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I don’t think I’d get singletrack any more if it wasn’t for the connection to the forum
This, most definitely.
I’ve read Cranked a couple of times and like it but the only magazine I enjoy from cover to cover is Rouleur (yes I know it’s not MTB).
Again, only subscribed to MBR at the time as the 'free' gift was worth it. Sub now cancelled. Be nice if every now and then features, reviews etc. would take account of those without 1000s to spend, or a non 6' roadie-esque physique aka those of us who are shorter and rotund around the middle. I like STW, but even here, bikes reviewed are regularly £5k+
Well to be fair new bikes are expensive. That's why (imo) reviews are not magazine material.
I miss Dirt
Really regret getting rid of all my back issues a few years back
I love a good paper magazine, never bother with ‘online’ copies. STW was very good and I enjoyed it. But I find the website infuriating, the later iteration of classified section is a joke, so decided not to support anymore. The biggest shame is that I realised I didn’t miss it.
MBUK and MBR....what a complete joke those mags are.
None of these comments are surprising. The internet, smart phones and they way you have to make money from the internet has changed everything. We and businesses are still trying to figure that all out. We are at the end of normal print media. Sure, there is space for niche output like Cranked, but that's it.
I don't think there will be a good solution however. The internet is not a level playing field, take video content - its mostly on YouTube, who control the revenue to providers and the amount of advertising forced on you. Most content providers do not make a living out of it, whereas YouTube does.
Also consider that most people will consume online content via a screen about as big as the palm of your hand. That makes it difficult to consume anything in detail or in depth, so very little quality editorial or journalism will be consumed.
The internet has given us all of everything and in doing so has diluted the good bits to zero, the attention span to 20 seconds and offers no chance of the good rising to the top due to the way it works. Sadly.
MBR, MBUK and a bunch of road mags are all available free in the libby app using your local library card.
MBR has been rubbish for years now. I saw a copy in WHS recently and was amazed by how thin it was.
They long had a reputation for rehashing the same couple of dozen routes (usually the wrong way round...).
The internet has given us all of everything and in doing so has diluted the good bits to zero, the attention span to 20 seconds and offers no chance of the good rising to the top due to the way it works. Sadly.
I used to love the Armchair Feature in STW - a longer read designed to be enjoyed with a brew. Do people actually read magazines that way any more?!
I get Cyclist Magazine on subscription and I buy the Cyclist Off-Road quarterly mags too. I like Cyclist - it sits quite neatly in between the Cycling Weekly / Cycling Plus at the lower end and Rouleur at the higher end.
I used to read a lot of mags many years ago as that was the main source of info. Now we have the internet so i just get bad advice from forums like this instead.
I thought Singletrack would be something I might grow into eventually. A bit like Radio 4. I’m not there yet.
I'm a big fan of Radio 4 but I think Singletrack (and other mags) are more likely something you grow out of.
There are a fair few reviewers (print and online) whose opinions I respect, but in bike reviews in particular they often don't really address the things I want to know about how a bike rides in various scenarios.
It's either all tech waffle or it's clear the reviewer hasn't ridden many other bikes (this may be particular to ST). TBH I often think I could do a better job myself.
The ride guides/reports are massively hindered by RoW issues, and where some might have been aspirational in the past - they often seem a bit tame now.
Pondering on it, I think Instagram, Strava and Trailforks now fill that inspirational and informational gap which mags once occupied for me. With Insta in particular, I can see other riders' activities and chat directly with them about routes, bikes, tyres etc. (including some of you off here).
The question above about has the internet stolen all the good journos - well, it's more complex than that. Singletrack is "the internet" in that it's a media outlet which was originally a magazine and has remained in print.
Pinkbike is the only MTB outlet which is visibly thriving and I have to salute them for their willingness to invest in content (written and video). Hard to see how the other outlets can get to that level TBH.
MBR do some decent reviews (Mick Kirkman's tyre reviews are excellent), but their web output is veering more and more towards clickbait drivel. Bikeradar is variable in quality, very formulaic but have some good writers. NSMB can be interesting but often goes up its own arse.
Urgh, budget bike tests are the worst.
😆
Do people actually read magazines that way any more?!
Yep, me. I read bike mags for different reasons, Singletrack for me is like an adventure magazine that just happens to be biased towards mountain biking. They print the adventures that I'll probably never get to do, and they talk about bikes in a way that makes me want to just go out and ride. I like the style of it, and the content is just perfect for those rainy post ride Saturday afternoons when you just want to sit on the sofa with a cup of tea and toast. MBR and MBUK are cool, obviously MBUK has Mint, but I also like the group reviews they do. MBR is a weaker, and it's grown noticeably thinner in recent years, but I still enjoy it, they often seem to review newer or more interesting bikes before most people do. The only Bike mag I can never seem to get along with is Cranked...It's editorial house style feels like a rider that takes him/herself just a bit too seriously. It feels like it's trying just a little bit too hard to be Rouler/Cyclist for MTB
The ride guides/reports are massively hindered by RoW issues, and where some might have been aspirational in the past – they often seem a bit tame now.
Thing is, back in the day, MTB mags were the primary source of routes for many people. That and guidebooks.
Now with Strava, forums, social media and so on, a lot of the route guide stuff is less relevant plus for obvious reasons it had to stick to legal RoW where in some situations they were not always the best routes.
It also costs the magazine a lot of money in terms of expenses for the riders/photographers who are travelling around the place and you often have to put up with whatever weather you find at the time - I remember doing one photoshoot on the only day that all of us could get together before deadline and the weather was heavy snow and ice. We rode some of the route, the photographer managed to get some suitably epic pics (although completely unsuitable for a magazine that was due to be published in early summer!) and it basically had to do.
I use to buy mtb magazines and look for some every now and then. But after I filter out all the stuff about jumping, enduro, and ridiculously expensive parts, there's not much left.
I want to read about trails where I can actually ride to the top instead of driving to the top. And skills for trails other than just jumping. Bike parks are fun but only when they are not smoothed over with gravel and only pointing down.
Now with Strava, forums, social media and so on, a lot of the route guide stuff is less relevant plus for obvious reasons it had to stick to legal RoW where in some situations they were not always the best routes.
Plus the type of rides we do has changed so a lot of the time we are riding laps of forestry sites, going down various (mostly) unsanctioned trails all day.
Not going to make a thrilling magazine feature even if the trails are amazing.
I've got a subscription to Cranked and a digital one for here. Cranked is a treat when it arrives and here is to support the place and so I can read the odd article online that interests me, very rarely will I read enough to warrant a print version. That's nothing against the people at STW, it's just what appeals to me. Cranked may be over £10 an issue but I can easily take 3-4 hours to read it at my leisure without it going out-of-date so it's better value than MBR and MBUK by a big margin. I did pick up a copy of them both during the first lockdown (so full issues, not curtailed by travel restrictions or stock issues) and had finished both within 90 mins and nothing really stood out as good.
I have a Cyclist subscription, but have become rather dismayed that it seems to be morphing into a gravel bike magazine - every advert is of a gravel bike, more of the reviews are of gravel bikes than road bikes. Ability to go off road seems to be the only thing that matters, which would be fine if it wasnt a road riding magazine. Annoying as I got suckered in a couple of years back and bought a gravel bike, which is brilliant ... on gravel, but a lot worse than my MTB for most off road, and totally incomparable to my Ridley Helium SLX on the road...
As someone who spends their working life staring at a computer screen, I would much rather flick through a real paper magazine sat out in the garden though.
Said it on another thread recently but if anyone wants a copy of Privateer, this lot have been sat under my desk getting in the way for a while now. Let me know.
I wonder what everyone down the pub thought back in 1440 when the printing press was invented. Did they sit there moaning into their pints about how this new fangled printing invention was going to be the death of conversation ?
Oddly we are now moaning online about how the internet is the death of printing. We should be down the pub having this discussion..............Oh, wait. Covid has put an end to that.
I have a Cyclist subscription, but have become rather dismayed that it seems to be morphing into a gravel bike magazine
Well that's intriguing. There was the Cyclist Off-road spin-off mag for a while, but it doesn't seem to exist any more. I'm not particularly surprised - too niche. But I wonder if they're trying to incorporate some of its content into the main mag?
The only Bike mag I can never seem to get along with is Cranked…It’s editorial house style feels like a rider that takes him/herself just a bit too seriously. It feels like it’s trying just a little bit too hard to be Rouler/Cyclist for MTB
We're not trying to be anything. We just dig out the most interesting off-road riding stories we've found in the last 3 months and put them in print, on the assumption there'll be some other people who also find them interesting. To misquote Brant, it's not a ****ing * religion. We really don't take it that seriously 😉
What we do won't suit everyone, and that's fine. Riding bikes in the mud / dust / dirt is ace. That's all that matters.
* I typed this in full, because we do swears in print, because that's how people talk sometimes and coy asterisks are crap. But swear filters. What can you do?
MBR has been rubbish [s]for years now[/s]always.
Fixed that for you. I've been buying MTB mags since the mid 90s and whenever I've had the misfortune to pick up a copy of MBR, I've always been disappointed.
What we do won’t suit everyone, and that’s fine
Cool, I've bought a few issues, but it's just not for me. I'm glad Cranked is being published, It's great that there's space for it in what (for a small wet island) is a pretty varied set of magazines. Long may it continue.
Cool, I’ve bought a few issues, but it’s just not for me. I’m glad Cranked is being published
Variety and all that. If we were trying to appeal to everyone we'd have done things differently 🙂 (then again, the mags that are trying to appeal to everyone seem to be struggling, so maybe there's method in our madness after all...)
Last mag read was the one with sheep keyring.
This forum for real knowledge and a chat.
Then YouTube generally,
GCN, GMBN, Warner, GMBN Tech, Bike Vaults, Olly Wilkins, Cardy and Kara Beal etc. and Pilgrim + many others.
This is my Mag now.
Follow the way of the Egg
Plus the type of rides we do has changed so a lot of the time we are riding laps of forestry sites, going down various (mostly) unsanctioned trails all day.
Other than articles about the ethics of off-piste trail building I can't remember an article addressing this in any mag. Around here (Swansea), we've got two officially recognised sets of trails within the city and then an explosion of unofficial trails in every directions. Also, trail centres in every direction, which mainly go unridden by locals because there's so much other stuff. Is it time the mags maybe recognised this, and maybe realised that reviews of kit ridden at BPW/Surrey Hills don't reflect what's happening in the real world?
Not going to make a thrilling magazine feature even if the trails are amazing.
That's down to the quality of the writing, surely?
It also costs the magazine a lot of money in terms of expenses for the riders/photographers who are travelling around the place and you often have to put up with whatever weather you find at the time
This is related to a conversation I had with Lauren - new staff writer, hi Loz! - when she visited us at her previous job, last week. A quick scan through back issues of STW suggests that most - not all - of the UK route articles are based in the north of England and Scotland*, which is probably great if you live up there but most of us don't. And while there is loads of good riding up there, there's also a huge amount of good riding further south. It's a different style of riding - less epic day out, as in the point above. Is this geographical skew because of where the mag and writers are based, or is it that STW is being left behind a bit? Or am I imagining it? 😀
*my pet hate - yet another bloody epic day out in the Scottish highlands where the writer takes an unwilling buddy and goes over a hill too far, or whatever. Always great pics, but boring after the first few times.
Yes - there are too many epic rides up North.
How about joining me on my local ride down south. Where I try to be polite as I ride cheeky or un identifiable trails. Dodging bags of poo hanging in the trees, irate ramblers and discarded shopping trolleys. All the time in search of a decent that lasts more than 20 seconds and some gnarr that justifies the six inches of expensive suspension I've bought.
This can actually be great fun and is pretty typical of most of us.
Sure, the south does have some great riding, which you can write about, but why not do a series on normal stuff that we all ride and enjoy.
which is probably great if you live up there but most of us don’t.
Of the largest urban areas outside London; Only the area of Hampshire (Southampton, Portsmouth) is in the top ten, the rest, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, West Yorkshire, Midlands, Tyneside, Nottingham, and Sheffield. Are all "Northern"
So in fact, most people do live there...
Of the largest urban areas outside London; Only the area of Hampshire (Southampton, Portsmouth) is in the top ten, the rest, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, West Yorkshire, Midlands, Tyneside, Nottingham, and Sheffield. Are all “Northern”
So in fact, most people do live there…
Most people live in the north if you start measuring it at a suitably southerly point. But the reality is that a very significant part of the population don't live in the north.
that a very significant part of the population don’t live in the north.
Oh sure, but that's where the "better" riding is, and sufficient numbers of people in these areas mean that it will always get more attention. There are great areas down south, but they suffer by comparison. Regardless, I'd argue that most magazines are trying to find areas that aren't ridden as much (for novelty value) rather than "Another ever-so slightly different route around Ladybower"
Of the largest urban areas outside London; Only the area of Hampshire (Southampton, Portsmouth) is in the top ten, the rest, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, West Yorkshire, Midlands, Tyneside, Nottingham, and Sheffield..
That's not a helpful way to count people.
How about as of 2018, the population of England was broken into:
South East 9.18m
London 8.96m
North west 7.34m
East 6.24m
West Midlands 5.93
South West 5.62m
Yorks and Humber 5.5m
East Midlands 4.84m
North east 2.67m
Add in the Scots and Welsh for balance, but unless the northerners are claiming the Midlands and the east of England for themselves, it doesn't look so convincing now.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/294681/population-england-united-kingdom-uk-regional/
That’s not a helpful way to count people.
"Most" people live in urban areas, that's why I used it, and look on the map and see the M62? Millions of folk live along that in one giant conurbation. and either side of that is some of the best riding in England* and includes both the North West and Yorks and Humber by your definition and that's a total of 13 million people, so bigger than London. There may be 9 million people in the South east, but the only half decent mountain biking is the Chilterns** and I've lived and biked in both the SE and now Manchester, and the riding up here is by any measure; "better"
However, I know next to nothing about Mid Wales, or the border of Wales/England that has some fantastic riding.
* It's nothing personal, it's just geography
** I'm only partly joking.
Does that South East figure include London or is London considered central enough not to be in the South East? If it does include London then how far out does London stretch?
I think Scotland is about 5.2million in total.
At a guess, a lot of the destinations are dream rides for many, those that live close by but also those who live further south, so plenty material for routes to inspire and encourage. Personally, any routes in the south get ignored when I'm reading anything as in my head they just won't be as good as the mountainous terrain of up north... doesn't really matter where people live, we found out long ago that people were more than happy to drive to ride their bike.
Mags need to cater for that...
Complaining about the location of ride guides... Surely a big part of the appeal is to ride somewhere new? Bit of inspiration or an introduction to an area you don't know? I mean, there's been a couple of times that a local route for me's made it into a mag and I've gone variously "done it" "why would you ride it in that direction" and "**** me, RIP that trail". But never "Oooh excellent, a ride guide that's near to me"
Is it time the mags maybe recognised this, and maybe realised that reviews of kit ridden at BPW/Surrey Hills don’t reflect what’s happening in the real world?
TBF I get the impression most of the bike journos do the same kind of "off-piste" riding we were discussing.
And the Surrey Hills has a surprisingly challenging selection of trails, though it does lack long, rocky descents obvs.
I started browsing Bikemag.com before it went bump, now been re-incarnated as BetaMTB. A lot of articles are behind a pay wall (fair enough) but they are also producing an in-print mag 4 times a year, unfortunately only available in the US.
For me, Dirt was the holy grail - I started reading at issue 4 (I was 15) and the anticipation of waiting 2 months for the next issue was unbearable!
Bi-monthly publishing kept things fresh - wish someone would bring it back, even quarterly would be great! It has to be a labour of love though, imagine no money to be made in print these days....
I started buying Shredder MTB which is defo different, i also bought the first few issues of Sender Magazine, but that seemed to disappear.
The way we consume information these days is scary - imagine waiting 2 months for the next update of the Pinkbike/STW/Vital/NSMB websites!
IdleJon
Full MemberIs it time the mags maybe recognised this, and maybe realised that reviews of kit ridden at BPW/Surrey Hills don’t reflect what’s happening in the real world?
TBH, if you want to test or grouptest bikes then an uplift centre makes tons of sense- you can do more riding in the same time, do very repeatable runs on different bikes or with different settings etc... And you usually get a pretty good mix of riding. BPW has everything from easy trailcentre blues to rut-in-a-forest, smacking into rocks to big jumps, it's a great testing venue for all it's not my favourite place to ride...
Interestingly on the Downtime podcast this week with Pete Scullion, he mentioned the revival of a UK mtb mag. Fingers crossed for Dirt...
I'd like to see more investigations and campaigning articles.
Possible topics:
Access and right to roam in England.
Investigations on sustainability, supply chains, how things are made.
Features on trail builders, people who give back.
Maybe make a stand on designed obsolescence.
Call bullshit on bullshit.
Exposes.
Do an annual reliability survey, or look at warranties. Like the auto industry does.
A regular how to save money feature.
More it's made feature.
Maybe BikeBiz news.
Bad sports journalism is too much like cheerleading, but it can be done well.
There are lots of critical reviews in music and film media, and they must have similar revenue models.
What about a regular profile spot on people who are influential in mtb?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandhealth/series/thismuchiknow
What about a regular interview with a subscriber?
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2021/05/subscriber-week-richard-clifton
I’d like to see more investigations and campaigning articles.
I think STW has done articles on all those things. as have Pinkbike recently both online and via their podcast.