Singletrack Issue 55 – Recession bites.

Wheres the rest of the mag?

Mine seems awfully thin this issue and 16 pages light compared to 54.

Funnily enough I thought it felt a bit thin too, but haven't compared it to any others so no idea how it really stacks up.

Thats as maybe, but I was pleased to see another holiday / bivvy article, haven't seen one of them for ages

They may have taken out the adverts.

Perhaps if I sign up as a Premier user I get the rest.

im not sure if its me having had a bit of time off the bike so not so inspired or the mag itself, but im normally dead keen to read it but this issue isnt really grabbing my attention. probably me!

I can post you my last 2 copies – just read them over and over.

Yeah, it felt a little light when I picked mine up from where it had hit the floor after postie had rammed it throught the letter box.

But then again, hasn't there been a reduction, or a price freeze on the Sub ?.

Anyway, if the missing pages were going to be interviews, then I'm glad they've been omitted. I don't like the interviews, they are almost always skipped.

🙂

S.

Had a flick through this morning in the supermarket, nothing caught my eye, so I didn't buy it.

not seen the mag yet ,

but have to agree about the "interviews" thing …they really are pretty lame IMO – especially when you compare the content / topics 'discussed' with similar interview based features from the very early issues of the mag.

Haven't got mine yet.

It's pretty poor.

The articles are just weak and the writing seems lazy and without passion. I looked at an old copy from 2007 (Felt Virtue et al test, Dalby Forest trail guide etc) and it was really good quality with loads of content.

I'm glad I don't have a subscription. Thank god the forum is entertaining!

I thought it was up to the usual standard. But if you think its light perhaps you should write your own artical, take some pictures and send it in. It may well get printed.

I offered one but they needed pictures, which I couldnt supply. I may redo it with pics and see if they are interested.

In the spirit of moaning – I was moaning that there were no navigator style events in the summer. So I made up one myself and several mates had a go at it. They loved it and I really enjoyed doing it. So the moral is – DIY.

Hmmmm… A fair point. But I don't see why I should have to write an article, get appropriate photos and send it in to pad out a magazine I then have to shell out for. It would just feel to me like I'm doing their work for them.

I'm glad I don't have a subscription. Thank god the forum is entertaining!

I don't really get on with the magazine, but I buy it because it pays for the forum. If no one bought the mag…

The recession must have hit the spell checker and the proof reader this issue as well. The Tracy Moseley article was particularly bad. Content seemed OK to me though.

Geez, we're a moany lot. I really liked this month. Two bike camping articles that may have given me a bit of inspiration, rest of it pretty good too. Didn't notice it was thinner, just thought I'd raced through it because I was enjoying the mag.

Agree on the interview stuff though. The "Interview edition" was wall to wall pish.

Just get the £15 on line premier thing, cheap as er Chipps! 😀

I was happy with this months mag

The Tracy Moseley article was particularly bad.

I quite liked that.

Each to their own and all that of course, but whilst a little thinner I thought it was excellent – a really good balance of articles. Thre articles (for me anyway) cover such a range of interesting topics. Particularly liked the Canadian one and also the one about the anatomy of crashing.

Thats as maybe, but I was pleased to see another holiday / bivvy article, haven't seen one of them for ages

That made me lol.

Mag does seem a bit thin, I agree. Not many bike tests either?

Magazine and newspaper sizes are at least partly dictated by the number of adverts sold though. Perhaps it was a quiet month.

It’s must be tough running an bike mag these days, especially when you are now having to compete with the free online PDF ones (I won’t list them of here, it’s not fair) suffice to say you get what you don’t pay for, which is basically Dirt by another name; Piss poor writing, philosophical diatribes on nothing, God awful spelling and grammar, padding the gaps between some pretty pictures (Which you can probably find elsewhere online).

Still the last title ST wants to earn is “Best of a bad bunch”…

Lets be honest the Singletrack is far better than most of the Cycling magazines out there (especially those pumped out by Future Publications (Cycling plus excluded)). Also we cannot complain about the mag as we can write an article and send it in and stand a chance of getting it published, then you can tell your friends and women that you meet that you are a published Author, you can even put it on your CV and look clever.
The one thing I always like(d) about Singletrack over the other mags was the lack of interviews and the fact that there were no pro riders (Ohh look how cool Rob Warner is and how exciting his life is (Joke)). Sadly in the past year there has been a growing number of interviews and pro riders…
Also to echo the comments above without the mag we will all be stuck with BikeMagic or BikeRadar…

I thought it was a pretty good edition, 54 was the best for awhile though, especially after the interview edition (happy with one interview per edition, but not loads of em).

I think the mag has carved a bit of a niche in the 'adventure mtb' space, rather than freeriding, or xc or downhilling, so the bivvying and long distance endurance type rides, which appeal to me, fit in well.

After a couple of poor issues at the end of last year (yep, the interview edition did little for me, too) I thought this one was really good. I'd rather a thin mag with good articles than one that is 50% ads that gives me wrist ache (er, you know what I mean 😆 )

The early issues in the year are always the poorest performing in terms of sales so we cut back on 16 pages this issue. We aren't alone. Lots of other mags do the same EVERY year. It has to be in 16 page chunks though due to the way we are printed. It's a big huge printer that prints 16 pages in one pass, so that's how many pages you need to cut.

Just for some perspective.. we've always had an interview in every issue. Last year we did one issue that was somewhat polarising in terms of how it was received. That was the only interview increase.

I've picked it up and put it down 3 times so far, which isn't good. But it might excite me yet.
I did comment when i opened it that "i wish i'd lost that much weight over xmas!"

have had my eye on local newsagents for last few days no show……

what supermarket is it for sale in… i'm going cold turkey here 🙁

perhaps i should have my postie bring it?

Most Tesco's sell us

i think ST does a good job of portraying 'biking', at least biking/riding that >80% of us partake in.

i can't stand reading MBUK or the other one. they contradict themselves so ofetn in the same article it gets silly.

i also like to mish-mash formula of ST.

i like the fact they don't push particular riding styles and fill their pages with pics of 'freeriders' or 'downhillers' as so many mags seem to do (particularly bad here in germany).

it's funny comparing ST to one of the German offerings. the Germans concern themselves about weight, stiffness and exactly how many mm of travel they got from there forks (156mm out of a stated 160mm for some fox forks!!!!). ST concerns itself with riding and ultimately FUN.
the free online mag is ultimately lots of lads riding big bikes that isn't relevant to most of us. yes the pictures are pretty, but it seems to me they are more interested in the picture content than the textual. a sign of the times, perhaps?

i like the adventure articles in ST. i like the fact people ride bikes that aren't the newest offerings from the biggest manufacturers. yeah the grammar can be poor but compared to this forum it's pretty damn good.

i really should get the premier membership thing as i spend the equivalent on a single magazine whenever i see it at the station (12€ a pop).

I like interviews, FWIW.

That one with Nick Larsen was very good.

Industry ones are more interesting than pro rider ones, I think.

Singletrack could be so much better without much effort.

at least you've had a copy…! the postie must still have mine 🙂

If they ditched all the opinion pieces that would be a start.

Singletrack could be so much better without much effort.

How unbelievably condescending and insulting!
Can I ask what you do for a living?

clearly he is a journalist as he bullsh1ts for a living
TBH I bought the mag to subsidise this site and always find it an enjoyable read.
I have immense respect that threads like this are allowed on a website slagging of the magazine – that funds this website- by people who dont actually pay for either – so you get all this for free and you still complain. It is what put the Great in Britain – STW attitude that is not the whinging freeloading b@stards – rant over.

i like the adventure articles in ST

+1

Love them. Inspiring. Makes me want to buy a bivvy bag. Is this the year I finally do it?

update!

having sat down with mine last night i really enjoyed what i read; first half dozen articles, most of the tests and the long termer bit. think it was just me being a bit cheesed off about not riding lately.

Singletrack could be so much better without much effort.

Ah, one of those insightful comments that really lets us all see how you think it could be improved. Or is it so obvious to your great wisdom that we have to guess?

FWIW, I've been a past critic, but I continue to commend the sheer effort of what is an otherwise small group of people publishing a product that competes at a national level.

If they ditched all the opinion pieces that would be a start.

Though I find the cod philosophy of some kinda grating, it is something that differentiates the magazine. Ultimately, they tend to be more like blog entries than anything of significance (and still don't get me started on Ferrentino..!), but actually I can see their value if we fast forward the effect of the iPad on magazine publishing.

So….

1. I shall read this copy and decide if I like it based on its merits.
2. Consider if I have anything interesting enough to say to creat a contribution.
3. Suggest that a future issue be made up entirely of reader contributions. That ought to get them thinking…. 😉