, an account is automatically created as your purchase is completed. Then you can proceed with the download if you are buying an eBook or eArticle. For more about RBR accounts, please click here. How can I change my RBR account information? Login with your e-mail address and last name (unless you have selected a different password). Remember, the e-mail address must be the one you used when making your most recent purchase or the one at which you are receiving the RBR newsletter. Those are the addresses we have in our database. For customers, an e-mail address will work for the login even if it's "dead" or you don't use it anymore. Once you are logged in, you can change any of your RBR account information -- your credit card number is not stored by RBR -- and your newsletter subscription information. If your account lists an old e-mail address, it's a good idea to update it with your new one. Why aren't all my purchases shown in my RBR account? This happens if you have inadvertently created 2 or more RBR accounts. Some purchases will be shown in one account, others in another. Why does this happen? Because different people may have identical names, the RBR account system uses e-mail addresses to establish accounts. So if you make a purchase using one e-mail address and later make a purchase using a different e-mail address, you will have 2 separate accounts with different products in each. To prevent multiple accounts from being created, use the same e-mail address whenever making a purchase at RBR. If you want to change your account e-mail address for any reason, you can do it through our account management page. The word eBook is shorthand for "electronic book." When you open an eBook and view it on your computer monitor, the pages look like those of a paper book. An eBook is a terrific value because you download it directly from our server. You avoid paying for shipping and handling, as well as the costs of traditional printing. eBooks are fast, too. As soon as your order is complete, you can click to your personal RBR account page. On it you'll see download buttons for your new purchase as well as all previous purchases. We allow additional downloads so you can upgrade to new editions without cost or replace an eBook for any reason. You already know how an eBook works if you subscribed to the RoadBikeRider.com Newsletter and downloaded your free copy of 29 Pro Cycling Secrets for Roadies. You can save an eBook to your hard drive and read it on your computer. This lets you take advantage of bookmarks, navigational hyperlinks in the text and the "find" function to instantly locate words or terms of interest. You can also print an eBook to make a hard copy. RBR eBooks are in Adobe PDF format. To open and read an eBook, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is a free application available from the Adobe website. More than 200 million copies are in use. In fact, it's probably already installed on your computer. The standard Acrobat Reader is what you want, not the Acrobat eBook Reader. If you're unfamiliar with downloading an eBook or using Acrobat Reader, don't worry -- it's easy. Just click to see our tips. The word eArticle is shorthand for "electronic article." When you open an eArticle and view it on your computer monitor, the pages look like those of a paper article. An eArticle is a terrific value because you download it directly from our server. There is no shipping cost or delay. As soon as your order is complete, you can click to your personal RBR account page. On it you'll see download buttons for your new purchase as well as all previous purchases. We allow additional downloads so you can upgrade to new editions without cost or replace an eArticle for any reason. You can save an eArticle to your hard drive and read it on your computer. This lets you take advantage of Adobe Acrobat's "find" function to instantly locate words or terms of interest. You can also print an eArticle to make a hard copy. RBR eArticles are in Adobe PDF format. To open and read an eArticle, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Acrobat Reader is a free application available from the Adobe website. More than 200 million copies are in use. In fact, it's probably already installed on your computer. The standard Acrobat Reader is what you want, not the Acrobat eBook Reader. If you're unfamiliar with downloading an eBook or using Acrobat Reader, don't worry -- it's easy. Just click to see our tips. How do I download an eBook or eArticle I buy? As you complete your purchase, the final screen thanks you for your order and shows you a big "Go to download" button. By clicking it, you'll be taken to your RBR account. On that page you'll see the e-publication(s) you just purchased and the easy 1-2-3 steps to perform the download. At RBR we provide 5 copies of each eBook or eArticle you buy. You can use these downloads to upgrade to newer editions without charge even if there is a price increase. You can easily replace copies if you change computers, suffer a hard drive crash, or have any other need. My e-publication didn't download. Now what? Don't panic! Nothing works perfectly all the time on the internet, as we're reminded every so often. Send an e-mail to customerservice@roadbikerider.com to let us know you're having difficulty. You get 5 copies of each eBook or eArticle you buy, but we don't want you using them all to get a single successful download. If you write, please put "download problem" in the subject line. In the message, explain what happened. Be sure to include the name of the eBook or eArticle you are writing about. Sometimes the problem is that the download is successful but then you can't find the eBook or eArticle. Remember to choose SAVE before starting the download, and then direct it to a place on your hard drive you can recall. The "my documents" folder is a good one, or you might want to create an "RBR downloads" folder for this and future purchases from us. If you e-mail, we'll help you as soon as we read your message. But if you don't hear from us inside of 12 hours, please resend. Thanks in advance for your patience. Why won't my e-publication open and display correctly? This is a rare problem, and the solutions are simple. First, you may be trying to open the eBook or eArticle with your word processing program. Won't work! You need to open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader (already on most computers) or the full Adobe Acrobat program if you have that. Second, if you have an ancient version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, an e-publication still won't open properly. You need to replace the old Reader with a newer version. The good news is that Acrobat Reader is free from the Adobe website. Go to the page by clicking this icon:
Be sure to delete your old version of Acrobat Reader before you get the new one. It's the regular Acrobat Reader you want, not the one called Acrobat eBook Reader. The bad news is that the download can take as long as an hour, depending on your internet connection. But it can happen in the background as you do other work on your computer. Or better yet, go for a ride! Once you have an up-to-date version of Acrobat Reader installed, all RBR eBooks, eArticles and any other PDF documents will open and read just fine.
Sure! RBR e-publication customers are welcome to print a copy for their personal use. Here are three methods:
Kinko's is a national chain of full-service copy centers that will print and/or bind electronic files such as eBooks. Click for a store locator and to read about ordering services online. Similar work is done by office-supplies stores such as Staples and OfficeMax. Note: If a commercial outfit balks at printing your copy of our copyrighted e-publications, please let us know at customerservice@roadbikerider.com. We'll be happy to e-mail permission to you or the printer (be sure to provide the establishment's e-mail address). How can I change my newsletter subscription address? Subscription management takes place in your RBR account. Click here to login and then you can:
Why won't the shopping cart work for me? If you find that a shopping cart page won't change, reverts when you click to proceed or won't display a dollar figure for your purchase at checkout, blame it on . . . the cookie monster!
Your browser is limiting "cookies" too tightly.
Cookies are used by RBR and many other internet sites to temporarily store
data from one page to the next. Why won't my credit card be accepted? Credit card payments at RBR are processed by an international company used by thousands of online merchants. Unfortunately, rejections are out of our control. If the payment gateway doesn't like something about the card information you entered, we are told there is a payment failure but not the reason why.
Assuming your card is valid and all of the information you entered is correct -- card number, expiration date, CVV security code (found on back of most cards) -- please try your purchase again after you've had occasion to turn off and restart your computer. That will clear the cache of old information and give your order a fresh start. Or, you could try a different credit card.
We understand it's frustrating, and we hope your order can be completed. Can I mail, fax or phone my order? No, sorry, these methods were discontinued because of so little customer use. It seems that almost no one mistrusts buying online through RBR's encrypted order form and secure transaction gateway, which has safely processed tens of thousands of purchases. Use your major credit card to pay for your eBook or eArticle order online and you'll also enjoy instant delivery. Can I give gift certificates for RBR products? Yes, it's easy and your friends will sure appreciate receiving some of the best "how to" information and advice in road cycling. Gift certificates can be used for Premium Site memberships too. For full details, please click here. Absolutely! We love it when that happens. We offer classified-style advertising in our weekly newsletter e-mailed to 62,400+ road cycling enthusiasts around the world (but primarily in North America). For no extra cost, commercial ads also appear 24/7on the Classified Ads page at RoadBikeRider.com while they're in the newsletter. We're happy to include a hotlinked company logo or product photo on this page, in effect turning a text ad into a display ad much like a banner. For full details and an ad order form, click here. Bonus! Commercial ads live forever at RBR because we keep them in every newsletter archived on the public site or the Premium Site. Individuals can place a $5 Roadie Ad to sell a personal item. For info, click here. Would RBR publish my cycling book or article? We'd certainly like to consider it, but be warned that we're fussy about content and quality. Realize, too, that RBR is an eBook- and eArticle-only publisher. Why? Six good reasons. For RBR authors, eBooks and eArticles are published without any upfront costs, and royalties are much greater than with printed products. For details, click here. If you have an authoritative, well-written manuscript that helps cyclists ride better and find more fitness and achievement on their road bikes, we'd love to hear from you. Write to publisher@roadbikerider.com. Is RoadBikeRider.com a site for racers? Yes, we're sure that competitors will find advice that helps them perform better. No, it's certainly not only for racers. Far from it. Our RoadBikeRider.com Newsletter, articles and eBooks are geared to all riders who want to get closer to their potential in whatever facet of road riding they like best. Whether or not you compete, if you want to ride more like a skilled athlete we'll help you make the progress you crave. Why do you use examples of pro riders? Roadies who are good enough to race for a living are the best bike riders in the world. There's a lot that the rest of us can learn from them and from their coaches. During years of writing for Bicycling and VeloNews, RBR's Ed Pavelka has watched, met, and even ridden with some of the best road racers in the U.S. and abroad. Most of these men and women are approachable and not reluctant to share their secrets for success (well, maybe not every secret). Their exploits and advice often translate well for those of us who can't compete at their level but still want to be skilled riders. Enjoy the pro anecdotes and learn from them. Don't feel disconnected or intimidated. We're all trying to improve as roadies. There's no better teacher than the advice and exploits of our sport's best athletes. Do you have something against mountain biking? Nothing at all. We all ride mountain bikes too. But we'll admit to being a tad annoyed by the way off-road cycling overwhelmed road cycling during the late 1980s and '90s. We blame it on Madison Avenue and rampant faddism more than anything else. RoadBikeRider.com was created in 2001 not because of any dislike for mountain biking, but because of love for road riding. Instead of just wishing there was more support for roadies, RBR provided it then and continues today. The what? RBR values content way ahead of fashon. But despite the lack of bells & whistles, we hope our pages aren't exactly drab. Our goal is for them to be totally functional. Gratuitous pictures and graphics make pages slow to load and confusing to read. Pages with things that flash, scroll and wiggle are downright annoying, at least to us. We know you've seen numerous sites (including some cycling sites) that seem to think glitz is the name of the game. We decided to favor simplicity and readability -- not that we have the techy know-how to be very fancy anyway! Why do some website things look out of whack? Our website is designed with MS FrontPage 2003, so it looks pretty darn clean if your browser is MS Internet Explorer (especially the newer versions). It's supposed to look good for users of Firefox and other non-MS browsers, too, but some page layouts just don't seem to translate perfectly. Sorry. We hope it doesn't bug you too much. Fortunately, the RBR shopping cart works well with almost every version of every browser. Only a tiny number of difficulties have come to light, and in most cases it's merely a cookie problem, which is explained here. Our philosophy is that no one should have to pay to become a better rider. We remember how hard it was for us to find helpful "how to" information when we started riding in the early 1970s. We're now sharing what we've learned during more than 30 years in the sport. Our free eBook, 29 Pro Cycling Secrets for Roadies, gives newcomers to RBR a good deal of expert advice right off the bat. It's our way of catching people's attention, creating a buzz and showing everyone the quality of our work. Our free RoadBikeRider.com Newsletter is the best way for us to regularly touch base (every Thursday) with more than 62,400 riders who share our passion for road cycling. Our public website (you're on it now) has expert info to help roadies grow in the sport. Bottom line: We want cyclists to come to RoadBikeRider.com in droves, appreciate what we provide without cost or obligation, and spread the word to their friends who ride. Of course, we do need to make a living, so keep reading! Aha, you're on to us! As much fun as all of this is, it has to generate enough income to buy bikes and groceries and pay operating costs. That's where our eBookstore, Classified Ads and Premium Site come in. We are publishing the most helpful, on-target, "how to" eBooks and eArticles for roadies available anywhere. RBR co-founder Fred "Coach Fred" Matheny has written several of our eBooks. Others come from coaches and experts in various cycling specialties. Thanks to electronic publishing's low production costs, eBooks can be written on narrow, niche topics that no traditional hardcopy publisher would dare touch. You're the beneficiary if you want targeted "how to" advice for improving your cycling performance. RBR eBooks and eArticles are marketed here on the website and in the RoadBikeRider.com Newsletter. Obviously, the more site traffic and subscribers we have, the more exposure and sales our e-publications enjoy. Classified Ads add revenue, too. They're win-win because individuals or businesses that place ads are able to reach an audience of dedicated roadies, a hard target to hit -- except at RoadBikeRider.com. As a newsletter subscriber, you get to see pitches for rides, tours, cycling clothing, new road-oriented products -- and even sale prices on gear you need. Our Premium Site provides 10 exclusive benefits to members, who can join for a month or a year with 24/7 access. We've designed the Site to be a research center for expert "how to" road cycling advice. It contains more than 250 searchable, info-packed web pages and it's home to Roadie Rap, our member forum. There's also a searchable archive of every weekly, advice-filled RBR newsletter we've published from No. 1 on July 5, 2001 through No. 374 on Dec. 18, 2008. The archive continues here on the public site, but only Premium Site members have access to all those historic issues.
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