Bicycle Mags

A couple of years ago when I was first recovering from my concussion I subscribed to some bicycle magazines.

Wow was that ever a mistake.

These things are so bad I cannot believe them.

First they insult your intelligence with their "this is the best bike I've ever ridden" on every single bicycle test. Then the pictures of bicycles are designed solely to be artistic and not informative.

And the issue I got on Saturday was the worse one yet.

NOW bicycles are a sports vehicle - the are simply cool. You don't ride for the exercise or the feeling but to be cool. $400 shoes that look like they could give bunions to anyone are bought not because there's anything good about them but because they're cool.

The second coolest thing after riding a bicycle is golfing. GOLFING??? That's for people that think that they're consorting with the upper class. That was never cool to begin with.

So I am swearing off bicycle magazines. I've found a couple of specialty mags that didn't insult your intelligence but I'm not all that interested in long distance touring through Pakistan and how to avoid road mines.

One would think that there would be a magazine about the amateur racing scene but none I've ever seen. Isn't there enough road, off-road, track and CX racing to keep a magazine in business?

I haven't seen a magazine that keeps you up on the pro racing scene. Maybe if you read French.

So the mags that are the most common are a waste of paper comprised of nothing more than advertisements in various garbs. But then the Millennial Generation doesn't appear to be educated enough to write anyway.

On Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:05:57 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Thank God for Usenet.

It won't last long. Is anybody here under sixty?

I think the latest new member is me.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On 4/10/2017 10:55 AM, wrote:
A couple of years ago when I was first recovering from my concussion I subscribed to some bicycle magazines.

Wow was that ever a mistake.

These things are so bad I cannot believe them.

First they insult your intelligence with their "this is the best bike I've ever ridden" on every single bicycle test. Then the pictures of bicycles are designed solely to be artistic and not informative.

And the issue I got on Saturday was the worse one yet.

NOW bicycles are a sports vehicle - the are simply cool. You don't ride for the exercise or the feeling but to be cool. $400 shoes that look like they could give bunions to anyone are bought not because there's anything good about them but because they're cool.

The second coolest thing after riding a bicycle is golfing. GOLFING??? That's for people that think that they're consorting with the upper class. That was never cool to begin with.

So I am swearing off bicycle magazines. I've found a couple of specialty mags that didn't insult your intelligence but I'm not all that interested in long distance touring through Pakistan and how to avoid road mines.

One would think that there would be a magazine about the amateur racing scene but none I've ever seen. Isn't there enough road, off-road, track and CX racing to keep a magazine in business?

I haven't seen a magazine that keeps you up on the pro racing scene. Maybe if you read French.

So the mags that are the most common are a waste of paper comprised of nothing more than advertisements in various garbs. But then the Millennial Generation doesn't appear to be educated enough to write anyway.


I agree with the general deterioration of bike magazines. I first got
into this back in about 1973, when I bought a copy of _Bicycling!_ from
an obscure newsstand. Note the exclamation point in the title. That
was before Rodale Press took it over and made it into a fashion magazine.

Granted, I was starting from near-total ignorance, so I was learning a
lot. But I (and my one cycling friend in the tiny town) read it from
cover to cover. The tech stuff, the fitness stuff, the tales of
touring, the drool-worthy bikes that I couldn't afford all seemed
fascinating. And for a while there were a couple other magazines that
vied for my biking attention.

But Rodale did take over, and things slid downhill. I still remember
one of Rodale's first editions had an article on how to make your own
toe clips from coat hangers. (???) But they overcompensated permanently
into the realm of "The best tights for sexy-looking legs!" or "the
derailleur you gotta have this year!" or other such garbage aimed at
fashion-conscious "fast recreational riders."

Oh, and the magazine of the League of American Wheelmen - um, make that
Bicyclists - went from quirky touring stories and oddball tech info to
"You can't be safe without bike lanes!! How many miles of bike lanes
does YOUR town have?"

For a brief while, I had hopes for Bicycle Times. It seemed more
focused on everyday riding, not the ever-competitive fashion world. But
the writers seem far less expert than the people posting here. And
instead of $200 racing tights, they seem to promote $200 skinny jeans
that have reflectors in the cuffs. Just the thing for riding your fixie
to the coffee shop.

I really enjoyed _Bicycle Quarterly_ for a long time. Editor and
almost-only writer Jan Heine has come up with some interesting ideas,
but I think he's starting to run dry.

And even Yehuda Moon is now on hiatus, although the entire series is on
the web. Sad times indeed! Thank God for Usenet.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 9:47:33 AM UTC-7, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:05:57 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Thank God for Usenet.

It won't last long. Is anybody here under sixty?

I think the latest new member is me.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

And you're getting a little long in the tooth.......

On 2017-04-10 08:47, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:05:57 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Thank God for Usenet.

It won't last long. Is anybody here under sixty?


raising_hand

Yes :-)


I think the latest new member is me.


Depends on how valuable people find it and whether someone usually older
than they points the to it. "Now what is a newsreader?".

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 2017-04-10 07:55, wrote:
A couple of years ago when I was first recovering from my concussion
I subscribed to some bicycle magazines.

Wow was that ever a mistake.


I hope you didn't pay much.


These things are so bad I cannot believe them.

First they insult your intelligence with their "this is the best bike
I've ever ridden" on every single bicycle test. Then the pictures of
bicycles are designed solely to be artistic and not informative.

And the issue I got on Saturday was the worse one yet.

NOW bicycles are a sports vehicle - the are simply cool. You don't
ride for the exercise or the feeling but to be cool. $400 shoes that
look like they could give bunions to anyone are bought not because
there's anything good about them but because they're cool.

The second coolest thing after riding a bicycle is golfing.
GOLFING??? That's for people that think that they're consorting with
the upper class. That was never cool to begin with.

So I am swearing off bicycle magazines. I've found a couple of
specialty mags that didn't insult your intelligence but I'm not all
that interested in long distance touring through Pakistan and how to
avoid road mines.

One would think that there would be a magazine about the amateur
racing scene but none I've ever seen. Isn't there enough road,
off-road, track and CX racing to keep a magazine in business?


Those guys look at new offerings with their own good judgment and don't
need a magazine to tell them what the "coolest bike" is. The hardcore
ones then modify their rides until it fits their needs. What would they
need a magazine for?


I haven't seen a magazine that keeps you up on the pro racing scene.
Maybe if you read French.

So the mags that are the most common are a waste of paper comprised
of nothing more than advertisements in various garbs. But then the
Millennial Generation doesn't appear to be educated enough to write
anyway.


If it's any comfort that is similar in many fields. I stopped reading
electronics magazines around 30 years ago despite the fact that this is
my field of work. We are now down to three print publication
subscriptions, two newspapers and one magazine (aerospace-related). One
is in a foreign language.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 10:21:44 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-04-10 07:55, wrote:
A couple of years ago when I was first recovering from my concussion
I subscribed to some bicycle magazines.

Wow was that ever a mistake.


I hope you didn't pay much.


Nahh, $3 for a year so I bought 4 years. Now I wish I hadn't.

Those guys look at new offerings with their own good judgment and don't
need a magazine to tell them what the "coolest bike" is. The hardcore
ones then modify their rides until it fits their needs. What would they
need a magazine for?

I disagree with that. Most people these days are followers and not leaders. I can't honestly remember if it was always that way. But I took real advice before from people that were knowledgeable. But having an article on what $300-$500 shoes are the coolest???

If it's any comfort that is similar in many fields. I stopped reading
electronics magazines around 30 years ago despite the fact that this is
my field of work. We are now down to three print publication
subscriptions, two newspapers and one magazine (aerospace-related). One
is in a foreign language.

I'm on the digital side of the coin and I used to mostly receive catalogs which were more informative than anything else.

On 4/10/2017 10:47 AM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:05:57 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Thank God for Usenet.

It won't last long. Is anybody here under sixty?

I think the latest new member is me.


Yeah, like newspapers.

At some point the distribution costs can't be justified over
the declining subscriber base and they just stop. Chicago
Tribune refunded my subscription balance and then 2~3 years
later they quit out-of-area newsstand sales too.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 2017-04-10 10:42, AMuzi wrote:
On 4/10/2017 10:47 AM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:05:57 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Thank God for Usenet.

It won't last long. Is anybody here under sixty?

I think the latest new member is me.


Yeah, like newspapers.

At some point the distribution costs can't be justified over the
declining subscriber base and they just stop. Chicago Tribune refunded
my subscription balance and then 2~3 years later they quit out-of-area
newsstand sales too.


Usenet is different. Yes, only few people know it or find it. However, I
have found very valuable hints there for stuff that I was new to or
where my last endeavor was too long ago. Such as beer brewing. On tech
forums we exchange hints back and forth and many times that has truly
saved the bacon for someone who was facing a tough problem. For me it
has also resulted in several longterm clients though that was not the
intent.

I obviously cannot name names but in one case it has ultimately resulted
in a production problem being solved where their executives were
concerned that it would cause the company to go belly up.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 2017-04-10 10:38, wrote:
On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 10:21:44 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2017-04-10 07:55, wrote:
A couple of years ago when I was first recovering from my
concussion I subscribed to some bicycle magazines.

Wow was that ever a mistake.


I hope you didn't pay much.


Nahh, $3 for a year so I bought 4 years. Now I wish I hadn't.


Wow. I guess they must be 100% ad-financed.


Those guys look at new offerings with their own good judgment and
don't need a magazine to tell them what the "coolest bike" is. The
hardcore ones then modify their rides until it fits their needs.
What would they need a magazine for?

I disagree with that. Most people these days are followers and not
leaders.


You are right but not when it comes to the hardcore guys. When my MTB
buddy buys a new dirt bike or other vehicle the time it remains
unmodified is usually one day or so. Angle grinder, welding, sparks flying.


... I can't honestly remember if it was always that way. But I
took real advice before from people that were knowledgeable.


Same here, in my case in electronics. I learned from mentors. Now I am
trying to be a mentor. No point in taking know-how into the grave.


... But
having an article on what $300-$500 shoes are the coolest???


I remember a school yard fight breaking out over a pair of Air Jordans
or whatever they were called. Some fancy sports shoes. I couldn't
believe it.


If it's any comfort that is similar in many fields. I stopped
reading electronics magazines around 30 years ago despite the fact
that this is my field of work. We are now down to three print
publication subscriptions, two newspapers and one magazine
(aerospace-related). One is in a foreign language.

I'm on the digital side of the coin and I used to mostly receive
catalogs which were more informative than anything else.


I haven't yet made the step to a tablet yet. Doesn't feel the same.
Maybe I am too freaking old for that. Except for business where
everything is electronic including doing almost all meetings online. To
the point where my airline expenses for business dropped to zero last
year for the very first time in decades.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/