Better Bicycling

As many of you know, I am an avid mountain biker. I participate in a couple of charity races every year, and like to keep up on what’s new in the industry. I subscribe to a few cycling magazines, both Mountain Bike (see my review) and Bicycling.

For those of you that have read my review on Mountain Bike, you understand that I absolutely hate the publication. I don’t consider it a magazine; I consider it a monthly mailer for advertisers. Bicycling is, however, a serious step up.

What I like about Bicycling

I like the cover telling me how many tips and tricks are in each issue. For instance, the cover of the January/February 2000 issue states it has 437 tips and the March 2000 issue says it has 346 tips. I’ll admit I’ve never found as many as they claim, but I do look, and do find quite a bit. Some of them are helpful, most of them related to mountain biking I’ve known already. However, I’m doing a lot of endurance training now that it is winter via spinning, which is basically road bike simulation with a mixture of aerobics (you do this in a gym), and many of the road bike tips can be brought over to spinning.

I like the Fitness Section. This is where you “Ask the Fitness Chick” your questions about staying fit, simple exercises to develop strength, energy sources (foods, drinks, energy bars, etc.), what pain medications are okay to take before you go on a hard ride, etc.

I like the Training Section. Here they give you a multitude of training tips, whether you’re looking for endurance, climbing, sprinting, whatever. They go into detail about tried and true methods sure to help you for that big ride you’ve been psyched out over all summer.

I enjoy reading the Rides Section. Here, they cover some great places all over the world and give you a first person’s perspective on the ride itself. The Ride Section is a mixture of a tour book and a diary of the ride. It helps me place things on my wish list, such as where I want to ride if I ever had gobs of money!

I enjoy looking at the new products they cover. No, unlike my computer, I don’t need the latest and greatest equipment. My bike, for the most part, works great. However, parts do wear out, clothes do wear out, and when it is time to replace them, this is the first place I start looking when I’m considering a purchase. Right now, I’m getting ready to purchase a new front suspension, and the magazine has been very helpful.

What I don’t like about Bicycling

Bicycling isn’t nearly as bad as Mountain Bike, but the magazine seems to have an extraordinary amount of full-page advertisements. It is sometimes difficult to navigate through the magazine. However, to their defense, there are NO nasty 3x5-subscription cards that fall out in my lap. They exist on perforated pages.

I think the Letters Section is childish. Maybe that’s the type of people who write to the editor, I am assuming. They offer $50 and a free shirt if they pick your letter as the Letter of the Month, so maybe that encourages people to write tripe and mail it in.

I wish they would have a list of where I could find ALL the tips they claim are in the magazine.

Conclusion

I would recommend Bicycling to those who want a serious publication about the sport, but not written in a newspaper style and depth such as Velo. This is a far better magazine and written to a more mature audience than Mountain Bike, and DOES offer valuable information.

I plan on renewing my subscription.