The change to dirtwheels, is it time 3 wheelin dusted itself off?

[OZQUAD44]

Hi guys, just wanted to talk to you about dirtwheels, and how it's gone down the path of the SxS.

I get that dirtwheels is a publication that has to make money, so it follows the trends of the day, as it did in the eighties and switched over to fourwheelers, whilst other publications died off (3 wheelin, may you rest in peace). But I get the feeling they have strayed a little too far from their roots.

I always liked seeing the SxS in dirtwheels, as part of a wider dirt riding community, but I'm not really fussed on the way it now seems the whole magazine is dedicated to SxS now. I guess they had no choice, what with the demise of the quad bike. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it correct that only Yamaha is persisting with their sporting line up of quads now, or are there still other players left?

I've been a Subscriber of dirtwheels for a number of years but I'm getting tired of reading page after page about Little off-road cars, i don't care how powerful they make them, it really is a bit yawn time for me. They say with age comes a cage, well I'm not quite ready to hang up my riding boots just yet.

Given the heat in the 3 wheeling world right now, is it time 3 wheelin dusted itself off, as an electronic platform? It would be nice to read a more in depth magazine again, like 3 wheelin was back in the day.



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[6bt]

I agree 100%. I'm not a subscriber, but I'll flip through it at the store. Nothing but side by sides. Maybe a sport atc/atv magazine? I'm not a huge fan of the huge 4x4 quads either. My utility quad is a worked up polaris scrambler lol. I think the future of the sport quad is uncertain though. Hats off to Yamaha for keeping it going.

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[Dirtcrasher]

It's too bad, I use to enjoy buying one once in awhile.

There is quite a bit of action on a 3 wheeler these years.

Maybe a quarterly publication 3X a year would be nice but you still have a small (but growing) number of enthusiasts.

I don't own an SBS so I don't buy them....

[Matt85'350x]

It's too bad, I use to enjoy buying one once in awhile.

There is quite a bit of action on a 3 wheeler these years.

Maybe a quarterly publication 3X a year would be nice but you still have a small (but growing) number of enthusiasts.

I don't own an SBS so I don't buy them....

A quarterly publication 3x a year? Lol. I do like the idea of scanning in all of the old articles in chronological order and having them all in one area.

[jb2wheels]

I doubt there's enough 3 Wheeler customer base to make a publication profitable.

I was a "Dirt Wheels" and "Sand Sports" subscriber for a while a couple of years ago. I didn't renew because they aren't worth reading after the first skimming session in the library. Too many ads and articles that read like ad copy. Articles about SxS and most quads have no staying power for me.

Similarly, most of my favorite motorcycle mags have jumped 100% onto the "adventure rider" bandwagon. This holds no interest for me and I let some loooong time subscriptions lapse.

"Car Craft" and "Hot Rod" are hanging in there, though.

[SUPERBEAST]

i've noticed this also about dirtwheels, dirtwheels emailed me a subription renewal notice, not sure if i want to renew or not

[Evan Hagenow]

I just recently renewed my subscription dirtwheels, right before they made the magazine all about side by sides. Now im starting to regret doing it, the only thing I did it for was the gift card to RMATV. Anymore whenever the magazine shows up, Ill flip right past the side by sides and read the 2 articles about quads, look through all of the subscriber pictures and some of their product reviews. I read less than a quarter of the magazine.

[Bob B.]

As someone who grew up in the 70's and 80's I can tell you that magazines are most likely going the way of the dodo. Magazines were all we had back then to follow what we were interested in, now we have the Internet and mediums like this. It's only a matter of time before everything we consume is of the electronic sort. Dirt wheels and most other publications will do whatever they can do to stay viable but alas it is most assuradly nothing more than a death rattle.

[Dirtcrasher]

^ I agree 100%

[whyat]

Every other page is an advertisement for fmf or hi-flite. Spoilers: fmf is garbage and their designs are dated. Hi flite seats make your bike look ugly.

[86T3]

I had a subscription last year and the only thing I really looked at was readers rides. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason theyou get trike traffic, aside from the 1 or 2 trike related article per year that's the only exposure you'll see

[christph]

I've never been a big fan of Dirtwheels, I've always found their tests weak tea. They don't do any technical articles either. Quad was a great magazine that unfortunately went under a few years after the recession. They had thorough tests and comparisons, good technical articles, and great photography of different places to ride--made you want to go there.

The only good thing I can say about Dirtwheels is that they are including more photos and articles on 3 wheelers, and their series on the history of the sport last year was interesting.

[OZQUAD44]

I was thinking along the lines of an electronic magazine, I understand the print media is a dying art.

I subscribe to dirtwheels on my iPad, so each month the new issue pops up in my dirtwheels app. It's a great way to read the magazine, and I have access to all my back issues where ever I go, so that is awesome. But I'm an atv/atc rider, not a mini buggy driver. SxS are ok in small doses, but it's not atv "riding"

I like the idea of a quarterly, or 3 times a year periodical. There's lots of fertile ground in the 3 wheelin world, restorations, racing; TT, MX, hot set ups, period correct machines, the hard tail era, the air cooled era, the liquid cooled era, and the new generation hybrids. Lots of ground I think to support a periodical.


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[83ATC185]

4-Wheel and Offroad was the last magazine i subscribed to that was worth having imo....

I love seeing 3 wheelers out and about and i love riding them with others and showing people my age what they're all about! That said, i don't really care for 3 wheelers to get a lot of publicity.There's a chance that it would really improve the aftermarket and we would all be able to get hard to find parts easily and inexpensively. And what a dream that would be! But there's just as much, if not more of a chance, of the fad guys and the profiteers coming out of the woodwork by the millions, to dry up an already dwindling supply of parts and leaving 3 wheeling for only the richest among us.

Would a 3 wheeler magazine start that fire? I doubt it. Seems like this is already starting to happen.

[Jekyll]

I'm 17 and still sorta learning about 3 wheelers, their history and such, but they're the only ATV's I've ever owned so far (3 to be exact)
I would really love to see new trikes and trike mags out on the market and eagerly want to see them make a huge comeback, there's no way we could let them be taken away from us again!

[vintagemotorsports]

Dont give up on Dirt Wheels just quite yet . I dont want to spoil the surprise but I am doing something with them in CA in a week that will surely spark everyone's interests and they are really excited as well. Stay tuned !!

[El Camexican]

Print is on a death roll. I haven't been able to find anything but Harley rags in the airport news stands for 2 years now. Pisses me off, I really enjoyed grabbing up one of everything with less than 4 wheels on the cover and reading them between flights. Once in a while someone sitting nearby would ask if I road and the rest of the wait would be spent bench racing. Not anymore. Everyone's got their face in a phone and the magazine rack doesn't even have a SXS rag on it.

Make sure to use those RMATV cards ASAP boys, they have expiration dates.