How about a CC cycling mag?

[Haitch]

Sorry to be a wet rag and dampen the enthusiasm, but have you thought about what your potential audience might want to read?

The ideas that I've seen floated -- a summary of the last quarter's CycleChat postings, the Blog in a new jacket, a review of each poster's bike -- aren't that appealing.

 

[Shaun]

Sorry to be a wet rag and dampen the enthusiasm, but have you thought about what your potential audience might want to read?

The ideas that I've seen floated -- a summary of the last quarter's CycleChat postings, the Blog in a new jacket, a review of each poster's bike -- aren't that appealing.

No, it's a fair point; so what would you find appealing?

Give us some positive feedback as it might help shape any potential mag.

Cheers,
Shaun

 

[Radius]

I'd love to contribute some kind of writing, as required. I like writing, and I like cycling

 

[magnatom]

I'd be happy to contribute as well, and not just helmet camera articles!

I really enjoyed writing the article for Cycle and I would love to do more writing. I'm sure I could do a column from the perspective of a commuter, and I'd enjoy doing reviews (I'm a good blagger, and I'm sure I could get a few helmet camera loans!).

We'd have to try and keep the quality up, to keep a readership, that would require someone at the helm who wasn't afraid of knocking articles back, telling people not to give up their day job etc. (I expect I will be told not to give up my day job now!).

So who would be willing to be editor in chief?

 

[spandex]

I will be happy help out if I can?

 

[magnatom]

I will be happy help out if I can?

I wouldn't give up your day job....

 

[Haitch]

Yes, sorry for sounding negative but so far everyone has been saying "I would like to do this" and "I would like to do that". It's all supply-driven. Except no-one is supplying content.

The content in any event should not be derivative of CycleChat (is anyone looking forward to reading a summary of the postings on here in three months' time?) nor should it take the place of the Blog or replicate other cycling magazines.

Decide what kind of magazine you want before ordering the nameplates for the assistant editor, copy editor, author's editor, features editor, editors editor.

- How about the Private Eye of cycling -- some hard campaigning (and really hard, not just good intentions and pipedreams) but largely humorous (cue Agony Bonj column)?
- Or the Hello! of cycling (who's pedalling whom and how often)?
- Or a quarterly magazine with a different theme every edition (foreign tours, track racing, all the people who owned my bike before/after me)?

And bear in mind that keeping the momentum going will be a lot harder than drumming up the initial enthusiasm.

 

[Joe24]

I wouldn't give up your day job....

No neither would i, deffinatly dont go into a job which requires picture of you!!!

 

[Shaun]

I've changed the title to put it more on-focus - maybe get a few more eyes and opinions.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I have written quite a bit in the past and was a regular contributor to Streetfighters magazine. I am more than willing to put a few words on paper for 'our' mag.

 

[Amanda P]

It's a good idea, but it's looking like it might have more writers than readers...

... and you can count me in. I've managed to get a few articles and photos in print. Some of them are even about cycling.

 

[HJ]

Okay, so what about a name?

A quick Google search didn't give any hits for Cycling Life magazine.

A quarterly PDF to start with, published and announced via the forums?

Strapline: A CycleChat.co.uk community cycling publication; by cyclists, for cyclists

Well, it's just a thought - I'm pretty sure some of you can come up with much better ones!!

Cheers,
Shaun

Why not, what have we got to loose? Try giving .citycycling a run for their money...

 

[buggi]

yay... can i be the covergirl ??

 

[Andy in Sig]

Yes, sorry for sounding negative but so far everyone has been saying "I would like to do this" and "I would like to do that". It's all supply-driven. Except no-one is supplying content.

The content in any event should not be derivative of CycleChat (is anyone looking forward to reading a summary of the postings on here in three months' time?) nor should it take the place of the Blog or replicate other cycling magazines.

Decide what kind of magazine you want before ordering the nameplates for the assistant editor, copy editor, author's editor, features editor, editors editor.

- How about the Private Eye of cycling -- some hard campaigning (and really hard, not just good intentions and pipedreams) but largely humorous (cue Agony Bonj column)?
- Or the Hello! of cycling (who's pedalling whom and how often)?
- Or a quarterly magazine with a different theme every edition (foreign tours, track racing, all the people who owned my bike before/after me)?

And bear in mind that keeping the momentum going will be a lot harder than drumming up the initial enthusiasm.

I don't think you're being negative at all. My idea in the OP was spurred by the fact that there is a huge gap in the cycling market for a mag which reflects the interests and thinking of cyclists at large. Given that this forum is representative of cyclists, it is probably the perfect springboard. What we must however, bear in mind - and do others agree with this? - is that we need to appeal to somebody who owns a bike and casually stumbles across the mag. What that reader does not want to find when he gets home is loads of articles with in jokes and references to people of whom he's never heard and has less interest.

What we emphatically do not need (and I am honestly not trying to provoke with this) is a published extension of the Tea? thread. In other words it needs to be something made by us in grown up, presentable to strangers mode, while still being witty, informative, cheerful, stimulating and thought provoking. We have the forum for acting like third formers.

I imagine that one big potential advantage is that given the size of the forum, we would rapidly build up a stock of articles on e.g. equipment and routes and so it would be possible to fill out quite a few editions in advance and only have to worry about topical stuff e.g. readers letters, campaigning news shortly before publication.

As for Arch's point about kit for reviews, I think the start point should be kit we actually use e.g. I've had a Street Machine for about 5 or 6 years now and so could give a fairly sensible review of it but before publishing we could ask other forum SM owners to chip their comments in and thus we would generate a really worthwhile users' review.

 

[Andy in Sig]

Actually i just googled it:

http://www.dwdl.de/story/20639/fotocommunity_bringt_zeitschrift_an_den_kiosk/

Brief translation:

- they sold 2000 subscriptions IN ADVANCE
- Print run 28,000, retail price 7.80 Euros (about £6, same as Velo Vision incidentally)
- It's a quarterly
- They use a distribution company for retail sales
- about 100 pages
- fotocommunity has around 800,000 members
- they did a survey of forum members and around 3/4 said they would like such a mag

Sounds like they just have the numbers they need to make it work. How many does CycleChat have, roughly?

You're quite right. I said it was two Euros. I was glancing over my shoulder at a number on the wrong part of the title page!