I’ve seen Triathlete magazine and Inside Triathlon. If you had to subscribe to one which would you choose? Are there any other that are better?
I’m faced with the same dilemma myself - I want to subscribe to a tri mag but they are both weak publications (imho).
I used to subscribe to 220 when I lived in the UK - I find that to be much better than either Inside Triathlon or Triathlete mags. See if you can find a copy to check it out.
I have subscribed to both for years. I hate to say it, but both are really going down hill in my opinion.
I am on the verge of bagging both and just checking out the newsstand copies each month… pick up one if it’s decent and ignore them if not.
Inside Tri has more timely coverage by far, and probably comes up with the more interesting interviews with top pro racers on a regular basis.
Triathlete is probably a better “quality” of magazine (paper, pictures, etc.) Sometimes they nail a story. In fact, I’ve found that even though the race reports are slower in coming, you are likely to get a more in-depth story that with IT. (This seems particularly true with Ironman Hawaii, where IT tries to get the next magazine in your hands within a week or two. Triathlete is more like a month-and-a-half, but they often get some better stories/interviews about the race itself.)
While we’re on the topic, I think that IT, in particular, shifted it’s focus for a while to its on-line coverage. They had quick race results, stories, interviews, Dave Scott coaching advice, etc. Now, however, even that has dropped off considerably. Dave Scott’s last article was June 1, and other coverage seems sporadic, at best.
It is fun to go to the mailbox and find a new magazine, though!
just read this forum everyday, serious.
American Tri can be good, but they are haphazzard about publiction dates, etc. I think they have the best of the “what’s new” gear guide at the beginning of the year.
i used to subscribe to TRIATHLETE a couple years back, but let my subscription lapse. it took forever for race coverage (1.5-2 months!), the training articles seemed to be a rehash of the same old stuff, and the product “reviews” were mostly just summaries of equipment like you could read from the manufacturer’s website. oh yeah, and all the ads. holy crap! tear them all out of the current issue (i got one free at IMLP) and see what’s left. not a whole lot.
i just let my subscription to IT lapse this month also. keeps getting thinner and thinner. pretty soon it will just be a newsletter!
neither mag is worth the $$ for what you get (IMHO). like another post said, you get FAR better information here (the whole website, not just the forum) and on the net in general than you do from either magazine.
I found this magazine (220) at my local newstand and buy it fairly frequently. I gave up my IT and Triathlete subscriptions and now just buy one based on what I see on the shelf.
Maxim, FHM, and Playboy. The best 3 i can think of.
Hey I started this thread back in August, and I was given the impression that these tri mags are too geared toward the pros. I thought I should let everyone know that Inside Triathlon is changing their approach (according to their November 2004 issue). They’ve recruited the Senior editor from American Tri, and they are aiming to make the magazine more geared toward age group competitors. Apparently they have gotten feed back suggesting this approach. You should look into it!
I live in the UK and get “Triathlete” sent over as well as buying the UK publication “220”. I think that 220 is far better, although North Americans may find some of the race reports a bit paraochial!
I just picked up the November Triathlete with the Kona predictions … shouldn’t Kona predictions be in the October issue? It wasn’t available at Chapters in Canada until last week … very timely 
I really like “Triathlon and multisport” magazine, in OZ. I must be one of the only person to be overseas subscriber to their magazine, they send it to Switzerland for me.
Anyway, the focus is on OZ races and triathletes, but there are very interesting articles written by many valuable contributors, like Mitch Andersson or Rod Cedaro.
I’m also pissed off, cause we used to get many different french triathlon magazines in Switzerland (Triathlete magazine, 220, Tritime, …) and now NONE are distributed in the POS anymore !