Bikes Etc did give it a good go- sorry it didn't last.
BikesEtc came about because Dennis wanted a stablemate to Cyclist and were foiled in their attempts to buy C+ (this was about the time Future was selling off all its titles because of its financial woes). Instead, C+ went to Immediate*, so Dennis set about creating their own rival title. But for many reasons, BikesEtc was never really viable as a long-term prospect. There's lots more I could say on the subject... but I won't.
Cyclist was a success largely because it pulled off the rare trick of finding a genuine gap in the market. Also in its favour was the fortuitous timing of the launch, just after London 2012 created a wider interest in cycling, and they had Bradley Wiggins on the launch issue cover - all coincidental since it had been in development for over a year before launch. But if you look at Cyclist now, it's a very different beast to when it launched - it has had to evolve to survive, following the market with increasing focus on gravel bikes.
*IIRC, Immediate came into being when the BBC closed down the mags side of its Worldwide commercial division, so they picked up titles like Radio Times, Good Food and Gardening World. Then they added a bunch of Future titles a few years later, including the cycling mags and BikeRadar. Immediate has bases in London and Bristol, so the cycling mags stayed out west.
