I'm Not Sponsored. I'm An Owner

追加: 2026-05-04

[00:00:00]I'm joining Click Corp as an owner, a shareholder, not a sponsored rider, an owner. There's a lot to unpack here.

[00:00:08]Lots of YouTube creators join companies, they become shareholders, and it just kind of happens quietly. But, I think it's something that actually they should be talking to their viewers about directly. After all, a lot of you trust me, and what do I stand to gain here?

[00:00:23]I'm part owner of a company that makes bicycle valves. Does that complicate things? Well, yes, where valves are concerned, it does. And so, I think it's important to be completely transparent, tell you why I did this, and give you all the information so you hear it from me. So, I'll start by taking you back to before the pandemic, when things were actually a lot more complicated. I had a bike sponsor, Diamondback Bicycles.

[00:00:48]Having that sponsor helped me go full-time on YouTube because they provided steady income, and in exchange, I rode their bikes on camera. And while I could try other bikes and do flip bike restorations, it was still limiting conflict of interest. I felt weird about using another bike, or hey, I kind of want this other bike that you don't make. But, the reality of going full-time on YouTube sometimes includes arrangements like that. But, as many of you know, they dropped me in 2022, and I found myself with zero paid support from the bike industry. But, by that time, I actually didn't need a sponsor to do this full-time anymore. A lot of YouTube creators have to take sponsors just for survival, and so, I could sit on my high horse and talk about integrity or whatever, but it's actually really easy to say no to things when you're already where you want to be. As it turns out, it's way more fun to make videos when you don't have a bike sponsor or a sponsor that's in the industry. I didn't feel weird anymore about featuring all manner of bicycles. I had no conflicts of interest. I didn't need to worry about stepping on my own toes. That since then, I have done sponsored videos with tourism agencies and camera companies, but none with actual bike companies. I don't need to. I don't want to. Over the last decade, I've had way more opportunities than just sponsorships, all of which I have turned down. People have asked me to join their companies, start companies, invest in my YouTube channel, which of course I refused. I've been asked to be the face behind apps and services, sometimes for equity, and sometimes for guaranteed money. But, all of these offers, when it came time to seriously consider them, they just didn't feel right. See, the reality is I take my silly job seriously. This is a business, and I'm responsible for the livelihood of others. But, if the reward function is maximum life enjoyment, I have no good reason to complicate things. So, why take equity in a startup that makes valves, which are very much bicycle components? So, now I'll take you back to a video I did last year about how much Presta valves suck. And this was made long before I had any affiliation with Click. In that video, I explained history of the three main valve types, Presta, Schrader, and Dunlop, and I laid out why so many high-end bicycles use Presta valves. So, if you've seen that video, you know I went over all the downsides of Presta valves, the poor airflow, the vulnerability, that little tip can bend, you have to unscrew it to inflate it, it wrecks pump heads. Most of you know these things, and actually in that video, I also showed how awesome Schrader valves are. They can now handle just as much air pressure as Presta, and they're more durable. And so, people who are drilling out their rims to install Schrader valves are doing it because of how much Presta sucks. I think those people are actually doing a really smart thing. Schrader valves are good. I also featured in that video Fillmore valves, which are vastly better than Presta, both in terms of durability and airflow.

[00:03:47]But, in that video, I also showed Click valve cores because that was a new option that had just become available.

[00:03:53]Click valves, although they're the same diameter as Presta valves, and you can use a Presta pump head to inflate them, they are not derived from Presta valves at all. And at that point, I had only just discovered Click valves, but I ended up keeping those valves that I put on my bike in the video on the bike, and putting them on additional bikes. Like, all the valves that I had like just to show in the video, they ended up going on personal bikes, and I ended up really liking them. Now, that's actually not out of the ordinary at all. I often test products that I end up liking and using, but in this case, the owner of the company reached out to me, John Quintana. John was different. He wasn't like a venture capital guy or a marketing guru. He was an engineer. He, of course, knew that Presta valves were limited by the materials, manufacturing processes, and use cases of the 1880s, and he wanted to make something better.

[00:04:46]He wanted to redesign the valve. He wanted it to be lower profile, so it's easier to get the pump head on. He wanted a little kid to be able to just push it on and operate the pump. We hit it off. Like, right, we're both nerds, and we both like to talk about the same things. And so, he wasn't sending me sales pitches, but rather like 3D models, diagrams, prototypes that he was excited about. And I know how he felt.

[00:05:11]Many of you can relate to the feeling, the feeling you get when you're excited about something you're working on, and so you start telling, let's say, your wife about it, and her eyes gloss over.

[00:05:22]That's why I have nerdy friends who are programmers and engineers and bike mechanics. It could be anything from like a circuit board to a scratch in my bike frame that looks kind of like a wiener. I've got somebody to talk to about it. So, anyway, back to Click valves. John mailed me some stuff to try out, and he took my feedback very seriously. He wasn't asking me how he could sell more of these, or how people would like them. He was genuinely interested in what I thought of the design and engineering of the pressure gauges and the adapters and the caps that just pop on and off. And as I grew more familiar with the products, the algorithms of the internet threw all sorts of Click content at me. And I began seeing unpaid people, like genuine customers, sharing their experiences.

[00:06:06]Recently, I saw a video pop up where a Click valve failed, and the user reached out to Click with the complaint, and John Quintana, the CEO, personally responded to this customer, and he validated his concern, then going on to thank him for providing information that would make the product better. Imagine that. So, I always kind of realized that Presta valves were bad because I get to use other valve types, like Schrader, on my car or on other bikes, and that experience is always much easier. You just push the head on and hold it there, or flip a little switch, and then it pumps up. You don't have to worry about bending this thing, or bending it back, or the rubber inside of the pump head getting all mashed up. But, with Click valves, the entire experience, from the installation to the maintenance to the inflation, is very different from what I was used to doing for my entire life.

[00:06:58]And it was clear to me that Click valves were growing more and more popular. They were gaining momentum quickly. The ancient Presta valve was finally having like a USB Type-C moment, and I was really intrigued about perhaps seeing this happen in my lifetime, Presta valves getting replaced with something else. Now, more realistically, there will be just a fourth valve standard, uh Dunlop, Schrader, Presta, and Click, but they could take a huge part of the market and make inflation an easier process. But, at that point, I was just kind of observing this happening as a user, uh with nothing really invested in it. And at that point, John had already asked me about different ways we might collaborate, and he never hard sold it or pushed me, but then he breached the topic of actually partnering up. I thought about that really hard because I've always looked for other opportunities, like the Berm Peak Ranger Station. But, while I liked Click valves, and I really liked what John was doing with them, I've turned down opportunities that looked way better than this on paper, but they've always gone something like this. Hey Seth, we have this great product and/or service, and if you come on board, it's going to go straight to the moon. The thing that makes our product better than everyone else's is that you're going to tell people to buy it. I have a hard time being excited about that. To take a product that can't survive on its own merit, and then force-feed it to the people that got you there, then siphon the profits off the top, it sounds like something an influencer would do. And when somebody calls me an influencer, I try to correct them. I'm a creator.

[00:08:36]If I took deals like that, I'd have a lot more money. I might even be retired by now, but I'd also be setting that example for my two children and all the younger subset of my audience that looks up to me. Now, on the other hand, joining Click, I get to be part of a company, but I can help with a whole lot more than just influence because as a creator, my specialty is creating things. I can create media for Click's website. I can create communication strategies. I can create marketing guidelines instead of following someone else's. And at this point, Click Corp looks poised to succeed with or without my involvement. People have been buying these in increasing numbers. The product will survive by virtue of its own merit.

[00:09:18]And so, we have a wildly outdated standard invented 140 years ago, and I can be part of something that might replace it. And so, I said, yes. And so, after all these years, the opportunity I finally said yes to, the one that has a chance to potentially alter a small part of history, is a valve core. And I'm excited about it. I've always wanted to be at the forefront of some cool new technology, especially a technology that can apply to every single kind of bike.

[00:09:48]There's really nothing else out there that applies to every single kind of bike, except for valve cores. Sure, there are tires and tubes and things like that, but they're wildly different in terms of a category that's very much the same across all bicycles, valve cores are it. And so, what does this actually mean from here and for this YouTube channel? Well, first of all, transparency is key here. I have to acknowledge that you can no longer trust my opinion on anything concerning valves. I literally own part of a valve company. Not only that, but Klik licenses their technology to others like Schwalbe and Wolf Tooth and increasing list of brands that are making Klik compatible pumps and accessories. This is the very thing that I've tried to avoid. It's why I now choose sponsors outside of bicycles and components. And so, it's not perfect. Off camera, I'm going to have several additional roles.

[00:10:44]I'm going to be attending meetings about our products. I'll be personally testing everything. I'll be getting these valve cores into the hands of all the right people. And I'm going to be creating tutorial videos for the Klik website and YouTube channel. It's also worth mentioning in a few days I'll be at Sea Otter at our booth. And so, whether or not bicycle valves are super interesting to you, uh this is really exciting for me. It's almost like an additional chapter in my life where I get to start something that could transcend this YouTube channel. Where would I logically go from here? It's not like I've spent the last 10 years in some industry learning the ropes as a marketing manager or something and I have a sweet resume. I'm a YouTube creator. There's only limited things that I can do later on. And so, I either have to keep doing YouTube until YouTube is replaced with something else or I have to look for other opportunities that are worth my time. So, if you're still watching and you click this video to find out what I was up to, I'm done telling you. I'm joining Klik as an owner. It's the first company I've actually been a part of since starting YouTube and it's something I've always wanted to do. It just took a decade to finally find the right opportunity. And so now, if you're still watching, I'll show you how a Klik valve works.

[00:12:01]This wheel has a Klik valve on it and then this little pump has a Klik head screwed into it. And so, I can just push it on and it clicks into place. And then if I press this button, it pumps up the tire.

[00:12:16]Now, let's say you didn't have a Klik adapter on this pump and it's just a normal Presta pump like you would buy at the store or your friend has in their garage. Well, then you can just push it on like you would on a Presta valve and hold it there and it will pump up the tire. The pressure just opens up the valve and you won't get perfectly accurate pressure readings, but you also won't get left stranded because you don't have Klik specific stuff. This is backwards compatible. Okay, now we have a Presta valve installed here so I can show you what the conversion experience is like.

[00:12:49]Let's say you spend $15 and you get the starter kit that has the cores. Well, it's going to come with this little valve core wrench and you can unscrew your Presta valve.

[00:13:02]Then you screw in the Klik valve core and you can literally just do it by hand. You don't need a tool to get it seated all the way there, but if you want to get it extra snug, the other side of this valve core wrench will actually fit around the Klik valve and you can get it really tight. And then you push your pump on and you pump it up. That's literally it. Now, you can get a Klik specific valve stem and there are certain advantages to that that I won't even get into here, but all you have to do is replace the core. It'll fit in any Presta stem and so it's super easy. And there are all sorts of accessories like little digital gauges and analog gauges and conversion kits that will work on any pump or little dongles that you can stick into your air chuck. You can just test the waters with Klik or you can go as deep as you want or you can keep using Presta valves. And if you're drilling out your rims and putting Schrader valves in it, that's fine, too. You don't have to buy them and you don't have to think that they're better just because I tell you to. You can try them yourself or you can talk to others who have actually used them. This is a project that I'm working on because I want to. Some people are going to find value in it and some people will not and that's fine. So, keep using Presta or drill out your rims, get Fillmore valves, I don't care. I want you to ride your bike and have fun. But if you are interested in Klik, both the heads and the valves have been tested to over 50,000 cycles. They're super durable.

[00:14:27]They have great air flow. They do not clog as easily. Oh, and just a side note, demand has gone up a lot and we're having trouble keeping these in stock.

[00:14:34]And now I'm posting this video.

[00:14:37]Uh wasn't ideal, but I wanted to announce it before Sea Otter and so thanks for your patience if you're trying to get these valves and they mysteriously go out of stock today. And so, I'm excited to own part of a really cool company and to steer its future in some small way. But the next video I post is not going to have anything to do with valves. So, thanks for riding with me today and I'll see you next time.