They probably could have changed it to an annual as far as I’m concerned- I’ll read it when it arrives, (and appreciate the work in it!), but I’ve never sat at home twiddling my thumbs wondering when the next issue’s going to drop through the door.

+1, I’d actually quite like an annual. Something book length and really worth reading.

Ride guides*, travel stories*, opinion pieces and maybe a small selection of really good (and good value) kit they’ve tested rather than a full write up of every pair of socks.

*If they’re well written, I’m sorry but some simply read: We arrived at the car park and unloaded the bikes and that industry guy showed up with something news o we cooed over it and eventually set off because it was raining up the first hill which was hard work because it’s a hill and it’s the first one and we’d not warmed up just like last month and the view at the top was worth it but it was cloudy so it wasn’t and we ate fig rolls and rode down the hill which too 34 seconds longer than usual because someone was being retro and using a fixed seatpost which we’ll bang on about for the rest of the article and then we ate cake and drank tea from pint mugs whilst posing for photographs in the cafe and then rode back again.

And for travel guides the same, but repeated 3x times to cover the trip and bookeneded with a rant about budget airlines and how much you hate airports but on balance it’s worth it.

I went digital only (adding a digital grit.cx sub at the same time) a while ago, but honestly can’t remember when I last read it. There were a few issues that I skimmed through, but haven’t read any of the last three or so.

At the moment, the monthly cost is small enough that I can’t be bothered to cancel and the lack of adverts on here is worth it, though I don’t know how long that will continue.

Started reading Chipps’ doom n gloom about print and thought, oh no here we go.. then 6 issues a year. Jolly good! I never finish them in time for the next one anyway. 😆

I went digital only… a while ago, but honestly can’t remember when I last read it.
Would be the same for me. I stare at a damn screen all day at work, so the last thing I want at home is to read stuff on a screen. (reading the forum is different, of course!)

Would be the same for me. I stare at a damn screen all day at work, so the last thing I want at home is to read stuff on a screen.

I read on screens at home all the time.

My attention span is better when I’m reading something in print rather than on a device. My Kindle is an exception to this probably because it’s single purpose, but a Kindle edition of Singletrack would suffer when it came to photos.

Having a physical magazine also reminds me that it’s there and I could read it. Digital only would disappear into the big virtual pile that consists of all my unsorted emails and my browser’s enormous random collection of bookmarks.

I switched to digital after not reading the paper magazines.

I’m already anxiously waiting for the new issue since it seems like ages since the last one, so I’m a bit disappointed about the move to fewer issues. Reading the mag is what inspires me to ride my bike and I need regular inspiration at this time of year.

I said it before on a previous thread, I would have preferred to see more issues but on lower quality paper than fewer issues on high quality paper. As the price of an individual magazine goes up, I feel less inclined to recycle it as it feels less like a disposable item. I understand that’s what some people love about the mag, but I find it a pain. I still have copies of Privateer lying around the house that I can’t bring myself to putting in the recycling bin, nor can I give them away. That’s not what i want from a magazine.

All this will be promptly forgotten if, as Chipps suggests, the quality of the content gets better. That’s the true measure for me.

A question for Mark or Chipps if they’re on this thread: what magazines *are* doing well and why are they successful? I love Top Gear magazine, for example. It’s not fancy paper, it’s full of adverts, but the articles are – in my opinion – very well written and there’s plenty of variety. Is that an example of a mag where car makers are willing to splash the cash on adverts still?

seems like a great solution to me too

I think that 6 fatter mags will suit me better. I’m never sat by the letterbox waiting for arrival. Kind of will make it more special, like a periodical journal than a straight up magazine.

Personally I wouldn’t mind if they went back to ” ordinary ” paper , wouldn’t that be cheaper ? I’m not bothered about thick smelly paper .

All for less in theory of better quality and a return to quality articles, as there has been a decline. STW standards were incredibly high, just feels it has dipped.

Personally I will keep subscribing as it is about the whole package of STW especially the website.

Feeling left out now – where’s my e-mail 🙂

Ha, yup no email here either. TBH less copies for increased content is fine. Just don’t end up like WhatMTB which is now just cr#p.

Been getting ST since issue 1. Quality in the last year has been distinctly up and down. Low point was the recent Howgills article, covered many times before and dragged out to something like 10 pages. Mostly photos, but not one photo that actually captured the essence of the place (big brooding grassy dinosaur clump of hills).

On the other hand, the recent Tom Ritchey article was great and deserved more detail.

No problem with 6 monthly, just keep the content good.

Another happy chappy here. Seems a sensible solution to the problem. I hate digital reading, love a nice quality magazine.

I suspect Cyclist may go the same way

Slab like six ok with me too

No email here either.

I remember chatting with Chipps after a Sideways Cycles night ride around the time of issue 6. He said they only produced a new issue when they’d done enough riding and stuff to write enough interesting articles to justify a new edition.
I thought that was a fine principle.

Whatever works for the magazine. Print publications are really suffering and as long as we can keep STW going in print form the better.

Was wondering why this year’s calendar didnt have the issue dates on them (really liked this feature on previous copies) so guessing this has been a while in coming. Was also wondering why this issue has a 2 month gap. I guess as long as the content is good I’ll still be happy with the publication, i could go without the fancy paper but this feature also makes it stand out a bit. Good luck with the new format STW