Cycling Plus Magazine. Any other recommendations?

[Smokin Joe]

One of the common criticisms levelled at CW is that it has betrayed its traditional core readership - it used to be a repository of local race results, now it seems more focused on the modern sportive-riding mamil. The problem is perhaps that the traditional club racer is no longer enough to sustain the commercial viability of the title.

Cycling (Weekly as it now is) was at it's best when most serious cyclists belonged to a club and virtually all it's readership were club riders, and most of those either did or had raced at some point. Traditional clubs are struggling to survive now and few modern cyclists seem to belong to one, leaving CW with a bit of an identity crisis.

 

[pawl]

One of the common criticisms levelled at CW is that it has betrayed its traditional core readership - it used to be a repository of local race results, now it seems more focused on the modern sportive-riding mamil. The problem is perhaps that the traditional club racer is no longer enough to sustain the commercial viability of the title.

Should be called Sportive Weekley. I stopped buying it when they stopped listing the weekends Time Trials and Road Races . My mate and me used it to plan a Sunday ride to watch races within a 50 mile radius.

 

[pjd57]

I'm getting cycling plus on a 5 for a fiver deal.

Ok for that but I won't be taking any more .

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I'm getting cycling plus on a 5 for a fiver deal.

Ok for that but I won't be taking any more .

Ask them for more next time...

 

[Tin Pot]

Sitting on the train to London and I thought I'd buy a cycling magazine for the train...

I bought Cycling Plus, I wanted a magazine aimed at the everyday cyclist. It seemed to be aimed just at men and only really worth reading if you have around £2500+ to spend on a bike.

There was lots of useful training info and nutrition which was very good. But I was just let down by the rest of it.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a more universally friendly bike magazine?!

Thanks in advance x

Magazines exist now only as reminders of how advertising destroys everything it touches.

Watch search engines and social media for more on this subject.

 

[StuAff]

Sitting on the train to London and I thought I'd buy a cycling magazine for the train...

I bought Cycling Plus, I wanted a magazine aimed at the everyday cyclist. It seemed to be aimed just at men and only really worth reading if you have around £2500+ to spend on a bike.

There was lots of useful training info and nutrition which was very good. But I was just let down by the rest of it.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a more universally friendly bike magazine?!

Thanks in advance x

Been subscribing to C+ for some years, bought a lot of kit which they've rated- not on their say-so alone, but if they something's worth buying, it is. Most expensive item pictured below. The frame, bars, groupset, wheels, bar tape all got positive reviews. The bars were the second pair of those I'd got. The Viner has the first set, plus again wheels, groupset, tyres…

For what you wanted to read, that particular issue was a bit duff. The previous month: £500 bikes group test. This month (which has just arrived in the post today), £1500 bikes group test. Oh, and among other bikes reviewed, a £500 hybrid & £350 B'Twin Triban. They have regular tests of ladies bikes and equipment (not every month, admittedly). Both your Allez and Diverge have been reviewed multiple times. Unlike Cycling Weekly, they actually test bikes properly (CW gives the mileages…in some cases a couple of days' riding for me…). Nutrition and training advice is sensible and recognises people can and should be basing their diets on 'real food'. There are useful and interesting features. And they even feature the odd CC member: our very own @Michael Adu appeared in their LEL article a few months back.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Magazines exist now only as reminders of how advertising destroys everything it touches.

Watch search engines and social media for more on this subject.

Most commercially produced magazines on any subject derive more income from advertising than they do from sales of the publication, so therefore you get advertiser-influenced rubbish masquerading as real independent journalism.

I'm not remotely interested in the buy new bike/upgrade various bits/sell bike after year or two at big loss/buy another latest model new bike and repeat ad nauseum merry go round, so I opt out of all this advertising-driven magazine consumerism, run secondhand bikes, and don't waste money on endless fad "upgrades".

 

[greenmark]

I opt out of all this advertising-driven magazine consumerism, run secondhand bikes, and don't waste money on endless fad "upgrades".

Username checks out.

 

[normgow]

Can you expand on the CW criticism?

I think the messages from Milzy, Smokin Joe and smutchin capture the general feeling that CW is no longer the magazine that we grew up with and looked forward to reading every week. Obviously, times and writing styles change and I'm probably stuck in a time warp but the breathless, superficial style of journalism now in style is, in my opinion, unfortunate.
There used to be contributors nationwide who would cover local races, send in their reports which would be printed and the writers credited with a by-line. Bigger races were usually covered by staff reporters who would write an in depth story of the event including interviews with contestants. There were touring articles too, informative and often amusing. Sure there were equipment and bike reviews and probably a load of other old tat that with the benefit of rose-colored glasses I've forgotten.
At the risk of coming over as a complete dinosaur; the first copy of "Cycling and Mopeds" (as it was then) that I bought, was in Sep. 1959 which included the reports from the recently held World Championships in the Netherlands. The story of the pro road race, where Tom Simpson came fourth, covered two full pages of very small print. It seemed that every pedal stroke of the race was there on paper and all written in a style to make an English teacher happy.
Of course in those days there was no TV coverage in Britain and perhaps nowadays such comprehensive reports are no longer needed when most people can watch even minor races on livestream.
Now and then I buy a copy of Cyling Weekly (an unfortunate title open to ridicule) and I'm usually disappointed but then we can't always have what we want.

 

[rualexander]

I subscribe to Readly https://gb.readly.com/ for £7.99 a month and get access to several cycling mags including Cycling Weekly, Rouleur, Bikes Etc, Urban Cyclist, MBR, Cyclist, What Mountain Bike, etc, etc. Back issues are also available.
Plus loads of other magazines on any subject you may be interested in.
I read them on my tablet so not quite as convenient for picking up for a train journey etc.
Also, titles come and go, Cycling Plus was on it but not any more, no great loss. Cyclist only recently became available which pleased me as I often bought the paper version.

 

[Blue Hills]

Many thanks for that normgow.

Can't help musing that some readers objected to the "and mopeds" bit. And that cycling then maybe lost a few potential fans to the Vespa.

(Used to have a couple of vespas by the way - i do dimly remember a scathing response to an old acquaintance who dared to call it a moped . . )

 

[Lavender Rose]

I subscribe to Readly https://gb.readly.com/ for £7.99 a month and get access to several cycling mags including Cycling Weekly, Rouleur, Bikes Etc, Urban Cyclist, MBR, Cyclist, What Mountain Bike, etc, etc. Back issues are also available.
Plus loads of other magazines on any subject you may be interested in.
I read them on my tablet so not quite as convenient for picking up for a train journey etc.
Also, titles come and go, Cycling Plus was on it but not any more, no great loss. Cyclist only recently became available which pleased me as I often bought the paper version.

That sounds pretty good! I wouldn't mind taking my tablet on the train if it was worth the read! I know you can read a lot of information online which is free - but that Readly is something I may look into for other interests of mine too! x

 

[Blue Hills]

ICyling Weekly (an unfortunate title open to ridicule) .

At the risk of more thread divert, reminds me of that other unfortunate title, poultry news.

 

[Lavender Rose]

I don't get how that's unfortunate @Blue Hills ?

 

[Blue Hills]

I don't get how that's unfortunate @Blue Hills ?

Because you aren't a wordsmith/pun addicted journo charlotte?

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