Cool pic but I think blurring the mountain looks a bit crap. I reckon it’s a tilt shift style effect applied afterwards not using a tilt/shift lens – I think CS6 has a new tool for doing this. It seems to be getting massively overused at the moment on all sorts of pictures that don’t really suit it.

Do you get free socks with it?

Picture is from Strength in Numbers sequence

Whilst I believe Dirt was a much better mag in the days of 4130 it is still one of my favourite bike mags. Mark & Chris Noble and their team were publishing visionaries. Factory media doesn’t have them same magic.

One frustration with Mpora/Factory Media (Dirt, BMX talk & MX Trax) is how far behind they are in making their web content mobile device friendy, namely IOS. They really are missing a trick with the DH world cup coverage not working on IOS devices.

Picture is from Strength in Numbers sequence

Yep, for all those saying it doesn’t look like a real angle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c7EcnG5p4g&t=3m52s

I dont like it. Its trying to be all things to all men.

The mini profiles on the 3 contributors made me gip.

It was also more advertorial in content when it should be articles.

The products reviewed of old have been reduced to a tyre and pedals. Forks? Yeah let me get 2k out.

Short conclusion is it would look good to leave lying around for nonbiking mates to see. No thanks.

Ah well – sorry Hora.
For me, there’s something about the photography and general attitude that inspires me a bit more than the others.

It just reads and is geared (more) towards product sell than the old Dirt. The old Dirt (to me) came across as championing products they found worked and to a smaller part to fresh goods.

It seems they have wiped out all the race content and most of local trails/content. I don’t think although the paper quality has gone back up, its lost

Its soul.

It’s never been the same since Paul Roberts stopped writing for them.
That was about soul.

What a strange discussion this has turned into. The trail is of course genuine, I’ve ridden it. I suspect the blurry mountain top was done to make the title stand out more.

I like Dirt, it’s visually brilliant with superb photography. They are having a tough time because they have to compete with Vital and Pinkbike which I think is why they have changed the direction a little bit. Nice print mag which is good to look at and more content on the web.

Kye Forte[b]Paul Roberts[/b] k`in rules! 8)

bought every issue of Dirt from issue1 (must be 17? years 😯 ) but finally had to admit it had lost almost everything I ever liked about it sometime last year, bought a couple of issues since (old habits) but they just confirmed what I already knew..
still find the odd interview worth reading and the website’s still v.good!

Wideopen covers all the stuff that used to make Dirt good

I like Dirt how it is now – it’s the only MTB mag I read (Sorry, ST). It just seems to cover what I ride most of the time, a mix of Enduro-style XC, DH and just some good old pissing about in the woods. Good pictures, decent reviews that actually give you an impression of how the bikes ride (not just 5 stars to the highest bidder) and decent coverage of local scenes.

Superficial I imagine the Bothy story was an encroachment onto ST’s territory.

decent reviews that actually give you an impression of how the bikes ride (not just 5 stars to the highest bidder) and decent coverage of local scenes.

what? like.. needs a shorter stem/wider bars, would be amazing with a CCDB or doesn’t quite match the Geometry of an Orange?
Reviews in Dirt have on the whole been laughable at best.

I actually find Enduro style XC (and gravity enduro) duller than old skool XC to read about. and in pics it mainly looks shite..