Best Bike Mag?

[Force Majeure]

I think I probably like 'Bike' best.

But like all the gear reviews in ride, and the racing stuff in performance bikes.

I don't think superbikes is up to much.

You? Want your opinions before I subscribe.

Cheers

[Deckx]

everytime i buy a mag , 10 minutes after going through i think "shit ! what a waste of money"

i usually just read them of the shelves now ...

[TUG]

TWO is my fave tbh.
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Haz ER-5, innit!

[MarJay]

Performance Bikes and Bike are the best two in my opinion. It seems like the people who work for both have very similar biking interests to me. Tim Thompson and Steve Rose both love old two strokes. Tim has a KR1S and Steve has a TDR250. Bike appeals to the sensible side of me, but PB has all of the 'specials' and the mad stuff. I honestly can't choose between the two. I buy Ride when I'm bored but to be honest its mostly full of dross these days. I like the info it gives about second hand bikes, but I wouldn't call it rivetting.

Superbike is edited by a man who originated as the editor of a mountain biking magazine, and can barely ride. It used to be vaguely interesting when one of the Starboyz worked for them, but him and another road tester had a major falling out and they both quit. All of the tests etc seem to be '600 shootout' in nature, and the humour is the kind of thing I grew out of when I was thirteen. Superbike has recently tried to reinvent itself as a 'beginners' mag, and it totally hasn't worked and fallen flat. They probably did this because all the readers were 16 year old ped bois. Pure dustbin fodder.

I haven't seen Fast Bikes for a couple of years, but last time I did it was no better than Superbike. Still the half naked chicks in the centrefold with purple veiny legs because the studio is too cold, still the absolute lack of real knowledge about bikes, and still the faux "We're hard core we are!" nonsense. Again, as far as I am aware the editor knows almost nothing about bikes, and they don't have any real testers. They claim to be able to ride, but I can't see it somehow. At least with Bike, Ride and PB the testers tell you that they are ordinary people and not the next rossi, or totally mental as Superbike and Fast bikes seem to go to great pains to do.

Out of left field, a new recipient of my cash happens to be classic motorcycle mechanics, as they often feature Yamaha RDs. Which are of obvious interest to me!

Oh yeah, I left out TWO because it rarely appears on my magazine radar. I've tried it a few times, and the only conclusion I ever get is 'Total bollocks'. It seems to be more about the fashion of biking rather than actual riding and fixing. They do have people who can ride, and Niall Mackenzie works for them... his column is OK but it can also be seen on Visordown (TWO owns Visordown now) for free. Nothing in TWO has ever appealed to me specifically, and it seems to be aimed at people who ride for the fashion of it rather than the fun of it.

Never read BSH or Streetfighters, but I can't see them appealing to me.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[swiftb]

Fast Bikes and PB are the only mags i've read tbh. Both pretty entertaining, but doesn't seem to take very long to get through each issue, hence i tend to feel a bit ripped for my £4 when i get to the back page. Had some good freebies with fast bikes lately tho so can be good value now and then.

[Pernig]

I don't pick up the Emap mags anymore (Ride, Bike, PB) because they seem to be much the same and repeat themselves every couple of months. Bike does tend to have some pretty interesting articles though. Stuff like TWO just screams things like 'chav' and 'Max Power' to me.

There's a couple of magazines I like to read every now and again because they're something a bit different, and there's usually some really interesting stories to read. These are Classic Bike Guide and Classic and Motorcycle Mechanics. The publisher is just down the road from me too, which is cool.

Has anyone read that free Riders Digest that you get when you order Wemoto parts? I enjoy reading that.

MCN is alright if you want to see a different, original story about how the biking world is going to end every week. Only worth it if you follow the racing.
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H100 Breaking for spares

[smithy1219]

I get 'Fast bikes' and 'Bike' mag usually. Depends on really what they are talking about or what bikes they are testing in the mag which makes me decide what one to buy.

[LeeR]

Yeah I quite like Rider's Digest (you can subscribe to it for £12pa).

Used to subscribe to RiDE but at £45pa I think it's gotten too expensive, true the gear guides are good, but as Pernig said they do seem to repeat themselves (and perhaps that the nature of the business).

I used to look forward to their annual survey results, but that's got duller over the last two years and the results issue is no longer a BIG meaty issue as it used to be.

Also, I don't like the fact that some amazingly expensive boxer engined beamer always come out on top, that's as boring as everyone voting blade in the '90s.

BIKE I pick up occasionally, maybe bi-monthly, I did like the columns written by some very experienced chaps, but it's not worth the price just for those.

Bike news I can pick up almost anywhere and as they all report the same stuff I may as well get it here on BCF or elsewhere on the net.

As an aside I was in the local Suzuki dealer's the other day and I overheard the head sales chap talking to a naive punter and he said "...oh yeah ask any real biker and he'll tell you MCN is the bible of the biking world..." how I lolled
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My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[TheDonUK]

I enjoy The Riders Digest. - Gratis from many biking locations

And if buying a mag it would be Bike.
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[Ariel Badger]

The one I write for
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Alex-RS]

Performance bikes ftw. Fuck the others!

[salty21]

fast bikes for me, i like the freebies lol, got a nice beanie hat, visor cleaning kit and an oxford neck tube in the last few months.

im gonna subscribe today for £12 per quarter and recieve a free gift(oxford maximiser battery nanny thing)worth £50 quid which is something i have wanted for a while now, considering the mag is £4 anyway and i always buy it i may aswell get something free out of it, plus all the usual goodies that change with the seasons
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04 NSR 125(sold) ---- 03 CBR 600rr(sold) ----90 pan euro ST1100 '' ----02 CG 125
94 CB400 Super Four ---- 2000 VTR SP1 (sold) ---- 08 ninja p8f(sold, meh) ----05 CBR600rr

[neatbik]

I get BIKE every month, occasionally i will find an issue a bit boring but usually its a good read.
RIDE is boring, fast bikes are only interested in the latest and greatest bikes, and superbike i bought once and wished i hadnt.
I quite like BSH and 100% biker, although i rarely buy them.
I was given a copy of PB last week, and im quite impressed with it.
Interesting articles but with a bit of sillyness thrown in too.

[Matthie]

Fast bikes. I lost the hat.
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***Previous: GPR50, FZ750 *** Current: Monkey bike, yella SV 650 ***

Tutton says: I hate random hardons, they are so weird...

[Mord]

[Force Majeure]

I see you can pick up Riders Digest free!

What sort of stuff does it have in it?

[Billy Balthorpe]

Bike magazine is the only one i buy now. If i had to, i'd buy PB as well.

The best one always used to be Fast Bikes when Schiller was running it, no biased reports because they didnt get bikes given to them, they had to borrow and buy them, they did like their ducati's though. They also had testers like Shakey, Sean Emmet, Gary Mason, Rob Frost, all racers.

[Handsome]

Back Street Heroes and Streetfighters...
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Previous Bikes...Honda NSR 125 RR...Kawasaki Zephyr 550...Suzuki SV 1000 S...Yamaha FZ8...Current Bike...Suzuki GSX-R 750...

[Villers]

MCN can be a good buy especially at this time of year as you can stuff it in your jacket to keep warm. Also in the increasing economic crisis you could always wipe your arse with it. DO NOT ever try and read it though, if you want to hear conjecture and lies about motorcycling then you can get it for free off the chavs in Maccy D's carpark innit.

I havent bought a bike mag for ages, Im sick of reading about 600cc bikes that are half a second faster than each other around a track. I used to like RiDE but its gotten far too preachy for me and they keep trying to get me to go offroading etc. Reading their 'RiDE recommended' chains getting cracked open by one of the manufacturers in something like 10 seconds kind of put me off their reviews too.

Meh
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[Whosthedaddy]

[map]

Problem with the Bike, Ride, PB, etc. is thay get a bit the same and run the same articles, test, etc. at the same time every year. SO once you've done a year's subscription it just repeats.

As something different I try and pick up Motorcycle Sport and Leisure.
It does what it says on the tin as it's a good mixture bikes, sports, cruisers, tourers, etc. plus other stuff.
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Force Majeure]

Why is MCN so bad?

[Handsome]

[hellkat]

How can you not know what Back Street Heroes is?
*shock horror*

I got bored of Back Street Heroes a couple of years ago*, but I might give it another go in the near future.

I occasionally read The Horse (strangely subtitled "Back Street Choppers" some time ago, much to the consternation of BSH readers, LOL) cos that was one of the first bike mags I started reading WAY BACK when it was called Iron Horse.

I considered taking up reading 100% Biker until recently, but now I dare not be seen reading it
(under the covers, with a torch, late at night when nobody's around, maybe, just to check the competition, heh, of course, that's what I'm doing ...)

Aathough actually ...
I am currently enjoying another quite-new mag entitled Greasy Kulture at the moment, which has got custom cars AND bikes in it (but not those essexboy type cars, more those sort of greaser cars, and bikes like bobbers, american graffiti, mentality of whitby, proper old school choppin', ratfinkin', tiki loungin', type of stuff, if you even know the sort of thing I mean).


















*I'm admitting this in public at the risk of bringing down the wrath of the editor upon my head in person, ouch that would sting, LOL. Mind you, the reason I stopped reading it was not so much the content, but my personal state of mind at the time, which seems to be still only just righting itself now.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Handsome]

I subscribe to BSH and Streetfighters, I also subscribe to Superbike but that's gone shite so I'm going to cancel that one...
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Previous Bikes...Honda NSR 125 RR...Kawasaki Zephyr 550...Suzuki SV 1000 S...Yamaha FZ8...Current Bike...Suzuki GSX-R 750...