Amazing performance by both, and fun to see a video about the real accessability of cycling - a beginner can start on something like that, wear it out and move on up the equipment ladder. Also must be a great bike for anybody who parks their bike where it can easily get stolen.
If you're trying to say that we should all be training like crazy and have good genetics to be as fast as Andrew even on a crap bike you're missing the point. People buy those expensive bikes to not have to, for free speed.
the horribly shaped handlebars seemed to work well for climbing, also the long-ish chainstays. anyways, it would be nice to see, how much would it cost to upgrade this bike step by step to something that is actually reliable. i would start with the brakes, and maybe a tourney brake-shift lever, then a proper handlebar. for climbing, i think you should invest in a 7speed megarange freewheel :) maybe do videos about the gains you get through different phases of the bike
It also enforces what I already know - if I want to take up amateur racing, I should ignore my first thought and absolutely not get a new bike just because I'm going to race. Whatever I do, there will always be an Andrew Feather showing me what's what. On a granny bike. From the 70's. With a puncture. On both tyres. Some might find this conclusion frustrating. For me, this is liberating.
@@BooklessT It looks like any patents on parts or engineering are long expired but how do they assemble a bike at this price point. Are any safety standards being skirted, other than brakes, perhaps in the factories. That could be expensive for all concerned.
Slow tyre's, slow bearings, difficult gear changes, heavy, non aero and he still beats Simon, who is no slouch, by 25 seconds on a top end bike! Crazy!
I think the biggest drawback Andrew has is the ridiculous geometry. He's about 6 inches forward of the saddle when he's climbing in order to reach the tops, which means he's having to push behind him on the pedals instead of straight down. New handlebars would be the first thing to change on that thing. Well, maybe after the brakes.
Those SPD-SLs on the £82,50 bike were probably more expensive than the entire bike itself. I want to see the ride on the flats/toe cages that came on it. 😅
Fun video, Si is a good sport for dueling the Feather Man. And can we see that bike upgraded with parts from the bins of friends? Cheap bike, cheap upgrades, it is a class all its own, the sleeper class. 😀
@@matt_acton-varian Brilliant call! And Si just needs to go knockin' on the door, sayin' I saw that vid, Alex, lol. And the most random request for a part came from my neighbor Juan about five years ago. He needed a rear wheel for his commuter, knocked on my door, and I was too happy to help. And he returned it a couple of years later, thanking me for letting him use it. 😀
I just love the way he looks like he's running, on foot, even when out of the saddle. Notice how his torso is so stationary, whilst his legs are spinning madly? Insane! It LOOKS so easy & graceful, but it must be so incredibly difficult to sustain
First time out on a relatively rural relatively main road for ages just a week ago: realised the noise behind me was a huge tractor like that towing a massive load. Big change from my younger days when tractors barely did 15 mph and I was in control of my pace in relation to theirs.
I ride a lot of the roads Andrew Feather does and it’s unbelievable how quickly he pulls away from you on any segment. He’s like a bolt of lightning up any climb. Chapeau 👍
Love those videos where you see a pro completely smoke a good amateur rider and shows that it's not the bike, it's the rider. Waiting for the next Andrew Feather vs someone video!
Feather is just such a good sport when you guys give him these challenges. Always nice to see him do on a cheap bike what many (including me) couldn’t even do on a super bike.
I visited your channel again just to express a thought I have lately: I have this kind of a constant desire... a need to make my life simpler and more minimalistic each day. One of the elements of it is to only use the fastest, lightest but also coolest looking bike which is also in this cheap price range. Basically I use two cheap Decathlon Riverside 500 bikes for commuting and long range rides on my day off or vacations, and I replaced the original useless 36T front chainring with a 44T one and a longer chain. Now this bike runs 10% faster and Im able to overrun any e-bike here in Netherlands and I also have enough of a torque to not have to pedal too fast especially because its flat here everywhere. I can be anywhere I like without a sweat and I can easily go over 30, 35 km an hour with it on flat asphalt without wind. And both of those bikes are I believe around 14 kilos, which is kinda okay-ish considering that local Dutch masochists are driving the unacceptably heavy bikes and e-bikes above 20 to almost 30 kilos or even more. Recently I bought another bike from Decathlon. A kind of a rece-ish entry level cheap bike. Its my first (well, second racing bike I bought, with drops, because just before that I ordered a bike very similar to yours, also a red one... a Cannondale R400, which is also 14 gears, race bike but only 8 Kg, aluminum. So I was hoping your bike was also in the 8 kilo range but turns out it is way heavier.. more like above 12 kilos which is completely unacceptable to me) Basically my obsession with thin, lightweight vintage bikes started when I met a young psychology student in a train to Germany who had one of those (also a red one) and I fell in love with that shape.. especially the thin design and perfectly flat horizontal dorsal beam (or whatever is the name of it)... That element just makes the whole bike look sporty and serious for me. So recently I was on a lookout for sites where I can get cheap vintage lightweight bikes like that which are in this price range, but nearly all of them had those vintage levers as shifters, and, even though Ive got used to it, its still not practical for changing gears while standing or climbing, when i need both of m hands on the bars, without loosing my speed or balance. So I found there is an option of converting those vintage bikes with a modern group set, but also I found a site where I can find vintage bikes with a modern group set, although the bikes there are more in the 400 to 700€ range but I think its worth it, just for their weight, speed and looks. But to be honest, I think I have this obsession with finding the lighter and faster bike every time I get used to a lighter and faster one, it just becomes not enough for me over time and I need something even lighter, faster and cheaper preferably, but without carbon elements. Because Ive heard lots of horror stories about carbon being way too sensitive to stress and some Chinese ones have elements like forks being so unevenly filled and so hollow and soft and even pressable and bendable with a simple touch so much its a horror to think about riding it. So Id really want something light bellow 8 kilos or less, with a modern group set, flat horizontal dorsal beam, and not made out of carbon and a front chain ring with at least 50T or bigger. So far my only racebikes I own are Cannondale R400 (8kg) and Decathlon TRIBAN RC120 (around 10 or 11 kg) .. although I really wanted RC520 because its lighter, like 9.4 Kg but they didnt have it in my size M) .
My favourite local climb in Wales, who has the KOM Mmmmm mr feather, totally awesome. Set the bar high & show what can be done with hard work and dedication.
Andrew is amazing, would love to see GCN give him a small budget to improve the cheap bike and see how much time he can take out of Si 🙂 Great video as always!
Let's see Andrew vs the team do an everesting challenge. Andrew has to climb everest all by himself, versus three presenters (I nominate Alex, Hank & Olly) who will collaboratively climb Everest! But.. they can only switch who is riding every 30 minutes.
I brought one for fun , as I have loads of spares . After a 100 yd ride I put tiagra levers on , alloy bars and binned those shifts . Rides ok now , but brake only a little better, may change the pads next . I do like the massive tyre clearance the frame has .
There’s that annual event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where you climb something like 12 hills. Note that Pittsburgh is in the mountains to begin with…
Pls, followed AF on his this year's journey to the Hill Climb Champions. I am interested in both physical and psychological aspects of his training, esp. his long term motivation, joy, satisfaction, managing burn-out, family and friends support, and any changes he observed over time. I would like to see his typical interval workout and his current race pace, power and other metrics now and right after the championship. I would love to see AF test some current midrange bikes up to £2000 with Shimano 105. AF on a TT bike doing some short 5k-8k effort on flat vs his current best climbing bike.
Always great to see Andrew! Can we do some hill climbing tips and training videos with Andrew. He is more relatable (although that is debatable) as he is not an ex-pro/cyclocross/Hank cyclist. He will give us some real world normal human relevant training advice.
Just wonder how much faster would Pogacar do that Mont Ventoux KOM, if it was his only ride that day (not including warm up) and not an 11th stage of TdF.
@@holdencaulfied7492 I'm not trying, I would mention him if I'd want to do that. I'm just curious what would be the difference between fresh Pogacar vs TdF Pogacar.
What were the weights of the two bikes? Think on a climb that is a large factor. And as was pointed out the ergonomics like not being able to change gears standing! (Tires too, think may have been more drag with cheaper bike...) But what IS amazing is how magical all bikes are...great work guys...!
Interesting to see how out of breath Si was at the end, I thought he was going to collapse a lung 😮 As for Andrew riding the Citroen Ami of bikes, what a legend 👍
For the next ride, i’d love to AF tackle Alpe D’Huez and Pogacar’s time after completing nearly 3 weeks of racing and the majority of a Tour de France stage running into Borg D’oisson prior to setting a Strava KOM.
I am still trying to decide if I'm surprised or not... I guess the one thing that can be attested to is that the cranks could withstand Feather's power and his legs could make do with the lack of gear range ! Great value bike
More proof that the bike industry is mostly about marketing. They sell you a high end bike that saves xx watts here and there, stiffer, makes you faster, blah, blah, blah. 99.9% of us don’t need a super high end bike, it’s not going to make a difference on your weekend group ride. If you are an elite racer then go for it, if not, I don’t think you should go above a middle of the road setup. If you are fast, you will be fast on any bike and the same if you are slow.
He was a minute slower compared to his normal bike. Which on a climb that took about five and a half minutes is a huge amount of time. Multiply that over a 50km or 100km ride and that's a significant amount of extra time on the road. He had to swap out the pedals for something that presumably cost more than the bike. Plus, they didn't make him ride down with those brakes. A better bike is going to make a difference for any rider, whatever their ability. Anyone should be able to get whatever bike they want.
Andrew is great, but that bike is seriously impressive for the money. Just a few cheap mods would make it safer (brakes, shifters and bars) and it would make a great commuter or first road bike. It can obviously absorb some serious power!
I'm fixing up a similar quality bike to be my first road cycling attempt, and at first I was happy to see the cheap bike win, but then he exclaimed "that was horrible!" and being a full minute off his record time on a proper bike was a bit demoralizing. Still going to ride this bike but I think it will be a proof of concept machine before I have to move on to a entry-level proper road cycle.
I’d like to see Feather take the lesson from Connor’s video with the small front wheel - fit a 20 inch front wheel to his bike and see if he climbs faster up a steep hill
Go the XTR. I actually want one now it's so famous. So can you upgrade the xtr with second hand components to iron out some of the flaws and compare it to something more realistic like a Bianchi Nirone or something similar you can buy second hand for under £300. That would interest me more, comparing it to something us mere mortals can afford.
Cyclist are ace for 2 reasons 1 they'll be the most softly spoken little tiny waifs and are able to unleash absolute hell on the pedals and endure pain that would make most people cry 2 we'll turn ourselves inside out on a climb, heart is ready for bursting, exclaim "that was horrible" and love every second of it! 😂
I'm not cycling expert. But I have been an avid cyclist for awhile and if anyone around me brings up they want to get a road bike. I always say look for a used bike and send me the information or I'll keep an eye out for something that falls into their budget. You can get ultra nice bikes pre 2011 and even great deals on 2015s. No reason to get a loan for a 5k mid level bike that will be ridden maybe 500-1000 miles a year
So this test is mainly about how a stiffer bike yeilds more power traansfer. A min slower is a lot. Would love to know the attributes of a stiffer bike and whether that is achievable on a 500 usd biie if not necessarily 80 usd
It's always the rider, not the bike. That said, it's great to ride a high-end bike because the stiffness makes them 'feel' way faster, even if in reality there's not much difference. If I compare my winter runaround Halfords Zelos to my Ridley Noah I can go about 30-40 seconds quicker on my regular lunchtime 30km loop, maybe 1% faster? I know which puts the bigger smile on my face though.
@GCN Are you as curious as I am to see how good you can make that sub £90 on a budget by throwing a few inexpensive parts at it? (Like a cheap Chinese drivetrain, such as Sensah Empire pro, upgrade the brake calipers, add a basic shallow carbon wheelset wrapped in the thickest race tire that can fit the frame, better handlebars, perhaps a nicer saddle...) I have a feeling it has the potential to become a more fun bike than what you could buy off the shelf for the money spent on the whole project.
What do you think about Andrew’s performance? 🧐
Amazing performance by both, and fun to see a video about the real accessability of cycling - a beginner can start on something like that, wear it out and move on up the equipment ladder. Also must be a great bike for anybody who parks their bike where it can easily get stolen.
If you're trying to say that we should all be training like crazy and have good genetics to be as fast as Andrew even on a crap bike you're missing the point. People buy those expensive bikes to not have to, for free speed.
Immaculate
the horribly shaped handlebars seemed to work well for climbing, also the long-ish chainstays.
anyways, it would be nice to see, how much would it cost to upgrade this bike step by step to something that is actually reliable. i would start with the brakes, and maybe a tourney brake-shift lever, then a proper handlebar. for climbing, i think you should invest in a 7speed megarange freewheel :)
maybe do videos about the gains you get through different phases of the bike
Feather is looking sharp!
This goes to show that you don't need to have top end bikes to be fast, you just have to be Andrew Feather 😆
I'm not sure there is an easy option
That seamed like an extremely generous 30 second count.
I think he said he was about a minute off his time on his normal bike, some of which was about confidence...
I think it also shows that you only need jam on toast for fuelling. :-D
It also enforces what I already know - if I want to take up amateur racing, I should ignore my first thought and absolutely not get a new bike just because I'm going to race. Whatever I do, there will always be an Andrew Feather showing me what's what. On a granny bike. From the 70's. With a puncture. On both tyres.
Some might find this conclusion frustrating. For me, this is liberating.
Considering the amount of times the £82.50 bike has featured in recent GCN clips, it has to be the best value for money ever!
Ironically they're advertising a pair of shorts and a shirt for over £300.
And that bike can still be used like the first day.
And who says we’re done already?
Got to get the vids done quickly before it goes the way of the Eurobike, can't believe someone would steal that
@@BooklessT It looks like any patents on parts or engineering are long expired but how do they assemble a bike at this price point. Are any safety standards being skirted, other than brakes, perhaps in the factories. That could be expensive for all concerned.
Following Feather for his build up to the national hill climb champs is something I'd definitely get behind!
This would be amazing, great shout
Feather is back in action. Pure epicness!
I love that you stopped the music for the third "Blagdon" at 2:02.. so funny
Slow tyre's, slow bearings, difficult gear changes, heavy, non aero and he still beats Simon, who is no slouch, by 25 seconds on a top end bike! Crazy!
It's almost like the fitness beats the gear!
@@RoadtoA Haha! Happens all the time in my world. I get a new bike, new wheels and my results stay exactly the same :(
I think the biggest drawback Andrew has is the ridiculous geometry. He's about 6 inches forward of the saddle when he's climbing in order to reach the tops, which means he's having to push behind him on the pedals instead of straight down. New handlebars would be the first thing to change on that thing. Well, maybe after the brakes.
5:19 That's like The Terminator chasing you.
Those SPD-SLs on the £82,50 bike were probably more expensive than the entire bike itself. I want to see the ride on the flats/toe cages that came on it. 😅
It's always good to see Andrew and Si doing a video. How about a review of his latest climbing bike?
Fun video, Si is a good sport for dueling the Feather Man. And can we see that bike upgraded with parts from the bins of friends? Cheap bike, cheap upgrades, it is a class all its own, the sleeper class. 😀
Alex has a complete retro Dura-Ace groupset and wheels lying around from his retro-mod build... 🤔
@@matt_acton-varian Brilliant call! And Si just needs to go knockin' on the door, sayin' I saw that vid, Alex, lol. And the most random request for a part came from my neighbor Juan about five years ago. He needed a rear wheel for his commuter, knocked on my door, and I was too happy to help. And he returned it a couple of years later, thanking me for letting him use it. 😀
Si’s videos are always so much fun and he comes across as such a great guy. GCN need to make sure he’s on a very long contract.
I just love the way he looks like he's running, on foot, even when out of the saddle. Notice how his torso is so stationary, whilst his legs are spinning madly? Insane! It LOOKS so easy & graceful, but it must be so incredibly difficult to sustain
Mt Fuji Hill Climb in Japan. Early June every year. Japan is a great place to shoot cycling videos. Lots of great places to ride.
Wanna see him climb the Yabitsu Climb :)
All the way to the top! That's a gravel-race to be had...
Welcome back, Mr. Andrew Feather! Always a joy to watch!
Biker >>>> any bike on the planet
Not even watched this yet, but so lovely to see Andrew Feather back, it's been ages!
Thanks Si , Mr Feather....and crew !
Andrew seems like a great chap wouldn't mind seeing him more often, if he likes to of course
First time out on a relatively rural relatively main road for ages just a week ago: realised the noise behind me was a huge tractor like that towing a massive load. Big change from my younger days when tractors barely did 15 mph and I was in control of my pace in relation to theirs.
Holy heck.... AF is so fast.
So fast AF = fast as Feather?
Vintage Road Bike, DownTube Shifters, Rim Brakes For the win 🤙🤙
Tyre width?
@@gcn any number that starts with a 1 😂
@@hananas2 1.25 inches-ah, you didn’t expect that!
Beasts, great ride from both of you!
I ride a lot of the roads Andrew Feather does and it’s unbelievable how quickly he pulls away from you on any segment. He’s like a bolt of lightning up any climb. Chapeau 👍
Id love to see Andrew take on some xc climbs!!! Raw power vs skill type thing. X
Rumour has it Andrew Feather owned GCN so much that it’s now his channel 😄
Love those videos where you see a pro completely smoke a good amateur rider and shows that it's not the bike, it's the rider. Waiting for the next Andrew Feather vs someone video!
Loved this video! Had such great "American Flyers" camera work vibes!
Feather is just such a good sport when you guys give him these challenges. Always nice to see him do on a cheap bike what many (including me) couldn’t even do on a super bike.
That Man is a beast Thank you both Andrew & Simon wow.
That was so impressive to watch, Andrew is a beast
Andrew the climbing master. 👌👌
I visited your channel again just to express a thought I have lately:
I have this kind of a constant desire... a need to make my life simpler and more minimalistic each day.
One of the elements of it is to only use the fastest, lightest but also coolest looking bike which is also in this cheap price range.
Basically I use two cheap Decathlon Riverside 500 bikes for commuting and long range rides on my day off or vacations, and I replaced the original useless 36T front chainring with a 44T one and a longer chain. Now this bike runs 10% faster and Im able to overrun any e-bike here in Netherlands and I also have enough of a torque to not have to pedal too fast especially because its flat here everywhere. I can be anywhere I like without a sweat and I can easily go over 30, 35 km an hour with it on flat asphalt without wind. And both of those bikes are I believe around 14 kilos, which is kinda okay-ish considering that local Dutch masochists are driving the unacceptably heavy bikes and e-bikes above 20 to almost 30 kilos or even more.
Recently I bought another bike from Decathlon. A kind of a rece-ish entry level cheap bike. Its my first (well, second racing bike I bought, with drops, because just before that I ordered a bike very similar to yours, also a red one... a Cannondale R400, which is also 14 gears, race bike but only 8 Kg, aluminum. So I was hoping your bike was also in the 8 kilo range but turns out it is way heavier.. more like above 12 kilos which is completely unacceptable to me)
Basically my obsession with thin, lightweight vintage bikes started when I met a young psychology student in a train to Germany who had one of those (also a red one) and I fell in love with that shape.. especially the thin design and perfectly flat horizontal dorsal beam (or whatever is the name of it)... That element just makes the whole bike look sporty and serious for me.
So recently I was on a lookout for sites where I can get cheap vintage lightweight bikes like that which are in this price range, but nearly all of them had those vintage levers as shifters, and, even though Ive got used to it, its still not practical for changing gears while standing or climbing, when i need both of m hands on the bars, without loosing my speed or balance.
So I found there is an option of converting those vintage bikes with a modern group set, but also I found a site where I can find vintage bikes with a modern group set, although the bikes there are more in the 400 to 700€ range but I think its worth it, just for their weight, speed and looks.
But to be honest, I think I have this obsession with finding the lighter and faster bike every time I get used to a lighter and faster one, it just becomes not enough for me over time and I need something even lighter, faster and cheaper preferably, but without carbon elements. Because Ive heard lots of horror stories about carbon being way too sensitive to stress and some Chinese ones have elements like forks being so unevenly filled and so hollow and soft and even pressable and bendable with a simple touch so much its a horror to think about riding it.
So Id really want something light bellow 8 kilos or less, with a modern group set, flat horizontal dorsal beam, and not made out of carbon and a front chain ring with at least 50T or bigger.
So far my only racebikes I own are Cannondale R400 (8kg) and Decathlon TRIBAN RC120 (around 10 or 11 kg) .. although I really wanted RC520 because its lighter, like 9.4 Kg but they didnt have it in my size M) .
My favourite local climb in Wales, who has the KOM Mmmmm mr feather, totally awesome. Set the bar high & show what can be done with hard work and dedication.
Andrew is amazing, would love to see GCN give him a small budget to improve the cheap bike and see how much time he can take out of Si 🙂 Great video as always!
Love these videos that show you can still be fast even without top of the line equipment. Inspired!
Let's see Andrew vs the team do an everesting challenge.
Andrew has to climb everest all by himself, versus three presenters (I nominate Alex, Hank & Olly) who will collaboratively climb Everest! But.. they can only switch who is riding every 30 minutes.
Still not fixed the brakes, come on GCN you can do it.
But Hank doesn’t use it yet; after that, we will fix the brakes
@@gcn Can Hank teach us turning skid-stops with it? I used to be able to turn-stop-spray on skis, but never been brave enough to do it on a bike yet!
I brought one for fun , as I have loads of spares . After a 100 yd ride I put tiagra levers on , alloy bars and binned those shifts .
Rides ok now , but brake only a little better, may change the pads next . I do like the massive tyre clearance the frame has .
Find a climb Andrew hasn't done before and see if he can get the KOM on the £82.50 bike! 😄
It would take us a while to find one he doesn’t know.
There’s that annual event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where you climb something like 12 hills. Note that Pittsburgh is in the mountains to begin with…
This one: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Dozen_(bicycle_competition)
@@gcn Got to be some in Wales somewhere?
@@gcn Create new segment. Really not that hard
That overlay with the power awesome keep it going !
Pls, followed AF on his this year's journey to the Hill Climb Champions. I am interested in both physical and psychological aspects of his training, esp. his long term motivation, joy, satisfaction, managing burn-out, family and friends support, and any changes he observed over time. I would like to see his typical interval workout and his current race pace, power and other metrics now and right after the championship.
I would love to see AF test some current midrange bikes up to £2000 with Shimano 105.
AF on a TT bike doing some short 5k-8k effort on flat vs his current best climbing bike.
This was very interesting to watch.
Of course GCN uses Wahoo. Garmin is the most non user friendly interface since the control screen of the Buick Riatta.
I’ve missed Andrew! Good to see him back on the channel. Great challenge
Always great to see a great climber in action
Just give the man any bike, it clearly doesn't hinder him much so long as it's got two wheels.
You said it, next up is a video of Si vs AF in a unicycle race
@@gcn My money's on The Mighty Twig.
Always great to see Andrew! Can we do some hill climbing tips and training videos with Andrew. He is more relatable (although that is debatable) as he is not an ex-pro/cyclocross/Hank cyclist. He will give us some real world normal human relevant training advice.
That was a great battle. Thanks again Feather!
Yesss more andrew
What should we do next time with him?
@@gcn Let him join the Taiwan KOM. That will be awesome!
@@yonexkidOut of the saddle for 3 straight hours? 😮
Just wonder how much faster would Pogacar do that Mont Ventoux KOM, if it was his only ride that day (not including warm up) and not an 11th stage of TdF.
Why are you trying to detract from Feather's achievement up Ventoux?
@@holdencaulfied7492 I'm not trying, I would mention him if I'd want to do that. I'm just curious what would be the difference between fresh Pogacar vs TdF Pogacar.
@holdencaulfied7492 It's just not really fair to compare him to Pogacar given the circumstances.
I'm a fan of Pogi - but if it was only Mount Ventoux - then it would probably not be him the KOM.
Love it. Fun to watch with great shots and montage, keep it up.
Thank you for the comment
Great comparison and this proves that it all depends upon the rider how strong he is. You can do an ebike vs a geared bike comparison next.
Andrew Feather is back!!!
Nice to see feather again.
What were the weights of the two bikes?
Think on a climb that is a large factor. And as was pointed out the ergonomics like not being able to change gears standing! (Tires too, think may have been more drag with cheaper bike...) But what IS amazing is how magical all bikes are...great work guys...!
the KOM hunter series is fun. maybe more of those!
Thanks for your comment. We’ll do what we can 📝
Interesting to see how out of breath Si was at the end, I thought he was going to collapse a lung 😮 As for Andrew riding the Citroen Ami of bikes, what a legend 👍
Andrew has the best personality
Feathers the man! That dude could get up any hill quicker than most in a shopping trolley!
Woohoo, Blagdon, previously only known for its contribution to gourmet yoghurt is now officially a global cycling destination! Love it GCN!
i like you are showing the live feed of the garmin, do it more
A series where Feather does all the world's steepest hills, then talks about them, that content would never be topped
For the next ride, i’d love to AF tackle Alpe D’Huez and Pogacar’s time after completing nearly 3 weeks of racing and the majority of a Tour de France stage running into Borg D’oisson prior to setting a Strava KOM.
I am still trying to decide if I'm surprised or not...
I guess the one thing that can be attested to is that the cranks could withstand Feather's power and his legs could make do with the lack of gear range ! Great value bike
It’s impressive how well the cranks held up. Feather's power definitely put them to the test!
Proof, if any were needed, that cycling can be fun on any budget.
Andrew seems like a great chap. Get him on the payroll!
More proof that the bike industry is mostly about marketing. They sell you a high end bike that saves xx watts here and there, stiffer, makes you faster, blah, blah, blah.
99.9% of us don’t need a super high end bike, it’s not going to make a difference on your weekend group ride. If you are an elite racer then go for it, if not, I don’t think you should go above a middle of the road setup.
If you are fast, you will be fast on any bike and the same if you are slow.
He was a minute slower compared to his normal bike. Which on a climb that took about five and a half minutes is a huge amount of time. Multiply that over a 50km or 100km ride and that's a significant amount of extra time on the road. He had to swap out the pedals for something that presumably cost more than the bike. Plus, they didn't make him ride down with those brakes.
A better bike is going to make a difference for any rider, whatever their ability. Anyone should be able to get whatever bike they want.
Any video with Feather is a good video!
Chapeau Mr Feather!
Such a pity that Andrew didn't put that bell to use: watch Si, here I come!
Very nice background music!
Fair play to that bike. Not too bad for a beater.
Great show!! Dont have to ride a 100 thousand dollar bike to be fast. As always fun to watch.
Well done both. I think I would do that in maybe 10 minutes haha
Glad Andrew's back. I thought you guys were done with him.
Andrew is great, but that bike is seriously impressive for the money. Just a few cheap mods would make it safer (brakes, shifters and bars) and it would make a great commuter or first road bike. It can obviously absorb some serious power!
Blagdon - perfect place for Andrew Feather to blag another KOM, or Si's lead at least.
Si was gasping for air. Sounded like he was going to pass out. 🙈
Great video. When are you guys, going to learn, don't mess with "Feather" ???KB
I'm fixing up a similar quality bike to be my first road cycling attempt, and at first I was happy to see the cheap bike win, but then he exclaimed "that was horrible!" and being a full minute off his record time on a proper bike was a bit demoralizing. Still going to ride this bike but I think it will be a proof of concept machine before I have to move on to a entry-level proper road cycle.
I’d like to see Feather take the lesson from Connor’s video with the small front wheel - fit a 20 inch front wheel to his bike and see if he climbs faster up a steep hill
GCN should use the Cross XTR as a platform for an inexpensive and/or used component upgrade series.
"It's not the tool, it's the person using it" - Unknown
How true the fortune cookie's message was
Mr Feather seems a nice chap 😊
His climbing speed is only surpassed by his charisma
Andrew is a good sport!
Now we just need Mark Beaumont to make another appearance.
It would be interesting to see how Feather would do going up a major col on a recumbent
Go the XTR. I actually want one now it's so famous. So can you upgrade the xtr with second hand components to iron out some of the flaws and compare it to something more realistic like a Bianchi Nirone or something similar you can buy second hand for under £300. That would interest me more, comparing it to something us mere mortals can afford.
At the end of the day, as we all know, the legs are the main equipment
Cyclist are ace for 2 reasons
1 they'll be the most softly spoken little tiny waifs and are able to unleash absolute hell on the pedals and endure pain that would make most people cry
2 we'll turn ourselves inside out on a climb, heart is ready for bursting, exclaim "that was horrible" and love every second of it! 😂
I'm not cycling expert. But I have been an avid cyclist for awhile and if anyone around me brings up they want to get a road bike. I always say look for a used bike and send me the information or I'll keep an eye out for something that falls into their budget. You can get ultra nice bikes pre 2011 and even great deals on 2015s. No reason to get a loan for a 5k mid level bike that will be ridden maybe 500-1000 miles a year
Should've done it with the original pedals and trainers 😂
So this test is mainly about how a stiffer bike yeilds more power traansfer. A min slower is a lot. Would love to know the attributes of a stiffer bike and whether that is achievable on a 500 usd biie if not necessarily 80 usd
It's always the rider, not the bike. That said, it's great to ride a high-end bike because the stiffness makes them 'feel' way faster, even if in reality there's not much difference. If I compare my winter runaround Halfords Zelos to my Ridley Noah I can go about 30-40 seconds quicker on my regular lunchtime 30km loop, maybe 1% faster? I know which puts the bigger smile on my face though.
Cool as as feather!
Feather is a beast
Its cool to learn that its the rider, not the bike . . . but the bike still kinda matters. :)
@GCN Are you as curious as I am to see how good you can make that sub £90 on a budget by throwing a few inexpensive parts at it? (Like a cheap Chinese drivetrain, such as Sensah Empire pro, upgrade the brake calipers, add a basic shallow carbon wheelset wrapped in the thickest race tire that can fit the frame, better handlebars, perhaps a nicer saddle...)
I have a feeling it has the potential to become a more fun bike than what you could buy off the shelf for the money spent on the whole project.
Andrew is amazing
Race downhill next ... air-cushion at the bottom to catch Feather
Yes, great comment