Just thinking…..are they on their way out? Most stuff can be found on the net, I’ve found more interviews with music artists in the last week online than are ever covered by the mags. It’s nice having something tactile and all, but at over 4 quid a pop how long does the industry have left?

Just like this guy predicted:

I don’t seem to be having any luck finding naked laydeez on the internet, so I guess it’ll have to be magazines for the forseeable…

Sat trying to read the latest MBR.

Test of Boardman and Genesis hardtails. Conclusion: buy a full susser instead.

It’s the worst edition of any bike mag I’ve ever read, including the copy of Dirt that someone bought me once.
Never again do I buy this rag.

I actually feel violated by it’s utter crapness.

I don’t like reading lots of text on a screen. I hate reading extended text on a phone.

I do like taking a mag, for instance, on to the toilet with me – I wouldn’t want to take a laptop, tablet, etc, into my unhygienic bathroom.

Mag have their place – it’s about time they realised that all the ‘news’ was available weeks earlier on the net, though.

And as far as this:

but at over 4 quid a pop how long does the industry have left?

it’s only £4? Hardly going to break the bank for something worth reading?

The mag market is looking pretty healthy at the moment, judging by the numbers on shop shelves. Reports of their demise may still be a little premature.

The mag market is looking pretty healthy at the moment, judging by the numbers on shop shelves. Reports of their demise may still be a little premature.

Actually magazine circulations have mostly been falling right across the board – maybe there’s load of mags on the shelves because no-one’s buying them…

it’s about time they realised that all the ‘news’ was available weeks earlier on the net

Yes, exactly. They need to play to their strengths. There’s definitely an appetite for genuine, long-form magazine journalism out there – genuinely original stories, investigations etc. The magazine that delivers quality writing and art will get my subscription. The bottom of the market – your Chats, Nuts etc – is suffering but ad revenues at the very top end – Wallpaper etc – are up so far this year by 15-20 percent. And the number of indie mags is exploding – Fire & Knives for food, Port for, well, something or other. People seem very happy to spend £7+ on Ride and Rouleur – and they don’t run crap reviews or old news.

Word and Cycle Active are the only ones I can be arsed with these days.

Even TGO has gone off recently.

I occasionally buy a Linux magazine as it points out some useful utilities that I might not have come across / thought about or titbits of news that I have not picked up as I don’t trawl the tech blogs but at £5 ~ it’s too expensive to make it a regular purchase. I can get good full on text books for £10 – £20 on most subjects

The Ride Journal is fantastic.

BadlyWiredDog – Member

The mag market is looking pretty healthy at the moment, judging by the numbers on shop shelves. Reports of their demise may still be a little premature.

Actually magazine circulations have mostly been falling right across the board – maybe there’s load of mags on the shelves because no-one’s buying them…

That’s what I thought, but then in certain sectors there seem to be new mags every time I look. Running, and outdoor activities for two.

I just found some stats for mag sales and mostly there are large drops in circulation in the last couple of years.

Flicking through What MTB and it really shows why traditional mags of any kind deserve to die. (I’ve only got a sub for the free gift!)

After a 3 page advert article on Specialized 2012, there is a similar press release article for Trek 2012, followed a few pages later by a look at the 2012 Autosag shocks fitted to Spesh bikes, already mentioned in the first advert article. There doesn’t seem to be much riding of bikes at all in these pages, just rehashing what the manufacturers want to say.

For me the icing on the cake is 10 reaons to buy new Shimano XT. Again, no mention of how it rides, but it seems that I REALLY NEED TO BUY IT!!

The issue with this article is this sort of writing: “Braking performance is a dead ringer across all the metrics that most users will care about….” I know what the writer is saying, but if he/she composed that sentence themselves they need to be sacked. If it’s taken straight from Shimano literature, which seems more likely, then it makes the whole mag worthless.

Most bike magazines are particularly rubbish.

How many times can you test and review pedals/saddles/gloves etc.

I agree with TheBrick they also seem very expensive compared to “proper” books, you can buy route guides for between £7 – £10, excellent maintenance info for free on the web, not sure what future they have.

MBUK, MB Action, MBR.. they all do PDF versions and I have loads of them.. found them on free torrent sites..

I bought an MB UK out of guilt yuesterday, it’s them that should feel guilty lol. Worst issue I’ve read in ages. Zzzzzzzz

I agree with TheBrick they also seem very expensive compared to “proper” books,

But now that some paperback prices are nudging £13, £7 for a mag seems cheap. Until you remember it’s not.

I’m not sure whether MBUK and MBR are actually awful, or whether I’m not their target audience. 🙂 I strongly suspect the former.

just had a flick through MBR in sainsburys…..not a hell of a lot in there, another poster mentioned about the hardtail review and from what I could tell it seemed to be a few pages of “they’re ok, but buy a full sus instead”

I only really buy Empire (i like some of the articles giving you an insight into films you love) Wired on a cheap sub although it’s getting a bit too advert heavy, and a random car mag (usually because a paricular car catches my eye) Used to buy Evo regularly but it’s not really aimed at me and my emptyish bank account

The Word and Wired are the only mags I buy now. I have no requirement for new bike kit, and I’m not buying MBUK just for Mint. I read the two I buy from cover to cover, and the free cd always has good stuff on so gets ripped into iTunes. Must have over fifty of them now.