Road cyclists are a passionate bunch and they really do love their sport. This can lead us into caring a bit too much about something's which maybe we shouldn't. Sam Gupta runs through nine different aspects of the sport that maybe we should let go of in the pursuit of getting back to the core of why we really love road cycling.
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Weight
02:06 - Integrated Cables
03:12 - Ceramic Bearings
04:07 - FTP?
05:32 - Shaving Your Legs
06:08 - Recording Every Ride
06:56 - The Weather
07:35 - Average Speed
08:30 - Tradition
09:30 - Outro
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Agree with all of this, except for the weather aspect, done my days of riding in the dark and rain back in the 90's, these days I'm a fair weather rider, like Miguel Indurain. "When it rains I stay at home. When I was a pro, if it rained, I wouldn’t train. I could go up to four or five days without training. I’ve never had rollers and I don’t have them now, either. I just rested, because it was also good for me. Then when the weather was good, you might also train a bit more.”
A lot of cyclists do hate change. I'm kind of old and remember people getting upset with the progression to 9 speed cassettes. I thought if I heard or read another comment in magazines that "Eddie won five on five," I would punch someone. I'm pretty sure Eddie would have used 9, now 12, cog cassettes of they were available.
I hear complaints on how new things are too hard to work on, i.e. disc brakes. All of it was too hard to work on before you knew how!
@@jonathanzappala I fully agree
Average speed seems to be a big factor in the group I cycle with.
Auto Pause on Strava is very popular
@@steve-bs3qpwhy not if I stop for a piss I don't see why I should be knocked speed for that not as if it's optional unless you wet yourself.
@@zedddddfulecause you continue ride after some rest 😉. But I personally don't mind it. I also have auto pause.
Its a really easy way to track if you are generally getting faster on routes that you regularly do. Like all things if you fixate on them too much they are a bad thing but if you treat them in the right manner they are useful.
Average speed over time actually had meaning out in the real world. Average speed per hour is a metric that let's me plan very long rides and make plans around the times lol
Nooooo. You MUST record every ride! It's so enjoyable to examine your tracks afterwards! 😀👍
I use to think hidden cables was stupid. It looks so good, now i have to have one. Last bike, I promise
The ceramic bearing issue was an interesting one for me. When I raced mountain bikes, I absolutely cleaned my bike after every ride. Before every race weekend, and no less than twice a month I took apart every race of bearings my bikes had, cleaned them then oiled them. No, I did not use grease, I used oil to reduce friction. My cranks and wheels would spin for days. If I lost a race, it was me as a rider and athlete, not the fault of my bike or my lack of maintenance.
Bro, light weight is not about getting extra speed or gains or whatever. Lightweight bikes feels more responsive and fun. Also integrated cables looks fucking clean, that's why people want them. And the aero cockpit, same thing. Yes, you will save some watts, but that's just a side benefit (if you are not racing).
Pretty sure it's the other way around, lightweight bikes are more flexy due to having less material.
@@2ball434 depends on the type of material and how it is made. People forget that pros on rim brake bikes at 6.8kg went through 3* the number of frames than you do with carbon disc ones. The same with the wheels
@@bernardo9202 Proof?
@@herculesrockefeller8969 of what, the bike speending and rotation???? Just a fan of the spoprt since birth, you go and learn about this things on the way... but, hey theres a great thing in the world called google...use it
What a fresh take for a cycling KZhead channel! I’m a cyclist who doesn’t care about these things so it’s good to hear your points. Personally, the very idea of involving numbers in riding feels like a distraction. I’ve never used a power meter, speedometer or Strava. I just ride for fun or to go somewhere/exercise, and that’s enough for me.
I was with you until the last one. Thinking about cycling in terms of "product cycles" is a big part of the problem. That's great for corporations that want to sell us a new, very expensive carbon fibre bikes and electronic groupsets every two years. With disc brakes, I agree they are better in terms of safety (especially in the wet). But pushing cyclists into carbon fibre products (that are way less durable than steel) and electronic groupsets (that may not be repairable) isn't only about improvements. It's about persuading us to buy "the next great thing". Yes, they provide some benefits that largely apply to elite racers. But, they unquestionably have downsides that cost the consumer a lot of money. The truth is that most riders don't actually need carbon fibre bikes. Not everybody is a racer, nor should all bikes be for racing. It's not just "tradition" that makes steel bikes and mechanical groupsets great. It's longevity, durability and repairability. Keeping one bike for a much longer time isn't necessarily a bad thing.
As someone who works in marketing, corporate greed really has tricked people into believing they constantly need new things. The vast majority of cyclists aren't professionals or racers. That means the vast majority don't need all the fancy bells and whistles since realistically it doesn't matter if they ride 40km/h or 35km/h. Just go out and have fun with whatever gear you have. No need to try and keep up with pro racers who don't pay for their gear.
Excellent presntation, thank you for that. 😎 I ride a Scott cyclocross bike (which recently I found, they no longer manufacture). Most of my riding is on road or the very well-paved cycling lanes where I now live, and I'm way too obsessed with my top and average speed. The bike is fairly modern (2020 model), full carbon frame and fork,hydraulic disc brakes, integrated cables (not fully integrated though, no interested bar and stem). I've recently been thinking how to increase my quite low average speed of only 22 kmh tops, and found that a bigger chainring might dig it. But then I realized, I should rather care about growing my legs, lol. Only today, I found that there's no chance for me to keep up with road bike riders, as these machines are ridiculously fast. However, top speeds of up to 45 kmh on my bike aren't bad either. So I figured, criticism on my bike is beyond option, the thing fits me perfectly, and I love every bit of it. Sure, you may not win a grand tour on a cyclocross bike, but that's not what it's made for, and I'm nowhere near bring a professional. So I figured the point to address is me, not the bike. I do agree that many factors influence average speed in city traffic, but ultimately, it's also a matter of being considerate towards other people heading their way. I do agree that anticipation makes much of a difference though. One thing I'm not going to change is the treatment of my chain and drive train. I'm always serious about keeping the bike clean, in particular the chain, chain ring, and the cassette. I want these components to last ss long as possible, and overall, it just looks so much better. Recently took the bike in for derailleur adjustment, and I was given a test sample of chain wax. This comes in handy, as I was thinking about switching from oil to wax anyway, and I'll soon take the step.
Good list! Yes, I'm guilty of still caring about many of these. And I'm not gonna change! 😏
Yeah you can miss me with quite a few of these, I hate fully integrated cables - I don't see the point, i am not running the tour de france - or a crit. and neither are most of you ! As for shaving body parts, you can miss me on that too. Ride to have fun folks. Ride what ya got. The past- time of cycling is WAY to serious and elitist.
5:45 I tell people that I shave my legs for cycling and for hiking; cuts down on ticks being latch onto me when I’m out in the woods.
For me. Im too obsess dropping my weight down. 😂
Before buying a lighter bicycle for thousands €, for me it will be cheaper to lose 20 kg bodywight. 😁
I'm a major nerd and log all my rides on Garmin Connect but I've never had the desire to make a Strava account.
Personally I didn’t see much need for gps rides until I got Strava. The social aspect is fun.
But what you should do is swap the chain oil for wax.
While integrated cables are not necessary, are marginal gains, and a pain to work with, aesthetically I do like the cleaner look out front. It makes the bike look clean and more streamline. I think cyclists care too much about the numbers; power, speed, FTP, etc. Let's face it, the majority of us are not racing and/or training for anything so those numbers shouldn't affect the way we ride nor should we kill ourselves trying to improve them. As it's nice to push yourself and maybe achieve personal bests in improving your cycling, it's not that important to live by the numbers. Go out and ride however fast or far you want and just enjoy it.
The thing about bike weight though is that while one or two kilos matter and 100g doesn't, you can only save significant weight by saving lots of insignificant weights. No one spends money on an expensive component to save 100g thinking that's going to make a difference by itself, but it's reasonable to do that as part of a strategy to make a bike significantly lighter.
i listed how many grams i could save on cheap upgrades, and it was like half a kilo, everything else involved changing major parts and several hundred dollars
Lose weight!!!
Knowing I need to lose 10 lbs I'm not fretting about 100 grams on the bike.
@@festerofest4374 As above... it's not about the 100g, it's about one or two kilos, which is not insignifcant in relation to 5kg (or whatever 10 lbs is).
@@core2zero Yeah, light bikes are never cheap unfortunately.
Love this❤ cycling is life💯Always risk it for the biscuit
Thank you, Sam Gupta.
Throw big pulley wheels and aero spokes into this video... what do these save? 0.5 W?
That huge chimney on that madone is funny. Hardy an aero bike at that point!
It all depends how you interpret things and your ride style, racing or not …etc. that’s why for exact same list you can make another video “why you should care about these 10 ”. Personally and for my riding habit I agree to most of these in the list but not all
I want more footage of your Allez Sworks.
How about a whole video? kzhead.info/sun/obWSd858f6CPmJE/bejne.html
Great bike! for cost and affectability
I like numbers on the exercise bike at the local gym, no other way to ride than by time and wattage output for me, such as a 20-minute moto at a certain wattage and then another at either the same wattage or more or less. But that's it for me, no power meter on the bike and no interest in numbers afterwards or any of that. Much prefer to keep my eyes on the road and scenery, then simply rest and do something else afterwards.
I wouldn't mind what's to come if I had the budget and space for it, but I can only and should only spend so much on bike stuff. I'm happy for you if you can afford Sram Force and carbon everything, but sometimes I just wanna do a quick two-hour ride and my simple steel steed with 2X6 gears and rims is more than sufficient.
Great video. Cheers to all the traditionalists that still ride sew-ups. 😂
Don't care about aero gains in terms of cables. But internal cables systems are 10000* better looking than the "normal" rim brake system
If I don’t wanna see the data in front of me while I ride and just ride on feel. I usually just track the ride on my watch so that way I can still use the data at a later date if I want to. Be it just checking the numbers afterwards or uploading to Strava
Tucked away cables just makes the bike look clean. Wider bars open up your chest that allows your lungs to fully expand and allows you you get full performance. FTP I fully agree is a joke unless you are a pro cyclist, but remember Eddy. Never-never known what his FTP was.
I shouldn't care about riding on a flat tire because I have a crappy bike,worn down tires and beat up rims. People make fun of me but I don't mind the flat. Despite the tire making squealing, squishing and snapping noise I can still get around on it. I really hate doing it but when it is all you have for transportation and it still gets you from point A to point B that's all that's necessary.
I definitely care about weight too much, despite knowing that it makes a really small difference to real world performance. But I can’t see that changing - I just like a light bike!
I can agree on everything but shaving, but not for what most think of, aero gains, but heat. Living in south Louisiana with summer heat indexs over 100 and enough humidity to choke a horse, I can tell you that, without a doubt, it is much cooler.. much..
The buzzing sound of your rear hub 😅
I'll say something that may be controversial. Far too many people care (and obsess) about the bike and components than should. People want top of the line and really have little to no need for it. Then they turn their noses up at entry level things when a lot of them are more than adequate. Sure Ultegra and Dura Ace are great (or so I've heard, haven't ridden them), but if you're just meeting up with friends for fun, does it really matter if you have Sora or even Claris? For comparison, it would be as if everyone wanted to drive the same cars as Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton, when a Honda Civic suits the needs of most people. Then again I haven't ridden a higher end bike, so this is my limited experience. But in the same way I don't obsess about owning an Aston Martin or Bugatti, I don't obsess about top of the line Dogmas.
What you're saying is largely correct but every single person who espouses this view spends what someone else would consider silly money on something. How many people have a car that isn't far more expensive than it needs to be? How many people have a phone that is brand new when a £200 model from 3 years ago would do everything they need? How many people spend silly money on holidays, household items, clothes etc. Thats just how society works. I like having a nice bike. It encourages me to ride and I love looking at it, tinkering with it and maintaining it. Part of the joy of cycling for me is being on a bike that I love that rides like a dream.
Weather. Again I am in Yorkshire. We have lots of weather.
No. every ride needs to be recorded at least for me. Why? Then how will I be able to track my improvement from month to month or year to year. Besides if every ride is not recorded. What will I have to strive for
Same here. I record every ride and compare it against the last time I rode that route BUT my rides aren't public they're just for me. No-one I know would give a rat's arse anyway :)
@@stevegoodfellow3423 I agree 💯 percent. I record my rides to keep up with chain miles tyre mileage as well as comparing year to year improvement. For example this time last year I only rode 433 miles for the month. For the year at this same point, i had just crossed the 2000th mile for the year. Now as of this date I am 60 miles ahead from last year for the month. In a matter of days I will have ridden 3000 miles for the year That is a HUGE improvement for me
having clipess pedals on a road bike and yes i have flat pedals on my road bike
Flats are horrible in the rain my feet were slipping all over the place at the weekend on my hybrid and they even have pins.
You should not care about ftp. Next point: get a power meter and track your power...
Bike geeks unite!
How is everyone dealing with this SUPER HOT SUMMER HEAT in 2023? Here in SW FL, USA its IMPOSSIBLE. Yep :-( And I'm a lifelong N. Italian cyclist! Ughhhh....
Many cyclists are too obsessed with their image and what other people think about them, their kit, their performance, etc, etc. Remember who you're riding for. You're doing this for yourself, not other people. But I guess this sadly reflects life, not just cycling....
N + 1 obsession!
I think cyclists care a bit much about trends like chain wax lately, tubeless stuff, integrated cables, etc. and in the process shame anything outside the trends.
Tubeless is amazing just due to puncture resistance. Could care less about anything else. Integrated cables just make maintenance worse. Disc brakes are also a bonus, wish I had em on the road bike as it's a shit to stop. The mountain bike stops on a dime though.
My chains last ~600 miles longer with wax, and it’s pretty inexpensive. Tubless just shifts the gaff from the side of the road to my garage, I’ll take that. Those aren’t bad things, and nobody is forcing you to adopt them.
@@morganwilliams2863 what's wrong with your rim brakes mine haul me up sharp enough and I'm no lightweight.
@@zedddddful when it's raining they are shit, don't stop nearly as quickly as the hydraulics. Then again I am comparing my MTB and road bike
I care about the weather, I rather won't go for a ride if it's too hot.
According to this list, I'm a really crap cyclist 😂
Join the club ... oh, wait, I really am a crap cyclist 😁
A ride didn't happen if it's not on Strava and Instagram 😂
Dropping weight on a bike is compounded (especially in the wheels). There is a formula for this and it is absolutely true. So losing weight on your body and losing weight on your bike is not the same thing
I'll keep a more open mind on new technologies when they cost less than a used car while you'd be missing out if you don't buy a new bike at least every 5 years. Meaning, lack of open mind isn't even the key issue for the vast majority of cyclists out there. That said, I see that the conspiracy theorists against disc brakes on road bikes have been going wild these days. Some people would rather grasp the most mediocre aspects of old bicycles and just stay there it seems. And I'm the one riding a fixie every day.
For example integrated cockpits. Nightmare. Just to look streamlined.
Who gets massages? I am from Yorkshire. Hairy legs keep me warm. 🙃 ❤
Few things are funnier than a fat guy on a super light/super expensive bike...but then again at least he's out there riding!
Got a good chuckle on this but you have a point. I myself am overweight but ride heavy bikes and alloy wheels. I suck at any climbs but fast on flats. I do find it funny whenever I see some riders having super expensive bikes but no clue.
It is a psychological "fetish type of reaction to details, noises, color, and gadgets... Because the bike is so close to out own body, almost part of it... Ceramic bearings, pulleys, or hidden cables are waste of money and the source of many issues.
Hello. Real world calling.
I shouldn't care, and I know it's dumb, but I spent 9k building a custom Madone SLR with Red AXS and ENVE Foundation 65 wheels, and it weighs more than my outgoing endurance bike. I really wanted it to be under 8kg even though I'm already 3 MPH faster on it than I was with my older bike.
Or you slide a full water bottle onto a heavier bike
Sock height...
7 or 8 kg. How many folk have those bikes. Get real. 🙄🌈
Why is everything bike related obsessed with pro cosplaying? Imagine if car reviews focused on how quickly it could do the school run and its max rotational gforce? If every car driver had a motec data recorder linked to an app measuring their times to the shops and back and if you don't have a nutrition plan then should you really be driving that light weight car bro? The whole culture surrounding bikes is really insane when fat middle managers have power meters so they can measure their fitness for that pro world tour they will never do. What on earth are you all training for?
Many of us do race.
There are many different reasons to cycle - if you are riding a hybrid to commute then you are not going to be obsessing with data and speed, but if you are riding a road bike for sport and fitness then it's perfectly reasonable to do that, same as if you were an amateur motorsport participant. And you don't need to be a professional or even young and fit to participate in cycling as a sport. It's your reasons for cycling that determine whether or not you are focussed on performance metrics. You wouldn't criticse a middle-aged and overweight runner for having expensive trainers and continually trying to improve their 5k times, so why criticse cycle sport participants for training to challenge themselves and reach their personal goals?
If they are out on the bike not sat at home on their arse I call that a win if it takes gimmicks to get them out so be it.
Lots of people who do amateur sports monitor their performance. Do you lift? If so, surely you track exercises, weights and reps, right? Same with cycling. There are several benefits of improving your cycling performance - the satisfaction of finishing that climb without walking, being able to pedal a fully-laden bike when touring and not end up knackered at the end of the day being able to keep up with your clubmates etc.
We shouldn't care about cycling specific clothing. We ain't riding the tour.
internal routing is nice untill you crash your carbon handlebar
yeah but when add all this stuff up together it helps
I use a watch instead of a head unit to record rides so that I completely forget about Strava until I get home.