MBUK

[reanimation]

I can seriously see retro MTB scene getting like the Retro BMX kit and raliegh choppers...much more crazy £ and demand wise, and fashions come and go, only a matter of time, some trends are already pushing this way.

 

[Crayons]

MBUK has always pushed the cool aspects of the mtb press, often favoring whatever is current – I guess Future can afford to do this because they have What MTB to service the rest of us, and to be honest I've tended towards What MTB in recent years anyway.

The problem with mags like MBUK is they'll never make big money on cover sales alone (that'll barely cover their print and distribution costs) so they have to be advertising led to a certain extent.

What the industry really needs is a Retrobike magazine to service us Not sure who we'd get to advertise but there would be no shortage of reviews and technical features. GrimeTime would have a whole new meaning

 

[OrangeRetro]

The sad fact is that given the choice, brakes that work, suspension that lets you ride faster and have more fun, lighter bikes.. :| ..Modern bikes are great and the mtb industry has moved on in leaps and bounds.. all for the good I'd say.
Old bike still hold a place in my heart, riding them brings back great memories, but when all said and done, I'm a mountain biker and modern bikes would always be my first choice for an all day ride. :shock:
... I'll get my coat...

Well my main ride currently is a 98 853 Explosif with Z2 forks and V-brakes. It weighs 24lbs, it's a brilliant frame and I don't think I'd have much more fun riding anything else.

OK, if I had the choice I'd ride an 09 RM Vertex (carbon), which is probably c4 lbs lighter (the frame alone is 2lbs lighter) and I might enjoy that a bit more. But the snag in your argument is that you're leaving out one rather important factor - the Vertex would cost me more than ten times what the Explosif cost me! That's the biggest argument for retro to my mind.

And as far as MBUK is concerned, I don't agree that they just have to suck up to their advertisers. The advertisers are only interested in how many copies does it sell and how many buyers will their advert reach. If MBUK wasn't so stupid, it would have more readers, so they would be well advised to wise up and make their magazine address the whole of the market and not just part of it.

Hey I'm with you on the fact that modern Mountain bikes can be expensive, But look at other hobbies and sports.. how much does it cost to play golf for a year at a decent club.. :?: :shock:

I've just got back from spending a whole weekend riding Coed Y Brenin for the princely sum of £6.. yep the cost of parking at the trail centre....

For me, there is absolutley no way that I would have had as much fun riding a retro bike there, but it is a case of horses for courses..

Either way I love riding bikes and my Kula is getting a regular beating! It doesn't matter what you ride as long as you do!

 

[dirtjumper_dmr]

i've said this before loads but MBUK is one of 2 bike mags i buy every issue (the other being dirt)... i do like singletrack, nicely written and lovely pics but sometimes a little 'hi-brow' for my juvenile intellect and MBUK covers all the sub genres, i'm into every aspect of the sport, d/h,jump,freeride,xc,trials so for me its great...
as far as riding is concerned, i love retro and theres nothing better for belting round the fireroads than a 25lb fully rigid retro machine but for trailcentres and the like modern bikes are where its at for me, these trails were built with modern full sus and longtravel hardtails in mind so thats what works best

 

[MikeD]

The problem with mags like MBUK is they'll never make big money on cover sales alone (that'll barely cover their print and distribution costs) so they have to be advertising led to a certain extent.

There always used to be pretty much an exact 50/50 revenue split between copy sales and advertising. As Anthony said, without readers you don't get adverts, so "advertising led" isn't a sustainable model.

 

[jacks2ts]

I can confirm that , i worked in a mailorder bike shop in Belfast back in 00/01 ,to advertise in MBUK and MBR that would cost between £30,000 to £40,000 per mounth depending on what type of layout it was :2 or 4 page spreads.

 

[Russell]

"advertising led" isn't a sustainable model.

Google? Facebook?

FWIW, I think MBUK is right.

I don't consider a '98 Kona to be retro (other than the brakes, there's really very little difference to a more recent bike) but accepting that some people here do, would they say that their 1998 Kona is a better ride than their 1988 Kona??? Of course they would, so why would a 2008 bike not be better than a 1998? I would hope that as much work went into improving the ride between '98-'08 as it did between '88-'98... Wouldn't you?

 

[MikeD]

Google? Facebook?

How many ads would they have if nobody used them? Even enterprises that are entirely funded by advertising need to have audience first and foremost.

 

[gibbleking]

ps mba was mostly adverts with small peices of stories(good quality they were tho...lovely to read( ..just too damn small :shock:

 

[Chipps]

Retro!

"i agree that it is nonsence and sad but the tyruth of the matter is that the magazines cater mainly for the youth market"

Not all of them - our average reader is around 40... Mind you, I don't mind being classed as a youth...

MBUK's always been pretty on the ball for the times. Just like Top of the Pops moved on every year, so does MBUK.