[Closed] Latest MBR (september) - just not a good mag

I haven't seen that issue, but don't you just get the feeling that we're being resold marketing material (ST excluded of course!).

August What MTB being a prime example of journalists paying Specialized back for their hospitality

I'm starting to make a conscious effort to avoid bikes from manufacturers who have a 'model year'. Its a shame you can't avoid it with the component makers....

....recalls first campag record group set

nah, you're right, it's pish.

Although it's about time for 2010 Specialized to get reviewed if it's not been already, so you can look forward to some gushing 11 out of 10 reviews.

(I should point out I have an Enduro, but don't rave incessantly about it like they do. I'm not paid to do so).

Buying MBR because you hope it will be better? Is that not akin to repeatedly punching yourself in the face in the hope it'll cease to hurt and become enjoyable.

MBR and MBUK are without a doubt the biggest piles of dross printed today. Hell, the Daily Mail is a more informative read.

Most definately "style" (rad! man! yo! gnar! Tilt every picture at 45 degrees for extra "shred"-ness) over substance, although TBH there's so little of the latter, it can't be anything else but.

MBR?

Uninspiring! Looking out my window makes me want to go out and ride more.... has done from the first ever copy.

Zone

MBR and MBUK are without a doubt the biggest piles of dross printed today.

I disagree. Dirt read like it was written by children unable to spell or correctly form sentences. At least the two above manage that successfully (ignoring the huck/rail/gnarly language of MBUK)

In town there's a magazine shop with back copies of magazines for a quid each. I picked up APril MBR there today. Their 'star letter' features the following short sentence, "I had half a day in work, and was home in time to smash some kid's snowman up to make a kicker." So, given that 'Star Letters' are presumed to somehow encapsulate the ethos of the mag and character of their readers, what does that say about MBR and their readers? Total ****s I'd guess.

I find MBUK marginally more varied (and therefore more interesting for 'dipping into') than WhatMTB. Dirt looks great but sometimes the writing is a bit iffy. I used to read Dirt Rag but then realised I was kidding myself that US mountain biking was at all relevant to me. Which leaves, um, ST: sailing on without a map. Hats off!

Edit: I'd like to point out that the ***** was *unts. No other word seemed to do 'em justice on the strength of their 'star letter'.

AlasdairMc

Dirt read like it was written by children unable to spell or correctly form sentences.

That's nice. Dirt is a great read imo. They are passionate about riding and that comes through. I've never read mbr as far as I know, but according to some posts on here I read too much of it. Perhaps it's because I use words to describe things. If mbr is worse than stw then the mind boggles.

I quite like MBR to be honest- it seems to have got its act together with the new editor and layout. The ride guides are genuinely inspiring (I like the Ben Lomond and Peaks guides recently).

I love dirt, it makes me want to ride my bike lots.

ST I don't read much- there's not a great deal in it, it seems all filler no killer these days.

I gave up with MBUK long ago; it seemed to be aimed at children, which is fair enough, just not what I wanted to read. I've heard it's got better. MBR, on the other hand continues to amaze me with the total self-opinonated rubbish it prints. That snowman comment left me bemused really; but each month there are is plethora of tripe; they test the same old bikes with new paint jobs, seem to be in Spec's pocket (I am sure they are great bikes, but no bikes are that good; apart from a 5 Spot, obvioulsy) and seem to have some massive chip on their shoulders re roadies. My favourite gems were the reviews of the Golden Willow, which they did not seem to understand, the Crank Bros Cobalt wheelset, where £1000 wheelsets are, aparently, common, and the classic Leatherman tool review where we were told we must not step outside without one; if I want pliers I'll buy some pliers, not £70 on pliers with extra tools, which I have. I think they need some new blood; or just to stop altogether. Um, that's better, pretty self-opinionated myself I guess.

I stopped buying bike mags a long time ago. It seemed that I was reading stuff in a magazine which I'd seen on the internet weeks before. Not only that I've been biking since '93 and mags seem to be repeating the same stuff every couple of years.....

I find MBUK intolerable. It's always been the same I think. MBR is too cliquey and I find it more of a style over substance lifestyle magazine. Some of the phraseology makes me retch.

STW is the better of them all. Not keen on the Ferrentino column though.

That's reminds me I need to renew my subscription!

disagree. Dirt read like it was written by children unable to spell or correctly form sentences. At least the two above manage that successfully (ignoring the huck/rail/gnarly language of MBUK)

Too true.

Dirt is not a great read anymore, it was alot better 5 or 6 years ago. Maybe they do have a passion for riding but its a very poor magazine and become alot too 'mainstream' and far too many adverts, reviews that don't make sense etc etc.

In the mid 90's i used to love mbuk and mbi (remember that :-)) but i was in my mid teens! mbuk hasn't moved on since then tho, and is too focused on being cool and rad, man. again far too many adverts.

And back to the op's point, the last time i bought mbr i was dissapointed too, i did get a free helmet lock tho 😕 , how useful.

🙂

Oh will you all "just get out and ride" please.. 😉 🙄

I used to buy MBI. Good memories.

Not keen on the Ferrentino column though.

Yeah, it's funny that. I used to enjoy the column he wrote for, um, I forget the name of it, was it [i]Mountain Bike[/i]? The article he wrote for ST about being an American being introduced to UK (Calderdale?) trails was superb but his current ones are like the downward spiral of a man increasingly loathing something he used to love. Actually, that makes it sound as if it's some kind of deep and tragic experience which would elevate it far above the cynical whingefest that it now is.

I have recently started reading Dirt - I quite like it, I find it quite inspiing as I am not really a downhilling freeriding dirt jumping type - I can always dream though. Although the latest issue about Bristol really pi**ed me off (admittedy I was on a plane and airports do have the habit of making me easily annoyed), well just one article about Bristol bravely stating how they'd nick bikes off all-the-gear-no-idea riders and punch people. Hopefully it was toungue in cheek but even so - what a dik.

I liked MTB Pro

FWIW I think ST fills a nice void that exists in the Magz, but seems a bit too ha;f-arsed / worthy at times.

For instance they'll get out and do the adventure stuff which is inspiring, however their bike tests leave lot to be desired. The recent Ti bike test being a prime example. They tested 4 bikes, 2 of which came from the same stable. When a Ti test comes round I'd like to see more of the mainstream names in there, like the Cove Hummer, Rock Lobster Team Ti, a Merlin as well just so we can get an idea of what they're like.

Alsot the long-term test bikes feature is pants - Very MBR. It seems each month we get an update on their respective bikes - Ichanged the grips, I changed the tyres, I rode it around....

I have noticed a change recently but as one of the posters said, once you've been reading magazines long enough they begin to go round in circles.

Did they have cut and paste 15 years ago 😉

I've seen word for word brochure text in a review, even text mistakes repeated...

I know..cos I've sent stuff in....to MBR

I was a bit annoyed, so i sent a letter in as if I was a member of the public pointing out the mistake as if I was unaware of it's origin...They made it letter of the week under the title of "Get a Life" 😀 ( If original, it was a bit of a techy spot) and sent me a prize 😯 . Then the thought crossed my mind back then... What an arrogant bunch of ****s.
We had 8 great team riders back then, all ages,all standards... they all thought the mag was crap apart from one... but he got his picture in a few times!

Mtb Pro at the time spotted it before print, used their own text and spotted the chinks in our armour... but gave it 98% out of a hundred, got it totally 😀
We had no advertising budget for mags back then... at all. We where in production and design .
I wish there had been STW back then.. 😀

Im sick of the conflicting reviews from this publisher (same- must be?).

The ti hardtail test where they all achieved the same score yet one was evidently marked down in the main text on so many areas that it should have been a 7. I'm talking about reading and taking all into context. The others in comparison had '8's if you went by the test text and the winner Whyte should have been marked down due to its cost/value .v. performance in isolation. Do the writers read their reviews before jumping on the numerical scoring/summary?

i agree septembers issue was alittle boring but may-august issues were rather interesting with Doddy appearing alot in the mag.
next month im going to buy 'singletrack' magazine as i live in this very hometown of singletrack !

My uncle got his letter published (the monkey one) highlighting one of their many mistakes!

The Ride Journal is about the only mag worth getting any more.

I gave up by loosing interest on magazines years ago, ST has been the only one to restore it mostly due to the rootsy photography making your own back yard look somewhere exotic. I had a run in many years ago with one of the main players who produced an article on a ride that not only was not on rights of way, it went right through land belonging to a landowner who provided part of it as a popular course for the National Points Series and was somewhat pissed off nobody had even spoken to him. The resulting conversation with the rather juvenile publisher showed they did not care all about mountain biking they were bothered with was circulation and content that would achieve that, that was until WH Smith took every copy off the shelf after they got wind of a potential injunction from the landowners which caused the publisher to contact me ranting that nobody should do that to them and what right had we to do that. They agreed to print a retraction but the promised ' we got it wrong signs' never materialised to be posted on site.

I personally feel sorry for the magazines most of the staffers I have met are really nice people with the luck to have a job that funds the hobby and keen to promote it as much as enjoying the lifestyle. The problem for al lof them is that their readership is not a fixed niche that allows the entire content to mature in line with ( ST is an exception which is why I like it) the riders own appetite. They all need to attract new readers which for most means picking up beginners who will stay with the magazine for 2 or 3 bike upgrades until they eventually decide they know better, no longer need the reviews, know where to ride and leave, the only constant is that new riders will come along and need beginners advice, the longer term readers have life style changes or discover more niche mags better suit their needs.

If you can't get along with what the mags are printing your option is really only to stop buying them, they will either get along the same with new readership and without you or have to change to regain lost readers

I don't think that MBUK has changed much - I've just grown out of it. MBR has always been rubbish, now it's recycled rubbish. What MTB is useful for knowing what kit's in the marketplace, but that's about it.

I bought MBR recently for a long train journey, first issue I've bought in years. The one with the "Climbing Jacob's Ladder" article in it which was basically an exact rehash of something that I'd been involved in with WhatMTB a couple of years earlier. The only difference was the riders accompanying Nick Craig.

The rest of the mag lasted a total of about an hour and even then I had to put it down a couple of times to clear my head of the glaring errors or self-promoting tone.

I know for definite that (many years ago), MBR promised a certain bike manufacturer that they'd give the bike 5/5 and a cover shot if they were given the "UK first exclusive" test ride on it. The company concerned accepted the offer (they'd have been daft not to!)

To be fair to MBR i thought it was a very good read when I'd 're-discovered' MTBing after a long sabbatical. That was about 8 years ago and I found it very informative, inspiring and helpful as a relative noob to the sport. It kind of brought me up to date with all the bike developments of I'd been unaware of in the last 5 years I was out of the sport.

crazy-legs, I agree with your first paragraph. I darent acknowledge the last paragraph as I was battered last time I raised such a subject on STW 😉

Do the riders of the test bikes right the copy or does a paid staff member take down notes from the riders then type up?

Gotta be worth a quick thumbs up for this month's Dirt. Out yesterday and I must admit that when I saw the 'lets shave another millisecond off' race stylee cover I almost bought MBUK instead 🙄 . . . but I'm glad I didn't. Fantastic read, in fact I still haven't finished it - I reckon it has a lot more in common with STW than the other mags, albeit with a d/h slant.

Well i'm glad it's not just me who thinks this months is very poor indeed. I couldn't find a single article i was remotely interested in reading. Usually there are a few at least. What MTB is far better but still not exactly a great read.

I only subscribe to them to get the free gifts, then cancel after a year then resubscribe to get the next free gift.

They are still both way better than MTB UK though......

I like 'bike', the American magazine. Sometimes it's a tad dull, but there's almost always something glittery and shiny and inspirational lurking in the corners if you can find it. And the new issue, with its focus on women riders, is fantastic. I can't imagine any of the UK mags doing that, they're mostly scared even to feature a woman rider on the cover ffs.

As far as mags rehashing stories goes, that's how it is. There's some stat about the turnover in magazine readership and a very high proportion of readers only buy a mag for, say, two years, then move on to be replaced by fresh readers. And the new readers haven't read the 'how to climb Jacob's / replace a HT2 BB / ride Slickrock' etc feature before.

[i]Do the riders of the test bikes right the copy or does a paid staff member take down notes from the riders then type up? [/i]

Depends on the mag but usually the former. Several riders will test the bike in various conditions/terrain and their comments will then be written into some sort of coherent form by the Editor.

Or alternatively (what a certain well known mag did a few years ago), the bike failed to turn up on time for test so they wrote the test article anyway and slagged it off based entirely on it's spec. Understandably the bike company was furious and refused to deal with the mag for about 3 years after that.

I like 'bike', the American magazine.

Maybe that was the one Ferrentino used to write for/edit? A few years ago I got a two year subscription for pennies and it was pretty good.

Maximum Mountain Bike was good.

I, erm.........subscribe to MBR, but I do agree that it is getting a little pony.

I think that once I get my new bike sorted I'll be cancelling my membership - not sure why once I get my new bike, but it just seems like a good idea.

I started getting fed up of it when I read a mud tyre review the other yr where they said the Continental Edge was a great winter tyre that you can leave on from October to April - 9/10. I went out & got some (as i needed some winter tyres) and to be honest I think they are good. But, the next month, they tested a bike with the Conti Edges fitted as standard & the first thing they write about was getting rid of the stock tyres as they were no good.

I don't agree with the whole thing about loving Specialized. It's been quite a while since Specialized won a test outright - there's been a few joint firsts recently, but can't remember the last time Spesh won a test. I find it's Cannondale tests that get my goat in MBR - they tested one a while back & moaned about almost everything - then it won the test. One of the other bikes was great apart from (something like) narrow bars & rubbish tyres and got marked down hugely.

I work at IPC and I wouldn't even pick up a free copy of MBR. A terrible, terrible magazine. I think most mtb mags are pretty crappy, but mbr is definitely bottom of the pile for me, or joint last with dirt anyway

I like Dirt. My only problem with it is Steve Jones' writing style in reviews, who attempts to make sentences for too complicated and far too abstract. Tell me about the bike, not how it relates to a fighter pilot mowing grass while dreaming about carving lazy berms through orchards of apple trees. Or something.

MBUK and MBR look too much like comics, and read too much like them as well. MBUK is for the younger generation IMO, and that's fine with me.

Buying MBR in the hope that it will improve? That's the definition of being an eternal optimist!

MBUK is actually pretty good now, IMO. Often has more interesting feature ideas than ST, for example, and a broader scope.

I'm sure What MTB used to be a better read, but now sends me to sleep.

Maybe the editorial team at ST feel the same about Ferrentino's whingeathon as us readers do, but don't want to axe him. Often happens with columnists.

Agree with lcj.... Dirt is the only one worth reading really, although Jones can really write some flannel when he wants!!!
Seems to be the only UK mag that isn't biased towards the big manufacturers. I find the product reviews more honest, and their travel reviews excellent. I think it's the general lack of XC mincing and specialized / on-one worship i find refreshing. Can't stant the way MBR / MBUK just repeat what the other says. I will admit to buying ST too, but the general look & design of the mag can sometimes look very cheap / amateurish!!!

Imagine what it's like for the poor sods every month, having to write something "new" and "interesting" about mountain biking. It must be awful.

There isn't anything new, really, except racing (which their readers aren't interested in because that's for thin people and queers) and new bits and pieces, which most rational people think are much like last year's bits and pieces. But that doesn't sell magazines, so you just have to re-print the press release from the manufacturer saying the new one is 18% lighter and has better torsional compliance.

Or you can do what The Ride and ST do and print a load of rambling pieces trying to capture the mythical soul of the experience of riding a bike, or yet another tiring essay about how the author always freaks out on a particular damp corner because of his demons.

Or you can adopt the MBUK approach and have an entire article dedicated to what a woman looks like without a shirt on. This phenoenon is called "Mission Creep".

It must be a huge relief to the poor blighters to be able to say to themselves "that's it, I've filled 5 whole pages and the rest can be adverts". 🙂

If you want a terrible magazine, have a flick through Mountain Bike (the US one) some time. It's so thin it's practically a pamphlet, awful "toast your buddies" type fitness articles, mawkish human interest stories and shallow reviews. Dan Koeppel's column was good but that's about it.

Pretty much all MTB magazines are a bit repetitive - it comes with the territory. MBR know their demographic and cater to it, just like ST, Dirt and MBUK.

I think all magazines about everything may be terrible.

My wife reads a thing for people who quite like decorating their homes in a country cottage style and sometimes go outside to look at lambs and bunnies. It basically appears to come in 12 seasonal versions, but January 2009 is the same as January 2008 was.

Anyone fancy pasting a link to this thread on the mbr forum Interwebsite? Might be amusing.

i think mbr has been pants for a while .the routes are unreliable and the reviews seem to favour certain brands like specialized .when they did the trail bile of the year reviews they decided on their own definition of a trail which then excluded a lot of good bikes from consideration if they were over or under the travel .
also the " old blokes who should no better " pics have gone from amusing bruises on arses which we can all chuckle at, tp severed fingeres and general mutilation which make me want to chuck.

MBR is terrible, I haven't read MBUK for years. ST takes all of half an hour to read and is generally utter garbage these days, and I'm a subscriber!

Can't be bothered to read all those posts zzzz but agree with BWD - I quite like Bike and this month's issue is a cracker. It's the first time I've seen a mag do some focused stuff on women that isn't patronising or just plain crap, and I suspect is content that most blokes would be interested in reading too. About time. Otherwise confess to reading almost all the mags at some point through the year, but consistently come back to Dirt/ST as the only ones that really capturing what biking is about for me.

MBR is OKish but very fixed formula every month - depends on the 2 bikes they test and one main ride feature - quick read too

Dirt and MBUK better but depends on whats on like World Cup DH and other stuff - MBUK caters for broad spectrum (they have highs and lows but also surprises)

anyway these 2 get loads of premium double spread ads near front and you do get some good trips stories/interviews with bike designers etc especially in Dirt (Sam Hill riding their private test track!)

Singletrack is a bit dull, we do better reviews and photos of products for club newsletter. Also Singletrack has a load of low budget articles with no good pics and no bikes just memories of riding - do these guys actually get out that much! Singletrack gallery best thing in it and some of main articles good but they just don't get out as much

read most of them and have a couple of unread Singletracks indoors - so on the do I want to drop everything and read it front its very low

I last got MBR a few years ago for the train and was struck by how short it is. There was only about 4 articles in the whole thing, some were fine but just on quantity terms its not worth the £3 quid.

re MBUK, i kind of accept its for younger riders coming in so they have a 2-3 year turnover of articles but I did chuckle the other month leafing through it in the newsagent (cos it still has mint sauce in it for all its failings) and they had an article where they built up comedy shonky clunkers from spare parts and raced them. That must have also been in the last one i bought 5-6 years+ ago (and may or may not have been in again in between). It stuck in my mid as its such a barrel scraping article to start with. What made it funnier was that it was that doddy guy who did both - see it could be worse we only have to read it.

FWIW: Dirts quite good now and again. The decision to theme STW has been a success until recently.

I agree, MBR is poor. This months edition especially so. Also, with the number of adverts in the mag, I can't believe they need to charge money for it. Half the content seems to be advertisements!

MBR - used to subscribe until I realised the writing was dull and self-important. Don't go near with a bargepole now

MBUK - buy occasionally - a great source of news on all elements of the MTB scene and, although a bit low on substance, can be a giggle

What MTB - MBR written in the style of MBUK, but no bad thing. If I read another article on having "your best summer riding ever" I may top myself though.

Dirt - can't tell the difference between the ads and the articles

ST - As a Dad who doesn't get to ride as much as he wants I love reading about other old codgers and their global bike adventures. At least there are more words than pictures...usually 😀

Bigdummy; excellent review! 😆

MBR seems to be written by wannabe race aces. This latest issue even has a feature on how to race your mates. All the photos are taken with the riders in an agressive "eyeballs out" pose, as if they are aiming for a personal best time on their chosen test route. They seem to have forgotten that the bulk of us just go out to enjoy ourselves, not to prove how good we are.

Then their bike tests are a joke. They rave about Specialized (they pay well don't they?), but every other bike seems to fail to meet their unpublished standards, and get marked down until such time as MBR's identified faults are corrected. Do they not think that manufacturers have their own testing programmes, and maybe the bikes sold are aimed at a market that MBR won't acknowledge.

The biggest joke this month is the essential tools. A Phillips screwdriver is apparently something we must all buy before we are allowed to sit on a saddle. Mind numbingly banal. Took me as long to read as it did to drink a cup of coffee.

Don't worry guys it will all be over soon.

The internet is the death knell for most (if not all) print publications who cannot offer something valuable to their readers. As bike mags go that might be content such as great photography or good writing. But how valuable is the question. Personally I don't value it enough to buy any bike mag.

The dross will struggle to maintain subscriptions so will either have to improve, disappear or go online only. Or possibly become free but the overheads would have to be stripped out to the point where free would probably not be viable because ad revenue would not be enough.

I'm no expert - as you may have guessed! - but I would suggest that bike publishing must be at a bit of watershed. We're in a recession. More mags and sites than ever. Future publishing are a real giant online and print. The web is developing at a pace and users have higher expectations for quality, variety, interaction etc.

Lets face it bike mags - even the good ones - can only write about so much before it gets dull and repetitive. The web offers lots more in terms of social networking, video, audio, instant access to loads of different content and opinions. And its all free!

I no longer subscribe to any bike mags, just found them all too samey. If I want to know about product I will use Google, friends, forums like STW and bike shops.

I bought the May issue (i think)of ST whilst at a lose end waiting for a train. First time I had bought it in about a year. It kept my attention for an hour or so and my kids liked the pictures.

I think you can see how things are developing as people like Future and also ST get into events, holidays, shop etc. Incrementally different ways to support and develop different subscription models not based simply on buying a mag.

I understand that ST has a growing readership. But in the context of a declining market. So in the short - med term probably ok but longer term who knows.

Going for a lie down now.

I used to subscribe to mbr but cancelled it as the magazine went downwards from about 2004, so I cancelled it last year.
You can put this down to loads of things, but in my opinion things started to go wrong was when firstly, the industry stopped making such huge gains in suspension/bike performance which made the bike reviews interesting, and secondly the magazines as a whole tried telling you you needed six inches of travel to ride around Cannock. I cant believe anyone who actually rides at these places would come up with such a suggestion.

I think all magazines are the same to some extent - in that they regurgitate the same type of think with a certain frequency. It's the same with photography magazines/car magazines/golf/running etc....

And I guess they rely on new subscriptions => cancelled subscriptions

I really don't get online 'magazines'. I buy a magazine so I can read a bit when I have some spare time, pick it up & take it with me when dropping the kids off, if there's 15 mins before I a tv program starts or something like that.
I don't want to have to boot up my PC when I want to read a few snippets or a quick article.

Oh, and when was the last time that MBR had a Specialized bike as the winner? There was a close one recently for their Dirty Dozen test, but the Rockhopper was beaten by a Voodoo.
Prior to that, the last one I can remember was a Stumpjumper won a test that compared 4, 5 & 6" travel bikes. That was at least a yr ago though, if not longer......

Mr agreeable "shallow reviews"

I think that sums up Mbr nicely.

MBUK- it does try to pack alot of info (ok and a heck of alot of clothing ads) into each issue. So at least its good for a week of toilet visits..

during this years SSUK event someone had thoughtfully supplied the thunderboxes with "emergency toilet paper"...

basically the front covers of past MBR's and WhatMTB....

MBR seems to be written by wannabe race aces

Having practiced at the Megavalanche last year with a group that included a couple of MBR journos, I can confirm that while they might not be snapping at Remy Absalon's heels, they don't hang about.

The writing often embodies the cliched style of reviewing that people on here like to make fun of ("cut and paste handling" etc), but there are other people (not me, mind) who find "Personality: pickled onion Monster Munch" or Steve Jones wittering on about Ricky Carmichael's bar width to be just as irritating.

I really like AtoB.

It probably doesn't really class as a MTB mag though (as it covers folders, electric bikes and, occasionally, kettles)

yet another tiring essay about how the author always freaks out on a particular damp corner because of his demons.

Haha, funny because it's true.

See also: "I forgot how good my local trails are", "riding with friends is what it's all about", "look at my beard, isn't it great", etc etc.

The internet is the death knell for most (if not all) print publications

But as other people have alluded, you can't get the internet on the train, and you get funny looks if you take a laptop in when you go for a number two.

You've also got lots of websites out there that really do just cut and paste press releases, or are clueless, or ones who are [url= http://ride559.com/ ]out to bag themselves free stuff[/url].

On the other hand, the inter**** has let people with minimal resources put together magazines that are as slick and well put together as real ones, and you can read them for free. Winner!

http://wideopenmag.co.uk/the-magazine

MR Agreeable - you have mis-quoted me. I actually said "the death knell for most (if not all) publications who do not offer something of value."

My point being good printed publications can thrive if they are doing something which their readers want / like, ie, great content.

You can increasingly get the internet on the train, and that will only improve as coverage does. You don't have to take your laptop into the toilet. You could take your phone or other mobile device. Or a mag.

Of course the web is chock full of dross but its easy to find that out and you don't have to blow £3 or £4 to do so. Personally I can't understand people saying they think MBR (or any other mag) is cack but keep on buying it. Vote with your wallet and the publishers will either listen or die.

Your example of WideOpen is exactly what I was referring to.

End of the day its horses for courses, personally I rarely buy any mags or newspapers anymore. However I now read more (printed) books than ever before.

Books and magazines will always be around I hope. They're nice and tactile (Kurt Vonnegut put it quite well when he talked about "their sweetly token resistance to handling"), don't need electricity and you don't feel like a nerd showing them to someone else. The people behind Rouleur and The Ride Journal realise this and make the most of it. I'd agree that your average glossy magazine with outdated news and ugly pictures is in trouble though.

Wow - This is by far the most responses ever received to something I've posted on STW!

I don't think MTB mags will become extinct. You need something to read on the bog 😳

I subscribe to MBR (only one I could get on Tesco vouchers). I'm fairly ambivalent about it - it's effectively 'free' and mostly inoffensive.

However, this month's edition amused me. It should have been 'MBR - bought to you by K9 Industries adjustable headset cups'. They had a sidebar about them in the front, and then proceeded to fit them to [u]everything[/u] in the mag, instantly improving whatever they were fitted to. I half expected a review of the bog roll in their staff loo: 'The Andrex 2000 was more than capable, but once we tapped in the adjustable cups and tweaked the angle of delivery on the holder, it became an arse-wiping monster. We rock.'

What an amusing thread. Thanks to iamtherealspartacus and big dummy for really good contributions. 😆
I read comics once in a while to keep up with whats down with the kids, but thats about it. If you don't like em, buy summit else instead.

Good 😀

I just cancelled my MBR subscription last month!

Absolute waste of money.

The December 2008 MBR was an obvious exception to the rule........but I find MBUK all a bit shiny and gnarly for me. I imagine the MBUK guys to constantly have their elbows stuck out, even when walking round the office and down the road ;-D

I know I shouldn't, but I do still get annoyed with product reviews when they don't include ANY womens items (gloves, shorts waterproofs). Is it really THAT hard to get hold of womens kit and to get someone to test it properly? Get it, I'll test it for you!!!

I still have Australian mags and they were a fresh read from the norm.

I still buy Cycling Weekly occassionally.