I really like the bike show articles. It's all new shiny stuff innit? 🙂

Way better than all those bloody inteviews in the last issue. I've opened it twice to read the other bits, glanced at one inteview and chucked the mag on the coffee table where it's been ever since… Worst issue ever, IMO.

FWIW I hate the bike show stuff, talk about yawn inducing, but I simply decide not to read it. I can see the rationale behind attendance at such shows but it doesn't translate to good copy – for me anyway. The same happens whenever you pick up a newspaper or other magazine, there's always going to be stuff you flick through, ignore etc and I can live with it.

As far as listening to your customers is concerned, it always pays to listen to everyone and be courteous in your communications with them. Having re-read Mark's comments I don't think they were "off" in any way, just factual. Whether he might have dealt with it another way maybe by private email and in a more conciliatory style is a moot point… he seems to have lost a customer though which is bad news.

I don't read the mag as much any more, it arrives on the doormat and is often unopened for days but, I suspect, it is more to do with my changing appetites rather than stylistic or content issues (except for the occasional duff publication). I continue to pay my subs as it helps pay for the site which has become part of my work time ritual!

Like the show coverage, but I like shiny new things. Even like the videos. Even enjoyed the lastest copy of the Mag, I thought most of the interviews were pretty good, and liked the SRAM one, getting all the different viewpoints on the new XX stuff was cool and interesting.

Interbike TV has some good stuff although is a bit cheesy in places

http://www.interbike.tv

ok then most people are happy with the current mag
must just be me and a few others
ill move on then 😯

Your right the mag could be better but nothing to do with the 'jetting' off to shows.

God, it must be a nightmare having to put up with stories you dont want to read on a FREE website!

This seems to get thrown about all the time whenever people have a grumble about stuff – not just on this forum on almost every forum I frequent.

The whole basis of the web was free access to information – if you are complaining about the fact it is free and people are complaining – make it a subscription service so they have to pay to access the info – that will of course mean that when someone does complain you will have to do something about it as they are paying…or they will stop paying and go elsewhere.

I don't see the issue myself…free website, yes they all are for the end user unless it is a paid-for service – so it doesn't cut it to use it as some sort of questionable retort.

This is apparently the busiest MTB website in the UK – probably due to the never ending forum interaction…the articles do seem to get read but if the issue is that it is free the answer is simple – charge for it and then see how many folk you have to 'please'…

I know the original poster of this comment doesn't work for the website but I'm bored of reading this as some sort of reasoned argument…

Well, the site isn't free anyway, it is paid for by the advertisers. Yes dear website users, you are the product being sold, same as on commercial telly.

As the Show stories tend to be among the most read stories they are not going to stop doing them because a few people find them a bit dull and samey. I suspect there would be someone from the mag at them anyway, for schmoozing, lining up new toys for reviewing in the mag and generally reminding people in the bike industry that they still exist etc. They have got to have general coverage to appeal to a wide range or readers, and their coverage has been better than Bikeradar's.

Yeah the last mag was a little bit weak compared to some, mainly because the interviews were a bit variable. I would have liked a fewer interviews in a bit more depth, especially Mark Weir. Given how long he has been involved in cycling a good, in depth, interview could have been very interesting. Still better than anything Future and MBR are currently doing though.

Ok … I feel a long post coming on… Sorry 🙂

So Easygirl.. Have you calmed down enough to apologise for calling me a **** then? 🙂

As is always the case the reality is a little more complex than most people realise. That's not a negative reflection on anyone's comments on this thread as I've just gone through the whole thread and said,' Yes! That's right' to a great many of the comments that have been posted from both sides of the argument.

There's a big element of 'networking' that happens at these shows in addition to the coverage. I'm about to track down someone at Velonews when I'm done here (sitting in the media centre in the middle of the show sipping my free coffee) to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with reader coverage ie business stuff. And yes.. this is a business and we really don't want donations. This thing has to standup all on it;s own without charity as has been pointed out, which does mean that I too cringe a little inside when I see the 'It's a free website so….' argument. Everything on it is free for you the readers to browse through and we have to try and hit that magic sweet spot where we appeal to the maximum number of readers within our market. Since there are over a quarter of a million people who browse this site every month we are always going to have a large group (albeit the minority hopefully) who will not like what we do. That's just the way it works.

The little videos we do are not slick or high quality, but then that's a pretty deliberate policy. There are a lot of people posting a lot of content very quickly on the internet from these shows, which is a direct consequence of the publics' demand for content NOW! I have next to me here a canon video camera with remote mic and image stablisation software that produces very good footage. Chipps and I are planning on doing some reports today using that. We both (in fact all the singletrack staff) have Flipcams in our pockets. These are the size of a phone and have a big red button on them. You point and press the button – it records. The whole camera just plugs into a USB port and in a few minutes you have some clips ready to go. It's quick – not high quality. The canon is high quality but by no means quick to produce. It's a simple compromise between convenience (every staffer has a flipcam) and quality (We have the one canon camera and it takes two people to produce quality footage). That said the video clips are intended to be more fun and an extra to the more detailed reports from the shows. Some don;t like them. many do. Some would argue we could double our product coverage reports if we didnt do them. Others would prefer some element of silly fun to the reports. It's all about riding bikes after all.. That's fun. right? 🙂

We always listen to our critics. We've had some rather stern faced meetings over the last issue of the mag. It was a worry to see all the negative comments although we have also been rather cheered up by positive comments too. It appears it was a marmite of an issue. But a 50/50 split is not good enough for us and we are going to try harder to make sure we don;t get the levels of negative feedback we have got recently. It was something rather alien to us and it was quite worrying.

So, in short, we will never please you all. We will strive to please as many of you as we can. That's my promise 🙂

Right, the fact I'm going to see a Vegas show tonight (don;t worry… it's not on expenses) has helped me get over waking up to being called a **** and now I must leave and go and do some 'business' in order that we can keep doing this thing we do (that is a great bloody job by the way – I'm in Las Vegas FFS!). Chipps is taking pics and getting the stories right now. More silly videos to come too.

Cheers all.

Mark – now we have your attention…

Like a few others, I mainly subscribed to the mag in order to subsidise the running of the forum. As has been said above, I usually see the mag arrive, unwrap it, and think "I must get round to looking at that". Usually, I never do. However, are the two entities actually self-financing?

Time was, the magazine actually made more reference to the forum too, but that seems to have diminished. I wondered if there was a rationale behind this

mark,
you have still missed the point
im not complaining about the content of the web site, im not complaining about the content of the web site
there said it twice then you may understand it.
The question related to a large proportion of STW staff being tied up covering trade shows, when the quality of the mag was declining.
your initial reply came across as dismissive and rude to me
i was only questioning the quality of a magazine that i pay for every month, and have enjoyed immensley in the past.
have a good night you waaannkker

ok, apologies re the waanker comment

Easygirl.. I'm going to assume you missed the smiley off that last comment 🙂

OK let me clarify.. being here in Vegas has a real and very direct link to the quality of the mag and the entire business behind it. This year far more than most. These shows are not just about the coverage for you guys although that's important too and if we weren't at these shows there is no way the mag would improve.

Is that clear/
You tart!

😉

im not complaining about the content of the web site, im not complaining about the content of the web site
there said it twice then you may understand it.

He was responding to more than you in his last reply, I know it's hard to imagine the exists a world outside easygirl land but you really must explore it some time.
Oh and suspect you may now find you're having time out out or at least I would have thought so.

i was responding directly to mark, not anyone else.
but thanks for pointing out the obvious again, what do you mean by me having time out, you have lost me

I'm sorry I thought this was a public forum.

Insisting on calling Mark a **** I'm surprised he hasn't put you on a temporary ban, I guess it must be good coffee.

mark,
sorry forgot about the smiley 🙂
this thread started off as as genuine question regarding the quality of the magazine, and was not intended to turn into a slanging match
but in true forum style, certain people twist and turn things around and before you know it the whole question almost becomes irrelevant.
never mind,

Yes.. lets put the name calling on hold for the time being eh?

🙂

Ok here's my bit:- I dont regularly buy the mag. (or any MTB mags), but I do look daily at STW.
Sorry, not that interested in a poorly written article about someone and his van/family in the alps. Or about someones "route" when then the main point is that they are the fastest/radest/gnarlcoreliteest.
What I like about STW is the instantish updates from shows where you cant (and believe me) you wouldnt want to go, see whats interesting= as well as some bollox (but fun)
Its not an east job making a magazine everymonthish, evenone as crap as STW 😉

druidh – Member

Mark – now we have your attention…

Like a few others, I mainly subscribed to the mag in order to subsidise the running of the forum. As has been said above, I usually see the mag arrive, unwrap it, and think "I must get round to looking at that". Usually, I never do. However, are the two entities actually self-financing?

Time was, the magazine actually made more reference to the forum too, but that seems to have diminished. I wondered if there was a rationale behind this

The mag and the website will be much more closely connected in the future. It's part of our plan and we are close to launching the first aspect of that plan in the next few weeks.

drac
i would only be suspended once, i use this forum to
relieve boredem at work, its not the end of te world if im banned for expressing an opinion

easygirl-member
drac
i would only be suspended once, i use this forum to
relieve boredem at work, its not the end of te world if im banned for expressing an opinion

would be great if it was the end of you ranting though 8)

a large proportion of STW staff being tied up covering trade shows

Singletrack employ 9 people, plus the new intern and Bert. 2 of those are at Interbike for a week. 2 were at Eurobike for a week. I don't see the problem. But then I like the coverage. And the mag.

Lets face it i doubt there is any magazine published for a interest or hobby that pleases everyone all of the time.
While standards may have dropped for the interview edition in some peoples eyes it may not have in others.
If the mag supports the website then so be it, what if you had a login with your subscription and that was the only access to content/forums ?
Coverage of shows and new stuff to me is part of the interest, reviews, route guides, funny articles – i just think the expectations of something AMAZING on every page are quite interesting. My reading of Cosmo every month throws up very little variance in content in that …. not an excuse just a comparison.
Main thing for me is the chaps read the forum and act on it which may or may not be to your taste. If you can;t accept that your view is not their view then good luck in life because you will be very disappointed a lot of the time.

I very much like the 'handmade bike show' articles of the past, with the 'mental lugs' already described! he he 🙂

I've also been looking at the Euro and Inter bike stuff too, if only to frown dissaprovingly at the latest re-design of the wheel – mostly 😉

The last mag was a bit different to the usual – but it was equally labelled as being so; being an interview issue and all. However, the Oregon article in particular was gold – great pics, more than just riding, and whilst not many of us are going to necessarily jump on a plane and go ride there, it is another perspective, something to dream of and hopefully a bit of inspiration to go ride in general. And that's what the mag should do.

I've written for a mag thing (for a different sport) – tradeshows do take up time when you could be writing, editing, etc the mag, but at the same time, there is down time in airports, on the plane/train/automobile when you can rough out the direction you want a story or article to go, go over the tech info the reps have just given you and work out it's relevance to your stuff and the joe public end user, etc, all things that have to be done in the office too; but you benefit from not having some distractions such as phone calls, or finding an excuse to go make tea and eat cake ;), so it does balance!

Also, the meeting with advertisers and reps to make sure you get test items etc is a big part of it all; the business side of it, which is what keeps the fun riding bikes/skiing powder/surfing big waves/taking photos of hotties in their undies (dep. on your publication, obviously!), aspect going.

I agree that at this time of year show coverage is overkill, but as has been mentioned, it's up to you what you do and don't read on that front.

In regards to the standards of the mag – I don't think it's the shows per se; I think that upping the number of issues per year has had an impact on deadlines etc (obviously) and now that can be seen as the snowball effect has caught up to the finished product; however, I'd also think judging by the comments made in this and other threads that those things have been looked at and seemingly dealt with, so soon we will see it all iron itself out.

There was an article on Oregon??! Damn, missed that one! Actually, I was dissapointed I missed it anyway- I like the sound of an interview edition:)

Off to check out back issues 🙂

I lurve show news – shiney / $$ / etc

Can't afford any of it but that doesn't stop the dreaming!

This thread turned awesome. 🙂

My reading of Cosmo every month

Good on you. You may know naff all about bikes, but I bet you give an excellent BJ. 🙂

You may know naff all about bikes

WEll isn't that compulsory to post on here?

"but I bet you give an excellent BJ. "

Is there such a thing as a bad one?

I really enjoy the show coverage – new bike bits are interesting, and gives me more to aspire to own 🙂 Although i cant be arsed with the videos – leave that to pinkbike and give us decent photos and good text 🙂

Started buying the mag again recently, and i was about to say i thought it had improved from when I last bought it a year or so ago

And bought from WHS! so paying full price too

you whinging gits – its bikes, its gooooooood 🙂

you whinging gits

Pot kettle blakc my dear 😉

Mark – do you fancy doing a review on the Flipcams in the 'grinder', as i'm sure a few of us would be interested as they look just the ticket for a cheap foray into bike videos?

easygirl – Member

drac
i would only be suspended once, i use this forum to
relieve boredem at work, its not the end of te world if im banned for expressing an opinion

Calling someone a **** is not really a considered opinion 🙂

juan – Member

you whinging gits

Pot kettle blakc my dear

Is that the eastern european Ready Steady Cook?

To answer the the original question..

Yes,most of us do like it when we open a mag to see whats new.looking back,this time last year i was going back each day to the interbike and eurobike reports on the forums and i would consider them some of my fav reads/views of the year.its lots of new stuff – all at once. whats not to like? since starting mtbing ive always liked those issues of mags that run page after page of all the new stuff thats coming to us.. along with the weird and wonderful stuff that never will.

The reason i like it.. is because i,and thousands of others on here,have a love for bikes that you dont have right now,and possibly never will have.stick around for a few more decades and it might change.until then,dont moan about a mountainbike magazine covering the best and freshest stuff thats free for you to read about.

Is this the first time you have questioned magazine editors about going to a trade show thats completely to do with their magazine? If you think they can sit in the office and do a better job that all of us just by sifting through the internet and come up with views,opinions and knowledge of how the new bikes work and ride thats one step ahead of us without leaving the office,then yer badly mistaken.

the original post was aquestion to everyone who buys the mag, i was not sure myself, didnt know how many staff were employed, so wanted more info.
i have no problems with the coverage on the web site of trade shows etc, etc, i looked at a few of the reports myself
the question i asked was it affecting the magazine quality, which i believe has been in decline, i may be wrong, but thats my opinion.
i hadnt though about the networking side of att trade shows, which im sure is important,i still enjoy the magazine, but i feel the quality of reviews has declined, for e.g no weights of forks given in last mags test, they are only small things but im my opinion add to the impression that the mag is rushed a little.
it must be very hard to keep coming up with new stories and articles every month, and there still are some great articles, but i dont feel there are as many inspirational articles as before.
i used to photocopy articles and send them to friends they were so good to read, havent done this for a good while.
its not like im slagging the mag off for the sake of it, i subscribe to it every month and have done right from the start, but as a few others have said i usually open it now flick through it then put it down, i used to read it from cover to cover in the early days and thoroughly enjoy most of it.