Mountain Biking - Our(USA) MTB mags suck

I know this is a dead horse, but I just had to beat it. I went to Borders this evening, and they had a UK MTB mag, and it was thicker than my last 3 or 4 issues of Bike put together..It had stuff about 2004 SRAM, 04 bikes..All sorts of junk..Whats up with our mags??? There is not one US MTB mag that could come close to this one from the UK..I think it was MBUK.

Yeah, in addition Maelstrom sent me a copy of FLOW magazine from a neighbor's to da Nort! Large Format and tons of pictures, actual interviews where they actually spoke to the interviewee instead of reprinting a bio. Coverage and actual writing!

I hope they come up with a subscription option soon!

On another note, I just got my new issue of Dirt Rag. Good as ever!

L8R

Yea I agree, I get Bicycling and Mountain Biking and they are HORRIBLE. All the reviews are perfect as the products are given or whatever for free. Dirtrag is the one mag in which the reviews are honest. Plus Bicycling has stupid articles, like "101 Tips that Don't Suck". And they have the worst proofreaders as I find grammatical errors on every line.

I haven't seen a Dirt Rag in awhile actually.

Flow is the bomb.

Fubar I am with you 100%. I was surprised by dirtrag as for the first time in 10 issues it was a GREAT issue. I am far from a retro grouch or traditionalist so the mag has no representation to me (I know they don't call themselves that and even addressed the issue last mag but seriously...they are) Flow and MBUK are my mags. I only buy two now. Flow is dedicated to freeriders everywhere and MBUK covers ... everything ... from 'good' xc to freeriding to urban to trials.

www.mbuk.com
www.whatmtb.co.uk

They post some of their reviews online....UK mags.

MBR (Mountain Bike Rider) is a pretty good UK XC magazine and avoids the juvenile feel MBUK goes for.

As im from the UK i buy MBUK every month.... U get free parts with it aswell ( Grips) Chain gaurds, Gear Wires.... Its a greaty magazine for the money :) (£3.50) Posters are in it too... and u have grimetime with detailed instructions on how to fix and maintain ur bike

Yup! That's been my experience of some of the US mags, few pages, few articles, lots of adverts. Not good value for money. The UK mags are better quality imo. MBR is very good as is What Mountain Bike, but MBUK is a horrible publication, ideal if you are 14 with acne, in short, a really sh1te magazine.

I hope they come up with a subscription option soon!

FLOW is no more. The guys running it split and are going to start up a new mag. No details on why, it was IMO, the best MTB mag for the gravity crowed.

If I find out anything more I will let you know.

:beer:

The problem for a US rider is that a) MBUK or MBR or the other Uk mags are approx 8 bucks off the shelf, and B) not all the stuff in the UK mags is available to the US and C) Some of the local stuff in the mags obviously has no application for us.

The USA needs a good mag!!

I bought a Cycling Plus a few weeks back, it is more roadie/commuter targeted, but what I noticed is all the stuff in the mag providing info on what buses had bike racks, which routes had low speed limits..yada yada. What I really noticed was how much support commuting got from the authorities. I read that they were making speed limits in some area 20 kph, in hopes that people shying away from commuting would be less concerned about cars.

We've got some problems here in the US..Did you guys read about the new budget having all cycling concerns cut out of it?

Originally posted by dirtbikedude
FLOW is no more. The guys running it split and are going to start up a new mag. No details on why, it was IMO, the best MTB mag for the gravity crowed.

If I find out anything more I will let you know.

:beer:

Now that sucks....I wonder if it was a parent not liking the kid thing as it was the sister mag to Mountain Biking I believe (one of those)

Now that sucks....I wonder if it was a parent not liking the kid thing as it was the sister mag to Mountain Biking I believe (one of those)

There was no "Parent". I should find out more from some of the guys this weekend. I have ridden with the folks that put the mag together but have not spoken with them since I heard the news.

It seems as though they are going to be doing a snowboarding mag instead. But as I said, I should no more this weekend.

:beer:

p.s.Just initials 'cause I could not use my regular SN to sign on.

Originally posted by DBD
There was no "Parent". I should find out more from some of the guys this weekend. I have ridden with the folks that put the mag together but have not spoken with them since I heard the news.

It seems as though they are going to be doing a snowboarding mag instead. But as I said, I should no more this weekend.

:beer:

p.s.Just initials 'cause I could not use my regular SN to sign on.

That is gonna suck. I will be left with no good mags to read. Thanx for the update dbd. :)

I stopped reading the U.S. mags a while back when every issue was a new gadget issue or a full suspension sales article. The only good U.S. biking magazine that I read is VeloNews. I haven't forked over the cash for a UK magazine but I will admit to enjoying flipping through them in the bookstore, they are just to expensive to buy. I don't understand how Bike, MTBA, and Bicycling get away with selling their magazines. Where's the actual content?

Well, Zap got the axe at Mountain Bike this week, so maybe things are looking up.

Zap got the axe?? Wowzer!! I wonder why?!

My mom said she'll by me an issue of MBR from Borders..YEAH!!

I was at the grocery store and picked up DIRT. Some UK mag, it is really good. Nice interviews, product reviews, and the general layout is cool.

Oh yeah, wtf is Zap?

Zap = Zapata Espinosa, longtime editor of Mountain Bike, widely acknowledged to be the most influential editor in the biz. Prior to his tenure at MB, he headed up the 'wrecking crew' at Mountain Bike Action. If Zap says he hates a product, it's dead in the market. I suspect that's what led to his dismissal - probably p.o.'d one too many advertisers.

Here's a story on the forthcoming changes (http://www.bicycleretailer.com/bicycleretailer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1954732) at Mountain Bike.

Australian Mountain Bike is fantastic. I got the latest version of BIKE (US mag) and it was absolutely sh!thouse. I will never buy another copy.
I like DIRT too :) Good mag!

Zap is a pain in the ass!! He's an egotistical, opinionated..haha

I remember reading the issue where the Rockshox Carbon world cup SID got a bad rap from MB..Then the proceeding issue had a retort from Rockshox, and didn't get what they wanted from MB, so they(rockshox) pulled their sponsorship. The mag has never been the same!! An article at BRAIN says MB will be back next year, as a quarterly rag.

I just got a MBR from Borders, I'm in magazine heaven!!!

I have never seen that one. Only dirt and MBUK...Dirt was decent but I don't care about reading about MX so I was a little put back.

I'd like to get a MBUK, I went to their website, and from that it looks good. I didn't see a retailer in the US though.

Its for a bit of a younger crowd but they cover every aspect of dirt in a very large (thick) magazine. I just happen to find a shop that orders 5 a week so now I get mine put aside. I have gotten der cable, grips and a key chain from that mag. :)

I saw they had a sticker page in last months issue..