Steve Jones off of Dirt – is it just me?

So, Chipps- is STW The Economist or Socialist Worker?

I’m curious. 😀

I have not read dirt or any other mag for a while, I used to use the forum before I found this place! I even won some DVDs once! Now the reason why Jones articles are not word perfect are because he is first a cyclist and second a journo. In fact this topic has inspired me to go buy a copy! Does Rose and Billy trailstar still work there? 🙂

Yep – they’re still there.

I dunno about all of this Jones bashing, I’d be the first to say he does write some cobblers but I think it’s fair to say his enthusiasm shines through, there are Dirt contributors I’d like to see replaced long before you took SJ out of Dirt’s pages, for instance I can’t believe they actually pay Josh Bryceland for his monthly pieces (in fact even if they don’t I can’t see what they bring to the party really)…

To complain that Dirt in particular are short on Technical/Engineering details in their articles is laughable though, it’s not like MTB related print media in general is much more technically informative than visiting the manufacturers website or leafing through their brochure yourself…

I think What Dirt in general is maybe missing now is the Qualitative element of kit reviews I can’t believe the 0.5 deg +/- head angle debates and gram counting spreadsheet shite is really what people want to read, and the fact that historically Dirt shied away from that to describe the user experience (What the damn bike is like to ride!) was their appeal, the trouble is that recent reviews don’t really give any insight…

And the other articles are mostly about cutting edge, achingly cool kids you’ve never heard of living the dream and traveling with their bikes (They’ll be done with bikes in a couple of years and on to the next thing probably)…

TBH these days I only buy Dirt maybe 3 times a year to see what (if anything) has changed for better or worse..

otherwise I uite like Wideopen-Mag as they seem able to “Out-Dirt” Dirt…

I flick straight to brycelands column 😀

makes me smile everytime!!

I can’t believe they actually pay Josh Bryceland for his monthly pieces (in fact even if they don’t I can’t see what they bring to the party really)…

So right. Bryceland, whilst occasionally witty and funny can barely speak coherently let alone write. Of all the dh racers out there he really is the last one I want to read. I’m sure he’s a top bloke but I’d rather have a column by Barel, or Hill, or Fairclough…..or Minaar or Gracia or Peaty or….

I wouldnt bring either of you two craicuums to a party.. jaysus!!

he is first a cyclist and second a journo

See also: Every cycling journalist I can think of.

From the early days of Dirt I really enjoyed the mix of mtb with a bit of bmx thrown in together. There was always going to be something related to bmx in each issue.. and i like that. It can still be found in it and it will probably never leave.
For someone that hasn’t been into mountain biking for 5 or so years,they might find it of no interest to them. Some might skip to the next article and think nothing of it,others might frown and start taking out their anger because of their lack of knowledge on the history of mountain biking and pick on the grammar ;O) This really doesn’t faze me if its something i enjoy reading about.

People,bikes,parts,races.. anything to do with the “good old days” in mtb or bmx could be thrown in there and for someone that hasn’t lived in that era.. some of it is going to confuse them. For the people that have lived through it,it might bring a smile to their face. Spotting these little pieces thrown in i just don’t think anything of it. I might know who,where or what they might be on about when it comes to the older stuff but looking at it from another side, there’s often new school stuff I don’t have a clue about. I wont make a song and dance about it,though.. I just accept that I haven’t been there all the way through.Possibly because I chose not to hit the DH races as much as other folk around me have done over the years amongst other things.

I don’t buy magazines,they appear. I cant remember the last Dirt magazine I bought but the last issue I read had Chaussons interview in it. I enjoyed that. To read about her possibly making a comeback made me chuckle. The thought of the look on some of todays female dh stars faces when they first read about this would have been priceless. Without knowing who the hell she is.. or what all she had accomplished,it would probably be quite boring to many newbies i’d guess. Was that the issue with a tyre test? Out of the tyres I have ridden in that test i never expected to agree with the things said. The reason being, i consider myself a crap rider and coming from folk that could probably descend way more than twice the speed of me in mud.. it was nice to be able to read about them and know what they were on about having ridden them.

As for the way paragraphs are laid out,the colours used etc. Does it really get yer goat that much? Yes,yellow and white is a bit mind numbing but I wouldn’t give up on something if i was enjoying it.

If you were brought up reading R.A.D magazine (bmx action bike)in the 80’s/90’s then Dirt would be a piece of p1ss to read. You don’t know how easy you’ve got it!

Radio 4 here, too. But then again I do read STW with almost a passion… 🙂

Can someone pass a message to SteveJ @ Dirt that his STW account has been hacked, the message posted under his account on page 2 of this thread was understandable!

I’m a fan of his crazed ramblings….more challenging than that Soduku nonsense and some worth when you decode the original message.

I also think he’s wrong on the 50mm stems, I wouldn’t be seen dead on a 50mm ‘XC’ stem and refuse to run anything longer than 35mm now.

Don’t buy Dirt for the bike reviews. It’s pure insanity fiction. MBR easily has the best bike reviews.

That said, if a 50mm stem makes your reach feel too cramped, your top tube is too short:)

Has anyone still got the Repack/Shaun Palmer poster that came with issue 1 of Dirt?

I subscribe because its the one magazine i can pick up and either just flick through the pictures or read an article and want to go out and ride.

As for the engineering bit, they did a series of articles written by an ex-F1 engineer who now works for a suspension company which was pretty in depth for a bike mag.

As others have said, Dirt makes me want to go and ride, whereas Singletrack is something I will glance over whilst the missus is watching the soaps.

I like them both, and being a general all round non specific type of rider, I think that between the two of them they cover 90% of the mountainbike world.

I do tend to read Dirt cover to cover, whilst ST can get boring, and is read in short bursts. I get the impression though that sometimes, by buying Singletrack Im funding the ‘jollies for the boys’ I do enjoy it though and will still continue to buy it as I love things mountainbiking 🙂

Well this thread has inspired me to go and buy it today, it’s been a while.

Got loads of back issues if anyone wants to take them off my hands? Will post details later.

So, Chipps- is STW The Economist or Socialist Worker?

More like

I e-mailed Steve Jones a couple of years ago to ask his opinion on two downhill bikes. He took the time to reply. I thought that said a lot.

I like ST

and I like DIRT

but which is better????

there’s only one way to find out……..

EDIT: I would pay VERY good money to watch a fight between Chipps n Mr Jones. Especially if they were both….actually I may leave it there.

but which is better????

there’s only one way to find out……..

Can I just suggest a Top Gear style team challenge of Team STW vs. Team DIRT?

Random mtb races / tasks, followed by drinking challenges and journalistic ability scoring.

Chipps / Steve it really is the only way to solve this weighty and important question that is causing so much disquiet among the mountain biking community.

My money is on Jonesy for the “DH-Butty Bach Beer-indecipherable gear-review-enduro-special-stage”

I bet Team STW would win the Trailquest challenge.

Dutty Bunny!

I’m not sure I get you Jones knockers. What’s not to like about how he writes? Do you mean this type of thing (taken from Stmpy EVO test last year):

But very much the mindset of the Stumpjumper EVO and the Enduro. Many have opted for the longer way around for turbulent journeys – the Enduro – it takes more time, a fatter route to charm its way through the hurly burly.

And a few lines later…

And so with space and time converging and manufacturers desparate to tear apart the millimetres between bikes, the numbers are slowly beginning to stack up against them.

Dirt and STW are the only two magazines i buy now….the others just got so boring, endless pictures of the staff writers posing in the most ridiculous manner with elbows akimbo and the kind of lean off the bike that a MotoGP rider would be proud of….that gimp Doddy is a prime example….and that magazine with the ‘Wrecking Crew’ van….laughable, “we arrived to shred….the blue trail at FoD”….whoop-dee-doo….but seriously, the photos in MBUK and MBR are the most embarrassing thing….staff writers clearly not going very fast, no spray from the tryes, no mud being flung etc….and yet these contorted body positions that even Danny Hart would stare at in puzzlement and wonder what on earth they are doing….the photos in Dirt are superb in comparison and look like genuine riding shots.

Jones vs Doddy death match?

Bring it on…..

Dirt is a great mag, does a great job of conveying the fun of riding bikes. I’ve only bought singletrack once and found it to be very self indulgent and about themselves, though it was the anniversary issue so maybe thats why! Mountain Biking Doddy is naff these days, loved it in the 90’s when I was a yoof though.

I’m going to have to defend Doddy here. – MBUK does what it does and it does that very well ,(Without people starting MBUK there would be no Singletrack or Dirt mag) Doddy does the job he’s meant to do for them and does it very well, He ‘s a very affable nice down to earth bloke ;]

Matt

I’m going to have to defend Doddy here. – MBUK does what it does and it does that very well ,(Without people starting MBUK there would be no Singletrack or Dirt mag) Doddy does the job he’s meant to do for them and does it very well, He ‘s a very affable nice down to earth bloke ;]

Matt

@singletrackmatt

^^ have to agree, I have done bike tests and a number of photo shoots (in the UK and Canada) with Doddy and MBUK and always found him a down to earth lad with a good sense of humour and very passionate about mountain biking

he’s also technically a good rider with a good clean style, if you have ever ridden with him!

this is from a shoot we did at Esher Pump Track

The interview of Adam Brayton in the last issue of Dirt was very good, the photographs and cover shot especially was very evocative, you could almost hear the shale falling down the slope as Brayton landed. Steve Jones has also given the 26-29″ debate a massive kick up the bum, and isn’t sitting on the fence with his opinion.
No, Dirt isn’t for everyone, and yes Jones’s prose isn’t always easy to decipher.
You pay your money………

TBH I miss Paul Roberts writing for Dirt, he gave biking a soul on paper.

Totally agree RE Paul Roberts

Rivett

I e-mailed Steve Jones a couple of years ago to ask his opinion on two downhill bikes. He took the time to reply. I thought that said a lot.

I emailed him when I was considering buying an ex-demo bike I knew he’d tested, I wanted to know what sort of milage had been put on the bike. He got back to me quick smart. Seems like a top bloke.

but which is better????

there’s only one way to find out……..

Can I just suggest a Top Gear style team challenge of Team STW vs. Team DIRT?
Random mtb races / tasks, followed by drinking challenges and journalistic ability scoring.
Chipps / Steve it really is the only way to solve this weighty and important question that is causing so much disquiet among the mountain biking community.
My money is on Jonesy for the “DH-Butty Bach Beer-indecipherable gear-review-enduro-special-stage”

We beat them at the Steel city Dh 😉

Just seen Chipps profiled in one of my old issues of Dirt (am going through a load of back issues and throwing most of them out at the mo…)

Steve Jones is responsible for my entering the mega and having some great times- all thanks to being inspired by his clip on one of the Earthed DVDs, that and the photos of the glacier section in the mag.

He was 22nd/fastest brit in his first mega, and 10th in this years trans provence too…

If you think Doddy is bad I was in MBUK when Jamie Hibbard was doing a ‘local trails’ monthly feature, he came down and rode our local patch with us. He was a cockend.

LOL,
Steve Jones, off of Dirt Magazine (and housewives favourite on the Singletrack forum)

So it seems like there’s a pretty even split between people who love SJ’s writing despite his poor sentence structure, and those that find it unreadable.

For what its worth, what me and Flange were saying was that steve’s articles would be great, if he had someone to review his writing and re-structure it slightly.

@steve – fair play for posting! quite funny 🙂