10 years ago, a top end bike was significantly cheaper, with fewer proprietary parts, and could be more easily maintained at home. Today, when marginal gains make so much of a difference, a competitive bike will cost far more in real terms and, due to sophisticated planned obsolescence, is less likely to last very long, and it's far more difficult to upgrade individual components. In essence, the industry (at least at the top end) has disappeared up its own bottom bracket.
Cycling is too dangerous due to drivers, too expensive due to the cycling industry, too elitist due to the riders and too old because the cycling industry has prized money over youth.
Worse? Better? Bike is a bike, it hardly changes. My fleet of 5 in its current state is 30 to 11 years old. Except one steel clunker (not the 30 y.o. btw) all hydraulic brakes, some with semi-integrated routing. No electronics though, so don't quote me on the whole entirety
The point about cycling infrastructure is super important. It's not always trailored towards sporting cyclists, and as a result some ignorant drivers have a fit, but overall it's been a huge improvement in accessibility in just a decade. Encouraging the expansion of cycling infrastructure should be a key talking point in our niche community. Helps make it less of a niche.
I hear that, the swift passage of time happens to all of us. 54 a decade ago, older and slower now, still confident, however, of winning a trophy in the over-60 class in a gravel race. Or a participation ribbon, all the same when you do your best and cheer for everyone and enjoy the scene. 😀
My dad keeps saying, "If only I had the body of a 60 year old". Not far away for me now, but that's always been a reminder for me to cherish the abilities I have now, no matter what my age.
Arent we all under 40 basically on that train? Unless you are 50 and you are wasting 11k on a bike because you hoarded money all your life i dont think bwe have the funds for this bs, not with rents and the prices of everything else begin so high
Lol, I wish I could afford a bike a mere ten years old! all three of my bikes I built from bits salvaged from machines I've found free at the side of the road.
@KenSmith-bv4si yh but wage levels were for sure in line with inflation right? We can for sure trust companies to treat employees as humans in return for all that surplus value they get without them being controlled by a higher authoritative power right???
I started in racing 1982. We had "lightweight" steel bikes, a 6 speed block (13-21 for flat races, 13-23 for hilly ones, 23mm tyres and a 52-42 chainset. You knew where the riders you were racing against were from by the frame they were riding, pretty much everyone used a local frame-builder for their bike. The thought of spending over a years salary, for a bike that someone else had spec'd, would have seen you taken away in a white jacket that did up from the rear.
@@br5380 I still have the 80's steed and still ride it. The 80's track iron also has a front brake and is an great fixie. But yes I also have a carbon frame as well as modern steel.
@@oldanslo obviously, but for $15000 I'd like to spec my own components rather than someone else do it, cutting corners on parts that are not visible. I picked my own parts and was able to build it myself. That's not an easy proposition these days.
Carbs: I've been cycling for over 40 years and never lost the faith over carbs. I rolled my eyes many times when they went out of favour. Protein for power, carbs for long days and endurance in the saddle. STANDS TO BLOODY REASON! Now it's OK again. It was always OK with me 🙄. There's that eye-roll again.
10and especially 20 years ago, there were more standardization of seat posts, bottom brackets, and steering tubes allowing for finding parts for easy upgrades and maintenance. Way more drivetrain compatibility 30 years ago.
I'm 56 and have rides in Strava for 14 years now and according to their fitness/freshness I'm fitter now than I was then. I'm down from 2020 but still up from 2010 through 2016 despite my memories to the contrary
10 years ago I could go into a bike shop and not be faced with nothing but carbon aero bikes with 1x12 gearing, electronic shifting, and a 2k + pricetag.
the shammy cream and hanks laughter is truly the moment of the day. thank you for that ( also dan looking momentarily at the camera, asking , are we still recording this?)
There was a vid by Matt years ago showing how he prepared his clothing for his ride to work as a cop. Worth digging out of the archives - no wrinkles there! I'm sure he never clipped in though.
Ten years ago? How about 50 years ago? I still have my own late 70's steel frame bike with dura ace groupset and down tube shifters. I still ride it once or twice a month and think at the end of the ride, "have we really fixed anything?" Is it really the majic of marketing? Flawless experience every time!
Downtube shifters are awful though. Not just more cumbersome, but taking a hand off the bar and your eye off the road is also dangerous (and for many people, also a skill issue).
I used to ride a lovely Raleigh record ace in the 90’s as a student. It lasted a good few years but got worn out or badly treated(?) and it was impossible to replace things like the lovely aero brakes sadly so I had to retire it
Internal cable routing is extremely easy as long as it has full length cable housing. If you need a new inner cable just pull the old one out and slide the new one in. If you need an outer cable just connect the new cable to the old cable with a screw with the head cut off. Then just pull the old cable housing out and it pulls the new cable housing directly through where it needs to be. It takes 5 minutes.
I own a 2023 Giant TCR Advanced Pro. It's an incredible bike. Full mechanical Ultegra build (yes, I prefer the mechanical group!), carbon tubeless/hookless wheelset, disc brakes, and even a factory installed dual-sided power meter. The bike is very comfortable, very fast and relatively easy to work on with the exception of the brakes and tires. Compared to rim brakes, discs are quite a bit more fiddly. And compared to tubes/clinchers, tubules tires are messy, require more maintenance, and cost more. I also own a 2009 Cervelo RS. It's a full carbon SRAM Force build, with rim brakes and an Easton aluminium wheel set. I rode well over 35,000km on this bike over the years I have owned it, and put it away when I got the TCR over a year ago. I fully rebuilt it this summer with a new BB, new bearings all around, brake pads, bar tape, and so on. I rode it for first time in over a year and allI can say is 'wow, what a bike!'. It's arguably more plush than the TCR, and performs very well. Of course there are differences between the two bikes, the most obvious being the rim brakes. They bite like crazy compared to the discs. Stopping power is very good, but the initial bite inspires much more confidence than the discs. The RS does feel slightly less efficient than the TCR; like I'm doing a little more work on the RS to maintain the same speeds as the TCR. This may be down to the relatively heavier rotating mass of the wheel set, aero improvements, and perhaps a less efficient drivetrain on the RS. However, it does not feel like ~15 years of progress between the two bikes! My take? Disc brakes are good, but aren't worth it. Tubeless wheels are a messy, expensive PITA. I'd happily have my TCR with rim brakes, and a decent carbon wheelset for clinchers+tubes any day. Easier to work on, less expensive to maintain, probably a little lighter too!
Exactly, I have a 2019 Canyon Aeroad (7,3Kg), with rim brakes (and clinchers). In fact, I chose rim brakes due to the lower weight, price and personal taste. Moreover, it does not rain in Lisbon, Portugal. And when it does, I Gravel or Mtb (with disk brakes, obviously).
I think it's fairer to say that although there's a wider selection of expensive bikes than 10 years ago, there are just as many adequate bikes that are modestly priced... If you need a race bike then your race team will pay for it.
There was a time, in the 1990s of “peak mechanical”. I believe there is a ready made market for exceptional steel frame bikes - because of the ride quality of steel, its durability and fixability and recyclability- combined with beautifully engineered group sets, in silver of course, that employ the best mechanical technology out there. This includes rim brakes as an option. Many people want a “do it all” type bike they can ride anywhere. Bigger tires, higher stacks and shorter reach, vibration dampening and flawless shifting. There is a market for a bike you can fall in love with and many carbon frame bikes with proprietary elements that are difficult to service and maintain just don’t fit that bill. Sure they can be exceptional and fast and reasonably comfortable but most riders aren’t racers and maybe that’s one reason gravel bikes came about.
GCN'+ used to be great and for £6.99 a month (I think it was well worth it). I'm sorry but to pay a subscription of £13 a month to now watch the same documentaries is criminal. You've done what every bike manufacturer has done and takes the p*ss out of loyal consumers with quickly rising and extravagant prices. Over a year that would be £156 a year....shocking.
You can buy a pristine aluminum 10 year old Giant Defy with 105 components for $300.... It's incredibly capable, and WAY easier to maintain than today's crap.
I have a 2005 specialized allez elite with modern mechanical 105. The whole build cost me $500. It's a sub 18lbs xxl steel bike with high-end columbus tubing. I can't even get a sub 18lb carbon bike in that size, and if I could, it would be $3k+ lol
Yup, those aluminum frames don't rust so they keep well. The hydromolded ones with non-round tubing can also shave some weight off without compromising on strength.
I think that cycling has mostly improved over the past 10 years: bikes are better, there are more riders, there is a lot more infrastructure, etc. And TPU inner tubes; those things are awesome. There are a few developments, though, that I wish had not occurred: 1. Hookless rims: most idiotic and dangerous idea ever to disgrace the bicycle industry. 2. Internal cable routing and integrated handlebars: It looks nice, but I doubt the aero benefits are even measurable, and they're a total PITA. Internal routing through the handlebars is a particularly irritating development. 3. Waze and other traffic navigation apps for motorists. Thanks to these apps, it's virtually impossible to find quiet, untraveled routes to ride one's bicycle, because every route on Earth has also been found by a whole bunch of car drivers desperately trying to avoid all the traffic that they've created by driving all those cars in the first place.
Cycling was much better 42 years ago when I started as Sunday mornings, you had the whole road to yourself on a bike! No Sunday shopping and less than a 5th of the cars on the road! Heaven!
I bought my first bike 10 years sgo for £700. Shimano 105 throughout and a perfectly decent machine that allowed me to stay, comfortably, in the chain gang. So, yes it's got worse because it's become far more expensive.
In my mid-40s, cycling is way better now than ten years ago. Kids grown up and out of the house. More disposable income for gear and a bike upgrade. More free time to ride. Life in middle age is very good
Despite what people might say, modern bikes are far more advanced than those of 10 years ago. Yes, they are expensive, but if you can afford one - get it 😊
Since getting a disc brake bike a few years ago I've struggled to understand why people live rim brakes so much. I love my disc brakes! Until recently when I lost power in the front brake, got a bleed kit, set up to get out sorted only to find the bleed block doesn't fit my caliper. Pause for 4 days while I await a new block. New block fits, only to find the thread adaptor for the bleed port on the lever doesn't screw in🤦🏻 Get a new adaptor (another few days) and now I find I have a dodgy syringe that's introducing air😠 Another few days to get a better syringe and as I finally start bleeding my brakes I find a fluid leak at the lever so nothing works!🤬 I've never replaced a brake cable myself, but I'm sure it can't be this infuriating! Once I get this problem fixed I'm sure I'll love my disc brakes again, but I'm going to be very nervous next time they need a bleed😬
That’s real bad. I had a few failures with hydraulics but got it working good in the end. As for tubeless tyres. I got some almost free tubeless rims a friend gave me. I’ve had a hell of a frustrating battle over weeks trying everything to get them sealed. I gave up. Not worth it
I saw a charity cyclathon across Japan recently. A youtuber guest who barely knows how to ride was put on the "deluxe" bike, which was a typical aero bike with those deep rims. While it was hilarious watching him try to clip in and out, that bike was not the right type for the rider, no matter how fancy it was. He kept getting blown by crosswind into traffic by those deep rims, downright dangerous. And he nowhere neared the speeds necessary to benefit from the aero. And of course when the seatpost broke, none of the bike shops had the proprietary non-round aero posts. This is why top-of-the-line is a very relative thing. Most casual riders would have a safer and more enjoyable ride on something more old school and 10x cheaper.
This is a story about cows: In 2019 my wife and I were on gravel bikes riding the George S. Michelson Trail in South Dakota from Rockford to Deadwood and back again. It was late afternoon on the way back when we came to a bridge. There were several very large cows on the bridge and I told my wife no problem we could get by, but she stopped and refused to budge. We decided to backtrack and find a way around, but realized after a few miles there was no outlet. As it was getting late, she agreed to put away her fear and try again to cross the bridge. Unfortunately, by the time we returned, a significantly larger number of cows had come up from the valley below now clogging the bridge we needed to cross and even wandering freely around the trail. I looked around and my wife was no where to be found. I finally saw her crouched in the woods behind some trees. I thought to myself “Oh this is just great”. As the cows milled around, I thought of my late father who grew up on a Dairy Farm. What would he do? Inspired by a memory of him herding cows, I rode toward the bridge cowboy like waving my jacket in circles above my head and yelling a few yippee kay yays. Some of the cows looked startled and I noticed some movement. As I got closer sheer panic broke out and the cows started running off the bridge and down the trail. I called to my wife who by now had peaked her head out of the woods, and told her let’s go. We rode behind the stampede with me still waving my jacket and yelling. Finally after about half a mile, the cows veered off the trail into a field and we rode on our way fist pumping and celebrating. I even think my wife had a few tears in her eyes.
Whenever I ride my Yeti SB5, with disc brakes, lockouts, dropper post, and 1X12 drive train, I can't help but to think about how much it sucked riding hardtails with 3X8 drivetrains and rim brakes back in the early 90's. And when I'm riding my brilliant all carbon Willier GTR with carbon Reynolds wheels and how beautifully it rides compared to my old Aluminum Cannondales. Trails are more plentiful, but they're also more crowded, and don't get me started on e-bikers on the trail. And for sure, the amount of distracted drivers certainly makes me more wary of riding on a lot of roads. To echo your conclusions, bikes are better, but actually riding them isn't necessarily.
I actually have an old 90s mountain bike with rim brakes and an elastomer fork with 50mm of travel and a 3×8 drivetrain it's a raleigh max chromo 3 which I found in a Bush believe it or not
I started cycling a year ago (GCN hooked me in), so the only bikes I have ever known have been disc brake bikes. Few weeks ago I built myself a very cheap commuter bike which 10 years ago would've been a TdF bike with rim brakes, Alu racing frame and lots of used or Chinese carbon. I am more confident working on the disc brakes than rim brakes, mostly because it's what I learnt first and spent more time being comfortable with.
Dan: Riping out your garden and let it go to weeds is a serious bodge. I know you were too busy cycling! Hank: Now that I know you are from a dairy farm I totally understand why always thought you were my favorite commentator. You would fit in well with all my farm raised friends here in America’s Dairyland. We are a different breed! 🤣Cheers!
That's a good point. Definitely more cars, driving faster and more recklessly. Some supposed "bike share" roads are real sketchy thanks to that. I remember when 5-10mph over the speed limit was spicy. Now if you aren't doing that, everyone is getting mad at you. Meanwhile the real speedsters are going +30 mph now. Cause why would it trend in the other direction? 😮💨
Alex’s “worst” bike would definitely have a full dura ace group set that he found in the back of a cupboard! It’s like Gordon Ramsey saying “use that left over fois gras lurking in the back of your fridge!” 🤣😂🤣
When I was cycling with mates in the 80s, we used to sabotage each other's gears by reaching over and pulling the downtube lever to put others in the big ring before a particularly hard climb, or the small ring before the 30mph sign sprint. Plus ça change!
Not at all, ive got an absolute rocket ship of a bike that's comfortable and eliminates much of the hassle and wear. Disc brakes mean I have a set of amazing wheels that are still like new after 4 years. Electronic gears and hydraulic brakes go for years without adjustment and thanks to tubeless, no more punctures. It's a dream for a guy that loves things that just work.
As a very old rider who loves the latest tech I'm ambivalent about your "is it better now" segment. When I started riding with the Tyne Electric CC in the mid 1980s I had 19mm Vittoria tubs at 95psi, a whopping 10 gears in total (42/52 x 13/24), downtube shifters (that meant you could prank other riders by reaching down and dropping them into the big ring), rat-trap pedals with toe clips and leather straps and a bike made mainly of steel. It was mint! And so it went on. I loved 23mm clinchers at 110 psi, '9-speed' gears (39/53 x 13/23) with an aluminium alloy frame. State of the art. Now, aged 62, I'm riding carbon with 28mm tubeless tyres at 75psi, Di2 gears, power meters in my pedals and all the bling I can afford. It's still as good as ever...because it's still a beautiful bike! My top tip? Don't look backwards (apart from the odd trackie glance under the arm)
Thanks for featuring my valve nut "washer" hack to mount my new water bottle cage! Appreciate you guys, Dan and Hank, for featuring it on the show! -gzrbang (a.k.a. dialeleven)
wasn't riding 10 years ago (4 year 'newbie'), but was shocked how much better bikes are today (2021 SL7 Sworks), vs. what I rode a long time ago in the 80s in college. Old bike did its job and nobody bothered to steal the bike on campus or anywhere else. Now with all the high end stuff and cost, one dares not leave it unattended at the coffee stop
Well done Dan on handling the work experience placement! Very happily moved along with cycling - no issues with disc brakes, electronic shifting, more aero frames. I’m not a fan of the move from quick release to thru axles. And as for aero bottles - that’s where I’m going to stop!
The increase in cars is certainly noticeable where I live. But, as mentioned, the cycling infrastructure has also improved. As for equipment costs, economists have tried to account for the improvement in technology as being an increase in consumer value. In terms of functionality, I would agree that this years Shimano 105 is likely as good or better technologically than ten year old Dura Ace.
10 yrs ago, the tubeless tires were less reliable, periodically I had to reindexed the gear. Nowadays, I spent nearly the same amount of money to get more down-to-earth brands with better reliability, albeit with slightly more weight penalty, larger selection of cycling attire and more comfy helmets, shoes, & more protected glasses
Imagine a TDF sprint stage, all the teams are busy hacking each other's electronic shifters,... but you know there's one cyclist in the peloton, that couldn't be bothered to use Di2, he sweeps in and takes the win - while Phillipsen and co are busy spinning their legs at 200 rpm😂
Great video! Mixed bag for me - 10 years ago I could ride solo without getting killed by a texting driver. But after buying a new bike this year I can definitively say that bikes are waaaaayyyy better now !
I think modern bikes don't need much maintenance, compares to the bikes 10 years ago because components are hidden and well protected from dirt. I haven't washed my new disc brake bike or lube its chain for almost 3 months, 3600km already, and it is still working great!
I've been cycling for over forty years and my enjoyment of it has never been about the bike itself but more about the riding. It's about being outdoors and discovering the world around you. Back then there was no bike infrastructure or very little if it existed. There was way less cars which made drivers less stressed and cohabitation was good. You'd get the occasional a**hole but that has not changed. Bikes were cheap, parts were cheap and they were very easy to maintain. Now I wouldn't exchange my current bike which is well suited to me at 58 for the friction gear change system bikes I used to ride in my youth but I still see some young people using these old 40 year old bikes for commuting here in Montreal. As for cycling infrastructure it's awesome for commuters, families and people not used to cycling but when you're a cyclist you don't care.
Cycling isn't "better" or "worse", it just IS. We all have our preferences for styles, aesthetics, and trends, but nothing is objectively better or worse in terms of the qualitative stuff you're talking about. Tech can get better, in terms of raw metrics (wind tunnel numbers, race times, etc), but the meta of "cycling" in general is completely a subjective take.
Hi guys, one thing I have noticed now compared to 10years ago is that now our rural roads seem full of delivery vans dashing about whereas 10 years back hardly any. The "Amazon" effect. Hooray for wires, defence against hackers!
10 years ago it was alot easier to get a KOM on Strava, also my riding buddies were not as quick then as they are now so I was still in the mix, now they are mountain goats 30 metres ahead of me on every climb. They saw how much training I did on Strava so started doing the same amount but were naturally alot quicker.
Just today I completed building my lightest steel racing bike with rim brakes, exposed cables, downtube friction shifters, 7 speed gears, and 23mm tyres. I can throw on any wheel I lave lying around whether it's 5, 6, 7, or 8 speeds. It's very comfortable, cheap, easy to work on flies like the wind. I wouldn't touch a modern bike with a barge pole.
60 years ago, racing bikes still had open brake cables and shift levers on the frame without indexing. Since then, racing bikes have gotten better and better when everything works. But the mechanic needs more and more skills. Hydraulic disc brakes and fully integrated cables are difficult, especially for the cyclist who carries out the maintenance themselves. And electronic gearshifts are really expensive if you want to equip several bikes with them.
I'd go way back to the days of friction shifting when 13/24 rear end with a 42/53 and pounding the pavement on tubular tires, this was the norm for us back then, doing a 100 plus mile ride with roughly about 7,500 feet of climbing going over the Santa Cruz Mountains was a good days outing for myself and this was done on a Modified STEEL DALE SASSO TRACK bike that was converted to road, it was tight and fast, it climbed like a bat out of hell and it carved up the down hill runs! Back then several other cyclist looked at it and said out loud, WHAT KIND OF A BEAST IS THIS, and it was a BEAST, what I was able to do with this bike was kind of scary but on the other hand it pulled me out of a few tough situations, one day I was on solo Sunday ride, when getting close to home I wanted to make a green light on a left hand turn so I started hammering to make that green light, ok I made as I was about to enter the intersection a city bus ran the red light in front of me coming from my right side, since I was in blast mode I figured no big deal I'll have about 10 to 12 feet to clear the bus on the out-side as I was coming around the the outer side of the bus then SUPRISE! SUPRISE! SUPRISE! I was looking at another city bus that was parked at the bus stop, so my thoughts of having 10 to 12 feet of room just evaporated to to about 5 to 6 feet, no time to think, if I braked then I'll wash out going under the parked city bus and probably get runed over as it was about to be leave as soon as the other buss was clear, I just steered for the slot, ok I'm in, then all of a sudden the bus at the buss stop started to move outwards towards me! HOLY SHIT! I then was out of the saddle peddling for dear life, I kept my cool, I was torquing so hard my rear wheel was lifting and fish tailing and slamming into the bus that ran the red light, some how I stayed up-right and shot through the busses like a rocket, I then heard the 2 busses locking up their brakes, I was so jazzed up I then ended up in Santa Cruz once once again, this made 2 Santa Cruz runs in 2 days time on this same bike the next day I went to Dales frame building shop, and when seeing Dale he asked, WHY! We're you playing chess with the city busses, I then asked how do you know that, he replied I was on the bus that was on your left side so to say I saw everything then another frame builder JEFF LYON of LYON SPORT came out and said, Dale told me about you and the confrontation you had with the 2 city busses, if true then we need to get you on the TRACK, he then came out to look at my bike and commented, what kind of a BEAST is this, a modifide track road bike, now it all makes sense to me. Yeah! It wasn't a normal off the shelf bike, it was a miss-mash of parts that suited my potential needs MODOLO Master Pro brake CALIPERS with SHIMANO DURA-ACE AERO brake levers, OMAS BIG SLIDING hubs lacer to MAVIC SSC tubular rims with a BOMB proof MAILLARD FREEWHEEL and Vittoria CX/CG tubulars / STRONGLINGT 105 cranks with a TI STRONGLIGHT BB, GALLI KL rear Derailleur a $ 2.00 JPR micro-adjustable seat post which is the most adjustable seat post that was ever made then and probably still is today / CONCOR saddle, the only CAMPAGNOLO parts used on this bicycle was the TRACK pedals, front derailleur and SUPER REDORD headset. I'm currently in the process of building another, maybe not with the same components but trust worthy they will be, you can't do this with modern day componentry! Later!
Cow's, I am a former skydiver living in Australia. I had on a couple of occasions had to land in a paddock with a heard of cow's and the odd horse. One these occasions the cow's would run right up to me 'Very intimidating being large animals" and would attack my canopy, still attached to me. Trodding all over it and scaring the shit out of me! I believe it had something to do with the colours or they were just pissed off from some nut coming from the sky!
Hard to say if cycling was better 10 years ago. If I go back earlier than that I have a different story. In the US a significant milestone occurred when the national speed limit increased from 55 mph to 70 mph (this happened early in 1996). It made cycling way more dangerous on rural roads as speed limits increased on all roads, not just those with limited access like the U.S. Interstate system. Many of the smaller rural roads were dangerous enough with 55 mph speed limits but were still "improved" to 70 mph speed limits. This was quickly followed by the adoption of cell phones in cars which from 1993 to 2015 really madee the landscape more dangerous as we learned that humanity overall should not talk and drive at the same time. As to cycling comfort, I agree that improvements have been made over the last 10 years, but if one goes back 25 years we find the world of steel frame and titanium frame bicycles which I feel are as comfortable as their carbon fiber counterparts today minus the weight penalty. Back then aluminum frames were light, but extremely stiff. What has consistently improved in an amazing way, "Gears", to quote Yens Voight. I started life riding a 52/42 crankset with a six speed 13/24 cassette. No wonder I hated climbing. And Dan I am with you on the improvement to cycling brought by mobile devices with maps. Oh the hours I spent studying maps and taking notes to memorize routes in the hope I would not get lost.
Caption Contest: The Bäckstedt Girls prepare their next big hit, "I'll never break your heart." They then proceed to test the limits of their promise. #captionContest
I came back to cycling almost exactly 10 years ago. I am way fitter and faster than I was then, and I'm 63! Better still, I am fitter than I was a year ago. I do ride a bike with a short head tube and a slammed stem too!
I didn't see the photo for last week's caption contest, but it reminded me of something that happened to me a couple of years ago: I was on a solo training ride on the Wabash Trace (Iowa, USA)--a rails-to-trail route--when I had a pretty nasty crash about 37 miles in. I go up, determined that I was fine enough (just a bit bloody) and--more importantly--the bike was fine. I decided to turn around and head back, and within the first mile of my return trip there were two cows on the trail (somehow I had not seen them ~10 minutes before). One scampered off the trail right away, but the other started running in my same direction. My first thought was to just hold my line and ride by him...but I thought better (since I had crashed once already, so I didn't need a 2000 lbs beast sideswiping me); I rode behind it until it got off the trail. It was quite the adventure.
Yes, for me, which is the only way I can relate to it, because I wasn't the aged, slow, stiff old crock that I am now. What a silly question: pick a year anywhere from 1860 to today, and ask it again. I'm sure people in the 1900s were nostalgic for 'ordinary' bicycles, what, with those complicated and oily chains on 'safety' bicycles!
Been riding mtb since the early 90s and everything for about 20 years. Rose tinted glasses are a normal human spec point, but if I take them off, bikes are better, more good content and coverage, better metrics and metering even for the a average rider, yea more cars suck, but there’s also more riders and that’s cool as! Feel like we’re in a golden age for riding bikes. I do agree that getting older isn’t that great on the face of it, but some maturity and realism about my abilities does often allow me to just enjoy it more than I did when I was younger and more serious about my riding. Plus, unless you are stuck in the old days it’s now ok to like and ride all kinds of bikes. And I’ve never met a bike I don’t like.
Totally true. And those assholes that think paying taxes (not that they sustain the community) and a licence plate entitled them to slam their car around. I do work on the Road and its very twisted how they are more careful around a stray traffic cone than an actual person
Cows are definitely more scary than bulls IMHO. In the Outback we had three bulls who were just huge softies, whereas I had to throw myself over a barbed wire fence to evade a cow with 2ft horns that charged me 😂
Do you think cycling has become worse? Or has it become better? Let us know! 👇
Everything changes. Not always to the better .🤷🏼♂️
10 years ago, a top end bike was significantly cheaper, with fewer proprietary parts, and could be more easily maintained at home.
Today, when marginal gains make so much of a difference, a competitive bike will cost far more in real terms and, due to sophisticated planned obsolescence, is less likely to last very long, and it's far more difficult to upgrade individual components.
In essence, the industry (at least at the top end) has disappeared up its own bottom bracket.
Cycling is too dangerous due to drivers, too expensive due to the cycling industry, too elitist due to the riders and too old because the cycling industry has prized money over youth.
Worse? Better? Bike is a bike, it hardly changes. My fleet of 5 in its current state is 30 to 11 years old. Except one steel clunker (not the 30 y.o. btw) all hydraulic brakes, some with semi-integrated routing. No electronics though, so don't quote me on the whole entirety
The point about cycling infrastructure is super important. It's not always trailored towards sporting cyclists, and as a result some ignorant drivers have a fit, but overall it's been a huge improvement in accessibility in just a decade. Encouraging the expansion of cycling infrastructure should be a key talking point in our niche community. Helps make it less of a niche.
It was a hell of a lot better 10 years ago: I was only 67.
damn bro
U look great for 87😂 i mean 77
I felt this
I hear that, the swift passage of time happens to all of us. 54 a decade ago, older and slower now, still confident, however, of winning a trophy in the over-60 class in a gravel race. Or a participation ribbon, all the same when you do your best and cheer for everyone and enjoy the scene. 😀
My dad keeps saying, "If only I had the body of a 60 year old". Not far away for me now, but that's always been a reminder for me to cherish the abilities I have now, no matter what my age.
Joke's on y'all. I can only afford 10-year-old equipment, so I'm just hanging out in 2014 by necessity
Arent we all under 40 basically on that train? Unless you are 50 and you are wasting 11k on a bike because you hoarded money all your life i dont think bwe have the funds for this bs, not with rents and the prices of everything else begin so high
Did you type this on your Blackberry?
@@JonCannings Worse... a desktop computer!
Lol, I wish I could afford a bike a mere ten years old! all three of my bikes I built from bits salvaged from machines I've found free at the side of the road.
Not only do I have Blackberry I also have 1986 Merlin that gets plenty of miles. Plus my 1990s era Bike-E (not e-bike!)
It was cheaper.
We also made less money 10 yrs ago.
The coffee stop was cheaper
@@gcn So were ice creams! Mr Whippy with a Cadbury flake now £3.50 at it's cheapest in my area.
@KenSmith-bv4si yh but wage levels were for sure in line with inflation right? We can for sure trust companies to treat employees as humans in return for all that surplus value they get without them being controlled by a higher authoritative power right???
I remember I could afford to get a brand new aluminum shimano 105 specced bike for under 2k usd after working part time in the summer
I started in racing 1982. We had "lightweight" steel bikes, a 6 speed block (13-21 for flat races, 13-23 for hilly ones, 23mm tyres and a 52-42 chainset. You knew where the riders you were racing against were from by the frame they were riding, pretty much everyone used a local frame-builder for their bike. The thought of spending over a years salary, for a bike that someone else had spec'd, would have seen you taken away in a white jacket that did up from the rear.
And you now ride a modern bike presumably?
...And you could ride past your mates on a club run and flick their friction down tube gear lever, for a giggle! :-D
You now make less than $6000/yr?
@@br5380 I still have the 80's steed and still ride it. The 80's track iron also has a front brake and is an great fixie. But yes I also have a carbon frame as well as modern steel.
@@oldanslo obviously, but for $15000 I'd like to spec my own components rather than someone else do it, cutting corners on parts that are not visible.
I picked my own parts and was able to build it myself. That's not an easy proposition these days.
10 yrs ago my kids were little and we would ride together, I miss those rides terribly. For me, yes cycling was better.
Carbs: I've been cycling for over 40 years and never lost the faith over carbs. I rolled my eyes many times when they went out of favour. Protein for power, carbs for long days and endurance in the saddle. STANDS TO BLOODY REASON! Now it's OK again. It was always OK with me 🙄. There's that eye-roll again.
I stand with marathon Olympic champion Frank Shorter who said "Low-carb is for those who do not want to contract a muscle again."
Dan’s haircut has improved dramatically in ten years, that’s certain.
10and especially 20 years ago, there were more standardization of seat posts, bottom brackets, and steering tubes allowing for finding parts for easy upgrades and maintenance. Way more drivetrain compatibility 30 years ago.
It's way harder in Canada now to watch cycling, it used to be on basic cable channels now I have to search every year to find a paid for feed
Toronto here. It is easy if you use Google search. I get cycling from a dozen countries in many languages, live and archived footage from 5 years ago,
I wasn't ready for that footage of Si from the archives. 🤓🤣
Caption: Best thing that's changed in cycling over the last ten years? That women's world tour racing has become so dang awesome!
I'm 56 and have rides in Strava for 14 years now and according to their fitness/freshness I'm fitter now than I was then. I'm down from 2020 but still up from 2010 through 2016 despite my memories to the contrary
10 years ago I could go into a bike shop and not be faced with nothing but carbon aero bikes with 1x12 gearing, electronic shifting, and a 2k + pricetag.
the shammy cream and hanks laughter is truly the moment of the day. thank you for that ( also dan looking momentarily at the camera, asking , are we still recording this?)
RIP GCN+. And we miss Manon, Ema Pooley, and many of the old presenters.
What happened to Manon? It thought she was still with the channel.
@@morlamwebNo,she announced a few weeks ago she leaving GCN and wanting to do something different.
@@morlamweb She works with Eurosport now.
Nooooooo. Please God, take Ollie and give us back Manon 😭
@@rderouckHarsh on Ollie!
There was a vid by Matt years ago showing how he prepared his clothing for his ride to work as a cop. Worth digging out of the archives - no wrinkles there! I'm sure he never clipped in though.
I think it was. People were a little less obsessed with Strava and gear. And no electronic BS on bikes.
Ten years ago? How about 50 years ago? I still have my own late 70's steel frame bike with dura ace groupset and down tube shifters. I still ride it once or twice a month and think at the end of the ride, "have we really fixed anything?" Is it really the majic of marketing? Flawless experience every time!
Downtube shifters are awful though. Not just more cumbersome, but taking a hand off the bar and your eye off the road is also dangerous (and for many people, also a skill issue).
@@andrasszabo1570 All true but at the end of a ride, I still feel the thrill!
I used to ride a lovely Raleigh record ace in the 90’s as a student. It lasted a good few years but got worn out or badly treated(?) and it was impossible to replace things like the lovely aero brakes sadly so I had to retire it
Better ten years ago, we still had the GCN app, And the early members plan that was the best 35$ per year that I could ever spend. 😭😭
Caption: "To all SD Worx riders, Demi Vollering has crashed, why are you not helping her?"
Really sad,it cost her the TDF avec Swift 2024 the title.
@@ChuckWind-Sawapart from, it was one of her team that took her out in the corner!
@@richardtaylor1687 🙈
Funniest hack / bodge section in ages, love that you basically lost the plot but kept going 😂
It's better in that there are more rails to trails and paths off road. Gravel bikes are good. But, you are right, bikes are more expensive.
Growing up now, the only upside to $$$ is that it has incentivized myself to learn how do all the bike repair and maintenance myself. 😅
I miss Manon.
Internal cables -worse, disk brakes - safer in wet weather, cartridge bearings - less messy, bike brand only parts - worse.
Internal cable routing is extremely easy as long as it has full length cable housing. If you need a new inner cable just pull the old one out and slide the new one in. If you need an outer cable just connect the new cable to the old cable with a screw with the head cut off. Then just pull the old cable housing out and it pulls the new cable housing directly through where it needs to be. It takes 5 minutes.
Caption: How Kasia won the TDF "To all SD Worx riders, Demi Vollering has crashed, but don't worry about her, do your own things" 😄🤫
Ditto last year’s Vuelta!
I own a 2023 Giant TCR Advanced Pro. It's an incredible bike. Full mechanical Ultegra build (yes, I prefer the mechanical group!), carbon tubeless/hookless wheelset, disc brakes, and even a factory installed dual-sided power meter. The bike is very comfortable, very fast and relatively easy to work on with the exception of the brakes and tires. Compared to rim brakes, discs are quite a bit more fiddly. And compared to tubes/clinchers, tubules tires are messy, require more maintenance, and cost more.
I also own a 2009 Cervelo RS. It's a full carbon SRAM Force build, with rim brakes and an Easton aluminium wheel set. I rode well over 35,000km on this bike over the years I have owned it, and put it away when I got the TCR over a year ago. I fully rebuilt it this summer with a new BB, new bearings all around, brake pads, bar tape, and so on. I rode it for first time in over a year and allI can say is 'wow, what a bike!'. It's arguably more plush than the TCR, and performs very well. Of course there are differences between the two bikes, the most obvious being the rim brakes. They bite like crazy compared to the discs. Stopping power is very good, but the initial bite inspires much more confidence than the discs. The RS does feel slightly less efficient than the TCR; like I'm doing a little more work on the RS to maintain the same speeds as the TCR. This may be down to the relatively heavier rotating mass of the wheel set, aero improvements, and perhaps a less efficient drivetrain on the RS. However, it does not feel like ~15 years of progress between the two bikes!
My take? Disc brakes are good, but aren't worth it. Tubeless wheels are a messy, expensive PITA. I'd happily have my TCR with rim brakes, and a decent carbon wheelset for clinchers+tubes any day. Easier to work on, less expensive to maintain, probably a little lighter too!
Exactly, I have a 2019 Canyon Aeroad (7,3Kg), with rim brakes (and clinchers). In fact, I chose rim brakes due to the lower weight, price and personal taste. Moreover, it does not rain in Lisbon, Portugal. And when it does, I Gravel or Mtb (with disk brakes, obviously).
I think it's fairer to say that although there's a wider selection of expensive bikes than 10 years ago, there are just as many adequate bikes that are modestly priced... If you need a race bike then your race team will pay for it.
Well, of course. If you want to Go Fast, rim breaks don't slow you down as much as disc ; -)
There was a time, in the 1990s of “peak mechanical”. I believe there is a ready made market for exceptional steel frame bikes - because of the ride quality of steel, its durability and fixability and recyclability- combined with beautifully engineered group sets, in silver of course, that employ the best mechanical technology out there. This includes rim brakes as an option. Many people want a “do it all” type bike they can ride anywhere. Bigger tires, higher stacks and shorter reach, vibration dampening and flawless shifting. There is a market for a bike you can fall in love with and many carbon frame bikes with proprietary elements that are difficult to service and maintain just don’t fit that bill. Sure they can be exceptional and fast and reasonably comfortable but most riders aren’t racers and maybe that’s one reason gravel bikes came about.
GCN'+ used to be great and for £6.99 a month (I think it was well worth it). I'm sorry but to pay a subscription of £13 a month to now watch the same documentaries is criminal. You've done what every bike manufacturer has done and takes the p*ss out of loyal consumers with quickly rising and extravagant prices. Over a year that would be £156 a year....shocking.
You can buy a pristine aluminum 10 year old Giant Defy with 105 components for $300.... It's incredibly capable, and WAY easier to maintain than today's crap.
I have a 2005 specialized allez elite with modern mechanical 105. The whole build cost me $500. It's a sub 18lbs xxl steel bike with high-end columbus tubing. I can't even get a sub 18lb carbon bike in that size, and if I could, it would be $3k+ lol
Yup, those aluminum frames don't rust so they keep well. The hydromolded ones with non-round tubing can also shave some weight off without compromising on strength.
I think that cycling has mostly improved over the past 10 years: bikes are better, there are more riders, there is a lot more infrastructure, etc. And TPU inner tubes; those things are awesome. There are a few developments, though, that I wish had not occurred:
1. Hookless rims: most idiotic and dangerous idea ever to disgrace the bicycle industry.
2. Internal cable routing and integrated handlebars: It looks nice, but I doubt the aero benefits are even measurable, and they're a total PITA. Internal routing through the handlebars is a particularly irritating development.
3. Waze and other traffic navigation apps for motorists. Thanks to these apps, it's virtually impossible to find quiet, untraveled routes to ride one's bicycle, because every route on Earth has also been found by a whole bunch of car drivers desperately trying to avoid all the traffic that they've created by driving all those cars in the first place.
Cycling was much better 42 years ago when I started as Sunday mornings, you had the whole road to yourself on a bike! No Sunday shopping and less than a 5th of the cars on the road! Heaven!
I bought my first bike 10 years sgo for £700. Shimano 105 throughout and a perfectly decent machine that allowed me to stay, comfortably, in the chain gang. So, yes it's got worse because it's become far more expensive.
In my mid-40s, cycling is way better now than ten years ago. Kids grown up and out of the house. More disposable income for gear and a bike upgrade. More free time to ride. Life in middle age is very good
@@yosserc bit harsh, don’t you think?
more time to ride is always better!
@@yosserc... Rude. Mind your manners
Despite what people might say, modern bikes are far more advanced than those of 10 years ago. Yes, they are expensive, but if you can afford one - get it 😊
It was better 10 years ago. Loved those rides of50 to 75 miles with my family. Maybe next year will change my mind as we prepare for RAGBRAI.
Definitely send Hank to Japan please. As a long time closet weeaboo, would be really great to see, especially since GCN Japan got scrapped too.
Great cycling here. Tour of Kyushu 12 - 14 October!
I had an amazing time when I visited Japan for GCN
@@JonCannings I did not want to ramble too much, but yes yes Jon, I especially loved your Keirin Racing video from back then. Thanks a ton!
@@Acguy55 no worries!
Since getting a disc brake bike a few years ago I've struggled to understand why people live rim brakes so much. I love my disc brakes!
Until recently when I lost power in the front brake, got a bleed kit, set up to get out sorted only to find the bleed block doesn't fit my caliper. Pause for 4 days while I await a new block. New block fits, only to find the thread adaptor for the bleed port on the lever doesn't screw in🤦🏻 Get a new adaptor (another few days) and now I find I have a dodgy syringe that's introducing air😠 Another few days to get a better syringe and as I finally start bleeding my brakes I find a fluid leak at the lever so nothing works!🤬
I've never replaced a brake cable myself, but I'm sure it can't be this infuriating! Once I get this problem fixed I'm sure I'll love my disc brakes again, but I'm going to be very nervous next time they need a bleed😬
That’s real bad. I had a few failures with hydraulics but got it working good in the end. As for tubeless tyres. I got some almost free tubeless rims a friend gave me. I’ve had a hell of a frustrating battle over weeks trying everything to get them sealed. I gave up. Not worth it
3:47 - Si and his outfit from 10 years ago looks like one of those "my dad will sue you" college kids.
I saw a charity cyclathon across Japan recently. A youtuber guest who barely knows how to ride was put on the "deluxe" bike, which was a typical aero bike with those deep rims.
While it was hilarious watching him try to clip in and out, that bike was not the right type for the rider, no matter how fancy it was.
He kept getting blown by crosswind into traffic by those deep rims, downright dangerous. And he nowhere neared the speeds necessary to benefit from the aero. And of course when the seatpost broke, none of the bike shops had the proprietary non-round aero posts.
This is why top-of-the-line is a very relative thing. Most casual riders would have a safer and more enjoyable ride on something more old school and 10x cheaper.
This is a story about cows:
In 2019 my wife and I were on gravel bikes riding the George S. Michelson Trail in South Dakota from Rockford to Deadwood and back again. It was late afternoon on the way back when we came to a bridge. There were several very large cows on the bridge and I told my wife no problem we could get by, but she stopped and refused to budge. We decided to backtrack and find a way around, but realized after a few miles there was no outlet. As it was getting late, she agreed to put away her fear and try again to cross the bridge. Unfortunately, by the time we returned, a significantly larger number of cows had come up from the valley below now clogging the bridge we needed to cross and even wandering freely around the trail. I looked around and my wife was no where to be found. I finally saw her crouched in the woods behind some trees. I thought to myself “Oh this is just great”. As the cows milled around, I thought of my late father who grew up on a Dairy Farm. What would he do? Inspired by a memory of him herding cows, I rode toward the bridge cowboy like waving my jacket in circles above my head and yelling a few yippee kay yays. Some of the cows looked startled and I noticed some movement. As I got closer sheer panic broke out and the cows started running off the bridge and down the trail. I called to my wife who by now had peaked her head out of the woods, and told her let’s go. We rode behind the stampede with me still waving my jacket and yelling. Finally after about half a mile, the cows veered off the trail into a field and we rode on our way fist pumping and celebrating. I even think my wife had a few tears in her eyes.
I love lugged steel, rim brakes and friction shifting (because everything works with everything else!) but I also like wide tyres and thru axles.
It's definitely better, I can buy 10 year old high-end bikes in top condition sometimes with cool upgrades for bargain prices.
Whenever I ride my Yeti SB5, with disc brakes, lockouts, dropper post, and 1X12 drive train, I can't help but to think about how much it sucked riding hardtails with 3X8 drivetrains and rim brakes back in the early 90's. And when I'm riding my brilliant all carbon Willier GTR with carbon Reynolds wheels and how beautifully it rides compared to my old Aluminum Cannondales. Trails are more plentiful, but they're also more crowded, and don't get me started on e-bikers on the trail. And for sure, the amount of distracted drivers certainly makes me more wary of riding on a lot of roads. To echo your conclusions, bikes are better, but actually riding them isn't necessarily.
I actually have an old 90s mountain bike with rim brakes and an elastomer fork with 50mm of travel and a 3×8 drivetrain it's a raleigh max chromo 3 which I found in a Bush believe it or not
@@kobidwyer7464 I had the old Manitou elastomer forks on one of my hardtails. IT was better than a rigid fork and that's the best I can say.
@shannonchurchill4556 definitely better than rigid
I started cycling a year ago (GCN hooked me in), so the only bikes I have ever known have been disc brake bikes. Few weeks ago I built myself a very cheap commuter bike which 10 years ago would've been a TdF bike with rim brakes, Alu racing frame and lots of used or Chinese carbon. I am more confident working on the disc brakes than rim brakes, mostly because it's what I learnt first and spent more time being comfortable with.
Dan: Riping out your garden and let it go to weeds is a serious bodge. I know you were too busy cycling!
Hank: Now that I know you are from a dairy farm I totally understand why always thought you were my favorite commentator. You would fit in well with all my farm raised friends here in America’s Dairyland. We are a different breed! 🤣Cheers!
Bodge?? Not for wildlife and the world it’s not
No risk of hacking into my shifters. I have 8 speed friction on my mountain bike commuter and 1983 sport touring bike.
I remember my father telling me ten years ago about how many more cars are on the road then vs ten/twenty years before then…
That's a good point. Definitely more cars, driving faster and more recklessly. Some supposed "bike share" roads are real sketchy thanks to that. I remember when 5-10mph over the speed limit was spicy. Now if you aren't doing that, everyone is getting mad at you. Meanwhile the real speedsters are going +30 mph now. Cause why would it trend in the other direction? 😮💨
@@flufflebut8781 absolutely! marginal gains? :)
Alex’s “worst” bike would definitely have a full dura ace group set that he found in the back of a cupboard! It’s like Gordon Ramsey saying “use that left over fois gras lurking in the back of your fridge!” 🤣😂🤣
When I was cycling with mates in the 80s, we used to sabotage each other's gears by reaching over and pulling the downtube lever to put others in the big ring before a particularly hard climb, or the small ring before the 30mph sign sprint. Plus ça change!
How amazing is it that Andrew Feather is named so appropriately. I don't think Andrew Boat-Anchor would be as good a climber, all things being equal.
By the way, it’s “Mon tawk” and it’s the far eastern end of Long Island (the western most part being Brooklyn, in NYC).
With the stress put on the MON part…. MON tawk. They kinda butchered it
Not at all, ive got an absolute rocket ship of a bike that's comfortable and eliminates much of the hassle and wear. Disc brakes mean I have a set of amazing wheels that are still like new after 4 years. Electronic gears and hydraulic brakes go for years without adjustment and thanks to tubeless, no more punctures.
It's a dream for a guy that loves things that just work.
Actually hacking others shifting could make racing even more exciting, like a James Bond chase, lol!
As a very old rider who loves the latest tech I'm ambivalent about your "is it better now" segment. When I started riding with the Tyne Electric CC in the mid 1980s I had 19mm Vittoria tubs at 95psi, a whopping 10 gears in total (42/52 x 13/24), downtube shifters (that meant you could prank other riders by reaching down and dropping them into the big ring), rat-trap pedals with toe clips and leather straps and a bike made mainly of steel. It was mint! And so it went on. I loved 23mm clinchers at 110 psi, '9-speed' gears (39/53 x 13/23) with an aluminium alloy frame. State of the art. Now, aged 62, I'm riding carbon with 28mm tubeless tyres at 75psi, Di2 gears, power meters in my pedals and all the bling I can afford. It's still as good as ever...because it's still a beautiful bike! My top tip? Don't look backwards (apart from the odd trackie glance under the arm)
Thanks for featuring my valve nut "washer" hack to mount my new water bottle cage! Appreciate you guys, Dan and Hank, for featuring it on the show! -gzrbang (a.k.a. dialeleven)
wasn't riding 10 years ago (4 year 'newbie'), but was shocked how much better bikes are today (2021 SL7 Sworks), vs. what I rode a long time ago in the 80s in college. Old bike did its job and nobody bothered to steal the bike on campus or anywhere else. Now with all the high end stuff and cost, one dares not leave it unattended at the coffee stop
Well done Dan on handling the work experience placement! Very happily moved along with cycling - no issues with disc brakes, electronic shifting, more aero frames. I’m not a fan of the move from quick release to thru axles. And as for aero bottles - that’s where I’m going to stop!
What a great pairing! Great to see Dan bring his kid to work.
The increase in cars is certainly noticeable where I live. But, as mentioned, the cycling infrastructure has also improved.
As for equipment costs, economists have tried to account for the improvement in technology as being an increase in consumer value. In terms of functionality, I would agree that this years Shimano 105 is likely as good or better technologically than ten year old Dura Ace.
GCN+ was the best cycling coverage ever. On demand, short and medium highlights as well as full races - brilliant!
10 yrs ago, the tubeless tires were less reliable, periodically I had to reindexed the gear. Nowadays, I spent nearly the same amount of money to get more down-to-earth brands with better reliability, albeit with slightly more weight penalty, larger selection of cycling attire and more comfy helmets, shoes, & more protected glasses
Imagine a TDF sprint stage, all the teams are busy hacking each other's electronic shifters,... but you know there's one cyclist in the peloton, that couldn't be bothered to use Di2, he sweeps in and takes the win - while Phillipsen and co are busy spinning their legs at 200 rpm😂
Great video! Mixed bag for me - 10 years ago I could ride solo without getting killed by a texting driver. But after buying a new bike this year I can definitively say that bikes are waaaaayyyy better now !
Definitely miss the old day's,there's just to much aero this and aero that.💯🚴♂️✌🏻
... the old days* (plural, no apostrophe), there is too* much aero ...
Well 10 years ago proper bicycle is way too expensive for me. But now, i could get a nice alloy bike for only $500 😂
9:33 I guess that's an addition to "was better 10 years ago" gears were unhackable. (unless your colleague decides to mess with your barrel adjuster)
I think modern bikes don't need much maintenance, compares to the bikes 10 years ago because components are hidden and well protected from dirt. I haven't washed my new disc brake bike or lube its chain for almost 3 months, 3600km already, and it is still working great!
Ok, I definitely want to see Dan riding the Nufenenpass - Gotthardpass (via Tremola) - Furkapass loop on a BMX... ^^
I've been cycling for over forty years and my enjoyment of it has never been about the bike itself but more about the riding. It's about being outdoors and discovering the world around you. Back then there was no bike infrastructure or very little if it existed. There was way less cars which made drivers less stressed and cohabitation was good. You'd get the occasional a**hole but that has not changed. Bikes were cheap, parts were cheap and they were very easy to maintain. Now I wouldn't exchange my current bike which is well suited to me at 58 for the friction gear change system bikes I used to ride in my youth but I still see some young people using these old 40 year old bikes for commuting here in Montreal. As for cycling infrastructure it's awesome for commuters, families and people not used to cycling but when you're a cyclist you don't care.
Cycling isn't "better" or "worse", it just IS. We all have our preferences for styles, aesthetics, and trends, but nothing is objectively better or worse in terms of the qualitative stuff you're talking about. Tech can get better, in terms of raw metrics (wind tunnel numbers, race times, etc), but the meta of "cycling" in general is completely a subjective take.
Love Hank’s continual childlike enthusiasm just like Conor obviously why they get on so well
Hi guys, one thing I have noticed now compared to 10years ago is that now our rural roads seem full of delivery vans dashing about whereas 10 years back hardly any. The "Amazon" effect.
Hooray for wires, defence against hackers!
10 years ago it was alot easier to get a KOM on Strava, also my riding buddies were not as quick then as they are now so I was still in the mix, now they are mountain goats 30 metres ahead of me on every climb. They saw how much training I did on Strava so started doing the same amount but were naturally alot quicker.
I miss the typical ATB geometry from the beginning of the 1990's versatile, relatively comfy robust and practical.
Just today I completed building my lightest steel racing bike with rim brakes, exposed cables, downtube friction shifters, 7 speed gears, and 23mm tyres. I can throw on any wheel I lave lying around whether it's 5, 6, 7, or 8 speeds. It's very comfortable, cheap, easy to work on flies like the wind. I wouldn't touch a modern bike with a barge pole.
60 years ago, racing bikes still had open brake cables and shift levers on the frame without indexing.
Since then, racing bikes have gotten better and better when everything works. But the mechanic needs more and more skills. Hydraulic disc brakes and fully integrated cables are difficult, especially for the cyclist who carries out the maintenance themselves. And electronic gearshifts are really expensive if you want to equip several bikes with them.
I'd go way back to the days of friction shifting when 13/24 rear end with a 42/53 and pounding the pavement on tubular tires, this was the norm for us back then, doing a 100 plus mile ride with roughly about 7,500 feet of climbing going over the Santa Cruz Mountains was a good days outing for myself and this was done on a Modified STEEL DALE SASSO TRACK bike that was converted to road, it was tight and fast, it climbed like a bat out of hell and it carved up the down hill runs! Back then several other cyclist looked at it and said out loud, WHAT KIND OF A BEAST IS THIS, and it was a BEAST, what I was able to do with this bike was kind of scary but on the other hand it pulled me out of a few tough situations, one day I was on solo Sunday ride, when getting close to home I wanted to make a green light on a left hand turn so I started hammering to make that green light, ok I made as I was about to enter the intersection a city bus ran the red light in front of me coming from my right side, since I was in blast mode I figured no big deal I'll have about 10 to 12 feet to clear the bus on the out-side as I was coming around the the outer side of the bus then SUPRISE! SUPRISE! SUPRISE! I was looking at another city bus that was parked at the bus stop, so my thoughts of having 10 to 12 feet of room just evaporated to to about 5 to 6 feet, no time to think, if I braked then I'll wash out going under the parked city bus and probably get runed over as it was about to be leave as soon as the other buss was clear, I just steered for the slot, ok I'm in, then all of a sudden the bus at the buss stop started to move outwards towards me! HOLY SHIT! I then was out of the saddle peddling for dear life, I kept my cool, I was torquing so hard my rear wheel was lifting and fish tailing and slamming into the bus that ran the red light, some how I stayed up-right and shot through the busses like a rocket, I then heard the 2 busses locking up their brakes, I was so jazzed up I then ended up in Santa Cruz once once again, this made 2 Santa Cruz runs in 2 days time on this same bike the next day I went to Dales frame building shop, and when seeing Dale he asked, WHY! We're you playing chess with the city busses, I then asked how do you know that, he replied I was on the bus that was on your left side so to say I saw everything then another frame builder JEFF LYON of LYON SPORT came out and said, Dale told me about you and the confrontation you had with the 2 city busses, if true then we need to get you on the TRACK, he then came out to look at my bike and commented, what kind of a BEAST is this, a modifide track road bike, now it all makes sense to me. Yeah! It wasn't a normal off the shelf bike, it was a miss-mash of parts that suited my potential needs MODOLO Master Pro brake CALIPERS with SHIMANO DURA-ACE AERO brake levers, OMAS BIG SLIDING hubs lacer to MAVIC SSC tubular rims with a BOMB proof MAILLARD FREEWHEEL and Vittoria CX/CG tubulars / STRONGLINGT 105 cranks with a TI STRONGLIGHT BB, GALLI KL rear Derailleur a $ 2.00 JPR micro-adjustable seat post which is the most adjustable seat post that was ever made then and probably still is today / CONCOR saddle, the only CAMPAGNOLO parts used on this bicycle was the TRACK pedals, front derailleur and SUPER REDORD headset. I'm currently in the process of building another, maybe not with the same components but trust worthy they will be, you can't do this with modern day componentry! Later!
Cow's, I am a former skydiver living in Australia. I had on a couple of occasions had to land in a paddock with a heard of cow's and the odd horse. One these occasions the cow's would run right up to me 'Very intimidating being large animals" and would attack my canopy, still attached to me. Trodding all over it and scaring the shit out of me! I believe it had something to do with the colours or they were just pissed off from some nut coming from the sky!
Hard to say if cycling was better 10 years ago. If I go back earlier than that I have a different story. In the US a significant milestone occurred when the national speed limit increased from 55 mph to 70 mph (this happened early in 1996). It made cycling way more dangerous on rural roads as speed limits increased on all roads, not just those with limited access like the U.S. Interstate system. Many of the smaller rural roads were dangerous enough with 55 mph speed limits but were still "improved" to 70 mph speed limits. This was quickly followed by the adoption of cell phones in cars which from 1993 to 2015 really madee the landscape more dangerous as we learned that humanity overall should not talk and drive at the same time. As to cycling comfort, I agree that improvements have been made over the last 10 years, but if one goes back 25 years we find the world of steel frame and titanium frame bicycles which I feel are as comfortable as their carbon fiber counterparts today minus the weight penalty. Back then aluminum frames were light, but extremely stiff. What has consistently improved in an amazing way, "Gears", to quote Yens Voight. I started life riding a 52/42 crankset with a six speed 13/24 cassette. No wonder I hated climbing. And Dan I am with you on the improvement to cycling brought by mobile devices with maps. Oh the hours I spent studying maps and taking notes to memorize routes in the hope I would not get lost.
Future episode: Hank builds a shed dedicated to working out and celebrating past victories.
Caption Contest: The Bäckstedt Girls prepare their next big hit, "I'll never break your heart." They then proceed to test the limits of their promise. #captionContest
I came back to cycling almost exactly 10 years ago. I am way fitter and faster than I was then, and I'm 63! Better still, I am fitter than I was a year ago. I do ride a bike with a short head tube and a slammed stem too!
I didn't see the photo for last week's caption contest, but it reminded me of something that happened to me a couple of years ago: I was on a solo training ride on the Wabash Trace (Iowa, USA)--a rails-to-trail route--when I had a pretty nasty crash about 37 miles in. I go up, determined that I was fine enough (just a bit bloody) and--more importantly--the bike was fine. I decided to turn around and head back, and within the first mile of my return trip there were two cows on the trail (somehow I had not seen them ~10 minutes before). One scampered off the trail right away, but the other started running in my same direction. My first thought was to just hold my line and ride by him...but I thought better (since I had crashed once already, so I didn't need a 2000 lbs beast sideswiping me); I rode behind it until it got off the trail. It was quite the adventure.
Cycling is better now, because ten years ago, I only had five bikes.
Yes, for me, which is the only way I can relate to it, because I wasn't the aged, slow, stiff old crock that I am now. What a silly question: pick a year anywhere from 1860 to today, and ask it again. I'm sure people in the 1900s were nostalgic for 'ordinary' bicycles, what, with those complicated and oily chains on 'safety' bicycles!
better now! I love my Gravel bike and my road bike with wider wheels :-) the roads however are worse than 10 years ago !!
Been riding mtb since the early 90s and everything for about 20 years.
Rose tinted glasses are a normal human spec point, but if I take them off, bikes are better, more good content and coverage, better metrics and metering even for the a average rider, yea more cars suck, but there’s also more riders and that’s cool as!
Feel like we’re in a golden age for riding bikes.
I do agree that getting older isn’t that great on the face of it, but some maturity and realism about my abilities does often allow me to just enjoy it more than I did when I was younger and more serious about my riding.
Plus, unless you are stuck in the old days it’s now ok to like and ride all kinds of bikes. And I’ve never met a bike I don’t like.
Cycling is as good as you want to make it …. Safer than 30 years ago and the equipment is much much better
The only negative now vs before is more cars and some strange anti-cycling subculture of 'alpha males'.
Totally true. And those assholes that think paying taxes (not that they sustain the community) and a licence plate entitled them to slam their car around. I do work on the Road and its very twisted how they are more careful around a stray traffic cone than an actual person
@@vittocrazi It's a social media problem, probably.
number one reason cycling better than 10 years ago … my mechanical groupset and rim brakes still CAN’T be hacked!!!!
Cows are definitely more scary than bulls IMHO. In the Outback we had three bulls who were just huge softies, whereas I had to throw myself over a barbed wire fence to evade a cow with 2ft horns that charged me 😂
Future GCN video: hacking a bike while someone is on a ride. Would love to see that! 🤣
Caption: "No, I understand the nutrition plan. But why is there a syringe of chamois creme strapped to my bike?!?"
If you have a newer Wahoo, you can set intervals to remind you to eat and drink. I do like the stickers, but it’s also possible without those.
Lloydy and Hank losing it at the chamois cream syringe…….had to smile all day every time I thought about it.
Still have my 80's Benotto 3000 with Super Record on 42-53 with a 13-18 or 13-21 block. lovely bike to ride, even on 23mm tyres at 110psi!