Mechanicals in gravel racing are probably the most frustrating part of the sport and in my opinion it's because the equipment hasn't caught up to the demands of gravel. As you mentioned, mountain bikers don't get this many mechanicals and they ride on more treacherous terrain. My prediction is that we will see gravel tires get wider over the coming years just like we saw with both road and MTB. This is both because wider tires will be better able to survive the race and they're actually faster (gasp) than the current crop of narrow gravel tires which force you to use a thicker and slower casing. When this happens gravel racers will get far fewer mechanicals and racing gravel will also be a far more enjoyable experience. Also, the gravel at Big Sugar is just horrendously sharp and punctures are common no matter what tire you use but that course is an outlier.
How about internal gear hubs and/or belt drives? Seeing everyone's bike get totaled by mud in Unbound made me quite sad. Of course they're less efficient in good conditions, but, good conditions those weren't.
For me races like the one covered by you show that gravel bikes overall are artificial thing, that suits only a very specific kind of routes... And if you want to make them less specific, you need to start turning them into mtb bikes... (wider and wider tires, suspension etc) which shows once again, that we dont need gravel bikes at all. I always wonder why people hurt themsleves on a given course if they could simply use a hardtail, with some thinner tires, and some small adjustements.
@@Karollenart This line of thinking is so old and tired. Show me a mtb that can take a 50t chainring. Show me someone pedaling a 150mile course on an upright seating mtb. Show me someone doing that for 5-6hours (let alone the 8+ hours of normal humans) in a headwind in that upright position. There's a slew of reasons for why mtbs are not appropriate for a gravel ride and why gravel bikes exist.
@@quasimal Or, you know, use your brain and don't try to pedal through the mud that's sticking all over your bike. This might be shocking, but those two things we use to pedal a bike can also walk you across that mud. Evolution is really cool.
@@cjohnson3836that’s rude for you to say. A race is race: we push pedals through the course. You simply suggest stop pedaling i a middle of it. May be you haven’t used yours this time to overthink the bicycle race idea in general. Cheers
Despite my Winspace Hypers (and other Chinese brands) being better than any pair of Zipp I've tested, I've actually had people message me privately about my Zipp wheels saying things like: "I'm so happy you are finally using name brand wheels!" - And this was despite the fact I highlighted how awful the hub/bearings are from Zipp. Not even the cognitive dissonance will get people to change their minds about Chinese wheels I'm afraid.
Zipp’s are overrated, but I am not convinced of Winspace Hypers: truing could be better, crosswind stability is worse than other wheelsets, creaking sounds, limited warranty. They still appear to me as low budget made in China. Pay 300 bucks more and you have high quality DTSwiss wheels.
@@user-d32658I crashed mine at 50km/hr dead stop ( I broke bones), two spokes came loose, still in true, tire didn't even flat, and had a couple small cracks. This was gen 1 hypers. Second gen, even stronger. For the price of 1200 with 10% code vs what you'd get at that price for DT swiss, isn't even close. And elite wheels are about 250-350gr lighter than DT swiss in price range. The newer gens need more trueing than first gen - my grapids and hypers both did in the first 1000km. Still a lot of bias like Patty says, for Chinese products. Now that DT swiss hub patent ran out, it also another reason that Chinese brands are even better as they are clearly using and making their own takes on it. But hey, I'm stoked if people under value them and I get better deals :)
I'm a big fan of TrainerRoad. Their updates over the last 3 years have been fantastic, AIFTP, performance levels, now new features for masters training, easy to navigate calendar, custom training plans, podcast, YT channel, and group rides. I think they have listened to the criticisms and have updated some of their plans according to the latest science/research. I see it as good value!
indeed - they have listened to the criticism (too much sweetspot - folks burning out cos they are time crunched and pressured into riding in the mid-zones too long for the time they have) so have renamed workouts from sweetspot to endurance :D :D just kidding, but you see what i mean?
Came here to say something similar. Another thing I get value from is having structured workouts on my commutes to make them more interesting/worthwhile. Not having to take my time to think about the workout, just have it pre loaded onto my head unit makes the $300 per year well worth it!
I think TrainerRoad was a great value as a beginner. It does a great job of getting people into training and I used it with good results for 3 or 4 years. But once you know how to plan a training calendar, it's kind of expensive for what you get. Their plans aren't the greatest, and overly complicated sometimes. Once I moved away from the TR plans, I had incredible gains (FTP, power profile), but more importantly, I was getting results in races. I don't think TR is a bad program, I just don't think it's worth what they charge. Especially when compared to other things out there. Everybody offers FTP detection. Progression levels feel a little gimmicky to me (I don't really need AI to tell me 3x20 is harder than 2x20). And they've been promising outdoor levels for over 2 years now (is it ever going to actually happen?). I mean, Zwift is cheaper, and you get workouts, free rides, and races. I just don't get why TR are charging what they do for what they give you. The podcast used to be the highlight of my week and was an invaluable and highly entertaining listen. But that too has sadly gone downhill of late. First Pete left, then Amber, then Chad. And Nate is rarely on it these days. It feels like it has lost it soul. I haven't felt the draw or pull to listen to it in probably 4 months.
SweetSpot block, 3 weeks on, 1 week off. Two to maybe three workouts per week. Increase time in zone week over week. Do 1 or 2 blocks or at minimum 1hour time in zone. Threshold block. Increase time in zone. 2 workouts per week. VO2 block. Aim for 18-20 minutes time in zone per workout. 3 workouts per week. 3 week block. Rinse and repeat. I plan to hit the VO2 block around 6 weeks before my A event. Sprint work 2-3 weeks before A event.
With Froomey it's always worth remembering, he's defending his contract with everything he's got. He could (and should?) retire, but he'd be leaving millions on the table. All these claims by Froome need to be looked at with half an eye towards his relationship with he team.
Great to see the Tour of Southland content guys, good summary! It also has TV coverage, the same content as the UA-cam is played on the night after the stage. I was involved in support for a team at last year's race, we roomed next to the Ara team at the motel, good bunch of guys who enjoyed the racing too.
Regarding Froome's bike fitting issue. Doesn't he have his own personal mechanic that has been with him since the SKY days?? Why nobody is talking about this? He should have all these measurements right?
The real value of TR lies in how it constantly adapts the prescribed intensity of upcoming workouts based off the feedback you give with each completed workout - ensuring overload training tailored to your individual progression. What coach touches base after each session and adjusts the training plan according to the current trajectory? For $20/month? Using TR you can rest assured that your next threshold session will be achievable and productive, just slightly harder than the previous one - gradually building up the length of the intervals and reducing the recovery time in between. If you are instead randomly picking threshold sessions off the internet I think you’d struggle to find that level of consistency. And that’s without ever having to do a single FTP test as well, TR knows.
As an older mid 40's guy so won't heal as well as a 20 or 30yr old, I had a bad crash smashed clavicle in 3 places 5 broken ribs punctured lung and in hospital for 4days, and 6months off work, which is nothing compared to what Froome did to himself. It took me 18months to be pretty much at my old level and be able to ride at 300w's for 20mins, which before I could do quite easily. Was really strange going for my long rides I do to get my fitness up in that first year, and not improve(at all!) from week to week like before. So it doesn't surprise me he's not able to get back to his old level. Maybe he just can't accept it as I'm sure physically he feels good. So he probably can't understand, accept or admit to why his performance is 5 to 10%? off what it was before.
Froome has always looked like a robot on a bike - no surprise he can't feel the difference between geometry/position. Plus a bad crash throws your position off for years unless you do everything possible to regain your old position post injury. Having said that I think it's time he retired, sat up and bought himself a nice endurance bike, gave it a couple of years and then turned up at some Grand fondos.
With Jesse on the Strava thing, absolutely love it but also relatively new to it (a year or so). It's hands down my favourite social media. It's generally just pure encouragement and motivation. Love following you guys on there, podium pics are the best!
People racing US gravel have to know that it takes more than fitness to be successful. If you are consistently having mechanicals, you need to pay more attention to your setup choices. Keegan had zero mechanicals all year long. That isn’t an accident. He travels with a full time mechanic and they go into every detail to get the best setup for him every race. Most mechanicals aren’t bad luck, they’re bad planning.
Yeah, that's an off-road perspective; most failures are for a reason - either poor choice of equipment, or poor riding technique. The road racing view is that failures are always 'bad luck'......
Yup. The only mechanical I've had at a gravel race was my own fault. 1) for not doing my checks until the morning of the race (arrived to the race site late the night before and it was raining). 2) for forgetting something simple (re-engaging the clutch). Luckily for me, I at least got all the major things accounted for and it was only a short delay to fix in the race.
Buying top end wheels is a complete waste of money at this point. Even the Chinese rear hubs, which used to be questionable, have become really good since DT Swiss's patent ended.
@@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed uhhh the same I guess? A lot of hubs mentioned now even take DT-Swiss parts. And replacing rims...well you buy a new one and replace it. Or have warranty. What's so different?
@@RepsacZ I just don't want to support a country that doesn't do any development on its own steals other countries ideas. You see if I spent 10 million on creating a product because it had to go through testing and whatever. How would you feel if somebody replicated what you spent so much money on creating and is benefiting off of your hard work and invention? Why would you want to support that? My morals as a human being won't allow me to do that .
I'm just here to support TR - what you get in return for your subscription is much more than training plans and workout player. Also, they continue to evolve, add new features, listen to customer feedback and criticism and make changes based on that. I was self-coached in the days of HRM and the Training Bible for years. Currently I have a coach for the first time because I could afford it and see what type of training benefits I will see from this process, but I'm still hanging on to my TR subscription.
For support with a ride used few tablespoons of maple syrup with adding some table salt in the water bottle ,it’s what works for the individual it’s not one size fits all
As a TR user and a fan! For me TR still has value. Sure, a coach can have some insights on some stuff that he has experience on, but most of these can easily be googled as well. Heck even TR has plenty of informative blog posts as well! TR has taught me so much about training, planning, periodization and a lot more for a lot less than a coach. The opinion these guys have on TR are baseless since they haven't used the platform yet. and why would they if they already know what they're doing! It's a good app and platform to learn about structured training and actually getting faster.
Trainer road is succesful because people new to cycling who follow a TR programme will see a good increase in fitness, the fact that if they followed Dylan Johnson or just read a good book like Joe Friels or Allan/Coggan's and built their own programme they would do equally as well or probably better. But many people prefer to be told what to do rather then do their own research and actually build a plan specifically for themselves. Also new cyclists probably don't know which way to turn and TR gives people confidence through slick marketing.
As for the wheels debate - from a non racer perspective: I have had 5 sets of LightBicycle carbon rims (standard and lightweight versions, I am 70kg) over the last 7 years, built with various hubs (Chris King, DT 240s, DT 350s, Bitex and DT180s). Purchased the rims separately, hubs as well, built the wheels by myself; not a rocket science. Saved a lot of money this way and as my performance is not of a pro (churn out 4W/kg, lame, I know), I never felt the wheels let me down. Always Sapim spokes, none of them has ever cracked over the cca 70ths km on all the wheels in total. What makes a difference that even I felt were the hubs, though. Cannot justify a purchase of flashy ENVE wheelset of the same weight but double the price. I do not say they're not better. Just sayin' that I would most likely not use their potential/feel the difference...
Which hubs do you think are worth it? I have campagnolo wheels, as well as Chinese with novatec, bitex and some no name Taiwan something. Curious about your perspective, I have mixed feelings on the last two myself.
Just recently purchased a set of elite drive 40 rim brakes, and they’re awesome wheels, super light, super fast, and very affordable, they come with carbon spokes also. Went from mavic ksyrium pro exaliths, so huge difference. I loved the hypers when they first came out as the Weave looked so cool and different. But now I’m kinda over that look, and they’re expensive now. I found the customer service from elite pretty good too.
For wheels, Hunt has an optional lifetime replacement option HCare (crash replacement), I believe it is about $69/wheelset. The fact that it is optional is probably the best way to go.
Wasn’t going to get Strava premium again once it went to $100 but I snagged a student discount to $50… it’s great for route planning - I take my bike everywhere with me for work and the global heat map is a good tool for finding places to ride in unfamiliar places 👌🏽
I hate to disappoint, but the companies don't really have a say in when patents are published - it's a very defined process and you know that 2 years after initial submission, your patent application is gonna be published by the patent office. So no leaking, just nerds searching the database for the newest SRAM patents 😅
Rapha, from my experience, doesn't repair anything. They ask for a photo of the damage and then send out a replacement. There's no environmental savings going on here. Their CS is the best I've ever experienced with any company.
@@JPDCC A repaired bib. I'm genuinely curious how they would fix that without botching the looks of it up. Either way that makes for a good indoor bib I suppose
in regards to the phone as a head unit. i run a quad lock system on downhill bikes and it doesn't move. im doing 8hours + mtb with descending and it doesn't move. for the purposes for a road bike it will be fine. Ive crashed on a rocky and had the phone get pushed off the mount. with a screen protector and the quad lock case, it protects the phone perfectly, worse comes to worse change the screen protector.
The days of frothing a 1500g 50mm wheelset are definitely over, no matter what the label on the rim says. There's still some interest if someone shows up with something deep and 1300g though.
I can notice after a few rides (sometimes even on the same ride) slight tilts or mm on the seat height. More so my muscles notice them quickly because slight deviations cause muscles to work slightly different. Chris Froome (a professional cyclist with ten times the ride time I have) stating he didn’t know he was 5cm off plays us for fools. I agree with Jesse (not on Cervelo) that Froome is blowing up his legacy and credibility.
As a super flexible rider in my experience i almost cant tell the difference when i change the height even by a cm or two. ive ridden with my saddle on my dads height about 3cm lower without noticing on my mtb and road bikes b4
My son (JM15 so longest race is supposed to be 40km) is now onto the sugar mixture, as per JC. I suspect that this doesn't come as dentist recommended. He tried brown sugar once. Is there a specified tooth brushing protocol? I say this because when the bacteria (Streptococcus mitis) produce tooth fuzz, the byproduct is Lactic Acid, surely a bad thing. Do we need to recommend tooth brushing before and after racing as well? Besides, the (menthol?) in the toothpaste opens up the airways ... or something like that.
Dentist recommends don’t brush after rides, teeth are susceptible to the abrasion after all that sugar or something like that. Just rinse down sugar with pure water separate bottle during the ride.
I fluctuate between sugar water and carb mix when racing. I spoke to my dentist about my concerns, and he said the sugar is probably less damaging because it doesn't contain the acidic ingredients that the carb powder would. He told me my best opportunity to mitigate damage would be to rinse my mouth with water after each sip. Slightly unsustainable but an option nonetheless.
I have bike insurance and am glad I took it out. 2 years in, bad crash and all was covered ($3.5k). Definitely worth it in the first few years. After 5 years, not anymore.
Same. Mine covers the basics and accidents. They pay out the amount I said it's worth which includes accessories and upgrades. My company doesn't depreciate like some others do.
@ThomasWestrick that's great. Mine does have that depreciation thing after a certain number of years, which is why I don't insure my track bike anymore.
Headunits: Ich use a Samsung XCover 5, an "outdoor" phone which costs 220-250 Euros. It survived the odd ballistic event without damage, has all the functionality I want from a bike computer (with the Cyclemeter app), runs Komoot simultaneously and provides the full funcionality of a smartphone (including live updates of routes, Google Maps, phone etc.). As my mobile contract includes a second SIM card anyway, no added costs. Battery lasts about 5 hours of riding easily. If bike rides should get longer, a small power bank will help. And you know what? I save the 100+ grams a bike computer weighs! With spending less money, it’s getting more out of it.
Maurten has a tub of 2 tbsp of baking soda for 65 dollars.... It's odd that powermeters have come down so much, but head units seem to have gone up and they have very little increase in ability, even though electronics companies are going to be so much more numerous than companies making powermeters. AFAIK there isn't a bike computer out there that can play MP3s which is so weird. (Karoo can but you have to do some bodge to do so). I don't think the 'cheap premium' ones like igpsport can do Strava segments and little things that matter.
having had garmin head units for many years, and now recently having purchased an epix pro gen 2, I have replaced the head unit with the watch, I use the adapter and simply attach it to the garmin mount the idea was to try it and see if I felt I needed to get a new head unit (I have an old edge 520) and so far I see no reason at all to buy a dedicated head unit.
Finally something I feel qualified to talk on: Wheels and Used Wheels. I'm also in Australia and have recently spent months and months and months looking for a pair of decent ~50mm carbon rim brake wheels before finally tracking down pretty much what I wanted. You've answered your own question here really: if Wheels have no froth anymore (disagree but lets roll with it), and Cadex is just as good as Princeton, Winspace, Bontranger, Zipp, DT Swiss, why are you suprised about having no bites pricing $2kAUD used wheels compared to buying $1900AUD delivered brand new 2023 Hyper Lun's? Additionally Wheels are one of those catastrophic failure points on a bike and even despite huge acceptance of Carbon everything now - the 2nd hand market and buyers are very aware especially for Wheels which are the main road surface contact points. My immediate question if I saw your ad would be: 2k Princeton froth wheels..... why's he selling? These seem like amazing wheels! My 2nd thought is, if i'm buying used wheels, maybe I can grab a set of used Hyper Lun's for $1k-1.2kAUD and save $1000 bucks. Wheels still have massive froth but massive froth at the time of purchase or in and around your 'buying window'.
My immediate thought on the Princeton wheels was long the same line. With the added knowledge that the first search for aliexpress wheels I ever made had a set of knockoff Princetons for about 500$
😅ENVE $4000 + warranty. How many times is enve willing to replace my set of wheels? 🤔 I prefer to buy Winspace Hyper. Nice and impressive pair of wheels without the ridiculous price. I add that one of the reasons why large bicycle companies are going through a sales crisis...sky rocket prices. And please don't start with the comparison of the nineties, inflation, etc. Brands like Winspace, Elves and Yoeleo are stepping on the toes of the big brands in quality and trust, without the royalty price. On top of that, those brands I mentioned already have the sacred seal of the UCI.
Hey guys! I went for the Hyper 2023 wheels because they also have a authorise reseller in Germany. So for Europe ist ok. And after crashing at 58km/h not even the carbon spokes did crack or break. They are so good.
Those new Red hoods are super duper long. This is gonna make fit impossible for a lot of people. The real thing was seen on Movistar bikes over a year ago. Launch is April 24.
The Tour of Southland. The 4th Grand Tour of the year through the land of Milk and Honey. Great to see the Aussie riders getting amongst it. Would be great to see the Nero team get involved!
Wheels; I think rims have become pretty normal, but I still want to know if my hubs have high-quality bearings. Gravel; To me, the current US gravel scene is like the Paris-Dakar Rally in motorsports. It's supposed to be a grueling endurance test of both man and machine. Mechanicals are part of the spectacle. Overpriced; $200 jerseys are crazy. But you were spot on with hydration and energy stuff. I used to use some like $4 per packet gummies until I realized that standard gummy bears you buy at the grocery store actually had more carbs and protein (if you get gummies that are made with gelatin). The only thing the high-end sports gummies had was some salt (electrolytes). You could pat some salt onto normal gummy bears and have a better product for like 1/10th the price.
Re: punctures in gravel vs MTB. Just from watching the two, speeds in gravel are far higher, plus they’re riding a lap with 2 sets of pits available to change bike in XC MTB. Hence a puncture is far more deadly in gravel, I guess.
Depends on where you get the puncture on xc not sure if youre talking speed as in catching up or increasing puncture chances. But yeah most of the time punctures are game over in xc
A friend of mine who spent some time as a pro tour mechanic told me the name stickers on bikes are so that the rider gets on the right bike every day. A top rider brought him his bike after a spring Classic complaining it just wasn’t right. He couldn’t get comfortable on it all day. The mechanic pointed out he was on somebody else’s bike and told him to get lost.
The gravel races are also more costly and remote. The gamble is very large when you sign up for an American gravel race. For me, ti comes out to about $300 for a one day close event, and at least $700-1500 to go out of state and stay some place for a few days. To you comment, drop bar mountain bikes might be the future. Comparison, a close by 100 miler cost me $120 for everything.
And? How much does it cost to travel to a downhill park? All races require travel if you aren't local. At least with gravel races, they're often outside of the city to its easier to find cheap camp grounds.
im still on the custom wheel train. my dream training wheel is still the white industries hub with HED belgium rims. people are missing out on nice unique wheels these days
I just bought a new Garmin 840 to replace my old Wahoo, which is having charging issues. Big expense to update the bike computer when you can buy so much more with that money. But we're all heavily invested in the sport so we somehow justify it. Strava premium doesn't feel like getting good value and most of us would happily let it expire at some point
For built-in warranty thing, I have experience in ENVE but what they replace is only rims usually. You do need to pay for shipping, labor, and usually nipple and spoke and rim tape and probably a new set of tires. In total they do cost quite high enough not to try stupid things on these wheels.
Gels are great. Not because of the contents - but because they are easy to use, come in discrete sizes that make your calorie intake predicable and on top very easy to carry and use. Worth every penny on long/hard/difficult rides.
Absolutely, I mean, people use them for a reason. I just wish more people knew about sugar water. Let's say I race or I'm doing a big event. I will definitely pack some gels. But if it's just another 3-4 hour training session I will 100% rely on sugar water to get through that. And I feel like for most riders I see out there the use case for gels compared to the actual financial value of the nutrition inside vs sugar water just doesn't stack up. Some of my buddies rock up to a long weekend session with huge assortments of bars and gels and I always cringe at how much money they're wasting. Could easily replace your chain, pads, discs, etc with that same money spent on gels. Idk I find myself consuming gels very rarely nowadays 🤷♂
Think we agree. I only use water for training sessions myself, but sugar can be helpful. Never eat bars. Sandwich with home baked fibre bread works great and is healthier. @@xAudiolith
Jesse, have you lost your mind, in regards to not liking the replacement warranty that Enve has for their wheels?! What is wrong with having a good warranty program like the one Enve has? These wheels are very expensive so if they get damaged in whatever way, its nice to know that I won't have to shell out another $3500.00. I ride a Pinnarello F12 and a Madone and I still pay for bike insurance. Just because the wheels are insured dosent mean my bike shouldn't be insured. I wish my ZIPP 454 NSWs had a better warranty program like Enve. Anyway, love your show. I look forward to it every week. All the best!
I'm not a multi-time TdF winner, but I would feel a difference of centimeters in fit. Froome, poor guy, can't accept getting older, not to mention the consequences of a life-threatening crash. I like his videos too.
Guys, 20 euro/month for TR is too much? C'mon, this is usual stuff for subscription of anything... Maybe I could research the internet and prepare my own plans... But I pay them exactly for the purpose of not doing that on my own to save time. TR gives me a calendar, tracks my TSS, and provides progressive overload with rest weeks based on my TSS. If I would use Training Peaks for that purpose I would have to pay as well... So... I dont understand your point here. I however agree that TR is good only for training indoors. Maybe that's what you had in mind.
I agree with what you said regarding the features of TR, but it's also good for structured outside riding, just as long as it's the correct workout. I'd never do a sprint or vo2 max workout unless I was on an appropriate stretch of road..but yeah TR has many features besides being a workout player and training plan builder.
Yeah. That's true. I would also add progression levels on the workouts. These are just great. When you find a workout on the internet, it is like 4 x 5 min @vo2... But TR adds progression levels. So at low levels you get like 8 x 2 min @ vo2 whereas at higher ones you get 5 x 4 minutes or 7 x 4 minutes etc. You cannot create such a detailed plan on your own unless you are a coach :) @@steviedee9344
I have recently started using sugar in my bottles, 100g sugar with a tiny splash of orange juice for flavour and maybe 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon salt and it rocks, always use Torq Energy before and I won't be going back. I only use gels in a race or maybe carry one for an emergency.
Here’s a topic… Strava etiquette, recently I’ve come across people that are legitimately mad if they e given someone Strava “kudos” and they don’t receive them in return.
Y'all will never see this, but my answer to what is not good value for money is, broadly, the top tier option. In a good/better/best scenario the "best" is almost always not worth it for 99% of people. Those who think they need it, generally don't. Those who need it often get it free. Examples: roval CL vs. CLX. More broadly, the top tier wheelset (which mostly costs $2,400usd these days) is not $1,500 better than the next step down. Twice the price for -150g. Naw, m8. Ultegra is the perfect example vs dura ace. Dura ace is like twice the price for a groupset. 800 level garmin vs 1000 level. The 1000 is huge, but software is usually identical. Those who ride in the rain would say 500 series without touchscreen is way less frustrating Sworks frame vs. expert frame. (Works for most brands). Does it ride 3-5 THOUSAND dollars better? Nope. Can my 320w ftp cat 3 body tell the difference blind? Unlikely. The list goes on.
did a 150km gravel ride. fueling was 3 mars bars 3 cherry ripe 2 cans of mother energy drinks (500ml) + berocca distributed into a 1L bottle and 2 500ml bottles.
Tour of Southland started in 1956 and gained UCI status in 2002. The winner's list is pretty much a who's who of NZ cycling and as such is the pinnacle event for any kiwi cyclist, hence why the racing is such a high level.
Froth froth froth froth frothy coffee! Just mix equal parts instant coffee, granulated sugar and water. The mixture will go from liquidy to super thick and creamy. Then spoon the mixture over milk of choice, either iced or hot. And that's it - easy simple creamy frothy whipped coffee!
Chris love the show. But bashing trainerroad without explaining why is not great. Kinda sounded like you don’t understand its features, its a lot different now than it was 2 years ago. Also TR released a video today about new features, I’m not seeing why its so bad. But I’m biased, have made a lot of gain on TR and its still only $99 a year for me since price is grandfathered.
In light of the GCN article and your take on ‘marketing’ can you guys do a segment that sets out where brands sit on the spectrum and what they need to address to shift the needle. Specifically, I’ve heard plenty of comments from you both (& guests) which speaks to Giant bikes not being desirable. It seems to be an almost unspoken truth. What makes this the case and what would the brand need to do to alter this view?
For me, Strava is mostly a bragging platform from the social network aspect of it. Do I really care about that big ride you did or that you're so fast around a circle drafting other people/moped? Not in the slightest. I just care about what I did and these days don't even care too much about my performance. It's good every now and then to compare my own perceived exertion with my actual performance - that's it.
Most trainer manufacturers have their own (usually free) traning platforms attached, e.g. Wattbike Hub, Elite myTraining etc. The training programmes themselves are pretty trash, but if you have a coach or a decent idea of the workouts you want to do, you can create them in the platform editor and off you go.
Fun show, as always, enjoyed it! Totally agree - DYI your nutrition, especially drink mixes. Found a Maurten recipe (I prefer the less sweet taste of malto) and make my own for USD $0.30 a bottle. More sustainable, too. Comparing head unit to a phone highlights the vast difference in unit volume and marketing costs (especially distribution costs) for lower volume, niche products that still have to meet a reliability bar.
I agree with Chris. Strava could be greatly improved as a community website without diminishing it's personal workout recording and analysis functions.
It was entirely because of Jesse that I started running caster sugar in my drinks bottle for fuel, and although this is only an anecdotal data set of one person it was a game changer for me. That said I still use various flavoured hydration tablets, just to jazz it up a little bit rather than neat sugar.
Do you mind elaborating on how exactly you've incorporated using sugar alone? Are you simply mixing with water alone? Adding salt as well? I was intrigued by the segment and wished they had further elaborated, but didn't. Thank you in advance
I think the real value in trainerroad is AIFTP. I literally could not accept that my FTP was not increasing but now that my season is over and I look how little I improved over the season, I have come to accept that AIFTP was accurate all along.
I think that's spot on. AI FTP is unique to TR, and really works. Also, yes, you can go out and build an annual plan, but you have to work out the progression or load and difficulty.
The AIFTP definitely works but I think regularly doing FTP and even SST workouts can give you the same info without the $300 per month price tag (sorry Chris)🤣
So about replacing gels with sugar from your cupboard, how exactly do you do that? I mean I get that you can mix sugar in your water bottle, but let’s say I don’t want to do that. I want pure water or water with electrolytes in them (no I don’t want salt, salt doesn’t taste good) and spraying your neck and head with sugar water… no. So how would you do it? I avoid gels if I can but I still think gels sometimes is the only liable option especially in the heat.
If you know how to build a training plan and interpret the data then yes, TrainerRoad and others like it don't add a lot of value apart from simplifying planning and execution. That's the main value...simplicity. Punch in your main events and let it build a plan. But for those with very little experience or understanding of how to train and/or build a plan these platforms are often game changing if the plan is good and the rider commits to it. Very few riders train right without it.
Agreed! I used it to help learn how to build a plan and then unsubscribed. Never did one of their workouts outside but still regularly copy their workouts using Zwift -especially VO2, over/unders and anaerobic specific workouts.
Just followed you on Strava Jesse. Man, dunno how you do it. Just doing circle work at centennial park must be mind numbing 😂. Obviously working for you tho 👍
I insure my bike because it's how I get around town. If a dude breaks my locks and steals my bike, I want to deal with a company that specifically insures bikes rather than my renter's insurance. Also, I make my own gatorade. Just did a bunch of math to calculate the ratios, but it's water, sugar, sea salt, and lite salt (which subs KCl for some of the NaCl)
Mechanicals in gravel racing are probably the most frustrating part of the sport and in my opinion it's because the equipment hasn't caught up to the demands of gravel. As you mentioned, mountain bikers don't get this many mechanicals and they ride on more treacherous terrain. My prediction is that we will see gravel tires get wider over the coming years just like we saw with both road and MTB. This is both because wider tires will be better able to survive the race and they're actually faster (gasp) than the current crop of narrow gravel tires which force you to use a thicker and slower casing. When this happens gravel racers will get far fewer mechanicals and racing gravel will also be a far more enjoyable experience.
Also, the gravel at Big Sugar is just horrendously sharp and punctures are common no matter what tire you use but that course is an outlier.
How about internal gear hubs and/or belt drives? Seeing everyone's bike get totaled by mud in Unbound made me quite sad. Of course they're less efficient in good conditions, but, good conditions those weren't.
For me races like the one covered by you show that gravel bikes overall are artificial thing, that suits only a very specific kind of routes... And if you want to make them less specific, you need to start turning them into mtb bikes... (wider and wider tires, suspension etc) which shows once again, that we dont need gravel bikes at all. I always wonder why people hurt themsleves on a given course if they could simply use a hardtail, with some thinner tires, and some small adjustements.
@@Karollenart This line of thinking is so old and tired. Show me a mtb that can take a 50t chainring. Show me someone pedaling a 150mile course on an upright seating mtb. Show me someone doing that for 5-6hours (let alone the 8+ hours of normal humans) in a headwind in that upright position. There's a slew of reasons for why mtbs are not appropriate for a gravel ride and why gravel bikes exist.
@@quasimal Or, you know, use your brain and don't try to pedal through the mud that's sticking all over your bike. This might be shocking, but those two things we use to pedal a bike can also walk you across that mud. Evolution is really cool.
@@cjohnson3836that’s rude for you to say. A race is race: we push pedals through the course. You simply suggest stop pedaling i a middle of it. May be you haven’t used yours this time to overthink the bicycle race idea in general. Cheers
31:35 The "2 kg, 50 watts off" cracked me up real good😂😂
Despite my Winspace Hypers (and other Chinese brands) being better than any pair of Zipp I've tested, I've actually had people message me privately about my Zipp wheels saying things like: "I'm so happy you are finally using name brand wheels!" - And this was despite the fact I highlighted how awful the hub/bearings are from Zipp. Not even the cognitive dissonance will get people to change their minds about Chinese wheels I'm afraid.
That’s interesting and maybe not that surprising to read. Keep up the great work Patrick!
This is why @PatrickLino 's channel is so important. Out with the brand BS, just the facts even when ppl don't want to hear it.
Zipp’s are overrated, but I am not convinced of Winspace Hypers: truing could be better, crosswind stability is worse than other wheelsets, creaking sounds, limited warranty. They still appear to me as low budget made in China. Pay 300 bucks more and you have high quality DTSwiss wheels.
@@user-d32658I crashed mine at 50km/hr dead stop ( I broke bones), two spokes came loose, still in true, tire didn't even flat, and had a couple small cracks. This was gen 1 hypers. Second gen, even stronger. For the price of 1200 with 10% code vs what you'd get at that price for DT swiss, isn't even close. And elite wheels are about 250-350gr lighter than DT swiss in price range. The newer gens need more trueing than first gen - my grapids and hypers both did in the first 1000km. Still a lot of bias like Patty says, for Chinese products. Now that DT swiss hub patent ran out, it also another reason that Chinese brands are even better as they are clearly using and making their own takes on it. But hey, I'm stoked if people under value them and I get better deals :)
@@user-d32658 quality and dt dwiss shouldn't be in the same sentence
I'm a big fan of TrainerRoad. Their updates over the last 3 years have been fantastic, AIFTP, performance levels, now new features for masters training, easy to navigate calendar, custom training plans, podcast, YT channel, and group rides. I think they have listened to the criticisms and have updated some of their plans according to the latest science/research. I see it as good value!
indeed - they have listened to the criticism (too much sweetspot - folks burning out cos they are time crunched and pressured into riding in the mid-zones too long for the time they have) so have renamed workouts from sweetspot to endurance :D :D just kidding, but you see what i mean?
Came here to say something similar. Another thing I get value from is having structured workouts on my commutes to make them more interesting/worthwhile. Not having to take my time to think about the workout, just have it pre loaded onto my head unit makes the $300 per year well worth it!
I think TrainerRoad was a great value as a beginner. It does a great job of getting people into training and I used it with good results for 3 or 4 years. But once you know how to plan a training calendar, it's kind of expensive for what you get. Their plans aren't the greatest, and overly complicated sometimes. Once I moved away from the TR plans, I had incredible gains (FTP, power profile), but more importantly, I was getting results in races. I don't think TR is a bad program, I just don't think it's worth what they charge. Especially when compared to other things out there. Everybody offers FTP detection. Progression levels feel a little gimmicky to me (I don't really need AI to tell me 3x20 is harder than 2x20). And they've been promising outdoor levels for over 2 years now (is it ever going to actually happen?). I mean, Zwift is cheaper, and you get workouts, free rides, and races. I just don't get why TR are charging what they do for what they give you.
The podcast used to be the highlight of my week and was an invaluable and highly entertaining listen. But that too has sadly gone downhill of late. First Pete left, then Amber, then Chad. And Nate is rarely on it these days. It feels like it has lost it soul. I haven't felt the draw or pull to listen to it in probably 4 months.
Teach me how to write my own training calendar and im all over it 😃@@junksmiles
SweetSpot block, 3 weeks on, 1 week off. Two to maybe three workouts per week. Increase time in zone week over week. Do 1 or 2 blocks or at minimum 1hour time in zone.
Threshold block. Increase time in zone. 2 workouts per week.
VO2 block. Aim for 18-20 minutes time in zone per workout. 3 workouts per week. 3 week block.
Rinse and repeat.
I plan to hit the VO2 block around 6 weeks before my A event. Sprint work 2-3 weeks before A event.
With Froomey it's always worth remembering, he's defending his contract with everything he's got. He could (and should?) retire, but he'd be leaving millions on the table. All these claims by Froome need to be looked at with half an eye towards his relationship with he team.
One of the best aspects of TR is progression levels to gauge relative intensity of workouts and feel sense of accomplishment when improving levels.
Great to see the Tour of Southland content guys, good summary! It also has TV coverage, the same content as the UA-cam is played on the night after the stage. I was involved in support for a team at last year's race, we roomed next to the Ara team at the motel, good bunch of guys who enjoyed the racing too.
Regarding Froome's bike fitting issue. Doesn't he have his own personal mechanic that has been with him since the SKY days?? Why nobody is talking about this? He should have all these measurements right?
Didnt think you could make this podcast better but this new section with overpriced is just gold!
The real value of TR lies in how it constantly adapts the prescribed intensity of upcoming workouts based off the feedback you give with each completed workout - ensuring overload training tailored to your individual progression. What coach touches base after each session and adjusts the training plan according to the current trajectory? For $20/month? Using TR you can rest assured that your next threshold session will be achievable and productive, just slightly harder than the previous one - gradually building up the length of the intervals and reducing the recovery time in between. If you are instead randomly picking threshold sessions off the internet I think you’d struggle to find that level of consistency. And that’s without ever having to do a single FTP test as well, TR knows.
As an older mid 40's guy so won't heal as well as a 20 or 30yr old, I had a bad crash smashed clavicle in 3 places 5 broken ribs punctured lung and in hospital for 4days, and 6months off work, which is nothing compared to what Froome did to himself. It took me 18months to be pretty much at my old level and be able to ride at 300w's for 20mins, which before I could do quite easily. Was really strange going for my long rides I do to get my fitness up in that first year, and not improve(at all!) from week to week like before. So it doesn't surprise me he's not able to get back to his old level. Maybe he just can't accept it as I'm sure physically he feels good. So he probably can't understand, accept or admit to why his performance is 5 to 10%? off what it was before.
Getting old sucks!
Froome has always looked like a robot on a bike - no surprise he can't feel the difference between geometry/position. Plus a bad crash throws your position off for years unless you do everything possible to regain your old position post injury. Having said that I think it's time he retired, sat up and bought himself a nice endurance bike, gave it a couple of years and then turned up at some Grand fondos.
With Jesse on the Strava thing, absolutely love it but also relatively new to it (a year or so). It's hands down my favourite social media. It's generally just pure encouragement and motivation. Love following you guys on there, podium pics are the best!
I got the idea of sugar and salt instead of store bought gels off Trainerroad. So I don't know what to think
I would love to see you guys do the Southland Tour, that would be great content
Never too old! I saw former winner Gordon McCauley was in the race this year at 52!
People racing US gravel have to know that it takes more than fitness to be successful. If you are consistently having mechanicals, you need to pay more attention to your setup choices. Keegan had zero mechanicals all year long. That isn’t an accident. He travels with a full time mechanic and they go into every detail to get the best setup for him every race. Most mechanicals aren’t bad luck, they’re bad planning.
Yeah, that's an off-road perspective; most failures are for a reason - either poor choice of equipment, or poor riding technique.
The road racing view is that failures are always 'bad luck'......
Yup. The only mechanical I've had at a gravel race was my own fault. 1) for not doing my checks until the morning of the race (arrived to the race site late the night before and it was raining). 2) for forgetting something simple (re-engaging the clutch). Luckily for me, I at least got all the major things accounted for and it was only a short delay to fix in the race.
Buying top end wheels is a complete waste of money at this point. Even the Chinese rear hubs, which used to be questionable, have become really good since DT Swiss's patent ended.
All my bontrager wheels. If I get a scratch on them I can replace it.
What can you do with your crap?
@@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed nice username.
@@PhilB303 Thanks 👍 😁
@@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed uhhh the same I guess? A lot of hubs mentioned now even take DT-Swiss parts. And replacing rims...well you buy a new one and replace it. Or have warranty. What's so different?
@@RepsacZ I just don't want to support a country that doesn't do any development on its own steals other countries ideas.
You see if I spent 10 million on creating a product because it had to go through testing and whatever.
How would you feel if somebody replicated what you spent so much money on creating and is benefiting off of your hard work and invention?
Why would you want to support that?
My morals as a human being won't allow me to do that .
I'm just here to support TR - what you get in return for your subscription is much more than training plans and workout player. Also, they continue to evolve, add new features, listen to customer feedback and criticism and make changes based on that. I was self-coached in the days of HRM and the Training Bible for years. Currently I have a coach for the first time because I could afford it and see what type of training benefits I will see from this process, but I'm still hanging on to my TR subscription.
For support with a ride used few tablespoons of maple syrup with adding some table salt in the water bottle ,it’s what works for the individual it’s not one size fits all
As a TR user and a fan! For me TR still has value. Sure, a coach can have some insights on some stuff that he has experience on, but most of these can easily be googled as well. Heck even TR has plenty of informative blog posts as well! TR has taught me so much about training, planning, periodization and a lot more for a lot less than a coach. The opinion these guys have on TR are baseless since they haven't used the platform yet. and why would they if they already know what they're doing! It's a good app and platform to learn about structured training and actually getting faster.
I dropped strava premium when I noticed garmin had their own route planner.
Winspace Mega review in the next few days chaps! 🎉
Unless the review includes full Engineering Schematics ... I'm not interested 😂
Trainer road is succesful because people new to cycling who follow a TR programme will see a good increase in fitness, the fact that if they followed Dylan Johnson or just read a good book like Joe Friels or Allan/Coggan's and built their own programme they would do equally as well or probably better. But many people prefer to be told what to do rather then do their own research and actually build a plan specifically for themselves. Also new cyclists probably don't know which way to turn and TR gives people confidence through slick marketing.
As for the wheels debate - from a non racer perspective: I have had 5 sets of LightBicycle carbon rims (standard and lightweight versions, I am 70kg) over the last 7 years, built with various hubs (Chris King, DT 240s, DT 350s, Bitex and DT180s). Purchased the rims separately, hubs as well, built the wheels by myself; not a rocket science. Saved a lot of money this way and as my performance is not of a pro (churn out 4W/kg, lame, I know), I never felt the wheels let me down. Always Sapim spokes, none of them has ever cracked over the cca 70ths km on all the wheels in total. What makes a difference that even I felt were the hubs, though. Cannot justify a purchase of flashy ENVE wheelset of the same weight but double the price. I do not say they're not better. Just sayin' that I would most likely not use their potential/feel the difference...
Which hubs do you think are worth it? I have campagnolo wheels, as well as Chinese with novatec, bitex and some no name Taiwan something. Curious about your perspective, I have mixed feelings on the last two myself.
Just recently purchased a set of elite drive 40 rim brakes, and they’re awesome wheels, super light, super fast, and very affordable, they come with carbon spokes also. Went from mavic ksyrium pro exaliths, so huge difference. I loved the hypers when they first came out as the Weave looked so cool and different. But now I’m kinda over that look, and they’re expensive now. I found the customer service from elite pretty good too.
For wheels, Hunt has an optional lifetime replacement option HCare (crash replacement), I believe it is about $69/wheelset. The fact that it is optional is probably the best way to go.
Wasn’t going to get Strava premium again once it went to $100 but I snagged a student discount to $50… it’s great for route planning - I take my bike everywhere with me for work and the global heat map is a good tool for finding places to ride in unfamiliar places 👌🏽
Me neither but I only lasted a week or so without wanting to use the route builder!
I hate to disappoint, but the companies don't really have a say in when patents are published - it's a very defined process and you know that 2 years after initial submission, your patent application is gonna be published by the patent office. So no leaking, just nerds searching the database for the newest SRAM patents 😅
Rapha, from my experience, doesn't repair anything. They ask for a photo of the damage and then send out a replacement. There's no environmental savings going on here. Their CS is the best I've ever experienced with any company.
They literally asked me to send a crashed bib back last week for repair, wasn’t expecting that 🤔
@@JPDCC A repaired bib. I'm genuinely curious how they would fix that without botching the looks of it up. Either way that makes for a good indoor bib I suppose
Orange juice, water, salt, sugar in one bottle straight water in the other has worked fine for me
in regards to the phone as a head unit. i run a quad lock system on downhill bikes and it doesn't move. im doing 8hours + mtb with descending and it doesn't move. for the purposes for a road bike it will be fine. Ive crashed on a rocky and had the phone get pushed off the mount. with a screen protector and the quad lock case, it protects the phone perfectly, worse comes to worse change the screen protector.
1:07 froth voice Chris this early in the pod? I’m in
The days of frothing a 1500g 50mm wheelset are definitely over, no matter what the label on the rim says. There's still some interest if someone shows up with something deep and 1300g though.
I can notice after a few rides (sometimes even on the same ride) slight tilts or mm on the seat height. More so my muscles notice them quickly because slight deviations cause muscles to work slightly different. Chris Froome (a professional cyclist with ten times the ride time I have) stating he didn’t know he was 5cm off plays us for fools. I agree with Jesse (not on Cervelo) that Froome is blowing up his legacy and credibility.
Maybe it's simply more apparent what is character really is?
As a super flexible rider in my experience i almost cant tell the difference when i change the height even by a cm or two. ive ridden with my saddle on my dads height about 3cm lower without noticing on my mtb and road bikes b4
My son (JM15 so longest race is supposed to be 40km) is now onto the sugar mixture, as per JC. I suspect that this doesn't come as dentist recommended. He tried brown sugar once. Is there a specified tooth brushing protocol? I say this because when the bacteria (Streptococcus mitis) produce tooth fuzz, the byproduct is Lactic Acid, surely a bad thing. Do we need to recommend tooth brushing before and after racing as well? Besides, the (menthol?) in the toothpaste opens up the airways ... or something like that.
Dentist recommends don’t brush after rides, teeth are susceptible to the abrasion after all that sugar or something like that. Just rinse down sugar with pure water separate bottle during the ride.
I fluctuate between sugar water and carb mix when racing. I spoke to my dentist about my concerns, and he said the sugar is probably less damaging because it doesn't contain the acidic ingredients that the carb powder would. He told me my best opportunity to mitigate damage would be to rinse my mouth with water after each sip. Slightly unsustainable but an option nonetheless.
I have bike insurance and am glad I took it out. 2 years in, bad crash and all was covered ($3.5k). Definitely worth it in the first few years. After 5 years, not anymore.
Same. Mine covers the basics and accidents. They pay out the amount I said it's worth which includes accessories and upgrades. My company doesn't depreciate like some others do.
@ThomasWestrick that's great. Mine does have that depreciation thing after a certain number of years, which is why I don't insure my track bike anymore.
Using a phone crushes the battery, which is a pain to replace. Garmin phoenix 6 gps lasts days!
Headunits: Ich use a Samsung XCover 5, an "outdoor" phone which costs 220-250 Euros. It survived the odd ballistic event without damage, has all the functionality I want from a bike computer (with the Cyclemeter app), runs Komoot simultaneously and provides the full funcionality of a smartphone (including live updates of routes, Google Maps, phone etc.). As my mobile contract includes a second SIM card anyway, no added costs. Battery lasts about 5 hours of riding easily. If bike rides should get longer, a small power bank will help. And you know what? I save the 100+ grams a bike computer weighs! With spending less money, it’s getting more out of it.
Maurten has a tub of 2 tbsp of baking soda for 65 dollars....
It's odd that powermeters have come down so much, but head units seem to have gone up and they have very little increase in ability, even though electronics companies are going to be so much more numerous than companies making powermeters.
AFAIK there isn't a bike computer out there that can play MP3s which is so weird. (Karoo can but you have to do some bodge to do so).
I don't think the 'cheap premium' ones like igpsport can do Strava segments and little things that matter.
My fenix 5 pro can play music, but my edge can't. Not sure if the fenix can pass as bike computer for you.
having had garmin head units for many years, and now recently having purchased an epix pro gen 2, I have replaced the head unit with the watch, I use the adapter and simply attach it to the garmin mount the idea was to try it and see if I felt I needed to get a new head unit (I have an old edge 520) and so far I see no reason at all to buy a dedicated head unit.
Use both. You deserve it! :) I have the watch but still use head units for their bigger screens.
Navigation?
Oh yeah, Nero cycling show = end of week approaching !
Thanks Chris and Jesse. Great show.
Buy campagnolo boras and or WTO … the best wheels buy a mile
Finally something I feel qualified to talk on: Wheels and Used Wheels. I'm also in Australia and have recently spent months and months and months looking for a pair of decent ~50mm carbon rim brake wheels before finally tracking down pretty much what I wanted. You've answered your own question here really: if Wheels have no froth anymore (disagree but lets roll with it), and Cadex is just as good as Princeton, Winspace, Bontranger, Zipp, DT Swiss, why are you suprised about having no bites pricing $2kAUD used wheels compared to buying $1900AUD delivered brand new 2023 Hyper Lun's? Additionally Wheels are one of those catastrophic failure points on a bike and even despite huge acceptance of Carbon everything now - the 2nd hand market and buyers are very aware especially for Wheels which are the main road surface contact points. My immediate question if I saw your ad would be: 2k Princeton froth wheels..... why's he selling? These seem like amazing wheels! My 2nd thought is, if i'm buying used wheels, maybe I can grab a set of used Hyper Lun's for $1k-1.2kAUD and save $1000 bucks.
Wheels still have massive froth but massive froth at the time of purchase or in and around your 'buying window'.
My immediate thought on the Princeton wheels was long the same line. With the added knowledge that the first search for aliexpress wheels I ever made had a set of knockoff Princetons for about 500$
Good stuff guys!
😅ENVE $4000 + warranty. How many times is enve willing to replace my set of wheels? 🤔 I prefer to buy Winspace Hyper. Nice and impressive pair of wheels without the ridiculous price. I add that one of the reasons why large bicycle companies are going through a sales crisis...sky rocket prices. And please don't start with the comparison of the nineties, inflation, etc. Brands like Winspace, Elves and Yoeleo are stepping on the toes of the big brands in quality and trust, without the royalty price. On top of that, those brands I mentioned already have the sacred seal of the UCI.
Hey guys! I went for the Hyper 2023 wheels because they also have a authorise reseller in Germany. So for Europe ist ok. And after crashing at 58km/h not even the carbon spokes did crack or break. They are so good.
Those new Red hoods are super duper long. This is gonna make fit impossible for a lot of people. The real thing was seen on Movistar bikes over a year ago. Launch is April 24.
The Tour of Southland. The 4th Grand Tour of the year through the land of Milk and Honey. Great to see the Aussie riders getting amongst it. Would be great to see the Nero team get involved!
Still waiting on Jesse's breakdown of Vink's TT at ToS 22..
I'm sure Campy fans are looking at their screens, sceaming at Jesse, "Campy already has 13 speed!"
I’ve got the Nero jersey and it’s great, are you going to do any Bib shorts?
It’s laughable that an individual coach thinks they have the chops to know better than TrainerRoad at this point.
Wheels; I think rims have become pretty normal, but I still want to know if my hubs have high-quality bearings.
Gravel; To me, the current US gravel scene is like the Paris-Dakar Rally in motorsports. It's supposed to be a grueling endurance test of both man and machine. Mechanicals are part of the spectacle.
Overpriced; $200 jerseys are crazy. But you were spot on with hydration and energy stuff. I used to use some like $4 per packet gummies until I realized that standard gummy bears you buy at the grocery store actually had more carbs and protein (if you get gummies that are made with gelatin). The only thing the high-end sports gummies had was some salt (electrolytes). You could pat some salt onto normal gummy bears and have a better product for like 1/10th the price.
Ps agreed Re tour of Southland vid really good compared to 45 sec tour of Tasmania
Awesome... no begging and no groveling, like other channels. A good channel speaks for itself, that's what happened here.
Re: punctures in gravel vs MTB. Just from watching the two, speeds in gravel are far higher, plus they’re riding a lap with 2 sets of pits available to change bike in XC MTB. Hence a puncture is far more deadly in gravel, I guess.
Speeds in XC are easily as high in downhill with rockgardens etc. Talking about XC, not just downhill
Depends on where you get the puncture on xc not sure if youre talking speed as in catching up or increasing puncture chances. But yeah most of the time punctures are game over in xc
You can't change bikes in XC MTB; everything bar the frame can be changed.
@@Andy_ATB you’re right, was mixing it up with CX in that regard
A friend of mine who spent some time as a pro tour mechanic told me the name stickers on bikes are so that the rider gets on the right bike every day. A top rider brought him his bike after a spring Classic complaining it just wasn’t right. He couldn’t get comfortable on it all day. The mechanic pointed out he was on somebody else’s bike and told him to get lost.
Yeh, I insured my new expensive road bike. When it’s a couple years old I probably won’t bother. It’s not cheap that’s for sure.
The gravel races are also more costly and remote. The gamble is very large when you sign up for an American gravel race. For me, ti comes out to about $300 for a one day close event, and at least $700-1500 to go out of state and stay some place for a few days. To you comment, drop bar mountain bikes might be the future. Comparison, a close by 100 miler cost me $120 for everything.
And? How much does it cost to travel to a downhill park? All races require travel if you aren't local. At least with gravel races, they're often outside of the city to its easier to find cheap camp grounds.
sure, for smaller ones -agreed!@@cjohnson3836
im still on the custom wheel train. my dream training wheel is still the white industries hub with HED belgium rims. people are missing out on nice unique wheels these days
I just bought a new Garmin 840 to replace my old Wahoo, which is having charging issues. Big expense to update the bike computer when you can buy so much more with that money. But we're all heavily invested in the sport so we somehow justify it.
Strava premium doesn't feel like getting good value and most of us would happily let it expire at some point
Jesse for your Strava obsession - look up Geoff Stoker - the Western Sydney Strava Hunter. He had 1,000+ KOMs
For built-in warranty thing, I have experience in ENVE but what they replace is only rims usually.
You do need to pay for shipping, labor, and usually nipple and spoke and rim tape and probably a new set of tires.
In total they do cost quite high enough not to try stupid things on these wheels.
Gels are great. Not because of the contents - but because they are easy to use, come in discrete sizes that make your calorie intake predicable and on top very easy to carry and use. Worth every penny on long/hard/difficult rides.
Absolutely, I mean, people use them for a reason. I just wish more people knew about sugar water. Let's say I race or I'm doing a big event. I will definitely pack some gels. But if it's just another 3-4 hour training session I will 100% rely on sugar water to get through that. And I feel like for most riders I see out there the use case for gels compared to the actual financial value of the nutrition inside vs sugar water just doesn't stack up. Some of my buddies rock up to a long weekend session with huge assortments of bars and gels and I always cringe at how much money they're wasting. Could easily replace your chain, pads, discs, etc with that same money spent on gels. Idk I find myself consuming gels very rarely nowadays 🤷♂
Think we agree. I only use water for training sessions myself, but sugar can be helpful. Never eat bars. Sandwich with home baked fibre bread works great and is healthier. @@xAudiolith
Jesse, have you lost your mind, in regards to not liking the replacement warranty that Enve has for their wheels?! What is wrong with having a good warranty program like the one Enve has? These wheels are very expensive so if they get damaged in whatever way, its nice to know that I won't have to shell out another $3500.00. I ride a Pinnarello F12 and a Madone and I still pay for bike insurance. Just because the wheels are insured dosent mean my bike shouldn't be insured. I wish my ZIPP 454 NSWs had a better warranty program like Enve. Anyway, love your show. I look forward to it every week. All the best!
I'm not a multi-time TdF winner, but I would feel a difference of centimeters in fit. Froome, poor guy, can't accept getting older, not to mention the consequences of a life-threatening crash. I like his videos too.
I feel the difference in 2 mil saddle height up or down... his claims are ridiculous like the 5 million euros he's getting for complaining and DNF'ing
Guys, 20 euro/month for TR is too much? C'mon, this is usual stuff for subscription of anything... Maybe I could research the internet and prepare my own plans... But I pay them exactly for the purpose of not doing that on my own to save time. TR gives me a calendar, tracks my TSS, and provides progressive overload with rest weeks based on my TSS. If I would use Training Peaks for that purpose I would have to pay as well... So... I dont understand your point here. I however agree that TR is good only for training indoors. Maybe that's what you had in mind.
I agree with what you said regarding the features of TR, but it's also good for structured outside riding, just as long as it's the correct workout. I'd never do a sprint or vo2 max workout unless I was on an appropriate stretch of road..but yeah TR has many features besides being a workout player and training plan builder.
Yeah. That's true. I would also add progression levels on the workouts. These are just great. When you find a workout on the internet, it is like 4 x 5 min @vo2... But TR adds progression levels. So at low levels you get like 8 x 2 min @ vo2 whereas at higher ones you get 5 x 4 minutes or 7 x 4 minutes etc. You cannot create such a detailed plan on your own unless you are a coach :) @@steviedee9344
I have recently started using sugar in my bottles, 100g sugar with a tiny splash of orange juice for flavour and maybe 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon salt and it rocks, always use Torq Energy before and I won't be going back. I only use gels in a race or maybe carry one for an emergency.
What’s the size bottle you’re running
@@zam.sauce.adventures6475 Different sizes depending on ride, but for 500mls I would use 90-100g sugar
Segment on more christmas presents for cyclists next week? Just watched your vid from a few years ago and an updated one would be class.
Here’s a topic… Strava etiquette, recently I’ve come across people that are legitimately mad if they e given someone Strava “kudos” and they don’t receive them in return.
Oh yeh. I like this one.
Y'all will never see this, but my answer to what is not good value for money is, broadly, the top tier option. In a good/better/best scenario the "best" is almost always not worth it for 99% of people. Those who think they need it, generally don't. Those who need it often get it free.
Examples: roval CL vs. CLX. More broadly, the top tier wheelset (which mostly costs $2,400usd these days) is not $1,500 better than the next step down. Twice the price for -150g. Naw, m8.
Ultegra is the perfect example vs dura ace. Dura ace is like twice the price for a groupset.
800 level garmin vs 1000 level. The 1000 is huge, but software is usually identical. Those who ride in the rain would say 500 series without touchscreen is way less frustrating
Sworks frame vs. expert frame. (Works for most brands). Does it ride 3-5 THOUSAND dollars better? Nope. Can my 320w ftp cat 3 body tell the difference blind? Unlikely.
The list goes on.
I’ll never stop riding zipp 404 firecrest rim brake tubulars 😅😅
did a 150km gravel ride. fueling was 3 mars bars 3 cherry ripe 2 cans of mother energy drinks (500ml) + berocca distributed into a 1L bottle and 2 500ml bottles.
Tour of Southland started in 1956 and gained UCI status in 2002.
The winner's list is pretty much a who's who of NZ cycling and as such is the pinnacle event for any kiwi cyclist, hence why the racing is such a high level.
Head Unit = Garmin watch/Apple watch. I rarely miss the head unit
If you are selling second hand wheels especially carbon and risk from how ridden, people would expect at least 50% saving on them 😁
Froth froth froth froth frothy coffee!
Just mix equal parts instant coffee, granulated sugar and water. The mixture will go from liquidy to super thick and creamy. Then spoon the mixture over milk of choice, either iced or hot. And that's it - easy simple creamy frothy whipped coffee!
🙆🏻♂️One benefit of the next generation SRAM levers being released is that the price of the current generation should drop!!!
Chris love the show.
But bashing trainerroad without explaining why is not great. Kinda sounded like you don’t understand its features, its a lot different now than it was 2 years ago.
Also TR released a video today about new features, I’m not seeing why its so bad. But I’m biased, have made a lot of gain on TR and its still only $99 a year for me since price is grandfathered.
for the wheel debate don’t buy hookless for roadbikes
In light of the GCN article and your take on ‘marketing’ can you guys do a segment that sets out where brands sit on the spectrum and what they need to address to shift the needle. Specifically, I’ve heard plenty of comments from you both (& guests) which speaks to Giant bikes not being desirable. It seems to be an almost unspoken truth. What makes this the case and what would the brand need to do to alter this view?
Love my inexpensive Magene. Its got almost everything you need, PLUS.
The new Red should be out fairly quickly. They have already released an updated Force. So, my guess is that Red is basically finished.
Think it’s rumored for summer 2024
They are holding to sell out overproduction of older groupsets. Glut on the market.
For me, Strava is mostly a bragging platform from the social network aspect of it. Do I really care about that big ride you did or that you're so fast around a circle drafting other people/moped? Not in the slightest. I just care about what I did and these days don't even care too much about my performance. It's good every now and then to compare my own perceived exertion with my actual performance - that's it.
HYDRATION: Water. Lemon juice. Celtic Sea Salt. Maple Syrup.
FUEL: Maple Syrup with Celtic Sea Salt (bananas, cliff bars and coffee)
Maple syrup is super expensive in Australia, so doesn't make sense here.
Without TrainerRoad (or similar) - for those who do a lot of indoor training with ERG-mode, what other options are there?
Most trainer manufacturers have their own (usually free) traning platforms attached, e.g. Wattbike Hub, Elite myTraining etc. The training programmes themselves are pretty trash, but if you have a coach or a decent idea of the workouts you want to do, you can create them in the platform editor and off you go.
Trainer Day is a good low-cost alternative. You can use power-based workouts inside and out. But it's not adaptive.
Zwfit, Garmin. Maybe the Arab swift clone with a shitty name I can't remember, maybe they do structured training too in game?
Top as usual 👌
Fun show, as always, enjoyed it! Totally agree - DYI your nutrition, especially drink mixes. Found a Maurten recipe (I prefer the less sweet taste of malto) and make my own for USD $0.30 a bottle. More sustainable, too.
Comparing head unit to a phone highlights the vast difference in unit volume and marketing costs (especially distribution costs) for lower volume, niche products that still have to meet a reliability bar.
The fact I can get a calculator with more processing power for a 1/10th of the price
What's your recipe? Very curious
I agree with Chris. Strava could be greatly improved as a community website without diminishing it's personal workout recording and analysis functions.
It was entirely because of Jesse that I started running caster sugar in my drinks bottle for fuel, and although this is only an anecdotal data set of one person it was a game changer for me. That said I still use various flavoured hydration tablets, just to jazz it up a little bit rather than neat sugar.
Do you mind elaborating on how exactly you've incorporated using sugar alone? Are you simply mixing with water alone? Adding salt as well? I was intrigued by the segment and wished they had further elaborated, but didn't. Thank you in advance
I think the real value in trainerroad is AIFTP. I literally could not accept that my FTP was not increasing but now that my season is over and I look how little I improved over the season, I have come to accept that AIFTP was accurate all along.
I think that's spot on. AI FTP is unique to TR, and really works. Also, yes, you can go out and build an annual plan, but you have to work out the progression or load and difficulty.
The AIFTP definitely works but I think regularly doing FTP and even SST workouts can give you the same info without the $300 per month price tag (sorry Chris)🤣
Another great show thanks for the content!
When do they talk about Chris Froome? I can't find the section.
So about replacing gels with sugar from your cupboard, how exactly do you do that? I mean I get that you can mix sugar in your water bottle, but let’s say I don’t want to do that. I want pure water or water with electrolytes in them (no I don’t want salt, salt doesn’t taste good) and spraying your neck and head with sugar water… no. So how would you do it? I avoid gels if I can but I still think gels sometimes is the only liable option especially in the heat.
Reusable gel bottles, as well as trail flasks. You put your DIY gel in there
If you know how to build a training plan and interpret the data then yes, TrainerRoad and others like it don't add a lot of value apart from simplifying planning and execution. That's the main value...simplicity. Punch in your main events and let it build a plan.
But for those with very little experience or understanding of how to train and/or build a plan these platforms are often game changing if the plan is good and the rider commits to it. Very few riders train right without it.
Agreed! I used it to help learn how to build a plan and then unsubscribed. Never did one of their workouts outside but still regularly copy their workouts using Zwift -especially VO2, over/unders and anaerobic specific workouts.
Just followed you on Strava Jesse. Man, dunno how you do it. Just doing circle work at centennial park must be mind numbing 😂. Obviously working for you tho 👍
@Jesse - how do you know the people in Centenial Park are doing a TR workout and not a Garmin, coach made or self made workout?
Because we ask them
I insure my bike because it's how I get around town. If a dude breaks my locks and steals my bike, I want to deal with a company that specifically insures bikes rather than my renter's insurance.
Also, I make my own gatorade. Just did a bunch of math to calculate the ratios, but it's water, sugar, sea salt, and lite salt (which subs KCl for some of the NaCl)
There are head units that link up with your iphone & let you use cadence/power/speed/etc. while keeping the phone in your pocket.
I’m buying a new bike that comes with carbon wheels, but purchasing additional Chinese deep carbon wheels for races. Wheels!