New cycling mag

[smutchin]

Coming soon to a newsstand near you...

It's called Bikes Etc and will be a sister title to Cyclist - the difference being that while Cyclist is mostly about the riding experience, BikesEtc will be about the kit, with lots of reviews and techy articles (strapline is: "The best road gear rated"). First issue will be in the shops late October, and if you'd like to sign up for a free sample, you can do so here:
www.bikesetc.co.uk/freeissue

And for social media types:
www.facebook.com/bikesetcmag
www.twitter.com/BikesETCMag

[Btw, I should declare my interest - I'm on the editorial team. All feedback welcome.]

 

[AndyRM]

Sounds good, I've signed up for a look.

Cyclist is an excellent magazine IMO, so I hope the quality, both in terms of design and content is reflected in Bikes Etc.

 

[ianrauk]

Cheers. Have signed up for a free copy.

 

[smutchin]

Glad to hear you're a fan of Cyclist, Andy. I also think it's an excellent mag (and did so before I worked here!) and while we're aiming to be very different in terms of content, we're definitely aiming for the same high standards all round.

 

[AndyRM]

That's good to hear. There are certain magazines that I can't read because the layout drives me crazy! The down-side of being a graphic designer I suppose.

 

[ianrauk]

3 copies for a fiver aint bad either.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I subscribe to Cyclist and while I'm not the target audience find it a fun read, similar to when I read Performance Bikes in the early 90's. I've ummed & arred about Bikes etc but haven't committed yet, I think I'm presuming the kit will be at a similar level to the cycling in Cyclist and not something of use to me I guess I could buy it to see what kit I'll be buying second hand and end of line in 5 years time :-)

 

[Globalti]

Cyclist has some stunning photos that make me want to give up work and just go and ride my bike. It certainly drives readers' aspirations for fancy bikes as well!

 

[vickster]

I have signed up too and hope it acknowledges that non professional women also ride road bikes (unlike Cycling Plus )

 

[smutchin]

I'm presuming the kit will be at a similar level to the cycling in Cyclist and not something of use to me I guess I could buy it to see what kit I'll be buying second hand and end of line in 5 years time :-)

Ha! Tbh, I love Cyclist's bike reviews but they're more aspirational, while ours will be more practical. More like Cycling Plus and Cycling Active but with Cyclist production values (Juan the photographer, who does a lot of stuff for Cyclist, has shot the main on-location feature for the first issue). There will be group tests of bikes covering a wide range of categories and price points. I can't go into too much detail about what will be in the first issue right now, but I can tell you it won't just be £3k+ racing machines - although we're unlikely to go to the other extreme, like the current issue of Cycling Active with its group test of sub-£500 bikes. The focus is very much on road cycling though, so everything from sportive rider to club-level racer.

 

[smutchin]

I have signed up too and hope it acknowledges that non professional women also ride road bikes (unlike Cycling Plus )

Noted.

 

[AndyRM]

All sounds really positive @smutchin - one of the things I like about Cyclist is the lack of ratings, but I've always been interested to see how a sister publication with similar values would approach starred reviews. Which if I'm reading your comments correctly, is exactly what you're aiming for.

 

[bpsmith]

Please don't make it another Cycling Plus @smutchin.

I have just clocked out for lunch and have Septembers Cyclist ready to read, before next issue due tomorrow. Great mag and so much better than the competition next to it at the newsagents.

Will go and sign up for the free copy shortly.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Ha! Tbh, I love Cyclist's bike reviews but they're more aspirational, while ours will be more practical.

Sounds good, hopefully there will be stuff on long term test, if you're looking for real information on a product the only thing that will really sway me is someone's views after living with it for at least 3-6 months. While Ride (look, motorbikes again) did suffer from 'yet another lock test' syndrome I really did enjoy reading about peoples long term bike reviews, what they'd done to them since the last issue, what they'd found out, changed or needed to fix. In idea how saleable that makes a mag to the vast majority, but for me it made it actually useful. When I read Cyclist I'm looking at hills I'll never climb on bikes I can never afford at speeds I'll never attain, but the escapism is nice and as mentioned, the photos are lovely. Fortunately I like the writing style across pretty much all of the contributors so it makes it worthwhile buying.

 

[bpsmith]

Typically, works browser is too old to display the details to fill out. iPhone wasn't working either, until I tried leaving the space out of the telephone number. Then fine.

Just in case anyone else has issues.