The end of Performance Bikes magazine?
Discussion
I’ve gone the other way, recently started buying it again regularly vs buying at airport. Plus Bike magazine which is has a wider mix of bile types (now I’m old)....
I’ve never forgotten a story Simon Hargraves did riding the new R1 on the autoroute at something like 5am. His mission was to pin the throttle and keep it pinned until the tank ran dry.... stupid, dangerous, fantastic read....
I’ve never forgotten a story Simon Hargraves did riding the new R1 on the autoroute at something like 5am. His mission was to pin the throttle and keep it pinned until the tank ran dry.... stupid, dangerous, fantastic read....
Jazoli said:
Its not being wound up completely and will live on as Practical Sportsbike/Performance Bike, read the thread below.
http://pbmagforum.co.uk/topic/69027-the-future-of-...
"Sorry, there is a problemhttp://pbmagforum.co.uk/topic/69027-the-future-of-...
You do not have permission to view this content.
Error code: 2F173/H "
Can you copy/paste it please mate?
chris4652009 said:
Jazoli said:
Its not being wound up completely and will live on as Practical Sportsbike/Performance Bike, read the thread below.
http://pbmagforum.co.uk/topic/69027-the-future-of-...
"Sorry, there is a problemhttp://pbmagforum.co.uk/topic/69027-the-future-of-...
You do not have permission to view this content.
Error code: 2F173/H "
Can you copy/paste it please mate?
Not suprised but maybe people buying it out of habit will be pleasantly suprised if they move over to PS with
the one article that made you buy a whole issue of PB.
I stopped buying these things around 2000 when it all just became some sort of club racers diary but brought an
issue of Bike around 2004 which was as thick as a paperback. Over 200 pages. This was probably the peak of paper mags and a happy functioning society.
the one article that made you buy a whole issue of PB.
I stopped buying these things around 2000 when it all just became some sort of club racers diary but brought an
issue of Bike around 2004 which was as thick as a paperback. Over 200 pages. This was probably the peak of paper mags and a happy functioning society.
turbomoped said:
Not suprised but maybe people buying it out of habit will be pleasantly suprised if they move over to PS with
the one article that made you buy a whole issue of PB.
I stopped buying these things around 2000 when it all just became some sort of club racers diary but brought an
issue of Bike around 2004 which was as thick as a paperback. Over 200 pages. This was probably the peak of paper mags and a happy functioning society.
I subscribe to both. Was going to let my PS subscription expire, in spite of getting it since issue one. PS started well, but there's only so many times you can do another article on an RD350 or a CBX1000 restoration, where the owner goes on about how wonderful it is, but has never ridden it, or they test ride it and tell you all about how wonderful it is in spite of it being stuck in 3rd gear, having a broken shock or not revving past 3k rpm.the one article that made you buy a whole issue of PB.
I stopped buying these things around 2000 when it all just became some sort of club racers diary but brought an
issue of Bike around 2004 which was as thick as a paperback. Over 200 pages. This was probably the peak of paper mags and a happy functioning society.
As they exhaust the back catalogue of decent sports bikes, their articles are more and more about bikes that were proper s
t even when new, billed as 'forgotten gems', or aren't even sports bikes. "The marvelous RF600, the wonderful TRX850 (Yamaha's Ducati), an exciting VTR250"Add to that, they are running out of 'workshop' ideas, so much as learning how to do Ducati Pantah valve clearances by pictures is interesting... there are mountains of far more useful youtube guides you can use that are actually relevant personally.
PB had monthly articles following Rutter, columns from McGuinness, Guy Martin, Jeremy McWilliams etc, some decent long term test and project bikes, useful group tests, fast tours, the best controlled tyre tests, plus the excellent tyre controlled Rutter Donington laptimes of the latest quick bikes.
Personally, I can see PS dying off too now as it'll appease neither enthusiast enough to carry on buying it.
PB was a bit of a benchmark in my view and although I can see why mags like Ride and Bike have a wider appeal, it's a real shame PB goes whilst FB and the like carry on.
3DP said:
turbomoped said:
Not suprised but maybe people buying it out of habit will be pleasantly suprised if they move over to PS with
the one article that made you buy a whole issue of PB.
I stopped buying these things around 2000 when it all just became some sort of club racers diary but brought an
issue of Bike around 2004 which was as thick as a paperback. Over 200 pages. This was probably the peak of paper mags and a happy functioning society.
I subscribe to both. Was going to let my PS subscription expire, in spite of getting it since issue one. PS started well, but there's only so many times you can do another article on an RD350 or a CBX1000 restoration, where the owner goes on about how wonderful it is, but has never ridden it, or they test ride it and tell you all about how wonderful it is in spite of it being stuck in 3rd gear, having a broken shock or not revving past 3k rpm.the one article that made you buy a whole issue of PB.
I stopped buying these things around 2000 when it all just became some sort of club racers diary but brought an
issue of Bike around 2004 which was as thick as a paperback. Over 200 pages. This was probably the peak of paper mags and a happy functioning society.
As they exhaust the back catalogue of decent sports bikes, their articles are more and more about bikes that were proper s
t even when new, billed as 'forgotten gems', or aren't even sports bikes. "The marvelous RF600, the wonderful TRX850 (Yamaha's Ducati), an exciting VTR250"Add to that, they are running out of 'workshop' ideas, so much as learning how to do Ducati Pantah valve clearances by pictures is interesting... there are mountains of far more useful youtube guides you can use that are actually relevant personally.
PB had monthly articles following Rutter, columns from McGuinness, Guy Martin, Jeremy McWilliams etc, some decent long term test and project bikes, useful group tests, fast tours, the best controlled tyre tests, plus the excellent tyre controlled Rutter Donington laptimes of the latest quick bikes.
Personally, I can see PS dying off too now as it'll appease neither enthusiast enough to carry on buying it.
PB was a bit of a benchmark in my view and although I can see why mags like Ride and Bike have a wider appeal, it's a real shame PB goes whilst FB and the like carry on.
IforB said:
chris4652009 said:
Jazoli said:
Its not being wound up completely and will live on as Practical Sportsbike/Performance Bike, read the thread below.
http://pbmagforum.co.uk/topic/69027-the-future-of-...
"Sorry, there is a problemhttp://pbmagforum.co.uk/topic/69027-the-future-of-...
You do not have permission to view this content.
Error code: 2F173/H "
Can you copy/paste it please mate?
pbchris said:
As the news is leaking out through the trade now, it's time to tell you what we're up to with PB.
The short version: it's being merged in to Practical Sportsbikes, as a PB-headed dedicated section covering pretty much the same feature material we do now (tests, launches, interviews, trips, specials, race bikes) without the window dressing of letters, news etc. PS will continue covering what it always has, with a mild refresh and update which was due anyay. I'll be in charge of the joint mag, and existing contributors/staff will be retained. It's close to business as usual, but one, larger product will come out every month instead of two.
The longer explanation...
We're doing it because we don't want PB to wither and die like Superbike did, and Fast Bikes has to all intents and purposes. PB is in no danger of doing that just yet, but rather than wait for it to get further squeezed by sales, or adverts, or overheads, we're taking action. Fast Bikes is a mess, and the sales figures they haven't been prepared to have independently audited are tiny. They can pretty much only cover stuff that's paid for by someone else - they couldn't dream of sending contributors on road trips, track testing every month, and any of the other stuff PB sticks our neck out to do. It's terrible, and no way to produce a magazine. I'm not smug or superior about this: it's a shame we don't have a strong rival to keep us on our toes and maintain interest in sportsbikes. We don't want PB to have to reach that stage. We still put our wallet and back in to stuff you can't read or watch online, and we'd like it to stay that way.
So we're distilling what we do - keeping the core PB stuff (which we quizzed you lot on a month or so back) and dropping the other stuff that's not essential, and moving it in to PS.
Practical Sportsbikes is the right home for PB - it's all ex-PB staffers anyway, and when you look at the people in PS/PB/on this forum, there's a lot of crossover. People with new bikes who like old ones, people with old ones curious about new ones, and people who own both. It's also 100 issues old now, and due to expand the time period it covers - including a chunk of PB lets it do that, without cutting coverage of the stuff it always has. It'll be one larger, comprehensive magazine for people who own and appreciate sportsbikes in the wider sense, rather than two specialising in a niche. It'll also cost the same money - so you'll be getting a larger, more varied mag for your money
It's not far away from how PB came about, when it morphed from Motorcycle Mechanics in to the mag you know now in 1985, to reflect a changing bike market. The world PB reflected (and created to a great extent) has changed a lot in nearly 34 years, so it's time for the mag to change with it.
When, what happens to my sub etc
There are two more issues of PB and PS as a standalone before the tie-up: January and February 2019. Issue 101/March 2019 Practical Sportsbikes will then incorporate PB. If you're a subscriber (through official Bauer/Great Magazines channels), you'll be contacted soon about the terms of this.
The forum's future
Business as usual, for the moment. There are no plans to close it, or change its name, or do anything for that matter. I still see it as a valuable part of the PB world, so it's being left alone. But the hosting etc does come out of PB's budget: that's all well and good whilst it continues to give something back to active magazine readers (a decent number of you, I feel), and also funnel useful stuff back in to the mag - bikes, stories, a steer on readers and the like. A mag forum is an unusual thing these days and most seem to have disappeared, but I think it still has its place alongside social media so I'd like to see it continue.
But... if it's no longer populated by readers and isn't helping PB in its new guise, it simply won't be worth diverting money from the mag, and Kar's (much appreciated) time and efforts running it. As much sentiment as there is around this place as well as the mag, cold business facts will be the decider: PB (and PS) pays the mortgages of and feeds a number of good people, and I'll put them first. If the forum became a drain rather than being a positive asset, closing it would be the only sensible thing to do. I genuinely hope it doesn't come to that: in an ideal world you'll enjoy the new-format mag and pbmagforum will play a part in that in its future.
A final note...
Myself, Johnny and the PS team have put a lot of planning work in already, with plenty more to do before it goes live next year. Hand on heart, we're excited by this: it's a chance to do something new, different and exciting for us. Both mags have a subtly different skillset, and putting those in one place gives us a great chance to do more - there hasn't been a team with a breadth of experience and knowledge bigger than this for many years (and certainly not anywhere now). Each mag brings stuff to the table that will benefit the other.
We're going to be putting our back in to doing right by both mags - PB means a lot to all of us, and PS is also dear to those of us who've worked on it for similar reasons, so we'll be doing our damnedest to do right by both. I understand there'll be a lot of skepticism regarding that - we're prepared for it, but we think the merged magazine will work for a lot of you, give PB a future that isn't the publishing equivalent of dying piss-stained and senile in a chair and helps move PS onwards and upwards too. We think you'll enjoy it: give it a go and give us some feedback when the first few mags are out.
Chris
The short version: it's being merged in to Practical Sportsbikes, as a PB-headed dedicated section covering pretty much the same feature material we do now (tests, launches, interviews, trips, specials, race bikes) without the window dressing of letters, news etc. PS will continue covering what it always has, with a mild refresh and update which was due anyay. I'll be in charge of the joint mag, and existing contributors/staff will be retained. It's close to business as usual, but one, larger product will come out every month instead of two.
The longer explanation...
We're doing it because we don't want PB to wither and die like Superbike did, and Fast Bikes has to all intents and purposes. PB is in no danger of doing that just yet, but rather than wait for it to get further squeezed by sales, or adverts, or overheads, we're taking action. Fast Bikes is a mess, and the sales figures they haven't been prepared to have independently audited are tiny. They can pretty much only cover stuff that's paid for by someone else - they couldn't dream of sending contributors on road trips, track testing every month, and any of the other stuff PB sticks our neck out to do. It's terrible, and no way to produce a magazine. I'm not smug or superior about this: it's a shame we don't have a strong rival to keep us on our toes and maintain interest in sportsbikes. We don't want PB to have to reach that stage. We still put our wallet and back in to stuff you can't read or watch online, and we'd like it to stay that way.
So we're distilling what we do - keeping the core PB stuff (which we quizzed you lot on a month or so back) and dropping the other stuff that's not essential, and moving it in to PS.
Practical Sportsbikes is the right home for PB - it's all ex-PB staffers anyway, and when you look at the people in PS/PB/on this forum, there's a lot of crossover. People with new bikes who like old ones, people with old ones curious about new ones, and people who own both. It's also 100 issues old now, and due to expand the time period it covers - including a chunk of PB lets it do that, without cutting coverage of the stuff it always has. It'll be one larger, comprehensive magazine for people who own and appreciate sportsbikes in the wider sense, rather than two specialising in a niche. It'll also cost the same money - so you'll be getting a larger, more varied mag for your money
It's not far away from how PB came about, when it morphed from Motorcycle Mechanics in to the mag you know now in 1985, to reflect a changing bike market. The world PB reflected (and created to a great extent) has changed a lot in nearly 34 years, so it's time for the mag to change with it.
When, what happens to my sub etc
There are two more issues of PB and PS as a standalone before the tie-up: January and February 2019. Issue 101/March 2019 Practical Sportsbikes will then incorporate PB. If you're a subscriber (through official Bauer/Great Magazines channels), you'll be contacted soon about the terms of this.
The forum's future
Business as usual, for the moment. There are no plans to close it, or change its name, or do anything for that matter. I still see it as a valuable part of the PB world, so it's being left alone. But the hosting etc does come out of PB's budget: that's all well and good whilst it continues to give something back to active magazine readers (a decent number of you, I feel), and also funnel useful stuff back in to the mag - bikes, stories, a steer on readers and the like. A mag forum is an unusual thing these days and most seem to have disappeared, but I think it still has its place alongside social media so I'd like to see it continue.
But... if it's no longer populated by readers and isn't helping PB in its new guise, it simply won't be worth diverting money from the mag, and Kar's (much appreciated) time and efforts running it. As much sentiment as there is around this place as well as the mag, cold business facts will be the decider: PB (and PS) pays the mortgages of and feeds a number of good people, and I'll put them first. If the forum became a drain rather than being a positive asset, closing it would be the only sensible thing to do. I genuinely hope it doesn't come to that: in an ideal world you'll enjoy the new-format mag and pbmagforum will play a part in that in its future.
A final note...
Myself, Johnny and the PS team have put a lot of planning work in already, with plenty more to do before it goes live next year. Hand on heart, we're excited by this: it's a chance to do something new, different and exciting for us. Both mags have a subtly different skillset, and putting those in one place gives us a great chance to do more - there hasn't been a team with a breadth of experience and knowledge bigger than this for many years (and certainly not anywhere now). Each mag brings stuff to the table that will benefit the other.
We're going to be putting our back in to doing right by both mags - PB means a lot to all of us, and PS is also dear to those of us who've worked on it for similar reasons, so we'll be doing our damnedest to do right by both. I understand there'll be a lot of skepticism regarding that - we're prepared for it, but we think the merged magazine will work for a lot of you, give PB a future that isn't the publishing equivalent of dying piss-stained and senile in a chair and helps move PS onwards and upwards too. We think you'll enjoy it: give it a go and give us some feedback when the first few mags are out.
Chris
I think that’s the mag with the 125 challenge.
Always remember that article over a few issues one got a na125r one a tzr125 I think and the other a CG125.
Then they ran and tuned them.
Remember laughthing my head off at the cg guy doing nothing but putting NOS on it. Did two laps like a bat out of hell on straights them blew up.
Always remember that article over a few issues one got a na125r one a tzr125 I think and the other a CG125.
Then they ran and tuned them.
Remember laughthing my head off at the cg guy doing nothing but putting NOS on it. Did two laps like a bat out of hell on straights them blew up.
Ah well, thats the end to all the rumour then, for me, liking both the PS era bikes and modern stuff, its could be a winner but many of the PS crew will be critical if any PS content is perceived as being amended/shortened.
Re PB and the 125, they did loads of 125 stuff didnt they? I found an old mag the other week with a AR125 and RD125LC tune up.
For me the best feature was when they rode a TZR125, RG125 and possibly an AR125 to the Bol 'Dor...
Re PB and the 125, they did loads of 125 stuff didnt they? I found an old mag the other week with a AR125 and RD125LC tune up.
For me the best feature was when they rode a TZR125, RG125 and possibly an AR125 to the Bol 'Dor...
I'll miss it. I only started biking in 2009, but followed new bike releases avidly for four years or so before then. PB was one of the only magazines that really talked about the sort of 'modern classics' that I'm interested in. PS feels like it's aimed at an older crowd (in terms of bike taste). Wandering around the bike show at the NEC just again reinforced the fact that biking in the UK is an old man's thing now – there was a saddening lack of youngish people (I'm 33 and juuuust about include myself in that).
I feel I need a bike equivalent of Modern Classics mag (cracking read - hunt it down), but for bikes.
I feel I need a bike equivalent of Modern Classics mag (cracking read - hunt it down), but for bikes.
3DP said:
I subscribe to both. Was going to let my PS subscription expire, in spite of getting it since issue one. PS started well, but there's only so many times you can do another article on an RD350 or a CBX1000 restoration, where the owner goes on about how wonderful it is, but has never ridden it, or they test ride it and tell you all about how wonderful it is in spite of it being stuck in 3rd gear, having a broken shock or not revving past 3k rpm.
As they exhaust the back catalogue of decent sports bikes, their articles are more and more about bikes that were proper st even when new, billed as 'forgotten gems', or aren't even sports bikes. "The marvelous RF600, the wonderful TRX850 (Yamaha's Ducati), an exciting VTR250"
Add to that, they are running out of 'workshop' ideas, so much as learning how to do Ducati Pantah valve clearances by pictures is interesting... there are mountains of far more useful youtube guides you can use that are actually relevant personally.
PB had monthly articles following Rutter, columns from McGuinness, Guy Martin, Jeremy McWilliams etc, some decent long term test and project bikes, useful group tests, fast tours, the best controlled tyre tests, plus the excellent tyre controlled Rutter Donington laptimes of the latest quick bikes.
Personally, I can see PS dying off too now as it'll appease neither enthusiast enough to carry on buying it.
PB was a bit of a benchmark in my view and although I can see why mags like Ride and Bike have a wider appeal, it's a real shame PB goes whilst FB and the like carry on.
that sums it up for me. sign of the times.a lot of kids these days seem to prefer a more sedentary lifestyle that revolves around their phone over catapulting themselves down the road and into various bits of scenery by motorcycle. both my kids are girls, i did try,they both had quads and the eldest a bike before they got to the make up and fashion phase.As they exhaust the back catalogue of decent sports bikes, their articles are more and more about bikes that were proper s
t even when new, billed as 'forgotten gems', or aren't even sports bikes. "The marvelous RF600, the wonderful TRX850 (Yamaha's Ducati), an exciting VTR250"Add to that, they are running out of 'workshop' ideas, so much as learning how to do Ducati Pantah valve clearances by pictures is interesting... there are mountains of far more useful youtube guides you can use that are actually relevant personally.
PB had monthly articles following Rutter, columns from McGuinness, Guy Martin, Jeremy McWilliams etc, some decent long term test and project bikes, useful group tests, fast tours, the best controlled tyre tests, plus the excellent tyre controlled Rutter Donington laptimes of the latest quick bikes.
Personally, I can see PS dying off too now as it'll appease neither enthusiast enough to carry on buying it.
PB was a bit of a benchmark in my view and although I can see why mags like Ride and Bike have a wider appeal, it's a real shame PB goes whilst FB and the like carry on.
legislation has also played a big part and given the people that create that appear to be as exciting as a dead fish,it is not surprising riding quick motorcycles is a slowly dying trend.
clive_candy said:
Did they make much of a deal of it does anyone know?
No. It was a pretty standard issue. Think my copy went in the recycling quite quickly.I got the first issue of the new combination and can’t see it lasting unfortunately. The practical element felt a bit like finding an old weathered copy of razzle in a hedgerow but not as good. Lots of clapped out shagged bikes and dirty looking hacks.
Didn’t see any SH articles in the PBPS mag, looks like they’ve pretty much cleared alot of PS guys out. The new mags was ok, tbh i think a compromise of the worst of both worlds isn’t the best idea. CN seems to have gone full circle, not once did he mention the ‘classics’ and was all over the modern kit when he edited PB, now, well..
I’ll buy it at the airports and see how it goes. Fast Bikes is a joke and Bike, Ride are a little on the dull side.
The kicker is nothing was made of the finale. A magazine which did some brilliant things, with brilliant journo’s went out with a whimper.
RP, Franklin, Forsyth, Hargreaves, Ronnie, Gus, Dale, JR....the list goes on.
Shame really. Deffo the end of an era and the formative years as I grew up nursing various bike related injuries.
I’ll buy it at the airports and see how it goes. Fast Bikes is a joke and Bike, Ride are a little on the dull side.
The kicker is nothing was made of the finale. A magazine which did some brilliant things, with brilliant journo’s went out with a whimper.
RP, Franklin, Forsyth, Hargreaves, Ronnie, Gus, Dale, JR....the list goes on.
Shame really. Deffo the end of an era and the formative years as I grew up nursing various bike related injuries.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 24th February 18:21
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