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I can't believe people think dirt is good. Absolute krap just full of pictures and ads. Everytime I buy it I wonder why.
FYI - due to being exceptionally bored at work this month I've bought singletrack, WMB, Dirt and I'm subscribed to mbr & mbuk
For me new product releases, industry news and reviews are what I find most interesting.
This month WMB wins it with I'm sad to say MBUK second
won't be renewing my subscription. The rock climbing article really was the last straw. I buy a mountain bike mag to read about mountain biking. There are plenty of other outdoor and rock climbing style magazines out there if thats what you want to read about.
I want inspirational articles that make you want to get out and ride, that challenge and inform you about what's happening and that are light hearted appraisals of life as a mountain biker.
Singletrack did all that for me when I started reading just over a year ago, so much so that I decided to subscribe. Hasn't happened for a few issues now which is a real shame.
i just wanted to add to this that today i ate some uncle bens microwave mushroom rice for my lunch.
by the time i had microwaved for long enough to be warm in the middle, the top had gone dry, the mushrooms had a muddy bitter taste to them and i found the fact that some of the plastic packaging had melted extremely off putting, as such i will not be eating it again.
rjj - Member
I too like the non bikey articles - in fact I would like to read a magazine that covered a variety of outdoor pursuits/adventure type of things instead of just focusing on the one discipline - anyone know of anything like this?
Just recently relaunched here in Norn Irn- [url= http://www.uberdogmagazine.co.uk/default.htm ]Uberdog magazine[/url]
Doubt it's available off the shelves over there, but covers multi-sport activities including surfing, kayaking, mtbing.
I thought it was a good issue and even suggested to another independent magazine editor that he check it out for some inspiration on how to improve his mag! The columns really set it apart from run of the mill magazines. Dirt is good but too far skewed from my riding to be relevant to me. I strongly recommend the full blown digital subscription, if you're a new-ish reader the years of back issues are awesome.
Who gives a flying **** about whether you are going to buy the mag again?
Forums already have a reputation in the industry for being full of opinionated w@nkers and i'm sorry to say that some members of this forum are are satisfying this reputation, maybe i'm one of them.
If you don't want to buy the mag then don't but please don't chelp on about it on here, what do you want to achieve from it?
Singletrack guys - ignore this bollox and carry on the good work - drop the 29er and singlespeed shit though 😉
And whatever you do don't allow the idea of forum contributors to edit the mag, it would definitely be a pile of shyte.
Perhaps the critics could actually state how they would make the mag better or they could always **** off and try and create their own but i doubt they'd succeed.
I gave up my gym membership last month. I did not feel the urge to tell the world about it.
i ve nearly finished the mag and have to say i m happy with most of it.there are always going to be bits you like , bits that you ve read before( just tweeked slightly)and then the fluff to fill the pages. but they make a fairly good job of it. it must be hard to find new ways of saying, " we got a bike of some sort and rode it in the mud somewhere.you should try it, it`s fun. "
What's wrong with saying something is rubbish? If someone said that to me I would either fall over and cry or MTFU and try a bit harder. I want to like the mag but when I read it it makes me feel too much like the early middle age dad I am instead of a rad dude which I like to think I am in the forest tonight on the new trail I made.
Hey.
Do you think I should sign up for the singletrack news letter?
I can't seem to get a straight answer anywhere!
Is the news letter any good?
Why not advertise Kaesae, instead of using your feral tactics, you'll probably get your own copy of the mag
I want to like the mag but when I read it it makes me feel too much like the early middle age dad I am instead of a rad dude which I like to think I am...................
That struck a chord and made me smile 😆 😉
colnagokid
I'll take that as a no, you can't give me any advise!
I'm a climber and Mountaineer (and occasional rambler), I read everthing in issue 57 except the climbing article, I suppose because I thought that a climbing article in a bike mag would probably be crap (a bit like watching a Hollywood montaineering related film). I'm now curious to see whether it reads as "twee claptrap", so I'll go back to it. STW peeps will think it unfair of me to assume it would be crap, but call it human nature, I'm a bit ashamed that I judged and didn't bother.
Overall, the other arcticles were good tho.
I bought the mag for the first time this month, and I found it...alright. I've never had any interest in climbing so that was wasted pages to me, but in a similar vain I've never bothered with a car article in a grot mag and I still bought them.
there really are some ****s on here.
I normally only buy out of date magazines for £1 each, 3 for £2.50, from the market and I have found that STW is the best of the bike mags.
STW had an offer on at Enduro 6 last weekend, a free T shirt, the current issue and the next year's worth of issues delivered for £15, so I am now a premium print & on line subscriber.
I haven't got a letter P next to my name yet though. 🙁
STW is the best of the bike mags.
+1
and not because I'm bumming anyone up for a free t-shirt or cheap subscription.. it just suits my tastes is all..
I have only bought 3 issues I think. Partly because I haven't known about the mag for that long and partly because I'm usually skint. I have really enjoyed the ones I have bought and found them more interesting and inspiring than other mags. I like the way they don't give stuff marks out of five and just say if they like stuff or not and it's all very unpretentious. I like the stories in it about peoples adventures.
I offered to write for STW some time go (or at least I think I did, I certainly meant to...) but heard nothing. I wonder why? I can write nicely when I try. The magazines out here seem to think so anyway. Hell, I even wrote for Kerrang once and they paid me. A girl called Scarlet something-or-other was my sub-ed. Hot name 🙂
Anyway Chips, if you'd like me to drag your readership back with something stunningly interesting and not in the least confrontational on MTBing in SE Asia, just yell. I'll do it for a years free mags mailed to me out here. Oh, and you have to say, 'Thank you, ro' on this forum 🙂
All mags have good issues and bad issues. Dirt has gone downhill recently and MBUK has been tosh for year.
The OP is allowed his opinion, not a Police State yet. However I disagree and thought this issue was pretty darn good. Keep it up STW staffers.
I'm just upset that the competition deadline was before the mag came out 🙁
BigBikeBash - MemberI am sure we can persuade WorldClassAccident to write one of his funny articles, possibly about this years Big Bike Bash.
What do you reckon, possibly a couple of free tickets for some competition winner?
No, **** off.
DezB - so it wasn't just me that noticed it.....
what a crap thread.
If you don't like the mag don't buy it, it's that simple. What i find strange is that you feel the need to tell the world of your decision? we're not interested.
we're not interested.
don't you mean [b]you're[/b] not interested ? You can hardly speak for everyone!
Fine, I'm not interested.
I still don't get it, Why feel compelled to tell everyone when a quick email to the editor may get better results. At least that way you guarantee the target audience is interested.
It's still a crap thread.
To be fair I'd like a mag that
don't patronize the reader
and is correctly written.
I know I should be the very last person on this forum to criticise the STW tower for their grammar and spelling, but, as I read a consequent amount of books/scientific articles/reviews I always find the bike mag to be on the weak side of the english language.
Then lets face it people, there is so much you can talk about bikes without repeating yourself. I think 6 numbers a year is enough. Plus the mag has always been a bit niche. So you won't find articles or reviews that will help the jo average reader (actually IIRC chipps said once that st market wasn't the joe average reader, but the bloke with several bikes that has been riding for a while).
I always try to go and buy magazine when I go on a train or a plane journey. But I always end up buying books or comics.
So thoughts for a next issue stw why don't have a novel about bikes? By a proper writer 😀
What i find strange is that you feel the need to tell the world of your decision? we're not interested.
Well if no one on here told the (singletrack)world what they were thinking the forum would be empty. The OP's entitled to his opinion and all-in-all this thread has been 'interesting' and worthwhile 😆
Well I'm enjoying this thread....
saladdodger - Member
Strange realy the mag realy supports this forum, so no mag sales no forum
If that's true, why the massive column of ads that you can turn off if you're a Premier member?
big_scot_nanny - Member
My mate, patent lawyer, imediately picked up on grammatical errors when reading it in my loo. Bad use of their, there, they're etc.
<pedant> I find this annoying too. </pedant>
Seriously though, if you're a professional writer with an editor overseeing what goes into the mag this sort of thing shouldn't really get through to print. Even running it through the grammar checker in Word would be a start. 🙂
For me each issue of the mag seems to have less and less that I want to read. Got half way through the climbing article and got bored, read the singular test cause it looked like a nice bike. Didn't go near the rack test, ferrentino article, fitness article as I find these articles boring usually or badly written. The interview I can't be arsed with as it will likley stop mid way through with the rest available online.
If I could be bothered cancelling my subs then I would. It just doesn't do it for me anymore, although that say more about me than the mag.
I think there is only so much you can say about a mountain biking and the mag is running out of ideas. DIRT does have one advantage in this regard in that it focusses on the DH racing scene which by it's very nature has a constant turnover of fresh material, news, reports and stories.
Brilliant mag from nice REAL people but could do with lots more single speed stuff. Special section for us SS freaks YAHOO !!! Lets all agree to disagree and feel the STW lovrve.... Forums are ace places 😯
I’ve got to say I feel the OP is entitled to their opinion, and entitled to post it (trolling or not) on an open forum, the magazine should be open to criticism, it amuses me that some of you believe this forum is “Paid for” by the Mag, I think the banner ads and the mugs with a “P” next to their usernames are probably the main source of it’s funding…
While Singletrack isn’t the worst Comic by a long way it’s probably not the best either, I’d buy it over and above any of the various offerings from future publishing, but I do find it a bit thin for the price, I’m a very infrequent purchaser, and tend to do so on a whim only if something on the cover really interests me….
It’s certainly nowhere near the levels of illiteracy and piss poor graphic design on show in DIRT, if you fancy a giggle I highly recommend picking up an issue.
I think if the OP means business he shouldn’t just cancel his subscription and chuck a quick post up on here, he should write a polite but strong email/letter to the editor, explaining exactly how he feels the magazine has failed to meet expectations and how he feels it could be improved, Nothing posted on any forum anywhere is ever taken seriously, but direct communication will at least be looked at….
Writing about your disappointment in a magazine on it's own forum?
Where would be a better place to post?
[i]but could do with lots more single speed stuff[/i]
It's a bike with one gear I can't really see what lots more ss stuff could involve. I ride ss and it's not that different that you could write lots about it.
I must agree that the magazine has lost it ways recently.. recent issues appear to be very low on quality content, and photographically other mags have come on a long way.
I must comment that the mag appears to be full of slightly overweight middle age men, trying to pretend they are still in their early thirties. The people reviewing bikes and products look like they have no fitness and a total lack of style on a bike.
When looking for guidance on products and bikes to but I would much rather have the advice and guidance of former pro's as per most road bike mags.
It’s certainly nowhere near the levels of illiteracy and piss poor graphic design on show in DIRT, if you fancy a giggle I highly recommend picking up an issue.
Possibly true, but it does seem to have a passion and raw enthusiasm that STW struggles to match.
But could do with lots more single speed stuff[i]
There is loads of stuff you could write about SS…nice people, SS beer drinking, SS events, SS clubs, SS parties, SS drinking parties, SS products the list is endless. You could do a whole double page feature on “ single speeders being gods” etc etc
I buy the mag every month and normally enjoy most of it. It helps that it normally arrives on the shelves near pay day as well. However flicking through this month's mag it doesn't look like a vintage month.
The 29ers review may be interesting, but I'm not likely to buy one, so personally it's a waste of pages.
ANY review of something as boring as car racks will be boring as well. Can we have a bolt review next month? Or valve caps?
Route guides are always rubbish imo, in any mag, because they almost always stick to the well worn 'classic' rides in any area.
Any fitness article could be replaced with - RIDE MORE EAT LESS. Endless articles saying the same thing. All of this info is on the net anyway, as are most interesting route guides.
What made me depressed this month was 'Down The Local - you don't always have to look out of town to find fun trails'. Is it my imagination or is this article regurgitated every month or thereabouts. Even the beginning is almost a cliche - 'Quietly spinning down the beautifully skinny.....'. I HATE these articles with a passion.
The mag now feel very formulaic to me. It seems to have covered the same ground over and over since the first issue. As someone above said there isn't a huge amount to write about MTBs, but I personally think that ST is missing out a lot as well.
I've got plenty of suggestions, as I'm sure others have, but this thread isn't the best place for them.
tommid - Member
Why bother starting a thread like this? Attention seeking? Piss off to Bike magic or bike radar.
It's called having an opinion, whether you agree or not.
I don't recall him telling anyone to piss off?
and the mugs with a “P” next to their usernames
<waves>
<blems>
[i]There is loads of stuff you could write about SS…nice people, SS beer drinking, SS events, SS clubs, SS parties, SS drinking parties, SS products the list is endless. You could do a whole double page feature on “ single speeders being gods” etc etc[/i]
You're joking, right? People who ride singlespeeds aren't a special breed, they ride a bike with one gear, it's no big deal.