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I like the reviews, the articles i can't satnd are the ones where 2 random people go off on an adventure and blabber on about finding themselves etc.
Can’t you just **** the reviews off,
clearly the only solution is for the team to individually tailor each copy of the mag depending on who's reading it 😃 I'd probably pay an extra fiver for that.I like the reviews, the articles i can’t satnd are the ones where 2 random people go off on an adventure and blabber on about finding themselves etc.
Just my opinion, clearly you aren't in favour of people having them James. Magazine used to be funny and entertaining, its increasingly becoming boring and politicised, all i am saying. I'm fairly sure i wouldn't be the only one thinking this. Used to be Northern, working class useful and funny, now its aspiring middle class boring mostly, i'll hang in and see if it improves.
@Mark - I think you need to make this thready sticky for a week or so. As not everyone lives on here like some of us!
clearly the only solution is for the team to individually tailor each copy of the mag depending on who’s reading it
it was a joke. soz 😳 (just commenting that people obviously want different things from the mag, you can't please all the people all the time!!)Just my opinion, clearly you aren’t in favour of people having them
No blood no foul bud
Everyone I know who has a small business or is self employed is really struggling.
Once the word ' recession' is mentioned then work dries up for me. Luckily nbt has treated me to a digital subscription.
Personally STW has been amazing over the years and long may it continue.
Good luck to all.
Ok, I haven't bought any bike mag in the last 15 years but I'm in.
Well as I tend to read more than I contribute, I was content to be a free member. However, after reading about your financial issues, I've now become a digital member.
I hope it works out and you continue to operate.
Used to be Northern, working class useful and funny, now its aspiring middle class boring mostly,
I'm a middle class southerner, just became a full member.
How far back do you recommend I should I delve into the back catalogue before I am unwelcome?
Just my opinion, clearly you aren’t in favour of people having them James. Magazine used to be funny and entertaining, its increasingly becoming boring and politicised, all i am saying. I’m fairly sure i wouldn’t be the only one thinking this. Used to be Northern, working class useful and funny, now its aspiring middle class boring mostly, i’ll hang in and see if it improves.
U ok hun?
Magazine used to be funny and entertaining, its increasingly becoming boring and politicised, all i am saying
I agree with sentiment. It seems to becoming less and less about mountain bikes and having fun on them. If that’s the direction the editor and the team want to take the magazine then that’s fine, it is their magazine after all, but it will mean Im less likely to renew my subscription.
I guess the magazine is a bit stuck in that its not big enough to get access to all the products it might want to test as quickly as those with bigger audiences. For example if you are brand x with a new bike to review and a limited number to lend, especially pre launch, then do you lend 1 to Pinkbike and Vital etc or ship one over to the UK for STW to try?
I wouldn't have any issue if the digital subscription cost was put up.
I don't want a print version of the mag as i have enough stuff hanging around the house anyway
Chrism, at 1.4 million to PB's 1.8million monthly users we have never really had a problem with product acquisition. We often get prioritised over others. Sometimes there's a bit of a rota where a brand only has a single press bike to offer so they rotate the UK media with it/ Sometimes we are first sometimes we aren't. A lot of the time the bikes are embargoed so there's time to get all the main media outlets a shift on the same bike before it goes public.
Getting product for review is not a problem though. That's why we invented FGF to deal with the glut.
Don't think I've got 144 yet. How long has it been out? Maybe need to drop a mail to subs folks
Aside: a few folk have said they don't like the direction the mag is taking. I don't think many (any?) have voiced what they'd like to see instead?
I agree with sentiment. It seems to becoming less and less about mountain bikes
Really? off the top of my head 144 has articles on 4 pot brakes, 3 trail bikes on test, interview with Claudio Calouri (world cup DH commentator), route guides for MTB, pretty inspirational story about a guy with a colostomy bag doing some far out mountain bike riding. Hanna interviewing guys behind WTB- who are a company making mountain bike parts.
pretty MTB heavy if you ask me?
Yeah, but then it went downhill fast.
😁
Yeah, but Mark did a post about gender rights once so this place is all political and shit now
It's gone to the dogs i tell thee
To be fair we also published a feature about pedal car racing once. We had to put a fireproof box over the letterbox after that one.
Mark, thanks for deeper insight into the ways of the interweb and how it can be used to help STW.
I wasn't aware of the change to cookies and personal data that is coming. Are you allowed to acquire and store user data to such an individual level now, as I can imagine when the ruling comes in and every site has to gather information for similar reasons - a lot of members could get fed up being asked and just default to 'Do not share'
Not sure how this sits with GDPR etc as you could be gathering and storing personal data that isn't directly used. It's a minefield !
A good call was made some posts ago, with the desire for STW riding jerseys. I still have the 10th anniversary (iirc) purple top somewhere and although it most likely doesn't fit, it won't be thrown out. Think before that it was a beige coloured cotton T Shirt for the 5th birthday, so another riding top might be due.
Personally I ride in loose fitting wicking polo shirts. I'd happily spend good money on a couple of STW labelled polos, especially if they can be worn off the bike. Something like a regular polo badge on the left chest and singletrackworld.com accross the bottom at the back.
A lot of office bods can wear such things at work nowadays, so would be a nice bit of kit to get out.
Mark did a post about gender rights once so this place is all political and shit now
It’s gone to the dogs i tell thee
Yeah, but they identified as cats so it's fine.
The end of 3rd party cookies is coming BECAUSE of GDPR. The collection of data about people who visit the site is defined as 1st party data. We can’t share that with anyone outside of Singletrack without your permission. But using it to our commercial advantage is entirely legitimate so long as we comply with GDPR rules and look after it securely and responsibly. That is and always has been our policy.
A good call was made some posts ago, with the desire for STW riding jerseys
Reading this thread I thought, I know I'll go and buy that Hackney GT STW jersey I've been eyeing up for months... Dang it! It's out of stock (possibly discontinued?).
So put me down for a Medium if/when stock is back.
Mark any comment on my post? I know your trying to answer lots of other stuff.
Is thete any way of monetizing the wealth of tech information on the forum?
It always seems to me that that is a missed opportunity to make money
I guess technically difficult?
A database of stw tech fixes?
Is thete any way of monetizing the wealth of tech information on the forum?
...
I guess technically difficult?
Ah, irony.
😁
@mrovershoot if it’s about donations there’s a donate button in the story and a link in the Sidebar. It uses the same secure payment gateway as our membership system. It’s not PayPal though.
Can’t justify yet another STW mug sitting unused in my overflowing mug cupboard but I have indulged in a couple of other bits of merch .
About time I did a bit more than lurk 😜
Getting product for review is not a problem though. That’s why we invented FGF to deal with the glut.
im delighted to hear it. It doesn’t always appear that way when other sites have articles about new bikes that either never make stw or are several days later
I paid the 39, but tbh you dont need to send me anything. I just thought the higher sum would help out more.
Thanks Mark, I subscribed. Knowing what international shipping is like here, I should get the 6 magazines over a 4 year period 😀
To be fair we also published a feature about pedal car racing once. We had to put a fireproof box over the letterbox after that one.
@Mark What issue was that in?
Just to throw even even more unreasonable demands into the mix, I want more weird stuff like that.
I've been a subscriber for years and love it when a new magazine drops through the door. Especially when it has articles as good as the one this month's about the guy riding in the Cairngorms whilst suffering from bowel cancer.
The forum is one of my main resources for riding or, well, anything really.
I've made an additional donation and hope that you get through this tough time. I'll also check out the merch store 👍
Thank you
Aside: a few folk have said they don’t like the direction the mag is taking. I don’t think many (any?) have voiced what they’d like to see instead?
I'd like to see a return of The Grinder - medium term-ish reviews of normal, every day riding kit used in normal, every day conditions.
And, in these straightened times (and, if I'm honest, for riders like me who are honest enough with themselves that they don't need top-end kit, cos they're good enough to need it) how about a 'budget' option in each of the group-tests? The cheapest brake in the the 4-pot group-test is £175 per end, what about Deore (or Tektro, or Cura) for a decent chunk less ££?
I think the STW testers can be trusted to give an on honest opinion along the lines of "you know what, these are cheap and they're actually great, I don't really know why you'd pay more" or "yeah, they're cheap, but it shows, stumping up a bit extra is definitely worth it".
Agree on more budget kit reviews. You could also create a forum user section with their kit reviews.
I like the ride reports, can you also put a members only link on your site for the routes? I know you do it for some but not all.
How about an events section? Where you could list as many of the cycling events across the UK and even international ones. You could then have forum links imbedded so people can discuss them. If you then added sponsored links then you could generate income that way.
How about a calendar where people can input their local semi-organised rides. That way I could (for example) look at the calendar for next week and see if their are group rides I could attend. Would help push the social side of mountain biking a bit more.
How a list of riders route reports, you could then also create a data base of routes, something like walk Highlands do
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/
Can't talk for everyone but I'd quite like a personalised (subtle) Singletrack sticker with my forum name that I could then affix to my bars. Would be a perfect way to identify (maybe avoid 😜) other Singletrack forum users out on the trails.
It would also be good if there was a 'common questions' section on the forum, how many threads do we really need on 'what tyres' or 'e-bikes are bad! Discuss' I'm probably as bad as anyone for creating new threads that are about something already covered 🙄
I wouldn’t have any issue if the digital subscription cost was put up.
This, but will upgrade anyhow come payday. 🙂
Can’t talk for everyone but I’d quite like a personalised (subtle) Singletrack sticker with my forum name that I could then affix to my bars.
It'd get old, having to pump up my tyres every time my bike was unattended for a minute.
Just tried taking out a digital subscription and I get "Sorry, this product cannot be purchased" on the purchase page? Tried mobile and also on my laptop.
Is there an email to contact subs on? cheers.
subs@singletrackworld.com but I'm getting tech to look at this now.
Aargh!
I had a couple of thoughts on potential articles, although no clue if they'd actually be any good in real life. When people move house/area they need to learn their new local area, discover their new favourite local loop, all that sort of thing. Don't know if there's any mileage in that? Chipps has (relatively) recently moved, right?
Kind of related, it's always nice to see forum members appear in the mag as it helps reinforce the element of community that this place has. Any mileage in a 'forum member normal ride' series, where people show what they'd normally get up to on a bike of a weekend? I imagine this would run the gamut from trips to enduro races to 2 hour bimbles round the local bridleways and everything in between. Might also help inspire people who don't live in 'epic' locations, not sure.
To be fair we also published a feature about pedal car racing once. We had to put a fireproof box over the letterbox after that one.
That was Mike hall who used to do that
ny mileage in a ‘forum member normal ride’ series, where people show what they’d normally get up to on a bike of a weekend? I imagine this would run the gamut from trips to enduro races to 2 hour bimbles round the local bridleways and everything in between. Might also help inspire people who don’t live in ‘epic’ locations, not sure.
I like that idea
Just tried taking out a digital subscription and I get “Sorry, this product cannot be purchased” on the purchase page? Tried mobile and also on my laptop.
@Blake - Your previous subscription is on hold - we've cancelled it for you. So it will work
We will be making the Error message more helpful and less confusing in an upcoming release.
Thanks for trying many times - should work now for you.
go on then, I'd only just "not-renewed", now I'm back
A 'thumbs up' reaction is coming in an upcoming release (After the theme update). If that had already happened I'd be clicking the 'thumbs up' icon on lots of posts on this thread 🙂
Like many here I don't think a price increase is unreasonable and I'd be happy to pay more. I don't read the mag very often but the support/knowledge/humour on the forums keeps me coming back and that alone is worth the subs.
I really like the magazine generally and look forward to it dropping through the door.
The magazine is my main reason for subscribing, and I'd miss the print version if it went.
I do spend quite a bit of time on here, and have had some great advice and picked up tips on bike/gear related maintenance and purchases. I dont contribute much to the chat forum, but do dip in and out, and find the threads interesting.
Couple of suggestions/requests for future articles ...
Choose a route, mix of gravel, XC, trails, Enduro. Take 3 bikes, a gravel, XC, Enduro bike and ride the same route ... which bike is the best overall? Think that could be a bit of a laugh in a dicking about, riding bikes on unsuitable terrain kinda way?
Get a pro DH/trials/Enduro rider and give him/her a gravel bike/rigid bike-packing bike, and ride the trails at Antur/BPW etc, against a 'normal' rider on an Enduro bike?
Do a classic, big mountain day out ride, on entry level bikes, ie under £800?
Kind of related, it’s always nice to see forum members appear in the mag as it helps reinforce the element of community that this place has. Any mileage in a ‘forum member normal ride’ series, where people show what they’d normally get up to on a bike of a weekend? I imagine this would run the gamut from trips to enduro races to 2 hour bimbles round the local bridleways and everything in between. Might also help inspire people who don’t live in ‘epic’ locations, not sure.
Really like this idea
Looking at the figures the footfall is very good but the progression to full member must not be as good as it could or should be.
I don't read magazines so went with the digital subscription and cant remember when I last looked at a digital copy.
The advantages to me are that I don't get the adds constantly popping up and I assume I can see some stuff that free members cant. I logged out yesterday just to see and the adds were a nightmare.
Have you thought about a free digital trial, a bit like the Amazon Prime one that always pops up when your buying, where a free member can sign up for a period of time to sample what they aren't getting. Some will use it and cancel at the end but some may well see the advantages of full membership and stay.
For what its worth if the digital subscription was increased I would still pay it as I think most would.
Have you thought about a free digital trial, a bit like the Amazon Prime one that always pops up when your buying, where a free member can sign up for a period of time to sample what they aren’t getting. Some will use it and cancel at the end but some may well see the advantages of full membership and stay.
I was thinking along the same line but rather than having them sign up you take a random selection of regular visitors who aren't members and bump them up for a month along with sending a welcome email. At the end bump them down again with another email with a special offer of a reduced dig subscription for a year. You can also test it on a relatively small number to see what happens before rolling it out wider
The forum members ride report is a good idea. The report that Molgrips wrote about his South Downs Way ride is still the best thing I've read about a ride.
Any mileage in a ‘forum member normal ride’ series
"Readers' Rides"
The magazine is my main reason for subscribing
Holy shit guys, we found one!
Love Singletrack. The print mag is a highlight for me, by far my favourite MTB magazine. So much so that I have cancelled the others, but wont ever cancel Singletrack. Ill keep buying merch whenI can too!
“Readers’ Rides”
That rings bells with me so I guess it's happened before, but I'm not thinking where the reader shows off the best they've got for a special day out unless it just so happens that's what they would be doing anyway. I was imagining much more low key, whatever floats the person's boat and they manage to fit into their every day lives on whatever type of bike type rides. I reckon there's enough variation round here to keep it interesting for at least 2 seconds.
That rings bells with me so I guess it’s happened before,
Dunno, it's possible, but I just made it up. It might ring bells to purveyors of a slightly more infamous magazine though.
@Mark Alker,
I may have missed this so apologies if there is any repetition. Have you considered a crowdfunding exercise along the lines of what Atherton did with their bike brand? Gives investors a sense of being part of something and builds on the community feel that we see in the forums?
Also, how about stealing the readers bike review theme from GMBN for the magazine. Dare people to send in the build no matter how bling or bland and put it up for light hearted scrutiny each mag?
There is something in bringing members together for rides as well but I can't build on the seed of the idea. Something about local experts(only experts on the area not at riding) based around the country or something who are willing to advise on where/what/how for people on hols or just looking to try somewhere new. We don't all have a group of riding buddies despite what the perception is.
Another interesting thing I have got involved in, which is new and yet to actually fire up, is https://kit-up.sharetribe.com/en/infos/about anything that could be worked around collaboration with this team to bring together riders and bikes as they travel?
Dunno, it’s possible, but I just made it up. It might ring bells to purveyors of a slightly more infamous magazine though.
I'm way too innocent to get that reference.
The legendary adult feature of 'Readers Wives' was invented by Tim Manley - Editor at Large of MBUK. It was in a former publishing life of his when he was involved in 'those' magazines.
And now a confession
In 1998 he approached me (Freelancer at the time for Total MTB) to help him launch a new feature for the mag called 'Readers Wives'. This was to be a regular feature where the gf or wife of a regular reader would write in with their experience of being in a relationship with a mountain biker. The idea was to be a vehicle for other halves to either rant about the 'competition' or more hopefully to be an opportunity for 'partners' to join in and ride with their MTB (male) partners on the trails. A sort of 'can't beat them, join them' concept.
Yes... it's a terrible idea now (to be fair it was awful then) and it really didn't get anywhere, thankfully. However, my input was to be the first contributor under the nom-de-plume 'Amanda' in order to stimulate submissions from genuine partners.
I'm cringing writing this.
The idea of a local readers rides is a really good one. Am sure there are a load of toys that people ride regularly that wouldn't be known about, at least not in their entirety. Might be a little cheeky included in most though
I’m cringing writing this.
If it helps with your penance Mandy, no-one now will ever let you forget it.
Crowdfunding exercises?
How about you crowdfund poaching Mint Sauce from MBUK, then print the Mint page in quality paper, ready for framing...
Might be a little cheeky included in most though
And there lies the rub.
We absolutely cannot publish anything that is illegal or even contentious. That alone rules out a huge amount of trail guide type articles. Plus we'd have to come up with an angle that stops it being just another 'classic ride' guide.
I'm much more attracted to features about the people behind the usernames and especially their bikes and why they chose them. Legally totally safe and is more interesting than someone's local trails.
And as for crowdfunding. That's an interesting suggestion that we've talked about a lot. Then someone usually asks the question, 'What's the difference between crowdfunding and buying a membership?" or what perks would you include in a crowdfunding tier? maybe a years worth of magazines? or special access to online features?
The dawning realisation is that we've been crowdfunded by users like you from the very beginning. 400 readers crowdfunded our first ever issue for £12 each 🙂
Also, how about stealing the readers bike review theme from GMBN for the magazine. Dare people to send in the build no matter how bling or bland and put it up for light hearted scrutiny each mag?
https://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/readers-rides-toms-ra-410/
https://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/readers-rides-toms-steampunk-deviate-highlander%EF%BF%BC/
There are others, but none as nice as those. 😉
You could expand "Readers Rides" to be about their bike too, I'm quite interested in some people's choice of gear ( and it isnt always about cost )
Plus we’d have to come up with an angle that stops it being just another ‘classic ride’ guide.
My angle was that it's almost the opposite of a classic ride. It's an every day ride. It's what you do if you have an hour after work and it's not raining, or you're up before everyone else on a Sunday. Anyway I'll not keep banging on about it, and certainly I can see that steering clear of anything cheeky might be a challenge!
Follow up idea, how about 'how to plan a good route if you want to go somewhere that's not a trail centre'? Although dunno how interested in that kind of thing people are these days given how many apparently can't read a map.
So now, when we see an article was written by "Amanda", how will we know which one? Perhaps you could change your t-shirt in your profile picture to one that says, "Fly me."
I like the readers bikes articles that crop up occasionally ... as something to drool over, but bear little resemblance to anything I could afford to buy/build.
I'd happily contribute my own as a 'readers-bikes-on-a-budget' feature... but perhaps there is not the interest there?
@tomhoward, how have I not seen this? Is it in the print version or just digital?
@hardtailonly, I think if it was written well then a bike on a budget would be as interesting as all the bling
The readers rides isn’t just about daft bling. If you have a sentimental attachment, cool story or something related to the bike, submit it and it might get shown on the strength of that.
TJs bike is in there, it’s a nice bike but there’s a lovely story behind it too.
This thread alone demonstrates the strength of the Singletrack community.
As far as subscriptions go, I prefer digital as I often don't read the mag for ages then binge read if I'm on holiday. It's easier to carry one ipad than six magazines.
And with that, if improving the search function of the website is on the cards, may I also suggest an index for the mags. It would be really helpful to find "which edition was it that tested three Dave Weagle suspension designs?" or some such.
It’s a members feature of the website
This needs to be in lovely print as well
Incidentally,
The artwork / photography in the mag is rarely less than top notch, but I love this month’s cover. I genuinely had a little bit of a gasp when I saw it. Kudos.
Just seen this comment - thanks @cougar, that means a lot!