When is it due through my door ???

All things being well around the 13th 🙂

Browsing in ‘Smiths/ buying off the shelf lets me decide whether that particular issue is of interest to me that month. I’m sorry to say that sometimes some issues just aren’t that appealing. I know that by subscribing I can just recycle the issues I don’t fancy, but that seems a bit of a waste (especially of fancy thick paper). The cost of subscribing compared to buying at a newsagent probably means I can afford to chuck a third away and still be none the worse off, so why am I bothered? I’m not sure.

What would be really handy would be the ability to subscribe and then pre-select the issues you want each month from the preview put up on STW. You’d pay in advance for 12 issues, but the number of issues remaining available to you would only decrease as you pre-selected. This means you’d only receive those issues that you really want. I suspect this would be a logistical nightmare, technically difficult, and the printers would end up printing the same amount of issues each month regardless, but in my head it makes some kind of sense.

Having said all that, I’m likely to subscribe again (I’ve lapsed) as its too much of a flipping hassle to find a copy anywhere near me (Corsham, Wilts).

Will there be more than 2 bikes per issue as there seems to have been a trend for more and more lifetsyle, riding, people, clothes, chain was, places at the expense of some good old fashioned bike reviews?

There’s always been more than 2 bike reviews in every issue. Typical count is 4. Bike test of three plus a grinder bike review. But Singletrack’s focus has never been predominantly review lead.

Perhaps reveiw isn’t the right word as it doesn’t have to be the standard ‘test’ of something new as I’m not after What Mountain Bike level of lots of bikes but little substance. There is a limit to how many bikes you can test both physically and within the format of ST. But there are lots of folks out there in STW who are either respected or just get on with riding and enjoy themselves, that for one reason or another ride a particuar bike. As much as I like a bike test it can sometimes feel that journalists are living in a different cycling world to the rest of us.

And when will it be available as digital copy please?

Tuesday for Digital

Probably been answered somewhere but if I get a digi subscription can I have multiple copies of the mag on different gadgets? I have a kindle, an iPod touch and pc/laptop. The kindle doesn’t do justice to the excellent photographs but is usefully portable for reading wherever the chance occurs.

Yes.

You have free access to the mag archive. As many downloads of as many issues as you like

🙂

Excellent. Thanks for the swift reply – sub on its way!

Done. Take one off your walk in purchasers and add one to the subscriber list 😀

Great mag by the way.

Welcome to the club 🙂

Mark – Resident Grumpy
Tuesday for Digital

Which Tuesday?

This one by the looks 🙂

New layout looks good 🙂

Didn’t want to spoil the arrival of the paper copy so haven’t read it in detail.

I was EALLY going to try to not look at the digital copy until I’d got the “real” one. But I failed miserably. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the digital copies though they have their uses. I much prefer a magazine. Still there certainly looks as though there is a lot of content in the new issue. Really want to get my hands on the proper thing though.

My copy has just arrived in the post!

Maybe a question for the management. What electronic formats are going to be supported? I see .pdf and flip in the archive, I’m guessing kindle and epub are on their way? Not everything in the archive is in the same formats, what is the intention for the future?

Is there a summary of the pros and cons of each format anywhere?

ePub is on my desktop now. Just adding the cover image and should be ready in an hour or so. Same for Kindle (.mobi).

Some of our older issues were produced with an older version of the Pageflip software we use. We are working our way back and upgrading them all.

ePub versions work best on Apple devices in iBooks but also other eBook readers for Android phones and tablets.

.Mobi is the Kindle format and works on Kindles and all devices running Kindle app software.

PDF works well on tablets running a PDF reader app. iBooks again is great at viewing PDFs although it still doesn’t run Double page Spreads, which is a bugger since we like running images across two pages. There are other PDF reader apps available that display DPS well. iBooks is free though and it also allows you to switch from PDF to ePub very easily as it stores both.

The pageflip version is best used on desktops, laptops etc. It uses Flash so it is not great on Apple devices although it does run a stripped down HTML5 version on Apple devices, but it’s not great.

There is a third party App in the App store that delivers a really nice version of the mag. At the moment that’s a separate purchase although we are working on integrating that into our existing subscription package via this website. That should be sorted for the next issue.

Thanks. Personally I don’t have anything apple for now, or maybe ever. My tablet is a playbook (it was a bargain) and I know there are plenty of others with Android tablets and phones so please don’t get too much of an apple bias.

That range of formats is great though, I will select a reader for my niche device.

ePub version is now there.

Kindle version next

and now we have the Kindle version for you 🙂

Mine arrived today. Fairly damaged – the cover seems quite susceptible. Nothing major, but lots of surface marks on front and back.

Just had a quick flick through – looks meaty. Plenty of nice photos for inspiration. Still looks like Singletrack. Should be good!

Will download tonight – Any recommendations for best way to use on android tablets? PDF in eBook is good but it sometimes locks up on the big photo pages; (As an aside how come some issues are 40Mb and others 80Mb or more?) Adobe reader manages the photos but is not as nice to browse as it just scrolls top to bottom.

Alex Simon +1

Mine has also arrived quite beat up, old version was much more Royal Mail proof it would seem.

Looking forward to having a read through it to see whats new.

I have just downloaded Issue 72 to Bookman to read on the i Pad. A quick flick through and I am more than happy with the contents, both written and pictorial. However, I am a little disappointed that the e format has not changed. I find it hard to read without constantly zooming in to a page, which then loses the flow of text and pictures.

If e publishing is going to be the future then I recommend a look at some of the more innovative e versions of magazines that are currently around, rather than those that just reproduce their paper mag in a PDF. Can I suggest the ST editorial team take a look at Motorsport magazine. Not for the content, but for the layout. The font is all of a god size and scrolls vertically or horizontally whilst maintaining the masthead for that page or section. Multi page articles also scroll vertically. This allows you to move on quickly if you don’t want to read an article there and then without having to flick through the whole piece. Like ST good photography is important and there is the opportunity to zoom in on photographs and lose or gain text. There is even embedded video.

I am not waving the banner for Motorsport here as I am much, much more interested in the content of ST; I can afford a mid-range Cannondale but not a mid-range historic Aston Martin. But, as I say, the ST editorial team may want to take a look for some inspiration as to how to move the magazine onto the next level.

Had a flick through the flippy pages e-version yesterday and it looked ace. Actually seemed much more readable as an online version than I remembered from trying one ages ago.

Paper copy arrived today with no damage. It’s currently sat on top of issues 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Angus,

Agree entirely. Replica mags are not the future of epublishing. You will be glad to hear we are already on it 🙂

First flick through and I like it. Cleaner and more considered. Good effort.

Mark
Good to hear. Thanks for the response.
Angus

Mine landed yesterday.

Loving the layout and the meatiness of it all.

Only concern as mentioned above – the front cover seems susceptible to damage in the post. The old one was much better. It’s good to have the nice clean covers, but not when they’re covered in scuffs.

Oh, and the smaller logo looks as though it’s floating around not knowing where it should be – better a bit more in the corner. IMHO of course.

Just finished work, sat in the back of The Polished Knob reading the new issue with a pint and a packet of crisps.

It’s ace – inspiring, well written, nicer to read, great photos, excellent balance of articles and looks like it should take a couple of hours of solid reading.

Nice to see some cheaper pedals in the grouptest. Was considering cancelling after some of the comments regarding the lights test – those of us with less cash still need recommendations and tests of gear we can actually aspire to own.

I like ST mag, but after my subscription runs out, i can’t see me paying £6 for it. In the current economical climate, i think you are taking a huge gamble putting the price up that much. Good luck though….

It’s only £3.75 per issue if you subscribe 🙂

anthemrules – so why not continue your subscription then and effectively pay £4.30 odd?

Good point speaker2animals. TBH i think there is something missing from the content for me at the moment. Don’t ask me what it is, cos i don’t know. I like to watch XC racing, so maybe a bit of coverage on that…. ? I dont buy any of the other MTB mags as they are too mainstream. I do like the new fitness articles though…. 🙂
I think more articles on the Cape Epic/Trans Rockies/ Trans Alps/ Trans Fats would make it more complete for myself.

Had a good read last night. Very impressed with readability (black writing on white makes it look sort of spacious and easy to read as opposed to white on black or – shudder – writing on a photo). Articles are well balanced over subjects and held my interest.

A review of saddles (hint) would be nice as I’m thinking about getting a new one 😀

Or you could do a monthly review of training guides (e.g. AQR/UKBikeSkills or something similar).

Size is also good, sort of between old Singletrack and “The Ride” so easier to hold.

A lot of thought and work has gone into the new mag, and I hope it pays off. I’m now moving to a print sub as opposed to a digital one. 😀

Only concern as mentioned above – the front cover seems susceptible to damage in the post. The old one was much better. It’s good to have the nice clean covers, but not when they’re covered in scuffs.

I think the cover will age gracefully. The glossy cover sort of went tatty round the edges, while scuffs look kind of classy and antique.

Nice to see some cheaper pedals in the grouptest. Was considering cancelling after some of the comments regarding the lights test – those of us with less cash still need recommendations and tests of gear we can actually aspire to own.

I must be even lower down the bike-cash scale, as I thought the flat pedals were all expensive ones 🙂

I read mine in the bath, so electronic versions are not so necessary to me, though for a long trip abroad I might well download a couple of copies.

If I’m honest, the much-vaunted increase in paper quality isn’t a huge benefit. It’s a magazine, not a book – I don’t expect to have to treat it in the same way, and the fact that it won’t lie open flat is a bit of a PITA. For me, it’s an additional cost which brings absolutely no benefit whatsoever, though I admit that I may well be in the minority here.

For a relaunch issue, I was expecting a little more in terms of content. Perhaps that’s unreasonable, but the ‘dream bikes’ section seemed like the sort of filler you’d expect to see in a slow month, and had no place in what should have been a top-of-your-game issue. To add to this, the standard of photography was extremely variable – as ever, some was stunning (Wet, Wet, Wet really captured the gloomy mood, and the fatbike pictures on the beach were just lovely), but others (particularly the Cannondale Fulcrum on) just had me scratching my head, perplexed.

The fatbike feature really stood out for me. As a hitherto ‘haterz’ (that’s what da kidz say, right?) of these clumsy beasts, this article proved to be something of a Damascene moment for me, because I really want to ride one now.

Oh, and on a design point – PLEASE stop putting full stops in your titles. It’s not clever, and it looks amateurish. And if you are going to do it, at least do it consistently.