An indexed list of all my videos (with categories, tags, and a search button): www.bikegremlin.com/youtube/ For any questions, comments, additions, and corrections, I recommend you use the BikeGremlin forum (UA-cam is awful with comments and doesn't let you search & find questions and answers later on): www.bikegremlin.net/ The forum topic about this video: www.bikegremlin.net/threads/cycling-industry-rant.300/ Patreon support page: www.patreon.com/bikegremlin P.S. It seems like UA-cam is losing some of my own replies and comments to this video - bug or a feature (censorship) - who knows. Forum does work. :) Relja
I'm a professional mechanic & former team mechanic in Europe. I better not say which team. Anyway, I agree with what you say, especially about disc brakes. The industry was forced on them, as a team mechanic we had no choice & neither did the riders. Many of which would prefer rim brakes in the peloton.
Disc brakes mean more brake pad purchases, greater expenditure of shop time to change fluid and bleed, and less strong, less dished wheels that need truing more often.. All mean more money for the bike industry.
@@Up2L842moro Pretty much, yes. Though, for accuracy, it is fair to note that for the rear wheels with cassettes, disc brakes don't increase the rim's dish - that is the case "only" for the front. For the rear wheels, the left flange is already moved inwards to compensate for the right flange inward movement at least to a degree, so there is room for the disc mount even on rim brake rear hubs.
@@BikeGremlinUS Yes, the dish is in the front disc wheel...with no dish in a front rim brake wheel. I'm one of few team mechanics that actually ride when possible...& my own bike by choice is a rim brake road bike with a Campagnolo 10sp Record/Chorus groupset. Although, of course it's not the bike, frame or groupset i'm working on for the riders. That said, they would prefer mine 😀
I couldn‘t agree more. The problem is that you don‘t have a real choice anymore. If you buy a new bike, disc brakes is pretty much standard these days. Rim brake, if available at all, is limited to low-end bikes. I started out on rim brakes and aluminum frames with external cable routing and really love the simplicity. Fixing and maintaining older bikes is a breeze compared to modern ones. We need to go back to affordable, reliable and simple bikes.
@@fulgacian Yeah, that’s an option. Would be interesting to test some one day. Are they less prone to rubbing? That‘s what annoys me the most about my hydraulic ones.
@@Goenzelsen They only push one piston, the other being fixed, so you can fairly close to the fixed pad and let a larger gap up to the "movable" one. No rub if done right. I'd go for larger discs sizes, as they are obviously less powerful.
@@docFrenki fair enough doc, but what about someone like me. 80 years young, riding every day. In my long cycling life, from age five, I have owned, and still own bikes from the 1940’s, Freddie Grubb fixed, alloy frame, long wheelbase, Willi Moore handmade for me, Campag gran sport 5 speed,downtube shifters. Rim brakes. Bianchi ML3 aluminium, Campag Mirage, rim brakes. Gitane 3 clanger 7 speed Shimano SX, rim brakes. BSA Regency, 1959, useless rod brakes, Sturmey Archer 3 spd. High ratio. Heavy as hell! Motobecane 3 clanger, Simplex 5 speed, all French, balloon tyres, rim brakes, my shopping bike. 1970’s Peugeot roadbike, Huret 6 speed, rim brakes, 531 tubing and chrome forks. I love them all. I ride them all. However, living in France for 25 years, I recently bought a Look 765 Optimum, with 12 speed Shimano Di2 wireless shifters, disc brakes, carbon frame and light as a feather. It has changed my cycling life. Such a vast difference in speed, climbing ability and of course, comfort and looks! Disc brakes are fantastic, especially in the wet. As I am waiting for Carpal Tunnel operations on both wrists, the Di2 wireless shifters are now essential. So doc, please do not diss anyone who rides a modern machine! We are all cyclists after all. We should look after each other! Regardless of the bikes we ride! We have enough dissing from the maniac motorists on the roads. (Most of us drive anyway I presume?) I don’t know where you live, but I am an ex-pat Scouser, and the last time I went back to see family, I took a bike. The Gitane 450 I think. Anyway, I might as well have had a bloody target on my back, the near misses and abuse I suffered! Never again. I always thought that my townspeople were good la’s and lassies, but all that has changed for the worse. I will never cycle in England again, sadly. My ex-countrymen have become aggressive abusive louts behind the wheel! Any one else had the same? Good luck out there. Come to France for your cycling holidays! Everyone has or has had a bike over here. Come ahead! Respect the bike and its rider!
I once worked on a Cannondale Bad Boy that required the chainset & bb removal so as to change a gear cable! The cable snagged at the bb shell because the routing didn't work. Internal routing is a cosmetic consideration for the most part. Every bike designer should have first been a bike mechanic... In an ideal world. Thanks for your video.
@@aintnobodygottime4dat you mean less professional mechanichs need to make more professional videos? :) I think the simplicity and sincerity of his video speak to his point. Sometimes less is more
Hey, I'm with you! I've ridden and repaired bikes since 1972. Bikes are no more fun to ride now than back then. Steel IS real, lasts almost forever unless it is abused. Don't be afraid of building up an old bike, they are everywhere and can be great with just a careful rebuild. Good luck and good riding.
Yep! I bought a ‘90’s Schwinn Le tour. Good Japanese cro mo frame and nice components. I added suntour bar end shifters. Did I mention it was super low miles and $20?😂
Aluminium is just better. Once i moved from Steel to Aluminium, i never went back. Aluminium is strong enough to be used on airplanes, car wheels and engines, so it is strong enough for bikes. Lighter, no rust problems.
Then that's crappy shop. My LBS has almost everything in stock. 7 speed freewheel? No problem. 1'' headset bearings? Sure. Pads are definitely not an issue.
Shimano 105s saved my life at 45 kmph in the rain last week. I appreciate discs as well but absolutely nothing wrong with rim brakes. If your LBS is laughing at you, rest assured that they're laughing at everyone who walks through the door and it's time to find a new LBS.
The only question they are asking to themselves when making bikes and parts is : How can we make more money with these sheeps riding their bike and willing to pay anything? That's where we are at, they don't care about practicality.
@@nadsim154 agree, same with cars - just introduce finance schemes so people can have vehicles they don’t need and can’t afford and the industry has nailed it. The fads come and go while I’m out riding my bikes 😊
only way to stop this lunacy is that sheeps refuse to buy new bikes i assembled my last bike some 6 years ago out of old new parts and i am definitely not buying any new next 30 years i am stocked for more than my life span
I agree with almost all your point, in particular regarding steel frames, rim brakes, and getting bikes overly complicated ... even with filled up with electronics. That does not belong onto a bike, except may be for the light or the speedometer. For me no electronics on the bike, and simplest technology made with good quality materials. As you mentioned, it is unfortunately not even possible anymore to find a good steel frame or good old J-forks. Many would be surprised how smooth and safe such a bike rides.
Try Rivendell, Surly, Cotic, Soma etc. There are a lot of steel frames available out there just not perhaps in your average local bike shop or big chain stores
now you're just being stupid by saying that its impossible to find a good steel frames meanwhile they are literally scattered around marketplaces around stores brands like surly etc..
Yep I'm assuming my Surly Karate Monkey must have long chainstays, judging by the fact that my shoes don't hit my panniers like they used to on my old 26" MB. 😀 (and just as an aside, I *LOVE* annoying my friends by using panniers - they keep insisting I should switch to "bike packing" gear for all kinds of reasons that don't matter to me)
Most cyclist that have racing style bikes are constantly being shamed into upgrades on their bikes...eventually riding very light and expensive bikes with deep rims. That's fine when your a pro, and components are replaced or adjusted regularly by the team mechanics...but sunday punters are not anywhere near this. They ride uncomfortable bikes that they cannot utilize the performance, but they look cool. And that's what counts to them.
Bravo. Every point you make is spot on. Been riding for 50 years and my 44-year-old steel, long wheel base touring bike is still a dream to ride and service. The bar end friction shifters eliminate so many problems. The indexed shifters on my three other bikes (including full carbon) are OK but often need attention. Indexing has been a step backwards in terms of practicality. Subscribed. 👍
Thanks. :) A (not very) fun fact: I love the friction shifters too, though I prefer down-tube shifters for technical trails and manoeuvres - with bar ends I sometimes bump a shifter with a knee, at an awkward moment for (unwanted) shifting. For touring and commuting that's not an issue though. Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS I've fallen back in love with the friction shifters. Sure it takes an extra moment to shift, but there's something heart warming in the sound they make. Also, micro adjusting the derailure (esp front) is awesome. Though I will admit there is also a satisfaction in the instant snap and click of a properly adjusted index system. I generally error on the index for my mountain bikes where more immediate change is more often required. The road / rail trail bikes where I can lag a few use friction.
Excellent video. Ive got a 25 year old Specialized M2 Stumpjumper I bought brand new...and Im still riding it. Its easy to maintain and I put good components on it, so it has lasted really well. New bikes are far too expensive and prone to failure. Mine has never left me stranded. Maintenance is everything.
@@frozencanuck6764 Same for me but with a 2001 Specialized Enduro Comp. Upgraded with 2013/14 cheap high end components it rides perfectly and I love it.
Sizing is the biggest nightmare now for riders like me who are between sizes. Because of the fashion of long reach, slack angles and short stems it leaves very little scope for adjustment without really upsetting the handling. I either go for a larger frame that has a factory 60mm stem and shorten in 20mm , which makes the bike really twitchy or take the size down , have the seat way back on the rails and lengthen the stem to the point where it just feels plain weird. I never had this issue with older longer stem, shorter reach bikes.
This is what happened to me but managed to find a superb fit for me, as most bikes for me are either too small or too big because of a untraditional antropometry
@@Pp-sr4cs Me too, the only brand that does a size that fits me perfectly is Trek. Their medium is the only combo that strikes the reach with the lower standover i used to get with bikes say 10 years ago. Specialized, Giant and Scott are totally out.
I've got a Rim brake Surly Cross check (that I'm very attached to) but have been hankering for a bike with disc brakes, you've just about convinced me to stay with my crosscheck (not to mention the 3x that I was considering changing to 2x) Thanks for the level headed advice.
Disc brakes (good ones at least, like Campy and Shimano 12sp) are objectively better in every way. So is electronic shifting. I’m a 25 year Campy rim mechanical user, btw.
So far the hydraulic disc brakes on my Surly Karate Monkey have been great (they're Tektro, which I believe are low end). I only have 454% gear range though (1X 11-50) - I miss the 581% I had with my 3x9 26" MB.
@@gregsullivan7408 I changed my original cheap screeching hydraulic breaks for cheap mechanical Tektro a long time ago and never looked back. They just keep on working.
YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT EVERYWHERE. Aluminium bike with rimbrakes for me. So right about braking and about bleeding the brakes, and how about changing tubes. So much faster and easy with rimbrakes.
chaging tubes is faster with rim brakes? how?! haha. ive done both plenty. ive never had to disconnect my disc brak cli;er to remove a wheel. i have had to do that with rim brakes.
i had biccle shop for 25 years and i know exactly what you are talking about and i was telling same things to customers time and time again but they would't listen but of course they would complain later now i don't want to repair half of bikes because i don't want to lose nerves with inner cables and disc brakes on race bikes bike industry is a mess last 10 years
The most recent bike I built is steel. It is steel because I can drop it, it is steel because I can fiddle with fitment. It is steel so I didn't have to worry about ruining it by stripping and repainting it. The sad part is, it's getting harder to find the basic little things like bearing cups and stems for these now antique steel bikes. The parts market is gradually drying up or turning aluminum because these companies want us to have to spend $10,000 on a glittering carbon fiber gamble.
I really appreciate and agree-with your perspective. I haven't bought a bike since 2001, and my most-recent, new road bike was made in 1989. The technology topped-out in the 1930's when Reynolds began manufacturing High Manganese (HM) tubing. You told me some things I did not know. Thank you. Every time i see a set of STI brake levers like on the blue bike, I want to attack them with a Sawz-All, cutting them in half so that they do not look un-gainly and obnoxious. Why spend $5,000.00 on a black, carbon/plastic bike made by political prisoners when I can buy twelve Raleigh Professionals for the same price? Disc brakes upset the balance of the bike and put four pounds of weight on it. STI's force one to imbalance the weight distribution by forcing the rider to shift her weight forward and then make a lateral movement. Totally counter-intuitive! I ride on the hoods very rarely..., and the drops not very much. Maybe 17% of my riding. I could go on and on. I refuse to let fork failure become an option for me. The consequence of death/paralysis is too great, and I would only have myself to blame. Dropping 200g over aluminum fork w/ steel steerer is ridiculous when the brake system eliminates all the weight savings. Single chainring w/ 11 or 12-sp cassette is another desperate attempt at marketing new bikes. Front derailleurs are famously efficient and long-lasting. A more robust chain (8-sp,9-sp) usually means a more-reliable chain. I tried STI shifters once and they felt like crap. Far too much play to get it to engage. Nobody needs disc brakes if they are not in an alpine environment. Most carbon frames have a 2-year warranty. Two years. You get the ride-feel of plastic, too. All for only $6,000. Nasty, rudimentary color schemes. You can have any color as long is it is black, white, grey or red. Decals that look like they were designed by a 4th grader. This, along with all of the maintenance/repair issues you covered. Wider tires (32-34mm) is just marketing. Totally counter-productive for a road bike. Give me my 23's any day. Most riders you see with new bikes do not own their bikes.., the bank does. I could go on.
Dude, I have 3x drivetrains on three of my bikes! I have 3x7 drivetrains on my old MTBs, and I have a 3x6 on my vintage Cannondale ST500. I have a 2x7 on my old Marukin M420 road bike, though it was originally 2x6. All four of my bikes have rim brakes. My MTBs have index shifters, while the road bikes use downtube shifters. They're not fancy, but THEY WORK! I'm not a fan of the 1x drivetrains, either. 3x7 and 3x8 drivetrains have been around for decades. Why? THEY JUST WORK! Give me a good, solid 3x7 drivetrain, and I'm a happy camper... 😁
For me i pretty much tapped out at 9 speed, but only because to good 7 and 8 speed parts got harder to find. I still have an old 5 speed free wheel that run smooth with a friction thumb shifter on my all steel cruiser built on a Nashbar frame, that bike gets a lot of compliments wheneven i ride it.
The opinions video is very much appreciated, because at least some of the questions have already been on my mind. One of the things which I dislike is the move towards making parts proprietary and exclusive - for example, tube shapes that are not round cylindrical.
Yup. On a downtube, it "only" prevents me from mounting down-tube shifters - but when it's an oval seat-tube, then you need proprietary seat-posts. It sucks. Relja
Yeah I we get that more and more in shop. Proprietary Stems, even Handelbars that inculde the Stem, Batteries built in the Frame. Its just greed, nothing more.
I even sold a modern Di2 disc brake bike because of rubbing and slow shifting. I continue to ride a 10 year old rim brake bike and it's bliss. Ride feel is the same.
Im 6'4" 190lbs and 43 years old and agree with everything you have said in this video. Even though I own a fully carbon disc brake bike that weighs 16lbs. It's a 2 by, and I i have full mechanical shifting and brakes. I do indeed miss the days of simple friction shifting... And heavier bikes always seemed to have a more firm plant onto the ground in gravel and anything offroad.
Right on Bike Gremlin! 90% of the "upgrades" to bike tech since 50 years ago have been more beneficial to the revenues of the bike industry than to the rider's performance, safety, and comfort!
I don't agree: Light's are much more reliable now than 30 Jears ago when light was failing almost for sure in any bad weather. Breaks improved significantly and the tires are much better as well. Also gears are better. I recently replaced my 17 year old trekking bike and it was a complete new world even if I was already satisfied with the old,
@@florianmeier3186 Yeah, well, lights and tires are part of that 10% that was beneficial to the rider, but 90% of the money and time expended on "improving" the bicycle was in the area of diminishing marginal returns...not worth it to me and I think also, to most riders. By the way, I personally don't give a hoot about lights, and am not seeing any significant improvement in tire or gear tech either, as a rider who's been bikin' for 50 years or so.
If you don't buy electric bicycle there is not much more than light, breaks gear, tires.... OK, on special bikes like MTB you have also suspension. Maybe it is unnecessary as my one from 1993 did not have any, but I don't think so. I started cycling in the 1980s and compared to today the frames were heavy duty, but the rest was rather crap. Almost everything improved. When we went on a school trip in the 1990s MTB was rather new so almost everyone had one, but chains came off dozends of times during that trip. Today you can ride thousands of km without losing it once.
Great video!!!! I agree so much, I am older rider with a carbon bike and disc brakes. I need to bleed my brakes and don’t want to even try. Just ordered a Rivendell with friction, rim brakes and a triple. Those who know will know. Thank you
i hate friction shifting but have used it on touring bikes. But I also hate anything over 10 speeds. In my 50 years of riding I have tried it all and have definite tastes. But you have yours as well and it is your bike.
@@tomkunich9401 I've found Microshift gear shifters is the way to go, with friction FD and indexed RD. With those you have friction as a failsafe in the rear if needed.
20 years ago, I went to an aluminum frame. 10 years ago, i saw a surly steel frame on clearance for dirt cheap in a shop. Built it up. It's the smoothest, softest riding bike I've ever ridden. Rim brakes, 2x7, bar end shifters. For commuting and trail riding, I dont think you can beat it for comfort. I've built several for friends who laughed at it on rides, rode it to see how bad it would be, and then converted to steel for leisure commuting. They still use their carbon bikes for speed rides.
Yep, I had a pedal totally shred a SRAM GXP carbon crank last week. The pedal actually fell off! On inspection the alloy thread insert was completely shredded. The thread has entirely worn smooth and the pedal slid out of the crank!!! Incredible.
Am novice when it comes to choosing a bike. My idea of a bike thats good enough is trip to Walmart. Where i got the Ozark Trail gravel bike for $268 (including tax). Ive been enyoing it so far. Am just looking to have fun. The bike industry has forgotten that part and has made everything convoluted. Just like any other industry. Look at any piece of hardware, its getting so specilized its easier to throw it away and buy new one. And they'll plant a tree in Amazon and call themself carbon neutral. Pozdrav iz Bostona,
What a fantastic video. I always double my knowledge of bikes when I watch The Bike Gremlin. I'm gonna watch it again to pick up the more subtle points.
Thanks. :) I tried to keep it civil, but I was genuinely frustrated and we recorded this spontaneously (the original plan was to just record the cranks overhaul). :) Relja
It's good to hear I'm not the only one. I'm riding a steel road bike with rim brakes and Alu rims, and am quite scared that they'll stop making parts for it.
I wasn't expecting anyone to care about this topic (much less to share a similar view) - just needed to get it off my chest. The video's comment section is a surprise (and a pleasant one at that). :) Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS But 1 thing to add, just my speculation, is that everything comes from the high end and trickles down to the mid range and entry level. I have a low profile Alu rim. Road riders prefer high profile, because it's aero. But if it's an Alu high profile, it's gonna be really heavy. So they make it out of carbon. But putting a rim brake on a carbon rim is tricky. So they convert to disc brake. And if you want to be able to sell different bikes at different price ranges built on the same frame, you'll have to put disc brakes even on the entry level one, because you have a disc brake frame. There is sense behind it, but at some point, the needs of a Tour de France racer completely diverge from the needs of an every day rider such as ourselves.
@@hkszerlahdgshezraj5219 I would argue that Tour de France rider needs are put behind the sponsor/sales/profits. Fitness (climbing) wins the races. And aero. But the disc brakes and similar stuff are just put to sell them ("it's what the pros use, so it must be the best"). At least that's how I see it. Have you seen the video where Froome complains about the brakes: :) bike.bikegremlin.com/3871/pros-and-cons-od-bicycle-disc-brakes-compared-to-rim-brakes/#4
For most people, bikes are a fashion look. It's always been that way. And the bling sells. It does not matter if it is easy to repair or functional, because when it breaks they go to a bike shop, find out how expensive a repair is and buys another one instead of getting it fixed. And the new one is THIS year's look!
I have seen carbon frame crack without the carbon wheels even sustaining any damage, or without even being knocked out of true. It is also impossible to know if someone has over tightened parts without using a torque wrench. I.e I would not buy a used carbon frame or bike without knowing the owner and how they treated the bike. And buying used, you generally loose the lifetime frame warranty if it came with one, so you better get it cheap.
Carbon fibre, except for a few very specific use cases, is a terrible material. It is bad for bikes and the aircraft industry will find out to their cost that it's bad for planes. Steel is hugely underrated, but marketing loves carbon fibre. All the best.
I saw a plate of fiber material (forgot whether it was carbon or not) that got hit on one side for a test. On the impact side a small dent, on the other side completely cracked.
I have spent about 55 years maintaining my bicycles and hence wholeheartedly agree with your rant. The bike manufacturers are of course producing stuff that we are buying so a part of the problem is of our making, although many people don't have an engineering or design background and fail to realise the potential problems of what they're buying. In addition, much of the buyers only keep their machines for a short while before selling and buying a later model. Then there are the bike shops who generally like today's situation because increasing numbers of people have to take their bikes to them for repair, the relative complexity and lack of standardisation being just too great. I've just read your vlog on tubeless tyres and we're in total agreement. I use these on my (old-school) full suspension and hardtail MTBs but stick to hooked rims, clinchers, AND puncture resistant tyres on my daily bike. Incidentally, the 2.2 - 2.4 trail king tubeless are very comfortable of course due to the lower pressures, also I rarely have to top up the pressures. I could rant about the relatively recent proliferation of wheel and tyre sizes but won't because after all, that's been an issue for a very long time: - 29" yes smoother ride, totally changes gear ratios , frame geometries and clearances (mudguards too), and is a bit heavier, plus looks a bit odd on smaller frames. Plus the only difference to 28" is the tyre depth, the rim size remains the same. I'm also annoyed by the proliferation of cheap elastomer forks sold on so many bikes these days, particularly e-bikes. These are heavy (little problem on an e-bike) and are almost never serviced. There are better solutions... - 27.5" w.t.f. introduced to sell more stuff, and sadly, different rim size to 26" wheels. The subject I'd add is the move away from ball bearings to ball races. Whereas one had a generally standard size for steering, front wheel, rear wheel and bottom bracket there is now a myriad of different options, with additional issues thrown in. On the brake issue I have discs on my 2 MTBs but a mix of v-brakes, cantilever, and interrnal on my other bikes. That for me is the optimum in terms of braking control for lowest maintenance hassle.
I went into one of my two local bike shops looking for a 10 x 135 axel, only to be told we don't sell them because you can't buy them on their own, they come with the wheel as a complete unit. The only thing that was complete was the bollox she was talking, I was trying to support my local shop instead of buying online. The other shop laid on the BS about buying a wheel from them as well, yeah we don't stock them but you'd be better off buying a new wheel because if you put a new axel in, it won't run right see, it will be worn out inside the wheel. I had already checked for wear, the wheel still had a good original tyre and innertube as well. I was flipping bikes 40 years ago back when a road bike was called a racer and you could get any parts local or have them ordered in. Locally, My stockists only stock a small handful of random parts and tons of accessories gadgets and the latest must have's now, why would I want Bluetooth gear change when I still have to press something to do it, I don't need the shave a fraction of a second off my gear change. Old English proverb- If it aint broke, don't fix it.
Went and tried buying a old 4 tapper crank. 3 shops, nothing. Caved and bought online again. And to no surprise they had no spares in either shop. A sad wall, rest all need to order themselves nothing in stock. To all good will I fail why I should support said shop. Order i can do myself without driving there.
Agreed. I have a 50 year old steel frame Nuevo Record friction shifters, rim brakes, quill stem. It gets almost no maintenance and is just as fun as a new bike.
I bought a Motobecane super mirage steel 10 speed in 1978, rode it for thousands of miles in many states - road bike miles and maintained it myself until 2021 when the bottom bracket threads stripped and it could not be fixed. The replacement Trek 18 speed has Verve 1 which was the only bike avaialavle during covid is disappointing. the Squashed frame means I have to have the seat raised beyond the height limit and the shimano shifter made out of composite broke,sheared off. The reduces wight of aluminum is over rated. Steel was reliablly strong. I agree. The bicycle industry has focused on exotic stuff that is bad engineering.. Sad.
I agree with most of what you said there. Thanks :) I have a carbon fork just like the bike in the video and I don't see the benefit of it at all. I just worry it will break on me one day. Carbon is strong in pure tension but the front fork is mainly subjected to compression so I guess it's only the resin matrix taking all of the load and the carbon itself is not doing much.
This is the first time I've discovered your videos, excellent rant! Your pov reminds me of another excellent site, The Path Less Pedaled. BTW, you convinced me to keep my Surly LHT with the rim brakes and 3-by chain rings! Thanks!
Good choice. :) A famous cyclo-tourer from my country (Snežana Radojičić) went around the entire globe on such frame (the rim brake version). She's still rolling on it. I'd say it's quite a good frame - worth keeping. :) Relja
I like the old components. Threaded headset. Square taper BB. Frames wherein the seatstays are welded in line with the top tube. People say "Oh but they're heavier:" So what . Unless you're doing climbs up the Pyrennes it does'nt matter. The only technical innovation I like is disc brakes. Also -these ridiculously large cassettes that are featured on MTB's. The 3 ring chain wheel was fine.
I'll disagree. Ive been riding enduro for 7 years, and i ride hard. 10-42 teeth 10 speed with narrow wide ring is great. Ive bent the sram gx shifter so many times, hitting it on rocks etc, and just straightened it out with my hand and kept riding. Loving the clutch system keeping the chain relatively tight. It also keeps things simple with less stuff to break/ go wrong.
@@bellavia5 Sorry that's not a counter argument against what I said, and I know I'm correct. But still willing to hear what you have against high range cassettes... The only downside is when you have 12 gears the chain is narrower and weaker. 11 gear chains have done the job for me. Wouldnt go any bigger though, adds unneeded weight. Same with front shifter and 3 chainrings. You shouldnt cling to old tech just because it's old, and you shouldnt embrace the new unquestionably as if it's faultless. Hope that this sums up how we both feel about this.
@@--LZ--- First off -who says I have to provide you with a counter argument let alone a response of any kind?. Second off -where do you get off telling me or anybody else what they should do about their choices of cycling components? Third off -you summed up how YOU feel about this but that's about it. If you're secure in your choices then my initial response should have been sufficient for you . Swell.
@@--LZ--- Even if i have an old harcore hardtail with a downhill fork bro , I dont have a cluth and is pain ,its so bad , what I want to do ? to make a bombproof hybrid old-new hardcore bike . I dont like new bike frames but for sure new parts are amazing and refreshing , I dont want carbon on my bike but in general new parts are better thats it :]] Still Love my 888 open bath fork , its soo smooth
Excellent video. I ride old steel bikes, and I’m glad I’m not enticed by most of the technology. I do like integrated brake levers/shifters (brifters) but maybe I should go back to bar-end shifters for reliability. I’m not interested in disc brakes or silly crank designs. I love your Trek, and it’s extremely sensible.
Thanks for the rant. I was considering a new bike , but will probably upgrade my vintage touring bike I bought used that has very little miles on it. New tires, and better cables and better brake levers etc .. I heard how much better supposedly hydro brakes are , but I always suspected on a touring bike the disc can get bent, dirty, pads contaminated and probably not as good as the old school canteliver brakes properly adjust with new pads and high quality cables, levers.
Great video. I’ve been commuting and racing for over 3 decades and it’s just sad how crazy bikes are now with few options. I miss the day of crazy bikes and one end of the spectrum and practical simple bikes on the others.
Like everything else, there are trade-offs. I have a 1x and the benefits are clear. Cheaper, lighter and simpler setup and maintenance have sold me. I'm absolutely onboard with rim brakes though. I don't think I'll ever go back to discs.
I love good practical, common sense advice. Good video. Yes the bicycle industry, like a lot of other industries get us to buy things that are proprietary in nature so you have to by the “next biggest thing” rather than building something that will last.
Hello! The first thing i would do is (because this is a carbon fork and steer tube) to switch back the stem from the negative to a positive angle and take off one or two spacers from the steer column, therefor the height of the bars would remain the same and it would be a more solid build. The extra spacers you place them back on top of the stem!
You are clearly preaching to the converted!😀 I’m a 70 year old Australian who has been riding bikes all my life. I also loved new stuff, but it wasn’t a problem because the standards stayed the same. Even when cranks evolved, until recent times, they would still fit into an English threaded bottom bracket shell. However, in recent years, there has been an explosion of new bike standards. Because of this, I stopped buying new stuff when I got to Shimano 10 speed on a couple of my road bikes and Campag. 11 speed on my ‘besty’! Fortunately I have a friend who owns a bike shop and when people bring their bikes in to upgrade their components, he gives me the stuff that comes off the bikes (usually well looked after) to help maintain my bikes, as you clearly can’t buy anything more than a generation old now. I’m hoping that with a similar philosophy to you,I can keep my bikes going until I pass. Thanks for the entertaining ‘rant’!
Honestly, I agree 100%. I've been saying the same thing to anyone who would listen for a couple decades, and it's obvious that no one is listening. I was hoping there'd be at least someone in the comments saying "no, actually, carbon is much safer than steel" but it seem like this those people stayed clear of this video. It's just total insanity. Professional cycling should have little to nothing to do with what bikes normal people ride, but people let the industry lead them around by the nose. Every development in the last 30 years has made bikes more fragile and/or expensive and dangerous for the sake of making them lighter. Really it's all about having some new MIC junk to market every year. Anyone can ride the steel bike that won the tour d' France in 1903, but the carbon bikes made in 2004 ago are already dangerously structurally compromised. Total junk culture where everything gets used for a few years and then sent to the landfill.
I try to avoid click-bait titles and thumbnails, so that it's as clear as possible what a video is about (the same goes for my website articles). That way no one's time is wasted. Life is good. :) Relja
Agree with you on most everything. I started riding on the road as a kid in the mid 1950's, eventually began racing in the early 1970's. Only once did I even think about better brakes: atop Sonora Pass in the Sierra, facing a switchbacked descent of the east side, littered with gravel, loaded down with full bike packing gear. Rim brakes evolved over the years and got incredibly good (Dura Ace 9200). If I wanted to run tires wider than 28mm yes I'd probably want discs, but I'm perfectly happy with 23-28's. Had weird problems with my carbon bike occasionally dropping the chain (never had that problem with any of the similar 11 spd bikes I had used). Hard to find a rim frame, so I had a titanium Mosaic made, had the groupset transferred, and have been really happy with it. Not outrageously expensive. Chains don't drop on it, but if they did the seat and down tubes are smaller, so the chain won't jam between the chainring and the frame. It has a carbon fork, at least it's an ENVE. Rim brake stuff was cheap for a while, so I bought up spare wheels, calipers, levers, fork, etc while I could, many at big discounts. Thanks for the video, hadn't realized how much the changes have caused headaches for mechanics!
My wife and I picked up second-hand Seven Cycles titanium/carbon frame bikes for $800 for the frames. We are older and like the comfort and the ease to service. They are rim brake bikes and we installed Campagnolo groupsets and wheels. They do not meet all of the standards mentioned in this video ) full steel frame and friction shifting. However, the frames are a great example of strength (titanium for all of the joints and botton brackets), practicality (no painted surfaces) and ease of repair and adjustment. Campagnolo shifting stays true compared to Shimano.
@@sloprun Nice! I'm "older" too: 78. I too like the warm brown natural finish non-rusting Ti: no paint for me to scratch, and the "decals" are etched into the metal. I have no problem with Shimano shifting staying adjusted whether mechanical (on my winter bike and my trainer bike) or Di2 (on the Mosaic). Di2 is such a snap to adjust even I can do it! Sure back in the day I used frame mount friction shifting - with the 5-speed clusters we had then (6-speed was just beginning to appear and was considered high tech). But I suspect friction shifting with an 11 speed rear might be tricky?
@@sloprun WOW! Just picked up F&R Dura-Ace 9200 rim brake calipers for just under $100 each from Western Bikeworks. A little over 50% off MSRP. Don't really need them but couldn't let THAT price go by.
I was buying Chinese carbon fiber frames, with the idea of building an inexpensive XC MTB. After months of brutal testing, I pedaled off from the car and it felt "soft". That's when I noticed a crack in the downtube. Now, it was near the water bottle mount, and my theory was the full water bottle was impacting in the same place. (As it was loose in the water bottle holder) Still, give me a good cro-mo frame any day.
I had a race face carbon fibre spider “explode” at 5mph going over a small mound. It threw me over the bars onto my back. The worst component is sram force CX1 hydraulic brake/ shifter lever. The carbon shell leads to endless issues with leakage, thread shredding and other failures.
While I agree for the most part I prefer discs to v/rim brakes.For riding off road and downhill I like the power and modulation of a disc brake.Also they are less affected by mud and water but the biggest plus for me was being able to keep riding with after putting a wobble in the wheel that would not work if it was a v/rim brake.
The problem is more that there is very little industry difference now between the racing and the utilitarian/recreational use of bikes. I race, and I fully accept the drawbacks and fragility of my lightweight, complicated, expensive carbon go-fast bike and components. The bike is made to go as fast as possible for a relatively brief period of time and the parts and perishables are expendable. I accept this as part of the sport. The trouble is that the bike industry thinks they are being helpful by tricking down this race theory into the bikes required by 95% of the riding public. The non-competitive rider has absolutely no use for performance-based bike builds, yet they are forced to inherit them and the problems that they didn’t ask for when only wanting to ride for fun.
@@mathewkirk1748 Its similar with MTBs , people buy a full front and rear suspension bike with super wide tires to go to the grocery store - and then complain that they need an E-bike because it's such a slog.
Neglected to say that bicycling shouldn't be a one size fits all endeavor. Smart manufacturers should offer choices (e.g. some models with rim brakes) so that riders could use what works for their needs. I bet they would make more money that way. I bought a couple of bikes with disc brakes, couldn't find any advantage over my rim brake bikes for road use, found I just didn't enjoy gravel as much as road, so got rid of them. One plus of the current discs-only situation is that it saves me time: I don't bother looking at new models (either at the bike shop or online) as I have zero interest in them. And saves money because no temptation to buy a new bike!
Very reasonable and easy to comprehend perspectives that are supported by your actual experience across a wide horizon of bicycles with their challenges and advantages. EXCELLENT! Thank you!
Try descending several miles of steep pavement in the rain on rim breaks. If you are riding 100 miles or more every week it will happen eventually. view disk brakes as a safety feature.
@@stfu6397 What would you recommend over hydraulic discs? Arguably the greatest revolution in cycling. Having said that V-brakes were a remarkable improvement over cantilever and u-brakes.
I've been riding, fixing, and building bikes nearly all my life, and worked in the industry for a few years. I can see the disadvantages, and some advantages of much of the things you bring up. The cycling industry is full of fads, and many bike people go along with a lot of them. For example, when "aero" groupsets came out, that made last year's stuff, as we would say at the shop... JuNk! Some new ideas turn out to be good though, and eventually get adopted as standard, like threadless headsets which are a big improvement over the old threaed kind and quill stems, in my opinion. But those 1x bikes with that huge rear cassette? I consider a fad. Yes I plan on fitting disc brakes to one of the upcoming builds I have planned, but all of my bikes now have rim brakes and they are just fine. I read once where someone wrote that the bicycle is the only conveyance that can be fully maintained by the owner. It would be sad to see that go away.
I like this video more than others that just criticise "13-speed" as "completely useless". You're absolutely right about this stuff, and it's why my main bike is basically as you describe. An alloy bike, mini-V with Kool-Stop, cables visible, 2x10 105. I'm an amateur mechanic, it performs well, and I can maintenance it with extreme ease. Rides like a dream. I beat all the people pretending on tour de france bikes, anyway. As for 13-speed... It's obvious compensation for fewer gears in 1x. They do "need" it (if they're married to the idea of one chainring) for their cadence and range. It's not for the "amateurs" anyway, where they're pushing LinkGlide. Obviously still a dumb trend being pushed on the masses, but it's the smallest symptom.
I’ve been a serious cyclist since 1987 and I could not agree with you more. My daily rider road bike is a lugged steel 1983 Fuji “Team” and it rides great and even at 58 years young I can ride all day in comfort.👍👍👍👍 Well said sir! 🚴🚴🚴🚴
Thanks for sharing your thought. I agree with most of what you have explained but i do enjoy using mechanical disc brake because it is some what serviceable easily for a newbie like me. Do you have any thoughts on fixed gear bike or single speed bike?
Single speed are nice for flat terrain (especially for commuting). Fixed gear - I’m not a fan. Some folks love them. In Serbia, fixies are exotic/boutique and more expensive. Relja
I gave up on new bikes. I spent less money dragging an old Steel Frame Mountain bike from the 90s home and completely rebuilding it. Redoing wheel hubs, setting brakes, rebuilding cup and cone bottom brackets.. And I now know how to fix it going forwards. Seems like that's the best route forwards these days. Also, Carbon bike parts scare the hell out of me, seen too many people get in accidents because a carbon handlebar, rim or fork just snapped under load.
I 100 % agree with you about the Disk Brake debacle. Trust me. Done 40 years on rim brakes + 10 years on disk brakes all over Europe. Just back from the Alps and i left most riders in the dust during the descend ! Since 2018 i use the same rim brake pads, costing me NOTHING ! Look at what disk brakes cost in maintenance as well… What a mess…
If you left them in your dust that would imply your brakes didn't work as well. Also, disk brakes require very little maintenance - maybe new pads every 6 months (depending on usage) and a bleed takes 10 minutes every year or so. Not exactly back-breaking maintenance for brakes that work reliably and predictably in all weathers.
@@CTC420 unless two riders are on a VERY similar level descending, the type of brakes are not going to make the slightest difference on who goes faster.
Great information, i agree with everything you say, i love my race bikes with rim brakes. I also think chain waxinging is getting pushed and im wondering if chain waxing is so great and efficient why aren't chains by the big manufacturers like Shimano and Sram being sold already coated in wax straight from the manufacturer in the bag so people don't have to strip the oil that's the manufacturer puts on it at time of production and then that oil has to be stripped. Doesn't make a lot of sense unless because the oil from the manufacturer keeps it from rusting and wax wouldn't keep it from rusting during storage and shipping?
You speak a lot of truths. 👍 Some subjective, but still truths. 🙂 I’ve never liked curved bars personally, and disc brakes for road bikes are unnecessarily expensive, brittle and complicated. I literally don’t understand how they get away with charging as much as they do for road disc brake systems… But on the MTB / hybrid / straight bar side of things? I’ll take discs any day over rim brakes. 🙂 (I have a small commuter with rims and a rigid steel hybrid straight bar bike with discs - and 445mm chainstays 😉). You can get a full front or rear MTB brake system for around 25 euro, which gets you maybe a cheap rotor on the road side. One additional thing I’ve noticed that drives the lightweight change is that although companies love lightweight stuff so they can sell you parts and frames more frequently, a lot more peole are mainly driving cars today, work on computers for a living, and are less used to manual labour. As a result, many are simply out of shape, see steel frames as ’too heavy’ and then opt for an aluminium XC bike with a cabon fork. It’s a bit sad but it is what it is. On the flipside, there are a lot more cheap options to get people into riding today, and a boatload of other, more advanced options of all kinds than, say, in the 90s. I don’t drive electric myself, but I’ve also seen a lot of positives from that front - older people and those unused to physical fitness getting into riding bikes more. E-bikes also need more durable components, so those are starting to drip down to ’acoustic’ bike use as well. I hear a lot of good things about Shimano Cues, for example. Plus if you browse the used market, you have a LOT of options, even in small countries. But yeah - bikes have experienced technologization and ’advancement’ in a sense similiar to computers: in order to buy a good bicycle that fits the bill today, you also need to know about bicycles. I can feel your pain as a previous specialty shop worker myself. Things would be easier if the only thing people could buy would be an expensive but also a durable, high-quality tool. But then you have people complaining about the price all the time. 🤷♂️ I think basic mechanical steel bikes peaked in the 3x9 to 2x10 days. When I saw where the industry was headed, I bought a 2x10 steel frame, tools, a lifetime of spare parts and learned to wrench for myself. No regrets. There’d be a lot of demand for simple, durable, ’it just works’ -frames. Something like a Buffalo Bike. I’m sure someone will take on the challenge as the years go by and the SRAM v. Shimano tech development competition goes too far. 🙂
I ride 7 or 8 at the back (whichever I find cheaper), and a 3x cranks up front. Ebikes are great. If my work were up-hill from home, I would rather commute on an e-bike, than take showers at work or use a car (or even a motorcycle). Durability-wise - I recently fixed a destroyed Shimano Microspline 15 mm thru axle rear hub of an e-bike. The cartridge bearings were shattered (bearing balls split in half). It also has some design problems I discussed about the DT Swiss hubs (axle breaking problems look innevitable). That hub is sold for MTBs (for aggressive off-road riding) and, apparently, e-bikes. :( Regarding Cues: It seems to be incompatible with other stuff. Not sure about quality and durability. It will arrive to Serbia in a few years, once used bikes with that tech. start coming in from Germany. :) Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS Regarding CUES, I’ve heard of different types of hacks. No experience of my own yet, but still. PLP likes testing things, and may be interesting to you if you’re not familiar with it: ua-cam.com/video/FJ0HoZrNqMM/v-deo.html The road side may be problematic again, but again the mountain / hybrid use may be ok. That cartridge bearing blow-out doesn’t surprise me - except for the most durable part splitting in half: that must have gone through some heavy dirt. 😳 I’ve heard that Shimano’s quality has been steadily going down over the years, and there are also lemons here and there, of course. Thru-axle is nice for rigidity, but I’ve never liked the idea that it threads directly into the frame. If those threads go, your frame is toast, which is why I’m still on quick-release. And again personal preference only, but I think cartridge is fine for the bottom bracket and headset, but I’m still using cup and cone, loose bb hubs for wheels. If you know how to set them and grab a few extra cones as spares, they can take almost anything (outside hardcore mountain stuff) and last you a long time. I also expect a lot of newer Chinese / Taiwanese manufacturers entering the Euro market via Aliexpress in the coming years, which should fill in a lot of gaps that the big manufacturers are making.
Yes. 100%. But wuill stems are dangerous (I’ve seen them fail and had them fail). Reason why: bike.bikegremlin.com/10123/unsafe-cycling-patents/#3.1 Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS Sounds reasonable. I've had an a-head star nut fail during a ride but of course only the headset came a but loose during that ride. I've also read your comment about square bottom brackes. I've managed to exactly break one as a very heavy rider. But I also managed to snap off a hollowtech style crank (Rotor Vegast) during a ride and of course external bearings last only a couple of months while the failing square of the BB was 15 years old. For everything sportive/performance oriented use I 100% agree with your view but for city bikes and hybrid bikes I beg to differ.
But tightening the headset on the go is not easier. As you need a tool for that. Can't simply use a multitool. So modern solution is preferable, a syou can use a multitool, but adjustment is still possible with long enough steerer tube. So I don't see a reason to us eit on newer bikes.
Incidentally on rim brakes the old parallelogram XT v-brakes were brilliant and worked very well. Also re discs the rotors can usually be straightened with an adjustable spanner.
Hello there. I agree with most of the points you make. The once I don't agree are - Disk brakes work better in the winter in prolonged snowy and rainy conditions for my every day winter commuting. I've struggled for more then 10 winters with calipers, catching ice on the rims, the pads last 2-3 weeks, the rims no more then 2-3 years. And finally made bike for the winter with disk brakes. MTB style for flat bars, not drop bar/sti shifters. I don't have problems with rubbing, 5 years and 25k km on the new bike, still the original disks, the cheapest shimano disks for 15€ with the cheapest hydraulic disk breaks for 40€.. Shimano mtb and touring calipers offers a bit more air gab between the pads and disks. Other manufactures have less gab and it's a problem indeed. Another problem with modern cranks is the Q factor.. They are made wider and wider with every new generation till the point it's importable to me.
Good summary of everything wrong with modern bikes. My bike has a wheelbase longer than XL road bike yet it is a 46 size bike. Super stable, long chain stays. Perfect for TT
@colecoleman1499 a long wheelbase doesn't equal stability in all situations. You still need to account for head tube angle, rake, stem length and bar width. Also, TT bikes tend to have short seat stays. Weight balance on wheels is also a factor in geometry.
@colecoleman1499 depends on how slack that headtube/rake is but a my mountain bike has a slack headtube and 90mm stem. It handles very poorly at high speeds because minor adjustments make the bike very twitchy at high speeds. It's not a remotely stable bike. But for me, it's worth it to have a no maintenance Lauf suspension fork that's also very light. It's nothing I'd ever recommend to someone else. My TT bike has a long top tube for the size(I'm 6'1" and size down to a 51 because I need the short head tube) but it's still remarkably stable at high speeds in the aerobars. Sit up too much and unweight the front of the bike and it gets very twitchy.
great video! I dislike new bike and technology, wish I had my steel columbus tubing road bike with rim brakes, discs brakes are overkill and another beef of mine is 1x, mechanically makes ZERO sense. 2x minimum and if you're touring 3x 100% for gear ratios. Bike these days are shit and over priced.
Until recently at least, there were still some of the nice Dura-Ace 9x shifters (one of the best shifters ever made, might be the exact model you can see in this video) available (sold as bar-end, but can be mounted at downtime as well) that can be switched to just friction. I bought those new 2 years ago. But they might be out of stock now. They only seem to sell Shimano indexed bar-end shifters now. Right now, one of the best friction shifters would be the Rivendell Silver shifter (made by Dia Compe). There is also a bar-end version of that design (the Uno shifter) that has a larger barrel to work with 11x pull ratio as a bar-end shifter.
Totally agree! I’ve a full suspended mountain bike with 1x and disc brake for really technical or muddy trails and wouldn’t want theses features on any other bikes. Rim brakes are powerful light and easy to maintain. Triples gives you plenty of range. The only drawback is that I can’t find any triples with short crank arms for reasonable price 😢.
Most of that hich tec stuff is solely created to suck money out of consumers pocket. I own four bikes 35, 25, 20 and 10 years old and ride them all. Guess which one is the most reliable.
12:45 have to disagree on this one. Crank is thinner because there is lower torque due to shorter lever arm when the crank is vertical. In this case lever arm is ~8cm (distance from crank to middle of the pedal). On the other hand when crank is horzontal the lever arm is ~17cm which means it needs to withstand double amount of torque. So rectangular cross section does make sense
agreed with your rants completely. I love my 1989 bicycle because I can service it myself. on disc brake: have you seen mechanical disc brake...paul component makes one. cheers!
When I was young I wanted to give back my old bike to buy a new one, the mechanic owner of the shop asked me why I needed a new bike, I answered I wanted something lighter with a new shift to go uphill. The man looked at my old bicycle and than looked at me, finally he saids: "there is nothing wrong in your bike, the problem is in your legs. Go to pedal, make some hundreds uphills and after that, if you still need a new bicycle come back here, we will find something". Today they push you to buy a new bike even if you need just a couple of brake pads.
From the experience of my friends who run or work in bike shops (and from my own experience), it takes a lot of tact (if that is the right English word) and patience to explain that to most people. Even the young ones and children. Some people think you're trying to rip them off if you recommend decent quality front brake calipers and pads. Others, on the other hand, think you are lecturing them if you try to explain that it's not the bike - but the legs (as you've explained). It's not always easy to get the point across - and for it to be taken as well-intended. Very often, it's a lot easier to just shut up and take people's money. Spirit of the times, I guess. :(
What a breath of fresh air. I got sick of being told that the latest kit is the be all and end all of cycling. Eventually I just accepted that I'm a cycling fossil so imagine how refreshing it was to find this video, basically agreeing with all my thoughts.
Every honest youtube bike mechanic seem to agree with your retro-grouchy points, I'm just a hobby fiddler but have to agree with most of what you say too.
Hahah. Yup - I suppose it does come off as "retro grouchy." Fair to note: I would call myself a tech enthusiast. Even at this age. But I can see when stuff is made to work against the customer/people. That's what I have a problem with - not with every "new stuff." :) Relja
I have a new carbon fiber 1x gravel bike and love it. But I think every argument you make is valid and worth considering. I can certainly say that it's a hell of a lot easier to deal with my old rim brake bikes compared to my disc brake bike. And while the stopping power of discs seems superior, they squeal like crazy when wet. Tradeoffs everywhere. Great video!
Spot with your points. Thus my affection for Surly (simple but very adaptable steel frames), Shimano Cues and TRP HY/RD cable operated hydraulic disc brakes. Simple and reliable is out there it just needs some digging around to find.
In the last 20-30 years, the only real advances in the cycling industry (for road cycling) are: - Gearing. You couldn't do anything with a 42-23, no you can easily have a 34-32 or even lower. - Wider tyres. They're so much confortable, you don't need so much pressure, ... all advantages. Everything else (disc brakes, tubeless, up 12 gears???, ...) is unnecesary way to overcomplicate things.
Yes, there was a long trend of using super-narrow tyres for road bikes, with minimal clearance for any debris. The nonsense started a long time ago. :) One of the (few?) recent trend positives is that you can more easily find good quality 28 or even wider slick road bicycle tyres. Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS That's 100% true. Whatever the root cause of the failure was, it's also clear that the nature of carbon fiber construction masked the consequences of repeated material stress (fatigue) until the point of catastrophic failure.
100%! A good illustration of this is when carbon fiber is used for tanks and cannisters under pressure (expansion), such as scuba tanks, industrial tanks for gas and liquid. Using it in the opposite application (compression) will produce failure - like the titan sub
Although I have a pretty new bike with almost many of the marketed items you’re talking about, I basically agree with all what you said. What I do enjoy with disc brakes more is the chance to use much wider rims and tyres. The bike overall is a fair bit more comfortable, other than that I still think my 20 year old rim brake bike is great
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It seems like UA-cam is losing some of my own replies and comments to this video - bug or a feature (censorship) - who knows.
Forum does work. :)
Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS Censorship for sure.
@@user-xh7rz6sh7t yup, regards stefano
Hats off for your sincerity. You won't get sponsors with this video, but, at least you get my thumb up. Keep up such good work.
Thank you. :)
I highly prefer the independent Patreon supporters - beats answering to any corporation: :)
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Relja
I'm a professional mechanic & former team mechanic in Europe. I better not say which team.
Anyway, I agree with what you say, especially about disc brakes.
The industry was forced on them, as a team mechanic we had no choice & neither did the riders.
Many of which would prefer rim brakes in the peloton.
Yup.
Disc brakes mean more brake pad purchases, greater expenditure of shop time to change fluid and bleed, and less strong, less dished wheels that need truing more often.. All mean more money for the bike industry.
@@Up2L842moro Pretty much, yes. Though, for accuracy, it is fair to note that for the rear wheels with cassettes, disc brakes don't increase the rim's dish - that is the case "only" for the front. For the rear wheels, the left flange is already moved inwards to compensate for the right flange inward movement at least to a degree, so there is room for the disc mount even on rim brake rear hubs.
@@BikeGremlinUS
Yes, the dish is in the front disc wheel...with no dish in a front rim brake wheel.
I'm one of few team mechanics that actually ride when possible...& my own bike by choice is a rim brake road bike with a Campagnolo 10sp Record/Chorus groupset.
Although, of course it's not the bike, frame or groupset i'm working on for the riders. That said, they would prefer mine 😀
@@keepitreal1547 100%
I couldn‘t agree more. The problem is that you don‘t have a real choice anymore. If you buy a new bike, disc brakes is pretty much standard these days. Rim brake, if available at all, is limited to low-end bikes. I started out on rim brakes and aluminum frames with external cable routing and really love the simplicity. Fixing and maintaining older bikes is a breeze compared to modern ones. We need to go back to affordable, reliable and simple bikes.
@@Goenzelsen Look at Rivendell if you want a quality bike with rim brakes.
@@Goenzelsen No one wants rim brakes. That’s why they aren’t sold anymore.
You can always opt for cable actuated disc brakes. Best of both worlds.
@@fulgacian Yeah, that’s an option. Would be interesting to test some one day. Are they less prone to rubbing? That‘s what annoys me the most about my hydraulic ones.
@@Goenzelsen They only push one piston, the other being fixed, so you can fairly close to the fixed pad and let a larger gap up to the "movable" one. No rub if done right. I'd go for larger discs sizes, as they are obviously less powerful.
The problem with classic steel bikes is that they work perfectly, last forever, satisfying to repair, ride beautifully....
"Its better, in my opinion, to hit a tree at 20 or 30 kmh than 40 or 50" Never change. You the man!
If I see a Surly long haul trucker I know where to send it. Building up a Disc Trucker for a Friend atm.
Bravo! For someone to finally say it, loud and clear. Old school forever!
@@docFrenki fair enough doc, but what about someone like me. 80 years young, riding every day. In my long cycling life, from age five, I have owned, and still own bikes from the 1940’s, Freddie Grubb fixed, alloy frame, long wheelbase, Willi Moore handmade for me, Campag gran sport 5 speed,downtube shifters. Rim brakes. Bianchi ML3 aluminium, Campag Mirage, rim brakes. Gitane 3 clanger 7 speed Shimano SX, rim brakes. BSA Regency, 1959, useless rod brakes, Sturmey Archer 3 spd. High ratio. Heavy as hell! Motobecane 3 clanger, Simplex 5 speed, all French, balloon tyres, rim brakes, my shopping bike. 1970’s Peugeot roadbike, Huret 6 speed, rim brakes, 531 tubing and chrome forks. I love them all. I ride them all. However, living in France for 25 years, I recently bought a Look 765 Optimum, with 12 speed Shimano Di2 wireless shifters, disc brakes, carbon frame and light as a feather. It has changed my cycling life. Such a vast difference in speed, climbing ability and of course, comfort and looks! Disc brakes are fantastic, especially in the wet. As I am waiting for Carpal Tunnel operations on both wrists, the Di2 wireless shifters are now essential. So doc, please do not diss anyone who rides a modern machine! We are all cyclists after all. We should look after each other! Regardless of the bikes we ride! We have enough dissing from the maniac motorists on the roads. (Most of us drive anyway I presume?) I don’t know where you live, but I am an ex-pat Scouser, and the last time I went back to see family, I took a bike. The Gitane 450 I think. Anyway, I might as well have had a bloody target on my back, the near misses and abuse I suffered! Never again. I always thought that my townspeople were good la’s and lassies, but all that has changed for the worse. I will never cycle in England again, sadly. My ex-countrymen have become aggressive abusive louts behind the wheel! Any one else had the same? Good luck out there. Come to France for your cycling holidays! Everyone has or has had a bike over here. Come ahead! Respect the bike and its rider!
I once worked on a Cannondale Bad Boy that required the chainset & bb removal so as to change a gear cable! The cable snagged at the bb shell because the routing didn't work.
Internal routing is a cosmetic consideration for the most part. Every bike designer should have first been a bike mechanic... In an ideal world.
Thanks for your video.
Internally routed cables and hoses can be added to your list. Now cables and hoses are also routed through the headset. So needlessly complicated...
@@gideonvaneeden2681 I love internally routed cables. Easier to clean bike. Looks better. However, headset routing, nah I’ll pass.
More professional mechanics need to be making this type of video!
@@aintnobodygottime4dat you mean less professional mechanichs need to make more professional videos? :)
I think the simplicity and sincerity of his video speak to his point. Sometimes less is more
@@rabbishmuelgoldberg1896 you misunderstood
Hey, I'm with you! I've ridden and repaired bikes since 1972. Bikes are no more fun to ride now than back then. Steel IS real, lasts almost forever unless it is abused. Don't be afraid of building up an old bike, they are everywhere and can be great with just a careful rebuild. Good luck and good riding.
I second that. Why pay $2,000 for a bike from a dealer when you can find a bike for a quarter of that on cragslist?
@@tomkunich9401 I agree: I have purchased all of my bikes from Craigslist or Facebook for quality bikes at low cost.
Yep! I bought a ‘90’s Schwinn Le tour. Good Japanese cro mo frame and nice components. I added suntour bar end shifters. Did I mention it was super low miles and $20?😂
Aluminium is just better. Once i moved from Steel to Aluminium, i never went back.
Aluminium is strong enough to be used on airplanes, car wheels and engines, so it is strong enough for bikes. Lighter, no rust problems.
I’ve got 2010 Shimano 105 rim brakes, got laughed out of my local bike shop when looking for replacement pads.
Find another shop.There are still more rim brake bikes than disc.
There's nothing wrong with Shimano 105 kit. I've got the same. Can't fault it.
Then that's crappy shop. My LBS has almost everything in stock. 7 speed freewheel? No problem. 1'' headset bearings? Sure. Pads are definitely not an issue.
Elitist a$$h0les.
Shimano 105s saved my life at 45 kmph in the rain last week. I appreciate discs as well but absolutely nothing wrong with rim brakes. If your LBS is laughing at you, rest assured that they're laughing at everyone who walks through the door and it's time to find a new LBS.
The only question they are asking to themselves when making bikes and parts is : How can we make more money with these sheeps riding their bike and willing to pay anything?
That's where we are at, they don't care about practicality.
@@nadsim154 agree, same with cars - just introduce finance schemes so people can have vehicles they don’t need and can’t afford and the industry has nailed it. The fads come and go while I’m out riding my bikes 😊
only way to stop this lunacy is that sheeps refuse to buy new bikes
i assembled my last bike some 6 years ago out of old new parts and i am definitely not buying any new next 30 years
i am stocked for more than my life span
I agree with almost all your point, in particular regarding steel frames, rim brakes, and getting bikes overly complicated ... even with filled up with electronics. That does not belong onto a bike, except may be for the light or the speedometer.
For me no electronics on the bike, and simplest technology made with good quality materials. As you mentioned, it is unfortunately not even possible anymore to find a good steel frame or good old J-forks. Many would be surprised how smooth and safe such a bike rides.
Ritchey makes a steel frame bike designed for rim brakes. George Vargas has reviewed them here on UA-cam.
@@sloprun i'll take a look. Thanks!
Just visit VSF Fahrradmanufaktur webpage and you will find lots of old school models with some modern features (hydraulic rim brakes etc)
Try Rivendell, Surly, Cotic, Soma etc. There are a lot of steel frames available out there just not perhaps in your average local bike shop or big chain stores
now you're just being stupid by saying that its impossible to find a good steel frames meanwhile they are literally scattered around marketplaces around stores brands like surly etc..
Ritchey makes steel frames that have long chainstays!
and surly!
Yep I'm assuming my Surly Karate Monkey must have long chainstays, judging by the fact that my shoes don't hit my panniers like they used to on my old 26" MB. 😀 (and just as an aside, I *LOVE* annoying my friends by using panniers - they keep insisting I should switch to "bike packing" gear for all kinds of reasons that don't matter to me)
Most cyclist that have racing style bikes are constantly being shamed into upgrades on their bikes...eventually riding very light and expensive bikes with deep rims.
That's fine when your a pro, and components are replaced or adjusted regularly by the team mechanics...but sunday punters are not anywhere near this.
They ride uncomfortable bikes that they cannot utilize the performance, but they look cool.
And that's what counts to them.
Bravo. Every point you make is spot on. Been riding for 50 years and my 44-year-old steel, long wheel base touring bike is still a dream to ride and service. The bar end friction shifters eliminate so many problems. The indexed shifters on my three other bikes (including full carbon) are OK but often need attention. Indexing has been a step backwards in terms of practicality. Subscribed. 👍
Thanks. :)
A (not very) fun fact:
I love the friction shifters too, though I prefer down-tube shifters for technical trails and manoeuvres - with bar ends I sometimes bump a shifter with a knee, at an awkward moment for (unwanted) shifting. For touring and commuting that's not an issue though.
Relja
@@markandrewtait1974 I have ridden indexing brifters for 15 years and never had a single problem.
@@BikeGremlinUS I've fallen back in love with the friction shifters. Sure it takes an extra moment to shift, but there's something heart warming in the sound they make. Also, micro adjusting the derailure (esp front) is awesome. Though I will admit there is also a satisfaction in the instant snap and click of a properly adjusted index system. I generally error on the index for my mountain bikes where more immediate change is more often required. The road / rail trail bikes where I can lag a few use friction.
Excellent video. Ive got a 25 year old Specialized M2 Stumpjumper I bought brand new...and Im still riding it. Its easy to maintain and I put good components on it, so it has lasted really well. New bikes are far too expensive and prone to failure. Mine has never left me stranded. Maintenance is everything.
@@frozencanuck6764 Same for me but with a 2001 Specialized Enduro Comp. Upgraded with 2013/14 cheap high end components it rides perfectly and I love it.
Sizing is the biggest nightmare now for riders like me who are between sizes. Because of the fashion of long reach, slack angles and short stems it leaves very little scope for adjustment without really upsetting the handling. I either go for a larger frame that has a factory 60mm stem and shorten in 20mm , which makes the bike really twitchy or take the size down , have the seat way back on the rails and lengthen the stem to the point where it just feels plain weird. I never had this issue with older longer stem, shorter reach bikes.
Good point, modern mtb geometry really is stem dependent but it's so much safer than retro mtb geo, maybe try playing a bit with rise?
When the bike gets twitchy you can run shorter handlebars too, that gives you less leverage over the bars and slows it down some.
This is what happened to me but managed to find a superb fit for me, as most bikes for me are either too small or too big because of a untraditional antropometry
@@Pp-sr4cs Me too, the only brand that does a size that fits me perfectly is Trek. Their medium is the only combo that strikes the reach with the lower standover i used to get with bikes say 10 years ago. Specialized, Giant and Scott are totally out.
very nice "Kein Bier vor 4" picture on the background. Greetings from germany.
That is our strict policy…
(does the video show the watch numbers?)
instagram.com/p/C8cuW-HN7nV/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
:)
@@BikeGremlinUS🤣👍
Especially when there is not mentioning of time zone.
I've got a Rim brake Surly Cross check (that I'm very attached to) but have been hankering for a bike with disc brakes, you've just about convinced me to stay with my crosscheck (not to mention the 3x that I was considering changing to 2x)
Thanks for the level headed advice.
I also love my 3x nowdays 🙌🏻
Disc brakes (good ones at least, like Campy and Shimano 12sp) are objectively better in every way. So is electronic shifting.
I’m a 25 year Campy rim mechanical user, btw.
Mechanical disk breaks work great and are so simple to adjust. From 1/4 turn of a screw to easy cable change.
So far the hydraulic disc brakes on my Surly Karate Monkey have been great (they're Tektro, which I believe are low end). I only have 454% gear range though (1X 11-50) - I miss the 581% I had with my 3x9 26" MB.
@@gregsullivan7408 I changed my original cheap screeching hydraulic breaks for cheap mechanical Tektro a long time ago and never looked back. They just keep on working.
YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT EVERYWHERE. Aluminium bike with rimbrakes for me. So right about braking and about bleeding the brakes, and how about changing tubes. So much faster and easy with rimbrakes.
chaging tubes is faster with rim brakes? how?! haha. ive done both plenty. ive never had to disconnect my disc brak cli;er to remove a wheel. i have had to do that with rim brakes.
i had biccle shop for 25 years and i know exactly what you are talking about
and i was telling same things to customers time and time again but they would't listen but of course they would complain later
now i don't want to repair half of bikes because i don't want to lose nerves with inner cables and disc brakes on race bikes
bike industry is a mess last 10 years
I have a TREK 500, that i bought in 1985. I still have it, it rides like new, repairs and adjustments are easy.
The most recent bike I built is steel. It is steel because I can drop it, it is steel because I can fiddle with fitment. It is steel so I didn't have to worry about ruining it by stripping and repainting it.
The sad part is, it's getting harder to find the basic little things like bearing cups and stems for these now antique steel bikes. The parts market is gradually drying up or turning aluminum because these companies want us to have to spend $10,000 on a glittering carbon fiber gamble.
I really appreciate and agree-with your perspective. I haven't bought a bike since 2001, and my most-recent, new road bike was made in 1989. The technology topped-out in the 1930's when Reynolds began manufacturing High Manganese (HM) tubing.
You told me some things I did not know. Thank you. Every time i see a set of STI brake levers like on the blue bike, I want to attack them with a Sawz-All, cutting them in half so that they do not look un-gainly and obnoxious.
Why spend $5,000.00 on a black, carbon/plastic bike made by political prisoners when I can buy twelve Raleigh Professionals for the same price?
Disc brakes upset the balance of the bike and put four pounds of weight on it.
STI's force one to imbalance the weight distribution by forcing the rider to shift her weight forward and then make a lateral movement. Totally counter-intuitive! I ride on the hoods very rarely..., and the drops not very much. Maybe 17% of my riding.
I could go on and on.
I refuse to let fork failure become an option for me. The consequence of death/paralysis is too great, and I would only have myself to blame. Dropping 200g over aluminum fork w/ steel steerer is ridiculous when the brake system eliminates all the weight savings.
Single chainring w/ 11 or 12-sp cassette is another desperate attempt at marketing new bikes. Front derailleurs are famously efficient and long-lasting. A more robust chain (8-sp,9-sp) usually means a more-reliable chain.
I tried STI shifters once and they felt like crap. Far too much play to get it to engage. Nobody needs disc brakes if they are not in an alpine environment. Most carbon frames have a 2-year warranty. Two years. You get the ride-feel of plastic, too. All for only $6,000.
Nasty, rudimentary color schemes. You can have any color as long is it is black, white, grey or red. Decals that look like they were designed by a 4th grader.
This, along with all of the maintenance/repair issues you covered. Wider tires (32-34mm) is just marketing. Totally counter-productive for a road bike. Give me my 23's any day. Most riders you see with new bikes do not own their bikes.., the bank does.
I could go on.
You are one of the last reasonable man on the internet. You must be protected!
Dude, I have 3x drivetrains on three of my bikes! I have 3x7 drivetrains on my old MTBs, and I have a 3x6 on my vintage Cannondale ST500. I have a 2x7 on my old Marukin M420 road bike, though it was originally 2x6. All four of my bikes have rim brakes. My MTBs have index shifters, while the road bikes use downtube shifters. They're not fancy, but THEY WORK! I'm not a fan of the 1x drivetrains, either. 3x7 and 3x8 drivetrains have been around for decades. Why? THEY JUST WORK! Give me a good, solid 3x7 drivetrain, and I'm a happy camper... 😁
For me i pretty much tapped out at 9 speed, but only because to good 7 and 8 speed parts got harder to find. I still have an old 5 speed free wheel that run smooth with a friction thumb shifter on my all steel cruiser built on a Nashbar frame, that bike gets a lot of compliments wheneven i ride it.
@@johnjones928 the cruiser sounds NICE!
The opinions video is very much appreciated, because at least some of the questions have already been on my mind. One of the things which I dislike is the move towards making parts proprietary and exclusive - for example, tube shapes that are not round cylindrical.
Yup. On a downtube, it "only" prevents me from mounting down-tube shifters - but when it's an oval seat-tube, then you need proprietary seat-posts. It sucks.
Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS You mean like the Giant D-fuse seatpost ! Combining stems and handlebars into one piece is an even worse trend 😞
Yeah I we get that more and more in shop. Proprietary Stems, even Handelbars that inculde the Stem, Batteries built in the Frame. Its just greed, nothing more.
I even sold a modern Di2 disc brake bike because of rubbing and slow shifting. I continue to ride a 10 year old rim brake bike and it's bliss. Ride feel is the same.
Im 6'4" 190lbs and 43 years old and agree with everything you have said in this video.
Even though I own a fully carbon disc brake bike that weighs 16lbs.
It's a 2 by, and I i have full mechanical shifting and brakes.
I do indeed miss the days of simple friction shifting...
And heavier bikes always seemed to have a more firm plant onto the ground in gravel and anything offroad.
I love electronic shifting. So amazing
Right on Bike Gremlin! 90% of the "upgrades" to bike tech since 50 years ago have been more beneficial to the revenues of the bike industry than to the rider's performance, safety, and comfort!
I don't agree: Light's are much more reliable now than 30 Jears ago when light was failing almost for sure in any bad weather. Breaks improved significantly and the tires are much better as well. Also gears are better. I recently replaced my 17 year old trekking bike and it was a complete new world even if I was already satisfied with the old,
@@florianmeier3186 Yeah, well, lights and tires are part of that 10% that was beneficial to the rider, but 90% of the money and time expended on "improving" the bicycle was in the area of diminishing marginal returns...not worth it to me and I think also, to most riders. By the way, I personally don't give a hoot about lights, and am not seeing any significant improvement in tire or gear tech either, as a rider who's been bikin' for 50 years or so.
If you don't buy electric bicycle there is not much more than light, breaks gear, tires.... OK, on special bikes like MTB you have also suspension. Maybe it is unnecessary as my one from 1993 did not have any, but I don't think so. I started cycling in the 1980s and compared to today the frames were heavy duty, but the rest was rather crap. Almost everything improved. When we went on a school trip in the 1990s MTB was rather new so almost everyone had one, but chains came off dozends of times during that trip. Today you can ride thousands of km without losing it once.
Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades
- Eddy Merckx
@@hatbpto5180 I love it! Right on Eddy!
Great video!!!! I agree so much, I am older rider with a carbon bike and disc brakes. I need to bleed my brakes and don’t want to even try. Just ordered a Rivendell with friction, rim brakes and a triple. Those who know will know.
Thank you
"Those who know will know." - Exactly 👏
I hope you are going to get rid of the carbon "bike".
9:00 - I LOVE friction shifting. I just move the lever until the gearing feels right and sounds good.
i hate friction shifting but have used it on touring bikes. But I also hate anything over 10 speeds. In my 50 years of riding I have tried it all and have definite tastes. But you have yours as well and it is your bike.
@@tomkunich9401 I've found Microshift gear shifters is the way to go, with friction FD and indexed RD. With those you have friction as a failsafe in the rear if needed.
Yeah. So much simpler than just clicking.
20 years ago, I went to an aluminum frame. 10 years ago, i saw a surly steel frame on clearance for dirt cheap in a shop. Built it up. It's the smoothest, softest riding bike I've ever ridden. Rim brakes, 2x7, bar end shifters. For commuting and trail riding, I dont think you can beat it for comfort. I've built several for friends who laughed at it on rides, rode it to see how bad it would be, and then converted to steel for leisure commuting. They still use their carbon bikes for speed rides.
Yep, I had a pedal totally shred a SRAM GXP carbon crank last week. The pedal actually fell off! On inspection the alloy thread insert was completely shredded. The thread has entirely worn smooth and the pedal slid out of the crank!!! Incredible.
Gxp is notorious bad in mtb world
Am novice when it comes to choosing a bike. My idea of a bike thats good enough is trip to Walmart. Where i got the Ozark Trail gravel bike for $268 (including tax). Ive been enyoing it so far. Am just looking to have fun. The bike industry has forgotten that part and has made everything convoluted. Just like any other industry. Look at any piece of hardware, its getting so specilized its easier to throw it away and buy new one. And they'll plant a tree in Amazon and call themself carbon neutral.
Pozdrav iz Bostona,
Your next bike should be a used simple older steel one. You can thank me later.
All the best. 👍
What a fantastic video. I always double my knowledge of bikes when I watch The Bike Gremlin. I'm gonna watch it again to pick up the more subtle points.
Thanks. :)
I tried to keep it civil, but I was genuinely frustrated and we recorded this spontaneously (the original plan was to just record the cranks overhaul). :)
Relja
As spoken from my heart 😊 Especially the discussion about the brakes!
It's good to hear I'm not the only one.
I'm riding a steel road bike with rim brakes and Alu rims, and am quite scared that they'll stop making parts for it.
I wasn't expecting anyone to care about this topic (much less to share a similar view) - just needed to get it off my chest.
The video's comment section is a surprise (and a pleasant one at that). :)
Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS But 1 thing to add, just my speculation, is that everything comes from the high end and trickles down to the mid range and entry level.
I have a low profile Alu rim. Road riders prefer high profile, because it's aero. But if it's an Alu high profile, it's gonna be really heavy. So they make it out of carbon. But putting a rim brake on a carbon rim is tricky. So they convert to disc brake. And if you want to be able to sell different bikes at different price ranges built on the same frame, you'll have to put disc brakes even on the entry level one, because you have a disc brake frame.
There is sense behind it, but at some point, the needs of a Tour de France racer completely diverge from the needs of an every day rider such as ourselves.
@@hkszerlahdgshezraj5219 I would argue that Tour de France rider needs are put behind the sponsor/sales/profits.
Fitness (climbing) wins the races. And aero. But the disc brakes and similar stuff are just put to sell them ("it's what the pros use, so it must be the best").
At least that's how I see it.
Have you seen the video where Froome complains about the brakes: :)
bike.bikegremlin.com/3871/pros-and-cons-od-bicycle-disc-brakes-compared-to-rim-brakes/#4
For most people, bikes are a fashion look. It's always been that way. And the bling sells. It does not matter if it is easy to repair or functional, because when it breaks they go to a bike shop, find out how expensive a repair is and buys another one instead of getting it fixed. And the new one is THIS year's look!
I have seen carbon frame crack without the carbon wheels even sustaining any damage, or without even being knocked out of true. It is also impossible to know if someone has over tightened parts without using a torque wrench. I.e I would not buy a used carbon frame or bike without knowing the owner and how they treated the bike. And buying used, you generally loose the lifetime frame warranty if it came with one, so you better get it cheap.
Carbon fibre, except for a few very specific use cases, is a terrible material. It is bad for bikes and the aircraft industry will find out to their cost that it's bad for planes. Steel is hugely underrated, but marketing loves carbon fibre.
All the best.
I saw a plate of fiber material (forgot whether it was carbon or not) that got hit on one side for a test. On the impact side a small dent, on the other side completely cracked.
I have spent about 55 years maintaining my bicycles and hence wholeheartedly agree with your rant. The bike manufacturers are of course producing stuff that we are buying so a part of the problem is of our making, although many people don't have an engineering or design background and fail to realise the potential problems of what they're buying. In addition, much of the buyers only keep their machines for a short while before selling and buying a later model.
Then there are the bike shops who generally like today's situation because increasing numbers of people have to take their bikes to them for repair, the relative complexity and lack of standardisation being just too great.
I've just read your vlog on tubeless tyres and we're in total agreement. I use these on my (old-school) full suspension and hardtail MTBs but stick to hooked rims, clinchers, AND puncture resistant tyres on my daily bike. Incidentally, the 2.2 - 2.4 trail king tubeless are very comfortable of course due to the lower pressures, also I rarely have to top up the pressures.
I could rant about the relatively recent proliferation of wheel and tyre sizes but won't because after all, that's been an issue for a very long time:
- 29" yes smoother ride, totally changes gear ratios , frame geometries and clearances (mudguards too), and is a bit heavier, plus looks a bit odd on smaller frames. Plus the only difference to 28" is the tyre depth, the rim size remains the same.
I'm also annoyed by the proliferation of cheap elastomer forks sold on so many bikes these days, particularly e-bikes. These are heavy (little problem on an e-bike) and are almost never serviced. There are better solutions...
- 27.5" w.t.f. introduced to sell more stuff, and sadly, different rim size to 26" wheels.
The subject I'd add is the move away from ball bearings to ball races. Whereas one had a generally standard size for steering, front wheel, rear wheel and bottom bracket there is now a myriad of different options, with additional issues thrown in.
On the brake issue I have discs on my 2 MTBs but a mix of v-brakes, cantilever, and interrnal on my other bikes. That for me is the optimum in terms of braking control for lowest maintenance hassle.
I went into one of my two local bike shops looking for a 10 x 135 axel, only to be told we don't sell them because you can't buy them on their own, they come with the wheel as a complete unit. The only thing that was complete was the bollox she was talking, I was trying to support my local shop instead of buying online. The other shop laid on the BS about buying a wheel from them as well, yeah we don't stock them but you'd be better off buying a new wheel because if you put a new axel in, it won't run right see, it will be worn out inside the wheel. I had already checked for wear, the wheel still had a good original tyre and innertube as well. I was flipping bikes 40 years ago back when a road bike was called a racer and you could get any parts local or have them ordered in. Locally, My stockists only stock a small handful of random parts and tons of accessories gadgets and the latest must have's now, why would I want Bluetooth gear change when I still have to press something to do it, I don't need the shave a fraction of a second off my gear change. Old English proverb- If it aint broke, don't fix it.
Axle to suit available from many sources, probably the most commonly available is Wheels Manufacturing for a good quality item.
@@graemefk6519 Yes I saw unlimited amounts of axels online.
Went and tried buying a old 4 tapper crank. 3 shops, nothing. Caved and bought online again. And to no surprise they had no spares in either shop. A sad wall, rest all need to order themselves nothing in stock. To all good will I fail why I should support said shop. Order i can do myself without driving there.
Agreed. I have a 50 year old steel frame Nuevo Record friction shifters, rim brakes, quill stem. It gets almost no maintenance and is just as fun as a new bike.
I bought a Motobecane super mirage steel 10 speed in 1978, rode it for thousands of miles in many states - road bike miles and maintained it myself until 2021 when the bottom bracket threads stripped and it could not be fixed. The replacement Trek 18 speed has Verve 1 which was the only bike avaialavle during covid is disappointing. the Squashed frame means I have to have the seat raised beyond the height limit and the shimano shifter made out of composite broke,sheared off. The reduces wight of aluminum is over rated. Steel was reliablly strong. I agree. The bicycle industry has focused on exotic stuff that is bad engineering.. Sad.
Ritchey makes a steel frame bike.
I agree with most of what you said there. Thanks :) I have a carbon fork just like the bike in the video and I don't see the benefit of it at all. I just worry it will break on me one day.
Carbon is strong in pure tension but the front fork is mainly subjected to compression so I guess it's only the resin matrix taking all of the load and the carbon itself is not doing much.
This is the first time I've discovered your videos, excellent rant! Your pov reminds me of another excellent site, The Path Less Pedaled.
BTW, you convinced me to keep my Surly LHT with the rim brakes and 3-by chain rings! Thanks!
Good choice. :)
A famous cyclo-tourer from my country (Snežana Radojičić) went around the entire globe on such frame (the rim brake version). She's still rolling on it.
I'd say it's quite a good frame - worth keeping. :)
Relja
Great video, totally agree. I ride a 20+ yr old Trek - no discs, no carbon.
I like the old components. Threaded headset. Square taper BB. Frames wherein the seatstays are welded in line with the top tube. People say "Oh but they're heavier:" So what . Unless you're doing climbs up the Pyrennes it does'nt matter. The only technical innovation I like is disc brakes. Also -these ridiculously large cassettes that are featured on MTB's. The 3 ring chain wheel was fine.
I'll disagree. Ive been riding enduro for 7 years, and i ride hard. 10-42 teeth 10 speed with narrow wide ring is great. Ive bent the sram gx shifter so many times, hitting it on rocks etc, and just straightened it out with my hand and kept riding.
Loving the clutch system keeping the chain relatively tight.
It also keeps things simple with less stuff to break/ go wrong.
@@--LZ--- OK . Different strokes for different folks. Strokes -as in pedal strokes.
@@bellavia5 Sorry that's not a counter argument against what I said, and I know I'm correct. But still willing to hear what you have against high range cassettes...
The only downside is when you have 12 gears the chain is narrower and weaker. 11 gear chains have done the job for me. Wouldnt go any bigger though, adds unneeded weight. Same with front shifter and 3 chainrings.
You shouldnt cling to old tech just because it's old, and you shouldnt embrace the new unquestionably as if it's faultless.
Hope that this sums up how we both feel about this.
@@--LZ--- First off -who says I have to provide you with a counter argument let alone a response of any kind?. Second off -where do you get off telling me or anybody else what they should do about their choices of cycling components? Third off -you summed up how YOU feel about this but that's about it. If you're secure in your choices then my initial response should have been sufficient for you . Swell.
@@--LZ--- Even if i have an old harcore hardtail with a downhill fork bro , I dont have a cluth and is pain ,its so bad , what I want to do ? to make a bombproof hybrid old-new hardcore bike . I dont like new bike frames but for sure new parts are amazing and refreshing , I dont want carbon on my bike but in general new parts are better thats it :]] Still Love my 888 open bath fork , its soo smooth
Excellent video. I ride old steel bikes, and I’m glad I’m not enticed by most of the technology. I do like integrated brake levers/shifters (brifters) but maybe I should go back to bar-end shifters for reliability. I’m not interested in disc brakes or silly crank designs. I love your Trek, and it’s extremely sensible.
What reliability issues have you ever had with indexed shifting due to the shifter?
Thanks for the rant. I was considering a new bike , but will probably upgrade my vintage touring bike I bought used that has very little miles on it. New tires, and better cables and better brake levers etc .. I heard how much better supposedly hydro brakes are , but I always suspected on a touring bike the disc can get bent, dirty, pads contaminated and probably not as good as the old school canteliver brakes properly adjust with new pads and high quality cables, levers.
Great video. I’ve been commuting and racing for over 3 decades and it’s just sad how crazy bikes are now with few options. I miss the day of crazy bikes and one end of the spectrum and practical simple bikes on the others.
"One by is a fad" Thanks for saying that...I just don't get it on road bike. Smaller cassette, front derailleur, larger gear range...much better
And chain angle…higher angle on 1x less efficient than 2x.
1x works well on my commuter bike.
1x works great in a flat city with a small cassette. Big cassettes bend derailleur hangers
Like everything else, there are trade-offs. I have a 1x and the benefits are clear. Cheaper, lighter and simpler setup and maintenance have sold me. I'm absolutely onboard with rim brakes though. I don't think I'll ever go back to discs.
@@phildivalerio with shit weather and dirty roads discs are a huge advantage. Mechanical > Hydraulic
Well spoken. Very honest and educational. Thank u
I love good practical, common sense advice. Good video. Yes the bicycle industry, like a lot of other industries get us to buy things that are proprietary in nature so you have to by the “next biggest thing” rather than building something that will last.
Zeitgest…
Hello! The first thing i would do is (because this is a carbon fork and steer tube) to switch back the stem from the negative to a positive angle and take off one or two spacers from the steer column, therefor the height of the bars would remain the same and it would be a more solid build. The extra spacers you place them back on top of the stem!
You are clearly preaching to the converted!😀 I’m a 70 year old Australian who has been riding bikes all my life. I also loved new stuff, but it wasn’t a problem because the standards stayed the same. Even when cranks evolved, until recent times, they would still fit into an English threaded bottom bracket shell.
However, in recent years, there has been an explosion of new bike standards. Because of this, I stopped buying new stuff when I got to Shimano 10 speed on a couple of my road bikes and Campag. 11 speed on my ‘besty’! Fortunately I have a friend who owns a bike shop and when people bring their bikes in to upgrade their components, he gives me the stuff that comes off the bikes (usually well looked after) to help maintain my bikes, as you clearly can’t buy anything more than a generation old now. I’m hoping that with a similar philosophy to you,I can keep my bikes going until I pass.
Thanks for the entertaining ‘rant’!
Honestly, I agree 100%. I've been saying the same thing to anyone who would listen for a couple decades, and it's obvious that no one is listening. I was hoping there'd be at least someone in the comments saying "no, actually, carbon is much safer than steel" but it seem like this those people stayed clear of this video. It's just total insanity. Professional cycling should have little to nothing to do with what bikes normal people ride, but people let the industry lead them around by the nose. Every development in the last 30 years has made bikes more fragile and/or expensive and dangerous for the sake of making them lighter. Really it's all about having some new MIC junk to market every year. Anyone can ride the steel bike that won the tour d' France in 1903, but the carbon bikes made in 2004 ago are already dangerously structurally compromised. Total junk culture where everything gets used for a few years and then sent to the landfill.
I try to avoid click-bait titles and thumbnails, so that it's as clear as possible what a video is about (the same goes for my website articles). That way no one's time is wasted. Life is good. :)
Relja
Agree with you on most everything. I started riding on the road as a kid in the mid 1950's, eventually began racing in the early 1970's. Only once did I even think about better brakes: atop Sonora Pass in the Sierra, facing a switchbacked descent of the east side, littered with gravel, loaded down with full bike packing gear. Rim brakes evolved over the years and got incredibly good (Dura Ace 9200). If I wanted to run tires wider than 28mm yes I'd probably want discs, but I'm perfectly happy with 23-28's.
Had weird problems with my carbon bike occasionally dropping the chain (never had that problem with any of the similar 11 spd bikes I had used). Hard to find a rim frame, so I had a titanium Mosaic made, had the groupset transferred, and have been really happy with it. Not outrageously expensive. Chains don't drop on it, but if they did the seat and down tubes are smaller, so the chain won't jam between the chainring and the frame. It has a carbon fork, at least it's an ENVE.
Rim brake stuff was cheap for a while, so I bought up spare wheels, calipers, levers, fork, etc while I could, many at big discounts.
Thanks for the video, hadn't realized how much the changes have caused headaches for mechanics!
My wife and I picked up second-hand Seven Cycles titanium/carbon frame bikes for $800 for the frames. We are older and like the comfort and the ease to service. They are rim brake bikes and we installed Campagnolo groupsets and wheels. They do not meet all of the standards mentioned in this video ) full steel frame and friction shifting. However, the frames are a great example of strength (titanium for all of the joints and botton brackets), practicality (no painted surfaces) and ease of repair and adjustment. Campagnolo shifting stays true compared to Shimano.
@@sloprun Nice! I'm "older" too: 78. I too like the warm brown natural finish non-rusting Ti: no paint for me to scratch, and the "decals" are etched into the metal. I have no problem with Shimano shifting staying adjusted whether mechanical (on my winter bike and my trainer bike) or Di2 (on the Mosaic). Di2 is such a snap to adjust even I can do it! Sure back in the day I used frame mount friction shifting - with the 5-speed clusters we had then (6-speed was just beginning to appear and was considered high tech). But I suspect friction shifting with an 11 speed rear might be tricky?
@@sloprun WOW! Just picked up F&R Dura-Ace 9200 rim brake calipers for just under $100 each from Western Bikeworks. A little over 50% off MSRP. Don't really need them but couldn't let THAT price go by.
I was buying Chinese carbon fiber frames, with the idea of building an inexpensive XC MTB. After months of brutal testing, I pedaled off from the car and it felt "soft". That's when I noticed a crack in the downtube. Now, it was near the water bottle mount, and my theory was the full water bottle was impacting in the same place. (As it was loose in the water bottle holder) Still, give me a good cro-mo frame any day.
I had a race face carbon fibre spider “explode” at 5mph going over a small mound. It threw me over the bars onto my back. The worst component is sram force CX1 hydraulic brake/ shifter lever. The carbon shell leads to endless issues with leakage, thread shredding and other failures.
While I agree for the most part I prefer discs to v/rim brakes.For riding off road and downhill I like the power and modulation of a disc brake.Also they are less affected by mud and water but the biggest plus for me was being able to keep riding with after putting a wobble in the wheel that would not work if it was a v/rim brake.
The problem is more that there is very little industry difference now between the racing and the utilitarian/recreational use of bikes.
I race, and I fully accept the drawbacks and fragility of my lightweight, complicated, expensive carbon go-fast bike and components. The bike is made to go as fast as possible for a relatively brief period of time and the parts and perishables are expendable. I accept this as part of the sport.
The trouble is that the bike industry thinks they are being helpful by tricking down this race theory into the bikes required by 95% of the riding public. The non-competitive rider has absolutely no use for performance-based bike builds, yet they are forced to inherit them and the problems that they didn’t ask for when only wanting to ride for fun.
@@mathewkirk1748 Its similar with MTBs , people buy a full front and rear suspension bike with super wide tires to go to the grocery store - and then complain that they need an E-bike because it's such a slog.
Neglected to say that bicycling shouldn't be a one size fits all endeavor. Smart manufacturers should offer choices (e.g. some models with rim brakes) so that riders could use what works for their needs. I bet they would make more money that way. I bought a couple of bikes with disc brakes, couldn't find any advantage over my rim brake bikes for road use, found I just didn't enjoy gravel as much as road, so got rid of them.
One plus of the current discs-only situation is that it saves me time: I don't bother looking at new models (either at the bike shop or online) as I have zero interest in them. And saves money because no temptation to buy a new bike!
Last good thing in the cycling industry was threadless headset. Lol! No truer words have ever been spoken!! Great video!
Thanks. :)
The story of how that patent was invented is an interesting one:
bike.bikegremlin.com/17645/cycling-industry-nonsense/#1
Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS That was Aheadset's design, correct?? Might make for a good video??
Very reasonable and easy to comprehend perspectives that are supported by your actual experience across a wide horizon of bicycles with their challenges and advantages. EXCELLENT! Thank you!
disc brakes on high performance road bikes are the biggest gimmick ever created in cycling
You seem very authoritative. But having ridden over 200,000 miles with rim brakes, and 19,022 with disc brakes, I respectfully disagree.
Try descending several miles of steep pavement in the rain on rim breaks. If you are riding 100 miles or more every week it will happen eventually. view disk brakes as a safety feature.
@@stfu6397 What would you recommend over hydraulic discs? Arguably the greatest revolution in cycling. Having said that V-brakes were a remarkable improvement over cantilever and u-brakes.
Not sure how they're The greatest revolution in cycling.
Are you selling hydros for someone XD
For my commute with hills and uk weather, I’ll stick to disc brakes. To be fair my bike is far from a high performance road bike!
I've been riding, fixing, and building bikes nearly all my life, and worked in the industry for a few years. I can see the disadvantages, and some advantages of much of the things you bring up. The cycling industry is full of fads, and many bike people go along with a lot of them. For example, when "aero" groupsets came out, that made last year's stuff, as we would say at the shop... JuNk! Some new ideas turn out to be good though, and eventually get adopted as standard, like threadless headsets which are a big improvement over the old threaed kind and quill stems, in my opinion. But those 1x bikes with that huge rear cassette? I consider a fad. Yes I plan on fitting disc brakes to one of the upcoming builds I have planned, but all of my bikes now have rim brakes and they are just fine. I read once where someone wrote that the bicycle is the only conveyance that can be fully maintained by the owner. It would be sad to see that go away.
Thank God the 1x drivetrains never really took off in road biking. 2x and 3x are still common with 2x being what I see most in my city.
I like this video more than others that just criticise "13-speed" as "completely useless".
You're absolutely right about this stuff, and it's why my main bike is basically as you describe. An alloy bike, mini-V with Kool-Stop, cables visible, 2x10 105. I'm an amateur mechanic, it performs well, and I can maintenance it with extreme ease. Rides like a dream. I beat all the people pretending on tour de france bikes, anyway.
As for 13-speed... It's obvious compensation for fewer gears in 1x. They do "need" it (if they're married to the idea of one chainring) for their cadence and range. It's not for the "amateurs" anyway, where they're pushing LinkGlide. Obviously still a dumb trend being pushed on the masses, but it's the smallest symptom.
I’ve been a serious cyclist since 1987 and I could not agree with you more.
My daily rider road bike is a lugged steel 1983 Fuji “Team” and it rides great and even at 58 years young I can ride all day in comfort.👍👍👍👍
Well said sir! 🚴🚴🚴🚴
Thanks for sharing your thought. I agree with most of what you have explained but i do enjoy using mechanical disc brake because it is some what serviceable easily for a newbie like me. Do you have any thoughts on fixed gear bike or single speed bike?
Single speed are nice for flat terrain (especially for commuting).
Fixed gear - I’m not a fan. Some folks love them. In Serbia, fixies are exotic/boutique and more expensive.
Relja
I gave up on new bikes. I spent less money dragging an old Steel Frame Mountain bike from the 90s home and completely rebuilding it. Redoing wheel hubs, setting brakes, rebuilding cup and cone bottom brackets.. And I now know how to fix it going forwards. Seems like that's the best route forwards these days.
Also, Carbon bike parts scare the hell out of me, seen too many people get in accidents because a carbon handlebar, rim or fork just snapped under load.
I 100 % agree with you about the Disk Brake debacle. Trust me. Done 40 years on rim brakes + 10 years on disk brakes all over Europe. Just back from the Alps and i left most riders in the dust during the descend ! Since 2018 i use the same rim brake pads, costing me NOTHING ! Look at what disk brakes cost in maintenance as well… What a mess…
You left them in dust only in your dreams, rim brake pads are not good for any descend.
Practically no maintenance for disc brakes. You're crazy
If you left them in your dust that would imply your brakes didn't work as well.
Also, disk brakes require very little maintenance - maybe new pads every 6 months (depending on usage) and a bleed takes 10 minutes every year or so. Not exactly back-breaking maintenance for brakes that work reliably and predictably in all weathers.
@@CTC420 unless two riders are on a VERY similar level descending, the type of brakes are not going to make the slightest difference on who goes faster.
Great information, i agree with everything you say, i love my race bikes with rim brakes. I also think chain waxinging is getting pushed and im wondering if chain waxing is so great and efficient why aren't chains by the big manufacturers like Shimano and Sram being sold already coated in wax straight from the manufacturer in the bag so people don't have to strip the oil that's the manufacturer puts on it at time of production and then that oil has to be stripped. Doesn't make a lot of sense unless because the oil from the manufacturer keeps it from rusting and wax wouldn't keep it from rusting during storage and shipping?
You speak a lot of truths. 👍 Some subjective, but still truths. 🙂
I’ve never liked curved bars personally, and disc brakes for road bikes are unnecessarily expensive, brittle and complicated. I literally don’t understand how they get away with charging as much as they do for road disc brake systems… But on the MTB / hybrid / straight bar side of things? I’ll take discs any day over rim brakes. 🙂 (I have a small commuter with rims and a rigid steel hybrid straight bar bike with discs - and 445mm chainstays 😉). You can get a full front or rear MTB brake system for around 25 euro, which gets you maybe a cheap rotor on the road side.
One additional thing I’ve noticed that drives the lightweight change is that although companies love lightweight stuff so they can sell you parts and frames more frequently, a lot more peole are mainly driving cars today, work on computers for a living, and are less used to manual labour. As a result, many are simply out of shape, see steel frames as ’too heavy’ and then opt for an aluminium XC bike with a cabon fork. It’s a bit sad but it is what it is.
On the flipside, there are a lot more cheap options to get people into riding today, and a boatload of other, more advanced options of all kinds than, say, in the 90s. I don’t drive electric myself, but I’ve also seen a lot of positives from that front - older people and those unused to physical fitness getting into riding bikes more. E-bikes also need more durable components, so those are starting to drip down to ’acoustic’ bike use as well. I hear a lot of good things about Shimano Cues, for example. Plus if you browse the used market, you have a LOT of options, even in small countries.
But yeah - bikes have experienced technologization and ’advancement’ in a sense similiar to computers: in order to buy a good bicycle that fits the bill today, you also need to know about bicycles. I can feel your pain as a previous specialty shop worker myself. Things would be easier if the only thing people could buy would be an expensive but also a durable, high-quality tool. But then you have people complaining about the price all the time. 🤷♂️
I think basic mechanical steel bikes peaked in the 3x9 to 2x10 days. When I saw where the industry was headed, I bought a 2x10 steel frame, tools, a lifetime of spare parts and learned to wrench for myself. No regrets.
There’d be a lot of demand for simple, durable, ’it just works’ -frames. Something like a Buffalo Bike. I’m sure someone will take on the challenge as the years go by and the SRAM v. Shimano tech development competition goes too far. 🙂
I ride 7 or 8 at the back (whichever I find cheaper), and a 3x cranks up front.
Ebikes are great. If my work were up-hill from home, I would rather commute on an e-bike, than take showers at work or use a car (or even a motorcycle).
Durability-wise - I recently fixed a destroyed Shimano Microspline 15 mm thru axle rear hub of an e-bike. The cartridge bearings were shattered (bearing balls split in half). It also has some design problems I discussed about the DT Swiss hubs (axle breaking problems look innevitable).
That hub is sold for MTBs (for aggressive off-road riding) and, apparently, e-bikes. :(
Regarding Cues:
It seems to be incompatible with other stuff. Not sure about quality and durability. It will arrive to Serbia in a few years, once used bikes with that tech. start coming in from Germany. :)
Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS Regarding CUES, I’ve heard of different types of hacks. No experience of my own yet, but still. PLP likes testing things, and may be interesting to you if you’re not familiar with it: ua-cam.com/video/FJ0HoZrNqMM/v-deo.html The road side may be problematic again, but again the mountain / hybrid use may be ok.
That cartridge bearing blow-out doesn’t surprise me - except for the most durable part splitting in half: that must have gone through some heavy dirt. 😳 I’ve heard that Shimano’s quality has been steadily going down over the years, and there are also lemons here and there, of course. Thru-axle is nice for rigidity, but I’ve never liked the idea that it threads directly into the frame. If those threads go, your frame is toast, which is why I’m still on quick-release. And again personal preference only, but I think cartridge is fine for the bottom bracket and headset, but I’m still using cup and cone, loose bb hubs for wheels. If you know how to set them and grab a few extra cones as spares, they can take almost anything (outside hardcore mountain stuff) and last you a long time.
I also expect a lot of newer Chinese / Taiwanese manufacturers entering the Euro market via Aliexpress in the coming years, which should fill in a lot of gaps that the big manufacturers are making.
Thanks, you are communicating very important insights about the current state of bicycle trends and its commercialisation.
Threaded forks and quill stems allow much easier height adjustments so for casual city bikes the best choice IMO
Yes. 100%. But wuill stems are dangerous (I’ve seen them fail and had them fail). Reason why:
bike.bikegremlin.com/10123/unsafe-cycling-patents/#3.1
Relja
@@BikeGremlinUS Sounds reasonable. I've had an a-head star nut fail during a ride but of course only the headset came a but loose during that ride. I've also read your comment about square bottom brackes. I've managed to exactly break one as a very heavy rider. But I also managed to snap off a hollowtech style crank (Rotor Vegast) during a ride and of course external bearings last only a couple of months while the failing square of the BB was 15 years old. For everything sportive/performance oriented use I 100% agree with your view but for city bikes and hybrid bikes I beg to differ.
But tightening the headset on the go is not easier. As you need a tool for that. Can't simply use a multitool. So modern solution is preferable, a syou can use a multitool, but adjustment is still possible with long enough steerer tube. So I don't see a reason to us eit on newer bikes.
Easier height adjustment yes, but not tightening the headset on the go, as you need a headset spanner or a suitable thin adjustable wrench.
@@mtbboy1993 I have a Stronglight vintage threaded headset that can be set by hand. The locking is done by a small Allen key. It has needle bearings.
Incidentally on rim brakes the old parallelogram XT v-brakes were brilliant and worked very well. Also re discs the rotors can usually be straightened with an adjustable spanner.
MORE RANTS PLEASE! I really dog cy ling rants yt!
Hello there. I agree with most of the points you make. The once I don't agree are - Disk brakes work better in the winter in prolonged snowy and rainy conditions for my every day winter commuting. I've struggled for more then 10 winters with calipers, catching ice on the rims, the pads last 2-3 weeks, the rims no more then 2-3 years. And finally made bike for the winter with disk brakes. MTB style for flat bars, not drop bar/sti shifters. I don't have problems with rubbing, 5 years and 25k km on the new bike, still the original disks, the cheapest shimano disks for 15€ with the cheapest hydraulic disk breaks for 40€.. Shimano mtb and touring calipers offers a bit more air gab between the pads and disks. Other manufactures have less gab and it's a problem indeed.
Another problem with modern cranks is the Q factor.. They are made wider and wider with every new generation till the point it's importable to me.
Good summary of everything wrong with modern bikes. My bike has a wheelbase longer than XL road bike yet it is a 46 size bike. Super stable, long chain stays. Perfect for TT
@colecoleman1499 a long wheelbase doesn't equal stability in all situations. You still need to account for head tube angle, rake, stem length and bar width. Also, TT bikes tend to have short seat stays. Weight balance on wheels is also a factor in geometry.
@@veganpotterthevegan agree, stem length is 90 and a non steep head tube angle as well
@colecoleman1499 depends on how slack that headtube/rake is but a my mountain bike has a slack headtube and 90mm stem. It handles very poorly at high speeds because minor adjustments make the bike very twitchy at high speeds. It's not a remotely stable bike. But for me, it's worth it to have a no maintenance Lauf suspension fork that's also very light. It's nothing I'd ever recommend to someone else. My TT bike has a long top tube for the size(I'm 6'1" and size down to a 51 because I need the short head tube) but it's still remarkably stable at high speeds in the aerobars. Sit up too much and unweight the front of the bike and it gets very twitchy.
Very good review and reasoning. Thanks. Pleasure to hear when Master are talking.
great video! I dislike new bike and technology, wish I had my steel columbus tubing road bike with rim brakes, discs brakes are overkill and another beef of mine is 1x, mechanically makes ZERO sense. 2x minimum and if you're touring 3x 100% for gear ratios.
Bike these days are shit and over priced.
Absolutely spot on I’ve probably saved 000’s by buying ‘Old’ rim brake bikes and wheelsets instead of moving over to disc brake
Are there still Shimano friction shifting lever? To put where on what kind of bar?
Shimano stop making friction shifters yrs ago. The best thing you can do is go to ebay and search for 7 speed with the option of index shifting.
Russ from Path Less Pedalled has some advice about friction shifters. He uses Microshift .
Until recently at least, there were still some of the nice Dura-Ace 9x shifters (one of the best shifters ever made, might be the exact model you can see in this video) available (sold as bar-end, but can be mounted at downtime as well) that can be switched to just friction. I bought those new 2 years ago. But they might be out of stock now. They only seem to sell Shimano indexed bar-end shifters now.
Right now, one of the best friction shifters would be the Rivendell Silver shifter (made by Dia Compe). There is also a bar-end version of that design (the Uno shifter) that has a larger barrel to work with 11x pull ratio as a bar-end shifter.
Totally agree! I’ve a full suspended mountain bike with 1x and disc brake for really technical or muddy trails and wouldn’t want theses features on any other bikes. Rim brakes are powerful light and easy to maintain. Triples gives you plenty of range. The only drawback is that I can’t find any triples with short crank arms for reasonable price 😢.
origin 8 makes great short square taper triple crank arms!
Most of that hich tec stuff is solely created to suck money out of consumers pocket. I own four bikes 35, 25, 20 and 10 years old and ride them all. Guess which one is the most reliable.
12:45 have to disagree on this one. Crank is thinner because there is lower torque due to shorter lever arm when the crank is vertical. In this case lever arm is ~8cm (distance from crank to middle of the pedal). On the other hand when crank is horzontal the lever arm is ~17cm which means it needs to withstand double amount of torque. So rectangular cross section does make sense
agreed with your rants completely. I love my 1989 bicycle because I can service it myself. on disc brake: have you seen mechanical disc brake...paul component makes one. cheers!
I service my disc brake bike without a problem
When I was young I wanted to give back my old bike to buy a new one, the mechanic owner of the shop asked me why I needed a new bike, I answered I wanted something lighter with a new shift to go uphill. The man looked at my old bicycle and than looked at me, finally he saids: "there is nothing wrong in your bike, the problem is in your legs. Go to pedal, make some hundreds uphills and after that, if you still need a new bicycle come back here, we will find something".
Today they push you to buy a new bike even if you need just a couple of brake pads.
From the experience of my friends who run or work in bike shops (and from my own experience), it takes a lot of tact (if that is the right English word) and patience to explain that to most people. Even the young ones and children.
Some people think you're trying to rip them off if you recommend decent quality front brake calipers and pads.
Others, on the other hand, think you are lecturing them if you try to explain that it's not the bike - but the legs (as you've explained).
It's not always easy to get the point across - and for it to be taken as well-intended. Very often, it's a lot easier to just shut up and take people's money. Spirit of the times, I guess. :(
no they dont haha. holy echo chamber bat man!
Carbon Fiber Failure -> Titan submarine
What a breath of fresh air. I got sick of being told that the latest kit is the be all and end all of cycling. Eventually I just accepted that I'm a cycling fossil so imagine how refreshing it was to find this video, basically agreeing with all my thoughts.
Thank you.
I got a similar feeling after having seen the vast majority of the comments to this video. :)
Relja
Every honest youtube bike mechanic seem to agree with your retro-grouchy points, I'm just a hobby fiddler but have to agree with most of what you say too.
Hahah. Yup - I suppose it does come off as "retro grouchy."
Fair to note: I would call myself a tech enthusiast.
Even at this age.
But I can see when stuff is made to work against the customer/people.
That's what I have a problem with - not with every "new stuff."
:)
Relja
I have a new carbon fiber 1x gravel bike and love it. But I think every argument you make is valid and worth considering. I can certainly say that it's a hell of a lot easier to deal with my old rim brake bikes compared to my disc brake bike. And while the stopping power of discs seems superior, they squeal like crazy when wet. Tradeoffs everywhere.
Great video!
Spot with your points. Thus my affection for Surly (simple but very adaptable steel frames), Shimano Cues and TRP HY/RD cable operated hydraulic disc brakes. Simple and reliable is out there it just needs some digging around to find.
...presenter started riding when they used stone brakes 😂
My first frame was made of T-Rex’s skeleton. :)
In the last 20-30 years, the only real advances in the cycling industry (for road cycling) are:
- Gearing. You couldn't do anything with a 42-23, no you can easily have a 34-32 or even lower.
- Wider tyres. They're so much confortable, you don't need so much pressure, ... all advantages.
Everything else (disc brakes, tubeless, up 12 gears???, ...) is unnecesary way to overcomplicate things.
Yes, there was a long trend of using super-narrow tyres for road bikes, with minimal clearance for any debris. The nonsense started a long time ago. :)
One of the (few?) recent trend positives is that you can more easily find good quality 28 or even wider slick road bicycle tyres.
Relja
A prime example of carbon fiber looking ok but failing catastrophically is the Titanic submersible from last year.
That was poor design and engineering, primarily. Carbon resists stretching, but not compression.
@@BikeGremlinUS That's 100% true. Whatever the root cause of the failure was, it's also clear that the nature of carbon fiber construction masked the consequences of repeated material stress (fatigue) until the point of catastrophic failure.
100%! A good illustration of this is when carbon fiber is used for tanks and cannisters under pressure (expansion), such as scuba tanks, industrial tanks for gas and liquid.
Using it in the opposite application (compression) will produce failure - like the titan sub
Although I have a pretty new bike with almost many of the marketed items you’re talking about, I basically agree with all what you said. What I do enjoy with disc brakes more is the chance to use much wider rims and tyres. The bike overall is a fair bit more comfortable, other than that I still think my 20 year old rim brake bike is great
I used to make overpriced plastic tennis rackets but now make $6000 plastic tennis rackets that have wheels