PITTSBURGH, Pa. (BRAIN) — Urban Velo has printed its 45th and final issue. The magazine, published six times per year since 2007, focused on city cycling.
Co-founder and publisher Jeff Guerrero said advertising had been "slightly declining" over the past couple of years. That coupled with the rising cost of doing business prompted the two-man publishing team to shutter the magazine.
"I feel that we're not so much in competition with other cycling media entities, but with search engine advertising and paid social media campaigns," Guerrero said via email. "With a few exceptions, most of our advertisers fit into the category of small- to medium-sized companies, thus our advertisers are cost-conscious. For cost-conscious companies it's a lot easier to justify a media buy when you can tally the results of a Facebook or Google campaign. It's more difficult to calculate the return on investment for print advertising, which has always been the brunt of our business."
Guerrero along with editor Brad Quartuccio founded the magazine, which was distributed free online. Guerrero said they printed 7,500 copies per issue this year. The magazine covered urban cycling in cities around the world and also organized alleycat races, goldsprints, bike polo tournaments and film festivals.
One of the magazine's most popular departments, "I Love Riding in the City," featured readers from dozens of cities around the globe.
Urban Velo presented varied content—from the Midwesterner who rides his BMX in the underground sewers to the street-side bicycle repairmen in Beijing to the Los Angeles cyclists who raced the marathon course in the dawn hours before the race. Guerrero said the magazine was a big part of the fixed-gear boom.
"Even though our scope was considerably wider, the industry's focus has shifted to 'cross racing and fat bikes," he said. "Urban Velo promotes bicycle commuting, and hardcore bike commuters don't need sexy advertisements to tell them what they need—they already know."
Back issues will remain archived at www.urbanvelo.org.
