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August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 25 Jul 2017, 7:18pm
by Armorel
The cover of the latest magazine says "Summer holidays - six ride suggestions for escaping by bike" but I can't find anything in the contents that corresponds to this title - can anyone enlighten me as to what the six ride suggestions are?

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 25 Jul 2017, 11:22pm
by gaz
Best suggestion I can make would be:
1. Page 34, Going coastal.
2. Page 48, An end in itself.
3. Page 81,Transpennine trundle.
4. Page 81, Singletrack for starters.
5. Page 82, Northern sights.
6. Page 82, Biking in times of Brexit.

Doesn't fit in with the "Plus" section on the cover which lists two of the above.

Maybe it's the cycling holiday ads :wink: .

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 11:58am
by roger
I read the cover advertising "Six ride suggestions" PLUS Lejog and Goes Coastal.

Roger.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 4:09pm
by bikepacker
Didn't find the holiday suggestions either. Was there a reason that the Bike Express advert was in a foreign language? Also strange was no Spa Cycles advert, wonder why.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 4:18pm
by Armorel
Oh yes, I hadn't noticed the European Bike express advert - I don't even think it's a foreign language; it just looks like gibberish. How bizarre. Perhaps the post of proofreader is currently vacant.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 5:14pm
by PH
bikepacker wrote:Also strange was no Spa Cycles advert, wonder why.

That's not been there for a while, and neither is the magazine stuffed with Spa reviews (Didn't they manage to get two bikes reviewed in the same issue?) I have no idea if there's a connection.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 6:39pm
by robgul
PH wrote:
bikepacker wrote:Also strange was no Spa Cycles advert, wonder why.

That's not been there for a while, and neither is the magazine stuffed with Spa reviews (Didn't they manage to get two bikes reviewed in the same issue?) I have no idea if there's a connection.


What were the reviews of the Spa bikes like? - perhaps they've "done a Thorn" and withdrawn advertising if the mag didn't rave about their bikes

Way back in the day Thorn used to have about 4 pages of colour ads in every month - CJ gave an unbiased review of a bike and Thorn didn't like it, with IIRC Andy Blance launching a tirade about it - they then withdrew all advertising from the mag.

Rob

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 6:43pm
by mjr
robgul wrote:CJ gave an unbiased review of a bike and Thorn didn't like it, with IIRC Andy Blance launching a tirade about it - they then withdrew all advertising from the mag.

Would that be a Blance Flounce or a Blounce?

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 10:28pm
by JohnW
robgul wrote:
PH wrote:
bikepacker wrote:Also strange was no Spa Cycles advert, wonder why.

That's not been there for a while, and neither is the magazine stuffed with Spa reviews (Didn't they manage to get two bikes reviewed in the same issue?) I have no idea if there's a connection.


What were the reviews of the Spa bikes like? - perhaps they've "done a Thorn" and withdrawn advertising if the mag didn't rave about their bikes

Way back in the day Thorn used to have about 4 pages of colour ads in every month - CJ gave an unbiased review of a bike and Thorn didn't like it, with IIRC Andy Blance launching a tirade about it - they then withdrew all advertising from the mag.

Rob


Spa haven't advertised in the last four 'Cycle' issues (including the most recent) - and this coincides with the beginning of CUK and Halfords espousing each other. Seen from Spa's point of view, as a retailing business would you support an organisation which directs it's members away from you and to another bigger outlet?

Lack of Spa's advert is for me a major loss from 'Cycle'. Spa support cyclists like us with parts that Halfords don't recognise, and with knowledge, advice and experience which it seems to me from what other members have written on the Forum, are quite beyond Halfords. I've nothing to say about Halfords - they rarely come onto my radar except when I go in to look around whilst my wife is 'shopping' in another adjacent unit - but my position is that we NEED Spa (and SjS for that matter) and if Halfords shut down we wouldn't notice.

I'm not criticising Halfords - but I do criticise CUK for this.

As for reviews of Spa bikes in 'Cycle', my memory is of CJ being complimentary in a review of one - shortly before the dirty was done on him.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 26 Jul 2017, 10:31pm
by JohnW
PH wrote:
bikepacker wrote:Also strange was no Spa Cycles advert, wonder why.

That's not been there for a while, and neither is the magazine stuffed with Spa reviews (Didn't they manage to get two bikes reviewed in the same issue?) I have no idea if there's a connection.


Maybe the connection is the CUK/Halfords relationship?

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 27 Jul 2017, 10:10am
by roger
have always had great faith in Spa, especially their chainset and ring selection and the associated prices. Probably have a good dozen of their rings, essential spares.

Recently discovered Halfords website - comprehensive to say the least. You can use their collect at store option and then wave your CTC card for 10%.
Some of their on-line offers are very good.

Have no connection with the company, but I believe they are trying to become more than a shop that sells bike stuff.

Roger.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 27 Jul 2017, 10:32am
by gaz
JohnW wrote:Seen from Spa's point of view, as a retailing business would you support an organisation which directs it's members away from you and to another bigger outlet?

Not so long ago CTC had a discount arrangement with Wiggle as the "CTC Shop", there were similar arrangements with other retailers before this. Spa continued its advertising with CTC whilst CTC was directing members to shop elsewhere.

Spa didn't seem particularly supportive of the re-branding given their discount code in the Oct/Nov16 edition*.

Perhaps Spa feel they get sufficient free advertising from forum recommendations and word of mouth on CTC (not Cycling UK :wink: ) club runs. We could speculate endlessly.

*May have been Dec16/Jan17, I don't keep back copies.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 27 Jul 2017, 11:36am
by mjr
roger wrote:Recently discovered Halfords website - comprehensive to say the least. You can use their collect at store option and then wave your CTC card for 10%.
Some of their on-line offers are very good.

They don't seem to be any better than other online sellers. The website also makes it very difficult to search for what's actually in stock at a branch and the "collect at store" option was a work of fiction locally, with it claiming stuff is ready for collection when it's not yet been delivered. Life's too short to buy bike parts from such a car-centric shop unless you're really stuck.

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 27 Jul 2017, 12:59pm
by JohnW
gaz wrote:
JohnW wrote:Seen from Spa's point of view, as a retailing business would you support an organisation which directs it's members away from you and to another bigger outlet?

Not so long ago CTC had a discount arrangement with Wiggle as the "CTC Shop", there were similar arrangements with other retailers before this. Spa continued its advertising with CTC whilst CTC was directing members to shop elsewhere.

Spa didn't seem particularly supportive of the re-branding given their discount code in the Oct/Nov16 edition*.

Perhaps Spa feel they get sufficient free advertising from forum recommendations and word of mouth on CTC (not Cycling UK :wink: ) club runs. We could speculate endlessly.

*May have been Dec16/Jan17, I don't keep back copies.


Yes Gaz - CTC did get into bed with Wiggle, and there were others before that - all part of the demise of the 'CTC Shop' which in it's day sold CTC branded items and memorabilia - when CTC was a members club, "This Great Family of Ours" - remember? At the time of CTC getting into bed with a retailer there was some dissent from the membership and as a sop the CTC decision makers asked sections to canvass their local LBSs to ask what discounts they would commit to locally, for members. Our section secretary canvassed our LBSs (and I discussed as a friend, with one LBS). The LBS proprietors were amazed at our cheek - CTC was directing members away from their businesses and now asking them to give us discounts for the privilege. My LBS friend was quite upset by it all - he already 'knocked a bit off' for regular customers and he already gave a service that the various wriggley things didn't - and he was a human, who would talk to us.

Halfords are different from the on-line outfits - in some areas they have retail outlets and you can go in and talk to them (one of CTC's previous spouses don't even talk on a 'phone) - and inspect their products, which is a benefit for a 'newbie' who doesn't yet know what they want.

However, having already directed members away from our LBSs by CTC, CUK is now directing members away from them for their repairs and servicing. On-line retailing has made real inroads into the businesses of our LBSs, and many of them now make the lions share of their income from repairs and servicing - and setting up ready-builts bought on-line - in fact some of them only survive by carrying out this service, retail sales being insufficient to keep traditional businesses going.............and now CUK is directing us away from our LBSs for even that.

Personally, I really have a problem with the ethics of all this.

[i][/Ammended by addition of one word inadvertently previously omitted i]

Re: August/September Cycle magazine - cover story

Posted: 27 Jul 2017, 1:21pm
by thirdcrank
We've quickly moved a long way from the cover of the CTC mag to the CTC shop.

Long before the charity conversion, the organisation seemed comfortable with a rather unworthy treatment of supporters in the retail trade.

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