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Choose Carefully
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Hello, we’re back. I’m back. The Weekly Word is back. Hello 2025.
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I’ve managed to have a proper couple of weeks away from my laptop, firstly deep in Christmas stuff, and then up to my armpits in DIY and house sorting out activities. Which got me thinking about the nature of ‘stuff’, and the difference between having enough, not enough, or too much. And then, with that still on my mind, this week bike media legend Zap Espinoza lost everything in the LA fires. ‘Razed to the ground’ would be the right term - there’s nothing smoke damaged to be rescued, everything is just gone, down to the foundations. It's a level of devastation it's hard to imagine.
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If you have nothing, it’s the basics that occupy your mind: shelter, a fridge, a cooker, food. Last year I had cause to help someone move out of temporary accommodation into a council flat. They were pleased to discover it had flooring. A donation of a sofa meant there was somewhere to sit and sleep. A fridge and microwave were on their wishlist. It was an experience that certainly put a few things into perspective.
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For those of us that have, it’s not these basics that we’d likely grab in a fire. White goods and furniture are seen as replaceable. Instead, it’s the photos, passports, paperwork and pets that we think of - things that can’t be replaced, or that form the basis of a long road of admin towards putting life back together. Given half a chance, I suspect many of us would save a bike.
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Away from cataclysmic thoughts of total destruction, there’s the ‘spring cleaning’ version of having less stuff. Already on a clear out mission, the ‘Orjenise100’ on Instagram caught my eye. It’s a 10 minutes a day prompt to help you declutter, with the goal of getting rid of 100 things by the end of the month. As these ‘life laundry’ things go, it’s pleasingly simple and practical. Each day there’s a theme as a prompt, and off you go to check out that corner of your life. Do you need three potato mashers? Probably not - keep the best and rehome the other two. Will you ever finish that craft project? Get it done by the end of January, or move it along to someone who will love it. You get the idea. In many areas of our life, having one or two really good things is a better addition to our lives than a host of mediocre ones. Less is more.
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And yet, in the world of bikes, ‘N+1’ is the order of the day. I wonder when and where this term was coined? Was it some clever marketing department person, in the office next door to the ‘diamonds are forever’ slogan crew? Or did we, as riders, bring it upon ourselves - a mental justification for buying more things we want? If it’s the latter, maybe that’s OK. How does the William Morris instruction go… ‘have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’. Certain bikes are useful at certain times, and for certain people that may bring happiness.
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But (I’m sure I’ve said this before, or variations of it, and to regular readers I’m sorry for the repetitive banging of a drum) to focus a whole industry’s marketing philosophy around ‘N+1’ seems short sighted. There’s a bit of missing maths in the formula, which I think should look more like Total Bikes = R(N+1), where R is the number of riders. If R keeps shrinking - because they all hop into cars, or get injured, or take up trail running - then N has to keep increasing to offset the reduction in R. As we’ve worked our way through 26/27.5/29/mullet/boost/disc brake wheels and slacker/longer/steeper geometry, it’s been relatively easy to keep N up through obsolescence. Perhaps that’s why working on the decline of R has only really begun to be a focus in recent years. Marketing to new riders has finally become more of a priority.
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Except, companies find themselves with products that have been devised with the N+1 in mind: tippy top advances in tech, designed to lure the enthusiast into that +1 purchase. Like trickle down economics, the idea that advances in top end bike tech leads to better low end bike tech hasn’t quite worked out. Entry level bikes have just got more expensive, rather than the old-but-good tech devaluing down to a yester-year price.
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The last few years have been quite the dumpster fire for the bike industry, and I don’t think it’s over yet. We’ve not been razed to the ground, forced to start afresh and consider every move and strategy from scratch. We’re still clinging on, with an armful of photo memories and a smoke damaged suitcase of clothes. I hope that somewhere along the way, what rises from the ashes is an industry that looks to sell product to more people, not just more products. In the meantime, you’ve probably got another year of bargains ahead. Choose your +1s wisely.
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Well, you've done it. You've made it through the first proper working week of 2025. It was hellish wasn't it? Let's go and attempt* to ride our bicycles now, yes? *wear all of your layers and crash protection if a UK resident. https://youtu.be/8sjUC9bjBnU?si=SQAt6WfFNVLc1m-x Members can listen without ads here Voodoo Canzo Price: £1,350 From: Halfords SQUIRREL_TEXT_13176229 Following on from our …
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This is the first part of a longer-term review of the Fox Defend 3L Water Pant. The second part will be coming in spring, where we'll have a better idea about the garment's durability. A good set of waterproof trousers is really an essential for winter riding, especially here in the UK. And not even confined to autumn-winter either! Fox …
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