Bicycling Magazine subscription



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"Harris" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Kevan Smith <[email protected]/\/\> wrote:
>
> > Bicycling's portrayal of American cycling is flawed.
>
> Their goal is to sell magazines, not "portray cycling."

Their job is to portray shopping.

> Are the cars in Car and Driver typical of what you see on
the road?
>
> Are the women in Penthouse typical... well you get my
drift. <g>

It depends on where you live!

But maybe that applies to cycling mags too. And by that analogy, Kevan's point is well taken.

It's time for Buycycling to get out of Stepford, and into the country, or the 'hood, as the
case may be.

Matt O.
 
Matt O'Toole <[email protected]> wrote:

: I would love to start a magazine or website featuring *all* cyclists, from around the world.
: Getting magazine

You want VeloVision

www.velovision.co.uk

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org Power is delightful. Absolute power is absolutely delightful -
Lord Lester
 
Cori <[email protected]> wrote:
> Does anyone here also subscribe. I love the magazine, but the customer service stinks. I still
> haven't received the April issue, despite two e-mails to the contrary. (They claim that shipping
> will take 4 to 6 weeks.)

Speaking of Bicycling Magazine, I just got the June issue yesterday. They have a big section about
how to improve your bike. I hope it's an April Fool or done tongue in cheek, but I don't think so.

Among other things, they suggest:

-Retension and true your wheels EVERY OTHER MONTH!

-Replace your tires and tubes with lighter ones because every ounce saved there is equal to two
ounces anywhere else on the bike.

Ya gotta love this stuff!

Art Harris
 
"Kevan Smith" <[email protected]/\/\> wrote

> Bicycling ignores that segment completely -- both poor and minorities. The
big
> advertising money comes from companies selling expensive toys to
privileged
> white adults. So that is the market they aim for. And thus, Bicycling is
not an
> accurate portrayal of American cycling.

They don't buy expensive bikes and parts, and they don't buy bike magazines either. So they are
irrelevant to Buycycling.

Buycycling covers the 'sport' of cycling. There's no money to be made in mere transport.

Pete
 
In article <[email protected]>, "Pete" <[email protected]> writes:

> They don't buy expensive bikes and parts, and they don't buy bike magazines either. So they are
> irrelevant to Buycycling.
>
> Buycycling covers the 'sport' of cycling. There's no money to be made in mere transport.

Maybe less affluent people are irrelevant to the magazine, but surely visible minorities per se
aren't so irrelevant?

I've never so much as flipped through a copy of Bicycling; Kevan makes it sound quite white bread.
I've also never heard of any restricted cycling clubs, so I figure there should be all kinds of
visible minorities represented in sport/competitive cycling. If so, and if the magazine _only_
depicts white people, something must be terribly wrong somewhere ...

I guess I'll have to have a critical look at the rag, myself.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca
 
The magazine is extremely white bread, however that doesn't mean there aren't minorities in the
sport. In So Cal when I see guys doing club rides there are plenty of black, Asian, and Hispanic
rides there too with the same flashy road bikes and clothes.
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (BcMuse) writes:
> The magazine is extremely white bread, however that doesn't mean there aren't minorities in
> the sport.

I think Kevan's point is, the magazine should honestly and objectively/matter-of-fact-ly reflect
that. And if it doesn't, I agree with Kevan.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca
 
On Tue, 29 Apr 2003 20:39:15 -0700, [email protected] (Tom Keats) from wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (BcMuse) writes:
>> The magazine is extremely white bread, however that doesn't mean there aren't minorities in
>> the sport.
>
>I think Kevan's point is, the magazine should honestly and objectively/matter-of-fact-ly reflect
>that. And if it doesn't, I agree with Kevan.

Actually, I've given up hope on Bicycling. I've bought my last issue for a while. I'll keep tabs on
it at the library. I'd like to read a bike magazine that reflects the reality of what I see, not
some privileged rich guy's biking fantasy.

--
http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace I represent a sardine!!
8:09:04 AM 30 April 2003
 
On Mon, 28 Apr 2003 19:34:48 GMT, Harris <[email protected]> from Verio wrote:

>Kevan Smith <[email protected]/\/\> wrote:
>
>> Bicycling's portrayal of American cycling is flawed.
>
>Their goal is to sell magazines, not "portray cycling."

Bicycling could care less about selling magazines as long as it sells advertising. Selling a few
magazines just helps them sell advertising.

--
http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace I believe in wash fulfillment.
8:02:04 AM 30 April 2003
 
[email protected] (BcMuse) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> The magazine is extremely white bread, however that doesn't mean there aren't minorities in the
> sport. In So Cal when I see guys doing club rides there are plenty of black, Asian, and Hispanic
> rides there too with the same flashy road bikes and clothes.

Nice that they're on the club rides. Do they ride to the ride, or do they strap the bikes to
their SUVs? I've seen a lot of Black Suburbans disgorging Trek OCLV bikes and grey-haired,
fit-looking, Look-shod roadies; I have let them crank by me as I have shaken head, laughing at
the absurdity of it all...

Here in England, people ride to their club runs...a few more miles' worth of warmup, if you think
about it, really. Even when I go out for a recreational ride Stateside, I ride from door to door and
resist using any other transportation unless absolutely necessary (e.g. major, non-field-repairable
mechanical messup).

I remember running into someone on the W&OD Trail once who literally not more than a quarter-mile
from my house, but who had *driven* to an access point and parked the car. She was utterly amazed
that I had even considered riding in--which I concede is less fun, being on busy arterials, but not
too difficult if one puts some effort into route planning and a few days into experimentation.

-Luigi
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Luigi de
Guzman) wrote:

> [email protected] (BcMuse) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > The magazine is extremely white bread, however that doesn't mean there aren't minorities in the
> > sport. In So Cal when I see guys doing club rides there are plenty of black, Asian, and Hispanic
> > rides there too with the same flashy road bikes and clothes.
>
> Nice that they're on the club rides. Do they ride to the ride, or do they strap the bikes to their
> SUVs? I've seen a lot of Black Suburbans disgorging Trek OCLV bikes and grey-haired, fit-looking,
> Look-shod roadies; I have let them crank by me as I have shaken head, laughing at the absurdity of
> it all...
>
> Here in England, people ride to their club runs...a few more miles' worth of warmup, if you think
> about it, really. Even when I go out for a recreational ride Stateside, I ride from door to door
> and resist using any other transportation unless absolutely necessary (e.g. major,
> non-field-repairable mechanical messup).

It depends on the run. I have to admit to frequently driving to organized rides, but I have
some excuses:

ex 1: Twoonie Races. I don't like wearing out my knobbies on the road, I don't like riding 35-60
minutes out to do a 45 minute race, then riding another 35-60 back.

ex 2: Pacific Populaire. 100 km group ride, but I live about 20 km from the start. 100 I can do, 140
is pushing it.

ex 3: World Tuesday Night Championships. Start at 6:30, 25 km from my house. I wouldn't have time to
eat dinner between work and race if I didn't take the car.

> I remember running into someone on the W&OD Trail once who literally not more than a quarter-mile
> from my house, but who had *driven* to an access point and parked the car. She was utterly amazed
> that I had even considered riding in--which I concede is less fun, being on busy arterials, but
> not too difficult if one puts some effort into route planning and a few days into experimentation.

Now that's too much. I do commute to work by bike, and my usual training rides are all "ride
from the house." But yeah, I think that there's a lot of reasons to drive to bike rides, not all
of them bad.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club
 
Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> > I remember running into someone on the W&OD Trail once who literally not more than a
> > quarter-mile from my house, but who had *driven* to an access point and parked the car. She was
> > utterly amazed that I had even considered riding in--which I concede is less fun, being on busy
> > arterials, but not too difficult if one puts some effort into route planning and a few days into
> > experimentation.
>
> Now that's too much. I do commute to work by bike, and my usual training rides are all "ride from
> the house." But yeah, I think that there's a lot of reasons to drive to bike rides, not all of
> them bad.

er: the above should have said something more like "...who lived literally not a quarter-mile from
my house." Ok, it was, as I figure it, another six or eight miles on the clock to get to where she'd
driven in to; but I quite happily rode the distance with no problem...

I guess I shouldn't be so damning. You, at least, put some thought into whether to drive or ride to
whatever's going on....

Tangentially, I kind of like riding home, even after I'm exhausted after a lot of miles in a day. If
I've got the time, I just spin slowly and concentrate on getting home. I consider it a kind of
cooldown; it would be really really weird for me to hop into a car after cranking away for a few
hours, legs still shaking....

But if you're driving, heck, sure.

Anyway hope it's all good on your end of the planet. Ride more; how else will you able to hold The
Fab One's wheel???

-Luigi who spent a fine afternoon avoiding work, by tweaking various bits of Bekah..
 
Kevan Smith <[email protected]/\/\> wrote:

> Bicycling could care less about selling magazines as long as it sells advertising. Selling a few
> magazines just helps them sell advertising.

No, selling lots of magazines helps them sell advertising. Why would someone buy an ad if only a few
mags were sold?

Art Harris
 
I read a lot of these kinds of cynical comments on forums -- you know, the ones written by people who are somehow able to divine what's going through the minds of the editors at Bicycling magazine. Is it so farfetched to imagine that the editors and writers actually want to publish a good magazine? Do you really think the only thing they discuss in staff meetings is how they can increase ad revenues? Don't you think they have some sense of pride about their jobs?

Bicycling is, like it or not, the only major magazine for roadies in the U.S. They're not a niche magazine, aiming for some tiny segment of the roady population. They are trying to aim for the most common denominator (as opposed to the lowest common denominator). And to that end, I think they do a pretty good job.

Some of you may find it amusing that they dispense advice that's obvious to you, but I suspect the editors believe it's not obvious to the vast majority of their readership.

Some of you might find an article on Tibetan pedicabs absolutely fascinating, but I'm willing to bet that Bicycling's readership would not. That's why articles like that don't appear in the magazine.

You can be sure that Bicycling spends a pretty large sum of money to find out what their readership wants from the magazine. And I suspect they respond to what their readers want.

If you want to see other topics covered in Bicycling, ask them nicely. And tell them why you think your topic is relevent and valuable to their readership.

Otherwise, quit griping and start up your own magazine. I'll be the first in line to subscribe to it.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
dennisg <[email protected]> wrote:

> I read a lot of these kinds of cynical comments on forums -- you know, the ones written by people
> who are somehow able to divine what's going through the minds of the editors at Bicycling
> magazine. Is it so farfetched to imagine that the editors and writers actually want to publish a
> good magazine?

> Bicycling is, like it or not, the only major magazine for roadies in the U.S. They're not a niche
> magazine, aiming for some tiny segment of the roady population. They are trying to aim for the
> most common denominator (as opposed to the lowest common denominator). And to that end, I think
> they do a pretty good job.
>
> Some of you may find it amusing that they dispense advice that's obvious to you, but I suspect the
> editors believe it's not obvious to the vast majority of their readership.

We aren't worried about the obvious advice. That stuff is great! More power too them! Even I like
reading Bicycling for that sort of thing.

The problem is that some of their advice isn't obvious, it's wrong.

While they seem pretty sensible on a lot of practical cycling details, they seem to go insane during
equipment reviews, and lose the ability to smell their own BS. Most notably, they suggest things
about bicycles and equipment that go against science and engineering.

Turn to the back page of the current issue: notice the bit of advice about losing a gram of
weight off a wheel being like three grams (or whatever ratio) off of the rest of the bike. This
has been shot down so thoroughly here it's not funny, and by actual people who are in a position
to know better.

Bicycling obsesses about ride characteristics that they probably can't actually feel, and report
them with their full authority.

One half-expects them to start going off about tying and soldering or something.

They're out there singlehandedly spreading disinformation. I don't think it's malicious, just
misinformed.

> Otherwise, quit griping and start up your own magazine. I'll be the first in line to
> subscribe to it.

Welcome to rbm. Before reading further, please take a moment to thank our sponsors, Jobst Brandt,
Sheldon Brown, Andrew Muzi, Vecchio, and Mark Hickey.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club
 
On Wed, 30 Apr 2003 19:22:59 GMT, Harris <[email protected]> from Verio wrote:

>
>Kevan Smith <[email protected]/\/\> wrote:
>
>> Bicycling could care less about selling magazines as long as it sells advertising. Selling a few
>> magazines just helps them sell advertising.
>
>No, selling lots of magazines helps them sell advertising. Why would someone buy an ad if only a
>few mags were sold?

How much money do the people buying the mag have?

Do you think Rolex would hesitate buying a 10,000 dollar ad in amagazine that goes to only 1000
people, but all of them are millionares?

The magazine market is researched to death. Some advertisers don't even look at the magazines they
buy space in. They just look at demographics.

--
http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace Civilization is fun! Anyway, it
keeps me busy!!
8:50:13 PM 30 April 2003
 
"Luigi de Guzman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> [email protected] (BcMuse) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> Nice that they're on the club rides. Do they ride to the
ride, or do
> they strap the bikes to their SUVs? I've seen a lot of
Black
> Suburbans disgorging Trek OCLV bikes and grey-haired,
fit-looking,
> Look-shod roadies; I have let them crank by me as I have
shaken head,
> laughing at the absurdity of it all...
>
> Here in England, people ride to their club runs...a few
more miles'
> worth of warmup, if you think about it, really. Even when
I go out
> for a recreational ride Stateside, I ride from door to
door and resist
> using any other transportation unless absolutely necessary
(e.g.
> major, non-field-repairable mechanical messup).

I'm of the same mind. Driving to the start of rides seems absurd, but practical considerations
sometimes require it. If you're a committed cyclist, you ought to consider this, in choosing where
to live and work.

I always rode to my local trails, 10-15 miles each way, depending on which trailhead I chose. Then
one year, I won a parking pass at a trail maintenance raffle. Always trying to squeeze more out of a
day, I drove to the trailhead often. Before long, I found myself getting a lot slower. Those
"transit" miles did a lot more for my fitness than I ever imagined!

I'm actually not warmed up until I've done 7 or 8 miles. Mountain biking is a lot less fun right
after getting out of the car, especially when starting with a big climb (which is most of the time).

> I remember running into someone on the W&OD Trail once who
literally
> not more than a quarter-mile from my house, but who had
*driven* to an
> access point and parked the car. She was utterly amazed
that I had
> even considered riding in--which I concede is less fun,
being on busy
> arterials, but not too difficult if one puts some effort
into route
> planning and a few days into experimentation.

I saw the same thing in Orange County. The trailhead parking lots were full of SUVs, even though
most riders lived less than 10 miles away. I can understand getting off work late and/or not wanting
to ride home in the dark, but that was ridiculous. I often rode by the same people, still unloading
their bikes, just a few blocks from my house. Not to **** the local OC community too badly -- many
riders *did* ride in, some from over 20 miles away. Not everyone out there is a lazy bum.

Matt O.
 
Ryan Cousineau writes:

> They're out there singlehandedly spreading disinformation. I don't think it's malicious, just
> misinformed.

Unfortunately, non scientists often believe that all science is built on opinion and that the more
people hold that opinion, the more true it is. That is what much of the content of new readers of
this newsgroup offer. It takes a while to realize that this stuff is not opinion but verifiable
science, discovered by the scientific method. That method is, you describe what you discovered and
tell others how to repeat your method of arriving at the results so that both the method and results
can be verified. Often it is simpler because the results are mathematically derivable.

>> Otherwise, quit griping and start up your own magazine. I'll be the first in line to
>> subscribe to it.

The publication thing is as tenuous as the bicycle business as a whole. There are a lot of people in
it who don't know what they are about and get in with no inkling of business. They make it hard for
true entrepreneurs as they under-sell them while unwittingly going out of business.

Right now the best bicycle magazine is unfortunately not in English.

http://www.tour-magazin.de/

Jobst Brandt [email protected] Palo Alto CA
 
"Harris" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Kevan Smith <[email protected]/\/\> wrote:
>
> > Bicycling could care less about selling magazines as
long as it sells
> > advertising. Selling a few magazines just helps them
sell advertising.
>
> No, selling lots of magazines helps them sell advertising.
Why would
> someone buy an ad if only a few mags were sold?

Fast talking ad salesmen? Happens all the time...

Matt O.
 
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