John Abraham in a still from Dhoom: Man, machine and now, magazine

For an Indian greenhorn on wheels, friends are the only source of information on motorcycles. But no longer. A group of Calcutta bikers called Monoshock has launched a monthly e-magazine to introduce neophytes to the finer nuances of riding the metal charger.

The magazine, The Monoshock E-Mag, is available at www.monoshock.in/emag.

Though biking is one of the most participated activities around the globe, there has been no forum to address queries and information exclusively related to the pursuit, says Rahul Mishra, member, Monoshock.

The seven-member group of Calcutta-based bikers also campaigns for a safer ride on wheels.

The e-magazine deals strictly with biking and provides information on the latest models of bikes available.

So, what was the driving force behind the launch of this e-magazine'

“Information about biking is, at the most, limited to the blogs where people share personal experiences. We figured that since we do not have the huge costs associated with a printed mag, running a free magazine on the web would help us build a readership quickly and effortlessly,” says Rahul. “The idea is to have an answer ready for every biker who might have a question about his machine.”

The first issue of the magazine, which is already available online, is a 24-page version with a full road test of a newly-launched Bajaj model and tells of a road trip by a Monoshocker in the mountains of Sikkim.

“Soon, we will flag off a technical section, which will elaborately discuss bike problems. We will share news of global biking activities. The readers can get in touch with us by just sending us an e-mail,” Rahul signs off.