CyclingTorrents

Introduction

Why is it that finding high-quality sports torrents is so hard? Seeing how popular sporting events are, one would think that they would be much easier to find on torrent sites.

Sure, you won’t have too much trouble finding particularly classic historic events, but these kinds of sites are much less reliable than a real hardcore fan requires. As popular as the sport is internationally, it just doesn’t seem to attract a ton of torrenting attention for one reason or another. Maybe the core demographics of cycling and torrenting just don’t have enough overlap.

Whatever the reason may be, it doesn’t change the fact that there is a need for us cycling fans to find a solid resource for cycling torrents. Well, as luck may have it, I just so happen to have the perfect sports torrent site for serious cycling fans. Allow me to introduce you to the very aptly titled private torrent tracker for cycling enthusiasts known as Cycling Torrents.

Torrents for all forms of cycling – It is much more than just a cycling torrent tracker, though. Cycling Torrents is also an enthusiastic, friendly, and helpful community of fellow cycling lovers. With an active and resource rich forums section on the site, you can chat about anything from classic races to bike tech. Cycling Torrents is the perfect community for the cycling fan and avid cycler alike.

For those of you thinking, ‘okay, this sounds too good to be true … what is the catch?’ well, you would be right to be slightly suspicious. Unfortunately, as is the case with any private torrent tracker, you can’t just go to Cycling Torrents and start downloading files today. It is going to take some planning. Invites on this particular site, even though there are 74,000 members, are somewhat hard to come by. And the site does not do an open registration window as some other private sports torrent sites are known to do.

Invites are very difficult to come across – How, then, are you supposed to get an in when it comes to this site? Well, there are a few ways. First, you have to know somebody who is a member in good standing. Actually, that person would have to be considered a “power user” by the site. Then, they would have to submit a request through admin in order to receive one invite code. So, unlike other private sports torrent sites, unfortunately, members cannot simply earn invites via donations or bonus points or anything like that.

Having said that, though, Cycling Torrents does have a bonus points system. However, points do not earn users invites, only upload power, custom titles, and things of that nature. So, as you can see, Cycling Torrents is one of the most exclusive private torrent trackers on the web. They claim that there is a system for invites being developed currently, though, so time will tell whether Cycling Torrents becomes any more accessible or not.

You could always try your hand at scoring an invite on Reddit. Who knows, r/Invites might have a power user or 2 that are willing to go on a limb for you. These users will likely want to see that you have managed to maintain solid stats on another tracker, though. So, if you are just starting out in the world of private torrent trackers, you will likely be hard pressed to get an invite to Cycling Torrents.

At any rate, let’s delve into the site and see if it is even worth all of the trouble in the first place. Before you go out searching for that coveted Cycling Torrents invite, let’s see if this private sports tracker is the right fit.

Design

Private sports torrent trackers seldom have impressive site design. Cycling Torrents is no exception. The best way for me to sum up Cycling Torrents’ sites design in a word would be, “mediocre.” It is efficient enough from a utilitarian aspect, but it offers little to nothing as far as user experience is concerned.

The site looks dated, as many sports torrent trackers do. Like it was designed in the mid-1990s and has not been updated since. I understand that these sites exist for free and survive on nothing but donations mostly, though, so I won’t count this too harshly against them. In summation: the site is easy and effective enough to browse and find what you are looking for, but don’t expect to be wowed by site design here.

Content and Features

As I mentioned before, Cycling Torrents has a ton of torrents. This is pretty on par with many private sports torrent trackers that I have seen.

As far as the kind of content that you can expect to find here, the site offers a broad range of classic & royalty-free cycling content. You will be able to find classic & royalty-free road bicycle races, cross, BMX, MTB, track, and triathlon.

Although securing an invite to the site is rather difficult, the good news is that maintaining a solid ratio is fairly easy. There are plenty of free leech torrents here (more than 10% of them are so, actually), which will enable you to download content with no risk to your download/upload ratio. Furthermore, content is very well seeded, resulting in quick and easy downloads.

Another positive aspect of Cycling Torrents can be found in its active forums. The community of this site is friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic. As I mentioned earlier, the site is comprised of cycling fans and actual cyclers alike, and there is a forum for everyone. Whether you want to chat about track cycling, training strategies, classic road races, or how to repair an 11-speed bike, you will find a thriving community of likeminded cycling fans here.

Mobile and Desktop Experience

Although, naturally, I would much prefer it if Cycling Torrents had its own dedicated app (especially since it is so exclusive and difficult to join), harkening back to the meager funds that Cycling Torrents has available, of course there is not an app. That being said, the mobile version of the site does work well enough.

It may not be the best optimized mobile torrent tracker on the web, but it gets the job done. If you are ever in a pinch and need to download a cycling torrent on the go, Cycling Torrents will get the job done.

Pricings and Plans

In the true spirit of torrenting itself, Cycling Torrents does not charge its users a dime. That being said, the site does accept donations. In exchange for every Euro donated, users are rewarded with 2GB of upload power. This is a fairly standard rate of exchange. And it is a win, win.

If you do end up becoming a member of Cycling Torrents (and this goes for any private torrent tracker, by the way), I do strongly encourage you to donate. This is the only way that the site is capable of staying afloat!

Suggestions that I have for Cycling Torrents

First and foremost, this site seriously needs to work out some sort of invitations system! The fact that it is almost impossible to become a member of Cycling Torrents is very frustrating – especially since this is such a solid sports torrent site!