[IanHighfield]

A friend just gave me the December 09 and Jan/Feb 10 issues of Bicycling. I've never seen this magazine before and do not read cycling magazines of any kind.

I'm not one for bike shops and do not follow all the latest trends. Only time trialling really interests me and so the rest of the industry holds little appeal.

That said, it's little wonder (now for me) so many people on this forum are so preoccupied with frame material and doo-dads. These mags are little more than advertising vehicles. The articles are few and largely goofy. But the adds for every kind of shiny bobble amaze me. No wonder a person would be so consumed with what his bike is made of.

Funny part is all the top bikes are the fastest bike. I'm not sure that's possible. But the adds say they are. Lance's Trek is the stiffest, yet I've ridden a Madone and thought it mushy crap. Specialized has their version of the fastest bike with great pictures to prove it. Same with all the other makers.

Then there was an article about custom makers touting their version of the fastest bike with the best ride. All of them. How can this be?

Don't get me started with clothing and energy drinks. Get this wrong and you will not make it home from your next century. (or so they tell me in the mag) All of this with great photos of pretty people. Those I ride with are not very pretty.

I understand it is the way of the world. But now I understand the anxiety riders have when making decisions about what they should ride or how they should train or eat. We see it all over the forum and I think it's largely because of the tidal wave of advertising nonsense.

Here's my idea of cycling for idiots. (like me)

Get as light as you can.
Ride any bike make over 600 dollars.
Don't worry about food type, just calorie intake - see rule one.
Forget LSD unless riding slow is what you aim for. Train hard all the time.
Wear tight outfits in competition for aero. Otherwise anything is fine.
Don't ride recumbents.

That's about it. Doesn't make for much of a magazine but it will make you a more relaxed and quicker cyclist with extra coin in your pocket.

That's about it. Next week we discuss the Middle East and how easy that could be if only they'd listen to me.

 

[Industry_Hack]

You should attend Interbike.

 

[lotek]

The last good magazine was Asphalt which lasted maybe 5 issues, it was an attempt
at real world cycling, and testing.

 

[jeepster93]

I have "Bicycling" comming to the house.
Got it as a deal of the day for $2.99 a year.
Cheap at that even though it is, as you say, a 150 page add for crap.
After the 6 bucks I have invested expires, I'll be done with them.

I also take Runners World.
Runners world spent 5 pages in the last issue talking about how some celeb is sooo cool because he runs.
WHAT? WHO CARES?

I was getting a mag for Jeeping, called JP. Canceled it after a couple years as the mag just mouthpeiced the advertisers. It became so apparent that the editorial content was affected by advertisers.


I think I'm glad I'm not in the paper magazine business right now, going the way of newspapers.

 

[cowboycharlie]

I used to pick up Dirt Bike Rag (Dirt Bike Rag) but recently the quality of the articles is really poor.

Lately I've been reading MBR instead.

 

[funetical]

I'd buy it Ian. Once.

Charlie I got a copy of it from a bike shop around here once and wasn't to impressed myself.
I feel the same way Ian does though the bike culture. Give me two wheels and open road.I'll get the rest worked out.

 

[HandsomeRyan]

I was published in the Dec 09 issue of Bicycling. I can't remember which page but it is on the page where they discuss various rides around the country. You'll know which was my writing since you know my name is Ryan.

[/off topic bragging]

 

[djcyberlegend]

I was published in the Dec 09 issue of Bicycling. I can't remember which page but it is on the page where they discuss various rides around the country. You'll know which was my writing since you know my name is Ryan.
< snip >

Next time I go to the library I'll be sure to check it out...

 

[Industry_Hack]

The last time I was published, it was a photo in a motorcycle magazine, in 1992 or so.

 

[Nigal]

Bicycling is OK but it's geared more towards Freds and all high end bikes. Not much there for me gear wise. Dirt Rag is pretty good but that publisher's new magazine is the best I've seen. Bicycle Times Magazine. It's all about real world biking, commuting, utility bikes and the like. It is just the magazine I've been waiting for.

Bicycle Times Magazine | We Are Living In Bicycle Times

 

[BlazingPedals]

Not without reason, I refer to it as "BuyCycling" Magazine. I got it for a couple of years; by the time my subscription ran out I'd figured out that they recycle their articles every other year (or less.) That Bicycle Times looks interesting; I'll have to check it out further.

 

[eaton]

I get Bicycling as part of my Team Performance membership. I put them in my car to read when I'm dining alone.

I also get American Randoneur as part of my RUSA membership. It's good if you have a strong randonneuring group near you because you get to see your buddies names and pictures in a magazine. RUSA: Randonneurs USA

IMO, the best cycling magazine is Bicycle Quarterly. I don't get it but the bike shop near me does so I get to read it when he's done. Great articles, great pictures. Bicycle Quarterly -- Home Page

 

[CTD50]

When I first got back into bikes and riding, I couldn't get enough of it; I was reading everything I could -- Bicycling, Mountain Bike, Bike, Mountain Bike Action, Mountain Biking, et al. Catalogs piled up on my shelves, creased and wrinkled from dozens of perusals.

I was learning -- everything I didn't know before. Naturally, since then, i've let a fair amount of it go, as it was pretentious roadie crap, or just plain wrong. My mental encyclopedia expanded -- and still is, just more selectively -- and my focus narrowed as I learned what worked for me, what worked for others, and such-like stuff.

My last scrip ran out about a year ago, and I don't bother picking up the mags at the stand, even to look at. If I want to know something new, I get online. (SRAM XX is ticking me off, just a bit... racer-boy trash) I learned the difference between 8- and 9-speed, how each performed under me, and which maker to go with (X.9 decorates my bike, Shim could handle 8 OK, but not 9).

They had, and still have, their place; I've been an avid reader since before 1st grade, even on the can, so they make excellent bathroom reading.

 

[Industry_Hack]

Eight speed XT is MTB perfection.

 

[funetical]

I was published in the Dec 09 issue of Bicycling. I can't remember which page but it is on the page where they discuss various rides around the country. You'll know which was my writing since you know my name is Ryan.

[/off topic bragging]

Sweet. Is it online?

 

[IanHighfield]

Ryan, I went page for page through Dec. 09 and the only Ryan I saw was Ira Ryan the bike maker. I did not even see an article about various rides around the country. I did see a fashion section with models, a fat bastard's story of losing weight, lots of different bikes for sale and all are better than the previously described best bike. Adds for useless add-on trinkets nobody needs and training advice no real racer has ever heard of or cares about. Lots of that drivel. But no Ryan. Could it be another issue?

 

[IanHighfield]

Ryan, are you the illustrator? I won't use the last name - you can do that. But further examination of Dec.09 yielded an artist first name Ryan.

Now the unkind part: That kind of article and drawing is why I disdain bike magazines. The adds are bad enough; you have to compound it with sicky-sweet family journey stories? Not my thing. Not anyone's thing I know. Next time go Greyhound and please don't tell us about it.

 

[Grape Ape]

Bicycling is OK but it's geared more towards Freds and all high end bikes. Not much there for me gear wise. Dirt Rag is pretty good but that publisher's new magazine is the best I've seen. Bicycle Times Magazine. It's all about real world biking, commuting, utility bikes and the like. It is just the magazine I've been waiting for.

Bicycle Times Magazine | We Are Living In Bicycle Times

X2 I have read a lot of the others lately and like Dirt Rag but I found Bicycle Times a few days ago and really like it (based on one issue) I plan to continue to buy it and if it continues as is will get a subscription. Dirt Rag is also one I like a lot.

 

[HandsomeRyan]

I'll have to look it up; maybe it was the November issue? Myself (Ryan Cooper, if you get the mag you'll get my last name anyway) and a girl named Monika Miller co-authored a couple paragraphs about the Tour de Lights bicycle ride in Knoxville, TN.

 

[funetical]

Ryan, are you the illustrator? I won't use the last name - you can do that. But further examination of Dec.09 yielded an artist first name Ryan.

Now the unkind part: That kind of article and drawing is why I disdain bike magazines. The adds are bad enough; you have to compound it with sicky-sweet family journey stories? Not my thing. Not anyone's thing I know. Next time go Greyhound and please don't tell us about it.

Man you and I are against the world. It's a shame we are not on the same team.

Ryan, Cool post it. Congrats on your accomplishment.