I’ve come across quite a few negative comments about the contents of ST magazine.

lets stop moaning and give them some ideas!

what would you like to read in there?

heres my ideas:

1) Local rides/routes – ST meet with a reader at different parts of the country and ride with them on there local trails (with some interviews,local pubs etc thrown in too.

2)Real world bike test – High st ride – choose 3 bikes and test how they get on. xc race, downhill race – maybe get some pros involved to give in-depth/expert feedback. I’d personally like to read a little more about the bikes on all the adventure stuff.

3) Niche bike tests, could be fun

lets see if we can get one of our ideas published or better yet a regular feature!

What’s ST magazine?

Standby…. ‘There’s a magazine?’ is being added to the swear filter…

🙂

graas roots stuff, racing (not just the weekender), trail building, local access/ user conflict issues, developments in trail centre’s, other innovative local groups that do more than moan on internet forums. some “watchdog” type stuff on why for example Fox forks stantions wear out so quickly are they “fit for purpose”, other dodgy stuff i.e. dropper seatposts failing, frame failures, why does the UK accept shorter warranties than the US?

lets see if we can get one of our ideas published or better yet a regular feature!

you have two hope’s and Bob is dead 😉

it continue to be the usual lifestyle guff, advertorial product tests, bits about the freebies they have been sent (fresh goods Friday in print)and stuff aboout some mega trip/ freebie someone has done. 😉

Standby…. ‘There’s a magazine?’ is being added to the swear filter…

Easy on the trigger there cowboy. Genuine mistake, as I always thought it was STW magazine.

There’s a magazine?

just testing 🙂

I like technical articles. Diagrams, maths, the sciency bit. Tread pattern designs, suspension paths plotted, damping technologies etc. It satisfies the geek in me.

Oh blimey, I’ve agreed with big_n_daft again.

there’s a magazine?

kind of the same as stoner.
maybe a piece on the full design process of a top end bike or something.
i like the mag anyway though.

Harry_the_Spider – Member
Oh blimey, I’ve agreed with big_n_daft again.

bike jousting, it’s the future! 😉

some good ideas there Big_n_Daft 😉

I personally cant be bothered reading all the lifestyle ride stuff about the weather/natural terrain etc! throw some info about the bikes on the ride and I’d be interested!

lets not get to a slagging match chaps – if you don’t like a particular type of feature then get some ideas down on how you’d like to see it be improved or an alternative – lets keep this constructive ey 🙂

I think we need more ranting in there, like Benji’s the other month.
That didn’t half get a reaction. And he was right 😀

Maybe we could have a normal bike versus clown bike test. involving jousting or something

I like the idea of putting rumors to the test – vigorously test 29er wheels – do they really explode? sid forks – are they really made from cheese? carbon frames & stress fractures?

How about a calender with event dates? I also like the idea of local rides/routes.

I’d like to see a group test of all the MTB mags available in the UK. It would really help me decide which to buy.

real people races – round up some regular weekend warriors and throw them on a DH course or an XC course and watch the carnage – seriously document how they progress threw out the day.

skills – get someone who cannot wheelie / track stand / manual etc – get them some coaching and again document there progress threw out the day (could be a fun 1 pager)

big hitter bare knuckle boxing..
lolcats..
good ale guides..
recipes for game..
youtube links..

readers wives

Standby…. ‘There’s a magazine?’ is being added to the swear filter…

Ho ho ho. What a card.

I’d quite like to see a ‘Tested to Destruction’ section where something really is abused until it breaks into a million tiny bits (or just breaks).

Things like, if you have some carbon forks with a ’15 stone weight limit’, what happens when a 22 stone man rides them into a kerb? What happens to a carbon frame if you ride it through flaming bales of hay? What happens to tyres if you fire sharpened shards of flint at them?

That sort of thing. Videos of the tests should also be made available to Premier members

A free Mint Sauce keyring?

Fewer niche bike tests. 😉

A retro bit would be good, I reckon. Just a few pages though.

thats already been done – its called Top Gear 😆 (used to be a good car program) 😆

They should force anyone who posts lap times for trail centre rides in this forum to enter a world cup XC race and then shoot them if they don’t win and write an article about how utterly rubbish they are on a bike…..

stig on a mountain bike – get some celebrity mountain bikers and put them to the test around a xc course – or a full on celebrity race!

there should be at least one joke & puzzle 🙄

1) Local rides/routes – ST meet with a reader at different parts of the country and ride with them on there local trails (with some interviews,local pubs etc thrown in too.

+1 Like to see much more of this, combined with the test kit reviews … produce broader articles that incorporate more topics of interest.

combine the two popart, have STW take a piece of kit to a reader to test on a local ride and compare with whatever they normally ride – whether it be a whole bike, or a part, or some clothing etc.

yeah even if your familiar with the featured trail – the local rider might throw up a magic unknown piece of the trail (get the local rider to draw up a map too)

I like it Stoner!

1) Local rides/routes – ST meet with a reader at different parts of the country and ride with them on there local trails (with some interviews,local pubs etc thrown in too.

They did this back in 2008. It was called “scenes” and I was in it! Then they dropped it.

something you did? 😯

My #1 whinge with ST is where they print white font on a black page.

The font rendering is awful, esp. on the right-hand side of the column. It’s a real strain for me to read and often I just give up.

Trailquesting. 😉

Do people actually read ST? Local rides led by local riders? Its in every issue fools.

In my opinion it needs more articles that are relevant to the majority of its audience. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t want to read about riding the Iditabike or whatever its called. WTF would I want to ride a tractor bike in the snow in Alaska?

So, more UK riding articles incl. trail centres (theres enough riding in the UK to cover 2 UK rides each issue, surely?). Include more info on places to stay/eat etc.

Readers long term tests/reviews might work? People who might use the same bike/kit a couple of times a week for 6 months might be in a better position to give a view on something rather than a journos bike that has a constant swapping of kit / being ridden less in favour of other test bikes etc?

Group tests are good.

Less of the 1 page articles by ‘your mates’ who seem to do nothing but spout rubbish ramblings that are vaguely related to riding bikes. I’ve read more interesting stuff on the forum by the normal forum dwellers.

Nothing involving road or CX bikes. 29ers I accept now.

More ‘from the heart’ stuff like Ed’s winning article a couple of years back and Ben’s the other month. I’d much rather read things like that than guff about snow riding which seems to make an appearance in every issue I pick up.

Page 3 would be good, in the traditional sense.

buzz-lightyear – Member
My #1 whinge with ST is where they print white font on a black page.

The font rendering is awful, esp. on the right-hand side of the column. It’s a real strain for me to read and often I just give up

This^

Some articles I’d like to read in the latest issue but can’t 😡

the knee pad review

Would totally agree with the white text on black thing plus think the magazine as a whole could do with a little work in the layout/looks department although still a lot better than most cycling magazines.

Think the long term test thing that STW do allude to is good, it just often doesn’t really play out that way, we have one 1st test then a review of it a few months later then often nothing. Think the above idea of public long term test is a good one although I can see it being fraught with problems!

I would like to see more race reports coving local, national and international races but realise that this doesn’t appeal to all.
For me, I see little point in buying the magazine these days (or any magazine apart from Dirt as it looks nice, like it from an artistic point of view and cycling weekly as it has race reports which also applies to Dirt), just find endless tests on products that I am very unlikely to buy and would just look on line for tests for specific products (maybe buy a magazine if I was looking for the products that they were testing that month)pretty uninteresting. Or route guide of places that I am very unlikely to ride not really relevant to me. Again I if I was going to an area to ride I would buy a guide book or search the internet. Feel at least with event and race reports there is something different to read about.

Think being a magazine is hard these day though, as there’s so much on line that sort of makes them a bit pointless apart from being something to read on the train. Thinking about it do think the visual appeal of the publication is a big one, much prefer to read the printed word and look at printed photography but singletrack currently doesn’t make me want to rush out and buy it as the visual appeal is just not quite there…but I am a fussy, over critical artist!

readers wives/husbands/partners……….igmc.

Tbh, I’m not that unhappy with how it is now. Oh, apart from it could do with a crossword and a cartoon. Joking, only joking.

How about giving Hora a column? Call it ‘From the mouth of a mongo’ and let him parp on about dead feeling bikes, how the Peak District has no corners, etc. I’d read it.

Got to be an article in iOS and Android apps for tracking.
Info behind LEDs what one are currently in which off the shelf units.
more technical not just reviews of components but the tech behind a carbon bar.

More DETAIL!