#1 General Comment:
I think one of the pictures for each of the bike tests should be of the reviewer riding. It helps a lot in conveying the geometry and style of the bike. I remember seeing this once in Michael Browne's review of the Diamondback freeride bike?
#1 Issue Specific Comment:
The Jerusalem article was different and very interesting, though I was dissapointed every time I turned the page and there were no more pictures! For an article that spanned six pages three pictures is not enough, especially when the subject of the article is an exotic land. The title picture was way too dark to justify taking up a whole page, and I never got to see the stair gaps, local and admittedly diverse riders, or angry father figures. I'm upset because I really cared about the piece.
Artwork:
The color of the cover is nice, though the bike carnival is a bit average in conception. In fact, I found that most of the large art pieces were disappointing. The contents page was very plain, though I'll bear it for the sake of diversity and the limited production of bicycle watercolors. I think Mike Pfaltzgraff has been relied on a little too much lately. I understand that it's hard to commission article specific work, but his simplistic style is starting to wear on me. While he creates some decent work, I found the Endurance Racing backgrounds to be nothing more than space fillers.
Philip Newsom's colorful crowd and open white space was refreshing and yet detail enough to encourage closer observing. David Biber's work was professional as always, and unique in conception.
The small little artworks hidden throught the issue were really the saving grace artistically. The numerous black and white cartoons and the works of Pokey proved to be the most interesting.
May I suggest against using photos on the subscription and postcards as the contrast is often washed out and the picture becomes dull.
Departments:
The In the Headlines section once again proved itself as a valuable resource, and inspired my to research further, one of the best things a magazine can do.
The Dirt Rag Index was particularly hard to grasp this time, and illustrates the dangers of uninterpreted statistics. I'm still glad to struggle with it.
The Dirt Bag Way, while informative was too expensive an idea for the likes of me
The Old Coot's old perspective was still a valuable reminder about the always confusing pseudo-science of bike fit, but I didn't need to read about him winning a raffle... their was no lesson there.
The Inside Line was nice and detailed in descriptions and photos.
Last Chance for Gas looked nice with the green and red, but as usual there was very little substance. The links and idea might benefit someone, but telling readers that kids are obese and that bike commuting is hard is a tad silly. I'd rather read about the encounters the author had thanks to being the notorious biker.
I haven't read the builder profile yet, though it is often my favorite section, but the pictures were disappointing. When I read about builders I want to see their work space, and if you are going to use up two photos to show me the two builders, at least give them two different bikes to show off! I like to think of photos as a resource. Make sure every picture shows as much detail as possible. Either by being a close up, or by using the background to show off the environment. I don't need to see the builder's whole bodies and earth toned outfits, and I don't need to see the garage door... twice! Show me their face as they work on some detail and use the remaining space to give me a sense of their workshop.
The Dykstra Interview was interesting, and he had a lot of interesting points to make about biking and bike building. Since the picture was taken by a family member I assume it was the only one you had to work with so I can accuse you for using the same picture for the artsy sidebar. The warped effect is fine, but normally I would want a new picture of something about his life I haven't seen yet.
The reviews of bikes and products were nicely diverse and unique. I especially enjoyed reading about the two riding packs, the Profile Hub (beautiful picture of the pawls) and Schwinabart's personal journey with the Mongoose.
Microbytes is a great section. I always learn about some new aspect of bike accessory culture.
Linear Mode
