FWIW I don’t buy mags any more, haven’t for many years.

I come here and I also read the webpage. I probly should go premier out of honesty.

surely we are not talking about ‘Specialised Bike Rider’ magazine here?
I always thought they where completely impartial, it was just coincidence that everything Specialised turn out gets 5/5 in the magazine that has carried a Specialised advert on the back page since around issue 1

I still chuckle when I think back to the first generation of Specialized own brand forks that came on the Enduro. Probably the most unreliable bit of MTB kit out for a long time, yet every mag gave the bike 10 out of 10 with no mention of the fork issues.

Coincidence? I think not.

Great warranty support though, but it needed to be.

The Yamaha in the TBM artical was not a one off. Nearly all the owners had real problems starting them. They all complained to their dealers and Yamaha ignored them.

My XR400 starts fine, as does my KTM (on the kick, not just on the button)

TBM actually did a good job of telling it like it is – which is rare in most mags.

I would like to see a real scientific test of stuff – it would take some setting up, but it would be better than someones review/opinion.

I always take those tyre tests with a pinch of salt. When out with my mates the ones with the best grip are the better riders, not the ones with the best tyres.

I’ve been at a manufacturers test day with British journos present at a fantastic riding spot in southern Europe.The manufacturer pays for everything,accomodation,food,beer etc.The main test bike was “doctored” with higher grade parts so as to perform better(it rode terribly on showroom parts),and one model that was not even ridden at the test received a glowing report a few weeks later in a British mag.
As one of the manufacturers reps said at the time a bad review of a bike can kill a model stone dead.
I’d much rather read riders reviews but some people won’t admit the 4 grand bike is not actually any better than their old bike.

In some cases they go better than this and get the brand to write their own reviews, a la dave hinde bikes in cycling weekly

It looks exactly like a CW review with the exception that in tiny letters in one corner it says “advertorial”, what ever that means.

I wrote to CW asking them if it was a review or an adevrt, they didn’t reply. Dave Hinde do however have a full page advert in most copies of CW I buy.

Reviews are by and large a waste of time, how many people will honestly admit the bike they have just bought is S**t? how many magazines will offend the advertizers?

And more fundamental, how i ride my bike is not the same as the way someone else rides their bike. I hear people complaining about how quickly they wear out disc brake pads or HT2 bottom brackets, but in my experience i have never had this issue.

If your XR starts first kick when hot then you need to into the miracle business 😀

It looks exactly like a CW review with the exception that in tiny letters in one corner it says “advertorial”, what ever that means.

‘Advertorial’ means it’s 100 per-cent paid-for copy dressed up to look vaguely editorial. It’s labelled advertorial, so there’s no confusion. Which obviously works brilliantly.