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@epicsteve: agreed. ST is still the best UK mag (for me anyway) with the best balance of stuff, but when I think back to the standard of the articles in early issues (e.g. the one about the guy who lost his driving licence and had to ride everywhere) I think it was generally higher then. There don't seem to be as many longer articles (like the aforementioned one) now, which I used to like. Maybe that's just an impression and the word counts wouldn't back it up, I don't know.
Anyway, here's an idea: "Readers' lives" (see what I did there?) looking at how a range of people in different parts of the country fit biking in around all their other commitments. Obviously they'd have to pick interesting people, i.e. not me. 🙂
People overstate their opinions on the Internet; learn to ignore or take the p1zz out of it.
Mark [resident grumpy]: rant/invective was a "silly" moment. The apology was good, but it's not the first time is it? Get a grip that man!
Great thread, best so far this year.
ctk makes some good suggestions
ie new vs old, just how much progress has your hard end cash bought or is it just a case of BNG !!
i like the mag, also appreciate the frequency change, i think that's why they "seem lighter " as the pressure is there to deliver more often.
focus on the average kit rather than spangly stuff would be good in the credit crunch times, or perhaps a kind of SLX vs XTR type is it worth it / whaddya get for the extra type test.
perhaps pre alps prep for those heading to PDS etc
pre race kit / advice from seasoned riders
dig out some old MBUK from early days, sureley some inspiation there?
its a hard job to please, but overall STW is still light years ahead of the rest.
IGMC
Don't take this the wrong way Mark, after all it is your trainset. I wouldnt post on a forum/public as myself if it was my mag. I'd have an 'employee' login to answer questions and keep alittle distance.
I just think the negs far outweigh the positives of being able to speak to the Mag people directly.
CBA reading the whole thread, but slagging off customers or potential customers is a really bad move - extremely unprofessional.
FWIW I haven't bought the mag in a while - wasn't that impressed with the last couple of issues I did buy. I actually prefer MBUK, if you can get past all the dudespeak. Sorry.
My kneejerk reaction after reading the whole of this thread was to bin my subscription, the OP brought up issues which I believe were legitimate.
However 1, Mark has apologized and 2, The fact this thread is still open, demonstrates to me that STW is big enough to allow debate. Bravo! you've still got my subscription.
The question now :- is it appropriate to add "official Forum C&%k" to my sig?
I'm super-stoked and we shredded the trails on our last ride.
I might buy Singletrack to see what the fuss is about, shame my local stockist went bust (Borders). Wonder how much their closure has impacted sales of smaller magazines.
I used to love buying an espresso and wandering around Borders. I browsed casually, treated it as relaxing and ALWAYS came out with a bag full of mags or a book. Actually left the house specifically to visit just a Borders in fact.
I don't see WHSmiths etc as anywhere near the same...you go in and out as fast as you can 🙁
Second Hand Challenge-
2nd hand buying is not mentioned much in Singletrack. A guide would be daft but what about for a bit of fun some 'Top Gear' type challenges ie £300 to spend on a Hardtail, or £500 to spend on a FS which will then be ridden down Fort William or in the Alps or whatever.
I really like that idea.
Many of my favourite articles/reviews have been centred around the budget end of the market or based around old equipment.
It's nice to get something we can relate to without needing a payrise!
[i]CBA reading the whole thread, but slagging off customers or potential customers is a really bad move - extremely unprofessional. [/i]
It is but I can see why it happened...
The OP was not constructive criticism, it was basically saying that this issue was s**t. No mention of what he would like to see vs what was actually there, no offer to review or write something for the mag, just a shouty rant.
Friday night, 10pm (ish) after a hard week of work, perhaps with a glass or two of wine inside hm (I don't know), Mark reads this, what do you think he's going to say?! OK, maybe a bit of a kneejerk reaction but if someone publicly criticised your work on a forum on a Friday night you'd react the same, especially if it's YOUR company that you built from scratch, that you've put years of your life and a lot of your money into.
Mark has apologised but I don't see the OP saying anything along the lines of "you know what, my criticism was a bit harsh, I'd like to see more of A/B/C and less of X/Y/Z"
KINGTUT:
Great thread, best so far this year.
Maybe turn it into a mag feature?
In that case he needs to use a mod login under a different name or use the superstarcomponents method 😉
Friday night, 10pm (ish) after a hard week of work, perhaps with a glass or two of wine inside hm (I don't know), Mark reads this, what do you think he's going to say?!
I'd expect him to say nothing. I would expect him to be at the pub or at home chilling out, not reading about work specially if it's been a hard week. 😀
I still like the mag - still as good as the first issue I read years ago. Stop moaning and write your own, or buy whatever you think is better.
Singletrack is clearly the best mtb specific mag and web forum (IMO) but not beyond criticism. Nice to see a quick apology for a knee jerk overreaction though.
Although I'm thinking a forfeit should be in order!
I do get cross at these types of threads knowing just how hard every single member of our staff has worked on this issue in particular.
The only person who cares if you worked hard is your mum.
It's the result that matters. I stopped subscribing a few months ago. People riding round gravel pits grumbling that their handlebars were 3mm too narrow.
Mark , congratulations on expressing your feelings,what we need is a lot more of this, the customer isnt always right, and the customer has the choice to buy or not buy the magazine, i buy it to support this forum, and for the banter, sometimes im banned or warned but i still come back as do a lot more.
You apologised, and some dont accept your apology, tough on them,its not as if youver stole their bike or chucked it under a road roller,you expressed your opinion an opinion some of us hold about each other, but we still find good things to read,and banter to enjoy with each other.
I love this magazine. I think it is excellent. If you want lots of reviews, then you should think about subscribing to What Mountain Bike- that's what they do, and they're pretty good at it. I've always thought that Singletrack was about something else, things like great articles from places around world that I'll probably never get a chance go to and pushing your riding beyond just a couple of hours at you're local trails to far more adventurous goals- like bivvying in the Canadian Rockies or the Welsh mountains in the depths of winter (to reference the the last, apparently 'thin' issue). As well as well, dare I say it, thought provoking columns! Thought provoking! In an MTB magazine! Maybe that's just a bit too much for some 😉
The only person who cares if you worked hard is your mum.
😆
Alright, I got bored at the bottom of page 2, I like the mag, already dipped into this months issue and there are couple of things arleady I want to sit down and properly read. It does feel a bit lightweight but not from a content perspective. I subscribe to MBR, WMB & ST. WMB is likely to get canned when I can be bothered, MBR would be next (If I had to, quite like it) and ST would be the one I held onto, I like the lifestyle articles, the photos and the whole feel of the mag. If you don't like it, don't buy it. I can't say it's massively gone down hill in the last 12 months.
Oh well the internet's for people who don't actually participate in the real world to have a go at those that do I suppose. 🙄
Recent issues aren't as interesting as those from a few years back though.
Reminds me of the old Punch tagline
[i]"Not as interesting as it used to be", since 1841.[/i]
[i]Also nice to see its pushing the gender thing with the clothing article and putting Aliegh (Phwoarrr!!)on the main page of the Quants article[/i]
😆
OK, maybe a bit of a kneejerk reaction but if someone publicly criticised your work on a forum on a Friday night you'd react the same, especially if it's YOUR company that you built from scratch, that you've put years of your life and a lot of your money into.
I dunno, I really don't reckon I would. As mentioned, if it was an employee doing that, in most companies they would probably be sacked.
[b]People riding round gravel pits grumbling that their handlebars were 3mm too narrow. [/b]
harsh, but fair
Maybe turn it into a mag feature?
Jamie, you are fast becoming my favourite STWer.
However, I have just realised how gay that sounds, and have decided to retract said comment.
😯
For various reasons, I bought ALL the mtb mags this month, and Singletrack has more worth reading in it than any of the others this month. Feels less like flicking through the Argos catalogue than the others. The fact that it's "thinner" rather than losing the content amongst pages and pages of ads is a positive for me. Oh, the others still had things I wanted to read in them, but Singletrack has far far more, and did last month as well.
i havent read the whole thread or magazine but it looks pretty good ,its quality not quantity remember, why have loads of average articles like in mbuk etc instead of a few really good ones in singletrack.
Stop whinging
LOL! To see people with passion inspires me, so the ranting makes it more likely that I'll subscribe.
the pissy-pants editors put their sperm-covered hands over their ears
maybe turn it into a mag feature?
Love the mag on the whole but Apology or not he has made one hell of a professional error. In Any profesion that would incur serious punishment. I would except an apology in the next issue about 16 page's should shut the wingers up.
Ive not read any of the 5 pages- what was said?
"You're rubbish"
"No we're not - you're rubbish, oops, sorry, but we tried really hard, you try doing it better"
bring back hanging I say... Mark is obviously a deviant and dangerous lunatic to boot.. evil
unprofessionalism is always ALWAYS a sign of much deeper and darker things..
I'm sick of the whole sinister and sordid affair..
horiffic
Blah blah blah....i say fair play to Mark.
if you're after a light weight read, try the latest MBUK. I seen NEXT catalogues with more non-ad content
Well people can blow air kisses up Mark's arse all day long,but I still think the mag's poor this month & shall be cancelling my subscription in the very near future.Nothing to do with his rant on what he thought was his FB page(LOL,very sad),more to do with Mark giving me the number to phone so I didn't have to search for it...
I got it the same day as a free chain reaction marathon booklet arrived. TBH i ive had more reading out of the free panflet than i have from the mag.
Rubbish, sorry it just is.
Couldn't post on here before for some reason so my thoughts here:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/re-the-lightweight-issue-rant-thread-
I really, really didn't like Tim's chopped off finger though - page 44.
How the heck did he do that???
Cut it on Mark's tongue?
Oooh, that's sharp!
Twitter is the biggest 'up your ass crap' I've ever seen. I imagine you need a Blackberry and a specific model at that to feel 'fitted in to the wavelength' whilst updating?
The next issue should have a free bit of titanium with it for everyone to polish. Happy days 🙂
Eddie fiola - great name, for those that remember that far back 😉
[i]How the heck did he do that??? [/i]
Cleaning his disc rotas.
What was he cleaning his disc rotas with?
an angle grinder?
Ouch!!!
[i]What was he cleaning his disc rotas with?
an angle grinder? [/i]
His fingers.
I've deleted what I've written. I can't be bothered.
That is a policy you should vigorously adhere to
[i]That is a policy you should vigorously adhere to [/i]
Very good Steve. 😀
After 4 months of buying most of the mtb mags I settled on STW as my one subscribed magazine because of the [b]quality[/b] of it's articles not the quantity. IMO they are better subjects, better written and give more considered views on products than the other magazines. Some of which are blatantly biased towards there bigger rewarding manufacturers.
Keep up the good work STW Team and remember you can't please all the people all the time but you are doing a good job.
1. Don't do a reader-produced issue, it'd be shit.
2. Don't do a forum-dweller-produced issue, it'd be really shit.
3. Quality beats quantity.
4. I like it that Mark gets shouty on Twitter.
5. The last few issues have been some of the best, keep it up.
I thought it was a bit light but having had a bit of a look through it, it does seem to have a better ratio of content to adverts than all the others. And I especially enjoyed the resident grumps article. But I'll still be camping to save a few quid.
I agree with miketually. See playing on bikes is exactly that. The joy I get from it is immense, cos it ticks the same boxes that have always made me happy all my life. Playing in mud - brilliant! Remember those days playing footie on the park where there was a massive puddle, and all the sliding tackles and dives occurred on that patch? Gadgets - LOADS of gadgets, more even than my action man had. Fettling - yahoo, bikes are sometimes like a big ****in airfix kit. The adrenalin thing, tick.
And for me singletrack getting delivered is a bit like when my comic came through every week. I can't say that for any other mag.
I look forward to it cos it touches on stuff over and above bog standard bike reviews. I mean ffs, how much can iread about a bike? Benji's article on history of trails - blimey, I've developed an Unhealthy obsession myself for that. The article about the posh break- something else I think when I'm out riding sometimes. Jamaica article- something I've never even thought about, hats off for that. Quantocks feature - genius, an article based on riding with forum plonkers! Nice one.
Not read the whole mag yet, but bits I have read have been good.
I disagree with all this negative crap for one, but of course each to their own.
I get the mag over here in the US, as I am working here for a couple of years. If you want to complain about adverts in mags and editorial stuff take a look at the bike mags here. My US mates can't wait to get their mitts on my Singletrack, as there is actually non biased reviews and decent content compared to the tat that is produced here.
Well, i've enjoyed it so far. A bit indifferent to interviews with clothing manufacturers, amused by the tragedy of middle age middle earth beards, hate jazz, loved the improv article, looking forward to the route guides. Seemed to be a bit light on reviews but, well, winter's always lean.
As to Mark getting shouty, well, sfw? I'df rather see someone get passionate about their product than uptight neurotic middle managers preserving 'the dignity of the company' or whatever. Dignity should not mean soullessness; there is no dignity in beige.
I'df rather see someone get passionate about their product
You can be passionate without being totally unprofessional. Slagging off customers in public is just bad news all round.
as said before.. unprofessional = evil and possibly dangerously unhinged..
string 'em up
there's definitely not many many more important things in life than daft beige etiquette
Just my opinion but the magazine is what it is, the website is what it is, Mark is what he is.
If you don't like it, don't buy it, don't look at it, ignore him.
What [b]does[/b] it matter?
Some of you are like a bunch of pansies.
"That shouty man who part owns the magazine that I read and the website message board that I spend far too much time wasting my life using (because we do - we can't deny it) has just referred to us as something nasty (even though he is probably close to a general concensus) on another Internet message board! I'm going to squeem and squeem until I am sick! But I might keep buying the magazine but I won't tell anyone and I'll definitley keep looking at the website 'cos that's free and I might even keep being an Internet message board geek but I'll be somebody new for that".
The thing I don't get is the "Phooarr" at the picture of the lady riding a bike. No offence and I don't mean to offend but I must be missing something. Is the picture different for the occasional purchasers of the magazine than that of the subscribers?
I feel cheated out of my £4:25
It's all very Orwellian.. Only who woulda suspected that big brother would end up being a collection of your peers... (err... I mean customers)
Is th picture different for the occasional purchasers of the magazine from the subscribers?
Well, I can comment on the subscribers' edition but do you mean the one of Fearne Cotton and the 'missing saddle'. I don't normally enjoy the inherent sexism in such photograpnhy but, man, that's an awesome shot.
"Fearne and the 'missing saddle' "
Tell me more! I haven't seen that.
I thought they were talking about the Quantocks feature. I think I've got some pages missing from my magazine. I thought it seemed a little thin this time.
barca2 - Member"Fearne and the 'missing saddle' "
Tell me more! I haven't seen that.
I thought they were talking about the Quantocks feature. I think I've got some pages missing from my magazine. I thought it seemed a little thin this time.
Must resist gag about missing pages being there but stuck together....
d'oh, too late. as usual.
I do not know if this has actually been raised yet, but has anyone actually weighed the current issue?
njee will have the full weight spec.
Just started reading the latest copy of Singletrack and i am a bit mystified why you chose Jamaica for a trip, the locals don't seem to have mountain bikes just retro things and the STW lot are the only ones with proper mtb's, I may be proved wrong once I have read the article. Doubt its a coincidence that youyr giving Norco the thumbs up seeing as they are spending a lot on advertizing in this issue, and as for twitter utterley pointless IMO only read the comments because I cliccked the link, but what a complete load of bollocks.(Twitter I mean, pointless)
Otherwise I do like the articles but i wish they would point out when reviwing stuff like wheels if they are Tubeless or not, also trying to make sense of the handlebar group test. Overall Singletrack is good & it may not lack in content but some of the articles do make you wonder what ST were thinking. I have a subscription for the mag that I have just renewed, would not cancel it, at least the ride articles don't look staged like other mags, they never seem to get muddy.
barca2 - Member
That is a policy you should vigorously adhere to
😉
[i]. Doubt its a coincidence that youyr giving Norco the thumbs up seeing as they are spending a lot on advertizing in this issue[/i]
let's not start down that particular fallacy.
As a reviewer we don't know who is advertising in each issue or how much they've spent. Editorial content isn't altered or edited, what you read in the mag are the reviewers opinions.
[i]I do not know if this has actually been raised yet, but has anyone actually weighed the current issue?
[/i]
I believe one of the german mags are going to be publishing an in depth grouptest of magazines which will involve full weight data and graphs and everything
;o)
Doesn't the advertising dept talk to to the inhouse Journo's?
Anyway! I'm going nowhere near this particular argument- I got into trouble last time.
hora - MemberDoesn't the advertising dept talk to to the inhouse Journo's?
Have you ever visited "STW towers"? It's a few years since I was last there but even so, if there's a dozen people in the office I reckon 6 would be visitors...
Overall it is good and better than the others but I personally am not enjoying reading nearly as much as I used to. This may well be me as opposed to the mag and as such I was considering cancelling my sub. I have say that marks post is the final straw as such, I don't see it as passionate as others have said. Hopefully in 2010 I'll be to busy riding my bike for any reading!
Perhaps the ST team smoked to much gangjer in Jamaica maaan and got a bit layed back towards content! 😉
It's a bit thin yes, but I agree that the quality of features does seem to be improving.
My heart sank when I saw the jazz piece, but it was actually a pretty good read and not at all pretentious. It's interesting to read what parallels other people draw to MTBing, so long as they're not trying to be somethign they are not.
The hotels piece was a welcome change from all that bivvying nonsense, and the sort of mildly provocative content that I enjoy reading in the mag.
Have long-term bikes been dropped for good or just that month? It's not something I miss reading and when/if pagination increases I'd prefer to see more Grinder reviews in their place.
The Jamiaca feature was actually pretty long, but deservedly so. I've been ill lately and reading some old STs I've noticed that Benji does travel features really well.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into things (based on previous threads like this and comments from ST staff), but it looks to me like changes are being made and ideas bucked up.
Even Ferrentino's column was largely cheery for once. Did you slip him some Prozac?
Keep up the good work guys, I've subscribed all the others and they only lasted an hour at best...
I get several evenings out of STW, much better value!