Call me tight but!!

[Cush]

Yesterday I bought Cyling Plus mainly because of the free socks. It is the last one I will buy as it seems to me to be now aimed at the open credit card cyclist.
Though I have a good set of panniers that I use for touring and and a good catseye rear light and I get my bike serviced every year by the LBS. Most of my kit comes from Aldi and Lidl and the high street sports shops like Mountain Warehouse and JJB sports, maybe it is not the best but over the years most of it has proved to be good value, for instance my everyday panniers (the one's that do the Tesco and town shopping run) came from Lidl, the best shirt and shorts I have bought came from Mountain Warehouse, padded underpants from J J B sports and so on but there is no mention of this sort of kit in Cycling Plus but they do advocate Jeseys at prices that are two and three times what I would even think of paying and yes I have bought through the net because my LBS has not had the kit in that I want or it is over priced.
I will pay the extra for kit that I think is good value but I will also look round for the kit will do the job for the price.

 

[screenman]

I would imagine that they have found the type of people who are likely to buy the mag and cater for them, nothing wrong with being careful with your money as not many people are. Personally I buy both cheap and expensive depending how the mood takes me.

 

[Glover Fan]

Cycling is an expensive hobby more regularly pursued by people in the middle ages who have a lot of disposable income to burn. Cycling Plus will make a large chunk of it's revenue through sponsorship and advertisement.

To be perfectly fair it is the same with any hobby, if you are into computers, most magazines have components that are silly money, although you do see special "budget" editions.

When I was into motorcycling it was the same. My leathers cost about £200 in Hein Gericke, but most magazines still jizz upon and thrust upon the latest Alpinestars kit which is worth nearly a grand.

This is why forums are excellent as you can speak to like minded people who don't have a ridiculous amount of money to spend.

 

[Norm]

That's exactly why I stopped buying C+ and moved to Cycling Active, as it seems aimed at more normal people.

For instance, when they review £1k bikes, they acknowledge that is a pretty high price point and they rate £30 jerseys over £70 jerseys because they are cheaper rather than being blinded by the bling labels.

 

[Melonfish]

Same with walking and bushcraft, everyone wants Swandri or some damned expensive super lightweight fleece that wicks moisture and insulates like the very devil or even worse Ventile... what a waste of money...

if i want a walking shirt, army surplus is good, i know it'll last, if i want to stay warm yet breathe i wear a wool jumper (charity shop or actually not that expensive online) if i want to stay waterproof then surplus MVP at £30-40 is miles better then a ventile at £300-400.
but you know, the mags like the shiney stuff and cater to those with more disposable income then sense...

 

[pepecat]

I emailed cycling plus about this a couple of weeks ago (i am that sad person who would do such a thing...) - like you i was annoyed that every ad and every product they featured was for ridiculously priced things, and in a recession of all times! I suggested they do a 'budget' issue and feature stuff from wiggle (cheaper end), evans cycles, halfords, aldi etc.....

The editor himself (Rob Spedding) replied and said.......
'Thanks for the email. We’re keen to ensure that we achieve a balance of ‘bling’ and not-so-budget-busting in Cycling Plus so we’ll be making sure that as well as the really expensive stuff we’ll also feature gear that is just plain good value in future editions.'

We'll see!.....

 

[Fnaar]

It's the same as you see in newspapers... look in the Guardian holidays bit... you'd have to be a flipping millionaire for most of the jollies the journos get sent on.
I'm middle aged, probably middle class these days too, but I don't have the kind of disposable income that papers/Cycling mags seem to think I should have... so I too get my kit in Lidl (if its good quality) and sales and try to indulge my hobby affordably.

 

[abo]

Thing is, it's like anything else; you won't see regular cars in 'Top Marques' for example.

 

[MacB]

Yep, agree with the outraged majority here but I'm afraid the marketing bods 'sing' to me with bling. More than once my dismissive, and sneering, superiority has taken a tumble to shiny shiny.

 

[gaz]

Hi tight but.

 

[lulubel]

It doesn't really bother me, to be honest. I enjoy browsing the bling, even though the chances of me ever buying anything are pretty slim (I like going down to Marbella and browsing the designer shops too).

But I haven't seen a copy of C+ for a couple of years, so it may have changed since then. It's too expensive to get it over here

 

[chewy]

Its about value, rather than just price.

This week, I have been mostly buying Tenn Outdoors.........which was nice

 

[supercooper]

Aldi and Lidle , kings of cycleware

 

[Cush]

I read the thread title as "Call me tight butt"


That's what cycling does for you I suppose

After a three weeks on the bike riding from Haltwhistle too L/E too Dover to Haltwhistle thats exactly what I had. a tight and slightly painful butt

 

[fossyant]

Now't wrong with window shopping.