Mountain Bike Action

[Blueliner]

I have purchased this magazine sporadically over the years, so maybe 2 or 3 issues a year. My wife bought me a years subscription for christmas, so I have had it now for 3 issues in a row, plus I think I got the issue just before my subscription kicked in. I really noticed that I breeze through it just too fast, what I usually read very carefully are the trail/travel/adventure articles, I also enjoy the pictures they publish. But I find the bike reviews useless too me as most of them are for bikes I would never spend that kind of money on. I think it is a good magazine to get a measure of the sport from time to time, but I think I can get a lot of that from MTBR anyway so I am not sure I would renew the subsciption. What do you think, how do you rate MBA's value to you.

Blueliner

[pizon]

they are the guys who keep publishing opinion pieces to ban dh bikes right?

[Vespasianus]

The key thing to remember with MBA is that all reviews are owned by the bike company and can be used for advertisement. The reviews are also biased by who they like and who they don't. Otherwise, it is what it is. A quick read to keep next to the toilet.

[rustybkr]

I rate it as a waste of time...

[Finch Platte]

I always go against the grain of the general consensus around here, but it's my favorite mag. I think it's improved vastly over the past couple of years, and even tho it's one of the more expensive (via subscription) mags, I keep renewing.

It's not perfect, and there are a few things I wish they would change, but I would continue to subscribe. That's my vote.

[rockcrusher]

like all sources of information you take it with what it offers. As a far as I am concerned most magazines are just trade journals, highlighting what is new to buy and discussing what you should buy. Dirt Rag falls farthest from this concept with Bike between MBA/bicycling magazine's formats of "buy this, buy that".

MTBR is a great resource for that stuff too but it is best for the passion, why I ride, kinda thing. You really don't get that in many mags and you definitely don't get it for free.

[jclyle]

If you use ipad check out the Readr app (yes that is correct spelling). You can read all the magazines you want for $10 a month or 20 min of free reading per month. They have about 10 cycling titles including dirt, dirt rag, MTb action and a few others

[dirt farmer]

I always go against the grain of the general consensus around here, but it's my favorite mag. I think it's improved vastly over the past couple of years, and even tho it's one of the more expensive (via subscription) mags, I keep renewing.

It's not perfect, and there are a few things I wish they would change, but I would continue to subscribe. That's my vote.

I agree. It has gotten better, to the point where it's my favorite (compared to Bike, or Dirt Rag).

I like the Q & A section, the "do-it-yourself" section, and the gear ratings, (gear other than bikes).

[dwt]

Isn't MBA a division of Specialized?



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[patrick2cents]

Isn't MBA a division of Specialized?



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LOL... it does feel like that. I think their bike reviews are pretty worthless but some of the content is quite enjoyable.

[dirt farmer]

Isn't MBA a division of Specialized?



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I actually believe the days of Specialized ejaculation are over with for them. They truly are recommending other bikes than Spec. (on occasion)

[Uncle Six Pack]

I used to enjoy reading MBA. I always managed to find something worth reading in every issue (I mean, it may be kinda lame, but still about mt bikes,so can't be all bad). But then I became very tired of reading the "same" article month after month about 29 inch wheels, 15mm qr, and 2x10 drive trains. I finally let the subscription lapse and haven't really missed it.

[OhGee]

It's not referred to as Mountain Bike Fiction for nothing.

[jimwg]

I like Dirtrag better, but since moving to a more rural area, I'm LUCKY to find MTBA on a magazine rack (no chance of finding Dirtrag or ANY other selection) I'm oldschool so I much prefer buying a magazine that I can read on the can to browsing for internet articles. Like:the maintenance and tech articles, the reader's input, the "destinations" pictorials, AND the bike reviews. Even though most of the bikes are out of my price range, they give you alot of clues on what to look for in a bike you might buy i.e. replaceable der. hanger? 15mm thru axle? pro pedal platform? (I might not have these on my present bikes but expect this stuff to trickle down by the time I buy my next bike. The most helpful thing though IMO are the MSRP's that give you a good feel for what kind of bike I'm going to be looking at: Approx.$1500 for a sette, specialized camber, fezzari, salsa spearfish, or Jamis Dakar as opposed to $3-4000 for a (insert brand name here) that I probably can't afford, but I can look for similar features in the less expensive choices.

[Dirty $anchez]

how do you rate MBA's value to you.

Blueliner

Lower than whale spunk.

[Orthoguy]

I have a subscription to both Dirt Rag and MBA. I enjoy reading everything I can get my hands on about our sport. I will say that I connect much more with Dirt Rag though.

[dirt farmer]

I have a subscription to both Dirt Rag and MBA. I enjoy reading everything I can get my hands on about our sport. I will say that I connect much more with Dirt Rag though.

Have they finally found a copy editor? Their spelling and grammatical errors were really getting stale.

[joeduda]

ya, they did an article on motocross and mtn biking, brought up Cole Seely and Will Hahn, only because they were specialized supported riders, no mention of last years champ Eli Tomac. What could be more related to mtn biking, the king of mountian bike racings kid, a champ like the old man. except Eli rides a tomac. Jokers.

[B-Mac]

Not a fan at all.

They lost more or less all respect from me when they proselytized the kenda nevegal (suckiest tire ever?), but the idiotic rants about banning DH bikes are worse. It's like they're actively trying to make the sport worse. Too bad there's not a "MTB Pope" that could excommunicate the editorial staff. Maybe John Tomac??

[Orthoguy]

You know, their grammatical and spelling mistakes are as frequent as they ever were. How does that happen in today's age?

[lobster_CT]

they are the guys who keep publishing opinion pieces to ban dh bikes right?

Yep. Can't stand that Mac guy. The DH rant was the first strike. Its the bikes fault for unsactioned trail use, not the riders. Wow. The second was when he lent out his bike to an inexperienced friend and didn't bother to adjust the derailleur stops. Mac was lazy and avoiding problematic gear combos rather than adjusting the stops. The friend blew up his back wheel shifting the chain into the spokes. Mac then proceeded to whine about the manufacturers not designing the stops differently.

I think this guy is a perfect poster boy for people that can't be responsible for themselves. I wish they would hire someone else to write commentary that could be a true ambassador to our sport, rather than a divisive tool.

Pretty much every issue seems alike. They are all basically a wheel size comparison.

[rockcrusher]

Not a fan at all.

They lost more or less all respect from me when they proselytized the kenda nevegal (suckiest tire ever?), but the idiotic rants about banning DH bikes are worse. It's like they're actively trying to make the sport worse. Too bad there's not a "MTB Pope" that could excommunicate the editorial staff. Maybe John Tomac??

I think they still list him and Mike Bell as Technical Consultants. It used to be impressive, in 1988 not so much now.

They lost ground when they lost Zap. I think he was pushed out because the reviews of that time were actually scathing if a bike didn't meet muster. Not like now when everything is pretty good no matter what it is.

[006_007]

What do you think, how do you rate MBA's value to you.

Blueliner

Once they start publishing it in a format to fit the Park Tool TP-2 then MBA will finally have a use for me.

[Vespasianus]

I always go against the grain of the general consensus around here, but it's my favorite mag. I think it's improved vastly over the past couple of years, and even tho it's one of the more expensive (via subscription) mags, I keep renewing.

It's not perfect, and there are a few things I wish they would change, but I would continue to subscribe. That's my vote.

Don't think that is crazy. I have most issues going back to 1993! It is bike porn. Nothing more, nothing less.

[IDkid]

Gave up on MBA a year ago. Can't exactly put my finger on what I didn't like about it but it just wasn't doing it for me. I'm subbed to BIKE and Dirt Rag and really look forward to getting those every month.