"... Of course, one reason I dumped Bicycling is that most of its writing was pretty dull, after they dumped their editors -- Bill Strickland, the aging, raging roadie whose name I forget, and others in the annum horribilem 2 decades or so ago ..."
I used to subscribe for a number or years back in the mid-70's, too, and the tech editor I remember was Fred DeLong. Not sure if that's who you're thinking of. I will say this about mags like Bicycling - special interest periodicals tend to regurgitate the same old stuff in a cyclical fashion because how much can you talk about something in a niche, narrow scope without exhausting the material, doesn't matter if it's golf, fishing, archery, etc. So, they tend to pick up new, unfamiliar readers on the front end and gradually drop the more experienced ones off the back. It's a tough business and the new, fresh break throughs are few and far between. Which is probably why they went along with the latest and greatest when all the aluminum, titanium, and CF stuff came along. But the great thing about the old, old Bicycling was people like Fred and his always innovative ways of viewing something, including clever maintenance and repairs. On Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 7:43:55 PM UTC-5, Patrick Moore wrote: > > Well, perhaps not "nonsense" so much as the thoughtless assertion that > comes from having to fill column inches by a deadline? And, as Steve says, > perhaps he meant SRAM and Campy? > > Back to Bicycling: 30 years ago, when I started cycling again after a more > or less 10 year hiatus, I recall eagerly anticipating the next issue of > Bicycling at the grocery store, until I finally subscribed. I do think it > was a better mag 30 years ago, though. But after about 15 years of reading > it, the truth of what someone at a bike shop once said to me, "The same > articles come around again and again," became apparent, and I stopped > reading it -- about the same time, btw, that I dumped my lycra, helmet, and > padded gloves. Make of that what you will. > > I've subscribed to or at least read many bike mags -- Road Bike Action, > Mountain Bike Action (Zap Espinoza!!!), Dirt Rag, the omnium gatherum from > G Britain whose name I forget -- a big name, Velo News, BRIN, and of course > BQ. BQ is the only one I subscribe to now, and it's by far the best in most > categories. > > BUT!!! While BQ has expanded it coverage a great deal, where it falls > short is the quality and variety of writing. Understand me: not the quality > of the information -- that is head, shoulders, knees, and toes above > everything else. But while Zap, for instance, was no great thinker, even > limiting the discussions to bikes, even his MTB Action had a liveliness > that -- even while you spat condemnatory curses -- drew you at least > moderately to anticipate it. > > Of course, one reason I dumped Bicycling is that most of its writing was > pretty dull, after they dumped their editors -- Bill Strickland, the aging, > raging roadie whose name I forget, and others in the annum horribilem 2 > decades or so ago. > > Spouting my own opinion from the housetops, I say that the best thing that > Jan can do for his otherwise excellent mag is to assemble a stable of good > writers who are also cycling afficionados. Keep the focus on > 650B/randoneuring/low trail/front loading/French constructeurs -- I love > reading about those, tho' the Jones, the Alaska fatbike expedition, and the > tours, are icing on the cake. The history in particular interests me a > great deal. > > But I think that BQ has outgrown its original scope and is on the verge of > becoming a truly popular, professionally kitted, cycling mag (the move to > color was another step). The one important step remaining, IMO, is boosting > the variety and style of the writing. > > On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 1:07 PM, jeffrey kane <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> So much nonsense. He says *"the bikes are rare, and so are the brakes*" >> and then lists 11 models of currently available brake sets. >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
