What's Hot What's New

The good, the bad and the ugly. You'll find them all here. Each week you'll get my take on the intriguing, and sometimes peculiar, titles to recently hit the newsstand.

Road Bike Action Magazine Cover Price: $4.99 www.roadbikeaction.com If you love to wear brightly colored spandex while riding your bike through traffic, boy do I have good news for you. Road Bike Enthusiast is a bi-monthly magazine highlighting the ever increasing biking phenomena that is sweeping the country. What makes this magazine work is that it understands that most bikers are recreational riders looking for a fun way to stay in shape. The publication still offers plenty of tips from well known professionals, but never loses focus on the niche concept that its core readership will come from weekend warriors blowing of steam and relieving stress. Articles on posture while riding, endurance building workouts and equipment provide bike enthusiasts with information they will not find in other magazines. The only problem this publication may encounter is the eternal question I always ask, if you are an avid bike enthusiast does it translate to an avid reader about the subject matter.

Toddler Cover Price: $3.95 www.toddlermag.com Toddler Magazine is a quarterly publication for parents of children between the ages of 1-4. The editors of Toddler claim to be the first magazine written just for parents of toddlers. There is plenty of good content in this publication with articles on potty training, diet and nutrition and the proper games for toddlers to play. Toddler may have a definite niche in being the only publication for parents of children ages 1-4, but a lot of the other baby magazines cover most, if not all the topics raised in Toddler. Another problem with that concept is that it is subject to a high consumer turn over rate. The approach of this magazine (like most parenting and baby magazines) means that it will lose consumers once their children grow beyond that age range. While most publications are trying to build long-term relationships with potential consumers, Toddler's approach will make them try to reinvent their base every three to four years. A very expensive proposition.

The World of Rods Cover Price: $4.99 What is that blur zipping past you in the passing lane you ask, well that would be The World of Rods, a bi-monthly publication for those who enjoy restoring old hot rods to their former glory. This magazine is a vintage car lover's dream because it is not only a feast for the eyes, it provides articles on everything from customizing the interior to installing swing pedals for the brake system. This magazine does an excellent job of establishing its niche, tailoring its content in a way that not only caters to a potential consumers love of cars but also to their sense of nostalgia. With all of that said it will be more difficult for this magazine to establish itself amid the plethora of automotive publications already in the vintage hot rod genre.