"Ryan Cousineau" <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote in message
news:rcousine-B21DE2.10484630122003@morgoth.sfu.ca...
> In article <0c42vv8fb51raha775hromtfbntdn22cqo@4ax.com>, MP
> <Schlabotnik@DELETESPAMmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 05:20:24 GMT, "Pete" <ptr@usaf.com> wrote:
> >
> > >"Kevan Smith" <Kevan@mouse-potato.com> wrote in message
> > >news:lqu1vvgic78mafh9mgc5jla4sksbb3g9gb@4ax.com...
> > >> On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 03:48:31 GMT, "Pete" <ptr@usaf.com> from
Road Runner
> > >High
> > >> Speed Online http://www.rr.com (http://www.rr.com/) wrote:
> > >>
> > >> >"Kevan Smith" <Kevan@mouse-potato.com> wrote
> > >> >
> > >> >> Stay away from Bicycling magazine published by Rodale. It
blows.
> > >> >
> > >> >That's what my kids got me for xmas. I gritted my teeth,
smiled, and said
> > >> >'thanks, dudes'.
>
> > >Although it DID have a nice one pager on a 4 wheel couch bike.
> > >
> > >Pete
>
> > I got an included subscription to Bicycling when I joined the
L.A.B.
> > (I know, that's likely to start another argument). I used to read
it
> > years ago, and was quite surprised at how bad it is now. I'm not
sure
> > what bothers me more, the fact that it has so little real content,
or
> > it's assumption that all it's readers are rich yuppies who can
blow
> > thousands on bikes and equipment.
> >
> > MP
>
> I like making fun of Bicycling as much as anyone, and indeed briefly considered doing a regular
> report on the most-recently claimed
ratios of
> the effect of weight on the bike or the wheels versus the body (the typical formulation is some
> pseudoscientific tossed-off comment in
an
> article like "a gram on the wheels is worth three on the bike"). It turns out they don't do this
> quite often enough to make tracking it interesting.
>
> Now to the good stuff. First off, a newbie could do worse than to
read
> Bicycling. Most of the advice is credible, and their reader tips routinely impress me as being
> worth trying. Their exercise advice
seems
> pretty mainstream (do intervals to go faster, build base miles,
etc.) if
> a bit repetitive. The only really dreadful bit is their road-test analyses of the qualities of
> frame materials (Though I remember
reading
> back issues in high school, and thought at that time they were
putting
> frames on a fairly impressive-sounding jig that tested frame flex at various points. What
> happened?)
>
> But in the last six months or so, I have read (I don't subscribe,
but I
> mooch at the supermarket magazine rack like crazy) several very,
very
> good feature articles in their pages. They had an amazing article on Graeme Obree, the ill-starred
> one-time hour record holder and
monster
> TTer. They did a very nice report on the world's biggest road race,
held
> in South Africa. They did an interesting, though somewhat flawed
article
> on an idea they came up with and followed through on: they gave 50 people in Portland, ME a half-
> decent Trek hybrid, and then followed
up
> on them periodically to see what happened. The stories were
fascinating.
> As you might expect, many of the 50 seemed to just have excuses for
why
> they weren't riding their nice new bike, and some just ended up
toodling
> around the block once in a while (but isn't that enough for some?),
but
> one rider basically started a block bike ride because of his new
bike.
> One rider lost a bunch of weight in time for her wedding. One family
got
> a couple of the bikes, and rode all over the place. They did article-size profiles of a great
> number of the riders, and had
sidebar
> capsules on almost everyone.
>
> I gave them credit just for trying such a mad idea, even if I
thought it
> was a bit silly.
>
> Bicycling has a lot of dorky features, starting with Style Man
(though I
> think he's just Fabrizio Mazzoleni's day job) and ending with the
goofy
> back-page grid thingy, and at its worst the whole rag comes off as
Cosmo
> on two wheels and with fewer ads, but the feature articles I have checked out lately have been
> surprisingly good.
I have the October, November and December issues which were given to me and I sure don't see many
"good" articles. I'll have to go back through them but for sure the old days with 10 long articles
in a magazine are long gone.
