Cycling Mags - Paper or Digital?

Xcelerator

Hi all,

I have read a few threads on here about which are the "best" cycling magazines, but interested to know whether folk prefer traditional paper format or digital/iPad editions (or both).

Personally, I am still undecided. In many ways I want to go down the digital route (more convenient, less clutter in the house etc.) but then there is still an undeniable appeal of a paper edition, especially something like Procycling with its high quality paper.

No right or wrong, but what do you guys think?

Paul 8v

I still prefer reading a paper edition, if computer monitors were portrait rather than landscape it might be a bit better but I personally find it a pain in the ass!

KINGGARY

I tried cycling plus for 3 months on my ipad, slightly cheaper but I found I wasn't reading it as much?
I will be going back to the paper version as I found the font a bit small to be comfortable.
As I have a kindle and only read books on that now I thought I would take to it naturally but I didn't.
Also its cheaper to drop a magazine down the loo than an ipad :shock:

AchillesLeftKnee

I'm not about to take any of the PCs (or, for that matter, the Mac) to bed. I don't own a laptop and have no need for one. I've had access to plenty of tablets in the course of my work and can safely say I have no desire whatsoever to own one (although I will admit the original iPad makes a fabulous jumbo coaster). Smartphone... er, no.

Paper. By miles.

Leeuw

There is something satisfying about thumbing a mag - I've tried digital versions on my iPad, but much prefer the "real" thing...

Wacky Racer

Definitely the paper version for me. I can pick it up any time I want, not when I happen to be on the pc. I keep mine for quite a while, and sometimes refer back to them.

keef66

"Also its cheaper to drop a magazine down the loo than an ipad :shock:"

Yes, but the i-Wipe app is pretty good, you must admit!

lotus49

I hate paper. It's heavy, wasteful and hard to read in poor light.

Give me my iPad and an electronic copy of Rouleur any day. Also, I can carry all my magazines and books around with me. Try doing that with the last few years of Procycling or whatever your favourite happens to be.

lotus49

keef66 wrote:

"Also its cheaper to drop a magazine down the loo than an ipad :shock:"

Yes, but the i-Wipe app is pretty good, you must admit!

You must have a big loo. My iPad won't fit down mine (unlike my son's iPod, phone and Nintendo DS, all of which have had to be fished out in the past ).

dodgy

Electronic for me, but since Tour-QTR stopped publishing its iPad app in English I don't buy any. All the UK cycling mags such as Cycling+ etc are derivative with subjective assessments of everything they test "it felt stiff, the frame is comfortable". Give me strength.

If tour-QTR start publishing again, I'll be straight back with them. If you're wondering what I'm on about, check out their site, they published one of their mags on the site for free.

moscowflyer

iPad for me other than Cyclist and Rouleur, as they just feel like quality magazines and as such should be read in paper form. Cycle Sport, C+ and a few US titles will always be electronic though.

Joeblack

You paper guzzlers are all contributing to global warming and killing our planet you should be ashamed, I don't even use paper to wipe my ar2e anymore!!!!

iPad for me, it's very convenient esp when I'm flying all over the world on my private jet

Proff

Being a magazine printer, its paper for me!
I know that eventually digital will win the day, but hopefully not until I've retired!
Just one note though. Most paper today comes from managed forests. More trees get planted than felled.
Paper is recycleable. I reckon a lot of broken and damaged iPads and tablets will end up in landfill.

ovi

I use a galaxy tab 10.1 and prefer reading this in bed, no bedside light to mess about with good if you wake up in the middle of the night, hold tablet in different ways, zoom in if needed, click on internet links/youtube link, no magazine flopping about and if you get sick of reading current mag just buy another without leaving the house.

Joeblack

Proff wrote:

Being a magazine printer, its paper for me!
I know that eventually digital will win the day, but hopefully not until I've retired!
Just one note though. Most paper today comes from managed forests. More trees get planted than felled.
Paper is recycleable. I reckon a lot of broken and damaged iPads and tablets will end up in landfill.

On what do you base this?

kayo74

Only one choice paper.

Velonutter

I bought my iPad specifically for this purpose, but the problem is that all the mags and the comic need a subscription for a minimum of 3 months and to be truthful, I only buy the mags if I think that edition is useful.

If I could buy the mag I want after viewing the index then I would do so and would never buy another paper mag.

Proff

Joeblack wrote:

Proff wrote:

Being a magazine printer, its paper for me!
I know that eventually digital will win the day, but hopefully not until I've retired!
Just one note though. Most paper today comes from managed forests. More trees get planted than felled.
Paper is recycleable. I reckon a lot of broken and damaged iPads and tablets will end up in landfill.

On what do you base this?

Just personal opinion. Large electrical items would generally be taken to local refuse sites due to their size. Small electrical items, I reckon, will just be tossed in the bin.
I could be wrong though. The wife generally says I am.

Joeblack

What's her name? She sounds suspiciously like my wife!!!!?

Yh I don't know either tbh I was just wondering

simon_masterson

My love of reading Cycling Weekly (the one true cycling publication!) in paper form does conflict with my enthusiastic environmentalism (even if only on a 'reduce reuse recycle' level), but I don't yet own an iPad...

andy 3654

Paper for me cause you can still get the freebies they sometimes put with mags but then not owning a tablet i don't know if they just post you them instead, do they?

giant_man

Simon Masterson wrote:

My love of reading Cycling Weekly (the one true cycling publication!) in paper form does conflict with my enthusiastic environmentalism (even if only on a 'reduce reuse recycle' level), but I don't yet own an iPad...

christ, you can't want much out of a cycling publication if you think that ..

Cannock Chase

Have had to replace three windows after having swotted flies with my ipad..!!
So paper for me every time... :roll: :roll:

Joeblack

andy 3654 wrote:

Paper for me cause you can still get the freebies they sometimes put with mags but then not owning a tablet i don't know if they just post you them instead, do they?

No they don't, I don't get any cycling mags but I did get men's health on the iPad for a while until I went into a few shops and saw that I wasn't getting any of the free stuff like moisturiser and aftershave (handy for traveling ) but more importantly if they did a free book (on nutrition or abs or the like) then I would miss out on that also!!!!

Xcelerator

Very interesting, thanks for the replies and comments.

Seems about 50/50 paper vs digital.

Me, I'm still wavering. The only mag I get regularly at the moment is CW (paper edition) and thinking of subscribing to Pro Cycling which it has to be said has a really high quality feel to it in paper format.

Velonutter

Today I called The Cyclist Magazines and have to admit that I was pished off with their response.

They have produced 3 mags and I've kept putting it off as I have been busy ordering their special offer of pay £5 and get 3 copies either print, digital or both.

I called them up as I would quite like their current 3 copies, nope they can't supply that, even though their 3rd copy only came out today!!!

So I said OK then I'll subscribe for the digital copies and was told they had run out!!!! FFS how can they run out of digital copies.

I've written to Dennis publishing and complained.

Buckie2k5

paper because i get freebies with it. This weeks freebie... bike hooks, where the hell im gonna hang a bike i dont know but at least i have them lol.

crankycrank

A paper magazine stuffed down the front of my shorts will increase my male profile. A tablet, not so much.

HasselHough

Digital for me, sharing the download between my devices, iPad and iPhone means I can read my mag anytime, anywhere. And I'm sooooooooooo carbon nearly neutral :-))