Another motorcycle magazine bites the dust. Hot Bike, a V-Twin-centric monthly production, has ceased publishing. It's the latest casualty to join the ranks of deceased moto mags in the U.S.
Hot Bike joins Street Chopper, Bagger, Motorcycle Bagger, Dirt Rider, Sport Rider, ATV Rider and UTV Driver in the print morgue. Cycle World has been reduced to quarterly and Motorcyclist to bi-monthly formats.
The interweb continues to claim more victims, as many of these titles live on in web format, which are often just click-bait and advertising placement with thin and dubious content. What's happening? I don't know, but we all do know that the emerging internet generations don't have an attachment to print media and that the traditional ("old fart") consumers are fading fast from the sport. Most magazines live by advertisers' dollars, and the advertisers are the canaries in this coal mine.
I still subscribe to Cycle World (for its writing), Motorcycle Classics (for its vintage content), RoadRUNNER (for its touring content) and Rider ('cause they offer it so cheap, why not?). Most provide electronic versions, which I never access, so I guess I'm firmly part of the old guard.
Our sport is changing, which is inevitable and usually A Good Thing. My fear is that we're witnessing the latest, or maybe final, golden age of motorcycling as it fades to black. I hope I'm wrong.
Hot Bike joins Street Chopper, Bagger, Motorcycle Bagger, Dirt Rider, Sport Rider, ATV Rider and UTV Driver in the print morgue. Cycle World has been reduced to quarterly and Motorcyclist to bi-monthly formats.
The interweb continues to claim more victims, as many of these titles live on in web format, which are often just click-bait and advertising placement with thin and dubious content. What's happening? I don't know, but we all do know that the emerging internet generations don't have an attachment to print media and that the traditional ("old fart") consumers are fading fast from the sport. Most magazines live by advertisers' dollars, and the advertisers are the canaries in this coal mine.
I still subscribe to Cycle World (for its writing), Motorcycle Classics (for its vintage content), RoadRUNNER (for its touring content) and Rider ('cause they offer it so cheap, why not?). Most provide electronic versions, which I never access, so I guess I'm firmly part of the old guard.
Our sport is changing, which is inevitable and usually A Good Thing. My fear is that we're witnessing the latest, or maybe final, golden age of motorcycling as it fades to black. I hope I'm wrong.
RSS Feed