Road Cycling - Best cycling magazine?

In an attempt to get up to speed on all aspects of road cycling and racing, I'm planning to subscribe to a couple of cycle magazines. I've been reading Bicycle, VeloNews, and another whose name is (I think) Cycle Sport America. Are these any good? Are there others which are better? Thanks for any info.

The problem with bicycling is that there is a lot of fluff and crap in the magazine. I can usually read it cover to cover in an hour.

I like cycle sport. it focuses a bit more on the sport itself, which I like. I suppose it should because of the name...

The British and European magazines are the best. Our local shop has them from England, Italy, Germany, and (I think) France. I don't know other languages, but I can make out enough words to make some sense of them! Unfortunately, subscriptions are very expensive!

Asphalt is a good publication but it's about ten bucks an issue!

The quarterly Rivendell Reader is my favorite. No BS stuff like Bicycling magazine.

Procycling and Cycle Sport for international races (suggested due to wider availability) and VeloNews for national news. I'm letting my Bicycling subscription lapse since they've started to cater to those with no attention spans. Very similar to educational institutions these days, but that's another thread for another day and another forum.

My three favorites are:

Rivendell Reader http://www.rivendellbicycles.com
Adventure Cycling http://www.adventurecycling.org
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly http://www.mindspring.com/~heine/bikesite/bikesite

Velo News

Bicycling is the worst. It is one big advert.
I am getting free issues via a promotion, but reading makes me alternatively sick or angry.

I've gotten more enjoyment and information out of this forum, Sheldon Brown's site, Ken Kifer's site, Bikereader, etc... in the past two months than I would get in a century's worth of Bicycling.

I hope Bicycling's staff frequents this site.

I liked Velo News. I haven't seen Procycling yet, but I'll check it out.

Back when I first got into cycling, I got Bicycling. It was good for about 2 years, then suddenly, the content changed. It got to be a lot less about cycling and more about advertisement and mountain biking. Hardly anything about road cycling. I got tired of reading the same old same old and let my subscription lapse. I'm never even tempted to pick the magazine again.

I get my stuff from rodalepress.com, here, lancearmstrong.com, velonews.com, and eurosport.com. It will have to do.

I cannot bring myself to pay ten bucks a magazine... it's way too much.

Koffee

I'm sure Bicycling's staff does frequent this site. They already know they're the worst and are ashamed of it. The few staff that are left are getting paid too much (no doubt from advert dollars) to quit. Rodale is probably making them an offer they can't refuse.

Pro cycling is awesome, but it's 7.95 and issue here in NY, Cycle Sport is good too, that i think i pay 5.95 for and Velonews is good too. i signed up for the bicycling 2 year sub for like 20 bucks. Bicycling is like the others say a giant advertisement. A subscription is really the best way to go, procycling is $7.95 an issue or $57.00 for the year. 12x$7.95=$95.00 or $58.00 for the year being $4.83 per issue with sub.

Cycle Sport is my fave, but expensive and hard to find. A close second is Velo News which I pick up at my LBS. Bicycling is probably my least favorite but I still read it cover to cover. Shoot I get excited when the new Colorado Cyclist shows up........ :D

Bicycling is the only subscription i have becuase its the only one Wal-Mart had. Most of you have said good things about Cycle Sport, were can i find it and how much is it?

http://www.cyclesportmag.com/ is a great mag so is Velo News. I usually go to the local Borders or Barnes and Noble and read them all each month.

cycle sport america is a very slick and well produced magazine...enjoy reading it

pro cycling also has good coverage of racing...but is a small step below in terms of graphic quality and content compared to cyclesport

cyclcing plus is another british magazine i just picked up from the newstand...nice reviews and articles .... and its refreshingly different from american cycling mags

velo news also has good content but is annoyingly large in size and has inferior print quality

Bicycling is the worst. It is one big advert.
I am getting free issues via a promotion, but reading makes me alternatively sick or angry.

I've gotten more enjoyment and information out of this forum, Sheldon Brown's site, Ken Kifer's site, Bikereader, etc... in the past two months than I would get in a century's worth of Bicycling.

I hope Bicycling's staff frequents this site.

True enough... I would never pay money for a subscription to that mag. (I have a free sub from a "Hot Deal" I posted a while back)

It's pretty sad when you can read through the whole magazine in one sitting....

Yeah Bicycling sucks. I read it cover to cover in 25 minutes yesterday. It caters to the 1.5 ride per week rider who doesn't know any better.
Usually, I go to Barnes and Noble and read their magazines for free.

My son just returned from a holiday in the UK, and he brought me several magazines. The one I liked best was cycling plus as it covered a wide range of cycling topics. The others seemed to be too pro-race oriented.

I like Asphalt. expensive but worth it IMHO

Marty

Another vote for Asphalt and also Cycle Sport.

Velo News and Cycle Sport. With a editor like Phil
Ligget it has to be good.

Procycling and Cycle Sport for international races (suggested due to wider availability) and VeloNews for national news. I'm letting my Bicycling subscription lapse since they've started to cater to those with no attention spans. Very similar to educational institutions these days, but that's another thread for another day and another forum.

What was that you said about Bicycling?

There was something I read about a new cycling magazine that appeared just recently. I think it was called ROAD or something like that, with a subtitle of the journal of road cycling. At one time, I found the 800 number for a subscription, but all I got was an answering machine.

Anyone know what I am talking about?

There was something I read about a new cycling magazine that appeared just recently. I think it was called ROAD or something like that, with a subtitle of the journal of road cycling. At one time, I found the 800 number for a subscription, but all I got was an answering machine.

Anyone know what I am talking about?

could it have been ASPHALT?

For those of us in the Northeast, The Ride, is a nice magazine. It covers a lot of different styles of riding, features a commuter of the month, has some local race news and announcements, and a small amount of ads. It is a quick read, but an enjoyable one.

could it have been ASPHALT?

No. This one debuted I think at this years bike show, or just before it. It was definately called ROAD ...something and is published by an outfit somewhere near Los Angeles.

Asphalt's subtitle is All Road All the Time.
Velonews subtitle is Journal of competitive cycling.
Can't find anything like Road, or Journal of Road cycling
with Google, Hotbot or Dmoz.
Would be interested if you figure it out.

Marty

Someone asked about Cyclesport - I think its one of the better ones. You can order it through worldcycling.com or cyclesportmag.com

Asphalt's subtitle is All Road All the Time.
Velonews subtitle is Journal of competitive cycling.
Can't find anything like Road, or Journal of Road cycling
with Google, Hotbot or Dmoz.
Would be interested if you figure it out.

Marty

Thing is I wrote it down somewhere and put it where it wouldn't get lost. Problem is the entire "where" got lost in the musty crevices of my mind.

I made the mistake of subscribing to Bicycling over a year ago (I didn't renew), since I was getting back into cycling. As others mentioned, the advertising outweighs the content. Speaking of content... it was boring. Forget about good equipment reviews, or comprehensive How-To's. My question is, who the hell is Zack and why should I care what his favorite component of the month is? :rolleyes:

There was something I read about a new cycling magazine that appeared just recently. I think it was called ROAD or something like that, with a subtitle of the journal of road cycling. At one time, I found the 800 number for a subscription, but all I got was an answering machine.

yup, ROAD does exist, as does it's sister magazine 26 (as in 26" wheels). We sold some pics to them for an issue of 26, and I found both at a local magazine shop. Personally, while I thought 26 had some nice articles, in general there is too much fluff in them. They're very glitzy, interesting layout, but that won't keep a magazine in business.

Here's my thoughts on the others:
Velonews - OK. I read it for years, but some of their new staff drive me insane (made even worse after working next to them at races). Interestingly enough for those who read it for the local scene, they don't care about domestic racing (barring the really big races). That's from THEIR mouths. Personally, I get all the same info online weeks before their issue comes out.

Cyclesport - Nice. Great pics, nice stories about more than just the race. Combining it with Cycling Weekly (its sister) gives you full race coverage plus all the nice other stuff. HOWEVER, they are starting to ehad in the Bicycling direction in regards to advertisers and reviews. They had a story recently about wheelsets that was a BLATANT ad for Mavic. Sent me into fits for days.

Procycling - Nice, but not as nice as Cyclesport. OTOH, they do have Anthony Pope's Plastic Peloton People which amuses me. :D

Bicycling - for beginners and enthusiasts (which is what most bike purchasers are).

Asphalt - saw it in a local shop for the first time ever. Didn't buy it, but might.

Ride - from Australia - Cool new mag, 4 times a year. Interesting layout, lots of pics, and a more Aussie feel. All sorts of bike reviews for stuff you've never seen, plus real riders talk about their rigs.

Heard good things about The Ride (NE Scene), but never seen one.

The Ride:

http://www.ridezine.com/

i'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks Bicycling has gotten a bit fluffy around the edges. when i started riding mountain bikes in college, i subscribed. i couldn't wait for the next issue, even though it was mostly about boring old road bikes. :) and it blathered on about road bike racers, which is where i first heard about this Lemond fella who was apparently a big deal. even though i didn't understand half of it and the other three quarters was about road cycling, i couldn't resist reading it.

Years later (obviously!), i.e. this summer, i bought a road bike and subscribed again. now it's half mountain bike stuff and all fluff. like wow, i can figure out how many cream pies i can burn off by cycling across the country! wow. and Style Guy....this sort of thing would be fun if there were content too. but the reviews don't say anything, especially anything bad, and there's no depth anywhere. i'm going to let my subscription lapse, if i can stand it coming into the house that long.

I agree that Bicycling is for the pea brains. It's on the same level now as People's Magazine! Too bad because it once was a great magazine. Now my favorite for the last 5 years has been Velo News and Rivendell reader.

although in Bicycling's defense, i'm enjoying the "Bike Town" article. in a "People" sort of way. it's good journalism, even. but the thing is, they mention they cleared out all their feature space to make room for this. they should be doing this sort of thing every issue, along with other great articles. this sort of writing shouldn't be a once-a-year sort of thing.

i remember reading the TdF dailies on bicycling.com and the little 'color' articles they'd include. i thought to myself, wow these writers are bad! i sure hope they don't write for the actual magazine.

they do.

Is there a web address for that austrailian magazine (ride)?

In the past I have complained about Bicycling magazine for many reason that I will not repeat now. Tuesday I received my new (free) issue of Bicycling and it was actually pretty good. The BikeTown project was cool, a review of Lance's bike and some actual information on stationary trainers that was useful, made it the best issue I have seen in a while. Still along way to go though.

What REALLY scares me about Bicycling is I think
that Style guy is serious.

Marty

What REALLY scares me about Bicycling is I think
that Style guy is serious.

Marty

That crap is one of the worst aspects of the mag. He (she?) is a total idiot.

I understand the feelings about Bicycling being overglitzy and mostly a ad mag.BFers are very cyncial of "Bicycling." .But, we have very few alternatives in the US...? I am mostly critical..But, I continue to subscribe..
Some of their articles on food, nutrition are good. The recent article about the Wright Brothers and and the bicycle was good. Usually each edition, they have at least one good article..
Agree, not trust their product reviews..
Once disappointed upon contacting their editor..Of which he did not reply..Asked 'Bicycling' commit to better coverage of pro cycle racers and racing..Did not do such..
I favored a one page box of pro cycling infomation updates..Still a disappointment to me...

I see it's already been mentioned in the thread, but I picked up the "Inaugural Issue" of Road. $4.99 US, $6.99 in Canada. They're calling themselves the Journal of Road Cycling and Culture. About 1/3 of the 75 pages were ads... although pretty impressive looking ads. I found that the reviews tended to be accompanied by an ad somewhere else in the mag, although I'm not sure that this isn't a common trait of most of the magazines. Fairly light reading overall, but a nice change from Bicycling.

Update: Just noticed Road has a link for their site at www.h3publications.com
The link doesn't show much, but has a section for those interested in a subscription.... and apparently that links not live yet, but "Christine" would be happy to take your VISA number. I know a lot of other people who would, too.

That crap is one of the worst aspects of the mag. He (she?) is a total idiot.

Styleguy is one of the things I read first. It is hilarious. First, some of the letter writers might actually be serious! The answers were most often really funny.

Personally, I like Bicycling and read it cover to cover every month, saving the bike reviews for last.