Forum search & shortcuts

Controversial cycli...
 

[Closed] Controversial cycling opinions? Let's hear 'em!

Posts: 28712
Full Member
 

Problem for me was not the pedal but the shoe! Very few sleek, light, non ‘spongey’ uppered, roadie looking flat shoes around

Why do they need to be sleek and roadie looking. Five ten freeriders, all bikes all days!


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 3:22 pm
Posts: 43965
Full Member
 

Schrader valves are OK for tractors or for gorillas who lack any mechanical feel.

Bikes should use Presta valves.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:00 pm
Posts: 46133
Full Member
 

Continetal vertical pro's are tosh.

Rockshox damping is just odd, unless on thier latest uber-fork.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:03 pm
Posts: 35125
Full Member
 

Training for an event is cheating. A gentleman relies on his natural athletic ability.

This is same school of bollox that gave us "A bad workman blames his tools"

Bikes should use Presta valves.

How is this controversial?


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:06 pm
Posts: 9843
Free Member
 

Endoverend...

Most modern full suspension trail bikes aren’t actually that nice to ride on anything other than downhill, they pedal badly and have poor ride feel compared to nice all-round bikes from the past.

In my opinion (which may be weird, as I am weird) is that modern bikes outside of fully fledged XC bikes have not taken great leaps forward in actual proper pedalling ride quality – you know the actual type of riding where going uphill, covering distance are a big part of the ride.

Modern shocks are too good at sucking the bike to the ground for descent orientated riding and seem to absorb pedalling energy. Bikes are bloated in weight to handle ‘youtube’ riding- and this kills the climbing ability…which if you ride in the mountains is a big part of any ride.

Manufacturers seem to have forgotten that OldSkool thing of pedalling ride quality being an aim…..and is why we logically end up with e-bikes to negate all that.

Utterly, completely true. You've totally hit the nail on the head there. Bikes that are great downhill are not so great uphill/xc, so people don't enjoy uphill/xc. So bikes get even more downhill orientated to the extent that people dislike riding them any other way so much that they need to put a ****in' engine in them to make them bearable.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:20 pm
Posts: 17336
Full Member
 

Big groups of roadies all wearing matching tops. ****.

Eh? What you mean club kit because you’re a member of a club?

And Rapha CC is not a real bike club. Eh Crazy-legs? 😉 . It’s for Jonny come lately cyclists who don’t appreciate the heritage of real cycle clubs (1893 in our case)


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:29 pm
Posts: 6938
Full Member
 

Today's CX World Cup race at Namur was better than any XC mountain bike race ever.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:44 pm
Posts: 3241
Free Member
 

@brownsauce you seem to be forgetting why 1x drivetrains were so popular to begin with. It wasn't anything to do with the promise of better gear ratios.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 4:53 pm
Posts: 17336
Full Member
 

The answer to 32x50 is spelled A-L-F-I-N-E, and it’s probably lighter too


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 5:09 pm
Posts: 1376
Free Member
 

If you use the phrase “send it” without being ironic, then you need to have a serious word with yourself.

Unless you’re in a post office.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 5:15 pm
Posts: 10501
Free Member
 

Fitting cranks 5mm shorter is not the magic solution to you being a clumsy oaf who can't negotiate a few rocks or roots without plowing your massive flat pedals into them.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 5:16 pm
Posts: 13554
Free Member
 

Rim brakes are shite and old fashioned. Disc brakes are just better at stopping you, slowing you down and allowing you to control your speed.

Weight of your bike doesn’t really matter unless you’re a professional.

Some of the best bikes I’ve owned have been heavy bastards.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 6:17 pm
Posts: 9843
Free Member
 

Weight of your bike doesn’t really matter unless you’re a professional.

without plowing your massive flat pedals into them.

**** me. Someone's cranked the ****witometer up to 11:-)


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 7:56 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Steve_b gets overtaken by everybody and uses is brakes more than his pedals.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:16 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Valve stems and tyre logos don’t have to be aligned.

Not all lawns need to be perfect.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:17 pm
Posts: 1671
Full Member
 

If a gravel bike is the best bike for the trails you ride, then you are riding the wrong trails.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:19 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

SPD lifts achieve the same (or often better) results than a ‘proper’ bunny hop.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:27 pm
Posts: 7146
Full Member
 

jimmy748

Member
If a gravel bike is the best bike for the trails you ride, then you are riding the wrong trails

That’s never been in doubt, as the trails in question tend to be the only ones folk can ride to from their front door


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:31 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

The Sick! Bikes dudes are just misunderstood.

Sorry, I mistook this for ‘Defend the Indefensible’ on Fighting Talk.

I believe the tyre logo alignment and SPD lift ones, though.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:35 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Most roadies look miserable because they are miserable because road riding is miserable.

Aluminium is the best frame material if you are after a balance of strength, light weight and affordability.

Torx head bolts have no place on a bike and are just the industry making things more difficult for the casual home mechanic.

Most SRAM components have at least two sub-components too many.

Expensive saddles are ridiculous.

Tread pattern, compound and carcass weight are all secondary to how easy the tyre is to get on and off the rim with cold hands.

Expensive waterproof jackets are pointless. They stay waterproof for about five minutes longer than cheaper thinner outer shells and the abrasion from pack straps and general gritty cack ruins them just the same. Under layers plus a cheap outer is best.

You don’t need ten thousand lumens of trail-melting light to have a perfectly good light set up for night riding.

Strava will soon start causing no end of bother with cheeky riding and access issues.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 8:55 pm
Posts: 1159
Full Member
 

You don't need Evil Knevil amounts of 'air' to be a good rider or enjoy a ride. In some bike magazines, there are more images with bikes with both wheels off the ground than those where they are on.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 9:18 pm
Posts: 3923
Full Member
 

SPD lifts achieve the same (or often better) results than a ‘proper’ bunny hop.

SPD lifts are proper bunny hops.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 9:27 pm
Posts: 11869
Full Member
 

Today’s CX World Cup race at Namur was better than any XC mountain bike race ever.

Just watched it, bloody hell, I've raced significantly easier mountain bike courses!


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 9:48 pm
Posts: 3623
Free Member
 

If you use the phrase “send it” without being ironic, then you need to have a serious word with yourself.

That and 'drop in' unless its something along the lines of Redbull Hard-line or visiting your mum for tea.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 9:54 pm
Posts: 50252
Free Member
 

If a gravel bike is the best bike for the trails you ride, then you are riding the wrong trails.

If a gravel bike is the best bike for the rides you can do from your door, then keep on enjoying it! (Not controversial, I know, but a point that needed to be made!)


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 9:58 pm
 DezB
Posts: 54367
Free Member
 

My experience: Disc brakes need to get hot, so gentle rolling winter road rides in rain and puddles = cold wet rotors = squeeeeeall

Stock tektro callipers + Swisstop BXP pads = adequate but silent braking. Bliss.

If someone develops a guaranteed silent disc brake, I’ll be all over that bandwagon like a shot!

Ah, I see.. it's the noise! I can help! For silent disc brakes that work as well as your rim brakes - just spray WD40 on your discs before setting out. Bingo!


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 10:02 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Any bike-specific cleaning product is at least 500% the price of an easily available identical substitute.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 10:06 pm
Posts: 11869
Full Member
 

Ah, I see.. it’s the noise! I can help! For silent disc brakes that work as well as your rim brakes – just spray WD40 on your discs before setting out. Bingo!

Funny, I remember doing the Ft Bill DH course in the pissing rain with V Brakes, but that doesn't help the industry add £500 and 1/2 a kilo to every new road bike sold, sooo yeah, rim brakes don't work in the wet 😉


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 10:17 pm
Posts: 43965
Full Member
 

£500 for a set of brakes? You're doing it wrong.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 10:22 pm
Posts: 11869
Full Member
 

Meh, hazily recalled difference between Genesis Equilibrium rim and disc models.

Now it seems £200 more gets you mechanical discs but Tiagra instead of 105, so lets say £300 like-for-like but 1 kilo in extra weight 😉


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 10:27 pm
Posts: 66127
Full Member
 

Plus tyres all come into 3 categories:
1) Up to 2.7, ie, just a normal tyre with a silly new name or
2) 2.8 or more, ie, shit.
3) Actually just a 2.5 with a lie painted on the side

Less controversial- boost is 100% horseshit. The supposed benefits are trivial and not all hubs even deliver it, many of the same benefits could have been realised with hub changes, and it wasn't even really needed for plus- my 142mm rear 29er Trek will take a 3.0. Which was shit, but still, it could do it.


 
Posted : 22/12/2019 10:35 pm
Posts: 551
Free Member
 

No UK hill is big enough to warrant an uplift. Peddle you sissy!

A cold or hangover is not a valid excuse for not riding.

Anyone who buys a brand new bike is mental.

Wheel size should be a function of frame size. If you ride a small 29er thats mental.

Steel isn't real...titanium is

Peddling a bike that doesnt go anywhere is mental.

Riding on footpaths is not a crime it is a peaceful protest.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 8:43 am
Posts: 165
Free Member
 

Santa Cruz is no longer a niche brand - they're the Raleigh Activator of modern times. To be fair their marketing team must be amazing.

Cyclists that don't say hello or nod back are tossers.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:07 pm
Posts: 12668
Free Member
 

cyclists that feel they need to say hello to me are tossers. I don't know them or need to acknowledge them just because they are also riding a bike.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:24 pm
Posts: 8907
Free Member
 

People who don't know the difference between peddling and pedalling should not be cyclists.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:31 pm
Posts: 165
Free Member
 

Takes minimum effort to say hello - especially if they're looking right at you.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:31 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Racing bikes is one zillion times better than just riding them. If I didn't race I don't think I'd ride at all


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:33 pm
Posts: 8527
Free Member
 

Peddle you sissy!

Fail.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:41 pm
Posts: 13531
Full Member
 

You do not work as hard on an eBike as you do on a normal bike. You might kid yourself that you do, but you don't. But, that's OK as everyone likes to be lazy sometimes.

The single biggest difference you can make to your enjoyment of riding is to lose some weight. You'll be quicker and you'll enjoy more elements of the ride.

Whatever you have in your backpack, half the contents. Unless you're out in the wilds you don't need more than a very basic tool kit and some water. The size of some of the packs I see when out riding is astonishing. This also plays into point number 2.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 3:58 pm
Posts: 43
Free Member
 

A bell is the best thing you will ever buy for your bike and will reduce the possibility of confrontation with other people considerably.

all MTB tyres are pretty much the same.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 6:04 pm
Posts: 11869
Full Member
 

I don't find Rob Warner funny.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 6:25 pm
Posts: 1005
Free Member
 

Horses were lead into battle since year dot but now they're scared of pushbikes?
Snowflakes.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 7:07 pm
Posts: 18042
Full Member
 

People who don’t know the difference between peddling and pedalling should not be cyclists.

See also breaks and brakes.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 7:29 pm
Posts: 5856
Full Member
 

SPDs are more efficient than flats.

2.5mm makes a difference on pedalling performance on crank length.

Riding a bike means you welcome comments from other people on your choice of attire.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 7:34 pm
Posts: 1740
Full Member
 

Ha ha ha. The Ciaran Path and the Burma Road are indeed pish.


 
Posted : 23/12/2019 8:04 pm
Page 7 / 13