Author Topic: Boneshaker mag closing?  (Read 2404 times)

Boneshaker mag closing?
« on: 11 December, 2017, 08:51:11 pm »
I could have sworn I had an email about the latest issue the other day, but I couldn't find it, so checked the website. The latest issue of Boneshaker is indeed out, but it's going to be the last one. A pity - I always enjoyed it. With this, Spin Cycle, and the Ride Journal gone, I'm not sure there are any (UK) mags left in this (longform, artsy, eclectic) niche. Does anyone on here know more about why they called it quits? Was it just that they felt 20 issues was a natural end point, or something else?

Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #1 on: 11 December, 2017, 10:26:45 pm »
Chatting to one of the contributors a few nights ago, I understand it might be switching to digital only. Print faff and that.  :(

I've just ordered a load of the remaining in-stock issues, as they are things of beauty.

Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #2 on: 11 December, 2017, 10:34:31 pm »
Boo! As I said in another thread, I'd have thought Boneshaker was the kind of niche enthusiast publication whose readership would appreciate decent print production values. I'll have to order a couple of issues myself.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #3 on: 12 December, 2017, 01:58:19 am »
I suspect the simple answer is that longform, artsy, eclectic is not a viable business model.

Out of interest, what's the highest cover price you would be willing to pay regularly for your decent print production values?
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #4 on: 12 December, 2017, 08:58:33 am »
I suspect the simple answer is that longform, artsy, eclectic is not a viable business model.

Out of interest, what's the highest cover price you would be willing to pay regularly for your decent print production values?

As a major profit-maker, I suspect you're right, sad though that is; the thing that made me think it might be viable is that I understood the mag was run by a collective of illustrators &c. as a side gig, and so the required level of profit was lower. Given how visual it is, I think the print side is important; I'm certainly far less likely to buy a PDF.

Pricing obviously depends to an extent on size and frequency - my books and entertainment budget is, alas, finite - but for high-quality stuff I'm happy to pay a tenner or so. I subscribe to a couple of publications that are quarterly or biannual, and there's a couple of others where I'll pick up individual issues.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #5 on: 12 December, 2017, 09:09:00 am »
I think it started out that way but got serious.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #6 on: 12 December, 2017, 09:24:47 am »
From their FAQ:
Quote
Can you pay me for my contribution?
Boneshaker is a not-for-profit passion project and as such we are unable to pay people for their submissions. We understand how much that sucks for those depending on their creative output for an income – the gang of us that puts Boneshaker together do so in our spare time, at evenings and weekends, through rushed lunchbreak-meetings, fitting it around our ‘real lives’ and paid work. All we can offer is the nebulous benefit of ‘exposure’, the satisfaction of seeing your work in print and the knowledge that it is being enjoyed all over the world. Boneshaker exists to promote and advocate for cycling and to inspire more people to ride more often. That goal has always been enough for us to keep doing it as a passion project. If you share that passion, you’ll understand.

I can imagine that after 20 issues of having the whole of their 'free' time eaten up by it, it might have killed their 'passion' to some extent.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #7 on: 12 December, 2017, 09:35:53 am »
A tenner quarterly would be about my speed, I reckon. I confess, though, I didn't know about it previously, and while I like the layout I would quite like to know more about the content than I can glean from the website. A contents page at the barest minimum would have been good, along with some representative articles.

Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #8 on: 12 December, 2017, 10:00:12 am »
Ah, right - I'd missed that they didn't pay contributors (I think I thought they paid below-market rates). I suppose that made the finances easier, but totally agree that after 20 issues you might think 'bugger this for a game of soldiers'. I do think the mag lived up to their aspirations as an ambassador for the joys of cycling, though.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #9 on: 12 December, 2017, 10:51:28 am »
I suspect the simple answer is that longform, artsy, eclectic is not a viable business model.

Yup. Shame. I suspect "eclectic" is the weak link there - other glossy stuff survives (Cyclist being the only one I read often). It's a shame a publisher can't find a balance between "lots of stuff appealing to a trendy demographic" (whether that's bling road-bikes soaring over cols, or muddy adventures on full-sus monsters), with a seasoning of the cycling ephemera that make life more interesting.

Or perhaps I mean a balance that more than 3 punters would appreciate  :-\

[I actually quite like the range of content in the CTC mag! But you could never call it "artsy". ]
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #10 on: 12 December, 2017, 11:54:15 am »
The genesis of Cyclist is an interesting story. Felix Dennis (the publisher) was very resistant to the idea of a cycling mag when the editor (late of Maxim and Men's Fitness) pitched it to him, but he took a chance... and then of course took all the credit when it turned out to be a success. Probably his last meaningful contribution to the world of magazine publishing.

Rouleur is about the only 'boutique' cycling mag I know of that has had real longevity, and that's mainly because it started as the in-house mag for Rapha (so it was effectively a marketing tool, even if it didn't look like it, and would have been funded by Rapha's marketing budget without the need for external advertising or any requirement to make a profit). Now it has its own strong brand identity supported by merchandise and events.

Mags like Boneshaker will always be a labour of love, and are always doomed to failure unless they're supported by a wealthy backer and the staff don't have to hold down full-time jobs as well as producing the mag.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #11 on: 13 December, 2017, 06:04:45 am »
Quote from: Mr Justice Michael Argyle
You are younger than the other two and very much less intelligent.

He then sentenced him [Felix Dennis] to nine months' imprisonment for obscenity [Schoolkids Oz trial].  Before looking for that quote I hadn't even realised Dennis had died :o
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #12 on: 14 December, 2017, 11:45:45 am »
Never mind 'boutique' cycling magazines, production values, good writing, photography and labours of love, yesterday I had a look in WHS and couldn't see a single cycling mag of any description.

Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Riggers

  • Mine's a pipe, er… pint!
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #13 on: 14 December, 2017, 12:25:29 pm »
^ You won't find them on the top shelf Cudzo – that's why.
Certainly never seen cycling south of Sussex

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #14 on: 14 December, 2017, 12:42:40 pm »
 :D I don't think WHS have a "top shelf" anymore. Are the two connected?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Riggers

  • Mine's a pipe, er… pint!
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #15 on: 14 December, 2017, 01:53:45 pm »
:D I don't think WHS have a "top shelf" anymore. Are the two connected?

Lord knows! My observations are based on memory. I haven't been into any shop looking for any magazine for months now, so I don't know if there are still 'them' magazines for the top shelf. Cycling-wise, I rescinded my C+ subscription a good year or so ago, because I thought their product evaluations were no longer realistic for me. It's always (from what I could see) the high-end products that were reviewed, whether it was a bike or clothing. It's that glance at a pair of pedals, for example, and you think: "Hhmm, they're nice – WAIT A MINUTE . . . HOW MUCH!!!"
Certainly never seen cycling south of Sussex

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Boneshaker mag closing?
« Reply #16 on: 21 December, 2017, 06:45:45 pm »
Has anyone tried this mag?

https://conquista.cc/products/conquista-issue-17

I might try this issue (as it describes two events I'm considering doing ... some time ... )

Of course it's over the magic £10 barrier, so I have an excuse to borrow/steal instead ...  O:-)
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles