Cycle World mag

[Badcat]

mine is the same - but i think you'll find the september issue is printed in late july.
bet we see it soon.
ken

[Crasherfromwayback]

I've been checking my mailbox every day with fingers crossed. But I had a subscription to Road Racer mag a few years ago, and it seems air frieght outta the States is all over the place. I'd sometimes get a newer one ahead of the months before!

[skelstar]

I'd sometimes get a newer one ahead of the months before!

That IS all over the place. Boy I hope they don't send me a pron mag by accident!

[Crasherfromwayback]

That IS all over the place. Boy I hope they don't send me a pron mag by accident!

You trying to tell me we haven't subscribed to a porn mag??

Sorry folks!

[Gubb]

You bastards, I was trying to limit my Credit Card. But whats US$16? Pretty cheap.
Does it have Posters? That's one bonus for Superbike, I gotta put something on the Garage walls.

[young1]

Fark, have not recieved any issues yet (email in May said 6-8 weeks) so checked subscriptions page at www.cycleworld.com and they reckon first issue I get is Sept 08! ... still I'm paid through until Oct 2010

Phew I am glad that I am not the only one waiting to get it!

[Reckless]

Thanks 4 the link and heads up crasher. I got signed up as well.

[BIHB@0610]

That IS all over the place. Boy I hope they don't send me a pron mag by accident!

Yes, crikey, heaven forbid .....

[pete376403]

Fark, have not recieved any issues yet (email in May said 6-8 weeks) so checked subscriptions page at www.cycleworld.com and they reckon first issue I get is Sept 08! ... still I'm paid through until Oct 2010

me too!! they prolly wondered wtf happened when a whole bunch of subs came thru from NZ in a few days

[Crasherfromwayback]

Thanks 4 the link and heads up crasher. I got signed up as well.

My pleasure mate! It's a great mag.

[Bob]

Well said Jim2- although Kevin Cameron's writings (as subsequently pointed out) are usually well worth a few dollars on their own.
Totally in agreement with you about the British mags- last year in the US I bumped into the editor of Motorcyclist and took no time to let him know that Dan Walsh was a waste of space and they needed to get rid of him asap. For those of you that don't know who Walsh is- he's a British journo- one of those insecure jerks who has to let you know on almost every line how many girls he's pulled and what his drug intake has been in the past day. Every now and again he gets on a bike and attempts some kind of adventure; usually doomed. Anyway it seems he's crawled back to the UK, probably to write for Superbike.
And any biker who isn't interested in helmet design, R&D and value is, in my view, a fully qualified member of the ten dollar helmet, ten dollar brain brigade.

A UK bike scribe reposts...

Dan Walsh - read him at his best and it is sheer quality. I recall one of his columns a couple of years back (it was part of his series on his ride down from North into South America) - and it was one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read. When I was studying reporting, the tutor said that if you wanted to write in 3rd person, then study Bill Bryson. Walsh at his best is in that league.

That said, he has been sacked by every editor of Bike that he has worked for, if there was an Olympic medal for wallowing in self-pity he'd win for GB every four years and yes, he does have this desperate need to show how he pulled/did something illegal etc.

But then everyone raves about Hunter S. Thompson (inventor of the "Gonzo" style of writing Walsh uses) - and I found a lot of his work self-indulgent... very much Walsh at his worst.

As regards UK bike magazines. Bike is the best - and for good reason. The writing is intelligent, they at least try not to fall into the "it isn't a sportsbike, so it is rubbish" trap that a lot of UK magazines topple into with alarming regularity (read editor Steve Rose's review of the new GSX650F - essentially a fully faired Bandit after all - and he raves over it how it performed so well on their test route etc), the standard of photography is superb. Their tests will take like-for-like bikes (this month, giant trailies). If only they'd pension off Ogri...

PB is a poor man's Superbike. Superbike is obsessed with showing how far they get their knee down, what crazy blokes they are (hangover from the days of the old lot that used to run it before moving to TWO). TWO started out awkwardly, being a mish-mash of ex Superbike and ex EMAP staffers. Then the Superbike lot left and for a time it looked like being a serious rival to Bike. Then the old Superbike editor came back... and now it is all about how crazy they are and how they rode to some nice place so they could act real crazy all the time... and oh, were we supposed to review a bike?

Of the others, Ride is the one that does all the really good product reviews (and do a really useful survey of their readership each year, covering bikes, kit, quality of dealers). No, they won't do a multi-page in-depth item like the helmet one in Cycleworld - but try that in the UK and you won't sell copy. That said, they comparative reviews (each month, another item - they will test something like 24 pairs of summer gloves back to back, show what they did and so on - which will take up 5-6 pages).

Motorcycle Sport and Leisure is benefitting from finally being with a publisher that want it to be a flagship. Again, photo quality is now right up there. If I have a niggle, it is reliant on the "coffee table" bunch for copy - Roland Brown etc.

Other than that, Used Bike Guide is now a sorry little every other month title.

Of course, there are the two news titles, Motor Cycle News and Motor Cycle Monthly... but I'll stick away from those two as I am professionally biased towards the latter...

I'll not go into the classic mags as I'm no expert.

I do agree with the problem with UK magazines of reviewing everything as if it was a sportsbike. Problem with living in "Superbike Island". But things are changing - slowly, admittedly. Read reviews these days and they're definitely trying to review bikes on their own merits (and the better titles seem to be finding "experts" in a field - though I'm sure Chippy Wood at Bike gets the cruisers as he is rather short!) - all the riding stuff tends to go on about "moving in the saddle, putting weight on the front tyre" etc - ain't gonna work on a cruiser!.

The US magazines - I read them occasionally and there is a tendency to play safe - but that is what a massive lawsuit will do for you. They seem to be getting bolder though - that article mentioned showing how a cheaper lid can be safer (take a look at the SHARP ratings thread for a long discussion on why this isn't the only criteria in buying a helmet) being a good example.

But ultimately, none of the mags really get it right. As an occasional cruiser rider (get to borrow the wife's one at weekends from time to time), I'd like to read an intelligent cruiser mag, that doesn't try to be some sort of "Bro" title with "Lets see this month's really strange and pointless chopper" feature and some girl with her t!ts out, instead of really riding the bikes out there and giving intelligent commentary on the engine performance, comfort, range etc.

But for a general magazine, I'll take Bike over the rest.

Back to the CW offer - just USD 24 dollars for two year deal(once you add the international post) is an amazing offer. Sadly the website for the company that sells it in the UK is useless so I can't check the over the counter price, but I'd guess it will retail for around GBP 3.80, so maybe around USD 7.50 - so that covers 2 years subscription in about 3 months!

[Bob]

I find that US magazines are far more willing to evaluate ANY motorcycle and say something positive, and something negative about every bike they test, unlike most British mainstream motorcycle magazines who proclaim that anything that isn't the latest sprotsbike is shit. Even the previous version of the same sprotsbike is immediately rendered shit by the release of its successor.

We all agreed the new 600 Fazer isn't as good as the old one. Actually, I'm lying! All the titles loved the new one, because it had the R6 engine etc... until one of Bike's writers (or maybe even Ride) who had owned an original Fazer said "hang on for a moment, all that stuff the old Fazer did so well... the new one can't". Then everyone else re-evaluated, realised he was right and a whole new batch of articles appeared!

Meanwhile, the British public had already worked this out - which is why new Fazer sales levels have never exceeded half of the old Fazer figures...

... there is another nice twist at the moment. A lot of the titles are moaning about how the latest generation of sportsbikes (esp 600s) are getting smaller and more track-focussed, with little give to road beyond putting on lights. Suddenly, the rest of the bike world is being treated more favourably.

Again, something the rest of us already knew. Yes, sportsbikes are cutting edge, perform amazingly well etc... but how often can you use 186mph, 160bhp etc?

[zeocen]

Even so, that's the price of three non-airfreighted Cycle World magazines (3 months late in other words) purchased from a magazine shop. Astonishing value in my book.

Oh totally, I wasn't thinking of canceling my subscription or anything.. I have something great to look forward to every month in the mail, for cheap as chips! Can't wait for the first copy

Again, something the rest of us already knew. Yes, sportsbikes are cutting edge, perform amazingly well etc... but how often can you use 186mph, 160bhp etc?

That's a big reason why I traded down from litre bike to the ER6, about a week after I bought it there was a very solid review of the ER6 in KiwiRider magazine, singing it great praise. But, I guess you already know that, now I do too (can't think of anything better right now!)... it's just nice to have magazines talk about actual road bikes every now and then for us humble folk !

[Reckless]

Just checked my Bankcard statement. Total charges incl conversion rates = $42-80.
Divided by 24 issues that's $1-78 NZD per issue. I'm happy with that!!!

[Swoop]

Just checked my Bankcard statement. Total charges incl conversion rates = $42-80.
Divided by 24 issues that's $1-78 NZD per issue. I'm happy with that!!!

Hideously expensive.