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.
Cycling Weekly's 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.
Cycling Weekly's 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.
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00:00We as cyclists are a bit of a funny bunch, there's no disputing that. We get obsessed
00:05over the small details and are pretty well known for sweating the small stuff.
00:09Now, I'm sure like most of you, geeking out on the details is actually really quite fun
00:15and satisfies a weird part of our brains. Quietly thinking about every detail of my bike
00:21and the parts that I may wish to upgrade in the future consumes more of my brain activity
00:27than it probably should. But recently, I took a step back and realized that there's actually
00:32quite a few dumb things that we as cyclists probably shouldn't care about. So, let's get into
00:40them. Bike weight is one metric which is poured over more than most. Most people generally want
00:49a lighter bike, the reason being that lighter bikes take less effort to power over climbs.
00:55They feel more responsive and generally make the experience of cycling a lot more fun.
01:01However, while enjoying the difference a one kilo saving is something that everyone can do,
01:06if you already have a bike that is between seven and eight kilos, you really do start to fall into
01:12a game of diminishing returns. Sure, it might be possible to save 50 grams with a change of pedals
01:18or 100 grams with a change of saddle. But when you consider what that difference is as a percentage
01:24of overall bike and rider weight combined, you're not even close to making a 1% improvement.
01:31Also, the thing that makes me laugh is the fact that you can have a beautifully lightweight bike
01:36and then slide in a full bottle of water, which will usually weigh in at more than 700 grams.
01:43Also, I believe that the smallest of weight savings should probably be reserved for riders
01:48who might not have much weight to lose themselves. If you are carrying a little
01:53bit of extra timber, perhaps riding your slightly heavier bike could actually net
01:57a larger weight saving gain and make you faster in the process too.
02:07The latest trend of pretending your bike is completely cable-less and brake hose free
02:12is rife. Massively helped by the widespread adoption of integrated carbon bars,
02:17those which allow for the cables and hoses to be routed inside the bars themselves
02:22and then down through the head tube mean we're left with something which is rather
02:26aesthetically pleasing. While I'm not going to argue against the clear improvement in aesthetics,
02:33in my opinion at least, the resulting aero saving gains are slightly questionable and
02:39it's those aero efficiencies that these bars are often marketed as offering. I'm sure tucking the
02:45hoses out of the wind does create a saving, however, that saving is not going to be more
02:52than a couple of watts. So, if you are a rider who wants to be as slippery as possible, perhaps
02:58spend more time thinking about the width of your bars and your position rather than whether your
03:04cables are exposed. I can guarantee you will find a bigger saving. Another one for the diminishing
03:15returns brigade are ceramic bearings. They are absolutely mesmerising when you give either a
03:20wheel or a chainset a spin and then they spin seemingly endlessly. However, before you go and
03:26get yourself to the point of investing in such an upgrade, ask yourself this, are you staying on top
03:32of your steel bearing maintenance? Are you keeping your chain clean and using a high quality lubricant
03:38or wax? Are you ensuring your tyre pressure is correct before every ride? All of these things
03:44will net a greater improvement compared to ceramic bearings and on the whole cost a fair bit
03:50less too. So, while ceramic bearings do have their place for those who can extract the benefits of
03:57their silky smooth ways, I think the majority of us really don't need to worry ourselves too much
04:03with them. There's nothing quite like having someone ask you what your FTP is only to have
04:13to justify it with what your watts per kilo are. At least that's true in my experience. But really,
04:19should we even really care what our FTP is? Sure, it does give you an indicator as to what your
04:25fitness level is, but it can also be a pretty flawed metric. For those who undertake a 20
04:32minute test and then minus 5%, it's not really the best way to calculate how much power you can
04:39sustain for an entire hour, which is what your FTP should tell you. For a lot of people, the
04:46maximum amount of power that you can sustain for an hour can only be found out by doing just that,
04:51an hour of pain. Additionally, for most people, we're never actually riding at pure threshold for
04:58an hour or even just 20 minutes. The open roads throw up too many variables. So, perhaps don't
05:05worry about what your FTP is, but instead think about your explosive high-end power,
05:10which is the stuff that's great for getting you away from a set of lights in a flash. Your ability
05:16to smoothly and safely ride the wheels of your fellow riders and building up your anticipation
05:22of what the other road users around you might do. Mastering these things will increase your
05:28real-world speed. Another one that I am guilty of is caring too much about shaving my legs. I've
05:40always been pretty upfront about the fact that I just like the way that it looks rather than caring
05:45about any sort of aerodynamic or injury-related benefits. Sure, it is handy when getting a
05:51massage, but I for one know that it's a problem when I can't go and meet my mates for a ride
05:56unless my legs are freshly shaved and moisturised.
06:00Certainly one I'll try and grow out of, but some habits do die hard.
06:09If it's not on Strava, then it doesn't count. A phrase that I have heard maybe a thousand times
06:15and have probably even repeated myself. We're all very obsessed about recording every metre
06:22covered by bike. But should we be? I know for sure that some of my favourite rides have been
06:28ones where I've left the head unit at home and just ridden without having a little screen to
06:32stare at. Sure, GPS computers are great and they do provide a wealth of information right at your
06:39fingertips. But really, not every ride has to be recorded. It's totally fine to just head out
06:46and enjoy being outdoors with zero distractions. If anything, it's a bit better.
06:56The weather is yet another thing which I am guilty of caring too much about.
07:01It's very easy to write a day off if the wind is too strong or the chance of rain is slightly
07:07too high. But if the conditions aren't deemed to be unsafe, then just go for a ride. It's so
07:14rare that you'll feel worse for it and the chances are the conditions will be better than you may
07:20expect. The only reason to pay attention to what the forecast says is to ensure that you've got
07:24the right kind of clothing on and to check which way the wind is blowing in case you want to go for
07:30a KLM attempt. Much like FTP, constantly monitoring your average speed is kind of pointless. For a
07:42long time, all I cared about was always increasing it by another mile an hour. But when I realised
07:48how easy it was for the metric to be influenced by wind direction, traffic lights and other road
07:54users and a dozen other variables, I started to care a lot less. Sure, it's really nice when you
08:01head out and end up getting round your local loop a lot faster than otherwise you may have expected.
08:06But if getting faster is what you really care about, then get yourself a power meter and monitor
08:12those numbers instead. They really are a much better reflection of where your fitness is really
08:17at and when you complete power-based training sessions, it's inevitable that your average
08:23speed will start to creep up as a by-product. People have been riding bikes for a really long
08:35time, so much so that our beloved sport is steeped in tradition. But this has led us to a
08:41point where perhaps we might care a little bit too much about cycling's long history. On one hand,
08:47it's great to understand and learn about the roots and heritage of a sport, but that shouldn't come
08:52at the cost of embracing the future and understanding that change is inevitable.
08:58It's no surprise that we're living in an era of intense innovation and that can often come with
09:03some growing pains. But with the beauty of perspective and hindsight, the end result is
09:09often something that is better than what it replaces. It may just take a few product cycles
09:14to get there. For example, steel frames to carbon frames, rim brakes to disc brakes and mechanical
09:21gears to electronic gears. I know that a lot of you love to celebrate and enjoy the tech of
09:27yesteryear and that's great, but maybe try and keep an open mind for what's to come. It's not
09:34all bad. Let me know down below, what do you think cyclists care too much about? If you enjoyed the
09:39video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content and I will see
09:44you again very soon.