What magazine?

[xpc316e]

I agree with some of the posters who criticise the mags for being repetitive. There is not much new in them apart from gear reviews. There is potential in featuring some of the amazing rides that folk undertake, but nobody does that well - such things are best read about on the web, or in books. The CTC mag is usually a good read, and it doesn't feature tests on bikes that say 'acceleration is instantaneous; as soon as you stamp on the pedals it zooms off'. Surely that happens on every bike unless it has an elastic chain? They always say 'the steering is direct' - what else is it going to feel like. It's always going to be direct unless the steerer tube has been constructed from freshly boiled pasta. The maintenance articles are OK, but if you are keen on learning a few skills would you spend £4 every month to be told how to lube a chain? I reckon that you need to read a book if you want to read about cycling.

 

[Broughtonblue]

I go with the posters who say buy a book, I can really recommend the two lance Armstrong books. Brilliant and inspiring

 

[Oldbloke]

I've stopped getting magazines now, got sick of reading the same repetative things, lost count of reading about "How to get up Hills faster" for example and it does not make any difference to me.

Even reading about rides around the country has no appeal as I will never do them, and when you see a little piddly 12 mile ride on your doorstep, it makes you wonder at times, how many people would travel miles to do it, and local riders would not even bother as they have rode that area that much, that even they would not do it.

The only thing any good I did find was reviews on new gear.

These days, I put my money in a little box that I would have spent on Cycling Active, Cycling Plus and Cycling Weekly and buy a cycling book instead.

+1

I used to buy Cycling Active as it catered better for "normal" riders but now it's same old, same old rubbish.

Plus they really hacked me off by messing up my annual sub end of last year, since when they have given out lavish inducements to subscribe; all I got was some very tacky Christmas-Cracker lights which went binwards