Mba
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GAWD yes, and the damn thing didn't make any sens either. One minute it peddles so incredibly fast for a 6.5 in travel bike the next it's not for someone used to riding a better pedaling lesser travel trail bike... or something like that.dulyebr said:Anybody else read the Nomad infomercial in this month's MBA?
You know it was one thing when they were whoring-out the MotoLite, but THIS has got to stop! :nono: :skep: :madmax:
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Yeah so in the same magazine they are using the motolite as a test mule for a fox fork. Pretty nice picture of jimmy mac gettin' crossed up. I guess they honestly do like the motolite as it seems to either be his personal bike of choice, or just their bike of choice for testin parts.
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Yeah, they supposedly got all these test bikes from "Santa Cruze, Giant" but every test is on the ML. Guess it goes to the versatlity of the bike. One minute they've got an AM2 and a CC DB coil shock, and the next thier running the TALAS X fork on it.FM said:
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Jimmy Mac (Custom ML), Ed Arnett (Custom Racer-X 69'er) and RC (ML) are all of them on Titus bikes...
However it's not a secret that RC loves the Nomad and the Heckler too.
What they write may not be of the likes of everyone, but RC was a bike designer and has been on most bikes than many people. Ed Arnett is a successful XC racer in his category... and Jimmy Mac... well, can't speak of him as I only know he's been an Editor and not much more. However, he's been on a lot of bikes too.
What they choose for themselves as the bikes they own, should mean something.
Again, many times I do not like what they write, though.
However it's not a secret that RC loves the Nomad and the Heckler too.
What they write may not be of the likes of everyone, but RC was a bike designer and has been on most bikes than many people. Ed Arnett is a successful XC racer in his category... and Jimmy Mac... well, can't speak of him as I only know he's been an Editor and not much more. However, he's been on a lot of bikes too.
What they choose for themselves as the bikes they own, should mean something.
Again, many times I do not like what they write, though.
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Jimmy Mac started riding road... no competition I think.. but he went from Road Bike Action to MBA I think... there was something of the sort in one of his recent columns...Warp said:
I agree with you... just as everything else.. take it with a grain of salt and make up your own mind
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All North American bike review magazine's should be taken with a grain of salt......Is there any bike reviewed in MBA that isn't the best riding, climbing, nirvana bicycle out there......I can only recall one negative review in the last year and that was for a IBEX mail order bike and their beef was that it was a mail order bike. Hell, they gave the Epiphany an average ride rating and we all know that can't be right......
Once you get bikes at a certain level. with all the best parts.......other then personal bias is there really such a thing as a piece of [email protected] ride?????
Once you get bikes at a certain level. with all the best parts.......other then personal bias is there really such a thing as a piece of [email protected] ride?????
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Huh?
What does suprise me is learning in this thread that Jimmy Mac is a man. :madman: :skep:
The fact that the Epi might be an average ride, dosen't suprise me in the least.TiEndo said:
What does suprise me is learning in this thread that Jimmy Mac is a man. :madman: :skep:
I bought my first and last copy of MBA in December. I was astounded by:
1) how pathetically lightweight and uncritical the articles were and
2) how the writers couldn't use English.
Figured that the magazine was aimed at some unmentioned semi-literate body of bikers and left it at that.
1) how pathetically lightweight and uncritical the articles were and
2) how the writers couldn't use English.
Figured that the magazine was aimed at some unmentioned semi-literate body of bikers and left it at that.
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508 Posts
Magazines like MBA tread a fine line: On one hand, they risk having all their advertising money taken away by posting a bad review. On the other hand, they risk losing readership by appearing to be using reviews as advertisements for their sponsors. That's why they've settled into a safe-zone of printing generally positive reviews of everything they test, but they are also careful to point out one weakness in every review I've also noticed them contradicting themselves in reviews, or from one review to another. I think you need to take the reviews with a grain of salt, and just treat it as what it is - a good toilet mag
I've learned a good thing or two from the technique and training articles.
I've also noticed them contradicting themselves in reviews, or from one review to another. I think you need to take the reviews with a grain of salt, and just treat it as what it is - a good toilet mag I've learned a good thing or two from the technique and training articles.
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I have been a car enthusiast for 35+ years. I see the same thing in the car rags and have narrowed my reading to Car & Driver only. They seem to be more blunt than the others. But the same thing happens, they like a car and then later it's not so good. Comparison tests seem to bring out the most honest reviews. I see the same in MBA. Part of the problem with cars, motorcycles and mountain bikes is that they all have gotten so good that nothing is glaringly bad anymore.
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1,124 Posts
i've noticed this, too... like when they reviewed the carbon stumpy and slipped in a little statement about having to push some on the bars when climbing or something like that... almost never noticed the comment except that i had rented one once and found it difficult to keep the front from wandering on real steep climbs... anyway, that was just meant to be an example...zorg said:
but even though SC does make great bikes and i do like the VPP... that review of the Nomad seemed incoherent to me...
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6,207 Posts
I enjoy the Specialized adds.zorg said:
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I think that some numbers in MBA are very good, and some very bad. That's something that happens in any magazine.
What I don't like about the magazine is the bike reviews. Well, more specifically, you don't know who's writing the article (only for RC reviews) which is a fact I don't like in the magazine. You can have several writers doing different reviews, and rider A might love bike 1, and rider B love bike 2, and each is doing the article for that bike. So, you have a bike mag number that says that bike 1 and bike 2 are the best bikes.
I just read part of the articles and try to see what makes sense to me.
Also, maybe when they're reviewing a complete bike it can be more objective, since they're evaluating frame, and how everything works together. Now, on custom bikes, component specs might place a big factor in how the bike performs. So it's hard to search for things that would make sense if you're planning on building your bike different than the one reviewed.
I think that RC likes Titus, but in the Jan editorial, I liked how he talked about decisions and how external (non objective) factors play a big number in how we make our choices. So, he likes the Nomad, and it's consistent from what I've read in other MBA issues.
But that doesn't make it that the Nomad is the only bike he likes.
Now, I don't see al bike reviews to be only positive, I've seen some that would make mee steer away from that bike if I were searching for a new bike. And, I think that MOST bikes that costs more than 2.500 bucks are very good if you use them for the intended purpose.
I still buy some issues when I like what they write.
What I don't like about the magazine is the bike reviews. Well, more specifically, you don't know who's writing the article (only for RC reviews) which is a fact I don't like in the magazine. You can have several writers doing different reviews, and rider A might love bike 1, and rider B love bike 2, and each is doing the article for that bike. So, you have a bike mag number that says that bike 1 and bike 2 are the best bikes.
I just read part of the articles and try to see what makes sense to me.
Also, maybe when they're reviewing a complete bike it can be more objective, since they're evaluating frame, and how everything works together. Now, on custom bikes, component specs might place a big factor in how the bike performs. So it's hard to search for things that would make sense if you're planning on building your bike different than the one reviewed.
I think that RC likes Titus, but in the Jan editorial, I liked how he talked about decisions and how external (non objective) factors play a big number in how we make our choices. So, he likes the Nomad, and it's consistent from what I've read in other MBA issues.
But that doesn't make it that the Nomad is the only bike he likes.
Now, I don't see al bike reviews to be only positive, I've seen some that would make mee steer away from that bike if I were searching for a new bike. And, I think that MOST bikes that costs more than 2.500 bucks are very good if you use them for the intended purpose.
I still buy some issues when I like what they write.
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New avatar El Guapo !~!
I like your write up below . I know my mololite with AM fork at 150 travel feels very different to the Rev fork at 130 travel. Most reviewers would dislike my slack setup but I prefer it better .
I like your write up below
. I know my mololite with AM fork at 150 travel feels very different to the Rev fork at 130 travel. Most reviewers would dislike my slack setup but I prefer it better .rzozaya1969 said:
I quite like the magazine
As someone from the UK who subscribes to the magazine (through Zinio) I generally find it quite enjoyable. The general positivity of the reviews makes it feel quite different from UK magazines. The writers really seem to like talking about kit in some detail. I admit some of the reviews are almost like adverts but as said in a post above, there isn't really that much bad stuff around these days. I really like reading about hardware, even if I have to convert pounds and ounces to something I can understand ;-)
The same advertising bias debate occurs about UK magazines when certain bikes get glowing reviews. Check out the flames in the Ellsworth forum when the Epiphany got an 8 out of 10 in a review in MBR this month. The irony is that this magazine is usually getting ripped into because they 'always' seem to like Specialized bikes.
If it wasn't for MBA review of the Motolite (which I have to say was riddled with lots of errors and wasn't one of their best), I would never even know the Motolite existed and would have missed on the best bike I've owned.
As someone from the UK who subscribes to the magazine (through Zinio) I generally find it quite enjoyable. The general positivity of the reviews makes it feel quite different from UK magazines. The writers really seem to like talking about kit in some detail. I admit some of the reviews are almost like adverts but as said in a post above, there isn't really that much bad stuff around these days. I really like reading about hardware, even if I have to convert pounds and ounces to something I can understand ;-)
The same advertising bias debate occurs about UK magazines when certain bikes get glowing reviews. Check out the flames in the Ellsworth forum when the Epiphany got an 8 out of 10 in a review in MBR this month. The irony is that this magazine is usually getting ripped into because they 'always' seem to like Specialized bikes.
If it wasn't for MBA review of the Motolite (which I have to say was riddled with lots of errors and wasn't one of their best), I would never even know the Motolite existed and would have missed on the best bike I've owned.
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