MBUK - A fashion magazine?

cgarossi

Hmmm

I'm not sure what to make of MBUK anymore. I used to buy the mag in the 90s and remember it being mostly geared toward XC, which is fine, things change.

However, personally it seems very 'laddish' these days and the only things considered worthy to write about is Downhilling, Freeride and Trials and Jumps. Don't get me wrong, theres some great photography, but I feel MBUK is trying to cater for too many disciplines and so the 'cooler' ones get more coverage, ie Downhilling. You only have to open the magazine at random to find someone in a full face helmet going like a bat out of hell. Although I do commend the coverage of some the races that go on, toward the back of the magazine.

Personally, I don't count Trials or Dirt Jumps as a MTB discipline, for me its just a load of kids trying to look cool in baggy jeans with stupid caps on riding bikes that are no more capable than a BMX.

Maybe im just too old. I prefer informative articles, although the Wreck and Rated bike tests are OK, theres not enough of it. Not only that, reviews seem to prefer the more expensive 'blinging' kit. You only have to look at the front cover, a guy riding a Trek 9.9 with expensive shorts, expensive shirt, expensive gloves and expensive shoes. This is all too santised! Wheres the mountain bikers covered in mud and crap? He looks like he should be on the cover of Grazia, not MBUK. Boring!

I've been buying WMB lately, maybe I should just stick to that.

MBUK = Loaded for cyclists? Perhaps.

BigAirNig

i guess it's hard to photograph bling kit when it's covered in mud, for a front cover .....

cgarossi

I suppose.

I guess advertisers want to see their kit in the best light, understandable. But this seems to detract what mountain biking is all about, getting out and riding, not worrying about being clad in the latest kit, which is what MBUK seems to try and pedal (pun intended) to its readers. In my opinion.

CustomReign

I had the same thoughts after about 20 years of reading. With respect to the writers, it appears to be a bit of a fashion mag for Doddy with the occasional bit of hair fashion added in by Rick. Then again, you can't blame a company for pandering to their larger customer base. Personally, I cancelled MBUK and also got rid of WMTB soon after. I loved Worlands work, but it's just not up to scratch any more.

Saying that, I opened up MBR with interest of an Orange 5 longtermer review and got nothing but drivel. Not a jot on the actual bike. Even Dirt has gone downhill (ahem) in the last year. New publisher?

Hmmmm, Is it me? I feel like a TOG.

Thewaylander

To be honest there is normally a good few XC routes in too.

I find it balanced take relatively equal ammounts from all discaplines. Magazines like MBR and so are far to XC for my taste with not alot of else. You can't dump DH, trials, Jumping as one catorgry there not, the other month i sw 1 trials feature, and severl XC features including some cool trip around a foreign climbs. so that is in XC favour over trials is that fair?

So though I find MBUK reveiws to be somewhat spurious i like there ride features as it does represent alot of riders i know doing all sorts.

cgarossi

Get rid of the Dirt Jump/Trick/Street Riding stuff that has no relevance to mountain biking at all, and replace with informative articles about, well, mountain biking perhaps?

Less fashion, more mud.

Thewaylander

I disagree whole hartedly.

Mountain bike can arguable be traced back doing even trials (as training for the motorbikes) going back before XC. so why shouldn't other parts of the sport get page time?

I used to ride trials and the skill i learnt are extrremly important to me on the trails these days. So they deserve a spot, jumping duel slalom,

What your saying is you want a specific XC mag. and thats fine but please don't under rate other discaplines in your demands

cgarossi

I didn't say that at all lol.

Things have moved on, Trials are not relevant to mountain biking in my opinion. F1 magazine wouldn't carry articles on touring car, based on the fact they too have four wheels.

I just can't see the relevance.

Anonymous

MBUK is an open church, that's what makes it so popular. You may not be able to see the relevance, but plenty of others do.

*AJ*

Thewaylander wrote:

I disagree whole hartedly.

Mountain bike can arguable be traced back doing even trials (as training for the motorbikes) going back before XC. so why shouldn't other parts of the sport get page time?

I used to ride trials and the skill i learnt are extrremly important to me on the trails these days. So they deserve a spot, jumping duel slalom,

What your saying is you want a specific XC mag. and thats fine but please don't under rate other discaplines in your demands

I totally agree with this.

Why would I wanna read about a bunch of Lycra wearing pansies that know the weight of everything on their bike?

Mountain biking started in California where town cruisers were modified and ridden downhill.

Todays downhill is therefore 'Proper' mountain biking not all this XC uphill crap

Thewaylander

Depends on how you classify Mtbing.

If you only consider it to be XC which is not the oldest branch by a long shot then yeh? but most of consider these to be part of the sport mate so we want it to be covered.

cgarossi

My point was the coverage is disproportionate and more geared toward the 'cooler' areas of mountain biking. Although Trials is a load of old bollocks, but thats my opinion.

glauciaregina9

I used to read MBUK, then switched to MBR cos it got too into the hoppy, skippy, jumpy stuff... now MBR's started going the same way... WMB is good if you want product-related stuff...

Personally, regarding MBUK, I think the clue should be in the name: MOUNTAIN BIKING UK, and this has been diluted too far.

MBUK is trying to be all things to all men by cramming in Downhill, Freeride, XC, Street, Trials, Dirt-jumping etc etc all into one mag.

i.e. street, trials & dirt-jumping aren't really mountain biking, they just happen to use bikes that look a bit like mountain bikes... in my opinion... This stuff should be bundled into BMX mags. That would seem more appropriate company.

But, if that's what the 'cool' kids want, then of course the mag is going to tap into that to optimise circulation & advertising revenue...

supersonic

It is aimed at a slightly different audience to What Mountain Bike - but as long as I have been reading MBUK it has always had that zany element and has simply changed to reflect what is currently considered cool.

cgarossi

glauciaregina9 wrote:

I used to read MBUK, then switched to MBR cos it got too into the hoppy, skippy, jumpy stuff... now MBR's started going the same way... WMB is good if you want product-related stuff...

Personally, regarding MBUK, I think the clue should be in the name: MOUNTAIN BIKING UK, and this has been diluted too far.

MBUK is trying to be all things to all men by cramming in Downhill, Freeride, XC, Street, Trials, Dirt-jumping etc etc all into one mag.

i.e. street, trials & dirt-jumping aren't really mountain biking, they just happen to use bikes that look a bit like mountain bikes... in my opinion... This stuff should be bundled into BMX mags. That would seem more appropriate company.

But, if that's what the 'cool' kids want, then of course the mag is going to tap into that to optimise circulation & advertising revenue...

+1

-liam-

Don't disagree with anything you say.

I stopped reading them (wmb and mbuk) a year or so ago.

To much irrelavent tat that i would just skip past. Why would I pay for that? :roll:

cgarossi

I don't mind MBR. The pullout maps are actually usefull and has more acticles looking at riding mountain bikes, rather than accompanying them downhill or farting around on them like pogo sticks.

ExeterSimon

While MBUK isn't my bag plenty of 'sick', 'gnarly' and 'rad' kids 'dig' it.

I don't because I'm 38 this year.

Horse for courses and all that.

Innit.

cgarossi

I'm 33. I think im preaching to the wrong crowd. Moving on...

supersonic

I just got as sub to MBUK. I will still read it out of interest, and do find a lot of it a good read, and sometimes relevant to what I do.

But mags are always like this. If you ride a 5000 quid machine and your favourite mag tests 300 quid that month it may not be much use to you.

I got MBR this month and found it quite good.

Thewaylander

Meh I'm 30 used to ride trials and street, now mostly trails, with some jumps thrown in so i love reading a bit about all the stars of my sport.

So i hope they don't change there articles. Just there reveiws

Turrican

im 37 this year and ive read most mags in otu through the years from MBR as 1st one then went to MBUK and still do and ive rear Dirt.
!st one was back to basics Xc riding and releted stuff which is ok if into that style riding. second one well thats to is my bilbe love the mag and hope satys same loads off different thigs and articals to read see etc which even if dont have time to read all mag in one go i can brows and read bit here and there, but i can read all mag some time.
3rd one well dont like lay out and rabble on bit in paragraphs what were so small to read i couldnt be bovered how ever the potography was mint in it.

MBUK well that does ten to cover the all areas off mtbs i think so caters for the mass market and thats why it is UKs best mag i think, i does what says on tin me thinks
.

bike-a-swan

I'm a wmb man, but I get mbuk or mbr every few months for a change. I like the variety in mbuk, makes me think about different kinds of riding and gives more to read.

I've been less keen on mbr, it seems to be the most targeted of the three- someone who rides a 5ish inch trail bike in average gear on average trails. There's nothing wrong with that, it gives a lot of good content, but I want a magazine to make me go 'wow' not just replay the familiar.

ESHER SHORE

I don't buy any bike mags!! or buy any bike movie DVD's!!

I would rather be out riding or digging than reading about bikes or watching movies about bikes - it just does not interest me at all....


the only mag I buy is "Empire" film mag, because watching movies / buying movies on DVD and HD Blu-Ray is my favourite passion after riding bikes and digging trails, and Empire tells me about new films to watch out for

ilovedirt

Not sure what magazine you're reading, but there is plenty of XC in MBUK, but the way the sport is evolving, "XC" routes these days are more like long freeride routes, so i'm not surprised it might look that way to you... Personally i find it pretty well balanced, there is a lot of fashion in it, but there are trends in every sport.

Also, with regards to what you say about dirt jumping and trials, yeah i wouldn't really call trials mountain biking, but jumps? Well they use a mountain bike don't they? And "no more capable than a bmx?" What do you want a BMX to do? ride up and down a mountain? They do what they were designed for, and that's to ride ramps etc and do tricks... i'm not too sure what is more capable than a BMX for that sort of thing. try and open your mind a little. Also, if you have ridden BMX's and a jumps style MTB, you will know that they're completely different machines.

jay12

i don't buy mtb magazines, i save the money to buy stuff for my bikes etc. i find that most of the stuff they put in the magazines is one the web which also means you can watch videos etc.

kaytronika

They do make handy reading material when you're caught short on the crapper.
Must admit, not much in MBUK has held my interest in thelast two I've bought. I still love Mint Sauce though.

rinkydinkdink

No one seems to have mentioned Singltrack. Does that word block posts from appearing in this thread.
As you're online, there are a couple of decent mags on the Web. One's called I-Mag, or something like that. And as it costs nowt, it's worth a look.

Johnny Napalm

I don't buy the mags anymore either. I might buy the odd one for reading while on a plane (I travel a bit for work), but that's about it really...unless I see one that has particular article one month.

I'm the same as some of the others on here, I'm a bit old now, and I'd sooner spend my time/money riding than looking at the latest £95.00 pair of 'must have' shorts.

Each to their own though.

phz

rinkydinkdink wrote:

As you're online, there are a couple of decent mags on the Web. One's called I-Mag, or something like that. And as it costs nowt, it's worth a look.

this one ?

http://www.imbikemag.com/issue5

has some decent stuff in it

slainte rob

Johnny Napalm

pHz, I have a look at that one from time to time and it's pretty good for free.