Just seen a tweet by Seb Rogers and it looks like he’s launching a new MTB magazine. http://www.cranked.cc
With so many road magazines these days it’s great to see another MTB mag. I’m looking forward to seeing it!

Oh man… If it’s at least half as good as Privateer (RIP) – I’m subscribing straight away! 😀

Agreed. I miss Privateer, so I’ll be keen to have a good look at this one when it’s available.

Why did Privateer fold?

A paper mag? Guy has some balls or a lot of cash to throw away. Good luck to him though

It was sad when Privateer went, but not surprising.

Seems daft to start another “paper” mag now.

Why did Privateer fold?

Cos it was made of paper. (See what I did there, eh?)

This makes interesting reading: http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/432-print-magazines-close-in-two-years-how-long-have-print-mags-got

Really not sure why anyone would start a mag made of paper.

“Rouleur” is going quite good, very good paper mag, which I enjoy a lot – despite it is “for roadies” 😉 Privateer had the same publisher and very similar approach to the subject – focusing on people who create the sport/lifestyle, rather than “why you must to remortgage your house and buy the latest carbon wheelset worth more than your bike” 😆

I quite like a print mag. I stare at a computer screen all day at work so the idea of sitting on the sofa with a decent mag and a cup of coffee is more appealing than gawping at an ipad. Appreciate I may be in the minority and can certainly understand why the weekly trashy mags are going online. I miss privateer though.

I’m in the minority I think as I prefer a printed mag to online myself.

Seems daft to start another “paper” mag now.

Given the number of online ‘magazines’ I reciveve and never read, there’s a new one launched every other week seemingly. I’d say it’s a pretty good USP amongst the new magazines.

And as most people have outgrown MBUK, MBR and What MTB are only for people who have never ridden a mountainbike before as their articles seem to recycle on a bi-annual basis.

And I’ve not renewed my Singletrack sub as while the riding was quite relavent to my riding, that kinda made it boring as most of the stories were stuff that I’d already done something similar.

January:
Ride report: “4 blokes go for a ride in the Peak District, they get pinch flats and a bit cold and a bit wet, ride was shortened as they had to stop for photos”

Reviews : Kit you can’t afford, but if it gets less than 7/10 look out for it in the CRC sales in 3 years time.
Travel: Some other blokes do the same, but with more snow and one’s on a fat bike.

March:
“5 blokes go for a ride in the Lake district, they get pinch flats and a bit cold and a bit wet, ride was shortened as they had to stop for photos”

Reviews : More kit you can’t afford
Travel: Some other blokes do the same, but with more mountains and better cheese.

May:
“3 blokes go for a ride in the Brecon Beacons, they get pinch flats and a bit cold and a bit wet, ride was shortened as they had to stop for photos”

Reviews : Kit you still can’t afford, some of it’s anodised purple.
Travel: Some other blokes do the same, but with more sun and they complain about it.

I know what you mean about mags, but if Privateer couldn’t make it work why would any other.

I loved Privateer – writing/photos/lack of ads, but it failed commercially.

Seems to be a sad inevitability. For the very few of us who like a mag and would buy a mag the subscription price is going to need to be very high. Wasn’t Privateer £9 per issue ?

Yup, I have to agree with Gotama, for the same reasons. Although I prefer the decent landscape/scenery type pics on the digi version of Singletrack, I much prefer to slob out with the paper mag.

Having said that, I think it’s a pretty brave (or bonkers?) move to start a new paper mag at the moment (just thinking of ‘Enduro’ magazine and other onliners).

I love printed magazines. I think they struggle to keep interesting when done every month. The news is usually out of date because you’ve seen it on the internet and they struggle to fill the magazines up with new fresh content. But I think there is a lot which works better on a printed magazines, such photos which is what draws me to a magazine.

I cannot read a proper article on a screen, it makes my eyes hurt, and photos look rubbish with eReader type displays.

So good luck to it.

Cyclist is currently the best cycling mag IMO. You could argue it’s a poor mans Rouleur, but personally I think it’s better balanced, while still maintaining a high quality and affordable price.

If a MTB mag could be like Cyclist at a similar price then I’d give it a go.

lol@tinas

but if Privateer couldn’t make it work why would any other.

and

Wasn’t Privateer £9 per issue

Tells a bit of a story.

I’d be interested in a mag with good photos and inspirational articles (which err Singletrack does pretty well), but price has to be pretty keen. I got an electronic subscription to the US mag Bike for £5.99 for a whole year. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but you can’t argue with that price.

Nothing better than chilling out with a hot cuppa and mag.

Everything goes in circles, paper will have its day again. Its a bit like the falling sales in out of town supermarkets. The smaller shops and locals are on the rise again.

I think the dude’s been in the business deep enough to spot the need for a good paper mag! 8)

thisisnotaspoon – 😆 er….it’s not just me then!

I have to admit to occasionally buying MBR just so that I can guess how many times they’ll be ‘bigging up’ Specialized products (anyone’d think their office is within spittin’ distance of Spesh UK HQ).

I’d echo the comments of dragon.

Is it gonna be the sort of mag you pick up free at the bike shop?

They seem to be doing alright, good opportunity for a more regular, less-DH focused MTB mag than Wideopen I guess.

Needs more beards and axes.

Print mags still work for people who don’t like reading stuff on screens, seems a dwindling market but I appreciate still having the choice – so best of luck Seb. Currently, Sidetracked with a cuppa or a train journey or a scotch, worth the sub for a quarterly like that I think.
As much as I love it I’m not sure if MTB has enough content to keep my interest, Privateer managed it (just, at times) but Sidetracked is more interesting. You don’t need bikes to be involved all the time to get the escapism and interest fix if it’s a non-product biased mag, in fact the variety adds to it for me.
And I know it gets the pss ripped out of it but a dose of Bunyan Velo (or Bicycle Traveller) content would be welcome in print, rack-mounted axes and other cliches aside, travel articles simply add so much to what MTB can be.

Although ad heavy, a few on the free online mags are really quite good.
I like enduro and wideopen (yes, it’s a bike mag….) more than any of the current print offerings. I keep buying MBUK, only because it’s all the shops have in stock and I want something to read. It’s rubbish every single time (although nowhere near as bad a whatmountainbike, how that thing keeps going is a mystery).

Could work like “the ride”, which is brilliant: http://www.theridejournal.com/

I was in W.H SMITHS yesterday and was surprised how many different cycling mags were on the shelf,even ones for the ‘urban cyclist’.

Is there anything to suggest that Cranked’s a paper and not an online magazine?

International Mountain Bike Magazine is well worth a read.

http://www.imbikemag.com/issue33/?Cover

As per somebody else has said already, I only read “Cyclist” magazine these days, but then I do spend most of my time on the road bike now. The writing seems far better than in other mags and they tend to find interesting subjects to write about other than the usual endless articles on repeat, (this is not a spoon up there has it spot on ^^^).

I love mountain biking but really, what is there to say about it from month to month? All the places to ride in the UK are well known and I’m not really bothered about the difference between one cycling jersey and another or which hydration pack has a pocket for your credit card. It’s essentially just pedaling your bike up and down some hills in the mud, fun to do but I’m not convinced there’s much to write about really.

@deluded: Only that Seb has said so himself on facebook 🙂

All the places to ride in the UK are well known

Bingo one of the mags currently out has ride around Edale, I have that ride in a MBUK from 1991 and it had even probably been repeated a few times already by then!

Cheers Jb – thought I was missing something.

Well that is good news. Call me old fashioned but I much prefer the heptic feel of a paper magazine over lifting the lid of a lap-top, but then I always preferred vinyl 12″ – although, my music is all digital nowadays 🙁

It’s a brave move.

I love mountain biking but really, what is there to say about it from month to month? All the places to ride in the UK are well known and I’m not really bothered about the difference between one cycling jersey and another or which hydration pack has a pocket for your credit card. It’s essentially just pedaling your bike up and down some hills in the mud, fun to do but I’m not convinced there’s much to write about really.

That’s why you should get one of the Privateer issues (they’re still available) and see how interestingly the subject of mountain biking can be approached. And I hope that Cranked will have that sort of spirit…

Love a good heavy print coffee table magazine – if its £9 an issue then I’ll only buy a couple a year. Privateer was superb and Cyclist is quite good too. I subscribed to Singletrack cos it was £20 and having the ability to access the archive etc is occasionally useful but the mag itself is generally a bit dull purely because as people have said already, riding around in the mud/dirt/dust is what I do anyway. The bike ‘review’s are pathetic, I mean really bad as to be laughable and I use the internet for kit reviews – but if the new mag concentrates on the heritage aspect and properly amazing stories from around the world, not just the editor and his mates having a jolly then i’m in.

Yeah, at £9.00 privateer was just too expensive really. I like Singletrack, and cyclist, the others I only choose for a weekend away or hotel overnight if I’ve not got a book on the go.

There’s space for a decent MTB mag fo’shure, much much prefer print. don’t feel right somehow sitting on the loo with my chromebook!

Yeah, at £9.00 privateer was just too expensive really

The price would have put a lot of people off but when you factor in it was every few months, no ads, beautifully put together and written well. That cost starts to look very cheap appealing at £3 per month.

But then again, that may also be another reason for it’s demise. 🙁

Privateer smelt very nice 🙂 £9 is three pints. I’d rather have a quality MTB mag especially if it’s something different, which knowing Seb it will be. I expect the photography to be stunning and I’d just rather see that on paper. Probably best to let the first issue come out before predicting its demise eh?

Still go back and re-read privateer occasionally. While searching through the archive I found Issue 1 (the first and last) of SHIFT. Anyone remember that?

…they get pinch flats…

Who still gets pinch flats on rides these days?

Other mags are £4-5 now aren’t they?

Anyone remember that?

Still got it – had a Jones review that tipped me past interested into an expensive test ride : )