I bought the most recent edition of another MTB mag on Saturday past, as another forum user here said it contained trail suggestions for my relative locality.
Yes, it did, and useful they will be too.

However, after being a reader of solely STW on this subject for so long, I was disappointed by much of the rest of the mag. I now have a renewed appreciation of my subscription of choice.
This other mag seemed like a glorified sales brochure. In fact, now I think about it, and its title, I shouldn’t be that surprised.

This isn’t a rant, or a criticism. Just an observation which I thought I’d voice.
That is all.

You’re right – most other bike magazines are very much along the what hifi/ what car approach, in that most articles are about whether they would buy this item or that item, and which is the best solution to a particular issue (say… needing a new brake). ST isn’t necessarily the best in that regard, but it tends to have more ‘stories’ – articles that draw you in and, despite their rampant typos 🙂 , keep you engaged.
So while I’d turn to WMB or its ilk if I need a new set of cranks, I’ll read ST for enjoyment.

My misses did point out though that STW’s latest menu page looks a bit homo-erotic. “I thought that only men read STW?” she then said…

I see all of the “other” mtb mags as being rather like an Evans catalogue with a few stories added. The stories seem to be written by marketing managers too.

Try reading Dirt, very different, very good.

i love dirt but reading it can be a challenge sometimes…..

“ST isn’t necessarily the best in that regard”

Once you’ve being buying it for a while (say 2 years) I’ve found itd far better for working out what to buy. Over that time most* if not all of what I’ve been looking for has popped up in a review at some point, and the review has actually been useful in deciding what to buy, rather than a glorified spec. list

*though not really true for bikes

I think exactly the same. I guess you’re talking about What Mountain Bike? I bought the current one for the exact same reasons – it features local Glasgow riding.

If only ST had Mint Sauce….

Singletrack is the GQ of mountain bike magazines – WMB/MBUK are aimed at the Nuts/Zoo generation lots of pretty pictures but no substance.

I read drit and st,

I don’t feel the need to read the others, they all look the same month in month out to me, dunno why.

You ought to check out the Aussie MT mags – really good quality. They even have a magazine called Enduro, strangely(!) all about Enduro riding

Ha – you can count on the Ozzies to get straight to the point.

Yeah, I didn’t want to name names re. the ‘other’ mag, but no need now. It’s been done by another poster.

If I were considering taking up the pursuit of MTBing it’d be a great tool to use to cut through the maze of bike types/terminology/budget levels available and to try and narrow down a potential purchase. Once one gets past the beginner stage though, it’s pointless.

Here’s to the substance of STW
(not tried Dirt – yet)

I brought Singletrack this month and have really enjoyed it cover to cover (very rare for me) I get bored easy reading reviews after reviews on expensive bikes but love proper reading about journeys/adventures. Keep it up I say 😀

Occasionally I buy other mags but am often disappointed, maybe its because the first mag I read was ST
Agree totally with Lanesra.. although i suppose i am part of the ‘Nuts generation’ I prefer ST, mainly due to photography and quality of articles.
I also think it embraces all kinds of riding, not just stormtrooper hucking 😉

I love reading Dirt sometimes, but it generally makes me feel like I’m on the outside of a clique.

The articles are written with such an insiders view it’s often like trying to read the scrapbook of a few friends adventures. They refer to people and places by nicknames a lot and mention events that you had to really be at to know what they are on about.

The visual style is brilliant though, amazing photography and design.

i think real riding is better than reading about it and looking at pictures, etc.

Whilst most of them try to appeal to all types of rider, they do seem to have their own individual way of trying to relate to the type of reader they sell to.
Some are stuck up and too serious about the riding, others are trying to be down with the kids like init…..
Very few are about having a laugh with mates, off road on bikes, which is pretty much what we all love to do, this may not seem to give us the ‘oo i must get me one of those’ sales push.
But imho getting us inspired to ride more by having fun doing it will push product sales up.
When was the last time you read an article and just had to get out and rag it stoppid because of it?

I see all of the “other” mtb mags as being rather like an Evans catalogue with a few stories added.

Superb.
In fact so accurate that I am canceling my WMB sub & getting an STW one.
(I usually swap mags with a mate who does have an STW sub)

Whatever happened to MTB Pro.
Oooh, now that was a classy mag.

Someone gave me a US mag recently.
Bejasus what a load of shite.

I had a quick read of Dirt and I found the wacky layouts and fonts etc really off-putting. Seemed like they were trying too hard to make it arty but hadn’t really done it that well. STW is the best of a bad bunch imo. 😛

I think Singletrack is not that great! This forum is great but i think the layout of the mag is terrible.

I have a subscription to Dirt, as it best sums up what biking is about for me, each to their own i guess.

Other mags have their pro’s and cons though. Although i look forward to reading the upcoming review of the new Orange ST4 in Singletrack. I do buy MBR regularly also as i find WMB too Whatcar-like and MBUK is a joke read by teenagers, the fashion pages with Doddy and that Ric beardface are hilarious!!!

they all look the same month in month out to me, dunno why
Cos they are! (I still buy em though)

I love the “help” pages in MBR –
Reader: I’m thinking of buying a singlespeed, what should I look at?
MBR: Don’t buy a singlespeed. Buy something with gears.

Reader (at home, 2 months later): Sorted! Thanks guys!

Still buy MBUK now and then, ‘specially if it has free socks.
Even if I don’t buy it, I read Mint Sauce whilst stood in Smiths, and the Russell Burton/Trail Master articles are usually spot on. I find the photography is excellent and sometimes watching what the kids are up to is quite inspirational. It has also been remarkably consistent over the 15 years or so I’ve been aware of it.

Buy What MTB if it contains something specific I’m interested in buying.
Read MBR in the Newsie, but wouldn’t buy it again after attempting the suggested Nidderdale Route with Ms Spanner earlier last year – way, way undergraded – tears before bedtime etc. MBR now a swear word round ‘ere.

Dirt is by far the best in terms of photography and layout. None of them are really great reads (but then it’s a bike mag – i should go to the library for literature), but MBUK is consistently more interesting and varied than singletrack. Not even looked at WhatMB or MBR for a long while but i am assuming they are sticking to the usual formula.

The photography in Dirt is amazing but I find the layout and fonts used are really difficult to read.

MikeT-23, allyharp — out of interest, are these the routes in the other magazine here? Linky The intermediate route looks the same as one a certain small Trails book … which I rode at the weekend.

Dirt is indeed a good read but the layout is overproduced and very off putting.

MBUK & What Mountain Bike do more often than not share the same content don’t they ? Given that they are the same publishers,Bike Radar etc etc….
Agree with the comments above – MBUK can be hilarious.Colour co ordinated photo shoots with bike & rider in matchin gear.Give me a break.I think it must be my age.Doddy & co mincing about in lime green shorts its just so funny.It’s like looking at photos of McFly on bikes !!!
MBR doesn’t seem as bad & a little more “mature” than MBUK but they do seem month on month to churn out the same old carp.I like how STW have a “theme” each issue with articles based around that.

That’s right ml, that’s the 3 routes there on the BikeRadar website.

I ride everything in the Red and Blue routes regularly but I’ve never done the Classic Ride and thought I should buy the mag as there’s no markings on an OS map to follow.

The red route is the same as what’s in the Andy Mccandlish book. There’s plenty of techy sections missed out from the route though so if you’re ever back around the area I could tell or even show you where.

Just a word in your ear….Doddy and his crew are total bike nuts…they truly live to ride, and actually Doddy really knows how to throw a bike around. He’s really fit too, and an all-round good bloke.

OK MBUK is definately not highbrow stuff, but show some respect. Tym and MBUK defined the early MTB scene in the UK. Ask Chipps and Brant.

Lesson over!

MBUK does nothing for me, but I’m probably not in their target market so I wouldn’t really criticise them. They’re good at what they do.

As for MBR, I have to say I really like it now since they’ve revamped it in the past few months. A big improvement.

Still it’s Singletrack that does it for me every time. MBR might tell me how to strip down and rebuild a reaar mech, but it’s Singletrack that’ll tell me what whisky to drink after a ride.

Funny, there’s a very simlar thread on BikeRadar at the moment (get’s coat and leaves….).

I actually subscribe to MBR & WMB and do tend to read them cover to cover,just subscribed to ST as well (DD form’s in the post guys), been buying it regularly for the last 2 years so thought I’d save a bob or two.

Singletrack is definitely the thinking rider’s mag, the complete opposite of MBUK which I can’t stand. I do like the bike / lifestyle articles, definitely something the others don’t do well (or at all).

Dirt’s the only one I subscribe to

ST has a lot of articles that realy dont go anywhere, occasionaly ammusing, but not realy life enriching, i’d rather go for a ride.

Dirt on the other hand i a proper pick up, make a pot of tea, grab some biscuits, read, then go out and ride like a lunatic for an hour.

As ST likes to give a persona to everything;

ST: mocachocafrapachino with skimmed lacotose free organic virgins milk
Dirt: Lion bar and a cup of tea
MBUK: Refresher bar and IrnBru

And ST’s photography is pants! Even the cover shot usuay manages to be badly lit and out of focus, i dont want to ee rider pootling allong singletrack, i want to see them on the edge, drifting a corner, my dad could probably be the cover star on ST!

Mistercrud – I am not disputing Mr Dodd & Co’s ability to throw a bike about or indeed MBUK’s place in the scene here in the UK.I used to buy it back then when I was 14 & on my Muddy Fox Courier.The point I perhaps should have said,like kennyp has,that I am not their target market so this is why the mag probably annoys me.The topic is open for discussion & as such everyone can air their opinions,not that any of it matters really.
Appreciate your point but I won’t feel “dressed down” by it,if that’s ok.

“He’s really fit too” – Oi Oi Saveloy… 😉

ST and Dirt for great pics. The best full stop.
ST for articles; was talking in work today about how Dirt has gone seriously downhill (no pun) since it went from bi-monthly to monthly. Lots of pics, but not enough good articles. I can understand how people think it’s cliquey.
MBUK; Doddy and his gang may be into their bikes, fair enough, but the little blurb about each tester is crap. One of the riders used to come into the shop I work in, and with supposedly “10 years of mean and low DH action” he didn’t know how to change his pedals, and I’d never seen him on the trails.
WMB is just shit.

Interesting lesson from Mister Crud.. if it really is Pete himself .. then no doubt MBUK have not done you too badly either over the years.. nice to see ya fella how’s life these days aint seen ya for eons….

I only read pro cycling, for all other information I rely on STW (seriously!)

You ought to check out the Aussie MT mags – really good quality.

I thought the exact opposite when I lived there (3 years ago mind). They seemed really badly written, laid out, and basically the same every month. What was the mag ,australian mountain bike, australian mountainbiking, mountainbike australia? (that bunch all looked exactly the same, every month) that had the dedication to “the glory of the lord Jesus Christ” or somesuch looney Hilltop church bollocks in the back of the mag every month?

ps, if anybody wants a copy of issue #1 of “one” mag (tiny contentless AU singlespeed vanity project), it’s yours for a fiver.

Shinsplints if MrCrud says MBUK is the one then im with him!

Pete Tomkins was the messiah of MTB when i was getting into riding, the crud truck, the coyote ultralite thrown in the back of the convertible…MBUK all the way

However i havent read it since it told me how to cook beans on toast i must admit……….