[Closed] Farewell Privateer and chapeau.

A sign that mountain bikers are less affluent than roadies?

That's a shame, I really look forward to getting my copy though the post.

I subscribed from day one and have enjoyed every issue.

gutted, only mag I read these days (cover to cover every month, can't say that about any other comic)

That's pretty crap news, the current issue is without a doubt the best bike magazine I've read.
After being undecided for a while I recently decided that it was the only magazine worth buying despite the price.

Looks like the Beastway race series will be needing a new sponsor now after Privateer stepped up to sponsor it this year.

A sign that mountain bikers are less affluent than [b]hipsters[/b] [s]roadies[/s]? [b]and it was an expensive magazine.[/b]

I got a few, treated it more as book, that I'd pick up when it looked interesting but rarely.

wonder what happens to subscriptions too

The MTB market is at best flat and has been for a while in terms of sales, whereas road has been seen strong growth for a number of years. Which i guess means more new customers keen to buy-into the lifestyle which attracts advertisers.

I would also take a punt and guess the road customer is more affluent, particularly as Rouleur follows / links so strongly with Rapha, and is more willing to support a high-end mag. There is nothing really comparable in MTB.

Further underlines what a good job the gang at Singletrack towers are doing in both print and digital.

A sign that mountain bikers are less affluent than roadies?

Less numerous more like?

I bought issue 1 and as a rouleur subscriber from issue 1 I thought I would really enjoy it, but it just didn't do it for me.

Shame the print version is no more though. Funnily enough there was a privateer subs flyer in the last subs copy of rouleur.

I'm confused. Is it just the print version that's ceasing and there will be an online version only, or is it being completely scrapped? The article's a bit vague. They thank all the staff as though it's being completely scrapped and that they're "deciding to focus its resources solely on its road cycling portfolio." but "Privateer will continue to be available online "

I don't think they're that expensive, definitely get double the value compared to the 'big boys' which are £4.95ish or there abouts.

IMO.

I'll miss the riffle and sniff that greeted it's arrival too 🙁

Does that mean my free one will stop falling through the door?
Never got round to reading it till this month (Jeff Jones article was ace)
Tim

So will the digital sub still be available? It mentions online.

Never got round to reading it till this month (Jeff Jones article was ace)

That boiled my piss and one reason I cancelled.

What a shame.

The article about the Iranian Bahai racer chap in this months is a great piece.

Why so Drac - just curious like :O)

personal opinion, I loved it, some truly fantastic articles, but sort of thought it would have been better as an annual

a real classy coffee table type mountain bike porn filled annual

OK Drac, let the poor people in on it....

Going forward our talented team and future investment will focus 100 per cent on Rouleur,

Still prefer The Ride Journal if im honest..

I've got a few copies and only the last one interested me enough to read it cover to cover. I'd have liked it to have worked out (I do like Rouleur) but something about it felt not quite right and I can't really explain what.

ive just renewed my subscription as well.

TTS - most definitely. That's always a good read.

in fact subscriptions are still open on the website

Maybe read this instead, it's free online [url= http://bunyanvelo.com/ ]bunyanvelo[/url]

OK Drac, let the poor people in on it....

It was more the article catchline I can't find my copy to hand.

Found my tweet on it.

collislee: "Jeff Jones has reinvented mountain biking from the ground up"

Well that's some kindling paper sorted.

[i]Jeff has re-invented the mountain bike from the ground up[/i]

Mmm, blowing a bit of smoke up an orifice 😀

edit: Too slow. Still a good read. As a rider of a Diamond I found myself nodding a lot about the ride characteristics he's built into the frames and Truss fork.

To be fair the main reason I cancelled was that I wasn't always reading it so wasting money, it did have some good articles and nice photos. The Jeff Jones article itself had one or two interesting bits, he seems like a nice guy and eccentric as hell hence the frame.

I had a look at that bunyanvelo earlier, my thoughts are that it would be much better in printed format.

I've got two issues of No. 1.

anyone want to buy them?

50 quid each, they'll be £300 before you know it

Hmmm. So for the subscribers who have had DD's taken off, will they be getting their money back I wonder? Sorry but blame the accountant in me. 😀

I cancelled mine after I'd paid for the next issues if the money helps pay those possibly loosing their jobs for another month then they can keep it.

Am dissapointed. I started buying Roleur a while back and only bought Privateer for my then GF, started preffering the Privateer stuff. Just like me to buck a trend as it goes out of print!

An opporutnity for ST to widen its scope maybe?

[i]I've got two issues of No. 1.
anyone want to buy them?
50 quid each, they'll be £300 before you know it[/i]

Doubt it, the reason they're stopping printing it is because no one is buying it!

I was in the last one, sorry if it was my fault. Good luck to everyone involved, must have been a tough call. As an aside it was almost impossible to find a copy, I looked in numerous places including a couple in London I thought would be a dead cert. I know distribution is tricky for low volume publications and the stranglehold the big distributors have, but you know...

I thought wh smith stocked it, sure I've seen it in my local one! I don't live in a cosmopolitan town btw 🙂

You sure it wasn't a copy of private?

Ahh t'was a good solid Mag that. However I'll qualify my point by saying I only bought a few copies.. I sub to Rouleur, found Privateer in the depths of Condor one day and took one home in a brown paper bag.
😆

STW for the Win.. 😉

It's (almost) always a shame when a bike mag finishes but I got the first issue, expecting to like it but found that it sent me to sleep.

Maybe it got better after that but I just didn't find it interesting enough to warrant spending the cash to find out.

I thought wh smith stocked it, sure I've seen it in my local one! I don't live in a cosmopolitan town btw

Shame it was the only mtb mag worth reading IMO. Never had an issue getting it in the bigger WH Smiths.

re: the online offering, from their twitter feed;
[i]
Andy is being made redundant, so the site won't be updated[/i]

so the site will stay there but just as a place holder with archive content.

Sorry but blame the [s]accountant[/s]Scotsman in me.

FTFY

How much was a copy to buy?

great magazine and i'll miss it for sure.

[quote=iolo ]How much was a copy to buy?

9 or 10 quid I think

Damn shame, i really looked forward to a night in wi a few drams and a read through the mag, some very interesting articles over the previous few issues as well so it's a 🙁 from me. I just got my "renew your subscription" letter last week as i only have issue 18 left to run, not much point sending it off then is there?.

So they're going to concentrate on Rouleur from now on?, i guess that mag sits more comfortably in the trek riding, rapha wearing dentists waiting room.

[i]It's (almost) always a shame when a bike mag finishes[/i]

I know, I've never quite got over the demise of MTB Pro.

Bum! Only signed up for a subscription a few months ago too and enjoyed all the copies I've had so far.

Great shame

I know, I've never quite got over the demise of MTB Pro.

Funny, that was exactly what I was thinking when I typed that...

What was its sort of successor called? Bike Planet or?

Last I read was their excellent tribute to Burry Stander.
[img] [/img]

Shame to see it go, but I must admit that I've all but given up on buying any magazines recently. So, I suppose I'm partly to blame.....

[i]Privateer is the magazine for mountain bikers who already know the obvious; for riders who have paid their dues in sweat and dust and broken bone, and are irrevocably hooked.[/i]

I still find that achingly cringe worthy.

Sad to see it go, but the pricing was always a big hurdle for me - one duff issue and I cancelled my subs.

Shame... I've got a load of issues sat at home unopened though, I always found something interesting in each mag to keep me reading but it could be pretty hard work.

Gary_M - Member
I still find that achingly cringe worthy.

Thats because it is & your normal

I still find that achingly cringe worthy.

I'll miss it.

Some issues were better than others, that's just the variety it has. There's issues on the shelf that I haven't read everything in yet, knowing there's a good article for when I have a while to sit down and read.

I think what I like is the longer articles about stuff that was often historical or on the sidelines. That and zero product content, but it must be hard to take out of the financial planning for a mag.

Well I like it! Said Florence, hopefully.

Jeff Jones article very good; always enjoyed what I've read in it but I don't always get the time to spend reading it that it deserves.

I'll miss it 🙁

I'll miss it

Me too; more consistently readable than Rouleur. Mind you, with two small kids I never got time to read it (or ST for that matter)

Shame = always a good read and never disappointed, purchased from issue one. Now what to read, anyone read Dirt Rag. We need a mtb equivalent of The Angry Corrie.

^ Dunno, I never read Rouleur. Wondering if I've missed much? Some great books around on the history of the TDF, classic bikes etc so less interest in a mag along those lines. Privateer felt a bit more unique in that respect. I suppose it was too unique, and many 35-50 yo MTB riders are into road bikes now.

Edit to add, a few saying we never have time to read a mag that has a few pages per article here.. That's sad really. We need that reading time. Too much time on quick-fix websites, snippets of news. I don't read newspapers so Privateer or a classic bikes book is my sunday coffee read if not online. Must read more tho.. Bunyan Velo seems like a good read but the online e-reader is awful compared to a paper mag, shortens my attention span by ~80%.

Could it be that singletrack's change to something similar in look and feel was the final nail in the coffin?

Nine quid?

[quote=jameso ]
Edit to add, a few saying we never have time to read a mag that has a few pages per article here.. That's sad really. We need that reading time. Too much time on quick-fix websites, snippets of news.
I'd much rather read folks blogs. Too much of the stuff in the mags is the "industry" talking to itself. What folk are [i]really[/i] doing is much more interesting.

😆 @ Brant

Spose thats £8.99 more that it takes to produce most of the on one tat but you have to pay for quality.

Nipper - there's more than a hint of sarcasm in Brant's comment.
I guess you didn't read the early issues.

What shite news... What to subscribe to now, then? Has Singletrack changed much in recent years? I always thought it looked like someones A-Level photography coursework...

I really liked its as it found its feet. Shame there arn't more mtbers, it was my second fav behind Ride and this magnificent Journal of course. Rouleur it is then which I like but not as much. Note to Rouleur please don't do another b&w cover of detail of a velodrome ...

....I like velodromes, great photo, but I love to open Rouleur and see some colour...

I never like to see anyone lose a job or go out of business, but it seems the pricing was a big weakness

Lot of belt tightening going on at the mo.

I came late to mountain biking (43). I enjoyed every issue and it filled a gap in my cycling history and general knowledge. Never read Rouleur, but I do read books on road cycling instead (and Procycling and the Comic).

Perhaps my complete collection will now appreciate on my bookshelf.

£9 is a massive hurdle for anyone to get over when it comes to buying a magazine. I'm not bothered enough by adverts to want to pay for not having them in a magazine and I've bought BMX and MTB mags for 30 years.

Think I've looked at it on the stand in the bike shop and thought [i]nice cover, odd format - how am I going to store that, HOW MUCH!![/i] and my curiosity ends there.

Good luck to all concerned, these can be tough times.

I didnt know it had no ads, because I never got over the £9 price

I didnt know it had no ads, because I never got over the £9 price

This was the problem. Its all well and good publishing a perfect bound book with high pagination, great paper stock and a smaller quantity of ads if the reader understands and accepts the repercussions that will have on cover price.

The Rouleur reader and the Privateer reader I would guess to be poles part in salary and attitude though. what a shame. Well done Andy and co on a great mag.

£9 is way to much for a magazine

Way to pricy for the ipad verson as well!

Way to pricy for the ipad verson as well!