[Closed] Issue 72 - Relaunch - NOW IN MAGARCHIVE

£6 for a mountain bike mag?

Yes, or £4.38 if you subscribe. Or go digital and get it for £2.50 on Desktop, Laptop, Kindle, iPad, Smartphone etc. Plus all the other benefits. 😀

good luck with it 🙂

Must say Im enjoying reading the Armchair articles download. Great to have them all in one place. Reading them with the Kindle App on my new android tablet.

Highly recommend digital subscribers download it from the Mag Archive.

Thanks Stoner,
Glad you're enjoying the eBooks - we'll be producing a few more Subscriber exclusive eBooks soon, so good to get the feedback.

I do occasionally pick up ST in my local shop, but 6 quid for a mag? I will give the digital sub a go...

I pick up my copy in WHSmiths so this is going to be extremely prohibitive now for me. I'm not an oldie but I just prefer my reading material to be tactile/held and turned. After all, most of my mags end up in the bathroom (next to the bath etc) so electronic is out.

Funnily enough this is the first mag hora junior picked up on our recent mag trip (well that and a Tank Engine one) 🙄

[img] [/img]

Why not just subscribe? No. I like to take a trip to HMV, the coffee shop then WHSmiths mag buying every month. I never subscribe to anything because if I suddenly get a couple of really slim issues (read Dirt recently when they also ran parallel a special mag) then I'd feel inclined to feel robbed.

In addition (I've said this before) - having the mag in shops means theres more pick up rate for new readers who will casually trial then become readers. Replacing those that 'drop off'/churn rate.

If its more expensive less people will pick up and decide to buy then read and become hooked on their first issue..

Why can't I download blame the dug to my kindle?...It apparently doesn't support multiple windows.

Hi Duckman,
Sorry about that - I've fixed it now and also changed the PDF links to so they should be accessible to Kindle also now.

The PDF's however can be a little unwieldily on the Kindle so probably best to stick to the text formats.

The way mags are sold is changing rapidly though Hora. The picking up the odd casual new reader in a shop comes at a very high price. In our case the 50% wastage is costing us upwards of £40k/year. When we were selling twice as many mags in shops as we currently do that was a financial model that just about worked but for us and hundreds of other publishers it just doesn't stack up any more.

We get 700,000 users per month right here! If just 5% of those decided to subscribe I'd be browsing through the catalog of caribbean islands* on which to build my palace 🙂

*the anthrax specials

patrick - bit more feedback...

ist it possible to have the article name at the top of each page (in something like armchair where its mainly text) so that you can flip through articles to their ends etc?

Savings and price rises. Read it three times and still can't see a good justification. That's not going to win this ex-subscriber back, sorry.

Some more feedback, for what it's worth............

Like hora, I'll miss buying the mag. Same reason - tactile, portable, non-screen. I spend too much of my life looking at ******* screens, and I'm not going to relax in bed with something else that goes bleep and hurts my eyes! And that's without the complaints from my poor wife!

But TBH (confession time) I have never bought Singletrack that often. That's because I don't buy it for bike and kit reviews or news (the other main 3 are far better at stuff like that) - I buy it for existential trail musings and above all, for the amazing pictures. There have been some simply stunning images you guys have produced - quite heart stopping. Reminds you of 'those' moments on rides.

.........and here's where we maybe link up with the future. You could produce and develop your photos and images and moving images on screen better than in print. You could become really cutting edge in this regard, winning praise from arty lovies as well as gnarly MTBers - and making trail moments into art attracts far wider attention from folks who've never previously considered riding a fat tyred bike on bumpy ground. Thus we increase ridership and also readership.

So will I start taking the Android tablets? Probably not, but I might go for the odd clip, link, or electronic exhibition - and in that context the subscription deal does look good value. The LBS connection also looks promising.

But guys - at risk of being a total pedant, please try and write good plain English (spot the unasked for apostrophe in para 4 of the 'front page' above.) Mmnnn......maybe it's me who should become 'resident grumpy'?

"The economy is in the bin".

Comes across as Ben Elton, "Bit of politics".

Yet the magazine and website do little more these days than promote product and consumerism and new kit and kit reviews. What happened to the good reads? Where's the breaking news and inside track from your industry connections? Total lack of any coverage of whats going on at Maverick recently (flavour of the month, issue 6) is a case in point.

Nice one Patrick,thanks.

Mark, can you have a nearly new section for one issue old mag?

Obviously I wont name names etc but I bet the distributor (big cut) and a certain large chain asks for a very competitive buy in price)...so I can see where you are coming from

I'll definitely be subscribing, been meaning to do it for months, just need this as a kick up the backside to do it.

I used to read MBR massively, every month, switched to Singletrack and haven't looked back. Why? Because I have the bike. I have the kit. I have the know how. Now I want to go ride it - tell me where!

The pictures are stunning and the routes make my mind wander about future holidays for hours. Please keep it 80/20 with routes to kit/reviews etc. as ST is just not that type of magazine. Clearly you aleady know this - new riders are not walking in and picking up singletrack off the shelves, the majority are experienced and therefore know what they want.

Just subscribed after months of meaning to get round to it and never quite remembering - thanks for the kickup the @ss!

I think its a brave move by you guys to go down the road you've chosen, it seems to make sense though and I really hope it works out and the mag stays as brilliant and inspirational as it always has! 😀

£6 is a quid less than I paid for a copy of The Ride, which lasts a damn sight longer as a read.

I'm a digital subscriber who occasionally buys the hard copy mag. I think digital will be fine once you've ironed out the wrinkles, but for now I still can't get half of issue 71 to even display on my iPhone 4.

Hi Bol,

We've had a few issues like yours. The best we can make out its an iBooks issue. It's been reported on the apple support forums too. There's things you can do to fix it though. Delete the file and redownload it. When it looks like it has finished downloading, wait a few minutes before you click the 'open in iBooks' button. It seems to need some time to 'assemble' itself in the memory of your phone before you transfer it from your browser to iBooks.

Hope that sorts it for you 🙂

Thanks Mark, I'll give it another go.

I recently cancelled my subscription after a disagreement.

The changes make it less likely I will read the mag as a casual sampler.

Oh well...

I simply can't wait for the "new" format, I love the tactile feel of a quality book or magazine and also being a bit of a tech geek I download the mag to iBooks too (useful for when I'm working away). Reading the above posts, I guess you can please some of the people some of the time etc.....I'd like to say keep up the good work. The only thing I'd like to see more of really is perhaps more race/event reviews and results.

almost took a sub at last years Scottish Bike Show, but didn't have my account number on me (not on my card) I like the mag and do buy every issue, I think a subscription is calling. £6 is a lot though. For six quid I want wallpaper for mountain bikes.

Subscribe before 3rd April and you get 8 issues with digital option for £30. No wallpaper included.

Well a freepost envelope from me is winging its way to STW towers.
Been on here for ages, but never subscribed.

Well as somebody who doesnt have the technology to read the thing electronically,eg tablet,kindle etc, just a old desktop, and have no cash to buy one,and wouldnt read a flat version on a screen,haveing an electronic version is pointless for me and probably a lot of others.
I will most probably buy the new issue, but will just browse the next issue after the huge price rise at Wh smith or the local bike shop, if they actually sell it.

I also have no idea why thicker paper, using more of a natural resource is going to make it more saleable, but then im not a media type.

But saying all the above, the singletracks i have bought in the past have been great pictures, quirky writing, and thankfully not an advert on evry page, like the other toilet mags.

So best of luck with the birth of the new baby.

The eventual £35 for 8 issues equates to £4.38 per issue, which is cheaper than the current £4.50 cover price. And that includes postage. Not forgetting that there's lots more to access as a subscriber on this site other than digital versions of the mag. Digital or not as a subscriber you get the paper mag cheaper than any other reader.

As I said in the story on the front page, we are focussing all our efforts on making the subscription option the most attractive way to read Singletrack, regardless of the digital options that are available on top.

Subscriptions are efficient, high street sales are not.

Of course the other route we could take is to cut back on print, including paper stock, and develop more digital only products. A thinner mag on cheaper paper would also be a pragmatic option to adapt to the changing market conditions.

We decided that wasn't the Singletrack way
🙂

I don't mind spending just over a pound a month more (less then a half pint in London!) for a magazine that is a LOT different from your typical mtb magazine. I'm not suggesting this is better or worst then others I just feel this is the way I like reading about mountain biking and I will continue doing so. I like the philosophy behind this mag, the fact it goes beyond just reporting about bikes, bikes and errrr, yes, just bikes. It is giving more space to the original philosophy of mountain biking, the feeling nature can give you (one thing a lot of us take for granted!), the beers after a ride and the good food you're looking forward to while shredding the last bit of singletrack, the laughters with your friends after a glorious day! Sorry to sound cheesy but for some people out there this formula works phenomenally and subscription or not subscription, six quid or not six quid, I'll keep on buying this one. Remember, just half a pint a month less...
eric.

I tried the online sub for a year and didnt renew.For me there is no substitute for a good mag that can be picked up at any random moment and eventually pressed into service as recreational reading for all by the potty or simple passed on to your mates

Subscriptions are efficient, high street sales are not.

But with subs you are guaranteed your money before the magazine is printed, so better for the cash flow.

But a printed mag is better than an e edition as you can passit on put it in your library, take it with you for the routes, and even recycle it.

As a long term subscriber, I can't justify spending so much on mag subs.

I'm cancelling mbr.

nick3216 - Member

£6 is a quid less than I paid for a copy of The Ride, which lasts a damn sight longer as a read.

Good news issue 6 of 'The Ride Journal' is out. It has gone up to £10.50 a copy!

I'm looking forward to seeing and feeling/hefting the first new edition

A casual browse of most newsagents suggests that most magazines are around the 35 mark and the 'high quality' (well in look / feel, can't comment about content) seem to be £8 upwards. So, A nice quality copy of Singletrack at £7 would appear comparatively good value in the market. Anyway, as a long time subscriber it's not something I'm worried about!

New subscriber here. Hadn't bought the mag in a shop in ages, but suddenly felt motivated to subscribe once I read about the changes and the rationale behind them.

To be honest it's worth the money just for access to all the digital back-issues. And if £40 up front helps a little to keep the magazine in business and people in jobs then it's well worth it irregardless of the quality of the mag.

In the last year I have seen beers that I regularly drink in regular pubs go up from £2.40 a pint to £2.70, some I drink in other regular haunts are £2.90 now, sometimes £3.00 and more.

While this argument won't persuade the nay sayers have a look where you do spend your money. I did an exercise last year with tea bags. For quite a few years I have been buying supermarkets own brand tea bags, though not the cheapest range "to save money". I bought a box of 80 in October 2011 and put a little note in my caddy with the date on. They lasted until early this month. So I was basically saving about a quid over the brand I really wanted in roughly 3 months. 30p a month! That is the amount PER pint I am paying extra in my local since Feb last year. Where can I really save money.

As said this won't convince the nay sayers but for those of you who are on the fence worrying about the new price. Have a think about where else you spend money. The store mag is increasing what £3 per issue so a little under 50p a week? If the new mag lives up to the promise couldn't you really drink one pint less a month to save up for the extra cover charge?

Looking forward to recieving my newly subscribed to magazine through the post. I've been getting singletrack for the past 6 months and it just makes sense to subscribe IMO. The most unique mag out there in regards to mtbing and just the right mix of awe inspring pictures, thought provoking and funny articles and not too much tech and gear reviews but just enough for the geek in me.

Keep up the good work guys. 😀

i subscribed last week, new mag at old price #win

When is it due through my door ???

All things being well around the 13th 🙂

Browsing in 'Smiths/ buying off the shelf lets me decide whether that particular issue is of interest to me that month. I'm sorry to say that sometimes some issues just aren't that appealing. I know that by subscribing I can just recycle the issues I don't fancy, but that seems a bit of a waste (especially of fancy thick paper). The cost of subscribing compared to buying at a newsagent probably means I can afford to chuck a third away and still be none the worse off, so why am I bothered? I'm not sure.

What would be really handy would be the ability to subscribe and then pre-select the issues you want each month from the preview put up on STW. You'd pay in advance for 12 issues, but the number of issues remaining available to you would only decrease as you pre-selected. This means you'd only receive those issues that you really want. I suspect this would be a logistical nightmare, technically difficult, and the printers would end up printing the same amount of issues each month regardless, but in my head it makes some kind of sense.

Having said all that, I'm likely to subscribe again (I've lapsed) as its too much of a flipping hassle to find a copy anywhere near me (Corsham, Wilts).

Will there be more than 2 bikes per issue as there seems to have been a trend for more and more lifetsyle, riding, people, clothes, chain was, places at the expense of some good old fashioned bike reviews?

There's always been more than 2 bike reviews in every issue. Typical count is 4. Bike test of three plus a grinder bike review. But Singletrack's focus has never been predominantly review lead.

Perhaps reveiw isn't the right word as it doesn't have to be the standard 'test' of something new as I'm not after What Mountain Bike level of lots of bikes but little substance. There is a limit to how many bikes you can test both physically and within the format of ST. But there are lots of folks out there in STW who are either respected or just get on with riding and enjoy themselves, that for one reason or another ride a particuar bike. As much as I like a bike test it can sometimes feel that journalists are living in a different cycling world to the rest of us.

And when will it be available as digital copy please?

Tuesday for Digital

Probably been answered somewhere but if I get a digi subscription can I have multiple copies of the mag on different gadgets? I have a kindle, an iPod touch and pc/laptop. The kindle doesn't do justice to the excellent photographs but is usefully portable for reading wherever the chance occurs.

Yes.

You have free access to the mag archive. As many downloads of as many issues as you like

🙂

Excellent. Thanks for the swift reply - sub on its way!

Done. Take one off your walk in purchasers and add one to the subscriber list 😀

Great mag by the way.

Welcome to the club 🙂

Mark - Resident Grumpy
Tuesday for Digital

Which Tuesday?

This one by the looks 🙂

New layout looks good 🙂

Didn't want to spoil the arrival of the paper copy so haven't read it in detail.

I was EALLY going to try to not look at the digital copy until I'd got the "real" one. But I failed miserably. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the digital copies though they have their uses. I much prefer a magazine. Still there certainly looks as though there is a lot of content in the new issue. Really want to get my hands on the proper thing though.

My copy has just arrived in the post!

Maybe a question for the management. What electronic formats are going to be supported? I see .pdf and flip in the archive, I'm guessing kindle and epub are on their way? Not everything in the archive is in the same formats, what is the intention for the future?

Is there a summary of the pros and cons of each format anywhere?

ePub is on my desktop now. Just adding the cover image and should be ready in an hour or so. Same for Kindle (.mobi).

Some of our older issues were produced with an older version of the Pageflip software we use. We are working our way back and upgrading them all.

ePub versions work best on Apple devices in iBooks but also other eBook readers for Android phones and tablets.

.Mobi is the Kindle format and works on Kindles and all devices running Kindle app software.

PDF works well on tablets running a PDF reader app. iBooks again is great at viewing PDFs although it still doesn't run Double page Spreads, which is a bugger since we like running images across two pages. There are other PDF reader apps available that display DPS well. iBooks is free though and it also allows you to switch from PDF to ePub very easily as it stores both.

The pageflip version is best used on desktops, laptops etc. It uses Flash so it is not great on Apple devices although it does run a stripped down HTML5 version on Apple devices, but it's not great.

There is a third party App in the App store that delivers a really nice version of the mag. At the moment that's a separate purchase although we are working on integrating that into our existing subscription package via this website. That should be sorted for the next issue.

Thanks. Personally I don't have anything apple for now, or maybe ever. My tablet is a playbook (it was a bargain) and I know there are plenty of others with Android tablets and phones so please don't get too much of an apple bias.

That range of formats is great though, I will select a reader for my niche device.

ePub version is now there.

Kindle version next

and now we have the Kindle version for you 🙂

Mine arrived today. Fairly damaged - the cover seems quite susceptible. Nothing major, but lots of surface marks on front and back.

Just had a quick flick through - looks meaty. Plenty of nice photos for inspiration. Still looks like Singletrack. Should be good!

Will download tonight - Any recommendations for best way to use on android tablets? PDF in eBook is good but it sometimes locks up on the big photo pages; (As an aside how come some issues are 40Mb and others 80Mb or more?) Adobe reader manages the photos but is not as nice to browse as it just scrolls top to bottom.

Alex Simon +1

Mine has also arrived quite beat up, old version was much more Royal Mail proof it would seem.

Looking forward to having a read through it to see whats new.

I have just downloaded Issue 72 to Bookman to read on the i Pad. A quick flick through and I am more than happy with the contents, both written and pictorial. However, I am a little disappointed that the e format has not changed. I find it hard to read without constantly zooming in to a page, which then loses the flow of text and pictures.

If e publishing is going to be the future then I recommend a look at some of the more innovative e versions of magazines that are currently around, rather than those that just reproduce their paper mag in a PDF. Can I suggest the ST editorial team take a look at Motorsport magazine. Not for the content, but for the layout. The font is all of a god size and scrolls vertically or horizontally whilst maintaining the masthead for that page or section. Multi page articles also scroll vertically. This allows you to move on quickly if you don't want to read an article there and then without having to flick through the whole piece. Like ST good photography is important and there is the opportunity to zoom in on photographs and lose or gain text. There is even embedded video.

I am not waving the banner for Motorsport here as I am much, much more interested in the content of ST; I can afford a mid-range Cannondale but not a mid-range historic Aston Martin. But, as I say, the ST editorial team may want to take a look for some inspiration as to how to move the magazine onto the next level.

Had a flick through the flippy pages e-version yesterday and it looked ace. Actually seemed much more readable as an online version than I remembered from trying one ages ago.

Paper copy arrived today with no damage. It's currently sat on top of issues 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Angus,

Agree entirely. Replica mags are not the future of epublishing. You will be glad to hear we are already on it 🙂

First flick through and I like it. Cleaner and more considered. Good effort.

Mark
Good to hear. Thanks for the response.
Angus

Mine landed yesterday.

Loving the layout and the meatiness of it all.

Only concern as mentioned above - the front cover seems susceptible to damage in the post. The old one was much better. It's good to have the nice clean covers, but not when they're covered in scuffs.

Oh, and the smaller logo looks as though it's floating around not knowing where it should be - better a bit more in the corner. IMHO of course.

Just finished work, sat in the back of The Polished Knob reading the new issue with a pint and a packet of crisps.

It's ace - inspiring, well written, nicer to read, great photos, excellent balance of articles and looks like it should take a couple of hours of solid reading.

Nice to see some cheaper pedals in the grouptest. Was considering cancelling after some of the comments regarding the lights test - those of us with less cash still need recommendations and tests of gear we can actually aspire to own.

I like ST mag, but after my subscription runs out, i can't see me paying £6 for it. In the current economical climate, i think you are taking a huge gamble putting the price up that much. Good luck though....

It's only £3.75 per issue if you subscribe 🙂

anthemrules - so why not continue your subscription then and effectively pay £4.30 odd?

Good point speaker2animals. TBH i think there is something missing from the content for me at the moment. Don't ask me what it is, cos i don't know. I like to watch XC racing, so maybe a bit of coverage on that.... ? I dont buy any of the other MTB mags as they are too mainstream. I do like the new fitness articles though.... 🙂
I think more articles on the Cape Epic/Trans Rockies/ Trans Alps/ Trans Fats would make it more complete for myself.

Had a good read last night. Very impressed with readability (black writing on white makes it look sort of spacious and easy to read as opposed to white on black or - shudder - writing on a photo). Articles are well balanced over subjects and held my interest.

A review of saddles (hint) would be nice as I'm thinking about getting a new one 😀

Or you could do a monthly review of training guides (e.g. AQR/UKBikeSkills or something similar).

Size is also good, sort of between old Singletrack and "The Ride" so easier to hold.

A lot of thought and work has gone into the new mag, and I hope it pays off. I'm now moving to a print sub as opposed to a digital one. 😀

Only concern as mentioned above - the front cover seems susceptible to damage in the post. The old one was much better. It's good to have the nice clean covers, but not when they're covered in scuffs.

I think the cover will age gracefully. The glossy cover sort of went tatty round the edges, while scuffs look kind of classy and antique.

Nice to see some cheaper pedals in the grouptest. Was considering cancelling after some of the comments regarding the lights test - those of us with less cash still need recommendations and tests of gear we can actually aspire to own.

I must be even lower down the bike-cash scale, as I thought the flat pedals were all expensive ones 🙂

I read mine in the bath, so electronic versions are not so necessary to me, though for a long trip abroad I might well download a couple of copies.

If I'm honest, the much-vaunted increase in paper quality isn't a huge benefit. It's a magazine, not a book - I don't expect to have to treat it in the same way, and the fact that it won't lie open flat is a bit of a PITA. For me, it’s an additional cost which brings absolutely no benefit whatsoever, though I admit that I may well be in the minority here.

For a relaunch issue, I was expecting a little more in terms of content. Perhaps that's unreasonable, but the 'dream bikes' section seemed like the sort of filler you'd expect to see in a slow month, and had no place in what should have been a top-of-your-game issue. To add to this, the standard of photography was extremely variable - as ever, some was stunning (Wet, Wet, Wet really captured the gloomy mood, and the fatbike pictures on the beach were just lovely), but others (particularly the Cannondale Fulcrum on) just had me scratching my head, perplexed.

The fatbike feature really stood out for me. As a hitherto 'haterz' (that's what da kidz say, right?) of these clumsy beasts, this article proved to be something of a Damascene moment for me, because I [i]really[/i] want to ride one now.

Oh, and on a design point – PLEASE stop putting full stops in your titles. It’s not clever, and it looks amateurish. And if you are going to do it, at least do it consistently.