Best bike magazine...

Turbo Fahel said:

Which one is best to subscribe to for general cycling information, on products, fitness,
bikes etc..?

"Australian Cyclist" isn't the flashest mag around, but it comes free with Bike NSW membership (not
sure about the other states, but I guess it's the same arrangement with their respective state
cycling bodies), so the price is right.

&roo

Hey Mate,

AMB ( Australian Mountain Bike) is by far the best. Great articles, news on Australian and abroad.
Race Updates. Great layout, photography and graphic design. It's just a pleasure to read, and
besides they have my bike reviewed in this issue (Liquid Subframe!).

Cheers, Ken

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"Turbo Fahel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Which one is best to subscribe to for general cycling information, on products, fitness,
bikes etc..?

--
Regards, Turbo Fahel __o -\<, ( ) / ( )

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"mtbau.commtbau.comOpen ↗" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey Mate,

AMB ( Australian Mountain Bike) is by far the best.

if your're a flea-riding extreme dude. For the rest of us mere mortals it's a bit of a fanasy trip.

Quoted message said:

Great layout, photography and graphic design. It's just a pleasure to read

No, you need some real editorial content in it for a mag to be a pleasurable read. AMB is too much
of a cross between supplier advertorials and wannabe BMX bandit brag sessions. For good informative
cycling reading I'd recommend you stick with Australian Cyclist. JMHO

Cheers Peter

what sort of cyling are you into?
I think 'Ride' is probably my personal favourite for road bikes.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by SMH
what sort of cyling are you into?
I think 'Ride' is probably my personal favourite for road bikes.

I have to agree. If you are interested in road bikes, international competition with an Australian flavour, sensible editorial style and good product reviews, subscribe to Ride. Unfortunately it only a quarterly.
If you get off on juvenile hip hop language, go for Mountain Bike.

Australian Cyclist is more of a generalist preoduction. I can not even put my finger on exactly what it tries to address, but I guess it's strongest on advocacy and [censored] about car drivers and bike paths that do not connect.😎

"Tezza" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Australian Cyclist is more of a generalist preoduction. I can not even put my finger on exactly
what it tries to address, but I guess it's strongest on advocacy and [censored] about car drivers
and bike paths that do not connect.😎

Not to mention bloody touring, It went through a better patch recently while they had a temporary
editor but now it is back to the same dreary stuff. It wouldn't be so bad if the authors of the
article described the bikes they used, accessories and why they thought they were suitable or not
but most articles are straight out of a tourist brochure.

Ride Cycling Review (issued quarterly) focuses more on the road racing scene, has good products and bike reviews.

Bicycling Australia (bimonthly) has a little bit of road racing, a little bit of touring, plenty of new products and bike reviews (so they can make money) and has great articles on technique, fitness, diet, psychology and motivation.

Australian Cyclist (bimonthly) is mainly about commuting, touring and advocacy.

"Cody" ... wrote ...

Quoted message said:

"Tezza" ... wrote ...

Quoted message said:

Australian Cyclist is more of a generalist production. I can not even put my finger on exactly
what it tries to address, but I guess it's strongest on advocacy and [censored] about car drivers
and bike paths that do not connect.😎

Not to mention bloody touring, It went through a better patch recently while they had a temporary
editor but now it is back to the same dreary stuff. It wouldn't be so bad if the authors of the
article described the bikes they used, accessories and why they thought they were suitable or not
but most articles are straight out of a tourist brochure.

Australian Cyclist may be unique in the world. They publish for their immensely diverse readership -
by their diverse readership. Quite a bit on the history of cycling in Australia, cycling advocacy,
bicycle commuting, family bicycling, cycling for health. And there have been some superb articles
that are probably best described as "the philosophy of cycling". You are right about the touring
articles - they have not got the balance right between travelogue and touring gear. A really good
read if you can make the time to read about how other cyclists view cycling. It's not all tech talk
out there!

Keith

On 4 Jun 2003 12:00:26 +0950, RideToEat <[email hidden]> wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Australian Cyclist (bimonthly) is mainly about commuting, touring and advocacy.

And sewing leather patches on your cardigans... ;^)

Tony F who only reads it because it's free (included in BNSW membership, which is worth
having, IMHO)

Cody said:

Not to mention bloody touring, It went through a better patch recently while they had a temporary
editor but now it is back to the same dreary stuff. It wouldn't be so bad if the authors of the
article described the bikes they used, accessories and why they thought they were suitable or not
but most articles are straight out of a tourist brochure.

I agree with you, but these are reader contributed articles, So you get what you (don't) pay for
so-to-speak.

The issue-before-last covered touring gear in quite exacting detail, and while I disagreed with a
few of the recommendations (bird watching book?) how can you really judge what gear to take.

Our quintessential piece of touring gear at the moment is the nappy bag with spare clothes and bum
wipes[1] - hardly riveting bicycle reading :P

I keep telling myself that maybe one day I write something interesting and send it in, but that's
yet to happen of course.

-kt

[1] Baby wipes are *fantastic* for removing bicycle grease. I don't know what's in them, but
non-baby wipes (e.g. wet-ones) do not remove grease nearly as well. If you're touring chuck a
small 'travel-pack' of wipes in with your tools.

Turbo Fahel said:

Which one is best to subscribe to for general cycling information, on products, fitness,
bikes etc..?

IMHO without doubt, the best cycling mag in the world is the UK publication Cycling Plus. I find it
has the best mix of all things cycling and the quality of the articles is good. Road, MTB, urban,
touring, reviews, advocacy, tech tips, fitness etc it has the lot. It is a bit expensive to
subscribe to (works out cheaper to buy from the newsstand here in Oz).

Next best (and I admit I'm a roadie) is Ride, followed by Bicycling Australia.

I read Cycling Plus occasionally, Australian Cyclist..as said above its free with the membership, and Bicycling Australia regularly.

Cycling Plus is not a bad read, but not much good for products in that the prices are in British pounds, and its written for Brits.

Australian Cyclist is pretty general, and mainly for non racing or non roadie types..commuting and touring.

I think Bicycling Australia covers lots of what you are looking for.

Product reviews though, depending on what magazine or writer perhaps, may not always be accurate. Some writers or magazines will rate the worst product as value for what you are spending, or similar language; in other words if something being reviewed is no good you have to read between the lines to find out.

An example is a pair of road shoes I bought a few years ago..sure they were cheap..and I read a review of them claiming they were good value for the price. Well, they were rubbish...wouldn't be good value for free.

I'm a bit careful about product reviews..depends on who is writing them.

Chester1 ... wrote ...

Quoted message said:

I read Cycling Plus occasionally, Australian Cyclist..as said above its free with the membership,
and Bicycling Australia regularly.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I'm a bit careful about product reviews..depends on who is writing them.

I also supplement Australian Cyclist with the US magazine Bicycling. For one thing, the layout is
very professional mimicking web page presentation more than any other mag I know. Lots of variety
and covers the full range of cycling interests. Lots on Lance Armstrong, but also MTBs in fantastic
scenery and commuting, too. It is very American (most cyclists seem to own about five bikes that
cost over $AU3,000), but it's so American that I'm not seduced. The bulky UK MTB magazine probably
has more words than any other and the fine detail to go with it. Lots about MTBs in English mud. I
always check this one out when in the newsagency and buy about one in three.

Both these mags have good reviews and it's helpful to get a fresh approach to products
from overseas.

Keith