[Closed] WMB is no more

That's a shame, used to like WMB

But to allay your fears a bit, I've just taken out an MBUK sub for some free shorts and the first mag is much better than it used to be, very similar to WMB actually, and more like it was BITD.

Possibly because the yoof don't buy mags anymore (or mountain bikes!)

I ride a little with the (ex)editor of WMB and hes known for a while. Down to lack of advertising revenue since all print mags survive on this rather than actual sales.

Its a shame as I too preferred it to MBUK and MBR

Always a shame to lose a print mag but tbh I cancelled my sub a while back, it's been pretty moribund for a while- the line between MBUK and WMB got blurrier and the buyer's guides got less useful, it seemed to lose its idea of what it was for. Intersting to see what happens next though with MBUK, will they lose out from losing the sister mag, will they nick the rest of the good bits of WMB...

I used to subscribe and spent a lot of money based on the reviews and recommendations of one Mr Steve Worland. Was a good mag for reviews and gear but it must be difficult to keep it fresh ' what full suspension 100mm travel below £1500 in red'. I think Ive got a couple of very early ones somewhere.

Shame, give MBUK a chance though. Pretty good mag these days.

I think the demarkation between 'all day xc' and 'fun at the trails' that WhatMTB and MBUK used to reflect has gone.

Everyone is a trail rider now and they don't need to two magazines to cater for that audience.

People still read magazines? How quaint.

I do more miles than most mountain bikers but haven't read a magazine in over a decade. I can't be the only person like that. The current scene as it's presented by the media has no interest for me - in fact, I'm actively alienated by it. Seems there's at least one segment of the potential market being neglected, eh?

I do more miles than most mountain bikers but haven't read a magazine in over a decade. I can't be the only person like that

wwaswas - Member

I think the demarkation between 'all day xc' and 'fun at the trails' that WhatMTB and MBUK used to reflect has gone.

Everyone is a trail rider now and they don't need to two magazines to cater for that audience.

TBH I always saw the distinction more as "MBUK is about riding and bikes, WMB is about bikes". It's the one I picked up when I wanted to really push out the boat and spend maybe as much as £300 on a bike. And for all I'm not the target market now, and neither is most of STW I suspect, I'd have thought that's still a selling point...

But then MBR straddles both fairly well, and MBUK's in a position to do the same.

What do you want to read about in a magazine Montgomery?

[i]haven't read a magazine in over a decade....The current scene as it's presented by the media has no interest for me[/i]

Errm, how do you know how the media present it if you never read the media?

Northwind: MBUK always had 'road trip' type articles in it too, just from a different type of rider?

[quote=montgomery ]People still read magazines? How quaint.
I do more miles than most mountain bikers but haven't read a magazine in over a decade. I can't be the only person like that. The current scene as it's presented by the media has no interest for me - in fact, I'm actively alienated by it. Seems there's at least one segment of the potential market being neglected, eh?
I don't. I pay for a STW digital subscription but that's about supporting the forum. I think I've read maybe 4-5 articles in the electronic version of the mag in the past year when they've been referenced.

But there's so much other material out there that I find more interesting - particularly blogs from folk doing the sort of riding I like to do (or dream of doing). That's surely got to be one of the major problems for traditional media outlets.

All about Youtube now e.g. GCN, GMBN, RedBull and then sites like Pinkbike. Lets face it all the bikes are now virtually the same, so its all about marketing and PR, to get you to buy, no one gives a **** about some fat middle aged jurnos opinion, its all about wanting to ride what Semenuk, Hart, Nino, etc. do.

People still read magazines? How quaint.

I do more miles than most mountain bikers

[img] ~c200[/img]

I do more miles than most mountain bikers

*Swoons*

(Great minds....)

I'm surprised to find it was still going.

chakaping - Member
Shame, give MBUK a chance though. Pretty good mag these days.

😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

Are you 12?

What was the last issue you read Rob Hilton?

Go on then folks, persuade me to take out a premier subscription to STW instead rather than rely on the free stuff of their excellent website.

Although i get where Rob is coming from it's been years since I've read a copy.

Next time in a newsagents I'll have a gander. But if I'm honest i find STW too Enduro Gnarr so my perception may differ.

MBUK is not the mag Robhilton rather condescindingly claims it is any more...

Staff have changed and MBUK is a lot better. Still a bit too orientated at new riders which is why I tend to read STW if I read anything. Mainly for the pics anyway.

I have ST and WMB subs, WMB satisfied my fascination for stuff while ST was better for "soul". I'll give MBUK a shot and see what it's like these days.

I hope that all the WMB staff are OK despite this. (Particularly Thor/Tom, he's ace.) I presume that there was a lot of crossover with the MBUK staff, but presumably you can't go from 2 magazines to 1 and keep everyone.

athy62 - Member

Go on then folks, persuade me to take out a premier subscription to STW instead rather than rely on the free stuff of their excellent website.

Turns off the ads and supports the forum, and you get a magazine which is sometimes good. That's not much of a hard sell but it's good enough for me.

People still read magazines? How quaint.

There's one tangentially related to this site which is really rather good. Perhaps you should try it?

MBUK is not the mag Robhilton rather condescindingly claims it is any more...

Although a quick glance at their Facebook page suggests it's still not for me.

Hey ho! Off for a flounce.

Shame, always good to skim read in my lunch break in WHSmtihs...people like me to blame! I've always liked Guy Kesteven. I can understand why it has gone, just a bit too old school, the what to buy section not very relevant anymore, recycled route guides, and being basically the same as MBR every issue.

There's a very smart looking digital lezyne pump with the subscription deal to MBUK this month, and the mag has definitely got better.

bugger, I liked it for to see the new kit coming along.

It's understandable, though. At least one of their test riders is utter rubbish on a bike.

Shame as it was my favourite mag for years.

Saying that, got a subscription last year as a gift just after my mate had cancelled his, stating it had gone down hill. Had to agree, it just seemed to have the same reviews each month and tried to cover too many bases. Boys like lists and they had significantly cut back on theirs which also affected my enjoyment. At the end of the year I switched back to a car mag, six of which sit unopened!

What was the last issue you read Rob Hilton?

Aint I rude??

TBF it [i]has[/i] been some time - I realised years ago what a waste of time MTB mags were when I could get through one in a single toilet visit due the minimal amount of actual content. Thankfully I was getting them 2nd hand anyway so hadn't wasted any money on them in years.

I am quite open-minded about things, though; in spite of my demeanor, and will seek out a copy of MBUK to see what I now think.

Was definitely the best of those mags. When I got the green light for a dream MTB build back c2004 I got their "best of the year" issue, and specced all the winning components on a Soul frame. Was a bloody brilliant bike build!

Such a shame - I buy maybe 6 or 7 copies a year, when there's something I'm interested in reviewed or I'm particularly in need of toilet reading....
I have even subscribed in the past.
But..... IMO it was inevitable with that mag. Any magazine that centres on reviews of products is relatively doomed. When there is Sooooo much info on the Internet and the expansion of wifi 3g/4g it's days have been numbered for a while.
Also much of the content was mirrored in mbuk and on bikeradar?

Shame for subscribers that they're getting mbuk as a replacement, personally I'd get a refund.

As someone who has slavishly bought most of the mags for the last 25 years (at a cost of who knows what) I can't say I am particularly surprised or disappointed.
Whilst I still maintained my sub they had a facelift maybe a year or two ago which seemed to take it further away from what you would expect a magazine called What MTB to include (losing comparative listings and weights of the bikes in the main review section).
They also lost route guides and maps and switched to a feature which focussed on one geographical area (but minus maps).
One quarter of the mag was devoted to recommended kit that did not change from month to month (year to year if that).
Not to mention the waffle at the start about subjecting the bikes to the most intense real world riding...
Regardless I still looked forward to getting it as after it showed pics of shiny new kit....but of the mags it was always the one with the least shelf life.

Still a bit too orientated at new riders

Sadly I'm sure that accounts for a large amount of people willing to stump up cash for a paper magazine...

The if you combine with advertising revenue... I'd expect the big bike manufacturers hoping to sell to a noob ...

I know myself I bought (car wise) Parkers twice in a decade (and mags about the same) ... both times when looking to buy a new car...

Shame for subscribers that they're getting mbuk

Despite being 48 and mentioning cufflinks at any opportunity I still pick up a copy of MBUK when I see it for a bit of Mint Sauce nostalgia. It's not a bad mag, I rate it way higher than MBR (kind of damning with faint praise that 🙂 )

munrobiker - Member

It's understandable, though. At least one of their test riders is utter rubbish on a bike.

You don't really have to be that good to review a bike, as long as you're honest. I get the MBUK and WMB writers mixed up but IIRC they had a car writer who came on to be a Professional Journalist but really knew nothing
about bikes, and it was a pretty interesting alternative viewpoint. Except for all the time he spent talking about cars. Pros can get very disconnected, I remember one of theirs talking about replacing all the internals in their forks to make them work properly, as if that was just something everyone does and not even worthy of a mark off the bike. I had a go at him on bikeradar for it and the response was basically "yeah but I ride awesomely"

OTOH they also had someone who banged on about how awesome their new longtermer was at a race I did and how it took everything in its stride and made everything easy- yeah so easy you had to push down all the hard bits and finished pretty much dead last.

Chipps is a great example of doing this right I think- he's a solid, normal rider. And when he writes, it's as a solid, normal rider, no bullshit. That angle's really more valuable to more people than some superhero of downhill.

Haven't seen it in the shops for ages. Wasn't bothered really, cos it was ALWAYS: bars too narrow (anything <780mm), stem too long (anything >60mm), crank too flexy and that sort of utter nonsense that wound me up every time I read it.

Just a musing, someone up there said product reviews can only be done for so long, surely ride guides can only be done for so long. Our most precious resource is the earth, barring trail centres, there's not a new lot of trails every year.... products however: we keep on re-designing the wheel.

However product reviews don't feed the soul (someone used these words up there as well) (well they do Cotic's I suppose!), and that for me was why I bought Singletrack: it was good writing, it made one dream of adventures, not of the new flibblewidget that I must get to replace my old one because it got rubbished in a 'shoot-out review'. I would still buy singletrack if it was available in print in my supermarket or newsagents, but it's not here in France. I guess I could subscribe....but I prefer to dream about trails that I could conceivably ride, not exclusively about trails that are at best a day away. I do feel guilty about not supporting STW though. I would be gutted if it was no more.

Chipps is a great example of doing this right I think- he's a solid, normal rider. And when he writes, it's as a solid, normal rider, no bullshit. That angle's really more valuable to more people than some superhero of downhill.

I'll take that, Northwind, thanks 🙂

Sorry to see WMB go away. Ironically it was the emergence of its ancestor, Total Bike that heralded the closure of MTB Pro/Mountain Bike World which in a roundabout way caused the formation of Singletrack...

£1.49 for a month!

😉

chipps - I work here

I'll take that, Northwind, thanks

I wasn't sure about posting that, it's potentially the most offensive compliment I'll ever make 😆

I like MBUK and they get me hook to the WC downhill which i thought I will never be interested in the past as I'm too old. Can't wait to watch it this coming week end.

I do more miles than most mountain bikers but haven't read a magazine in over a decade.

#humblebrag lol

However product reviews don't feed the soul (someone used these words up there as well) (well they do Cotic's I suppose!), and that for me was why I bought Singletrack: it was good writing, it made one dream of adventures,

but this is exactly the reason I stopped buying STW, as I have no interest in the cycling lifestyle, but do like seeing (not buying much) shiny stuff. Will see how MB-UK turns out and probably stop subscribing.. as it's an easy xmas present from the g/f.

Shame.

It was excellent at what it did.
Funny too.
The writing and photography were always excellent and I felt I could trust the writers.
I liked the route guides and pre internet the maintenance stuff was a godsend.
Not bought it for ages, you can only read so many reviews, but always enjoyed it.

Hadn't bought it in years, mbuk had become too gnar rad matching helmet and shorts combo too.

As I get older I prefer much more realistic stuff, some of the blogs linked to recently on here have been ace for example.

Also, take a load of the DR200 write ups, you're going to have more affinity with the story of someone that took twelve hours on their old CX than someone who took eight on their product placement titanium bike with free lauf fork. As long as they can write an interesting story of course.

Northwind

I have to agree that Chipps is as shite at riding as I am

That's a tragedy. I aways feel that real, printed words have more value than digital ones.

Someone who took eight on their product placement titanium bike with free lauf fork

To be fair to bruce that's the muck common cheap alu tripster :p

Northwind - Member
I wasn't sure about posting that, it's potentially the most offensive compliment I'll ever make

You've damned me with fainter praise than that before, I'm sure.

When I was first getting into mountain biking I bought an MBUK and was nearly put off MTB magazines for good. They just didn't seem to be talking about anything I recognised. MBR (fall all its failings at the time) and WMB appeared to relate to a more typical MTBing experience than MBUK did. However since then (about 15 years ago now) MBUK has at times appealed to a broader audience so I'll give it a shot when my subscription shifts over.

I stopped buying WMB when they said steel frames go baggy with age.

Mark - Resident Grumpy
£1.49 for a month!

It was kind of inevitable I guess! I'll be back online tomorrow to sign-up.

Down to lack of advertising revenue since all print mags survive on this rather than actual sales.

You do end up wondering how come they cost nearly as much as a good book then. Take out the ads and these often not a lot of actual copy.

Shame;(

Think it was wmb 58 that featured the kilpatricks and mugdock. Got me out exploring the hills round Glasgow.

Loved their bike reviews.

They possibly hampered sales by never featuring any wimmin on the cover. That's where the disposable income is nowadays.

ninfan

All sorts of factors to why a mag costs more than a book...

Production and layout is much more complicated
There's a high colour content in the print
Mag paper is generally much higher quality than print (novels at least)
Much larger print runs of books so economies of scale on plates/setup etc.
Wider distribution channels

It has been a while since I bought a copy but I kind of feel WMB's time had passed. The world had moved on and it still seemed to be largely the same mag it was a decade or more ago. I loved it back in the day when you had to scan through a whole page of components for a mail order advert (who remembers the Merlin Cycles adverts with all the components and variations on the MALT specs listed out and the little grid of wheel prices?).

It is a shame for all involved and I hope those affected find a path through it all.

As someone who makes books:

Production and layout is much more complicated
There's a high colour content in the print
Mag paper is generally much higher quality than print (novels at least)
Much larger print runs of books so economies of scale on plates/setup etc.
Wider distribution channels

nope, nope, nope, nope and nope.

As for WMB, sadly I struggle to see the point of a magazine of reviews in the era of free, unbiased, aggregated reviews. If I want to read real-world reviews of a fork, a bike or other component, I can easily google it. The future of print magazines has to be in the likes of The Ride Journal - good stories, great art.

People on the internet commenting on the loss of a printed magazine !

Is Maximum Mountainbike still going? Haven't seen that in WHSmith lately.

heebyjeeby - Member

Whilst I still maintained my sub they had a facelift maybe a year or two ago which seemed to take it further away from what you would expect a magazine called What MTB to include....

One quarter of the mag was devoted to recommended kit that did not change from month to month (year to year if that).

I emailed them about that a few years back. They had those categories of best trail bike best race bike etc but they were never updated so to me were just a waste of time. They replied saying they thought nobody read those bits! But still kept it in for 15 pages or so!?

I like variety, so every mag that goes makes me sad.

Trimix - Member

People on the internet commenting on the loss of a printed magazine !

Yes?

I'm gutted , to me WMB was the most relavant. MBUK has matured a lot in the last 5 years and is readable. The trouble with it is that it tends to repeat its topics too often. I've been reading it for as long as I can remember ( 25 years) and think I've seen each article many many times! For me it's stale now.

I find I want to shout at STW. Every article seems to be about riding in some far flung exotic destination that I will never be able to afford to go to. With the occasional token article about riding in Yorkshire

I'm gutted , to me WMB was the most relavant. MBUK has matured a lot in the last 5 years and is readable. The trouble with it is that it tends to repeat its topics too often. I've been reading it for as long as I can remember ( 25 years?) and think I've seen each article many many times! For me it's stale now.

I find I want to shout at STW. Every article seems to be about riding in some far flung exotic destination that I will never be able to afford to go to. With the occasional token article about riding in Yorkshire. The vibe is great and the photography is amazing , I just can't relate to it 🙁

I wish there was a magazine about local people riding local spots reviewing affordable gear. Somewhere other than West Yorkshire or the Cairngorms . Maybe mixing mtb with road or cx. I maybe the odd one out here but I mix road and mtb as does everyone I ride with . A credible mag covering all would be fantastic .

Now that we're discussing mbuk, does anyone miss their proper adventure bike touring features of yore? Cycling along the Silk Road, panama to Puerto Rica, etc.

geologist - Member

I find I want to shout at STW. Every article seems to be about riding in some far flung exotic destination that I will never be able to afford to go to.

Todmorden?
Edit - Burnley too, that's in Lancashire.
🙂

I like Singletrack because it is still relevant to me.
Even after reading it for years, the soul is still there.

I don't need expensive bike reviews.
I tend to keep stuff and whilst I love bikes, my tastes are pretty simple and low rent, so little reviewed is of interest.

But adventure and fun doesn't need to be expensive and I don't get the impression that many of the people who contribute to the travel articles are loaded.
🙂

You can have just as much fun in the Peak as you can unicycling through Borneo and I'd rather read about either than another £5000 bike/£20 brake pad review.

[quote=geologist ]I wish there was a magazine about local people riding local spots reviewing affordable gear. Somewhere other than West Yorkshire or the Cairngorms . But the Cairngorms[i] are[/i] local!! *

* to me

Is Maximum Mountainbike still going?

And where did my MMB socks go? That's what I want to know.

You do end up wondering how come they cost nearly as much as a good book then

Authors often don't really make a living out of books, but magazines generally have to pay people's wages or there's no point to them.

greatbeardedone - Member
Now that we're discussing mbuk, does anyone miss their proper adventure bike touring features of yore? Cycling along the Silk Road, panama to Puerto Rica, etc.

My theee favourite MBUK articles:
1). MTB'ing the Pennine Way
2). Munro Bagging
3). 3 Lads on the trandem crossing the desert

Now that we're discussing mbuk, does anyone miss their proper adventure bike touring features of yore? Cycling along the Silk Road, panama to Puerto Rica, etc.

Regular reader here, and have been for 25+ years, some really good travel/adventure stuff in there these days - Dan Milner is a regular contributor, so multi page epics in unexpected places with stunning pics. New issue has a big piece from him as it happens. Cast aside the prejudices or what some grumpy poster on here may have told you and pick up a copy. You'll probably find yourself very surprised - the mag has matured with the sport and readership.

.Turns off the ads and supports the forum, and you get a magazine which is sometimes good. That's not much of a hard sell but it's good enough for me

Correct answer. I can't wait to see how many things, moan and complain when STW goes belly up, but never paid a couple of quid a month.

The lack of P posters on here astounds me

😀

£1.49 in fact 🙂

Seriously, support the mags you like by buying them or subscribing. Or they will close.

I can't wait to see how many things, moan and complain when STW goes belly up, but never paid a couple of quid a month.

The lack of P posters on here astounds me

Presumptuous and sanctimonious in one, well played. I'm quite happy to continue buying the magazine from my LBS, supporting both the magazine and the shop at the same time.

But you just carry on being astounded if I have the temerity to post, I really don't mind..

Northwind - Member
athy62 - Member
Go on then folks, persuade me to take out a premier subscription to STW instead rather than rely on the free stuff of their excellent website.

[u]Turns off the ads[/u].....

live and learn had no idea - just been and gone and done that

I'm quite happy to continue buying the magazine from my LBS

Just bought the MBUK mentioned above, will read it over the weekend. I'm nothing if not open minded.

humblebrag: an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one is proud.

So not that then. Point I apparently failed to make - been riding a long time, committed, do enough miles to require constant spending as stuff wears out. The industry, via the media, should be engaged with people like that, but in many cases is achieving the opposite effect.

Paying for a forum? Yep, they're useful, I could go for that - if tech-savvy enthusiasts didn't come up with a free alternative. Which they probably would.

(Quickly scans post to make sure there's nothing that can offend or outrage STW's sensitive readership). No, good to go!

Is Maximum Mountainbike still going?

And where did my MMB socks go? That's what I want to know.

You mean these? I wear mine for retro rides.

[img] [/img]

Just bought the MBUK mentioned above

Nope, still haven't made it past the first 10 pages of full face helmet ads and pictures of people (I believe the term is) Schralping Berms™.

I'll try again now it's started raining.