Cycling Magazines

[blowncherry]

I'm carrying out a bit of reasearch and would like to know which cycling magazines people prefer to read, could you please let me know? All feedback greatly appreciated.

[bodach]

Cycling World and Singletrack only ones I read

[cycleruk]

I know it doesn't answer your question but I don't buy any.
I find them to expensive against the content. £4 for 30 minutes read - not for me.
3 mag's = 1 chain

[Colin63]

I often buy Cycle Sport as they always seem to be able to tempt me with their cover story, usually an interview with a British racing cyclist, but really I get most of my info from websites.
I don't honestly feel the need to read about my cycling past time. I come here if I feel the urge to talk bike with other riders and I'm not at all interested in being told that I need the latest this or that (which is what most magazines seem to want to tell me). Cycling is about getting on the bike and riding to work or going out for fun. Not about buying into image, consumerism or style which is what most mags are about. The joy of the CTC forum website is that it isn't a magazine and is full of independent minded riders who aren't tied to the 'coolness' of bikes.

[Snowgoose]

Personally the only magazine for me is Velovision.

[bogmyrtle]

Read in shop.

[Big T]

I read Cycle and Cycling Active. Used to read CW and C+ but they are now both full of articles by the numpty staffers about how they came 547th in the Wobbly Wheelers Sportive, and how you must have a £2500 bike.

[DavidT]

CTC Cycle is my favourite.

Also buy Cycling Plus, although I struggle sometimes with the highly commercial content and the constantly slanted pictures that make me feel either ill or amused. (Please could someone do a spoof shot with angles - rider pose, road gradient etc all over the place - and totally impossible; the magazine seems to push the envelope of absurdity in this respect? ) A reasonable read most of the time though - and Roger St Pierre is very good.

Cycling World is good, which is rather like Cycle, but a publication that needs to get it's distribution and publication sorted out - although I'm happy to support it whilst that hopefully happens.

During the racing season, I like to occassionally read Cycling Weekly from my armchair.

[Big T]

During the racing season, I like to occassionally read Cycling Weekly from my armchair.

They hardly have any racing in CW nowadays. That's why I gave up buying it. BC website is much better for road race reports. There's a new publication called TT Weekly covering time trials, but i've not yet seen a copy.

I quite like Planet X's Testing Times, for a bit of light reading (only available online).

[AlbionLass]

Cyling Plus, Cycle Active and sometimes Cycling Weekly, plus the CTC magazine of course.I also buy American bike mags when I can get them. I used to read Cycling World from time to time but found it a little pedestrian for my taste.

[rjb]

I generally read stuff on line these days but prior to the internet i used to read cycling weekly (known affectionately as "the comic"). I subscribed for 12 months to cycling plus but after 12 months the same topics and articles were coming around again. There is only so much you can say about a bike without recycling it.

[ANTONISH]

"Cycling weekly"- despite being shiny and coloured it's only a shadow of what it was in the fifties when it carried reports on road racing, time trialling and touring articles- bought in hope rather than expectation.
Sometimes "cycling plus"-this used to be quite a good magazine but I'm not interested in "road tests " of equipment I'm unlikely to buy being used to bulk out the magazine. Articles by Roger St Pierre are highlights.
"Cycle sport" - OK for racing information and some good pictures and graphics but the language is a bit puerile and peppered with swear words, presumably the journalists think this is necessary to maintain the interest of the "lads".Still as near as one can get to the old Coureur/Racing cyclist. (if that doesn't offend the memory of Jock Wadley).
"Cycle" because I am a CTC member- I wouldn't buy it, it used to have interesting technical articles and readers letters but it seems to be an attempt, (like the CTC),to be everything to everybody.
"Cyclo"- French cycling magazine-I used to have this delivered and still buy it occasionally- often carries in depth technical and health articles. IMO a higher standard of journalism than the others.
My Girl friend is a compulsive buyer of cycle magazines and I feel guilty if I don't contribute in some way- hence the list.

[reohn2]

I used to buy Procycling (if only for the photography) but it got to expensive for the content.I now read Cycling Plus (because my Son in Law is a librarian and gets it for me a month behind when the library are binning it) apart from the occasional article its tripe IMO,geared up for sportives and fashionistas.

[Si]

For your research you should bear in mind that it is a slightly biased poll - Cycle is only available to CTC members, yet this poll is open to anyone, thus it could be under represented.

On the other hand, it might be the case that CTC members on this forum outnumber non-CTC members - so a number of responders will have received Cycle as a by-product of their membership, unlike the other mags which they would have had to go find.

Would these two factors council each other out? Possibly but I doubt it. Also remember that on this forum road riders are in the majority so MTB mag readers will be under represented.

Anyhoo, what's the research for? Nothing commercial I hope!

[AlanD]

I only read the CTC 'Cycle' Magazine. I did however recently buy a bike publication, just to see what it was like. Cycling is not my only interest and I find that special interest magazines seem to have about 50% of their pages devoted to adverts. So to spend around £4.00 or more just to read one article, makes it an unacceptably expensive read.