[Closed] best mountain bike magazines

I subscribe to Singletrack and buy Dirtrag if/when I see it. I don't normally bother with any of the other UK ones unless I'm bored in an airport.

I subscribe to ST and digital version of privateer, both great reads.

For many years singletrack and mbuk for me. (I really should subscribe to singletrack 😳 )
Dirt is good for looking at the pictures but not to read, never really liked any others.

Dirt is my favourite. They all get a bit samey after a while though

my all time favourite was MTB-Pro, but now I subscribe to STW 🙂

Subscribe to Dirt just now. Used to get Singletrack too, but got bored with it. Very occasionally buy What MTB or MBUK if I'm travelling. Tbf, the last MBUK I bought was a vast improvement over the previous one a year or so before. On the other hand, I hadn't bought MBR in years, but the one I picked up the other week was really awful.

Digital version of this place, (postage too much to Sweden).

Didn't know Privateer was available in digitial format, goes off to check.

Dirt for me... I get them all though, Singletrack is usually the best of the rest. MBR went through a patch of quality but is back to being crap, WMB and MBUK have their moments. Usually enough of interest to me that I don't feel ripped off tbh.

Oh yeah, and Privateer... Might cancel that tbh, it's sometimes good but it's kind of hard work.

I was in Smiths and having flicked through the mtb mags I bought Classic Bike instead.
Nice to have something that lasts longer than a trip to the toilet. I do subscribe to Singletrack. Mainly as a thank you for this web site.

None of them. Might pick up whatever looks most interesting in Smiths if I'm desperate/going on a journey etc but they don't tend to contain anything that I can't read for free on the internet and a few just seem to contain mindless drivel for the sake of filling pages...

Singletrack digital subscription is an amazing deal. For £2 a month you get access to all back issues. Privateer also looks good but I've never bought it due to the astronomical price - sure the production quality is better than most magazines, but even the digital subscription option is more expensive than most paper mags. Only other magazine I buy regularly is Dirt. MBR has gone the way of MBUK and I can't be bothered with it any more.

I'm not rad enough to read MBUK.

I find all of them hit and miss, tbh. I have bought quite a few issues of MBR just recently, their current Riding Basics and the regular How To articles are useful for noobs like me.

So many of them are geared really heavily towards 'what you should buy this month' I sometimes find it a bit depressing.

i used to read MBUK, MBR, Singletrack and What Mountain Bike. i stopped getting WMB when the newsagent stopped getting it in but i was still content on the other 3. occasionally i would buy Dirt as well. problem was that i would collect the magazines and there eventually came a cut off point when i had no room in the house and the wife refused to tolerate the amount of money i was spending on them and the space they were taking up....i had every issue of singletrack and MBR. my MBUK collection went back as far as 1997!!
i ended up getting rid of them all 18 months ago before we moved to the new house which didnt have the space for them... 🙁
i stopped buying magazines for a while but have recently started again but i'm limiting myself to 1 magazine a month...so it depends on which one contains the most interesting articles...

Singletrack for me. It seems to cover all bases for my type of riding, i.e. a bit of everything off road.

Having been a Dirt subscriber for years, the magazine appears to have lost its way. Its got very thin on content, and whats in there isn't great. I'm letting my subscription lapse this year.

MBUK always seem to be targeting the teenage reader (too many G-outs, slamming berms, radness etc.) and MBR always struck me as a bit dull.

Have a sub for Singletrack and Dirt. Occasionally buy WMB for shits and giggles, would rather but a roadie mag before MBUK or MBR though. Bought a copy of privateer the other month, wasn't all that.

Long term subscriber to Singletrack, yeah its had its up and its downs, but I still love it.

Love buying The Ride Journal.

I used to get Mbuk and Mbr when i was little and they had boobies in them,

Dirtrag and singletrack for me,

Used to really like [i]dirt[/i]'s stream-of-consciousness editorial style esp when they had the reader's letters and fantastic one-off prototype DH rigs but since about Oct last year I think it's become far too dull. Basically mbr with a few DH pictures to give it some reflected glory.

Don't get me started on the others

to be honest i find them all crap, i might read the odd article in Smiths but that is about it.

To much repetition over the years, the focus has shifted to a type of riding i have no interest in, reviews are out of date and of questionable value, relate to the tester but not to another person. etc.etc.

I've had to force myself to chuck piles of old mags , loft had to be cleared for upgraded insulation . Had to be brutal and now realise how much I've wasted over the years . TBF they have been entertaining and informative on the whole and have helped me save money. ,!,! Must get disciplined in the future and cut right down . Singletrack still on sub from day one for some strange reason I can't bin those ? Also got Mountain Bike World and Maximum Mountain Bike both complete that I'm trying to hang on too !

None of them.
They're all just manufacturers' press releases presented as product reviews.

They're all just manufacturers' press releases presented as product reviews.

I agree on that part, I haven't looked at a review properly for years.

I'm liking the new singletrack, the articles i really enjoy are ones either about multi-day rides or riding somewhere exotic.

It's a shame with the digital versions of all these mags you can't rate articles or add comments to give the writers feedback to steer them more towards the kind of articles we collectively like

At least we've got it better than the US or French market though. Our mags seem to have a lot better content/ads ratio

Im a big fan of Bike. The USA seems to be a far more inspiring place than UK somehow.

Bike's good but I always find it's on the thin side compared to UK mags

add comments to give the writers feedback to steer them more towards the kind of articles we collectively like

*Shhh* they're watching...

Singletrack
Dirt
Shred

Does Cycling Weekly count? it does mention MTB's when someone wins a big race or in an Olympic year.

Liked MBR when they did there riding mountains series with Dan Milner, great photo's and very inspirational, having said that, think they are gash as a general rule, consumer gear catalogues.

[url= http://www.imbikemag.com/ ]http://www.imbikemag.com/[/url]

I used to religiously buy mtbPro and mountainBike action from the states, STW replaced it but now I rarely get up the enthusiasm to buy a paper version.

MBUK is for kids
Dirt is for people who can't read
MBR is for newbies
Singletrack is for overweight Orange riding, Audi driving IT managers.

They all get a bit repetitive after a while and so I rarely buy now. Tend to flick through to see what new stuff is out. I miss MTB - Pro 🙁

I still subscribe to [i]Bike[/i]* and [i]Dirt Rag[/i].

[i]Bike[/i] has always had the best writing & photography, IMO. [i]Dirt Rag[/i] has had some great art work (and beer reviews!) over the years, too.

(*my absolute [i]favourite[/i] mags are old issues of [i]Bike[/i] circa 1996/97/98 - the Singletrack Special, The Dark Issue, The Joy of Dirt, etc - I regard 'em in pretty much the same way I regard my favourite books, and they get read again and again...).

+1 for older editions of bike, a jolly good read and goodpics,

this is ok http://enduro-mtb.com/en/ dont think its been mentioned?

newstuff just the web...

I subscribe to Singletrack and buy Dirtrag if/when I see it. I don't normally bother with any of the other UK ones unless I'm bored in an airport.

+1

I also buy Bike when I see it, just to dribble over the photography.

MTB Pro, Maximum Mountain Bike and Mountain Bike International were the best - although Mountain Biking UK was a really great magazine c1990-1993.

I still buy Singletrack but am drifting away from it somewhat. Not sure that it is better after the revamp either... A few years ago Singletrack really hit the spot.

Mountain Biking UK was a really great magazine c1990-1993.

The Glory Days - occasionally had my copy confiscated for reading it in class.

Part of me still wants a Chas Roberts White Spider, a la Dave Hemming. 😀

^^ Oh yes!

We subscribe to Singletrack.
MBUK, from what I've seen, seems to be aimed at teenage boys with all its talk of "the wreckin' crew shredding the gnarly trails" and doing "sick tricks"!

all its talk of "the wreckin' crew shredding the gnarly trails"

It wasn't always like this... bring back Derek Purdy (and Sophie Brookes!)

This was their best cover, ever:

[img] [/img]

digital subs :

bike / dirtrag / singletrack

+1 for IMB. This is how the online media can be used for magazines, articles pretty good and often backed up with video.

[url= http://www.imbikemag.com ]IMB[/url]

Singletrack

Used to love Bike, havent bought it for years now.

WMB, MBR too full of brown nosed journo's telling me I need to but 29r's

MBUK... I get the sense that it's reading demographic is aimed at teens!!

I used to subscribe to MBUK but now only STW. The former got a bit samey in the end and I find the articles in STW to be a more interesting read.....

Privateer

Wow £1.75 for that MBUK.... If only that had stayed the same!

Singletrack and dirt for me + all the online stuff. Sometimes have a flick through the other usual suspects in tesco, always seems to be the same old stuff and quite often exactly the same reviews in at least two of them (aren't a couple of them "sister mags" or whatever the eck that means?)
However I did find a copy of mbuk from 1989 at my mum and dads recently which made me smile- was gutted when I found out they'd thrown about 12 years worth of assorted mbuk's, mbi's and mtb pro's from about 88 - 2000 🙁

Dirt usedto be a great read, now it's gone a tad bland. Tim March's write up about Interbike (possibly 2000)was crazy rambling piece but still sticks in my mind today! The photography and graphic style were amazing when compared to mbuk... The it lost its way around issue 100, got better and now seems ok. Its a shame they ditched the uk racing reports as well... My sub has lapsed but I stil buy it from the lbs.

no teeth

I know what you mean about Bike. It's now little more than a pamphlet. Back then, there was more reading than adverts but the same cannot be said now. I stopped buying it as the adverts increased but the number of pages seemed to stay the same. 😕

I still rate Dirt Rag and am about to subscribe.

I subscribed to Privateer but cancelled it as it's not a patch on Rouleur. The articles just didn't appeal to me.

The Ride is a regular purchase.

Singletrack is still my favourite particularly since the relaunch.

I used to buy MBR now and again but it's just to light on articles and heavy om product.

MBUK - Bought it from issue 1 in the 80s but have long since stopped getting it. I still reckon it's good for it's targeted audience though.

What MTB - Great for product reviews if that floats your boat but a bit light on inspiration. I'll flick through it in the newsagent at lunchtime but that's about it.

Did anyone else get the buzz from a new copy of Mountain Bike Action in the early 90s when the www was an Arkwright stutter? I used to travel through to Williamson's in Edinburgh to find out the latest developments in the States and read wistfully about riding the likes of Moab. Aye, things were different in them days! 😀

Can really recommend Switchback from the USA, although available in Smiths. Sister publication of the awesome Peloton mag. XXC mag online is ace too...

There's only so much information I can take digitally so I have printed subscriptions to Singletrack (have done so since, I think, single digit issue numbers) and Privateer since last year - and I read them pretty much exclusively tas I enjoy some 'me' time on the loo...

Oh dear, I'm a mag whore ... I really should reign it in.

Subs to:
Singletrack - always and forever ...
Dirt
Bike
Privateer
MBR .. it's a gift one 😉
gave up on the DirtRag one when they switched eds a few years back

But also buy depending on mood
- the Ride
- MBUK
- Switchbacks
- Mountainbike Action
- WMB.. although it really is dire

Online for:
-Wideopen
- IMB
- and a few others that I can't remember

Still lament the loss of mountainbike world and did properly like maximum mountain bike ...!

Mmmm this may explain my pile of half read books ... 🙂

Got issue 1 of Mountain Biker (which became mountain biker international) at home

A few people have said of MBUK that it's for kids and we're not the target market. As it happens I just opened mine, and in the current issue:

A Giant XTC Advance review
A tour of North California
A fatbike review
4 pages of mostly XC racing
Matt Page does the Crocodile Trophy
The embarassingly titled Wrecking Crew go exploring around Kinlochleven with Hannah Barnes, not a trailcentre or berm in sight (sadly no maps, either)

TBh most of this stuff could fit straight into Singletrack. There is also GNAR though, article on bikepark wales and a thing with the athertons

Depends on the mood, singletrack if I'm a bit down and reflecting on life or mbuk for a bit of colour and uplift, the writing isn't up to single track levels but mbuk is definitely a more colourful and uplifting mag

MBUK is the only one i occasionally buy. I can buy it when i'm shopping if i'm feeling flush or they're giving away hats. It's OK. I read it, but don't really take it in. I generally stare at the pictures and imagine i'm the one riding in them and not sitting on the bog doing a painful poo.

I had a sub to Bike mag from about '95 onwards. When Surfer Mags was bought by Interlink, the current owners, getting a overseas subscription became impossible - there used to be a bug in the online form, and the subs people in Florida would fix it so you could pay and get the sub - but they never fixed the actual web page. When Interlink (ironically, they're a magazine distributor and logistics company) took over, they completely ignored overseas subs. Poor show. I ended up getting an iPad sub in the end, but it's become rather thin, as said above.

Otherwise, occasionally Dirt Rag, Rouleur and Privateer, and The Ride when I can find it. But as my day job is reading, I tend to want to do (and, thanks to a new house, have to do) practical stuff with hammers and power tools in my spare time instead these days.

The best magazines are not hung around the reviews section - and that counts for a lot of different mags in different sectors, in my professional opinion. 😉

For that reason, I'm still a fan of Singletrack, Bike, Dirt Rag, the Rapha titles and The Ride. Long may they continue.

I read MBUK and What MTB, mainly as I've got gift subscriptions for both of them. Though they do get a little samey i enjoy them, though i do like the reviews as I love looking at blingy bikes and gear I can't afford.

I also read singletrack on a case-by-case basis depending on what's in it. I am really tempted to get a digital sub for it though, being able to access the archive is a nice feature.

Favourite of all time was MTB Pro. Don't buy any mountain bike mags currently as they all got a bit too repetitive. I occasionally buy cycling weekly if there's something that I like the look of in it and regularly buy Pro Cycling.

I have subscriptions to: Singletrack, Mountainbike Action, Switchback, and Dirt Rag. (Some are Christmas presents) Once in a while, I'll buy a copy of another if something catches my eye.

Of course I like some articles more than others, and some issues more than others. MBA has some pretty good how-to tech stuff which I like, but some of their (admittedly) industry-figure written articles annoy me and their website search sucks bigtime. Switchback has had some really good interviews, but I don't care for their reviews or some of their travel pieces (that fail to mention what the riding was like FFS!). DR isn't really clicking for me at the moment, and the fiction and a lot of the artiness don't appeal to me, but I've liked it better in the past.

Right now, Singletrack is my favorite, and they got the print/online combo right with the back issues and such, though an index is needed badly. MBA and DR make you buy a Zinio subscription or such to read them online, which I'm not going to do.

I stopped reading mbuk when they rated the pace fork better than the bomber! That proved to me it was about I dustry friends and adverstising rather than products.

Similarly with mbr when they started blithering on about front centre instead of effectivetop tube length. You're just a mag, not a bike design think tank.

Used to read MBA because they always had the tech first. However, tba ks to the internet, that's no longer the case.

As for stw, it offends the wife as a graphic designer so that never crosses the threshold.

Singletrack from issue 1. It has good issues and not very good issues but on the whole I look forward to it arriving.

Sometimes have a flick through the other usual suspects in tesco, always seems to be the same old stuff and quite often exactly the same reviews in at least two of them (aren't a couple of them "sister mags" or whatever the eck that means?)

A recent WMB I bought had two reviews of the same Giant Trance 29er; one in the main grouptest and the other under their 'trial tested' section further back. Also, last time bought WMB and MBUK in the same month and they both had reviews of the Genesis Grapil (different testers though).

Occasional buyer of WMB, MBUK, MBR, Dirt and - if I'm feeling flush - Privateer. Subscribe to Singletrack because for me it is far and away the best balance of features, editorial and reviews. The big boys rehash the same articles year on year but are good for keeping up to date with new products; the problem is, so is the internet. To be fair to MBR they seem to have improved.

Dirt is great when the World Cup starts since it has a bit more in-depth stuff on the downhill racing but it's for the type of riding I like to watch rather than the riding I do, so isn't an inspiring read in the same way reading about one of Jenn Hopkins' latest excursions in ST is (keep 'em coming Chipps).

I love the fact that Privateer has some good juicy articles but I do like [i]some[/i] gear to read about too, which is where it falls short for me.

So, if ST had some WC downhill stuff in it (racer interviews, opinions etc) I'd probably never need to buy another mountain bike mag again 🙂

subscribe to Singletrack, and i'll get Dirt where i see it. I' travelling often so i'll often get it in a UK airport (too expensive to post over here).

I'll occaisonally get privateer as it has some great stories and features. Real eye opener, but too pricey. I remember one article about a multiday mtb marathon race in Africa... simply amazing and a well written piece.

Haven't bothered with mbr, mbuk, wmb and the like for years. I disagree with the reviews most of the time. Theyre more unreliable than user reviews on MTBR!!

Onzadog - Member

As for stw, it offends the wife as a graphic designer so that never crosses the threshold.

Never let her see Dirt then, she'll probably kill someone. Blue ink on a purple backdrop? Why not...

Just out of interest, what are old mountain bike magazines worth ?
I've got hundreds of magazines on a variety of subjects stashed away.
The mountain bike ones are probably from the mid 90s to early 00s.

It would take a while to dig them out and sort them. Is it worth it to sell them individually or as job lots, or should I just give them to charity ?

As for stw, it offends the wife as a graphic designer...

Interesting. How so? One of the things I love about it is the clean and unfussy design compared to all the others, with the exception of maybe Privateer.

I don't even bother flicking through mountain bike magazines in the supermarket anymore.

Boring, all been done before.

XXC mag online is ace too...

I downloaded an issue of this last week and I'm pretty impressed with it.

I had a free copy of Privateer arrive through the post this morning, I've had a quick flick through it and it looks really good, probably a bit pricey to be buying regularly though.

I got a couple of subs offers a couple of months back on MBR and MBUK, 3 issues for £1. Even at that price I think I've been overcharged a bit 😯

Digital STW, occasional copies of Dirt and Privateer. Only mag I read every issue is Ride Journal.

Singletrack - got every issue. I'm in it for the long haul.
Used to get MBUK. Had virtually every isssue from no. 2 but sacked it a couple of years ago.
I had a 6 month sub to Privateer as a present but can't justify paying that much no matter how lovely it is.
XXC is a good read.

stilltortoise - Member

As for stw, it offends the wife as a graphic designer...

Interesting. How so? One of the things I love about it is the clean and unfussy design compared to all the others, with the exception of maybe Privateer.

I thought that was interesting as well. A friend flicked through one of my issues a while back and announced the same - really badly arranged and with an awful font! I'm still puzzled.

Talking of which, looking forward to the latest issue. Next week???

MBUK, from what I've seen, seems to be aimed at teenage boys with all its talk of "the wreckin' crew shredding the gnarly trails" and doing "sick tricks"!

Yes, I used to buy it when I was a teenager...

I do like ST, but the typeface is really, really annoying.

Did anyone else get the buzz from a new copy of Mountain Bike Action in the early 90s

Hell, yeah. There's a trail on Mendip that we kids (er, as we were back then) knew as the 'MBA' in honour of their trademark aggressive-action-shot front covers...

there was more reading than adverts but the same cannot be said now.

The [i]Bike[/i] articles back then were always a treat - consistently well-written and beautifully illustrated, asmuch about the place as the riding, & often very funny (and sometimes pretty moving, too). I guess the media landscape is very different now, but they've still got a bunch of good writers - I love Kristin Butcher's column, for instance.

I should say that whilst I only occasionally buy [i]Singletrack[/i], they still have the best forum. 😀

anyone remember the hand drawn maps in Bike ?, my trail IIRC

my trail IIRC

Some of them were amazing! Much better than all this GPS Strava nonsense.

STW.

Jenn is IMO the best writer in MTB at the moment. Chipps is still good after all these years too. And I'm always delighted when there's an article by the adventurous Poles.