The first issue I bought was 45. Mainly because I am interested in Photography as well. I do feel the quality of the images are generally
of a higher standard than any other mag. And I particularly enjoy the
photo-stories a la' 'Jackie'.

Just don't feel there are enough of them..

This month I are mostly reading Dig.

So having found time to have a flick through … I liked the sound of an interview focussed issue but found the reality a bit disappointing as per Yardleys previous post. There have been some great in depth interviews in roadie mags like Rouleur, Cyclesport et al but we never seem to get the MTB equivalent. There must have been a cracking multi-page opportunity with WTB for instance.

Not read any of the travel stuff yet – I like reading the foreign stuff but it often seems to struggle to rise above "what we did on our holiday" level.

That sounds a bit moany doesn't it – reading it has made me want to clean my bike and get out in the sun, honest!

Just to add something more positive I had a look at the previous few issues to point out what I particularly liked.

* Skye High – The riding looked fantastic but it particularly appealed to me because it's scotland
* Lest We Forget – a bit educational
* Blame the Dog: Virtual Expert – quite amusing and we've all seen it on the forum!
* Stolen Singlerack – something many of us have experienced
* Fell runner vs mtb
* Half grand test – I like reading more about the cheaper end of the mtb market as it suits my wallet better
* Chipps' One Ton Test – the best article I've read in a while!
The beginning is the end is the beginning – I like old vs new

In general I like Grinder – it's good to see short to the point reviews of a variety of kit
And route guides obviously appeal to different people depending on their geography, but I always read each one

I always enjoy reading articles about riding in different places, after all Norway isn't an obvious mtb destination. Applied to the U.K. too.

The photography seems to be a bit disappointing these days, possibly not as 'arty' as it used to be? It always used to be so inspiring.

It's good to read articles with a different slant, ie fell runners/mtb as mentioned above. I particularly enjoyed Benji's article "Lest we Forget" from the August edition. Most interesting, more please!

I just don't get Mike Ferrentino's writing these days. I believe his first column for the mag about night riding in the U.K. was brilliant but seems to have gone downhill since then!

The reviews are always worth reading as sometimes they are not mainstream brands so useful to know what there is out there.

Polite request – can the quirkiness be bought back please?

STILL no issue! 🙁

Some editions are better than others.

I'm a fan of the more esoteric stuff.

This months was good (but not great) for me. I like Ferrentino though.

I don't like the foreign places stuff (or the UK trails really) unless I'm personally interested. I sorta liked the Oregon thing because I'd like to go there (ever since seeing it Roam…) plus US microbrewery beer is great (which was a real shock to me in Co).

The only other mtb mag I really buy regularly is Mountainbike Action. The only other one that I actually like is Dirt (but i'm not a downhiller so only pick it up occasionally).

All mags always get repetitive if you buy them all the time.

not the best mag they have done but still a good read and loads better than some of the other rags (wmb, mbuk etc). and its way better than the local option here in Norway (terrengsykkel).

i enjoying reading the thoughts and ramblings of other bike people.

Attainment = C+
Effort = 3
Can do better (usually do).
Weak interviews – too brief.
Pointless 4 pages of small uninteresting + badly printed photos p112-116.