Canceling subscription to Bicycling
09-11-05, 02:58 PM
#76
Banned.
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Originally Posted by LOOPDEELOOP
We should start our own rag!
09-11-05, 07:25 PM
#77
Nerd
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I subscribe to both Consumer Reports and Bicycling. I'm not really happy with either, but they're good for the train ride to work. I wish Consumer Reports would stop trying to get me to buy more of their offerings, and review a broader range of items. Their bicycle and gear reviews recently were so lacking in depth and variety it wasn't even funny.
Bicycling magazine has Style Man, and that makes it worth while.
Most magazines are basically designed to get you to buy stuff.
Bicycling magazine has Style Man, and that makes it worth while.
Most magazines are basically designed to get you to buy stuff.
09-11-05, 07:34 PM
#78
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Consumer Reports is excellent if you want to buy an appliance.
Take cars, for example. You want a reliable car, get a Honda or a
Toyota. They're appliances on wheels. If you're passionate about cars they can't help you at all. They want basic functionality and reliability. But once something becomes an object of passion, you want more. Which is why their reports can be unsatisfying. Buying an appliance and feeding your soul require different tactics.
Take cars, for example. You want a reliable car, get a Honda or a
Toyota. They're appliances on wheels. If you're passionate about cars they can't help you at all. They want basic functionality and reliability. But once something becomes an object of passion, you want more. Which is why their reports can be unsatisfying. Buying an appliance and feeding your soul require different tactics.
09-11-05, 07:36 PM
#79
In Memory of One Cool Cat
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Originally Posted by froze
Well maybe our own rag won't be as flashy, or there maybe misspelled words, or incomplete sentences, or grammar errors, but at least it would be more informative!!
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09-13-05, 06:02 PM
#80
Banned.
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Consumer Reports is full of missinformation!
For example, they rated years ago a Panasonic vacuum cleaner as a best buy and the most reliable, so I went out and bought the same model number they listed, it lasted 1 year and 3 months before the motor died; so I though I must have gotten a bad unit so CR recommended a Panasonic again which I gleefully went and bought only to find out it lasted 1 year and 8 months before the motor fried.
Next I thought well hmm what do they recommended after that, it was a Hoover Wind Tunnel, this one though the suction was so terrible I had to take it back to the store and tried a different one with the same poor results that CR said had the best suction. I then (after trying a few other other brands) went whole hog and bought a Kirby, that vacuum has the most suction of any cleaner I have ever used and it's now 5 years old and has outlasted all previous vacuums I bought in the last 15 years and CR rated it poor!!!????
Then I bought a Honda Lawn mower based on CR recommendation for being the most reliable and having the best mulching capability. Mulching wise it was ok if having to mow your lawn 2 or 3 times to get the grass to mulch up fine enough not to show on the lawn is good! But the worse part was the dam thing broke 11 times in 2 years and it was the same thing-the drive transmission, and Honda would not replace it until finally they agreed but ripped me on the price because I would not accept a exchange-why for another piece of junk? So I bought Toro Super Recycler instead, with the Toro I only have to mow the lawn once and the grass cuttings are gone, now the Toro is 3 years old with no issues.
I have known other people who followed the advice of CR with the same results that I had. So I don't place much faith in CR anymore, they made a change for the worse when Ralph Nader resigned from the board of directors back in 79 I think, and CR has gotten worse every year that's gone by since then.
For example, they rated years ago a Panasonic vacuum cleaner as a best buy and the most reliable, so I went out and bought the same model number they listed, it lasted 1 year and 3 months before the motor died; so I though I must have gotten a bad unit so CR recommended a Panasonic again which I gleefully went and bought only to find out it lasted 1 year and 8 months before the motor fried.
Next I thought well hmm what do they recommended after that, it was a Hoover Wind Tunnel, this one though the suction was so terrible I had to take it back to the store and tried a different one with the same poor results that CR said had the best suction. I then (after trying a few other other brands) went whole hog and bought a Kirby, that vacuum has the most suction of any cleaner I have ever used and it's now 5 years old and has outlasted all previous vacuums I bought in the last 15 years and CR rated it poor!!!????
Then I bought a Honda Lawn mower based on CR recommendation for being the most reliable and having the best mulching capability. Mulching wise it was ok if having to mow your lawn 2 or 3 times to get the grass to mulch up fine enough not to show on the lawn is good! But the worse part was the dam thing broke 11 times in 2 years and it was the same thing-the drive transmission, and Honda would not replace it until finally they agreed but ripped me on the price because I would not accept a exchange-why for another piece of junk? So I bought Toro Super Recycler instead, with the Toro I only have to mow the lawn once and the grass cuttings are gone, now the Toro is 3 years old with no issues.
I have known other people who followed the advice of CR with the same results that I had. So I don't place much faith in CR anymore, they made a change for the worse when Ralph Nader resigned from the board of directors back in 79 I think, and CR has gotten worse every year that's gone by since then.
09-13-05, 08:10 PM
#81
By-Tor...or the Snow Dog?
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YAH! wooohoooo! I am getting a subscription to Cycle Sport America! YEEHAAWW!
*gets up and dances!*
*gets up and dances!*
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09-14-05, 12:50 AM
#82
I drink your MILKSHAKE
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Originally Posted by BostonFixed
I recommend Dirt Rag magazine. Honest reviews, they have regular literature and art contests, It's a great mag.
They also have beer reviews if that's your thing.
They also have beer reviews if that's your thing.
Bicycling, on the other hand, is completely worthless
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09-14-05, 05:17 AM
#83
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I bought my very first issue of Bicycling and concur with prior forum members. I probably won’t buy another issue. It’s like many magazines that have been homogenized. You can take out the few bike related articles and put in some other field of interest and rename it that field of interest.
That being said, Bicycling magazine infers that bicyclists:
Are elitist and rich
All race bikes
Drive expensive cars when not riding expensive bikes
Need assistance obtaining an erection
That being said, Bicycling magazine infers that bicyclists:
Are elitist and rich
All race bikes
Drive expensive cars when not riding expensive bikes
Need assistance obtaining an erection
09-14-05, 06:21 AM
#84
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Originally Posted by froze
Consumer Reports is full of missinformation!
-dennis
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09-15-05, 03:55 AM
#85
Ride the Road
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Originally Posted by froze
Consumer Reports is full of missinformation!
09-15-05, 08:06 AM
#86
I survived lotoja
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Howdy,
All of this said, how do they, the rags offset production and distribution cost if they can't stump for thier advertisers? I wouldn't pay $20.00+ an issue for a periodical.
M.R.
All of this said, how do they, the rags offset production and distribution cost if they can't stump for thier advertisers? I wouldn't pay $20.00+ an issue for a periodical.
M.R.
10-28-05, 10:02 AM
#88
hobby-ist
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Originally Posted by Mary Ann
Call me crazy but I look forward ever month to the arrival of my Bicycling Magazine. Granted, I am a newbie so I am not a racer by any stretch of the imagination. However, I do love bike racing and I love reading about all the new equipment that's out there that I'll never purchase but wish I could afford so I'm like, if I had the money this is what I'd get!! Sort of a dreamy kid in a candystore. I also get Velo News and read almost all the articles and can't wait for the next one to arrive. I'm an old lady -- I'm talking 60+-- who has had a thing for Rodale Press since "Mother Earth News' in the early 70's so I must just be their target audience in a nutshell! I get Adventure Cyclist too but it's not what I'm into. I can't imagine packing all that crap on the back of your bike. Too much effort, whew!!! Not that I wouldn't want to try it if I could find someone to try it with. I read these mags as someone who wishes they had their life to live over again and then things would be different. I'd call myself a voyeur except that I do ride my bike a lot (like almost every day) and I just got clipless pedals today for the first time in my 61 years and am scared ****less to actually use them, but I'm gonna try anyway thank you very much!
M.A.
M.A.
10-28-05, 10:32 AM
#89
Racing iS my Training
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Originally Posted by DieselDan
Just how long did this take you? I noticed a pattern after three issues, and I've never renewed.
Then, 2 days ago I finally get the November issue, and last night I see that the December issue at the news stand
What, are they sending me the unused newsstand issues at the end of each month!
10-28-05, 11:10 AM
#90
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Originally Posted by Olebiker
I wish there was an American equivalent to Cycling Plus. Those folks do it right with information about reasonably priced bikes, places to ride, clubs, racing, randonneuring, audax, commuting, AND expensive bikes.
12-30-05, 06:22 PM
#92
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Originally Posted by Olebiker
I knew that one was in trouble when every cover had a picture of a road bike catching air. They seemed to have missed the point.
I wish there was an American equivalent to Cycling Plus. Those folks do it right with information about reasonably priced bikes, places to ride, clubs, racing, randonneuring, audax, commuting, AND expensive bikes.
I wish there was an American equivalent to Cycling Plus. Those folks do it right with information about reasonably priced bikes, places to ride, clubs, racing, randonneuring, audax, commuting, AND expensive bikes.
12-30-05, 08:56 PM
#93
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It's fairly unanimous that Cycling Plus is the bomb.
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