MBR or MBUK or other

realnumber 1

I see what your saying Sonic but at the same time they could try and re write things and put a different slant on it or something rather than being exactly the same as last year just like that crappy alan key tool they gave out last year also.

supersonic

Suprised you like MBR then ;-)

Obviously certain issues in WMB will sway to one of the spectrum say if the monthly bike test is on ti hardtails for example, but they try and review a mix throughout the year with feature articles on a range of kit and price points.

jay12

they do show cheap things too(well thay seem to have started more now)

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

What do people want to see more of in magazines? Realistically?

Being an MBUK reader, mostly, one thing I'd like to see is their grouptest spanning WAY more bikes. I appreciate it takes a lot of effort to bring us these reviews, but I'd rather see one grouptest every three months or so, that covered a very broad spectrum of bikes or parts in the relevant category.

For example, in an all-mountain bike (I used to call these "mountain bikes" :roll: ) review, I might have experience of a few bikes, and being able to judge the ones under the microscope compared to the one or two I know, would make things much eaier, than trying to decipher their opinions on a handful of bikes I'd never ridden.
Does that make sense?

Anonymous

i dont think mbr showcases kit which i more expensive than the other mags, they all show pretty much all the same stuff.

naefearjustbeer

For me I like to read about "how too" learn different skills, and about routes to ride. Affordable bikes and sensible upgrades. I am always a mug for free gifts, I have more stickers than I could ever need!

supersonic

Just to elaborate, it won't always happen in one issue - let's say a basic structure and then features.

Buyers Guide at the back? More comments from reviewers? More letters? Routes? And of course how things are rated (that I am very interested in).

Anonymous

is wmb the mag where the last few pages are the same buyers advice guide every month? that could be done away with and replaced with something varied but apart form that its my current fave.

supersonic

Aye, it has a round up guide at the back (updated every month).

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

And of course how things are rated (that I am very interested in).

This is another thing I've bought up several times, and it's not unique to mountain biking magazines/websites.
if you're marking out of 10, then 5 should reflect an AVERAGE score.
Better than average gets more, less than average gets less.
Consistently scoring everything 8/10 is bollorx, that does not represent a sensible deviation from average.
if everything starts being that good, then that BECOMES the new benchmark for "average"

Anonymous

yeehaamcgee wrote:

supersonic wrote:

And of course how things are rated (that I am very interested in).

This is another thing I've bought up several times, and it's not unique to mountain biking magazines/websites.
if you're marking out of 10, then 5 should reflect an AVERAGE score.
Better than average gets more, less than average gets less.
Consistently scoring everything 8/10 is bollorx, that does not represent a sensible deviation from average.
if everything starts being that good, then that BECOMES the new benchmark for "average"

this.

supersonic

I think the terms 'good' and 'average' need to be clarified in many cases. If most things are good, that is the average, right?! Maybe 'fair' is a better representation, or when better stuff comes out quickly re-evaluate was was good?

I think it is getting harder to pick out poor products nowadays.

Anonymous

Well that's the thing, if it's getting harder to pick out poor products, then MOST products should be scoring around 5 out of 10.

supersonic

Adjust the yardstick so to speak. I agree, and I think the WMB 5 star system is addressing this with far more 2s, 2.5s and 3s than we had 4/10, 5/10 and 6/10. I think the reason for this change is because many people automatically think 5/10 is poor (even if we explain it is average, which is good!), but a few stars seems to look better.

I think certain mags give too many 10/10s.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

I think certain mags give too many 10/10s.

definaely do, i hate when a bike is given a 10/10 with the caviat that a few things need changing. a 10/10 should be like mary poppins........................

Anonymous

There have been several reviews in MBUK, which highlight some serious design flaws, such as serious flex, or breaking pivots, but they still score is 8 or 9 /10

GHill

The review system in MB Action is interesting (to me). Items are rated out of 5 stars with 5 being something that's a bit of a game changer (and so hardly ever given out) and 3 is something good enough that you'd recommend it to a friend. Takes a while to get used to seeing so many things with low scores. I hear the WMB system has changed but haven't picked up an issue recently (see elsewhere for the reasoning).

Personally I'm not a big fan of scores out of ten/five (I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this). I think it's very hard to rationalise what's a 7 and what goes that little bit further to be an 8. Really what I want to know is what the reviewer liked and what they didn't and I'd rather they had the extra space to discuss that further rather than it being used for an overall score and in many cases additional scores for quality/value etc as well. Giving a maximum score is also a bit of a wonder. What if the same company revises the product next year and makes it even better, it is now a 10.5?

And there's the problem with any review, it's just someone's opinion. Amplifying what I mentioned above, one man's 7 could easily be another man's 8 or even a 9. In some cases it could easily be a larger range than that.

So, to prevent this post turning into a larger essay, I take the review with a pinch of salt, I take the score with a whole bucket of salt.

drummondjhn

WMB - down to earth all rounder my fav
all mags around at moment need to have more letters and readers question pages along with pages for readers to show off their pimped up rides in my opinion :idea: :idea: :idea:

robertpb

One of the things I find missing in mags is the test to destruction.

eg what cassette, chain, bearings will last more than one winter.

The other thing I find annoying is for example when testing ten sets of tyres and the price is taken into consideration when the marking is tallied up, so the best performing tyre doesn't get top billing as it was the most expensive

No I want to know what the best tyre was I can make up my own mind if I want to pay the price.

Bike testing would be better if there was a points out of ten for different aspects, say climbing, downhill, handling etc.

Then give an overall score out of 100, it separates having a row of 8s, lots of other non bike mags do this.

Northwind

Oh, here's a thing- every single tyre test should measure the actual tyre, on a standard rim. Singletrack did it for their last tyre test, and if they can do it then surely everyone else can manage it. You wouldn't blindly publish claimed weights when you knew they were wrong, why allow tyre companies to mislead with their sizing?

supersonic

That is a good idea.

Not sure what guide the tyre manufacturers use - some measure across the carcass, some across the grip, some both. Tyre height would be useful too.

gregmorris234

MBUK is for bikers where money isn't an issue, but it's still fun to read.

jay12

MBR test things by using them the whole season or until they break. e.g longtermers and a lot of clothing and components are tested over a long period time.

canada16

I dont really care.

I look at the mag front and if there is something in there I am interested in I will buy it.

At £4.00 a pop cant afford to buy them all.

I got the 13.00 year deal from tesco club car and got WMB... I think thats it.

joshtp

MBUK for me, but i also like WMB, Dirt doesnt have enough real info to warrent more than a flick through in the shop, and i find MBR anoying, the articles arnt very good and the reviews are poor.

yoohoo999

am i the only person that buys every magazine, completely unintentionally, every month?

I travel quite a bit for work and whenever i'm about to get on a train/plane, I always stop into WH Smith and pick up a magazine I haven't read. It's quite easy to get through them all!

As for my regulars:

MBUK - it's all a bit clique, and gives off the impression at times that it's more for the writers to show off their "celebrity" mates and sometimes pointless kit....HOWEVER, it is a magazine that I have been reading for many many years (back when it used to be called MTB Pro???) and I've watched the scene grow around it almost, it's like an abusive partner, I want to leave it but I just can't

MBR -it's OK, seems to lack a bit of zest at times though

WMB - pretty well rounded, entertains me but is also useful, I like this one quite a bit

Singletrack - ooooh look at the daisies, don't wash your kit after a ride, we think all bikes are equal in their own special way

Dirt - love the style and pitcures, sometimes makes me feel like it's more style over substance but if you look beyond the glossy cover it does actually contain some pretty interesting and unique articles. Excellent if you are into the bigger hit stuff. This spends a lot of time lying around my house and is one that I am likely to flick through several times.



I genuinely think that there is room for another magazine on the market.

Variety and volume of tests in MBUK, style of DIRT, all round usefulness of WMB, down to earth attitude of MBR and smatterings of the maturity of Singletrack.

The Spiderman

lawman wrote:

i read em all, i prefer the bike tests in mbuk and mbr and mbr have good news stuff, but the articles are better in mbuk, mbr seems so serious and they're always talkin about head angle this and short wheelbase that and oh look its bb is too high it needs to rubbing the ground and we use control tyres so we can isolate the bike from tyres, the bike still comes with whatever tyres its speceed with for christs sake so it makes no bloody difference to a cionsumer. ...... abit to wrapped up in being the best testers there i think

Spot on.

I prefer the WMB test,which you get the idea is done,more just by "what feels right".
WMB can be a little inconsistent at times,and the verdict is dependant on who has written the test (I think JL would choose a very diffrent bike to GK) and I wish they would compare bikes in a group test to the perceived benchmark bike in the classs,but their tests are much easier to read,and more the enjoyable for it.

ashfanman

I read either MBUK (although I agree with the comments about it being too teen-focused) or MBR, with the odd WMB thrown in for good measure.

A bit off-topic, as it's more of a general cycling mag than a strictly a mountainbike one, but has anyone seen The Ride? A little bit harder to get hold of, but a seriously STUNNING publication for those also interested in design. See: http://www.theridejournal.com/

MacAndCheese

MBR every month and WMTB every so often. When I was first into bikes it's MBUK everytime, but I think people are right that it's target market is a little bit younger (there's no problem with that - they do what they do well). I mostly ride XC now, and MBUK seems more focused on the Freeride/DJ/DH.

Bludgeon

MBUK is good and I am a subscriber, but I think that it tries too hard to appeal to youth culture. Too much American style hype - comes across to me as a load of bull and artficial. Language in some articles is often unnecessarily bad too. That said I am 46.

MBR is better because it seems more serious.

Bikeradar website it much better than MBRs, but I prefer Singletrack's forum.

There's my two pennyworth..... bring on the flaming.... :-)

Riding: