General Bike Thread (Desiderata, Questions, Pics)

[HRoi]

Also Trek = Volvo isn’t a flattering comparison if Trek owners as annoying as i hear, maybe we should be equated with Tesla.

Specialized can’t be BMW now - they are building their bikes lighter and prettier while BMW (cars) get ever heavier and uglier

 

[bicycleradical]

I was looking at the new Pinarello Dogma F and Bianchi high end models and was surprised that the Euro bikes [generally] have a less aggressive geometry than the US made top end race bikes. I've read that it's because the Italian bikes are designed for long one day races like the Classics and multi staged World Tour events while US makers like Specialized & Trek design for shorter, crit type racing? Wonder if that's actually the case? Though look at how many World Tour teams ride the Tarmac and Madone so it maybe not.

An alternate perspective to consider:

Grant Petersen - Buck The Race!

Bicycle guru Grant Petersen is flipping the middle finger at racing culture and reviving the lost art of cycling for fun.

www.huckmag.com

Petersen derides the influence of racing culture on recreational cycling in the United States. His opinion is that the focus on the sporting aspect of cycling has made an otherwise simple, enjoyable activity inaccessible to most people.

 

[patrick_b]

An alternate perspective to consider:

Grant Petersen - Buck The Race!

Bicycle guru Grant Petersen is flipping the middle finger at racing culture and reviving the lost art of cycling for fun.

www.huckmag.com

Petersen derides the influence of racing culture on recreational cycling in the United States. His opinion is that the focus on the sporting aspect of cycling has made an otherwise simple, enjoyable activity inaccessible to most people.

I have his book!! It's a fantastic read. I'm sure I've been a product of exactly what he speaks of. From my first grail bike I bought in 1997 to the one I bought this year.

Amazon.com: Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike (Audible Audio Edition): Grant Petersen, Jim Edgar, Workman Audio: Books

Amazon.com: Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike (Audible Audio Edition): Grant Petersen, Jim Edgar, Workman Audio: Books

www.amazon.com

Loved this section of the article you posted when asked about Lance Armstrong:

Modern pro bike racing is a brutal, physiologically unnatural and unhealthy sport that stresses a body far beyond what’s healthy, and calls the winners heroes and role models. You have to be naïve – which isn’t a crime — to expect all of that speed and glory to come in a bottle of water and strength of will. Lance’s job was racing, and during the years he raced, doping was a requirement for success against other dopers.

 

[Fueco]

An alternate perspective to consider:

Grant Petersen - Buck The Race!

Bicycle guru Grant Petersen is flipping the middle finger at racing culture and reviving the lost art of cycling for fun.

www.huckmag.com

Petersen derides the influence of racing culture on recreational cycling in the United States. His opinion is that the focus on the sporting aspect of cycling has made an otherwise simple, enjoyable activity inaccessible to most people.

Meh, it’s human nature to compete, and I would argue that competition and challenging yourself in a way you see fit is perfectly healthy and natural.

I suffer no delusions that I’ll ever be a serious racer, but I’m not about to go ride a century in anything other than padded Lycra.

Peterson makes great bikes, but his philosophy is a bit out there.

 

[imatlas]

Specialized has a particularly nasty corporate culture, if you care about that sort of thing. I was trying to avoid buying one but wound up getting a good deal on a used (I know I know) Roubaix.

 

[smittycl]

Meh, it’s human nature to compete, and I would argue that competition and challenging yourself in a way you see fit is perfectly healthy and natural.

I suffer no delusions that I’ll ever be a serious racer, but I’m not about to go ride a century in anything other than padded Lycra.

Peterson makes great bikes, but his philosophy is a bit out there.

I like his mindset. It’s one of the reasons I don’t want to become a total gear head. I just like cycling for general fitness, time alone, exploration, etc. I like to move fast but will never race or compete. Just me.

 

[Fueco]

I like his mindset. It’s one of the reasons I don’t want to become a total gear head. I just like cycling for general fitness, time alone, exploration, etc. I like to move fast but will never race or compete. Just me.

I just think it’s incredibly arrogant to suggest that the reason people like to ride fast is because of racers. Competition is human nature, and to disregard that is to miss much of the point of life.

 

[Piobaire]

I'm liking the idea of multiple, purpose built bikes. Not sure my wife will agree.

This is the way.

To a few previous posts, the interested reader will remember I've said since I started again nearly a year ago, I'm riding just for the joy of being in the saddle. Yeah, I like to look at my routes, see how far I went, etc., but the goal is simple fitness, being out on the bike, and being in the moment on the ride.

 

[Fueco]

I do appreciate Petersen’s take on components though. Heck, I ride a 14-year old cyclocross bike and a 13-year old road bike. Some of the components are newer, but I don’t feel the need to get newer stuff until the older stuff fails (my SRAM group is from 2011 and my Ultegra Di2 group is first generation, and was only upgraded because I took the SRAM stuff off my road bike to put on the cx bike when I had the frame repaired).

 

[Piobaire]

I just think it’s incredibly arrogant to suggest that the reason people like to ride fast is because of racers. Competition is human nature, and to disregard that is to miss much of the point of life.

We're all at different spots in life and cycling will mean different things to all of us. If someone likes to track how fast they're going, what their wattage is, etc., more power to them. If I was 30 again, and riding like I did all those years ago, I'd be all about that. Now I'm just a fat old man enjoying the fact he can do some miles and that his fat old man bike is both super comfy and actually about the same weight as my AL sportier bike was back in the 90s.

 

[bicycleradical]

Meh, it’s human nature to compete, and I would argue that competition and challenging yourself in a way you see fit is perfectly healthy and natural.

I suffer no delusions that I’ll ever be a serious racer, but I’m not about to go ride a century in anything other than padded Lycra.

Peterson makes great bikes, but his philosophy is a bit out there.

I wear the cycling kit for longer rides as well and definitely do not agree with all of what Petersen says however one aspect is thoughtful. For the longest time, the majority of bikes the industry produced in North America were racing bikes or beach cruisers. You could get a drop bar racing bike with skinny tires or a comfortable but slow beach cruiser. It felt like there was nothing in between for those who just wanted to ride their bikes for fun or transportation.

I think we're finally beginning to see industry come around to the idea that there is more to cycling than the sporting aspect.

 

[Thrift Vader]

When i was a young lad, i would regularly go on 20 kilometer+ rides on a BMX. Well i'm no longer a young lad, i'm too old, broken and fat to ride a BMX for a long time.
So I now just take the bike instead of the car when i want to go to the shop for things that will fit in a backpack. sometimes i'll go out of my way to explore my neighborhood a little. The Dirt Jumper Norco is comfy enough, but it feels like i'm wasting energy. so i couldn't easily do a 50 kilometer ride on it.
I guess when (if) my fitness demands it i can upgrade to a semi road bike.

Which i'll probably buy on Ebay, and ask @Fueco to send it to me.

 

[imatlas]

I like his mindset. It’s one of the reasons I don’t want to become a total gear head. I just like cycling for general fitness, time alone, exploration, etc. I like to move fast but will never race or compete. Just me.

I'm with you. Competition seeps into almost everything. I'm a mediocre athlete, never won any awards and never will, so it's better for my mental health to focus on enjoyment and fitness. If I get faster over time, great, but that's a side effect, not the primary goal.

Unless we're talking about skiing, then it's get the hell outta my way!!!

 

[Fueco]

I wear the cycling kit for longer rides as well and definitely do not agree with all of what Petersen says however one aspect is thoughtful. For the longest time, the majority of bikes the industry produced in North America were racing bikes or beach cruisers. You could get a drop bar racing bike with skinny tires or a comfortable but slow beach cruiser. It felt like there was nothing in between for those who just wanted to ride their bikes for fun or transportation.

I think we're finally beginning to see industry come around to the idea that there is more to cycling than the sporting aspect.

From my perspective, it seems like there’s never been a shortage of varieties of bikes. I’ve been riding very regularly since 1994. I got my first real mountain bike in 1995, and my first road bike in 2001.

As I’ve mentioned before, I did my first century in 1995, so perhaps the road trendin the 2000s didn’t faze me because I was already pretty much there. I commuted on slick tires on the MTB for years before a friend convinced me to try a road bike.

I’d still commute if I worked outside the house and didn’t have three kids.

 

[Fueco]

I'm with you. Competition seeps into almost everything. I'm a mediocre athlete, never won any awards and never will, so it's better for my mental health to focus on enjoyment and fitness. If I get faster over time, great, but that's a side effect, not the primary goal.

Unless we're talking about skiing, then it's get the hell outta my way!!!

Right, you’re competitive where you can be. Most of my competition these days is just trying to better my own times. Even Strava leaderboards are not going to happen, especially around here.