|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
dhw
a Weekend Warrior
from A.G. Ca USof A
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | east boundry | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | suscribed from the m | | Strengths: | This is the best mag out there end of statment!!!! The Grimme Handshake is by far the best writing witnessed to date in any of the mags I have been following for the last 20 years
| | Weaknesses: | not a weekly | | Similar Products Used: | mba dirtrag mountain bike decline | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Heckler motobecane phantom 29er Schwinn high serra proflex 556
all well used and well loved | | Bottom Line: | I was an d am a big mba fan but it gets old for a guy like me I can't buy all the
$7000 bike tested and really didn't dig the vibe. Bike is different and I appreciate the fact it is all about the ride not the bike. It has spurded me to rethink what it means for me to be a mountain biker and what i am looking for in my experience. It is well written and I enjoy it from cover to cover. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
muzza
a Weekend Warrior
from busharaguan republic
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | tranquility base | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Portrays mountain biking lifestyles, personalities & stuff. | | Weaknesses: | Not enough single track content. Assumes everybody has at least 3 rides worth $5K each and unlimited time & money to traverse the Andes | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight. 8" front rotor. 1.9 tires. An XTR crankset that's older than the frame. Kinda wierd. | | Bottom Line: | My guess is they go through writing staff a lot, probably because they pay -insert profanity here.
So MBR What's up with this new profanity rule?
Occasionally some good writers breeze through Bike. . Bike mostly tries to respect the readers intelligence. They will let you use profanity, if you feel like it. Unlike this church.
Hope they last. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
midbunchlurker
a Cross Country Rider
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | www.bikemag.com | | Strengths: | Amazing photography
Inspiring articles | | Weaknesses: | Only 8 issues per year | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling
Mountain Bike Action
MBUK | | Bottom Line: | The best bike mag by far. The only mag that makes you want to climb on your bike and get out onto the trail. Inspiring writing and photography from people that *get* mountain biking. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PJ Leeds
a Weekend Warrior
from North Shore
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | all Shore | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Something to read and look at | | Weaknesses: | Short product reviews, pathetic attempts at intelligensia writing fail horribly, very little devoted to product knowledge, technology or current trends other than freeriding. | | Similar Products Used: | All other mags | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Foes Fly, medium. Full Hope/XTR/Raceface with Monster T. | | Bottom Line: | Other than Mountain Biking, this is the worst rag out there. The pictures are lovely, but are all from the same photographers. You would think from this mag that there are no other riders other than Shandro, Simmons, Vanderham, Schley....... What about real people with real photos, not pro only shots. Articles are a waste of time; I could care less about the geopolitical realities of life or other topics barely connected to riding. Very few are informative on technology, bike design or needs. Bike reviews are short, to the point but do little to inform the reader. Almost like the magazine is a bike mag, but wants to be something else; like Life magazine. Not worth the cash but I do leaf through it for interest. Rarely there will be something I find to justify the price, but it is few and far between. Funny, the magazine deals heavily with the Shore, where I am from, but I do not need to be beaten to death with what I already know.
I think the mag assumes too much with its readers and fails to impress new ones. Uses too much profanity for my taste, as profanity in print is far more vulgar than in spoken word as the print version is always there. Not professional. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Weekend Warrior
from Somerset, NJ
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | well written, covers a good range of topics. | | Weaknesses: | 1 year = only 8 issues | | Bottom Line: | I recommend a subscription for your monthly MTB reading needs. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve C
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$8.00 | | Purchased At: | bikemag.com | | Strengths: | Amazing photography, inspired writing, focusses on the ride rather than the equipment or hype. Documents the soul of riding across multiple disciplines. | | Weaknesses: | Hype and extra advertising crept in with the corporate take-over and content dwindled. What's there is great - there's just not enough of it anymore. | | Similar Products Used: | DirtRag (good but different), Mountain Bike Action (materialistic, uninspiring). | | Bike Setup: | Custom steel hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that in spite of everything, Bike is still the only magazine that documents the way riding infects the soul. The writing has life and humour, and yes, at times it's political and biographical - but it is absolutely suited to those for whome bikes are an integral part of life - storing up happiness, spinning away sadness, working and playing.
Bike's writers churn out words that do justice to the mountain bike dreams I've had, and sew the seeds of new ones. It's photographers capture the details and moments that make the sport what it is to us.
It's reviews are short and light on technical details but informative; but what are you looking at them for? This magazine is all about travel, adventure, beauty, humour and the simple joy of turning pedals over and over.
Bike is the only magazine I have ever felt compelled to subscribe to, and the only one that I've kept every issue of. I've got to give it 5 because I'd be very sad without it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from S. Cal
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$12.00 | | Purchased At: | website | | Strengths: | pretty pictures | | Weaknesses: | thin volume, pointless contents, money driven (see story below) | | Similar Products Used: | MBAction, MTB UK | | Bottom Line: | I gave them a try and subscribe from their website, at first I was considering a 2-year subscription, changed my mind before the transaction and went for the 1-year deal.
Paid by credit card and received magazine after few weeks – along with a letter asking to paid for another 2-year subscription, I wrote back a note and hope they will correct the mistake. Few months later, I received a letter from this “debt collector” threatening me to pay or he will post a bad note to my credit report. I wrote back again kindly explaining the situation…. Then guess what? No more magazines coming and I still have 4 months left in my subscription!
I was very disappointed by the contents of the magazine as well as their customer service. Don’t subscribe BIKE mag, because the desperation of money and the trimming down on the volume will eventually put them out of business.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeremiah
a
from Longview
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Great photos and good articles. Local knowledge colums
The beer foam test! | | Weaknesses: | It's gotten a little thin in the last few years. | | Similar Products Used: | all | | Bottom Line: | A quality mag that does a good job of trying to capture the spirit of riding. Good profiles of non mainstream people in the industry. Far more legit than the fools at Mountain Bike and MBA(terrible!) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a
from SoCal
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Bottom Line: | BIKE and Dirt Rag cover totally different ends of the mountain bike spectrum. They're the two best magazines out there, but BIKE seems to have gone on a dangerous diet lately. I used to stay up way too late reading it from cover to cover as soon as it arrived, but I went through the latest issue in barely half an hour. Tough times in the bike industry reducing advertising dollars resulting in limited content? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jacob O'Neall
a Downhiller
from Eubank, Kentucky, USA
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | any that's rough and technical | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$4.00 | | Purchased At: | grocery store | | Strengths: | a good overall mag | | Weaknesses: | not enough content, it's sometimes only half the size of other mags | | Similar Products Used: | mtb action, dirt rag, bicycling, mountain biking, flow | | Bottom Line: | A good magazine that seems to focuse on getting you motivated to ride. After reading it, I just want to go for a ride. I like the pictures, and Mike Ferrintino's writing.
Also, I feel that they are less "brand biased" than other magazines(such as MBA) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stark
a Cross Country Rider
from CA
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Pretty pictures. | | Weaknesses: | Weak writing, lack of content, not much in it besides pictures of people doing extreme things I'll never attempt. I don't need to ride the Red Bull Rampage to get my mtb fix. | | Similar Products Used: | dirt rag, mb action, bicycling | | Bottom Line: | I got the mag as "free trial issue" from the website. First hint of cheesiness was all the pop-up ads on the site. But for some reason I still gave them my address. I checked the little box saying "don't give out my ID to anyone else." Less than a week later I get a mailer ad for pl@yb0y with my name on it (first time it's ever happened).
Now some people wouldn't mind getting ads for adult mags sent to them. Personally, if I wanted pl@yb0y, I would have gone to their website and subscribed. Since I didn't, it really ticks me off. I sent the "subscriber services" an email telling them to forget about it, just cancel the order and remove me from any lists they put me on. No response from them. A few weeks later the mag shows up. Then this week I get a bill for a year subscription.
I know things are tight in the magazine world, but this sort of stuff stinks. Plus I read the "content" of the "trial issue" in about 20 minutes before bed. I'll stick to mags that don't wh0re me out (dirtrag being the best) for my monthly magazine fix.
You stink Bike. I can't believe IMBA associates with this cr@p. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | many | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Great Photos. Truly interesting writing/stories. | | Weaknesses: | doesn't come out weekly. | | Similar Products Used: | all of them... | | Bike Setup: | does anybody care? | | Bottom Line: | This magazine is one of my two favorites. The photography is second to none. I can honestly say I anxiously await every article from Mike Ferrentino. He is truly a gifted writer. The mag is at times a little political, and I like that. A great mag for bikers. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | many | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Great Photos. Truly interesting writing/stories. | | Weaknesses: | doesn't come out weekly. | | Similar Products Used: | all of them... | | Bike Setup: | does anybody care? | | Bottom Line: | This magazine is one of my two favorites. The photography is second to none. I can honestly say I anxiously await every article from Mike Ferrentino. He is truly a gifted writer. The mag is at times a little political, and I like that. A great mag for bikers. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | many | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Great Photos. Truly interesting writing/stories. | | Weaknesses: | doesn't come out weekly. | | Similar Products Used: | all of them... | | Bike Setup: | does anybody care? | | Bottom Line: | This magazine is one of my two favorites. The photography is second to none. I can honestly say I anxiously await every article from Mike Ferrentino. He is truly a gifted writer. The mag is at times a little political, and I like that. A great mag for bikers. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris C.
a Cross Country Rider
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Moab Slickrock | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$4.00 | | Purchased At: | Grocery Store | | Strengths: | Great Photos | | Weaknesses: | Everything else. | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike Action, Mountain Bike, Mountain Biking | | Bike Setup: | Titus TALAS Switchblade | | Bottom Line: | This mag has consistently great photos, but little else to offer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gavin Vaughan
a Cross Country Rider
from Bradford, VT USA
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | the one with the most turns | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | It was a gift numb nuts | | Strengths: | Once and a while there is a good article. Some of the ongoing themes are good. Its just about MTB and not about road cycling. Can't do both, it just doesn't work. You linsening Bicycling magazine, Fool!!!! | | Weaknesses: | Only good artciles soom of the time, put some effort into it you lazy goats. Yes goats! You get to ride and write about MTB for a jod, you ungateful Billy goats. Yes Billy Goats. You should be able to dream up something during those winter months or breaks in action. For example, do a snow tire comparsion test in winter. Take a tirp to a ski area and write about riding groomed trails, if they let you. | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike Action, Mountain Bike Magizine, Dirt Rag, Bicycling | | Bike Setup: | Jamis Dakar Pro 02, stock, with a hard ass seat and eggbeaters. | | Bottom Line: | I want to see interesting articles every month, none of this slacking poo. And to give you persective, I Like every style of MTB, you should be able to find something. Give us more stuff on what the pros are rock'n, people love that. And there should be stuff on all styles of MTB. Effort I wan't effort, goat monkey squrrels!
The mag is still good and worth the money to subscribe to. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Ridgefield CT USA
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Wilton Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Great Pictures, articles, and info. | | Weaknesses: | Some issues are pretty short. | | Bottom Line: | This is a great magazine if your interested in finding out info on new bike products. Also it is some very good articles that are worth reading. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hambone
a Weekend Warrior
from Birmingham,AL
Date Reviewed: January 18, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Oak Mtn | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$4.00 | | Purchased At: | Books-A-Million | | Strengths: | Great articles on all types of mountain biking. You can tell these guys have been riding for a while. They really capture the spirit of it all. | | Weaknesses: | Bike tests are a little short. | | Similar Products Used: | MB Action and Flow | | Bike Setup: | '03 Specialized Enduro Expert and Redline BMX cruiser | | Bottom Line: | It's worth buying and worth reading from cover to cover month after month. I've subscribed, you should too. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Bonelli
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | South Mountain National Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$3.00 | | Purchased At: | Gift | | Strengths: | Excellent photography, absolutely breath-taking images. Good original articles and reviews, the editors and writers have a great sense of humor. | | Weaknesses: | Quite 'thin' mag, leaves you wanting more... But I guess that's good marketing. | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Biker, Mountain Bike, Mountain Biking Action (all very unorignal and generic-looking). | | Bike Setup: | 98' Cannondale SuperV 2000 w/Fox 5r and Fatty 70 up front. Hella sweet ride! ;) | | Bottom Line: | By far the leader in quality mountain biking magazines. Make the rest look like crap! Very cheap price, magnificant photography, good reviews and interesting original articles. Can't beat this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
MEB*
a Weekend Warrior
from Brooklyn, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Stillwell Woods Preserve | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$3.00 | | Purchased At: | Magazine Values | | Strengths: | Amazing pictures. Good short articles about trips. Okay product reviews. | | Weaknesses: | Too short. | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike Actions (the bikes are insanely expensive and the magazine is too into racing) & Mountain Bike (too corporate) | | Bike Setup: | K-2 Zed SE with Manitou X-Vert Air 2001 fork | | Bottom Line: | The best moutain biking magazine out there. I read the thing cover to cover. The photos are amazing to the extreme. They make it hurt to sit in the subway train and not be on my bike. Plus, I got a 1 year subscription for $3. That's cheaper than a single issue of Moutain Bike or MBA. It's definitely a bargain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Guy
a Cross Country Rider
from NH
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$3.00 | | Purchased At: | subscription | | Strengths: | good way to make you tired when you cannot fall asleep. | | Weaknesses: | This magazine is quite easily the worst one I subscribe to. It has very few articles that are all uninteresting. The bike test are about 2 paragraphs long and the mag is so thin, it resembles a pamphlet. I can read through the entire mag in about 10 minutes. | | Similar Products Used: | baby wipes, tiolet paper | | Bike Setup: | GF sugar 4 | | Bottom Line: | If you want something flamable to keep your family warm on a winters eve, buy this magazine. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mr Johnny Dangerous
a Racer
from southern hemisphere
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | That ribbon O' dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$3.00 | | Purchased At: | newsagent | | Strengths: | The pictures are really good. They appear to hang onto original publishing ideals by a tenuous thread. | | Weaknesses: | Sell outs. Bought by big budget, sweatshop america and now are filled with mail order, techno weenie crap. They used to be about riding now they are about who has the most titanium widgets......pole smokers | | Similar Products Used: | most other mags | | Bike Setup: | For this review my hammock or a couch, cold beer and a sunny day | | Bottom Line: | I am really disappointed that the beacon of non commercialised America is being dismantled in front of my eyes. I look back on the older issues of bike and see a cool, retro, we ride &%$#$@ bikes kinda mag!!
Now all I see is another sellout financed by mail order and the" need" to buy that new bike, part, item even though what you have serves you well. I give these guys 2 hot ones as they seem to take more hot ones from Corporate America each day that goes by.
out. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Newtown
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Stinger | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$15.00 | | Purchased At: | through magizine | | Strengths: | Photos, Photos, Photos, Photos, Photos, Reviews | | Weaknesses: | Language diversity!!? | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike | | Bike Setup: | Trek 8500, 2002 | | Bottom Line: | Buy It | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tyler
a Weekend Warrior
from Mercer Island, WA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$10.00 | | Purchased At: | subscription | | Bottom Line: | this is a amazing magazine. As much as I love MBA and Mountain bike I love to be able to read bike. It cuts out almost all the reviews and fills those pages with GOOD stories and sweet pictures. THE PICTURES RULE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tyler
a Weekend Warrior
from Mercer Island, WA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$10.00 | | Purchased At: | subscription | | Bottom Line: | this is a amazing magazine. As much as I love MBA and Mountain bike I love to be able to read bike. It cuts out almost all the reviews and fills those pages with GOOD stories and sweet pictures. THE PICTURES RULE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tyler
a Weekend Warrior
from Mercer Island, WA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$10.00 | | Purchased At: | subscription | | Bottom Line: | this is a amazing magazine. As much as I love MBA and Mountain bike I love to be able to read bike. It cuts out almost all the reviews and fills those pages with GOOD stories and sweet pictures. THE PICTURES RULE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tyler
a Weekend Warrior
from Mercer Island, WA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$10.00 | | Purchased At: | subscription | | Bottom Line: | this is a amazing magazine. As much as I love MBA and Mountain bike I love to be able to read bike. It cuts out almost all the reviews and fills those pages with GOOD stories and sweet pictures. THE PICTURES RULE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Clench
a Cross Country Rider
from Wabush,NF,Canada
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Smokey Moutain Cross Country Trails | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Subscription | | Strengths: | Great magazine,best one out,great pics and writing,It really does make you want to get out and ride. | | Weaknesses: | Only one a moth is not enough for me because iam addicted to them! | | Similar Products Used: | Moutain Bike and Moutain Bike Action(Both Crap) | | Bottom Line: | Great magazine,would recommend it to anyone who loves bikes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Reno
a Cross Country Rider
from somewhere in Oregon
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | The photo's are really cool!! makes you want to ride! | | Weaknesses: | Not enough product tests. | | Similar Products Used: | moutain bike | | Bottom Line: | If your into riding and photography or just like wonder photos this the only bike mag for you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Spazym
a Cross Country Rider
from BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Subscribe | | Strengths: | Everything! Great photos and great articles. AND not everything is about the freaking race circuit!!! Makes you want to get out and ride! | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | almost all the others (mountain biking sucks huge!!) | | Bike Setup: | does it matter? This is about a magazine. | | Bottom Line: | Any bike mag that makes you want to go out and ride is doing their job right!! Information on bikes is well done and the articles are well written. bottom line ......AWESOME MAG!! anyone who disagrees can kiss my fuzzy butt!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
I KILLED
a Weekend Warrior
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$4.00 | | Strengths: | What?
Actually the photos are nice | | Weaknesses: | Everything but the photos | | Similar Products Used: | All others | | Bike Setup: | For a mag, come on | | Bottom Line: | Worse than nearly all others it gives no info and the editors must be ten
still better than Mountain Biking | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
smokey strodtman
a Cross Country Rider
from gilliam, MO USA
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | any with dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | subscribe | | Strengths: | photos! stories about rides and mtb trips. | | Weaknesses: | getting too much like mountain bike. | | Similar Products Used: | dirt rag(the best!), MBA, mountain bike, bicycling. | | Bike Setup: | fisher hardtail with lots of mods. | | Bottom Line: | bike has superb photography, better than any other mag
out there. recently they are starting to get into the habit of only talking about all the latest big buck new products, forgetting that it's the ride that's important, not what you are on. i will still subscribe, but hope that they will
get back to what they do best. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
carlos
a Cross Country Rider
from san antonio, texas
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | golf course | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$3.00 | | Purchased At: | broadway news | | Strengths: | the photos! the "children" hate them but those who eat, sleep, and breath mountain biking know. | | Weaknesses: | felton, i canceled by sub because of his "new angle". | | Similar Products Used: | mountain bike fiction, mountain bike. mags for kids. | | Bike Setup: | rigid litespeed | | Bottom Line: | vernon, stop the insanity. bike was never about "new for 2001". it's all about those photos and the trips people take out of their measly little towns. remember the dark side issue? why can't we read stories like that? what about the funk issue? have ya read dirt rag? it's basically what BIKE used to be.
hey everyone, if ya want techno-porn then get the other mags. if you love riding, really love it, they get dirt rag. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sidd
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Memorial Park | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$10.00 | | Purchased At: | Subscription | | Strengths: | -The photos!
-Tons of great shots really inspires one to leave work early and ride.
-The bike reviews are very detailed and honest.
-They don't always cater to advertisers.
-Great stories about bike treks throughout the US and the world. | | Weaknesses: | -Some of the stories and op-ed pieces are out there.
-They are starting to do more "must-have" gear issues.
-$4000-bike reviews? Oh, come on. (they're getting better about that, though) | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling (subscription), Mountain Bike Action (once) | | Bike Setup: | A beauty...and a beast. | | Bottom Line: | It's a great magazine-a little esoteric, especially if you are sick of commercial, mainstream, ad-magazines (you know who you are). I look forward to the in-depth articles about various trails around the country and the bike reviews, which they actually seem to ride before reviewing (notice the dirt on the tires and frame). It's definetly not about buying stuff, but about the joy of riding. Plus, the photos are of very high quality. Get a subscription to save money. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Walter
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: January 15, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Great Photos | | Weaknesses: | Vern Felton | | Bottom Line: | This has always been a great magazine to accompany MBA and other techie mags. You got your tech advice from those mags, and BIKE gave you great photos and info on places to ride.
Now, however, BIKE seems to be in trouble, because BIKE is trying new angles as fast as it can apparently to regain circulation, increasingly dropping trail articles for the 'tech' and 'new bikes/products for 2001' angles. They put Vern Felton in charge, who wrote at MountainBiker before its demise. Why they think Vern is a tech writer is beyond me. Some of the old articles in MountainBiker were so clueless it was funny, such as brief test rides of the latest Pro-Fix $3000 carbon fiber bikes and praising durability, failing to criticize the 'Shockster', and riding bikes too small for test riders, then blaming fit and handling on the bike design. BIKE now seems infatuated with $3000 gadget-tech, hardly fitting its old 'get out & enjoy' retrogrouch image. This apparent attempt to compete with MBA to regain circulation is doomed to failure. I think BIKE is not long for this world... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, Ca
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Jesusita | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Magazine stands | | Strengths: | The pictures, and the fact that the articles are all about the core ideas of mountian biking, they teach you what mtb is about | | Weaknesses: | Their reveiws on past bikes have really pissed me off. Example: their $7000 bike from AMP that looked ugly as hell and didn't even have an XTR rear derrailler. Also they could add in something about mechanics | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling, Mountian Biking you should try these before Bike the articles aren't as well written but they help with mechanics and cater to the average rider | | Bike Setup: | whatever | | Bottom Line: | Bike is good but you should try Mountian Bike or Bicycling first, they are much better when it comes to all aspects of biking, plus I love Style Man, Hug the Bunny, and Zap | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary
a Weekend Warrior
from Neptune
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | none | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Photos | | Weaknesses: | Everything else. | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling, Mtn. Bike | | Bike Setup: | Fisher Price | | Bottom Line: | Every time I pick up this magazine, I feel like I'm picking up a comic book: just a bunch of photos and two-sentence articles. Don't even bother with this lame piece of garbage. I think MTBR should give the option of zero chilies b/c this surely deserves it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob VonMoss
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago, IL, USA
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | 20 mile one way commute to work | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | got in the mail | | Strengths: | scenic pictures, steam roller pics, variety of pics, trips in foreign countries, Iditasport coverage | | Weaknesses: | articles are almost totally vacuous. on the juvenile side. not worth spending money on | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling, VeloNews | | Bike Setup: | Gunnar Crosshairs, drop bars, Ultegra, | | Bottom Line: | a few interesting features and pics. Definitely not worth actually spending money on. The classic picture was the "Una-bombing" of a guy on a cruiser who looked like Ted Kaczynski.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Weekend Warrior
from Kingston, PA USof A
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Downhill and Fast | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$399.00 | | Purchased At: | Local News Stand | | Strengths: | Photos | | Weaknesses: | articles , feature stories, reviews, writers, commentaries,Too many photos, and
too many others too mention ! | | Similar Products Used: | Mt. Bike, MBA, etc. etc. | | Bike Setup: | 1996 GT LTS-1 Tricked Out ! | | Bottom Line: | Like the dude below said " A RAG ! " Some publications get rid of their garbage by printing it ! This certainly is true in this case. The writers write like they just finished smoking crack and are tripping out ! Wise up fellas and maybe someday you'll be in the class of M.B.Action Mag. or Mountain Bike.True Mt Bike pubs ! I wish I was allowed by this site to give you even a lower rating, 1/1 chili you freaks of the mag world. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan Sandstone
a Racer
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | 700 park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Pictures | | Weaknesses: | pictures | | Similar Products Used: | bicycling, mountain bike | | Bike Setup: | the fastest lightest bike on the planet! | | Bottom Line: | This rag is just that...a rag! No informative information. Just alot of pictures and worthless articles by a bunch of dreamers not riders! Don't waste your money! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane
a Racer
from Marietta Ga
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Nice pictures, Good articles. Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Not a lot of tips. | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike | | Bike Setup: | Does it matter? | | Bottom Line: | This is a good magazine if you are looking for a magazine just to read, not learn anything. It has weel writen articles, and realy nice pictures. At $10 a year it is a great price aswell | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adam
a Weekend Warrior
from Hastings, Nebraska, USA
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | all of em | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | pictures and creativity in stories | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling, Mountain Biker | | Bottom Line: | this magazine rocks the house!! In any other magazine I have looked at, all's I've seen in them is product reviews. Bike has awesome, hilarious stories about all kinds of rides all over the world. And the pictures! the pictures! I can't even begin to explain the greatness and creativity in the pictures. This magazine will make you want to get off your butt and ride the bike you've got, instead of spending several grand on a new bike. Buy this magazine if you are looking for something to get you all hyped up!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gavin Ralbag
a Weekend Warrior
from Gilbertsville, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | My Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike, Mountain Biker, Bicycle, | | Bottom Line: | I doon't get why people get so damn angry when bike puts ads in the magazine. EVERY 'zine in the world has an ad in it who the hell cares walk down the street ads surf the net ads there are ads everywhere maybe you should lock yourself up in a closet that way there will be no more ads to huant you look at your bike it's on big ad. Did you buy a huffy? No I don't think so why? becuase of ads what prompted you to buy the lightspeed or the voodoo or the marin or any other kind becuase there were ads.
I love the mag I think it rocks I love all the stories on different places (I'm goimng to Bolivia becuase of it) I don't care for the product reviews but that's just me and you know what those product reviews are what make those guys work w/out them they wouldn't come on how would you like to test out Top of the line equpiment brand new all the time i'm sure you would the pictures are great the only problem I have are the subscription cards on pictures sort of ruins it. Other than that I love the 'zine and since I have yet to pay for it I will continue to love it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chad
a Cross Country Rider
from woodstock nb
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | mega super happy fun trail | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | photos | | Weaknesses: | too many people that would kill to be sponsered whining about ads | | Similar Products Used: | other mountain bike magazines | | Bike Setup: | two wheels gears pedals to make it go and a seat for sitting | | Bottom Line: | for my 5 bucks when im stuck indoors in the middle of winter id rather be reading aboutsome one elses kick ass ride in costa rica than "to gel or not to gel-when to use energy gels"
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
carlos
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, Texas
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Hill Country Natural Area | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Writers like Mike Ferrentino, Steve Cassimiro, Jaquie Phelan, Rob Reed, Rob Story, Keith Carlsen, Vernon Felton, Dan Koeppel.
Photographers like Bob Allen, Scott Markewitz, John Gibson, Dave Heath, Skip Brown, Greg Adams, Jamie Bloomquist. | | Weaknesses: | It's starting to look like those other teeny-bopper mags like Mountain Bike Fiction, Mountain Biking, Mountain Bike, Montain Biker.
The reviews no longer include the frame weights and geometry of the bike being reviewed.
| | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Bike (used to be good)
Whatever I'd thumb through at the news stand. | | Bike Setup: | Litespeed Obed......Ti rules! | | Bottom Line: | First of all I'd like to send out a big "thank you" to Petersen Publishing for taking one of the finest mags out there and generation x-ing it into the toilet. I realize the folks at Bike have to eat and can't just take off so I, personally, blame Petersen and Petersen alone.
The columns, as always, are great. The photos are beyond great. The features, though, are gettin' short.
The March 2000 issue had a bunch of short, useless, descriptions of bike parts and bikes that was supposed to be "a guide to what's sitting on the floor of your local bike shop." I KNOW. I've been there.
The May 2000 cover looked like an ad for Specialized.
The best issues I can remember were The Dark Issue (October 1997) and The Singletrack Issue (April 1998). If you have either of these two, you know what I'm talking about.
Change is good, but then again, change brought about SID.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Dolezalek
a Weekend Warrior
from Aurora CO USA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Waterton Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Great pictures, better-than-average writing | | Weaknesses: | Not many--a little too much stuff on the mountain biking community, and sometimes a few too many personality profiles on MTB personalities I'm really not all that interested in. This is a small gripe tho.... | | Similar Products Used: | Bicycling, MTB Action | | Bike Setup: | '96 Trek Y-22, stock but for Marzocchi Z2 Atom 80s up front, Specialized Airwave helmet, Specialized Comp shoes and gloves | | Bottom Line: | I think this is the magazine that can most be counted on by the mountain bike community on a month-to-month basis for good stories, good bike reviews and excellent photography. Bicycling, the other major bike mag, is too road-bike-centric IMHO (although if I had a good road bike, I might not have a problem with this :)), and Mountain Bike Action (at least the two or three I've read) has godawful copy that sometimes sounds like it's right out of the marketing brochure for whatever product they're writing about.
I myself am mainly interested in bike reviews; any articles on people or trails would only be of interest if the people or trails were local, but as has been stated above in other review, bike mags seem to concentrate on California, Washington, and British Columbia, with little info from any other localities. Bike always has three or four good review per month, along with their buying guide.
Bottom line: I'd never subscribe to any MTB mag, not knowing whether a given issue will have enough good stuff in it to justify the cost, but when I'm at a newsstand, I always at least thumb through Bike to see what it has that month. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bike Master Mike
a Racer
from Canton, MI
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Great Pics
Some good articles
SWEET subscription rates | | Similar Products Used: | Most | | Bottom Line: | This mag is great when it comes to pics. They had a few poster inserts, and you can never have enough MTB related posters!
The current issue had an article about a 24 hour race. I hate reading about racing, but the article was pretty sweet. Well written.
10% of the pages of any bike mag should be reader letters.
I think I paid $11.97 for a 2 year subscription!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
E Fergie
a
from Croton NY
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Photos. It was once a good mag. | | Weaknesses: | Peterson bought the magazine a few months back, and now it SUCKS! All Ads! It's now about what to buy, and image, and not about riding. | | Similar Products Used: | Almost every other mag out there.
Dirt Rag is good, as is Observed Trials Magazine, The UK mags like DIRT and Mountain Biker international are great. | | Bottom Line: | This was once the best bike mag around, sadly Peterson ruined it. Now it's all BS ads disguised as product reviews. The editors are all sucking off big name corporations, and the writing has gone to hell. The bike reviews are not only biased, but they don't even contain basic information. A few months back, they reviewed single- speed frame sets (that are not sold as complete bikes) BIKE gave the weight of the complete bikes, but not the geometry or frame weights.
The magazine has the power and resources to go anywhere in the world and do things most others could not. But what is the theme for the bike reviews? Guys dressed up in gorilla suits, steamrollers, jackhammers, and crappy trucks wrecking old beater bikes. WOW the editors are really earning all that money the ads make. What a bunch of geniuses!
BIKE is now just a series of ads, biased product reviews and crapy articles designed to make you think your not cool unless you buy all the latest gear and cloths. BIKE is no longer a MTB magazine, it's a PRODUCT magazine that has nothing to do with riding, and everything to do with spending money.
When I started getting bike the subscriptions were about $20 a year, and it was worth it. Now its $10 bucks, which is about $10 too much.
PS When my subscription was running out BIKE kept offering me a renewal for $15, even when all the offers in the mag were for only $10. I guess they thought their loyal subscribers were a bunch of morons!
Don't prove BIKE right. Don't re-subscribe, don't subscribe, and DON'T BUY BIKE!
If I can't give BIKE Zero chili's then I can at least give them a heartfelt F-You! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Allen
a Cross Country Rider
from Amarillo, Texas
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Better than nothing | | Weaknesses: | Compares favorably to the American competition | | Similar Products Used: | MBA. Mountain Bike, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Schwinn Homegrown Factory | | Bottom Line: | All American mags review high dollar, unaffordable-for-the-masses rides. The fantasy factors are high, but reality factors are pretty low. Read some of the U.K. mags and you'll see why they score higher on the ratings depicted on the main page of this category. I fail to see why we can't have the same overall quality and be able to stick a "Made in the U.S.A." sticker on it. I think some of the editors and/or writers forget what real bicycling is all about...having a good time with friends...not comparing prices. Unfortunately, the corporate bottom line probably guides the line of review/thought. Still...any bike mag is better than no bike mag. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matt white
a Racer
from fl
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | great pictures | | Weaknesses: | never have been to or ever will probably go to any of the above mention picture sights
poorly written articles | | Similar Products Used: | all of em | | Bottom Line: | Why must their writers use words that make a fun sport sound like a masters thesis? They use a dollar word when you can say the same thing for a nickel. Biking is recreational, a sport, and healthy, but it does not have a soul that so many seem to write about. Also, I don't live in Washington state or Vancuver, but this seems to be the only place picure worthy to the editors. The south ain't great, but there are some breath taking shots here too. This magazine is the perfect solution for the yuppie architect who wants to impress people with variety on his coffee table. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adam Smith
a Weekend Warrior
from Halifax, NS
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: |
Wrandees | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Pictures | | Weaknesses: |
only comes once a month
recently purchased by peterson publications | | Similar Products Used: |
any thing I can get my hands on | | Bottom Line: | This mag has soul, it dosn't just review products or trails, or give cheesy how to articles. It dives into the essence of the sport, real rides. It is not afraid to do a story on something that is not the norm. By far this is one of the best mags out there (along with dirt rag). Now if they only had Zap | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dr. Octagon
a Cross-Country Rider
from Jupiter
Date Reviewed: November 9, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
East coast, dad | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Ferrentino
Story
Teasdale
No Zap
Photos | | Weaknesses: |
Jacquie (?!!) Phelan, but that's okay
Occasional blurry photos (art?) | | Similar Products Used: |
All | | Bike Setup: |
Voodoo steel, Z2 | | Bottom Line: | 99 photo annual proves BIKE is still the best. I don't know how anyone can consider Mountain Bike a good magazine - whenever I buy it I feel dirty afterwards, like I just went to a prostitute. BIKE represents everything good about this sport. They even did a record review of Up on the Sun, for chrissakes. It got a little corporate after being bought out by the Big Guys, but then I looked in the photo section and saw one of the photographers credited as 'Ilja Herb.' What's that smell coming out of the coffee room? BIKE rules, thank you. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rick chittick
a Racer
from littleton, co
Date Reviewed: October 15, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
it's somewhere near there. | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
it has more reviews than all the other magazines on this site put together. | | Weaknesses: |
every issue during the summer of '99 looked exactly the same. | | Similar Products Used: |
crack, butt crack, tooth crack, sidewalk crack. haven't tried frame crack yet. | | Bike Setup: |
soki tastes like sh*t. | | Bottom Line: | i give them five chili's. primarily to kiss their asses so they'll print some of the pictures i've submitted over the last three years so that i can make money to pay for my new camera. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jeff
a Cross-Country Rider
from ct
Date Reviewed: October 6, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
jb williams state park | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
pictures were dope | | Weaknesses: |
everything but pictures editorials make no sense | | Similar Products Used: |
all the othewrs | | Bottom Line: | mag is pretty bad...im stickin with the rag | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Thomas Aden
a Weekend Warrior
from Pleasant Dale NE
Date Reviewed: September 23, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Niobrahra State Park | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Pictures | | Weaknesses: |
Everything else | | Similar Products Used: |
Moutian Biker | | Bottom Line: | These magazine is totaly worthless. It has nothing practical that you can actually use, and all of the responses to the letters are really rude, and it sounds like most of the editors are real jerks. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross-Country Rider
from Aptos,CA
Date Reviewed: September 4, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
great picturesall other american mt biking magazines suck | | Weaknesses: |
phelans articles
half the other articles | | Similar Products Used: |
all of the other magazines including some from england and japan | | Bike Setup: |
bontrager race-lite | | Bottom Line: | the magazine used to be awesome about 3 years ago and has kind of gone downhill. you can get a subscription for 12 bucks! most of the writers think they are cool but they are a bunch of idiots. it has the best pictures for a usa mag.
how much does ferrentino get paid? this internet thing is kind of boring | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin
a Cross-Country Rider
from Woodstock, GA
Date Reviewed: August 22, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Carter's Lake | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Awesome Pictures!! Sometimes good articles | | Similar Products Used: |
Mountain Bike, Mountain Biker, Maximum Mountain Bike, Bicycling, etc. | | Bottom Line: | This magazine has the best pics of all!! Usually though, the articles are fairly boring | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marcus Harvey
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: August 19, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
China Camp | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Great images! Perhaps they should perforate the pages like those cooking magazines for easy tear out. | | Weaknesses: |
Poor content, no web site. | | Similar Products Used: |
Mountain Bike Magazine | | Bike Setup: |
Bed, reading lamp, two pillows. | | Bottom Line: | Buy it for the pictures and quit complaining. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rosebud
a Weekend Warrior
from Garden
Date Reviewed: August 13, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
anything dirt | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Pictures, new stuff | | Weaknesses: |
writers | | Similar Products Used: |
all mags | | Bike Setup: |
fisher | | Bottom Line: | Awesome pictures! No significant editorial contribution. The feature departments - Spun, Pump, Grimy Handshake, etc. read like a bunch of hipsters dufuses having crystal meth flashbacks - too many analogies and euphoric, be one with the earth. Come share my power crystal with me because I ride a $5,000 bike and am drunk most of the time, hence I am an expert. Please, melodramatic reigns supreme at Petersen. I can also relate to buying $150 sunglasses, $145 custom helmet, $70 shorts, $50 shirt, $20 socks $20 gloves and a beautiful $60 parka for tearing around in the mud all afternoon - | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Drew Caplan
a Cross-Country Rider
from Morriston, Ontario
Date Reviewed: August 1, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
3 Stages at Blue Mountain | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Cool Pics, Good reviews, awsome rating system. | | Weaknesses: |
Can't think of any | | Similar Products Used: |
MTB Action | | Bottom Line: | Awsome Magazine | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rudy
a Cross-Country Rider
from albuquerque
Date Reviewed: July 20, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
awesome pictures best of any mag | | Weaknesses: |
poor reviews | | Similar Products Used: |
all | | Bike Setup: |
moots | | Bottom Line: | excellent pics, but average reviews and stories | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Eastwood
a Weekend Warrior
from Prince Rupert BC
Date Reviewed: July 19, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Good pictures, and reviews of new prouducts. | | Weaknesses: |
No Magazine is going to have everey thing you want in it got it. | | Similar Products Used: |
Mountain biks action
Mountain bike
bicycling | | Bike Setup: |
Norco sasguatch inndy c stx | | Bottom Line: | A verey good mag i like a lot got it. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rob
a Weekend Warrior
from sorta burr ridge, IL
Date Reviewed: July 4, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
palos | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
its okay, cause i got it for free | | Weaknesses: |
lousey stories, cheezy reviews | | Bottom Line: | they had better pray i dont run outta s*it paper in the bathroon, cause they are first in line---two stars cause its free!!!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Cross-Country Rider
from Brookfield, WI
Date Reviewed: June 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
None | | Weaknesses: |
Horrible articles
Worthless content
Scary layout | | Similar Products Used: |
Mountain Biker
Bicycling
Mountain Bike Action | | Bottom Line: | I never thought there would be a mtb mag I could not stand. This magazine is a quick read since it lacks anything interesting. And they should keep politics of of the magazine. I cancelled my subscription even though it was free (due to a marketing companies error). | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trey
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston
Date Reviewed: June 19, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
still looking | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Great photos and articles about riding | | Weaknesses: |
nothing that I can relate too locally | | Similar Products Used: |
Moutain Bike Action, Moutain Biker | | Bottom Line: | I really like this magazine, well atleast better than any so far. The photography is great, articles are interesting and I get to atleast read about places I dream of riding. The only problem is that no magazine so far writes any atricles about any place but California, Utah or BC. SOmetimes some Colorado is thrown in, but there are really some great plces to ride all over the US. Heck even in Texas. Maybe some time I could see an article about riding in Big Bend area. Check it out! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross-Country Rider
from Anchorage, AK
Date Reviewed: June 19, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Similar Products Used: |
All the others | | Bottom Line: | I've read BIKE since its debut issue, and no, the folks there don't do everything perfectly. But it's still the best mountain bike magazine on the market. I'm no happier than anyone else about Surfer Publications selling BIKE to Petersen Publishing but several issues later, its character is intact. This is the only magazine that covers mountain biking as a passion and a lifestyle rather than a means of consumerism and technology infatuation. Some articles miss the mark, but most are better written and more imaginative than what you'll find in the competition. If you're looking for loads of product reviews, race coverage and silly articles with lots of references to gnarly, dude and radical, you should look elsewhere (though such drivel slips in from time to time). This magazine openly targets readers who have a simple, pure love affair with riding bikes. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nikko Lubinski
a Weekend Warrior
from Rocklin, Ca
Date Reviewed: June 12, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Anything around | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
pics | | Weaknesses: |
too many pics, editorials, stories | | Similar Products Used: |
Mba, Mountain biker, Montain bike magazine | | Bottom Line: | This is the crapiest magazine i have ever read even after Mountain biking. All there is are pictures for posers to drool over. The stories are mind numbing and seem to have no relavance to anything about mountain biking. The reviews are some of the worst I've seen. The only reason that I read it was because of my subscription being switched from mountain biker.
I don't know who could like this.
I'd give it a zero if i could | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike
a Cross-Country Rider
from memphis
Date Reviewed: June 11, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
bartlett park(a.k.a. stanky creek) | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
excellent photography, a few good writers left. | | Weaknesses: |
Peterson Publishing SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! | | Similar Products Used: |
every bike mag in the states | | Bottom Line: | as every one has noticed the mag has suffered a sharp decline in quality jornalism (if you can even call it that any more) after their purchase by Peterson. They are also the same people who dumped Surfer and Bicyclist. do your self a favor and cancel your subscription now and maybe these money hungry parisites will get the picture that we want our old BIKE back. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Torsten
a Weekend Warrior
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: June 7, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Great writing, great pictures, good mix of articles | | Weaknesses: |
Unreliable subscription department | | Similar Products Used: |
MBA, Mountain Biker,Dirt Rag, a few UK and German magazines | | Bike Setup: |
I don't usually read while I'm riding. | | Bottom Line: | I usually get bored with a magzine after about a year or so. They all tend to become repetitive. This one's a real exception. Witty style, good editiorial mix and the right attitude. They just haven't sent me a copy for about three months. Someone in their subscription department needs a good kicking I guess. Still I give them the full whack of chillies. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
graeme kluge
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria BC
Date Reviewed: June 6, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Snakes 'n Ladders | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Lots of extreme shots of insane mountain biking and some very cool point of wiew articles. | | Weaknesses: |
Change of publisher in '99 resulting in more ads and a less grass roots feel. | | Similar Products Used: |
All availible mags. | | Bottom Line: | Despite the mag's turnover in publishing responsiblities and the subsequent updated corporate feel, whcih shins through in an increase in mail order ads, this magazine is still a worthwhile read. Its embracement of the importance of the weekend warrior is refreshing and encouraging. Overall an excellent publication. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Travis
a Weekend Warrior
from Nanaimo, B.C.
Date Reviewed: May 31, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Great mag | | Weaknesses: |
not enough bike tests | | Bottom Line: | Great mag with lots of CANADIANS!!!!!!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Racer
from Wisconsin
Date Reviewed: May 23, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Bottom Line: | There are not enough words to describe how disgusted I am with BIKE's make-over as an EXTREME magazine. They used be about everything that was good about mountain biking, now they're just like every other mainstream mag...lots of glitz, no substance. If you ever wonder why more and more trails are being closed you can blame this whole EXTREME philosophy. Mention mountain biking to many land managers and all they can think of is some EXTEME biker they saw on a Mountain Dew commercial. If I were them I wouldn't want bikers around either. Not only is this whole EXTREME philosophy stupid and disrespectful to real cyclists, its just plain IRRESPONSIBLE!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
M. Gates
a Cross-Country Rider
from Powell, TN
Date Reviewed: May 23, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Virginia Creeper | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
great photos in the buzz section, decent articles | | Weaknesses: |
way too many ads, not enough articles | | Bike Setup: |
'97 Trek 6500 | | Bottom Line: | I got a free year of Bike when I filled out some survey on a website. I will say that there are way too many ads, but that is true with any popular magazine, and that's how the mags make money. There are some killer photos in the buzz section, and what few articles there are are interesting to read. I was expecting a little more, but I can't complain; it was free. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
spud
a Cross-Country Rider
from fonthill
Date Reviewed: April 16, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Bottom Line: | okay,allthe other mag's can kiss my ass. bikes latest issue is thre best yet. this is the only mag that caters to us extreme riders. and if you've seen the front page of mountain bike magazine,whats up with the fake g.ay guy riding abike??? oh andb the way the pictures are killer | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: April 16, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Snow Summit// Andersons Trail, Alpine | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
great photos | | Weaknesses: |
not as good as Mountain Biker which it replaced. | | Similar Products Used: |
All | | Bottom Line: | I was very suprised when an issue of Bike showed up in the mail. When I didn't get a single issue of Mountain Biker for a few months I did some checking and found out Peterson Publishing (sucks _ _ _ ) did away with my favorite magazine. WITHOUT letting it's subscribers know they just replaced it with Bike. They didn't give us any options of trying Bike or cancelling the remainder of the Mountain Biker subscription. I tried contacting Peterson by both phone and email without a single response. I have since cancelled my Bike subscription. Not so much due to the mag itself but because Peter Publishing is crap! Overall Bike is a decent magazine but not what I want to pay for. And thats my two cents worth. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Salmon
a Cross-Country Rider
from Boise, Idaho
Date Reviewed: April 13, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
trail? | | Duration Product Used: |
tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: |
-Glossy
-Better than sex | | Weaknesses: |
-Not Glossy enough
-Has become a replacement to sex. | | Similar Products Used: |
MBA
Mountain Bike
Dirt Rag
Your mom | | Bottom Line: | This is one bad ass magazine...oops, I mean rag. This magazine has killer photos, good columns (eat hell zap) And they review things that you don't have to be the CEO of their publishing company to afford. This maga...rag makes me want to try new things on my bike. If Peterson or whoever bought this rag out changes it though, I'll give him a beating so severe that he'll pray for his own death (I'll cancel my subscription too) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pa Cartwright
a Weekend Warrior
from ca
Date Reviewed: April 10, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
Great Pictures
Mike Ferrentino | | Similar Products Used: |
bicycing
MBA
Mountain Bike | | Bike Setup: |
My Couch | | Bottom Line: | I haven't seen that much of a change since the Peterson takeover. The travel/riding articles are
still great, which is why I read it anyway. It boils down to this. Reading Bike makes me want
to ride. Reading Mountain Bike or MBA reminds me
that I don't have the money to buy anything new and expensive. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will McKnight
a Cross-Country Rider
from Whitehouse,oh
Date Reviewed: April 9, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
still has some great pictures, occasional good article | | Weaknesses: |
going downhill faster than some of the X-treme riders they feature in photos | | Similar Products Used: |
all of them!!!!!!!!! | | Bottom Line: | mark me down as a non-renewal, I'll buy the photo annual off the news stand! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
seen
a Cross-Country Rider
from fonyhill
Date Reviewed: April 2, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Similar Products Used: |
mountainbike,it sucks its got about two real articles and the rest is car advertisments | | Bottom Line: | bike magazine rules,especially the pictures | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rod
a Weekend Warrior
from Calgary Canada
Date Reviewed: March 27, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Strengths: |
This is still the best mag out. It has changed alot in the last year, I wish it was the same as before. But it isn't it still has to make money, it can't be every thing to everyone! I just hope it doesn't chang much more. | | Bottom Line: | No mag out is evan close to Bike so we have to keep the faith. Hope in gets better. That is all we can do is hope. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Harry
a Cross-Country Rider
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: March 21, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Bottom Line: | Sad that Bike has changed so much in the last year. Used to be the Automobile magazine equivalent in MTB mags: paper quality was outstanding, amazing photography, and really offbeat, insightful articles. Not to say it was better-- I still needed to read MTB Action or Mountain Biking to get info on new gear or racing. However, Bike was different. Now the paper stock is poorer and it's trying to appeal to the general, free-rider out there. It is still a good mag, but it is selling out. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jackie Boy
a Weekend Warrior
from Mpls, MN
Date Reviewed: March 18, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Bottom Line: | I began receiving this rag only after my favorite rag (Bicyclist) was suddenly cancelled by Petersen Publishing. I enjoy the pictures, but the articles do not hold my interests as I'm not a RADICAL DUDE and dammit, most of these rides are not rides that the Average Joe would take. It seems Petersen is subscribing to the X-treme, Gen-X mindset these days which is ashame because that's not the case for most of us. I enjoy biking because it is fun and relaxing, period, not because it's the in thing. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Darrin Sharp
a cross-country rider
from Ft. Collins CO
Date Reviewed: March 9, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I have to agree with some of the other recent posters, in that I see a disturbing trend in the last few issues of BIKE. It used to have a low flash and glitter quotient, and would focus mostly on real-world riding (like most of us do, or would at least like to do). Product reviews were almost always for stuff I might actually buy, too. The last few issues seems to be moving towards the glam end of the spectrum though, with reviews of multi-thousand dollar bikes, and an increasing number of stories about rides/events that really don't hold much interest for me. I just renewed my subscription, but the jury is still out for me... Two years ago, definately 5 stars, now down to 3 :^( But still the best alternative out there.-Darrin Sharp | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rick Brusuelas
a weekend warrior
from
Date Reviewed: March 3, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Wow, early this year I wondered if _bike_ would soon review free ride
bikes, and lo and behold, the latest issue does. Add in the product
review sections (sunglasses, backpacks, yada yada) and gee, why not
just charge advertising? About one good travel article (amazingly
enough, not about British Columbia), nice pictures, and some useful
stuff in Local Knowledge (though Mike F., you really need to get in
with some of the local advocacy organizations to fill in between
race notices ;-). | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a cross-country rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: March 2, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I agree with Mike of 1/30/99 This magazine was the shiznit when it first came out I bought a copy of the first issue and was in love again with the sport that seemed to me to be centered on nothing but racing and high tech advances. the first issues were about the heart of Mountain biking and what it was that really draws people to the sport. NOT anymore! The pictures are still the best but the writing has gone to shit. I didn't know that the management had changed until I read the other reviews in this list and now I know why this magazine has been turned into just another waste of money. I have no need to attempt to read the magazine and I stopped reading it a long time ago. I've never subscribed but I know that I never will as long as they continue to put out this filth.The BIKE magazine of today is a far cry from what it was when it was born. Get a clue guys. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike
a cross-country rider
from memphis
Date Reviewed: March 2, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I have been an avid reader of BIKE for several years this was at one time.... the only mag I could turn to on a rainy day when I could not get out to ride and still get my fix. Now it is another piece of publishing trash. I give a 5 star mag 2 stars for keeping the photo section and some of the super cool writers but you can tell the rest of the publishing giant to lick my freeriding seat post clean because I have canceled my subscription and told all my friend to do the same. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Don P
a racer
from Carlisle, PA
Date Reviewed: February 28, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I don't know why I'm offering my opinion here, maybe to add to the current sentiment in the hopes that someone from BIKE is actually paying attention. I used to love BIKE magazine because it had soul, Mike Ferrentino, and photos that made me want to go ride no matter what it was like outside. Product reviews felt like they were written by real riders with opinions that weren't watered down by fear of offending the big corporations. But since the magazine has changed management, I sense a change in the magazine's focus and general feel; the last issue especially had me feeling like I was reading a clone of MOUNTAIN BIKE magazine (I hate that magazine's reviews and writing style - there's an attitude there, but I'm not sure what the hell they're trying to convey). Anyway, as I understand it, BIKE is now published by Peterson, and seems to have changed already. Other than Dirt Rag, it was the only remaining mountain bike magazine that had soul and didn't march to a corporate drummer. I hope BIKE can re-capture its lost soul; the photos and the writing of Story and Ferrentino may not be enough. Easily 5 chilies a few months ago, now a tentative 4. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jay
a cross-country rider
from on, canada
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I stopped reading Bike after the embarassing FUNK issue (the one shown). But after reading many old issues over and over again i picked up a new copy. I always liked Bike for the trip articles (I'd rather dream about trips I can't afford rather than products I can't afford-MBA). I also enjoyed the passinate writing about the sport I loved, and product reviews that seemed to be written with no concern for advertisers, rather on what worked.
I found the new issue flashy, and containing good content But alot smaller and the articles alot shorter- like it was a pamphlet for a real magazine, or Bike for people with short attention spans. Something I would read, but not something I would soon again purchase. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a weekend warrior
from Jacksonville Florida
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I have been reading BIKE since the very first issue and think it is the best MB Mag of the bunch - in fact its a great magazine PERIOD. The writing is excellent (Story and Ferrentino, especially) and far better than the others. The pics ? My god, the pics. Sigh. The technical advice - ahhh who CARES. When I read this magazine I want to RIDE RIDE RIDE !! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
nh dude
a cross-country rider
from newhampshire
Date Reviewed: February 15, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
this mag is a hell of alot better then Mountain Bike
they dont reivew freaking 2500$4 22lb x crountries that would snap any where else but so cal
they like the north shore but it is interesting
they ride for fun and x country dont means shit to them just riding does and that is what i do
even though i intend to race my stump this year it is still good | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fast Eddy
a racer
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: February 15, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Great pictures but a little preachy. One thing about this magazine is that you will want to hop in your car and travel to all of the locations that appear in each issue. One thing though, it seems like the Vancouver B.C. Chamber of Commerce is a paid advertiser. They mention B.C. several times each issue. All in all, though, a very decent mag. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom King
a cross-country rider
from Moreno Valley, CA
Date Reviewed: February 15, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Bike has always had the best pictures,and although their columnists can be whiny at times, they are still far more tolerable than Zap and his cronies at some other mag. Now that they have aquired my favorite (mountain Biker) they now have actual technical reviews. 4 stars for great photos, and a revamped tech perspective. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RM
a cross-country rider
from North Carolina
Date Reviewed: February 14, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Good magazine w/great photos & travel stories. Maybe a bit more reviews and
damn cut back on the subscription inserts and I'd give it 5 chilis, til then only 4. Best bike mag put out. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
STILL-DIZZY
a cross-country rider
from Bay Area, California
Date Reviewed: February 4, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I recently purchased the Photo Annual 98
issue. I never knew photographers take
notice of mountain bikers. The articles are
a great entertainment and informative, but
I wish Bike magazine cut out every advertisement
for their publication. Instead for each issue
a separate mag would come free with every
Bike Magazine each month and both would be
wrapped in a plastic bag. That way shoppers
would be happy reading the advertisements
and the rest of us enjoying reading about
people's journey across the Sahara Desert.
This guy gets 5 chillies for keeping
giving me literature that I can relate
to my biking experience in real life. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh McKean
a weekend warrior
from Upstate NY
Date Reviewed: February 3, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I think it's alright. I only got four issues of Mounain Biker before the buy-out, so I don't have much to compare it to. I think it needs more tech articles and product reviews instead of touchy-feely lifestyle stories. It also needs more mail-order ads, even though this is against there go to your local shop instead policy. Well, if my local shop sold '97 Indy XC's for $90, you betcherass I would. But they don't, so I need mail-order companies that can afford to take a killing now and then. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Styron
a cross-country rider
from Branson, MO
Date Reviewed: January 29, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
After two issues of Petersenization, I have to say I have mixed emotions about it. The magazine is about half as thick as it used to be. They aren't even 100 pages anymore. This upsets me. And what the Hell ever happened to Steve Casimiro? I loved his articles, and it appears his presence has been exterminated. That pisses me off. Please see my review a little farther down for much more complete opinion. Please Email me if you have an opinion you would like to state about my reviews, an answer to a question or a snide remark to make. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a cross-country rider
from paradise,mi
Date Reviewed: January 24, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Gee Brian H (Below) ..Thanks for your trenchant commentary on your concerns about Bike Magazine and its new owners.Its humorous to see so many future Young Republicans writing in about their concerns about the changes in this magazine...
Changes can be good.....Mountainbiker is gone...thats good because it was a horrible magazine with very little substance..
I thought the most recent issue of Bike Magazine was excellent..the article on front suspension forks was informative and unbiased..the best product review i have ever seen...And after reading about them Moab boys i was all set to quit my corporate job with Big Brother and go swing some wrenches......move into that triangle house.....maybe not....
I think the real concern with Peterson buying out Bike is that it will become a clone of other mountain bike magazines...with everbody writing about the same thing...I hope this does not happen ...Bike was good before and perhaps its new owners can make it better...Give it a chance...
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Styron
a cross-country rider
from Branson, MO
Date Reviewed: January 24, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I love this magazine. It is one of the few, the proud, the magazines formerly published by Surfer. This and Powder, a skiing magazine with a lot of the same editors and the same spirit, rank among my favorite magazines ever (up there with Outside, Dirt Rag, and whatever porn I could get my grubby 16 year-old hands on). It cateres to the hardcore crosscountry set who can appreciate good writing. It is good enough that even people who don't ride can read it and enjoy it. Some of us folk who don't take part in the label (word that rhymes with more... i am being censered by mtbr)ism rampant in those other mags who will not remain nameless like to read about riding as opposed to spending all our time working to pay off the loan from the bank necessary to XTR out your dh bike and buy lift tickets. I don't have a problem with dh, but dang, the best riding is out of chairift territory. I keep Bike in my bedroom and Mountain Bike in my bathroom. I stay up at night reading bike, and I wipe with mountain bike. Actually I don't, but i might as well. Mountain bike has had a few saving graces, such as an old article about riding in daniel boone national forest, and they talked about riding a Brew painted up like the general lee. OH MY GOD!! A handmade steel frame in mountain bike! Also, every once in a while Zap says something worth hearing, but it is too far back to remember any of it. Bike's unique touch has added a nice feel to the product reviews and off-road tests, and when i first saw them test a DeKerf i almost shit my pants. I love all the different locations in bike. no other magazine travels so much and has articles so comprehensive on the places to ride, the trails to ride, and the shops to got to. And they do it in astonishingly creative ways, too. One of my favorite articles is one about montana where they have the type set all funky like a fault in the sandstone that was prevalent in the mountains of the aforementioned state. This summer, i even saw an article about my riding area. pictures, in an internationally distributed mountain bike magazine, not to mention my favorite, of my trails, really took me aback. However, even Bike has its detractors. One would be the infamous Peterson World Order, to use M.F.'s words. Another would be the full suspension tests found in an issue earlier this year. While I appreciated reading a review on the sunn, and especially the dekerf (i have a... thing... for dekerfs) i wouldn't go do far as to call them full suspension. And I, like so many before me, am going to piss and moan about Jacquie Phelan's(or however you spell it) columns. People really do get sick of hearing out all the injustices women face on the trail. Any stereotype has a reason for being, but i wouldn't say there is a bias against women in mountain biking. And if there is, there is a reason for it. I, personally, would like to see the trails populated by women bikers, for my own reasons (which are fairly apparent.) In one column she talks about how the race officials didn't like the loud mouthed womean screaming at them. She should win an award for that one. Is it because she is a woman? No. it is because of a string of adjectives in front that she herself put into print. However, even that peice of editorial junk was offset by another, this time by Rob Story, about women in sportsbras. Thaks, Rob. That sent my sides a' splittin'. BTW, if anyone knows what town in missouri he lived in, i would like to know it.People are always complaining about the excess of Canadians in the magazine. SHUT UP!!! They wouldn't be in there if there weren't a good reason for it, like it makes a good story, or great pictures. Which brings me to another point. The pictures are the best i have seen anywhere, as stated on the cover of the latest Photo Annual. People also occaisonally whine about being offended by the mag. You are only offended if you chose to be, people. And if teh magazine turns to trendy and trashy, I am going to be offended and change Mike Ferrentino's plan to firebomb Richie Schley or whomever it was and firebomb Peterson. In mounatin bike magazine iin the editor's predictions it sayed bike would cease to exist or something like that. At first i attributed it to them being jealous of having an inferior mag but now i see a glimmer of reality in the statement. It better not change. If anybody has an opinion about my review, or any questions for some obscure reason, please let me have it at CMntyBurns@aol.com. thank you.5 flaming dead horses. (who need's 'em, when you got a bike?) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Thako Harris
a cross-country rider
from Minneapolis, Mn
Date Reviewed: January 9, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Bike magazine used to be cool. That's all there is to it. Already you can see the direction they're going for...Mountain Bike Action ie the worst of the business. The paper is thinner, and already they are going for product product product. I mean what the phuk? Like the guy said below, catalogs with text. Nothing good seems to last. Hopefully Dirt Rag will be able to resist the rampant corporate mergers and takeovers so prevalent everywhere. Doesn't anybody see that when you get bought your vision gets destroyed or at least watered down into redundancy? It's amazing to see that from one issue to the next things went from good to lame lame lame. Even the editorial comments...Suffice it to say that on a scale of Dirt Rag to MBA Bike used to be one cut behind DR. Now its fast moving on MB and may pass on to the likes of MBA.
Used to be 4 Chillis with DR being 5. Now no more than 3 | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
The McFook
a cross-country rider
from Boston
Date Reviewed: January 8, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I was a huge fan of the pre-Petersen days, now I'm not to sure. The reason I liked Bike so much was that it was like hanging out with your bros at the LBS after an epic ride. Who needs another MBA? I read those other magazines at the news stand sometimes, but I never buy them. Like the world needs more coverage of Palmer and Giove in hockey pads banging moons after they do some weak-ass downhill somewhere, or articles like the new products Shimano needs to build. I could care less about the latest doohickey or superbike, all of those overhyped catalogs-with-text will probably get crushed by Web sites anyway. You want to read product reviews and see pictures of Interbike? MTBR.COM is free! Why buy some mad slapper techno porn rag?I was always into the travel articles, regional profiles, and anything by Ferrentino and Story. Rituals and why we have them, Burning Man, even the Funk issue was the Balls. The pictures in Buzz got me totally pumped. I wonder how '99s Photo Annual is going to look on that crappy paper. The editors of Bike should remember that all of the clowns who are into bikes 'cause it's the latest thing will get tired of it soon enough. Just like they got tired of windsurfing, hangliding, rockclimbing, etc. Then there will be less interest in the Freeride craze and all of the merchandizing that went with it. When that happens, there will still be Dirt Rag, and maybe Bike.It's about riding bikes, not buying them.Used to be 5 red turds, now only 3.
| | Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$ 3.99
