On the back of the “Farewell Privateer” thread what (paper) bike magazines do you buy/read?

I don’t regularly buy any anymore think the last one I bought was Singletrack or Dirt a couple of years ago.

Singletrack – posted to Oz, I considered dirt but generally it’s just a picture book

I buy Singletrack as a thank you for this web site really. There’s not really a huge amount to read in there for me.
Totally given up on the other comics. I now buy Classic Bike and Classic Bike Guide. Tons of reading and last me a couple of days.
There was a guy who built his own V Twin Norton who had a picture and a few lines written about him.
In Singletrack we had about 4 pages devoted to a bloke with a beard who filed some metal off his pedals

Singletrack brought by Mr postie!

Singletrack but rarely read more than half the articles these days. I an nit sure what it is but it’s not grabbing me so much lately.

I occasionally by The Cyclist but half of it takes itself a bit seriously for my tastes. Nice photography though.

Sometimes buy cycling weekly if I have an hour on the train and no work to do.

Singletrack delivered by the postie here plus an occasional (ie once / twice a year) MBR

which ever ones trick me into subscriptions with shiny things…

Singletrack sub and the annual TdF guide, plus random occasional MTB or road mags.

Cycling Weekly, Procycling (or Cycle Sport). Occasional mtb magazine including STW, and I have perused Dirt (when bought by Son1). And sadly no longer Privateer.

ST sub otherwise only buy other mags if I have a long train journey

occasionally MBR & WMTB, Rarely Singletrack & MBUK if WHS / Tesco have none of the others when Im buying

Dirt and Singletrack for me, wont be renewing my singletrack subscription though, not grabbing me at all these days, I don’t feel like the I’m the target audience. A few people have left who I felt I could relate to such as Jon the designer, Sim, Matt and Ed Oxley no longer contributes – I valued their opinions and they produced some good stuff between them. Ed’s original pass storming article was a stand out one for me and his kit reviews were always good. Seems a bit more niche to me now and up its own arse. Barely read it these days. Shame, looks good on the coffee table though I suppose. Dirt isn’t much better but at least you get the odd good issue when Steve jones isn’t ramming 29ers down people’s throats and banging on about how important it is that companies make bikes that fit him personally!

None at the moment. Only one I’ve ever subscribed to was Singletrack and that was really just as a way of supporting the forum. As mentioned elsewhere, I prefer to read folks blogs these days. I can find stuff that interests me, they are usually succinct and there’s less of the “industry” talking to itself.

At the moment Dirt, Singletrack and Privateer. Was going to ditch one of ST or Dirt, however Privateer has just given one of them a stay of execution. Noticed recently that Privateer and Singletrack had started to despoil their spines again, I really liked the clean look of the previous issues…

Steve Jones’ 29er conversion convinced me about long travel wagon wheels and I’m fully on board now. Though I do like my skill compensators.

Single track didgital, I don’t buy paper mags anymore.

MBUK, Dirt and occasionally MBR. Singletrack has got a bit too bridleway/into the wild/bivvi biking for my tastes of late, kind of coffee table material.

Singletrack and Cyclist on sub.

Occasionally pick up the US mags Peloton and Switchback.

Last mag I bought was Privateer, prompted by the rather excellent Burry Stander tribute/obituary.

I used to religiously buy MBR and Mountain Bike Action (US) but just don’t bother now. I do, on occasion, pick up a copy of MBA in Salisbury and go to the back pages for the delight of seeing stuff I saw first time round being presented as “Wow, look at all this weird retro stuff, crazy huh?”. 🙂

None at the moment.

Dirt, subscribed for the sign-up gifts and they have the odd good article. Won a ST digital sub when they were doing those codes so perusing that too.

I only buy ST just in case rOcKeTdOg is in it again.

ST on sub but had a real 1st world quandary about renewing this year. Like several people here, I feel it isn’t what it used to be but then what is? It could well be my tastes in 2 wheeled things changing or that I don’t have as much money these days to indulge the sorts of nichery found in the mag. This could well be the last sub year but I won’t buy anything else , the others are dentist waiting room material.

very rarely buy anything, if there is an article that catches my eye or a freebee that happens to be what i want then i might. Very rarely happens though. As for actually reading a whole mag, never happens.

Maybe it is me, but i have very little interest in anything that appears in any bike mag. Bikes are for riding, and the crap that the industry and the mags keep on going on about is a major turn off for me. Not interested in whether 650 or 29 are better, WTF is better anyway! Not interested in reviews that i have little faith in and are often too short term. To give an idea, i have a couple of pairs of assos shorts, that are on their last legs, but are 7-8 years old, telling me a pair of shorts is comfortable after a reviewer has worn them for a few days/weeks doesn’t really help me when i want to know how they will be after a few months/years of abuse.

Singletrack but rarely read more than half the articles these days. I an nit sure what it is but it’s not grabbing me so much lately.

Me too.

WhatMTB?
MBR – about to cancel subs
Performance Bikes

None. Haven’t done since I let my ST subscription lapse about a year ago when the format changed and it disappeared even further up its own bum.
Dirt I’ve not bought for a long while but last time I did I kept on having to turn the page to get the paragraphs level and/or finding a magnifying glass to read the shit/tiny/’arty’ fonts used.
MBR I often hear people joke about but I bought a copy on holiday in August just for something to read but I just couldn’t do it – absolutely awful.
MBUK – is that still going? Suppose 13 year olds need something to read.

Is there anything else? I personally find that various blogs/forums etc bring me more than enough bike content to read for absolutely nothing so why bother buying paper magazines to read a few times, migrate onto the office shelves/bog windowsill and then into the recycling?

I just like to read about ‘normal’ riding bikes. I don’t want to read about:
riding across Alaska on a fat bike
riding across Mexico on a tourer
downhill racing
enduro racing
xc racing
any racing
cross (its not mountain biking – I wouldn’t buy an F1 magazine and expect to find articles about rallying in it)
whole articles about naming trails
whole articles written by ‘friends of the magazine’ (aka, rambling about nothing and wasting paper)
other stuff

I used to like magazines… before the internet. People who buy magazines – you’re wasting your money.

Havn’t brought a mag for years but have recently subscribed to DirtRag from the good ole USofA, awaiting my first copy.

I find that although I ride MTB’s 70% of the time over road, I prefer the road mags, they seem to actually have some content, best of which is Cyclist, great newish magazine.

But I do subscribe to Cycling Plus, Cyclist, Singletrack and Privateer.

I think Dirt actually tackles the kind of bikes and racing that people want to read about but often manage to write unreadable articles.

Subs for MBUK and STW here

I always read sportive weekly, I mean cycling weekly. As the mrs is carefully selecting her celeb gossip dribble mag I always stand and read the comic while I wait. Then just put it back when she is ready to go and pay. I read Dr Hutch’s page and skim the other bits to see if there is anything regarding TTing in.

I buy dirt from time to time and really like that.

Since I am a BMX racer at heart I buy 20/24 mag quite a bit and buy Dig or Ride a couple of times a year.

I bought cyclist magazine once or twice and enjoyed. The issue with the article from RST coaching on training using HRM has formed the basis of my training plan most of this year.

I dont buy any every month.

Oh and i do like buying motorsport magazine a couple of times a year. Excellent read and pictures

None at the moment really. Used to buy ST and Dirt regularly, but haven’t for a while.

Picked up a couple of copies of Cyclist recently. Quite enjoyed it.

Singletrack, but have to qualify that by saying I only buy it dependant on contact, which is most issues and I don’t subscribe.

Rouleur, have don for years now but they are stacking up unread at present.

Privateer, bought a good number but again dependant on content, which meant I bought more ST’s…

ProCycling, bought this for years but God it got soooo sanctimonius so I stopped about 2 years ago.

CycleSport, bought this for the humour, but it lost that so I stopped again about 2 years ago.

I get all by cycling related news/views/opinions from here now.. 😉

Singletrack on sub, but I’ve not managed to read the last 2 issues so think I’ll probably stop and save the money.

None regularly, the odd Rouleur, Privateer or Cyclist. I currently have a copy Cycling Active and in parts it’s OK, other bits are hard to tell articles from adverts. I struggle to see the point of most mags now, online reviews are much better as people pay for the product and use it a long time, so more in depth and objective than mags. The only mags worth bothering with IMO are ones that bring something new and not found on the internet like Rouleur.

Performance Bikes sometimes and Practical PB too.

Singletrack is the only subscription. I still enjoy reading it and, for me, it has a good balance of articles that makes it worth the sub. The editorial is not quite as good as when I first “discovered” it, but that could just be rose-tinted spectacles.

As someone said above, Cyclist is good. They have a superb balance of articles and strike a nice balance between disposable toilet reading and “quality” publication, without going up their own backside.

As for the others, I must confess I think MBR has got a lot better recently and have bought it two months running. Privateer, Dirt, MBUK and WMB occasionally get a look – WMB being the worst by far – but I do enjoy having a read in the bath and don’t like to run out of magazines to read 🙂

Singletrack but rarely read more than half the articles these days. I an not sure what it is but it’s not grabbing me so much lately.

This. I’ve actually cancelled my subscription though. It’s gone way too beardy-weirdy lentil-munching tree-hugging sandal-wearing bleeding-heart lefty-liberal alternative technology for me lately.

It’s gone way too beardy-weirdy lentil-munching tree-hugging sandal-wearing bleeding-heart lefty-liberal alternative technology for me lately

😆

Interesting. I really don’t see it that way and despite having a singlespeed in my quiver 😉 , I certainly wouldn’t describe myself with any of those hyphenated adjectives. A quick flick through the last issue and I still can’t see what you mean. Examples?

What mb, just rehashes of whats written in their other titles, to many adverts and pictures,

MBR, good pictures but to many of them, thinner than an anorexic budgie and about as intresting, there is only so much youread about a new tyre, or handlebar.

MBUK as above,i dont really need to know every issue how you test a bike.

Singletrack, not in tesco or morrisons, and rarely in wh smiths, lots of great pictures, fewer adverts, but long drawn out boring scripts.

What mtb only, read it for years, good reviews and features, few too many adverts now though.
Used to get singletrack but all got a bit long winded, pictures good though 😀

used to religiously buy MBR, What MTB, Singletrack and MBUK. Gradually stopped buying MBUK as it was full of rubbish with no actual content. stopped buying MBR for a bit and then when i went back to have a look at it again in WH Smiths i couldn’t believe how rubbish it was. the number of adverts had gone through the roof, the layout was rubbish too and i realised that they were basically rehashing/updating old articles. haven’t brought it since and that was about 7/8 years ago. gave up on What MTB, just got bored of it. Singletrack is ok. i still occasionally buy it but not very often. i think the format change that they did earlier this year has improved it no end but its expensive so don’t bother that often. i do occasionally but Cyclist. quite like that.