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Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Little RockDate Reviewed: August 3, 2006
Strengths: Cover has a good layoutWeaknesses: Continues to descend ever deeper into the realm of irrelvencyBottom Line: This used to be a good magazine. Then it became a supplement to Bicycling, and was still good but less content. Then it just started to re-write the articles in Bicycling. Now it's mainly just a collection of advertisements disguised as articles and the substance of the articles are just about as useless as you can get. The cover article on the last issue was o.k. Takes about 5 seconds to read the whole magazine cover to cover. Only reason to get it now is because it comes with your Bicycling subsription.
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$3.00
Purchased At: Subscription
Similar Products Used: Bunches
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Blur XT
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Little RockDate Reviewed: August 3, 2006
Strengths: Cover has a good layoutWeaknesses: Continues to descend ever deeper into the realm of irrelvencyBottom Line: This used to be a good magazine. Then it became a supplement to Bicycling, and was still good but less content. Then it just started to re-write the articles in Bicycling. Now it's mainly just a collection of advertisements disguised as articles and the substance of the articles are just about as useless as you can get. The cover article on the last issue was o.k. Takes about 5 seconds to read the whole magazine cover to cover. Only reason to get it now is because it comes with your Bicycling subsription.
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$3.00
Purchased At: Subscription
Similar Products Used: Bunches
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Blur XT
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Kerecz
a Cross Country Rider
from Bethlehem, PADate Reviewed: November 4, 2005
Strengths: Occasional good in-depth storyWeaknesses: Reviews are only for bikes costing several thousand dollars, not information most bikers will EVER use!Bottom Line: This magazine is given away for free is you subscribe to Bicycling. If something is essentially given away, I think that alone speaks to its true value.
I must also add that some of the advice is questionable IMO, and that is putting it nicely. In a recent Q&A(Summer 2005 issue, forget the month), a rider asked about dehydration. The answer given by the supposed "expert" was that water was actually dangerous to riders because of hyponatremia. I understand this is a danger for ultra-distance riders, but I have never personally met someone I knew who suffered from hyponatremia. Usually, dehydration is the danger. The fact that they would say that drinking water is actually dangerous was mind boggling to me.
And then it hit me why this magazine was being given away for free;-)
Favorite Trail: Jim Thorpe, PA
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$3.00
Purchased At: free with Bicycling subscription
Similar Products Used: Bike
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Marlin stock, with barends, clipless pedals, and cyclocomputer
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from OttawaDate Reviewed: July 26, 2004
Strengths: Great pics, great ads, great advice, great "catalogue" at the end. Great reviews on bikes.Weaknesses: Not enough pages.
Bottom Line: If you want to buy a bike or any products, this mag has great reviews on them and it can give you a rough idea of the price to pay for those products.
The stories are inspiring and htey gide you the urge to go rip up some trails or to bomb a hill.
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$3.00
Similar Products Used: Bike magazine
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
scott
a
from AKDate Reviewed: August 2, 2003
Bottom Line: So.... what happened to this mag? I looked for it last weekend at the grocery store, Walmart, Fred Meyer, and even Borders... which has everything. No sign of Mountain Bike. I joked they must have went under. Sure enough they did! I checked out the web site and they are now part of Bicycing magazine and are published 8 times a year.
Huh, that's great, I'm not a roadie fan so it's good bye losers. No loss to me, I never like the mag. Still it's funny that the (claimed) most widely subscribed to mag went under but yet MBA and Mountain Biking are still around.
Hmmm, I guess all the negitive reviews here on MTBR about MBA and Mountain Biking don't really mean that much in real world, now do they?
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
SGT. ROCK
a Racer
from Edmonton, ABDate Reviewed: February 26, 2003
Strengths: Cover entices you to buyWeaknesses: Staffed by idiots, contradictory product reviews, Zap needs to find another planet to live on, because his stupidity exceeds the boundaries of humansBottom Line: I read my final issue of this trash a couple months ago - the issue that profiled the Trans Rockies race, and Roland Green's indiscretions with loaned tools. Jasen Thorpe is a retard without peer - how he is writing for a major publication is beyond me. And Zap, come on up to Canada for a good ol' asskicking, eh?
All in all, an ego-boosting manifesto for a couple of self-serving, reality-challenged, self-confessed geeks. Do the mountain biking world a favour and boycott this publication.
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Similar Products Used: Damn near everything
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from Bloomfield Hills, Mi, USADate Reviewed: February 25, 2003
Strengths: The actual articles it has on XC riding are generally very good. Not that i'm a full sus. rider but that ones are well written as well.Weaknesses: When did all the mountain bike mags become downhill and freeride mags. Thats only a small faction of something that doesnt really speak for the whole sport in my opinion.Bottom Line: Not that i have a major problem with DH and FR bikers, but nothing is really that appealing to me about riding a 40lbs beast of a bike off the biggest thing i can find. Its like skateboarding culture, its just becomming something where every DH or FR rider has his own clothes company or something. I'd just like to see more articles about the still widley used hardtail bike. If someone was to read this mag. you would thing the sport is limited to DH riders and the ocasional all mountain rider.
Favorite Trail: PLRA
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Purchased At: Book Store
Bike Setup: Yep, its setup alright, but it'll get all busted up soon enough.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Fade Away
a Weekend Warrior
from MADate Reviewed: February 24, 2003
Strengths: Product reviews.
OpinionsWeaknesses: Product Reviews
Opinions.Bottom Line: This mag is still pretty decent. However, I feel I am a mountain biker and yet I don't know anything. I don't have a full sus., disk brakes. I don't care about motocross or even about the relationship it has with mountain biking. The guys at the mag are trying to tell us what exactly make a mountain biker and the motocross connection. Well they lost a connection with me and will not continue my subscription with them. The constant belittling of biking segments and lack of coverage of segments is and reading about their political thoughts- I just don't care what they have to say. By the way, my next bike will probably be a single speed and I hate disk brakes and loud mtn bike clothes. There is nothing more pathetic than seeing and "hearing" these guys out there in the woods. Am I still a mountain biker? The guys at the mag will never know. Now go fade away.
Favorite Trail: not tellin
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Similar Products Used: Bike, Mountain Biking
Bike Setup: 98 Hoo Koo
IF Planet Cross
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
scott
a Weekend Warrior
from hamilton ontario canadaDate Reviewed: January 2, 2003
Strengths: decent overall, some good reviews. getting better.Weaknesses: to many ads. they seem to sell there ads. ex. xtr ad, next page 'xtr! best we've ever tested!
not enough 'simple' reviews(components, value, rating) and to many 4 page reviews on one bike.Bottom Line: like i said, every issue seems to get better. it would help if they got rid of the zap column, half the time he talks about supercross bikes anyway!
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$3.00
Similar Products Used: mountain bike action (better)
v-brakes
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Dillsburg, PADate Reviewed: December 27, 2002
Strengths: It's a great magazine with lots of useful info and reviews. I wouldn't trade Mountain Bike for any other magazine. It's just the greatest.Weaknesses: Too many ads!Bottom Line: This is a great rag that shoud not be overlooked!
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$12.00
Purchased At: I subscribe!
Similar Products Used: Bicycling
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from WebsterDate Reviewed: November 22, 2002
Strengths: Fits nicely in my recycle binWeaknesses: Zap, the writing/editing, stupid topicsBottom Line: What can I say that hasn't been posted already. I wouldn't recommend this mag to anyone. Credibility is suspect ($$$).
Duration Product Used: Tested or demo'ed only
Similar Products Used: Dirt Rag, Mountain Bike Action
Bike Setup: N/A
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Achilles the XC Rider
a Cross Country Rider
from SingaporeDate Reviewed: November 3, 2002
Strengths: I heard it used to be good.....Weaknesses: Too technical...the descriptions go on and on about components without giving any clues about the actual feel of the ride.....and the bikes are way out of my budget.Bottom Line: This is not a magazine you'd want to buy if you're looking for any decent info on mountainbiking. The eyecandy isn't that sweet looking either. Some of the ads give a hint of the ride-at-all costs mentality that this mag celebrates, ultimately sending the message that you've never actually *ridden* unless you broken some important bones in your body. There is nothing down to earth like simple bike maintenence and yet a lot of tecnhical jargon is employed in their write-ups. The reality of it is that people buy bikes that stay with them for a good while ....that is until the wallet feels fat enough for another and only for below the 1k range. I could go on but I would only be covering what others have already said.
-=Gets off sopbox now=-
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Purchased At: Borrowed
Similar Products Used: MBR(uk) .....similar in that it's also a mag that features mountain biking but thats where it stops.
Bike Setup: 1991 Diamondback Sorrento(RIP), Fuji Sunfire
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Larry
a
from Memphis, TNDate Reviewed: October 28, 2002
Strengths: yeah rightWeaknesses: articles are not useful for experienced riders who know their stuff, too much hardtail bashing and other full suspension hype, I really wish these people would turn from their ways and start writing at least some intelligent articles again - it used to be good.Bottom Line: how much would you pay for toilet paper?
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Similar Products Used: Dirt Rag, MBA
Bike Setup: Specialized FSR
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Michael Ishler
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AzDate Reviewed: October 27, 2002
Strengths: Absolutely ---NONE---!!!!Weaknesses: Whoa, where do I start: 1. they will turn you over to !!!COLLECTION!!! if you let your subscription expire once you find out how stupid the magazine really is!!! (consumers beware) 2. the articles are nonsensical - if you can even find them between all the ads. 3. I will have to go through all the hassles of reporting them to the better business bureau.Bottom Line: eh... these guys should be out of business?
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Similar Products Used: Mountain Bike Action
Bike Setup: DS Hardtail
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
chris mag reader
a Cross Country Rider
from richmond VADate Reviewed: July 12, 2002
Strengths: I like to read about components and stuffWeaknesses: ZAPBottom Line: I like this magazine, ZAP sucks but Booty Call by leigh donovan rocks. I like the Geek and gear Queer they seems to know their stuff.
AND they trashed Rock shox in a review over the noodle crapy SID bushings and stuck to their guns when rock shox came a callin'. Rock shox got so pissed they pulled their ads. Now good for them.
Favorite Trail: buttermilk
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$12.00
Purchased At: gift
Similar Products Used: bicycling
Bike Setup: a full suspension XC schwinn rocket 88 stage one with all the trimmings.
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