Cycling Plus - rarely any women's gear tested or featured

jaxf
jaxf Posts: 109
edited December 2013 in Women's cycling forum
another issue, another women free zone
I know that the last page has an article on a woman rider in the 50s, but really, is it too much to ask for that in, for example, the 'Road Tested - summer bib shorts' 5 pages and 20 examples, helpfully broken down by price range, just one could be for women? Maybe cut to the chase and just give us 'Road Tested - token brush off to women, here's the one for you, just buy it and get back to the dishes' ? Or, how about, just occasionally, say, two issues a year, a woman's bike could feature?

I guess it's my fault, as our household's subscription is in a man's name, but paid for by a woman ....... how much longer will that happen, I wonder?

It's not as though we deserve this little attention - according to the Daily Telegraph Mar 25th 2103, 'just one quarter of regular (once a week) cyclists in England are female' - that is still 25%, and I'm Scottish, sure it's more up here :wink: .

Comments

  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Maybe their readership is 95% male or something? These days companies have so much data on who they're pitching their product to they're probably not doing this by accident.

    Doesn't make it right though etc (obligatory PC comment).
  • jaxf
    jaxf Posts: 109
    I had thought that I read last year that their subscription base was about 15% women, and if that is correct, I'd expect 1 piece of women's gear to be tested for every 15 pieces of men's gear - yet, if I look back over the last 6 months ....... where is that reflected? My LBS has about 3:1 men:women and that seems sensible.
    Seems like a market opportunity missed and that seems a shame.
  • jaxf
    jaxf Posts: 109
    and a thumbs up to Rapha for a not too bad women's range (by bad, I mean limited compared to the men's)
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    Assos and Castelli both have extensive womens ranges at a price. You can find womens kit tests but not always in the mainstream mags - maybe more online
    M.Rushton
  • bikergirl17
    bikergirl17 Posts: 344
    I stopped buying it last year when they women's kit page featured a "swee" & cycling "pocketbook" and the only article with a woman was someone who drank her way across beer gardens in Europe on a heavy touring bike (guess that explains the swee).
  • msmancunia
    msmancunia Posts: 1,415
    I've stopped buying it for a similar reason - switched to Cyclist now, which is just a better magazine.

    Don't knock the she-we though - mine was a hit when I cycled across the Atlas last year (no tree or grass cover!). Works with bib-shorts too :)
    Commute: Chadderton - Sportcity
  • KHodge
    KHodge Posts: 27
    Hi all,
    I understand that it is frustrating wanting to see more women's kit in Cycling Plus, but unfortunately, as rodgers73 pointed out, our readership is 95% male so we can't include too much women-specific cycling stuff. However, we do realise that the amount of MAWILS out there is on the up, and if the readership stats start to change we will address this (if you receive a readership survey please fill it in and send it back!). In the meantime look out for issue 280 which will include a women's supplement, with kits tests, bike reviews and other info that women have requested to hear about. If you have any suggestions of items you would like us to include, leave a post and I will look into it.
    Thank you!
    Kate (Senior Writer - Cycling Plus)
  • Frannybobs
    Frannybobs Posts: 20
    Cycling Active magazine seems to be more balanced and when they did a recent "Tried and Tested" section on bib shorts had a pretty much equal proportion of both sexes.

    Also, at a recent women's cycling event at Evans Cycles in the goodie bag was a magazine, Women's Cycling, which I half expected to be patronising with lots of bikes with baskets on (nothing wrong with that, but doesn't represent everyone) - but it was an excellent balance.

    Cycling is becoming more and more popular in women, look at Cycletta with their ambassador of Victoria Pendleton, Wiggle now have a pro women's cycling team. I would cancel your Cycling Plus subscription and take a look at either of the other two. I subscribe to all 3, but then I'm just a geek!!
  • Alitogata
    Alitogata Posts: 148
    KHodge wrote:
    Hi all,
    I understand that it is frustrating wanting to see more women's kit in Cycling Plus, but unfortunately, as rodgers73 pointed out, our readership is 95% male so we can't include too much women-specific cycling stuff. However, we do realise that the amount of MAWILS out there is on the up, and if the readership stats start to change we will address this (if you receive a readership survey please fill it in and send it back!). In the meantime look out for issue 280 which will include a women's supplement, with kits tests, bike reviews and other info that women have requested to hear about. If you have any suggestions of items you would like us to include, leave a post and I will look into it.
    Thank you!
    Kate (Senior Writer - Cycling Plus)

    I thought that this discussion was about articles that interest female readers and not just for readership stats. Readership stats come with readers and female readers will come with more female articles and not the opposite. :)
  • So kate, 95% of your readers are men, and that's why you don't have many articles/ features aimed at women. I'm trying really hard to think of a better way to ensure your readership stays exactly the same and you continue to ignore a large and growing segment of the market, but what do I know; I've never even studied marketing. And I'm a man for christsakes. And yet even I can see that ignoring womens interests isn't exactly cutting edge. My guess is you've probably made the almost universal 21st century business error of handing over responsibility for market research etc to a bunch of 15 year old hipsters who, with their skinny jeans and grasp of social media, have led you to believe they know what's happening. They don't. Get rid of their skinny arses as fast as you can, and make sure that when they leave they take their skinny jeans and skinny lattes with them. And into the vast gaping void created by the absence of their tweets, texts and inane chatter, there might just appear some insight, or maybe a question. Like 'not many women are reading the mag- why is that and what can we do about it'? If you really can't answer this yourselves, then ask anybody except marketing people, who (if they had been around) would have advised Henry Ford against developing the model T since '95% of people use mules'. Making a magazine more appealing to women doesn't automatically alienate your current (male) readership, and it might even make it more attractive- I can't be the only man who's ever so slighly bored with seeing nothing but other men in bibshorts every time there's a clothing review. And I know exactly what all these attractive lycra clad men will say when asked about bikes- they'll drone on and on and on about the merits of carbon vs titanium and which is laterally stiffer and vertically more compliant as if anyone really gives a damn. I think most cycling magazines would benefit from a fresh perspective, which might come from having more stuff aimed at women. And you might even increase your circulation.
  • jaxf
    jaxf Posts: 109
    My cup floweth over - a women's edition of CP this month.
    I really like it, it covers several areas (although no track).
    I thought that the Make it Fit article was good - I have done most of that stuff to my supposedly women specific bikes!
    So, that makes the bike reviews too late for me, and the several members of family and friends who have asked us for recommendations over the last couple of years in which I have subscribed to CP. But, there will always be people for whom the timing isn't right, and it's not all about me (but, when I rule the world, it will be).
    I totally agree with the shorts review, my Rapha shorts are the best I own, but I do really like my Assos knickers too.
    I have already pointed a couple of friends looking for women's specific saddles to the Women's Cycling review this month. So there's an update text going out, you tested different ones (including mine - only 3 starts for my Fizik Vestas).
    I was really interested to see the comment in the Eat Like a Girl article about women sweating less than men owing to our differing body composition. Guess finally a reason why I wonder about all the bidons the boys get through when I'm happy with a quick swig on anything less than 80km.
    And, lastly, Iast page - I'm signed up for the Etape Pennines - its my penance between a last blast in the Alps and a week in Tenerife in the sun with excellent climbs.

    so overall, thank goodness, good supplement, and my husband will be so relieved that I am not stomping about ranting about lack of coverage of women's stuff.

    British Cycling said that 63,000 women had taken up cycling in the last year, so reviews and how to articles must be sorely needed.
  • Cafewanda
    Cafewanda Posts: 2,788
    jaxf wrote:
    I was really interested to see the comment in the Eat Like a Girl article about women sweating less than men owing to our differing body composition. Guess finally a reason why I wonder about all the bidons the boys get through when I'm happy with a quick swig on anything less than 80km.
    And, lastly, Iast page - I'm signed up for the Etape Pennines - its my penance between a last blast in the Alps and a week in Tenerife in the sun with excellent climbs.

    so overall, thank goodness, good supplement, and my husband will be so relieved that I am not stomping about ranting about lack of coverage of women's stuff.

    British Cycling said that 63,000 women had taken up cycling in the last year, so reviews and how to articles must be sorely needed.

    From my standpoint - If only!
  • Joycie
    Joycie Posts: 127
    Hi Kate,
    I've got a couple of comments on the C+ womens supplement:
    First, I'd like to say thanks for including it. Whilst it would be great to have more "women" coverage in the normal edition (and that's something I hope you will aim to eventually should your readership ever flex) I understand why you don't do it at present. I particularly enjoyed the article on nutrition.

    Second, the article "The Lady Thrillers" specifically said "Six bikes designed specially for women - but which is best?" Unfortunately we never found out! There was no The Verdict page, nor was there any of the normal stats/geometeries or comparatives that we normally see when the "unisex" bikes are tested. Why was this?

    Thanks,
  • msmancunia
    msmancunia Posts: 1,415
    Kate

    British Cycling now have 15,000 female members. That's 15,000 that take their cycling seriously enough to take out a BC membership. The CTC will probably have roughly the same. Add to those numbers the amount of women who go for a quick ride along the canal with their other halves, or through the woods with their kids, and it's quite a number. BC are aiming to get a million women on bikes in the next four years, and Brian Cookson has stated that women's cycling will be a priority for him now he's President of the UCI.

    We aren't going to buy cycling magazines if there is loads of men specific content. The C+ women's special is a start, but all it really needs is a couple of articles that women won't feel isolated from in the main magazine. Not necessarily women specific, just not men specific.
    Commute: Chadderton - Sportcity
  • I think it's also fair to say that a lot of guys also want to encourage their girlfriend's/sisters etc. to get into cycling. I think regular articles and advertisements for women's specific kit wouldn't be missed on guys either. I often speak to guys who tell me about their partners or female friends/sisters getting into cycling. They also chat to me about female cyclists (pro's etc), races etc. with enthusiasm and interest.
    Why? Because I'm guaranteed a seat all the way in.

    Brompton SL2
    Ridley Icarus SLS
  • Joycie
    Joycie Posts: 127
    It probably doesn't help the "divide" given that myfavouritemagazines.co.uk (the distributer) has C+ advertised under the "For Him" section whilst "For Her" gets Simply Crochet, Knitting and Cross Stitcher Monthly...

    There is a "For Everyone" section. How about moving it there!!

    I do currently subscribe to C+ but am also going to expand to Womens Cycling as I don't feel that C+ meets my female specific requirements in a cycling mag (it's good for the general stuff though so I'll keep my subscription going at present, despite never receiving a reader survey).