[Closed] Why is this forum the best, yet the mag isn't?

The mag easily beats any of the others I've read in the past or still read and I'm not from Hebden. Have you actually read it recently?

trailridejim +1

Hmmm, this tubeless business. What's it all about and should I try it?

I find the mag repetitive and boring.

Oh look, yet another 6-8 page feature comparing baggy shorts / hydration packs / softshell's. Good grief!

And look, here's yet another story of some 'epic' ride across some boring windswept, barren part of Yorkshire.

I enjoy the mag and find its only the occasional 1 that disappoints.

However I wont be buying it much in future as I just cant justify almost £6 for a mag (the same will go for any other mag aswell)

DIGGER 90

I find the mag repetitive and boring.

Oh look, yet another 6-8 page feature comparing baggy shorts / hydration packs / softshell's. Good grief!

And look, here's yet another story of some 'epic' ride across some boring windswept, barren part of Yorkshire.

err, what were you expecting from a mag about bikes/gear/riding?

The mag used to have a college rag-mag/footbal fanzine type independant feel, & for a while it seemed to be exactly where I was in terms of what I was getting out of biking. Perhaps its just people's perception of where the mag has come to these days. I think its evolved, & in a good way. Its still a better read than the rest, & one of the things it still has (in abundance) is some fantastic photography. The artificially lit, chisel chinned models on beautifully clean bikes & kit that the other mags use isnt for me. I guess like any business model it has to change or it wouldnt be here.

The last few copies I've read in the supermarket have almost had me dropping it in the trolley, until I saw the cover price...CRIKEY !!!

Also, I honestly think I'd be more inclined to buy if the cover was as per the subs copies, with no wording other than the title.

There is a way around that Takisawa2: you could subscribe! The new, revised/relaunched issue is excellent, less of a magazine and more a sort of arthouse book. Very nice.

The forum is great cos it's busy, even in the dead of night or on a weekend, there are plenty of people on here. I've seen other forums which can go for a week with no one posting anything or with the same 3 people on all the time.

yesterday i emailed chipps congratulating him on all the changes in issue 72

I thought the revised new look was trying to copy Privateer but not as good. Had a flick through the new version in Smiths and will stick with Privateer though I did buy a copy of Swithback which Smiths also seem to be selling mainly for the interview with Mert Lawwill and the cover shot.

Other way around for me - the mag has a much higher quality feel and is more "grown up" than the forumTBH I've no idea why I keep coming back here - not sure I get anything from it. It's a habit I need to kick.

Have you seen the latest issue of the mag in the flesh? Quality product imho.

i like the mag, reading that i can avoid the knobbers on the forum

Convert +1.

I too find the forum poor quality, and full of repetitive discussions. The mag on the otherhand, especially the new one has a quality feel. I've never been to hebden bridge and don't find it parochial. Considering subscribing, whilst I am trying to wean myself off the forum!

Any single-subject magazine is going to repeat itself. Gear, bikes and riding. I'd rather see some photos and read about a trip across another bleak moorland than some pisted trails in a forest.

Having said that, I only subscribe (digitally) as a way of subsidising the forum, which continues to be a mix of entertainment, knowledge and downright annoyance on occasion.

I don't see it is just a mag, we get all the online stuff too. Free backdated magazines is something I have never seen or heard of before - back issues are usually print only and £3 a go. Free and 8 mags a year for £30? Yes please!

I love it.

Trailrider Jim, Which MTB magazines do you prefer?

I like the mag but there is certainly a bit of truth in this comment;

Hebden Bridge MTB club newsletter much of the time (seems that way to me anyway)?

Fair criticism TJ, I thought the mag had lost it's way a little over the last 3 or 4 years, for me it wasn't the parochial nature that bothered me, [I quite liked that, Last of the Summer Wine meets the X- Games!].

Had a look at an issue from 4 years ago where Matt [I think] was reviewing a Turner Flux and ended the review saying how grateful he was to ride such a lovely bike. Since then it seems to have gone a bit high tech and specialist. [Lee and Cragg quarries seem to have made a big impact in that respect] and moved away from it's more laid back identity.

Victim of it's own success maybe? Staff writers getting better riders / better kit to test? I feel that the mag used to represent the kind of riding and attitude to riding as me.

Props to the new format though, moving with the times and responding to the changes in the publishing world. Don't think it's fair to compare to Privateer, ST cheaper cover price and more of an all round mag really.

ST probably helped develop the market for Privateer,. Privateer probably saw the way ST had gone and saw an opportunity to fill the gap that ST had left in it's wake. ST coming back stronger, all good to me, I used to buy ST and one or two of the other mainstream mags, now just ST and Privateer, No extra spend, just don't get the mainstream mags anymore, [unless tempted by the occasional freebee!]

Hah. I think the mag's one of the best but the forum isn't that great tbh 😉

druidh - Member
Any single-subject magazine is going to repeat itself. Gear, bikes and riding. I'd rather see some photos and read about a trip across another bleak moorland than some pisted trails in a forest.

Having said that, I only subscribe (digitally) as a way of subsidising the forum, which continues to be a mix of entertainment, knowledge and downright annoyance on occasion

This, but I like pisted trails in forests as well as "proper" riding. They're a bit like smack.

tree - I like riding them, I just don't have much interest in reading about them or seeing photos of them.

I still think the magazine's excellent. Happy to pay the higher price for the better quality.

I don't read it often, but I subscribed digitally for a bit. Seems like one of the only bike mags with articles on, you know, [i]riding bikes[/i]. Which is good. I'd much rather read about an epic across a barren bit of Yorkshire than the latest revolution in knee pad technology. MBR / MBUK / WMB all seem like they're just adverts for bike kit for idiots, followed by a review of a boring trail centre*. The digital subscription is a great deal, too.

I prefer Dirt mag if I'm honest, because I reckon that type of riding lends itself better to pictures, and they have articles about cool place. Although the standard of writing isn't brilliant...

*I may be way off, I haven't actually read any of those mags for a few years now.

forum used to be good but the mag has never been worth the effort of picking up from the newsagents shelf (even just to flick through).
I actually did think about picking it up in the newsagents last week knowing some of my friends are featured in an article in this months issue. Unfortunately I'd already heard there was not one single pic of any of them, unbelievable considering the effort/hospitality I know they'll have shown the journo's.. v.poor show. 🙁

<EDIT>

inkster - Member

Fair criticism TJ,

The mag has been one of the better through the last 20 years I've been riding but note the past tense. Recently it's become to repetitive, as Druid said, it's sort of inevitable as annual product launches continue.. Stw had avoided falling into that trap that mbuk and whatmtb fell into. Same trap that mbi fell into and even the mighty mtbpro. The new edition is a step in the right direction but it still needs more adventure and less product. Privateer has done this well in the last couple of issues and I hope stw continues to pick up its game and get there. If not it might be consigned to the same in as the others. IMHO.

The forum is like watching telly, sometimes fascinating and entertaining, sometimes like watching Jeremy Kyle.

Privateer has definitely done something different, and for now is my preferred read (although I willingly subscribe to Singletrack as well). The key things I've liked from Privateer are:

1. very original ideas for articles (e.g. the recent one about the trail in S America and the local industry built up around it). There's very little on product, and although I initially thought I'd be uninterested in reading about mountain bike history, some of it is really very interesting.

2. the focus on 'scenes' e.g. the recent article about all those Welsh endurance riders - this is something Singletrack could/should really expand upon. I enjoy reading about other peoples' lives and how they get involved in the sport, and I often feel Singletrack misses an opportunity here given that the staff must be tied into all sorts of interesting groups etc. Give me more human interest!

3. the interviews and reflections on things to do with the sport which are actually really inspiring (like the one about the welsh guy who designed the first trail centre there). The interviews in Singletrack, whilst often with interesting people, are sometimes poorly written. In my humble opinion, you should never have a 'he said' 'she said' write up as it looks like the text to a school play. I much prefer the style where the writer frames the story and gives their slant, while quoting the subject as part of the text. Others may disagree.

Maybe the link to all the points above is that my own involvement in mountain biking is very limited due to time, and not social in any way. Therefore, I want a magazine which widens my horizons and gives me some inspiration to get out and ride if that makes sense?

All in all though the new Singletrack is much better so far, and as I said I'm glad to continue subscribing.

What did Jeremy say?
a little honesty perhaps? please tell me this isn't the reason he's banned?

Nothing.

It's not the reason he's banned.

less of a magazine and more a sort of arthouse book

But some of us want to just buy a magazine, not a lifestyle choice. I downloaded the free samples of The Ride Journal and the photography is amazing, the writing excellent and the layout is fantastic. Is it worth what they charge for it? no, not in a month of sundays, in the same way that as much as I have in the past enjoyed [url= http://www.waxpoetics.com/ ]Wax Poetics[/url] I wont be buying it again at the price they charge. Maybe I'm getting old but I refuse to fund someones art project, just give me a magazine

He's banned because he is Scottish, there seems to be a dislike of anything North of the border, must be because we have all the best trails.

is TJ Scottish?

Dogbert you depress me a little. You liked everything about the Ride Journal, yet didn't think it worth £8?

Anyway what's wrong with funding an art project, life would be pretty boring without creativity.

I subscribe to Dirt and I've just sent of my subscription for Singletrack. Liked the new look and kinda like the forum too.

The forum is like any other open access forum - very dependant on whose contributing what at any given time. You are always going to get 'What underpants for senile leakage' type threads and they do fulfil a need for frank information not always available in mags.
I too am growing disappointed by ST the mag. Admittedly I have been reading MTB mags for 20 odd years and seeing anything genuinely new is increasingly unlikely. I was intrigued by the revamp and was indeed looking forward to it, yet when 72 hit my doormat I was distinctly underwhelmed.
There just isn't enough that is different to justify the hype which seems mainly about the price hike. I am seriously wondering about renewing my subscription when it comes due which would be sad as it is still the only mag I subscribe to and it does have some content I enjoy but at that price I will have to think carefully.

Some confusion here.

In this case, TJ = Trailrider Jim, NOT TandemJeremy.

he has a replacement already!! 😆

how do you feel about the use of cycle helmets Jim?

Back.to the OP's question...best forum would be driven by the user base. Best mag is driven by what the reader wants from a small pot of contributors.

If you have more in common with Chipps or Matt (from an ideology, education, riding style ...whatever it may be) then I suspect ST is more appealing than if you have more in common with 'Doddy' or 'Jamer'. Also whether you fit the marketing department's core demographic. As much as I also like mbuk the poor grammar and language (but not the editorial style as a whole) does wind me up. But at 35 i doubt i am core audience. ST on the other hand is written in a much more grown up way.

Having now read issue 72 I would say it could do with evry article being a little shorter on words and one more article overall. But that is splitting hairs. Still rather st than any other mag at the mo.

I find the magazine and exhilarating read.

Whereas I find the magazine in my letterbox.

need to move away from hebby bridge bit of mythemroyd or even some where like exotic like cragg vale/ walsden req. need more features in mag from forum, like plumbing pages or log pile pron, slip in the odd bit of milibrand/ lib con and on slow months go the full hog with thatcher centre spread..

The print magazine is by far the best.

The forum is active and interesting, so content wise excellent. The software and format is from the Ark however.

I've been disappointed in in the lack of coverage of Hope vs Shimano and other important topics in the mag.

I don't have much interest in the mag, it's not really st's fault, given the limits of the content I just feel every mag is the same just with a different date on it. The forum amuses me just because people take it so seriously.

There's a singletrack MAGAZINE?
😉

Well the new issue is a good read, as per usual fantastic pictures, and this time some intresting articles, but please dont do tests of stuff, that is obviously made in the same factory and re branded as something else, its not big and its not clever, and wastes words.

Oh and i would definately subscribe, if the road tax, didnt need paying, home insurance needs paying, phone bill needs paying, council tax needs paying in a weeks time,and van insurance which has gone up needs paying,along with the electric and diesel fuel.

the only times I bought the mag it seemed very parochial, reviewing bikes/kit made by industry mates, interviewing mates, narrow horizons on trail articles etc.

Maybe I'm too old for MTB magazines but I found MBUK unreadable even when I was young, MBR and the like shallow and very repetitive. I used to buy the US Bike years ago (having lived there in the mid-late 90s) and in terms of photography, maturity and breadth of article/editorial I thought ST set it as a target but failed to meet it.

A recent Privateer had my dream collection of articles; the history of freeriding (which coincided with me arriving in the US and inspired me), the history of Ti bikes (as a fanboi and someone who used to chat to the likes of Gary Helfrich on Usenet) and Orange (being from Yorkshire and owning one). Cant expect any magazine to get that lucky again.

This is the only cycle forum I use and whilst I have started to skim over more threads (regular topics that get repeated on a near weekly basis etc) the S/N ratio is higher and the number of idiots/trolls far lower than other forums I've used. Having missed the whole of last summer due to serious injury living vicariously through STW kept me motivated to train on a turbo and enthusiastic about bikes so I possibly value it (and you contributors) more than some.

Try MBUK for some real shite

the new, revised/relaunched issue is excellent, less of a magazine and more a sort of arthouse book. Very nice.

it's like a really watered down plebs version of privateer 😀

ST is the best mag in my opinion. Don't buy it if you don't like it.

I think the magazine is the best there is in terms of MTB mags. Certainly much more stimulating content than the same-old gear fetish of MBUK or What Mountain Bike, and much better written than Dirt (see the recent thread on the illiteracy of one of its writers). Having said that, I haven't read the ones that are marketed as more 'high-end' such as Privateer and Ride Journal. However, the new issues are supposed to be more in line with them in terms of paper quality and photography etc.

Oh, and if you don't like the higher price, do what I did recently and subscribe. For £2.50 a month(!) you get a year's worth of issues delivered before they're in the shops, access to the full back catalogue of issues online right back to Issue One, no ads on the website, T-shirt, blah blah blah, etc. etc... It really is a no-brainer for the price.

STW is the best forum in my opinion. Don't read it if you don't like it.

druidh - Member

STW is the best forum in my opinion. Don't read it if you don't like it.

ooooo how clever you are Sir...

Stw is the over 40's equivalent of mbuk. It's a rite of passage mbuk to stw when you enter middleage, grow a beard, and prefer radio 4 over owt else

I read the roadie mags now, far more interesting due to the sport, riders, teams, tours and then bikes and kit.

I've always quite liked the mag, although I agree it has a tendency to be introspective of late, as to the forum I find it rather like a modern school class, highly PC, very left leaning and nasty boring teachers ruining any fun that might break out.

Actually weaned myself off for five or six weeks of which I'm really proud of myself, so i won't be on night after night as i was, it's so addictive, when everyone's wrong in a particular place on the internet.

But eventually it does get very samey and not controversial enough for my taste, it is successful however because of the two channel approach, that works well.

I'm glad I started this thread now. At first I feared I'd get shot down for trolling but reading back it's real user feedback. I'm pushing 40 and have been seriously into trail riding for coming up 10 years. I guess I'm one of the middle-age masses that spent a small fortune on the moneygoround of the cycling boom of the last 10 years and I'm now too pretty much bored of reading about biking (seems to be one of the common themes in this thread). Maybe the likes of me have read the endless routes/tests/epics features for too long? Nowadays, I get my fix from riding, seeing what kit works by my richer mates buying it first(!) and doing the odd event now and then.

The forum is far from the best due to mid life crisis morons droning on about roadbikes they've bought by defrauding the C2W scheme, petty political arguments & people putting others down.

mid life crisis morons

people putting others down

Well as someone living abroad I like the northwest centric tone

It makes me feel homesick as hell but in a nice way

Trailseeker - do me a couple of shirts while you're at it.

Trailrider Jim - it might not be your cup of tea, but have you tried seeking out blogs about cycling instead of the magazine. I'd much rather read about what "real" folk are doing than what usually appears in the mag.

I thought the photography in the new format issue was absolutely stunning. The mag layout and style was much better than it has been. I think it might have turned a corner.

I haven't spent as much time on the forum for a couple of reasons. The little 'un takes up all of my time, and I'm not that much a fan of the inconsistency of moderation, although I appreciate it must be a crappy job.

2nd the blog thing druidh. I read loads of blogs as i like the cross over from peoples other interests on there blogs and where the bicycle is just there way to see and do other interests 🙂

Been off here for a while due to reasons outwith cycling but on here esp is a lot of folk who have opinions of stuff they have not tried, like the look of, or see as fun. Most will probably have moved on and be doing another hobbie in a few years time...for them the Golf Clubs await where they will fit right in 😉

Photography of the new magazine is superb. I have to admit to not buying any magazines or newspapers on a regular basis.
I would buy a magazine on a regular basis if it had a fat bike section for us freaks as that is what is of interest to myself at present in cycling 😀

I'm not that bothered about reading about cycling or cycling kit so don't buy mags, I work in a shop that sells them and have a shoofty through 'em on downtime and it's all much the same. Anything I want to find out I can find on the net, mostly. I like this forum though.

New Emperors. Broke. Not. Fixed new. Great!

Broke the new fixed Emperor!

The new fixed Emperor broke it.

They were Emperors, and it wasn't broke so they fixed it, because they could.

Now it's broken?

Regeneration....sweeping the land...here's the future...feel good...embrace every new challenge.....I'm justy sooo pleased to be a part of this.

Sorry...pressed the wrong button

What did Jeremy say?
a little honesty perhaps? please tell me this isn't the reason he's banned?

Is he really banned? I hope not but want to know why if so. He really knew his stuff in my opinion and was a nice bloke!

Are we allowed to speak about it???

TJ is just having a little (enforced) time off.

There is no internet access in his cell.

Did he actually go into orbit?

Its probably the best forum for the 30-something left field mountain biker, but not if you are 17, for example, so I wouldn't say its clearcut. I have bought the magazine twice, only buy a few mags a year, mostly Dirt.

I would subscribe but I have not got a printer to print a direct debit form!

If you guys want to send me one I,m in

richard.munro2@ntlworld.com

Rich I'll get them to sort something out.

We won't discuss why members are banned on the forum unless we deem it necessary.

Bullheart it's a thankless at times and getting the consistency is very difficult as some of the offenders go unreported or unnoticed. Glad you're enjoying the mag.

for what now is TJ banned then may I ask?

Excessive arguing I believe. Don't know which thread.

"Budget - I'm actually better off" was vintage Jeremy.....

My tuppenceworth, I dont really read any bike mags but like the pictures in STW. I like the forum, deep pool of sound advice on here on everything from buying a fridge to kicking depression. The recent Electronic music thread was worth the price of admission alone.

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/best-electronic-album-of-all-time

Hebden Bridge MTB club

HB is the centre of the MTB universe.

Except one should always refer to it as "The Valley" in the same tone as 1960's West Coast counter culture.

[i]#all the leaves are brown....#[/i]

I prefer Dirt mag if I'm honest, because I reckon that type of riding lends itself better to pictures, and they have articles about cool place. Although the standard of writing isn't brilliant...

This, although I'd disagree about the standard of writing.

TBH I rarely finish reading a copy of either, Dirt makes me want to go out and ride too much, Singletrack (with the exception of a few articles) makes me want to go and watch some very arty paint dry whilst drinking expresso.

And the photography in Singletrack is mediocre at best, I even prefer the overly photoshoped/HDR/lots of flash styles in MBUK. Maybe it's the yorkshire light.

[i]If you have more in common with Chipps or Matt (from an ideology, education, riding style ...whatever it may be) then I suspect ST is more appealing than if you have more in common with 'Doddy' or 'Jamer'. Also whether you fit the marketing department's core demographic. As much as I also like mbuk the poor grammar and language (but not the editorial style as a whole) does wind me up. But at 35 i doubt i am core audience. ST on the other hand is written in a much more grown up way.[/i]

So if I like Bike Magic, what/whom do I have stuff in common with and whats my core demographic that I answer too?

just interested like....

What seperates the mag from the forum is the varied nature of the forum contributers, the mag is just too samey and cliquey.

What seperates the mag from the forum is the varied nature of the forum contributers, the mag is just too samey and cliquey.

Agreed. The mag doesn't have enough me.

In fairness. All mags, about any single subject suffer from the exact same problems that I imagine ST does.

You're never going to please everyone with a magazine. I think the guys do a pretty good job and have been a subscriber since magazine #3. I used to prefer the mag when it had more niche bike reviews and exotic stuff, but that's just me.

I used to love the mag and I even had some articles published in some earlier editions. However I started getting bored with it at about the same time as I started getting disenchanted with mountain biking, which probably coincided with reaching 50 and moving to road riding. I haven't read it for a long time now but from an admittedly ignorant standpoint I'd say it would probably interest more readers if it began to widen its coverage into other areas of cycling than just mountain biking. TBH I think mountain biking has peaked and many like me have moved on into other types of cycling; the mag needs to follow them.

STW's appeal was that it was a boutique magazine with great pictures and none of the trash that you find in mass-produced mags. It can still keep that appeal in a wider cycling context as there are plenty of cyclists interested in great photography and well-written articles.