Author Topic: Urban Cyclist magazine  (Read 8456 times)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Urban Cyclist magazine
« on: 03 April, 2017, 08:36:55 pm »
I was at a loose end in town for a few hours so bought this.  I'm not impressed.  It's a sort of lifestyle "how to look good riding around London" magazine which ignores the fact that the best fixies are built, not bought, and only an A1 Hoxton twat is going to pay over £1500 for a new bike with a quill stem and non-indexed downtube shifters, however pretty it may look propped in the hall of their £600k flat.

On the other hand, I now know that Rapha sell a cycling jacket - by which I mean something with lapels and buttons, that you could happily wear with a tie - for £300.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #1 on: 03 April, 2017, 09:08:14 pm »
And the name is lifted from a (now defunct?) usergroup from the early days of he internet  (I still have my UrbanCyclist t-shirt, somewhere).
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #2 on: 03 April, 2017, 09:09:38 pm »
I tend to buy it before long haul flights. It reassures me that there appears to be a market for everything, no matter how esoteric, and that I am not particularly close to that end of the bell curve.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #3 on: 03 April, 2017, 09:27:24 pm »
I've flipped through this before, and it's the kind of thing I'd be quite pleased to find at the dentist's - if only to roll my eyes at some of the stuff - but probably wouldn't buy it unless I really had time to kill and no better options.

In contrast, I recently picked up a copy of Mondial, the Rapha house mag, and thought it was absolutely excellent. Like most of their stuff it's reassuringly expensive (though at a tenner it's not that much more than many mags - for example Urban Cyclist's something like £5.99, no?),  but you get a lot for your money. It's printed on lovely heavy paper stock; photo-heavy features are on gloss paper, and in the 180-odd pages there are minimal ads. Many of the features are only obliquely about cycling, and the writing is top-notch. I'll certainly be buying a copy again.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #4 on: 03 April, 2017, 09:27:24 pm »
On the other hand, I now know that Rapha sell a cycling jacket - by which I mean something with lapels and buttons, that you could happily wear with a tie - for £300.

And it's made of the same fabric as their 'Shadow' all-weather kit - Rapha's version of the Gabba. Presumably a more forgiving fit though.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Samuel D

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #5 on: 03 April, 2017, 10:26:46 pm »
In contrast, I recently picked up a copy of Mondial, the Rapha house mag, and thought it was absolutely excellent.

Does look interesting.

Urban Cyclist looks generic and lightweight.

There was a shortlived blog that reviewed UK cycling mags. It was well written and perceptive, but there’s only so much to say about a handful of magazines that repeat themselves every few months, and so it ended.

I think there’s a thirst for better writing about cycling, bicycles, and racing – most people who buy the common mags think they’re rubbish – but as with most things, it’s easier to criticise than to do.

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
  • Help me!
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #6 on: 03 April, 2017, 11:19:17 pm »
And the name is lifted from a (now defunct?) usergroup from the early days of he internet  (I still have my UrbanCyclist t-shirt, somewhere).

Unhappily, I had to relegate mine to shoe cleaning rags a couple of years ago.  I had the white one and the light grey one.  When Barry sent them he included a doodle of a duck riding a bike.  (You'd have to know my rl name to get that)
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #7 on: 03 April, 2017, 11:59:02 pm »
I think there’s a thirst for better writing about cycling, bicycles, and racing – most people who buy the common mags think they’re rubbish – but as with most things, it’s easier to criticise than to do.

Publishers don't care about thirst for better writing, they care about selling advertising and producing the mag as cheaply as possible. Editors might get into the business with lofty ideals about producing a high-quality, well-written publication but reality bites soon enough. DAHIKT.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #8 on: 04 April, 2017, 07:25:13 am »
....which is why I have decided that cycling mags aren't for me.

I think 'Cycling Weekly' finished me off. Regurgitated crap 'training' articles,  stuff just designed to exhort you to buy more stuff, and reviews written by people who give the impression of knowing less than me. Capped off by a glowing review of a 'Dave Hinde' bike. Curiously, the same business used to take out a double page advert every week. No COI  there then. Then the parting pages devoted to a hit and miss weekly article by Michael Hutchinson, who took over from a predecessor who had a miss rate of 100%.

I did take out a subscription of 'Cyclist' and it was pretty good in parts, and rather well put together, but not enough to hold my interest. Some weeks I just couldn't be bothered to read it.

I don't envy anyone in the publishing game, frankly, and given the constraints I know I couldn't do any better.

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #9 on: 04 April, 2017, 07:47:58 am »
I think 'Cycling Weekly' finished me off. Regurgitated crap 'training' articles,  stuff just designed to exhort you to buy more stuff

I persevered with Cycling Weekly for the racing news, but became exasperated by the self-promotion. I stopped my subscription a few years back, unable to justify paying for a product that increasingly was a promotion for their own events and products.

When Barry sent them he included a doodle of a duck riding a bike.  (You'd have to know my rl name to get that)

Wheelwright-drake
Mallard-parlee
Muscovy-moots
...
 

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #10 on: 04 April, 2017, 08:06:45 am »


Wheelwright-drake
Mallard-parlee
Muscovy-moots
...

And there was I thinking "Donald".

The only cycling related publication I get now is that associated with my CTC membership. I took C+ for years on and off, and Bikes etc for a few months but stopped both maybe 6 months ago. But at 60 I don't think I'm the demographic they're after.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #11 on: 04 April, 2017, 08:52:10 am »
I've flipped through this before, and it's the kind of thing I'd be quite pleased to find at the dentist's - if only to roll my eyes at some of the stuff - but probably wouldn't buy it unless I really had time to kill and no better options.

In contrast, I recently picked up a copy of Mondial, the Rapha house mag, and thought it was absolutely excellent. Like most of their stuff it's reassuringly expensive (though at a tenner it's not that much more than many mags - for example Urban Cyclist's something like £5.99, no?),  but you get a lot for your money. It's printed on lovely heavy paper stock; photo-heavy features are on gloss paper, and in the 180-odd pages there are minimal ads. Many of the features are only obliquely about cycling, and the writing is top-notch. I'll certainly be buying a copy again.
I was unaware of the existence of Mondial magazine (and won't be seeking it out) but this is IMO true of most of the best 'cycling' writing.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #12 on: 04 April, 2017, 10:28:45 am »
There was a shortlived blog that reviewed UK cycling mags. It was well written and perceptive, but there’s only so much to say about a handful of magazines that repeat themselves every few months, and so it ended.

Interesting, thanks; I'd not come across that blog before.

Quote
I think there’s a thirst for better writing about cycling, bicycles, and racing – most people who buy the common mags think they’re rubbish – but as with most things, it’s easier to criticise than to do.

I was thinking about this a bit, and there's more stuff out there than first occurred to me, though not everyone's made it pay (Velo Vision's the most recent casualty). Rouleur's probably the most magazine-schedule-like - do they manage 8 issues a year consistently? - but there's also Bicycle Quarterly, Boneshaker, and Mondial. Online there's Bike Hugger; alas, Spin Cycle seems to be defunct. The Ride Journal's also ceased publication (or is it just on an indefinite break?)

About half of these are on an irregular publication schedule, and I've no idea if they pay contributors well if at all. Still, it's more than I'd expected, and suggests that there is indeed an appetite for this kind of thing.

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #13 on: 04 April, 2017, 10:49:10 am »
I think there’s a thirst for better writing about cycling, bicycles, and racing – most people who buy the common mags think they’re rubbish – but as with most things, it’s easier to criticise than to do.

Publishers don't care about thirst for better writing, they care about selling advertising and producing the mag as cheaply as possible. Editors might get into the business with lofty ideals about producing a high-quality, well-written publication but reality bites soon enough. DAHIKT.

I suppose this is where an in house mag like those from Rapha has the advantage of not needing to sell advertising! They must spend a huge amount of money on promotion and advertising, their budget for the mag (which of course is part of their advertising) must be practically unlimited when compared with normal commercial magazines.

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #14 on: 04 April, 2017, 11:39:01 am »
I was surprised there was some external advertising in Mondial (but only 5 or so pages that I noticed - including one for private jet hire... ::-) ), but there are a couple of features/photoshoots about Rapha products. All very tastefully done, of course, and oblique enough that it doesn't feel like they're selling stuff to you (which is no doubt entirely intentional... Meanwhile, why do I feel the urge for a £500 yak leather race bag?)

Citoyen will be better able to estimate the costs of an operation, but it does look like the mag uses lots of people that also write features for the website; it does look to have it's own design staff, though they may in fact be on the Rapha payroll more generally. I'd also imagine it's easier (& possibly cheaper?) to do two big issues a year than smaller monthly or weekly.

Samuel D

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #15 on: 04 April, 2017, 12:03:05 pm »
I was thinking about this a bit, and there's more stuff out there than first occurred to me, though not everyone's made it pay (Velo Vision's the most recent casualty). Rouleur's probably the most magazine-schedule-like - do they manage 8 issues a year consistently? - but there's also Bicycle Quarterly, Boneshaker, and Mondial. Online there's Bike Hugger; alas, Spin Cycle seems to be defunct. The Ride Journal's also ceased publication (or is it just on an indefinite break?)

You’re right (and that’s a good summary of the stuff worth reading). It’s not a desert out there.

The price of some of these is prohibitive for me. For example, I’m trying to get my hands on Bicycle Quarterly No. 53 (Autumn 2015), admittedly a back issue, and it’s $32.25 from the Compass shop using the cheapest shipping option to France.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #16 on: 04 April, 2017, 12:43:41 pm »
Citoyen will be better able to estimate the costs of an operation

Nah, not really my department. I do know it's a lot more than most people imagine though!

Quote
it does look like the mag uses lots of people that also write features for the website

Mondial's contributors are pretty much all freelancers.

Urban Cyclist, for those who weren't aware, is made by the same people who make Cycling Plus - same editor, same publisher.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #17 on: 04 April, 2017, 02:43:08 pm »
Citoyen will be better able to estimate the costs of an operation

Nah, not really my department. I do know it's a lot more than most people imagine though!

Yeah, and the cost of producing the physical magazine is likely to be well under 10% of the total; which in some ways means that if you can get people willing to pay for niche content it might as well be nicely printed on heavy stock. Conversely, paying writers, illustrators, and designers is expensive; but for beautifully produced niche stuff people do seem to be more likely to do it as labours of love.

Quote
Mondial's contributors are pretty much all freelancers.

I'm sure they are; I just meant a lot of them do other freelance work for Rapha.

Quote
Urban Cyclist, for those who weren't aware, is made by the same people who make Cycling Plus - same editor, same publisher.

Though I'm sure the editorial staff are all passionate cyclists, there's something in this that makes it feel a bit more like cynical segmentation and targeted marketing.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #18 on: 04 April, 2017, 02:50:07 pm »
Though I'm sure the editorial staff are all passionate cyclists, there's something in this that makes it feel a bit more like cynical segmentation and targeted marketing.

They've clearly gone for the 'boutique' look in the design but it's still very much a commercial magazine. It's a bit like McDonald's restyling their restaurants as hipster coffee joints.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Samuel D

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #19 on: 04 April, 2017, 03:16:14 pm »
They've clearly gone for the 'boutique' look in the design but it's still very much a commercial magazine.

But is it boutique at all? I haven’t seen inside, but the cover (April/May 2017) looks like any other magazine. It’s reasonably competent but not design-led. The layout is busy and has no obvious logic or merit. The typeface choices are timid, the photography home-made, the copy generic. At the top-right is emblazoned “22 PAGES OF NEW GEAR”.

There’s no wit or elegance about this cover. It’s not challenging, is it? It’s just commercial, as you said.

It looks like “BIKES • CULTURE • STYLE” for uncultured, unstylish people. If it was stylish or cultured it wouldn’t say so on the cover.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #20 on: 04 April, 2017, 03:24:16 pm »
But is it boutique at all? I haven’t seen inside

Well, I'm guessing it's what they're aiming for, but that doesn't mean they're hitting the target. I remember looking at the first issue when it came out, but I've not looked inside it since then.

Quote
If it was stylish or cultured it wouldn’t say so on the cover.

Yes, always a giveaway!
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #21 on: 04 April, 2017, 03:50:54 pm »
It looks like “BIKES • CULTURE • STYLE” for uncultured, unstylish people. If it was stylish or cultured it wouldn’t say so on the cover.


Samuel D

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #22 on: 04 April, 2017, 03:53:22 pm »
Yeah. Like t-shirts that say “HIGH FASHION”.

I think there is a decent choice of good content for fanatical cycling fans who care about culture and design (led by Rouleur).

There is less for keen cyclists who don’t buy into a posey lifestyle or the endless merry-go-round of conspicuous consumption. People who don’t describe themselves as creative but still care and think about what they do.

Here in France, there is a magazine called 200 (named after the distance in kilometres the founders believe any normal, healthy person can ride with some preparation) that roughly fits this brief. It’s pretty good, though maybe not good enough to write home about. Still, the people who make it try to do something positive. I’ve bought a few copies.

Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #23 on: 07 April, 2017, 06:42:51 am »
Here in France, there is a magazine called 200 (named after the distance in kilometres the founders believe any normal, healthy person can ride with some preparation)

Here in the UK, we have 'Arrivée', it's full of pictures of normal, healthy people.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Urban Cyclist magazine
« Reply #24 on: 07 April, 2017, 08:10:39 am »
In hi-viz gilets, avoiding eye contact.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.