[Closed] Singletrack Issue 55 - Recession bites.

If you had a wish list for how you could improve the magazine, what would it be? Presumably if there were things we could offer as readers, you'd ask?

Do it the other way around, Mark. If you could "improve" the magazine, what would you do?

Only problem I've noticed with the mag is the bizarre number of staff/contributors with huge beards. 😉

Do it the other way around, Mark. If you could "improve" the magazine, what would you do?

Tricky, really.

Less opinion stuff, for sure; Blame the Dog is poxy. More rides with local groups around the UK, kit reviews are always welcome, I like the head-to-head stuff and group tests, and the adventure/bivvy stuff is good too. Again, for me the content is goodish, but I don't want to be able to read the whole mag in 30 mins sitting on the bog! I'm just dissappointed that it seems to be getting smaller.

It's nothing personal though. And lets face it, I still buy the bloody thing month after month... 😆

The section that I look at less and less is the grinder. It now seems full of reviews padded out to fix the space rather than genuine feedback on something has faired over a reasonable period of time. How much really needs to be said about a tool to open your Camelbak and an emergency blanket? Can't the space for these odds and sods be cut down so more space can be given to products which justify comment?

Maybe because I'm female and English I've 'never got' the Ferrentino piece in the mag, so therefore don't read it.

I've contributed a written piece in the past, I like to help the boys out, also it's good to see your name 'up in lights' 🙂

Print media is under increasing pressure costs/revenue wise and STW has done well to survive by using the web well. I like the magazine purely because I think it strikes the right balance between stuff that is "wow, I wish I could do that" articles and "wow, I could do that if I wanted to" articles (aspirational and inspirational?). I like the opinion pieces because I think they make the magazine feel like it's written by you or I rather than a 'journalist'.

I think we're bloody lucky to have people who want to turn a out a magazine like ST month after month, going off some of the comments here it's a thankless task.

If you think there's something missing from the content then set to and do something about it. ST is one of the only magazines that seem to welcome submissions from non journos. So if you want to see an article about uphill tandem racing ... write one. If people put more effort into 'doing' rather than moaning we'd all be better off 😉

Sorry but I feel better now.

One way you get the mag you want is by threads like this. Critical posting is useful and it's always read by us. Comments about the stuff you like is just as important too - and it makes us want to keep doing it 🙂

It's the 'It's crap and I could do better in my sleep' type comments that boil our piss 🙂

Hmm, I maybe the only person who enjoys the Ferrentino column? Don't have to agree with him on anything to enjoy the writing.

To be honest, I buy a new bike every 10 years or so, and my next is most likely to be a Cx or nicer roadbike anyway. So a bit of rambling and some nice pictures is all I hope for each month, and it's usually a good bit better than that. Certainly, the only other bike mag I buy on a regular basis is C+.

Plus it's well worth the sub price for the website/forums/classifieds keeping me amused at lunchtimes.

I think the mag is great but the only problem I can see with it is thats more suited for people already established in the sport and those in sub genres (ss, CX etc.. and enjoy whisky)

likes of MBR, WMB, MBUK has a lot of stuff and its also easy to read for those new to the sport, and maybe there is a bigger market there.

Trying to come up with new ideas for the "established" readers must get harder and harder!!!

Stop bloody moaning - if you dont like the mag, then dont buy it, but spare us the trouble of having to listen to your gripes - there are more important things to get a hair across your arse about. Personally, it's the only mountain bike magazine that I buy, because its the only one that I feel any sort of 'connection' with, I find it well written, informative and somehow more realistic than certain other, more rad and in yer face publications.

Off sick today and in one of the brief spells of wakefulness this morning I read the first two articles. I did note the mag was thinner, but thought to myself, "I'd buy the mag for those two articles alone".

I appreciate not everyone likes the same stuff, but I'd buy a mag half the thickness, if it was full of bivvy/travel articles, oh and with a health section of grinder reviews.

Cheers lads for a great mag. remember "You can please some of the people some of the time...."

On the whole, I like the magazine. That said, all magazines, regardless of the subject, have good and not so good months. What I particularly like is that bike tests aren't scored, but concluded with an appraisal of how the bikes ride. Far more relevant than X is worth 8, but Y is worth 9 to my mind.

As for interviews, I like them. I prefer interviews with industry figures, especially bike designers and team managers, than riders.

To make any bike mag better for me, I'd like to see a couple of 'shoot outs'per issue and lots of expensive and/or cult-type bikes and kit. How practical that would be with a limited number of staff is up for debate.

Enjoyable issue (as usual) made better by being able to read the pdf version at work "in between things" 😉

It's a good mag, it has issues that may not suit me sometimes but overall I look forwrd to it's arrival. Just love the big out doors trip stuff especially with quality pictures. The Jenn Hopkins article on the Great Divde race was superb (and miles better than the WMB version). Can see how opinion stuff is not always what you would want to read but I do try and read them for the alternative to "me" point of view. That Mike Ferrentino chap does get a bit much though. Can imagine that some issues are really tough to get done, especially thinking of new stuff. Even the the "persona" on the bike tests must be brain teaser some issues. All in all I shall continue with our subsciption.
One thing I would say is that sometimes the mag can look like it's only there for the staffs lifestyle and we the punters are only there to pay for it.

Mags always better when I'm in it 🙂 Oh no sorry, that's when it's worse...

What is it £4? Not even two pints! There's good stuff and not so good stuff from my perspective (which will differ to the next reader), but I never get to the end and think "wish I'd gone to the pub and had a pint and a half instead"

Only when I opened WMB the other day at Smiths did I realise how much more readable STW is. It ain't perfect, but it's a damn good effort from the people involved.

mt - get yourself in the clique then 😉

Well I still think WMB has a better finished quality than ST, but I believe ST has a fanzine spirit, so why not. what i would like to see one day, WMTB or ST, is a review of 4 bikes by the experts, and the same bikes reviewed by some mortal readers, to see the difference if any. Always think the experts got more things to think of during the testing compare to any lamda rider, and maybe forget to feel the joy of the ride. I won't be surprised if the outcome is completely different though.

Gilles - the mag has used us mortals to test the bikes in the past, having experienced this myself. Not sure if they still do it or not?

Just bought this months and its locked in the van until tonight,looks ok in WH Smiths.

No stock in Tesco, Heswall,EVER,that well known cycling mecca.

my satisfaction with reading the magazine ebbs and flows much as my mojo for riding itself.

One thing Ive always asked for in the mag which sadly as yet hasnt had a look-in, is more techie pieces from an engineering/design/testing perspective. Dont be scared of losing some readers with complicated stuff. Im no engineer but if someone did something interesting about how carbon weave is worked out, its properties etc in frame use, if I didnt understand something, Id go and research it more.

More on materials;
Production techniques;
biomechanics;
suspension systems - damping circuits and inertial valving...
tyre compounds and tread designs - how are they invented and tested?

maybe it's just me and my NHS specs 😉

Well I still think WMB has a better finished quality than ST, but I believe ST has a fanzine spirit,

I'm disappointed at this. We pay a lot extra for better paper, thicker covers (including a pre-scored spine) plus two versions of the cover. We compete on sales with WMTB very closely and put as much effort, time and skill in to the production. I hate the term 'fanzine' that's not what we want to be at all. We may have started off in three 'bedrooms' ten years ago and we are still independent but I'd say we were never a fanzine. If we come over as one then I'm very keen to do everything to prevent that.

This issue was a bit 'light' compared to the last couple, but it's still streets ahead of the competition.

Some good points there Stoner, I'd be into all that.

Sorry Guys - I think the STW magazine and website are fantastic. I don't love every article but read them all the same - these guys (and girls) do a fantastic job and have different views to mine, especially on whisky (!) which I welcome. It's great quality in print, the different opinions actually matter and they're doing bloody well given their origins. The independence of STW is important too - future publishing shouldn't rule the MTB publishing world. STW is catering for a specific demographic methinks, and more importantly they got of their arses and started this whole thing off.

Hate to say this but maybe the negative nancy whingers here should just xxxk off somewhere else or be truly and positively constructive about this as some others here have? Or start their own magazine and forum and see how that goes?

Not all the negative comments have been 'whinging'. Lets distinguish those offering their genuine opinions in a constructive way from the 'It's a load of sh.... - is all...' style contributions 🙂

I buy Singletrack and read the Forum,because even thought the forum does border on childishness every so often,it appeals to my sence of humour,and we all need a bit of childishness in our lives, as its something we can all enjoy.

As for the mag,it does show as better quality,paper and superior pictures,it doesnt rip,and the print is not,printed across the pictures in poor quality ink that you cant read.

And theres no pictures of kids doing unfeasable tricks with their jeans down their buttocks,like some of the other mags.

Can we perhaps have an article on how the magazine is put together,that would be interesting to see how the text and pictures and adverts are married up, and some of the hard work you chaps put in,even though you sometimes delete my threads on here.

As a rider of more than one discipline and bike i do tend to buy several magazines, dirt,mbr and singletrack being the regulars. The thing i like about singletrack is that it has articles i can spend time reading and when it reviews something i can believe it, an unbiased review in real world testing grounds.
I've pretty much stopped buying mbuk and what mtb as the reviews are often conflicting and you get the feeling the companies supplying them with the most free stuff tend to get the better reviews especially with mbuk. I can pick up any issue of what mtb and its almost the same as the last - full of adverts, the filler that is the buyers guide in the back and reviews that are shared between them and mbuk.
Keep up the good work at singletrack, it is a good read and definately hitting the target with the majority of riders. I'd rather a smaller mag which is a good read than a comic full of nice pictures, biased reviews and adverts.
Steve

Sorry to hurt you, but I went checking a copy of WMTB (August 09) and compare it to ST December 09. The quality of the photos is not the best when compare to WMTB, for example the bike on page 39 top left corner has a very saturated sky and the frame kind of blend in it, so poor contrast. All bikes picture in WMB have better contrast and sharpeness (p 41, similar picture, bike with mountain background). Maybe that's a photoshop job rather than a printing job. When you flick through an issue in a shop, I believe nice clear pictures make it more attractive.

Gilles, your photos are going to have to be amazing if you put together that idea you had for an article 😀

Sorry Mark - have edited post and have bought a premier subscription for penance. 🙂

As if I can comment on photo quality when mine are dark and rider blurred and too far.

[img] [/img]

"Most Tesco's sell us"
Aside from Express and really quite small ones locally with a tiny selection of magazines, the Tesco Extra in Doncaster has never had it when I've checked
A local garage used to sell it, but now seems to stock Dirt instead

"That one with Nick Larsen was very good"
I quite enjoyed that, usually I find interviews too nothingy to get through though

"problem I can see with it is thats more suited for people already established in the sport "
I think thats one of the things that makes it what it is though
I don't go back to mbr/WMB because they churning out what bike to buy for £xxx, double page spreads on how to mend a puncture etc etc .. and theres nothing of actual interest. When I was still getting into the 'sport' I didn't really 'get' a fair bit of it, but I wasn't really buying it to be told how to be an MTBer (like some others seem to do)?
WMB used to be good when I think they tried to relaunch themselves a bit in 2006? Since then they've moved (back?) to being a 'WHAT' magazine. (ie full of group tests and nothing to actually read)

The reviews and grouptests approach I really like. mbr and WMB appear to be obcessed narrowing stuff down to a definative best buy approach. ST always seems to conclude with how each bike would suit different riders
In depth reviews (especially negative ones) are good too. I thought the one of the (2007) Marin mount vision was very useful (I was considering one)

I quite like the £100 weekend theme of articles and the Long Term test bikes is good, though have the long term test bikes lost a place in the grinder recently?

"Mike Ferrentino chap does get a bit much though"
+1, perhaps if he had a column every other issue they might be more apprieciated?

"Dont be scared of losing some readers with complicated stuff"
The tech sort of stuff in Dirt is the most interesting thing in there for me when I've bought it
You could always shove it somewhere near the back?
Quite whether comprehensive (half) page on one particular 'tech' item would end up being that relevant, to eg trying to work out why/how a bike works
Perhaps it would be more relevant to try to include a little more in bike reviews themselves (I know there is a fair bit, maybe its enough and I don't realise it), even if it means putting little reminders of what little perk suspension type x has and that suspension y is always going to be that much flexier ..
I don't know, perhaps that would be more annoying
It'd probably just going to make armchair reviewers more set in their ways if anything ..

EDIT: Apologies for waffling on, I didn't think it was [b]that[/b] long

Biking publications I have read are pretty poor, it takes more than nice pictures for me.
Not read STW so I can't comment on that.

'The Ride' is only a few copies old but is the only one that cuts it for me.
It has real insight on what it means to ride bikes: http://www.theridejournal.com/

james - Id disagree with the idea of sticking a bit of techie stuff in the review article - all you'll get will be the PR bumf and a bit of "here comes the sciency bit" pro-retinol bollox.

The technology behind some of the more advanced componentry and design ideas of modern bikes warrant proper three+ page photos, words and CAD diagrams maybe the odd reference table.

OK I’m going to add a little more seeing as this is actually read by the staff (another ST plus!). For me, the opinion and “philosophical” articles are generally the best – they are someone’s considered view on the subject and at least make you think, I find them normally very absorbing. I’m really not a Ferrantino fan, but at least I do read his articles, so something must be right, but he does come across a bit whingey / ultra-cynical for my tastes. Equipment reviews generally offer a good perspective, reviewers generally have actually used / broken them, the bike articles (for me) are usually the weakest, probably due to having read so many elsewhere to be fair to ST. Although where ST is great in that department is reviewing really unusual bikes; if you want to read about the latest big-name big- volume seller, well MBR’s probably promoting them. Keep it up please guys – I always look forward to publishing day.

One thing though, looking at the pics, there appears to be no mud whatsoever in Calderdale! It’s not fair!

""here comes the sciency bit"
Hmm, probably. Whats needed is probably already there and as I find it interesting I 'think' there should be more. Stuff like linking geometry/suspension rates/etc to why how the bike handles/rides etc ..

I'm with stoner on this:
I do think the mag would benefit from some sort of technical feature. It's something I would like (Being an obsessive compulsive mechanic) to see and I'd bet I'm not the only one. Something above and beyond what the other mags run, for sure. 🙂

Mark:

We compete on sales with WMTB very closely and put as much effort, time and skill in to the production.

By this I presume you mean you "sell similar amounts" - rather than try to cater to the same market?

Though of course WMTB is as much a blocking/portfolio completion title as a standalone (it fills a gap that MBUK for future that MBUK doesn't).

I do think the mag would benefit from some sort of technical feature.

It is increasingly puzzling me as to why Gofar Enterprises Ltd only publishes one magazine, after ten years. I think there are other markets and even other areas within the cycling market that could very easily accommodate another Singletrackesque title.

Bravo for the independents.

Yep +1 on more techie stuff, like the Torq articles. Dirt did a small piece on this, quite informative. Performance Bikes magazine relaunched itself a while back and the new mag included a lot more technical info, brought the mag back up again IMO. Even on this forum when you discuss HT frame design you have some very good designers adding their POVs.

I do think the mag would benefit from some sort of technical feature.
Some magazine needs to pick this up and do it with Germanic levels of thoroughness

[i]Germanic levels of thoroughness[/i]

Brant? Thorough? yeravingalaff?!?!

😉

I find my self agreeing with everything Brant just said..

WTF?

🙂

can we have more of the bead of sweat running down somebodies leg stuff.
i need reminding why i don't buy the magazine.

I find my self agreeing with everything Brant just said..

.....

Some magazine needs to pick this up and do it with Germanic levels of thoroughness. Though I'm not convinced Singletrack is the right magazine to do that, in terms of how I see it in the market.

Don't listen to him. He throws poo at monkeys.

ST is a perfectly good place to stick a techie-germanic article series. Just put it at the back where the kids wont read it 😉