There is no reason to buy a carbon bike

[EB]

Seriously, go back to his old blog - still online - and read some of his stuff from 2008-2011. It's fun stuff, in the context of the Lance era.

Nowadays it's all just kind of sad, and mostly an old man yelling at various clouds, when he's not recycling his own jokes from many, many years ago.

He does have a nice Homer Hilsen, though.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by EB

Seriously, go back to his old blog - still online - and read some of his stuff from 2008-2011. It's fun stuff, in the context of the Lance era.

Nowadays it's all just kind of sad, and mostly an old man yelling at various clouds, when he's not recycling his own jokes from many, many years ago.

He does have a nice Homer Hilsen, though.

yes, I agree.. back when, he was somewhat fun to read.. I think I even bought his book back in the day.. but now, I agree with you.. just old man yelling at clouds, trying to clicks in that cloud..

[Mark Davison]

Consistent taxonomies are difficult to construct because common use of language is not consistent. For example, it is common usage to say "bicycle wheel" when you mean the entire assembly including cassette, skewers if QR, hub, spokes, rim, rim tape, tube and tire. As in "I keep my spare wheels in the garage." But if you order a wheel from a wheel builder you will get hub, spokes, rim, maybe special rim tape if you order it, and that's it.

There is the same problem with "non-competitive." Used in the context of a field of competitors at a formal competition, such as an organized bicycle race, you say "Fred is non-competitive" when you mean Fred has no chance of placing, or winning a prime.

In the context of an event which runs a race but allows non-competitors on the course (I just read a description of such an event on gravel) the riders who are not competing are referred to as "non-competitive".

To demand that any use of language adhere to a strict logical taxonomy is fruitless pedantry. You have to be aware of context and realize that context often determines the meaning.

Having said that, there is a spectrum of competitiveness in cycling events.

I would say that formal racing (such as mass start racing, criteriums, time trials) is highly competitive and encourages large commitments in time and money to become or remain competitive in one's category. If you are serious about this, and have the requisite level of fitness, you may indeed materially benefit from buying the latest and greatest equipment.

Events that are timed, but do not have formal awards, can be competitive, but individuals come to it with different ambitions and can be more or less serious about their performance. A perfect example of this is formal randonneuring, as conducted by RUSA in the United States. Events are timed, and have a cut-off time, but there are no awards ceremonies. Choice of equipment seems to be all over the map, from the latest carbon fiber racing bikes to reproductions of French cyclo-touring bikes and lots in between. It would appear that some riders just want to finish before the cut-off time, some want to improve on a prior performance and some want to arrive with the first riders.

Then there are truly non-competitive events in other sense of the word. No timing, no podium, no awards. Just pursued for the love of riding and adventure. Examples would be: bike packing, touring, day rides, large fund-raising rides (like the big rides Cascade Bicycle Club puts on: STP, RSVP, RAMROD, etc.), Eroica California, slower club rides offered by the various bicycle clubs. Certainly some riders bring their competitive sensibility to such a ride, but the rides themselves are not structured around competition, but rather non-competitive recreation.

So yes, in the strictest sense of the word recreation, non-professional competitions are still recreation. But they are often taken so seriously that, from the psychological point of view, they can become a type of unpaid work. At that point that no longer satisfy the general definition of recreation, as given by the Oxford dictionary:

"activity done for enjoyment when one is not working."

It's the enjoyment part that can go missing.

Here's the sticky part: for many kinds of bicycling having the latest equipment is completely irrelevant to enjoying the activity. You can enjoy a multi-day multi-surface bike tour on a 70 year old French camping bike, or a 1970s steel light touring bike. No carbon fiber required. Index shifting optional. You can wear period clothing, or not. It's just play, it's "activity done for enjoyment when one is not working."

I particularly enjoy events like Eroica California which are a ludicrous mixture of ahistorical re-enactment and sustained underbiking, riding on gravel roads that are too rough for the tires being used. Yes it's ridiculous, clearly not serious, but that is exactly the point.

I think if you are a slow rider and you dress up in current racing kit and ride a pro-level bike (I call this pretend racing) you are also ludicrous. You are probably having fun, but the bike is more expensive than a vintage one would have been, or even the bike you owned last year. If your power to weight ratio for sustained climbing is 1.5 watts / kg, like mine, it wouldn't matter if your bike weight 0kg, you wouldn't be able to keep up with pros.

[many_styles]

Agreed, it should be a carbon AND Ti bike.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by EB

Seriously, go back to his old blog - still online - and read some of his stuff from 2008-2011. It's fun stuff, in the context of the Lance era.

Nowadays it's all just kind of sad, and mostly an old man yelling at various clouds, when he's not recycling his own jokes from many, many years ago.

He does have a nice Homer Hilsen, though.

I think one of the problems that besets all contrarian commentators, is if they become too successful, their opinions stop being contrarium. Some transition smoothly into being non-contrarian commentators, others keep trying to come up with crazier and crazier takes. Mr. Bike Snob had a good schtick going at a time when the dominant cycling culture was Lance Armstrong and fixie kids, but with social media supporting 100 different micro cycling cultures, who is he even critiquing anymore?

At this point I don't even know if Jan Heine is culture or counterculture in the cycling world.

[Baron Blubba]

Just got this in an email from Bicycle Retailer.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

Just got this in an email from Bicycle Retailer.

It makes me want to find a steel rim brake bike…something I’ve been chewing on the last month or so. My primary challenge is I’m done with skinny tire road riding and need more clearance for around 35-40mm but can’t stand cantilever brakes.

[Baron Blubba]

.

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by Mark Davison

Then there are truly non-competitive events in other sense of the word. No timing, no podium, no awards. Just pursued for the love of riding and adventure. Examples would be: bike packing, touring, day rides, large fund-raising rides (like the big rides Cascade Bicycle Club puts on: STP, RSVP, RAMROD, etc.), Eroica California, slower club rides offered by the various bicycle clubs.

If everyone took a shot each time you mentioned Cascade Bicycle Club in one of your posts, the entire forum would be perpetually hammered.

[redir]

I love steel bikes for the ride quality but IDK about you all, I've never been able to DIY repair a steel frame but I have DIY repaired carbon frames.

[krooj]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

It makes me want to find a steel rim brake bike…something I’ve been chewing on the last month or so. My primary challenge is I’m done with skinny tire road riding and need more clearance for around 35-40mm but can’t stand cantilever brakes.

Paul Mini Motos. Cantilever brakes belong in the bin of history, but Motos offer decent stopping power.

e: if you're headed down that path, try to find a good used Alpha Q CX20 fork - they were superb and had very little chatter, even with cantis, so I imagine an even better ride with the motos.

[EB]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

If everyone took a shot each time you mentioned Cascade Bicycle Club in one of your posts, the entire forum would be perpetually hammered.

Now do rim vs disc. Or promoting tubes in a tubeless thread.

Maybe we should do paceline bingo instead of drinking to avoid serious alcoholism.

[Pastashop]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

It makes me want to find a steel rim brake bike…something I’ve been chewing on the last month or so. My primary challenge is I’m done with skinny tire road riding and need more clearance for around 35-40mm but can’t stand cantilever brakes.

May I suggest trying Paul mini-motos or similar (8.4 cm arm length) direct-pull brakes? They work well with road brake levers to give a great balance of mechanical advantage and pad-rim clearance, and are much easier to set up for most folks than cantilever brakes? If the canti boss spacing is right, they can usually easily clear a 42 mm tire.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

It makes me want to find a steel rim brake bike…something I’ve been chewing on the last month or so. My primary challenge is I’m done with skinny tire road riding and need more clearance for around 35-40mm but can’t stand cantilever brakes.

https://crustbikes.com/collections/f...ing-bolt-canti

and

https://www.paulcomp.com/shop/compon...akes/minimoto/

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by p nut

https://crustbikes.com/collections/f...ing-bolt-canti

and

https://www.paulcomp.com/shop/compon...akes/minimoto/

I really like that bike. Is it going to offer that tuned ride the author mentioned linked by baron blubba? My experience with other steel non custom frames is no but they were surly cross checks, all city and others that cost less than this model.