Full story here on the front page

£6 for a mountain bike mag?

Yes, or £4.38 if you subscribe. Or go digital and get it for £2.50 on Desktop, Laptop, Kindle, iPad, Smartphone etc. Plus all the other benefits. 😀

good luck with it 🙂

Must say Im enjoying reading the Armchair articles download. Great to have them all in one place. Reading them with the Kindle App on my new android tablet.

Highly recommend digital subscribers download it from the Mag Archive.

Thanks Stoner,
Glad you’re enjoying the eBooks – we’ll be producing a few more Subscriber exclusive eBooks soon, so good to get the feedback.

I do occasionally pick up ST in my local shop, but 6 quid for a mag? I will give the digital sub a go…

I pick up my copy in WHSmiths so this is going to be extremely prohibitive now for me. I’m not an oldie but I just prefer my reading material to be tactile/held and turned. After all, most of my mags end up in the bathroom (next to the bath etc) so electronic is out.

Funnily enough this is the first mag hora junior picked up on our recent mag trip (well that and a Tank Engine one) 🙄

Why not just subscribe? No. I like to take a trip to HMV, the coffee shop then WHSmiths mag buying every month. I never subscribe to anything because if I suddenly get a couple of really slim issues (read Dirt recently when they also ran parallel a special mag) then I’d feel inclined to feel robbed.

In addition (I’ve said this before) – having the mag in shops means theres more pick up rate for new readers who will casually trial then become readers. Replacing those that ‘drop off’/churn rate.

If its more expensive less people will pick up and decide to buy then read and become hooked on their first issue..

Why can’t I download blame the dug to my kindle?…It apparently doesn’t support multiple windows.

Hi Duckman,
Sorry about that – I’ve fixed it now and also changed the PDF links to so they should be accessible to Kindle also now.

The PDF’s however can be a little unwieldily on the Kindle so probably best to stick to the text formats.

The way mags are sold is changing rapidly though Hora. The picking up the odd casual new reader in a shop comes at a very high price. In our case the 50% wastage is costing us upwards of £40k/year. When we were selling twice as many mags in shops as we currently do that was a financial model that just about worked but for us and hundreds of other publishers it just doesn’t stack up any more.

We get 700,000 users per month right here! If just 5% of those decided to subscribe I’d be browsing through the catalog of caribbean islands* on which to build my palace 🙂

*the anthrax specials

patrick – bit more feedback…

ist it possible to have the article name at the top of each page (in something like armchair where its mainly text) so that you can flip through articles to their ends etc?

Savings and price rises. Read it three times and still can’t see a good justification. That’s not going to win this ex-subscriber back, sorry.

Some more feedback, for what it’s worth…………

Like hora, I’ll miss buying the mag. Same reason – tactile, portable, non-screen. I spend too much of my life looking at ******* screens, and I’m not going to relax in bed with something else that goes bleep and hurts my eyes! And that’s without the complaints from my poor wife!

But TBH (confession time) I have never bought Singletrack that often. That’s because I don’t buy it for bike and kit reviews or news (the other main 3 are far better at stuff like that) – I buy it for existential trail musings and above all, for the amazing pictures. There have been some simply stunning images you guys have produced – quite heart stopping. Reminds you of ‘those’ moments on rides.

………and here’s where we maybe link up with the future. You could produce and develop your photos and images and moving images on screen better than in print. You could become really cutting edge in this regard, winning praise from arty lovies as well as gnarly MTBers – and making trail moments into art attracts far wider attention from folks who’ve never previously considered riding a fat tyred bike on bumpy ground. Thus we increase ridership and also readership.

So will I start taking the Android tablets? Probably not, but I might go for the odd clip, link, or electronic exhibition – and in that context the subscription deal does look good value. The LBS connection also looks promising.

But guys – at risk of being a total pedant, please try and write good plain English (spot the unasked for apostrophe in para 4 of the ‘front page’ above.) Mmnnn……maybe it’s me who should become ‘resident grumpy’?

“The economy is in the bin”.

Comes across as Ben Elton, “Bit of politics”.

Yet the magazine and website do little more these days than promote product and consumerism and new kit and kit reviews. What happened to the good reads? Where’s the breaking news and inside track from your industry connections? Total lack of any coverage of whats going on at Maverick recently (flavour of the month, issue 6) is a case in point.

Nice one Patrick,thanks.

Mark, can you have a nearly new section for one issue old mag?

Obviously I wont name names etc but I bet the distributor (big cut) and a certain large chain asks for a very competitive buy in price)…so I can see where you are coming from

I’ll definitely be subscribing, been meaning to do it for months, just need this as a kick up the backside to do it.

I used to read MBR massively, every month, switched to Singletrack and haven’t looked back. Why? Because I have the bike. I have the kit. I have the know how. Now I want to go ride it – tell me where!

The pictures are stunning and the routes make my mind wander about future holidays for hours. Please keep it 80/20 with routes to kit/reviews etc. as ST is just not that type of magazine. Clearly you aleady know this – new riders are not walking in and picking up singletrack off the shelves, the majority are experienced and therefore know what they want.

Just subscribed after months of meaning to get round to it and never quite remembering – thanks for the kickup the @ss!

I think its a brave move by you guys to go down the road you’ve chosen, it seems to make sense though and I really hope it works out and the mag stays as brilliant and inspirational as it always has! 😀

£6 is a quid less than I paid for a copy of The Ride, which lasts a damn sight longer as a read.

I’m a digital subscriber who occasionally buys the hard copy mag. I think digital will be fine once you’ve ironed out the wrinkles, but for now I still can’t get half of issue 71 to even display on my iPhone 4.

Hi Bol,

We’ve had a few issues like yours. The best we can make out its an iBooks issue. It’s been reported on the apple support forums too. There’s things you can do to fix it though. Delete the file and redownload it. When it looks like it has finished downloading, wait a few minutes before you click the ‘open in iBooks’ button. It seems to need some time to ‘assemble’ itself in the memory of your phone before you transfer it from your browser to iBooks.

Hope that sorts it for you 🙂

Thanks Mark, I’ll give it another go.

I recently cancelled my subscription after a disagreement.

The changes make it less likely I will read the mag as a casual sampler.

Oh well…

I simply can’t wait for the “new” format, I love the tactile feel of a quality book or magazine and also being a bit of a tech geek I download the mag to iBooks too (useful for when I’m working away). Reading the above posts, I guess you can please some of the people some of the time etc…..I’d like to say keep up the good work. The only thing I’d like to see more of really is perhaps more race/event reviews and results.

almost took a sub at last years Scottish Bike Show, but didn’t have my account number on me (not on my card) I like the mag and do buy every issue, I think a subscription is calling. £6 is a lot though. For six quid I want wallpaper for mountain bikes.

Subscribe before 3rd April and you get 8 issues with digital option for £30. No wallpaper included.

Well a freepost envelope from me is winging its way to STW towers.
Been on here for ages, but never subscribed.

Well as somebody who doesnt have the technology to read the thing electronically,eg tablet,kindle etc, just a old desktop, and have no cash to buy one,and wouldnt read a flat version on a screen,haveing an electronic version is pointless for me and probably a lot of others.
I will most probably buy the new issue, but will just browse the next issue after the huge price rise at Wh smith or the local bike shop, if they actually sell it.

I also have no idea why thicker paper, using more of a natural resource is going to make it more saleable, but then im not a media type.

But saying all the above, the singletracks i have bought in the past have been great pictures, quirky writing, and thankfully not an advert on evry page, like the other toilet mags.

So best of luck with the birth of the new baby.

The eventual £35 for 8 issues equates to £4.38 per issue, which is cheaper than the current £4.50 cover price. And that includes postage. Not forgetting that there’s lots more to access as a subscriber on this site other than digital versions of the mag. Digital or not as a subscriber you get the paper mag cheaper than any other reader.

As I said in the story on the front page, we are focussing all our efforts on making the subscription option the most attractive way to read Singletrack, regardless of the digital options that are available on top.

Subscriptions are efficient, high street sales are not.

Of course the other route we could take is to cut back on print, including paper stock, and develop more digital only products. A thinner mag on cheaper paper would also be a pragmatic option to adapt to the changing market conditions.

We decided that wasn’t the Singletrack way
🙂

I don’t mind spending just over a pound a month more (less then a half pint in London!) for a magazine that is a LOT different from your typical mtb magazine. I’m not suggesting this is better or worst then others I just feel this is the way I like reading about mountain biking and I will continue doing so. I like the philosophy behind this mag, the fact it goes beyond just reporting about bikes, bikes and errrr, yes, just bikes. It is giving more space to the original philosophy of mountain biking, the feeling nature can give you (one thing a lot of us take for granted!), the beers after a ride and the good food you’re looking forward to while shredding the last bit of singletrack, the laughters with your friends after a glorious day! Sorry to sound cheesy but for some people out there this formula works phenomenally and subscription or not subscription, six quid or not six quid, I’ll keep on buying this one. Remember, just half a pint a month less…
eric.

I tried the online sub for a year and didnt renew.For me there is no substitute for a good mag that can be picked up at any random moment and eventually pressed into service as recreational reading for all by the potty or simple passed on to your mates

Subscriptions are efficient, high street sales are not.

But with subs you are guaranteed your money before the magazine is printed, so better for the cash flow.

But a printed mag is better than an e edition as you can passit on put it in your library, take it with you for the routes, and even recycle it.

As a long term subscriber, I can’t justify spending so much on mag subs.

I’m cancelling mbr.

nick3216 – Member

£6 is a quid less than I paid for a copy of The Ride, which lasts a damn sight longer as a read.

Good news issue 6 of ‘The Ride Journal’ is out. It has gone up to £10.50 a copy!

I’m looking forward to seeing and feeling/hefting the first new edition

A casual browse of most newsagents suggests that most magazines are around the 35 mark and the ‘high quality’ (well in look / feel, can’t comment about content) seem to be £8 upwards. So, A nice quality copy of Singletrack at £7 would appear comparatively good value in the market. Anyway, as a long time subscriber it’s not something I’m worried about!

New subscriber here. Hadn’t bought the mag in a shop in ages, but suddenly felt motivated to subscribe once I read about the changes and the rationale behind them.

To be honest it’s worth the money just for access to all the digital back-issues. And if £40 up front helps a little to keep the magazine in business and people in jobs then it’s well worth it irregardless of the quality of the mag.

In the last year I have seen beers that I regularly drink in regular pubs go up from £2.40 a pint to £2.70, some I drink in other regular haunts are £2.90 now, sometimes £3.00 and more.

While this argument won’t persuade the nay sayers have a look where you do spend your money. I did an exercise last year with tea bags. For quite a few years I have been buying supermarkets own brand tea bags, though not the cheapest range “to save money”. I bought a box of 80 in October 2011 and put a little note in my caddy with the date on. They lasted until early this month. So I was basically saving about a quid over the brand I really wanted in roughly 3 months. 30p a month! That is the amount PER pint I am paying extra in my local since Feb last year. Where can I really save money.

As said this won’t convince the nay sayers but for those of you who are on the fence worrying about the new price. Have a think about where else you spend money. The store mag is increasing what £3 per issue so a little under 50p a week? If the new mag lives up to the promise couldn’t you really drink one pint less a month to save up for the extra cover charge?

Looking forward to recieving my newly subscribed to magazine through the post. I’ve been getting singletrack for the past 6 months and it just makes sense to subscribe IMO. The most unique mag out there in regards to mtbing and just the right mix of awe inspring pictures, thought provoking and funny articles and not too much tech and gear reviews but just enough for the geek in me.

Keep up the good work guys. 😀

i subscribed last week, new mag at old price #win