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, but there's no disputing that. We get obsessed over
00:05the small details and are pretty well known for sweating the small stuff. Now, I'm sure like most
00:11of you, geeking out on the details is actually really quite fun and satisfies a weird part of
00:17our brains. Quietly thinking about every detail of my bike and the parts that I may wish to upgrade
00:23in the future consumes more of my brain activity than it probably should. But recently, I took a
00:30step back and realised that there's actually quite a few dumb things that we as cyclists
00:35probably shouldn't care about. So, let's get into them.
00:44Bike weight is one metric which is poured over more than most. Most people generally want a lighter
00:50bike. The reason being that lighter bikes take less effort to power over climbs. They feel more
00:56responsive and generally make the experience of cycling a lot more fun. However, while enjoying
01:02the difference, a one kilo saving is something that everyone can do. If you already have a bike that is
01:08between seven and eight kilos, you really do start to fall into a game of diminishing returns. Sure,
01:15it might be possible to save 50 grams with a change of pedals or 100 grams with a change of saddle. But
01:21when you consider what that difference is as a percentage of overall bike and rider weight combined,
01:27you're not even close to making a 1% improvement. Also, the thing that makes me laugh is the fact
01:33that you can have a beautifully lightweight bike and then slide in a full bottle of water which will
01:39usually weigh in at more than 700 grams. Also, I believe that the smallest of weight savings should
01:46probably be reserved for riders who might not have much weight to lose themselves. If you are carrying
01:52a little bit of extra timber, perhaps riding your slightly heavier bike could actually net a larger
01:58weight saving game 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, those which
02:18allow for the cables and hoses to be rooted inside the bars themselves and then down through the head tube,
02:24mean we're left with something which is rather aesthetically pleasing. While I'm not going to
02:30argue against the clear improvement in aesthetics, in my opinion at least, the resulting aero saving
02:36gains are slightly questionable and it's those aero efficiencies that these bars are often marketed as
02:43offering. I'm sure tucking the hoses out of the wind does create a saving. However, that saving is not
02:51going to be more than a couple of watts. So, if you are a rider who wants to be as slippery as possible,
02:58perhaps spend more time thinking about the width of your bars and your position rather than whether
03:03your cables are exposed. I can guarantee you will find a bigger saving.
03:14Another one for the diminishing returns brigade are ceramic bearings. They are absolutely mesmerising
03:19when you give either a wheel or a chainset a spin and then they spin seemingly endlessly. However,
03:25before you go and get yourself to the point of investing in such an upgrade, ask yourself this,
03:31are you staying on top of your steel bearing maintenance? Are you keeping your chain clean
03:36and using a high quality lubricant or wax? Are you ensuring your tyre pressure is correct before every
03:42ride? All of these things will net a greater improvement compared to ceramic bearings and on the whole,
03:49cost a fair bit less too. So, while ceramic bearings do have their place for those who can extract the
03:56benefits of their silky smooth ways, I think the majority of us really don't need to worry ourselves
04:03too much with them. There's nothing quite like having someone ask you what your FTP is, only to have to
04:13justify 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 fitness
04:26level is, but it can also be a pretty flawed metric. For those who undertake a 20 minute test and then
04:33minus 5%, it's not really the best way to calculate how much power you can sustain for an entire hour,
04:41which is what your FTP should tell you. For a lot of people, the maximum amount of power that you can
04:47sustain for an hour can only be found out by doing just that, an hour of pain. Additionally, for most
04:55people, we're never actually riding at pure threshold for an hour or even just 20 minutes. The
05:01open roads throw up too many variables. So, perhaps, don't worry about what your FTP is, but instead
05:08think about your explosive high-end power, which is the stuff that's great for getting you away from a
05:13set of lights in a flash. Your ability to smoothly and safely ride the wheels of your fellow riders and
05:20building up your anticipation of what the other road users around you might do. Mastering these things
05:27will increase your real-world speed. Another one that I am guilty of is caring too much about shaving
05:39my legs. I've always been pretty upfront about the fact that I just like the way that it looks,
05:44rather than caring about any sort of aerodynamic or injury-related benefits. Sure, it is handy when
05:50getting a massage, 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. Certainly one I'll try and grow out of, but
06:03some habits do die hard. If it's not on Strava, then it doesn't count. A phrase that I have heard
06:14maybe a thousand times and have probably even repeated myself. We're all very obsessed about
06:20recording every metre we cover by bike, but should we be? I know for sure that some of my favourite
06:27rides have been ones where I've left the head unit at home and just ridden without having a little
06:32screen to stare at. Sure, GPS computers are great and they do provide a wealth of information right at
06:39your fingertips. But really, not every ride has to be recorded. It's totally fine to just head out and
06:46just 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. It's very easy to write a
07:03day off if the wind is too strong or the chance of rain is slightly too high. But if the conditions
07:10aren't deemed to be unsafe, then just go for a ride. It's so rare that you'll feel worse for it and the
07:16chances are the conditions will be better than you may expect. The only reason to pay attention to what
07:22the forecast says is to ensure that you've got the right kind of clothing on and to check which way
07:28the wind is blowing in case you want to go for a KLM attempt. Much like FTP, constantly monitoring your
07:39average speed is kind of pointless. For a long time, all I cared about was always increasing it by
07:45another mile an hour. But when I realised how easy it was for the metric to be influenced by wind
07:51direction, traffic lights and other road users and a dozen other variables, I started to care
07:58a lot less. Sure, it's really nice when you head out and end up getting around your local loop a lot
08:04faster than otherwise you may have expected. But if getting faster is what you really care about,
08:10then get yourself a power meter and monitor those numbers instead. They really are a much better
08:15reflection of where your fitness is really at. And when you complete power-based training sessions,
08:21it's inevitable that your average speed will start to creep up as a by-product.
08:28People have been riding bikes for a really long time. So much so that our beloved sport is steeped
08:38in tradition. But this has led us to a point where perhaps we might care a little bit too much
08:44about cycling's long history. On one hand, it's great to understand and learn about the roots and
08:49heritage of a sport. But that shouldn't come at the cost of embracing the future and understanding
08:56that change is inevitable. It's no surprise that we're living in an era of intense innovation and
09:02that can often come with some growing pains. But with the beauty of perspective and hindsight,
09:08the end result is often something that is better than what it replaces. It may just take a few
09:13product cycles to get there. For example, steel frames to carbon frames, rim brakes to disc brakes,
09:20and mechanical gears to electronic gears. I know that a lot of you love to celebrate and enjoy the
09:26tech of yesteryear 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 you again
09:44very soon.