Thank you Frances for calling out the stigmatism in the US about riding a bike. I really don't get it. I live in a small town, changed jobs and my new commute was 1.5 miles. I literally would get texts or comments from people asking "Are you poor?" "Is fuel too expensive?" "How broke are you?" Just ridiculous. Even some people that I ride in a morning group ride gave me a hard time for riding to work? WTH? So I can sit in a car, waste money, save 1 minute and maybe get road rage, or, save money and literally have a smile the whole way home? This country (USA) is so lobbied towards cars, they made seem "weird" to get around any other way....even walking.
When I sold my old car to buy an e-bike, I was basically called crazy by my colleagues in grad school. They were surprised I even took the subway. I lived further away from the school than some of them. I'm not paying $9 a day to park when biking is free and the subway is $2.40 each way.
USA psychology is broken, whole USA is car-centric mess, i´d never been to USA but I´ve seen a bunch of documentaries about that issue - car-centric psychology. I recommend to watch @NotJustBikes channel here on YT! He explained it so well in his videos. (excuse my mistakes in text)
Lmao, I’m lucky enough as you are to ride 3 miles to work, My coworkers still look at me weirdly when they see a fat guy riding down the road to work, All I tell them is that I’m doing it to lose weight, but they look at me crazy for doing it. 🤣🤣
Re: Strava mules. I’ve decided to be a Cafe mule. For a fee and expenses, I’ll ride your very expensive road bike to a nearby cafe and gorge myself on cakes while regaling patrons with stories of my riding prowess. My rates are £10 to show up, £20 for cakes, £10 for coffee, and £2 for each unscripted stretch. I’ll wash your bike after the ride with a crusty mitten and leave it unsecured so you can pick it up on your own time.
Meh. Im considering a horse drawn strava chariot. It will get more attention than a human with t-trex arms wearing spandex. Oh and win the segment until someone gets a faster horse.
I've been stuck at home all week by my lonesome with Covid. I've spent much of it doing DIY jobs with your videos running in the background and just wanted to say you have been excellent friend simulators. So, thank you
I'm a teacher and my institution recommended the font Luciole for accessibility. I think it looks less goofy than Comic Sans and I find it easier to read, especially at a glance. It's free and designed by experts.
Fair. I had a Voodoo MTB, perfectly sound and great value. And to be fair, the lad who sold it knew his stuff...and probably works for a real bike shop now 😆
Regarding the sportive issues (open road vs closed): in the U.S., it's common for the roads to still be open (cyclists must stay on the proper side of the road at all times), but local law enforcement is hired to be posted at road intersections so that motor vehicle traffic is only stopped at the crossings when cyclists are actually crossing the intersection. This allows the race or event to happen with minimal disruption to local traffic.
Speaking to a local lad that recently started working at Halfords, I asked him what he did there, he replied "I'm a bike mechanic!" I said that's great really pleased for you... he then, in his proud voice said "I've had the two days training required, first day on the computer, second day on the workshop"...
COST OF PREMIUM CYCLE Components - even though I have never been interested in motorbikes, I still enjoy watching the Motorbike Show with Henry Cole. What really stands out is the cost of the motorbikes, even from low volume manufacturers, that make the cost of Dura Ace DI2 look extortionate.
Talking carrying bikes... I've had a Seasucker Talon for a few years after seeing Phil Gaimon using one. I've driven north-east UK to the French Alps with a road bike on top and had no issues. Mounts to the roof/sunroof in a few minutes. Much easier than faffing about with roof bars and bike carriers which I'd done for over a decade previously. Only niggles are 1) you still need somewhere to put your front wheel, although you can get another sucker to fix it outside and 2) the fear at the start of the journey that every squeak or rattle is a suction cup about to release your bike to the road. Other minor benefit is that you can carry them fairly easily in luggage or a bike box for use after flying with a bike. Saves on taxi/bus/enormous hire car.
At my local Halfords the bike mechanic is amazing. If he worked in any other bike shop people would luv him . I would rather he fixed my bike then any other bike shop.
Completely agree with you both on winter shoes. I, like Jimmy, suffer from really cold feet and dedicated winter shoes are the only way I can do a cold ride and not get numb toes. Love mine and would recommend to anyone.
Thanks for taking up my rocker plate topic. Just for context, I only ride my trainer for hours doing Z2 training rides in the winter when I can't get outside. The while Francis is right, and the mechanics are backwards, the real benefit I get is from the constant adjustment in the saddle. My backside is much better able to handle the saddle time when on the rocker.
I have both a KUAT hitch mounted bike rack as well as multiple SeaSucker brand bike carriers. SeaSuckers work well if you are diligent and careful about how you mount them and check them regularly when you stop for fuel. Their primary downside is that there is no way to lock the bikes on a SeaSucker if you have to run into a store or have to spend time away from the vehicle. Not only can the bikes be stolen easily, the SeaSuckers literally pop right off as well and can be stolen in seconds. If security is an issue, a hitch mounted rack is the only external carrier option as most come with some type of cable lock. Also, in the US at least, if the bikes are locked on the rack and are still stolen, your auto insurance should cover the theft. That said, the SeaSuckers are incredibly easy to install and remove and that makes them very convenient compared to a hitch mounted rack that is generally very heavy and a chore to put on/take off a vehicle.
The longest Unbound distance is 320 *miles* . Finishing times are ca. 27 hours and it involves riding through the night with lights on gravel roads. It’s supposed to be an “unsupported” event without pit crews. It’s not for me, but chapeaux to those who attempt.
I reccomend people go to zambinis videos and just write shame in the comments. He deserves the game of thrones treatment. He's a toddler with a mic and his products will never find wide spread use with his attitude. Im surprized any company is willing to deal with him. Its too easy for somone nice to come along with better business sense and undercut him. Bottom brackets arent rocket science, despite what zambini might allude to. Buying a zambini bottom bracket is basically buying expensive merch.
The solution to rocker plates moving the wrong direction under your trainer is to get bike rollers. They let the bike move exactly the right way and feel like being outside. Some issues with acceleration off them during exercises with peaky power and its really hard to stand up, so everything is a compromise.
Re: Helmet ratings Another resource to check out is Virginia Tech who has a whole catalogue of helmets they've tested. Aside from Road and MTB helmets, they do helmet ratings for other sports.
Ooooh, neck gaiters... underrated... stop draughts in winter on my neck and sunburn on the back of my neck in summer! Also doubles as a handy noise reduction stopping wind noise.
40 years of training and racing (in New England, US), one year of wearing navigators - one of the warmest, comfiest and healthiest years of my life. 100% approve!
I have been using a KOM PPV2 rocker plate for the last 3 years. It moves forward and backwards as well as leans side to side and I love it. I spend a lot of time indoor training as our road season is so short and the rocker plate makes very long rides bearable and even enjoyable.
Virginia Tech in the states has a lab that does testing on helmets. They cover cycling as well as other protective helmets as well. It is interesting how some of the value priced helmets actually perform better than their much more or exponentially priced options.
On the importance of bikes for transport poverty, think of this, bicycles made the biggest difference to emancipation of any technology. Bicycles are so powerful for transforming what you can do in your life, and what level of personal freedom you can exercise.
Great show, huge fan of your content. Just got a pair of 45N winter clipless boots for $120US. Hitch mount vertical racks are the way to go. I'm actually designed one a few years ago, have a working prototype, and am working on making it a reality. The main feature is one handed installation and lock! I'm still using a 35yo Yakima 3-bike tire hanger design, but it only holds two bikes if I put my fatty on it.
Speaking of weird ways of finding health issues: I fell while hiking a local mountain peak. I broke my collarbone and several ribs. The doctors, out of an abundance of caution did sux CT scans from the top of my head to midway down my thighs looking for internal bleeding and possible brain injury. They fiund none, but they did find blockage of my heart arteries. They decided there wasn't enough blockage, but I'm on the "watch" list.
Rocker plates or other compliance solutions make an amazing difference for long term comfort on trainers in my experience. I 3d printed some feet into which you can place tennis balls for my (entry level) trainer and it added just enough movement to the bike to make it so my butt isn't killing me after just one hour.
Thankfully most of cycling sportive events are still free. Here in LTU. There are some paid ones (mostly hiking ones), but they do organise feeding station, transportation if you fail, check and sometimes maintain routes (even though they are public)
Actually, Garmond is the font in books. Recently book printers have planned to switch to Sustainable-Serif, which is Garmond with higher X-height and thinner letters.
Helvetica is an old classy font that evokes 1930s. Long predates DTP and screens but was great in linotype screen-printing. It looked really bad on earlier lower res dot matrix and laser printers, and screens. Arial was a TrueType equivalent that was OK for low res screens and printers but was very dull. Times New Roman was the serif font that got everywhere and looked terrible - it's intended for narrow newspaper columns, not a full line of A4 at 12 point. For a decade or two, designers came up with fonts that worked well at 300 dpi and a PostScript font with 'C' became almost ubiquitous (can't remember the name) but, once printers and screens got better, those fonts looked bad. Tahoma & Verdana were a huge improvement. Calibri is probably the closest equivalent to Helvetica for screen and printing due to high res screens and printers.
There is a font called OpenDyslexic that is available on some apps like Libby, an e-reader. There is an iOS app for use in Safari, and there is a Chrome extension too. The Wikipedia entry for OpenDyslexic says it’s an option on Instapaper and Kindle Paperwhite. I’m not even dyslexic but I can read much faster using that font.
Winter shoes sooooo underrated. I tried the warmest overshoes I could find by Endura and even aluminium insoles, but in the end the cold always creaps in from the bottom. Since I got my winter shoes I can ride up to 3 hours even in temperatures below 0°. Usingthe Celcius Arctic GTX by Northwave and fully recommend.
One reason I think sportive’s can be “worth it” is that it can be fun to do for a short holiday. If I’m traveling somewhere that I want to cycle but am uncomfortable doing my own route, then a Sportive is a great way to enjoy a new location with less stress.
I got a cooling neck gaiter/buff this summer and it's one of my best purchases of the year. Just wet it down and the front cools from the wind, spin half way and it's cold on the back of my neck while the front cools again. I also have a balaclava, which works as a neck warmer but definitely overrated, I think I wore it once and only wished I had it once when it was about 20 degrees F and windy.
I've been swapping messages with a friend. High paid professional. He bought an Orbea 7-speed urban bike on my recommendation a few years ago (and paid £100 less than I did just a few weeks before as prices dropped!). Now asking advice about a second-hand road bike. I have two he could have but I'm recommending he takes a double jump above entry level road bike and goes modern. I'm suggesting he has a proper fit (the older you are the more you need a fit and consider shorter cranks) and goes new to get wider rims, wider tyres, mudguards option, rack option - safer and more comfortable on our dodgy road surfaces. Even my 2018 Roubaix is out of date in relation to what this 69-year old thinks are the very good developments in bike design and build. Classic case of Decathlon's thinking where they see such folk starting at their sub-1k level and wanting to take their riding further in groups or fit teenagers
In Germany, people walk a lot just for fun. 3-4 miles by feet is a regular recreational walk e.g. after a proper meal. Public transport is supported at the moment by government. It costs 49 € / month and every normal transport is included nation wide. We also have bike leasing offererd by a many companies to get a superb bike for up to 11k or so. Some companies supports this also with additional goodies like insurance and service flatrates.
I find it hilarious that Jimmy seemed utterly clueless as to why Emily was laughing when he said "I'd like to sign a lifetime contract with someone". I'm not sure if they're married, but from the look on her face and the way she reacted, it looked like she was thinking "yeah, sign a lifetime contract with me ya git!" Are they already married? On the subject of sportives, there is one near me that is held twice a year and it's very much worth the cost. It's open road, but first and foremost the money they take in is used to buy underpriveledged kids new bikes. Secondly, there are a few stops along the way well stocked with all sorts of snacks and drinks. I live in a rural area, so the roads being open is no big deal. Not much traffic and when you're in a group, you're a bit safer. So I guess it all depends on where your money is going.
The sportives I ride are generally great. Prizes tend to be reasonable around 25 euros and for that you get a reasonable amount of food, mechanic service, insurance and you get to ride with other people doing the same route on the same day. I get to explore parts of the country where I normally would not go ride my bike (and which I know less well so I don't know the best routes). At the same time, I don't see the point of paying over 100 euros for We Ride Flanders or something similar for another Monument cyclo. If I want to go up the Koppenberg, my chances are better when there is no crowd - i.e. on any other day.
Winter shoes are THE WAY to go...I froze my feet for years...Have a pair of LAkes for deep winter and then Shimano for mild cold (which I use for gravel and road). No going back
Buffs are essential in countries with real winters imo. And while on the subject, long indoor rides are also life savers during the long winter months here in Finland :)
I also commented this on the other video but if you're thinking about a Seasucker, give Treefrog a look. They're a bit cheaper than Seasuckers and I've never had a problem with mine and for a while at least they were TÜV approved while Seasuckers were not. As it happens I also drive a Kamiq and for my other hobby (track riding with a motorcycle) I had to install and toe bar which cost me around €1400 to have it done at a Skoda dealer as to not void the warranty.
Sportives in Uk are overrated. In Spain they are great value. Gran Fondos around 60€ including proper cycling jersey, closed roads, great feed stops and pasta and beers afterwards.
Pretty much the Dartmoor Classic but without the open roads. That's one problem with any events on the road in the UK but kind of makes sense with our population density although Belgium is more dense and they find the resource to close a main road for a small regional kermesse
Our local sportive in northern France is €6. Choice of distances (50, 80, 100km) and also mountain bike options. There’s also a post-event hot meal for €15.
An upright road bike with the front wheel and the seat post removed will fit into pretty much any estate or SUV. Tested with my size 57 road bike and a Toyota Auris estate. Also, I've 3d printed a fork holder and bolted it to a wooden plank.
Bike rack wisdom… It depends on how long you intend to keep the car - I wish I had invested in the hitch for my BMW X5 when I’d bought it. The paint damage caused by my strap on rack has probably devalued the car significantly whereas a hitch would have increased the resale value…
Transport poverty has been a thing for a very long time in rural areas - certainly back to the 1970s as buses got cut. Having lived in London for most of the last 40 years I've benefited from ease of walking anything up to 12 miles in 3.5 hours, cycling faster than cars or tube, running, and driving, bus, tube, train, and, now, old person's pass. Degree in rural Nottinghamshire was OK as I could cycle and there was an hourly bus through the village to Loughborough or Nottingham. Many fellow students had cars (often ex-Post Office minivans). But local youngsters had Yamaha FS1e mopeds while parents worried realistically about death rates. Getting to secondary school or higher education and training was very difficult. My son and his family are in rural North Wales - affordable housing and working in agriculture. All travel by car as walking and cycling is dangerous in narrow, steep lanes with no pavement and no escape room due to high hedge verges. Homes of Multiple Occupation often leave no space to store a bike, bike clothes, tools. Sofa surfing often makes keeping a bike difficult. Daughter had a bike stolen that was locked securely to railings - cordless angle grinders cut thick cast iron railings in seconds, no point in replacing while still in such digs, eventually replaced when she moved to an old factory converted to communal residential. 19th century terraces all over London often (but not always) have nowhere to keep a bike due to narrow front doors, narrow halls, no space between house and pavement for a secure shed. Just got home from my weekly pushing now 9-month old granddaughter around Lewisham. As usual, I oggled the window at XO Bikes - a charitable company training mostly ex-offenders to rebuild, service, and build from scratch bikes that are usually unclaimed stolen bikes provided by police. Fantastic choices. A Pinarello Onda with Super Record in one window. Colnago Columbus frame Chorus, tubular tyres in t'other window. Can't afford either as no space or funds for a retro bike. Colnago looks a size too big with Pinarello a size too small - which helps fight the temptation. Both represent my dream bikes from decades ago. A few very nice balance bikes to choose for GD next year.
Sea sucker is cheaper but tow bar is much easier for installation and removal. It's so good just lifting one handle and putting rack in garage and having totally unencumbered car when it's not on
I find a neck gaitor helps soak up and disguise all the sweat/snot/tears and enable me to open my mouth wide open as I gasp for air on even the mildest incline. In fact, my maximum distance is limited by the absorbency of my snood.
Comic Sans: I told my design students this week that they should not use Times Roman (hard-to-read serif font) and no Comic San; why? Because it's not taken seriously as the story it tells is of under-5 play school signage. Research by the Bank of Mitsubishi found the most legible for the average reader was.....Verdana (snooze), IKEA changed from their beautiful Futura font to Verdana for this reason, though much to the annoyance of the design industry. As a fellow dyslexic, I've found that widening the letter spacing and increasing line space (1.5) helps when reading text aloud. There is less chance of word jumbling as it's eye movement, which is an issue for dyslexics. Also, white lettering on a black background may help, as bright white light sensitivity also hinders the words from staying still. Think about reading aloud on a bumpy MTB trail on a road bike with a 100psi. That's the issue. Well done, Emily, for being so thoughtful.
Having been a cyclist for 50 years and worked at Raleigh and Halfords, built many bikes myself. When i worked at Halfords the first person to train me was clearly not up to stand, the reason i say this is i dropped a headset bolt and he did not know what it even look like.
Yo if you guys want a font that's highly readible then choose a serif font. From a graphic design perspective the serifs can visually link each letter in a word and may assist Jimmy's reading.
The winter shoves v overshoes should have included a 3rd option, winter socks with a hole cut out for the cleats. We use to do that in the 80/90s when overshoes were too expensive.
On helmets. Now onto my second MIPS helmet. Had Giro (small plastic bit on the adjuster broke), now use a Lazer. Used helmets since Bell, a long time ago. Specialized have usually fitted me best. Shame the one in the test wasn't available when I got the Lazer but the Lazer is good enogh. Before MIPS, my best helmet lasted years, a Specialized which I bought when over half the teams in the TdF were using it. Price reflects aero, heat release, and weight, not safety which all helmets have to pass tests on. I go by best fit balanced against price
Sportives are really enjoyable it’s the cycling equivalent of when runners have a marathon. I’ve enjoyed closed roads ones in Scotland and open roads ones in Catalunya.
Interesting about Halfrauds. I think this is 100% a reaction to Decathlon, who could potentially wipe out Halfrauds' lower end presence using their high end brand recognition (sponsoring a pro team). The risk is that both Halfords and Decathlon abandon the low end market altogether, because margins are too thin ("doing a Ribble")...letting Amazon etc take over that space. There is a legitimate role therefore for secondhand retailers, perhaps like the Car Giant or car supermarket model: making nearly new or recently owned affordable. Any cycling Economics/Business students out there: possible dissertation material!
Brewery Sportives! Ride for beer! No brainer. Open road sportives are just ways to ride new roads/routes, planned by someone else, supported and fed with enough other riders on the road to make traffic less of a problem for us, not so much the other way around!
@jimmy go see a doctor about Raynaud’s phenomenon. I got diagnosed after years of suffering on the bike in winter. I now take a nifedipine pill before heading out in winter and now I don’t have a problem with cold hands or feet. It’s a game changer and no side effects for me at the moment. Docs will test you and make sure it’s safe for you. Don’t delay.
Jimmy, you and I could buy Peleton “The hardware and subscription-based fitness services significantly declined post-pandemic, with decreased revenues in the last nine fiscal quarters. This caused the stock to shed roughly 96% of the share price in the past three years.Aug 26, 2024”
For the imperial college thingy there was a US university doing that as well. I watched a video months ago. They have database of all that are sold commonly in the US including through Amazon. Would be interesting if they found same conclusions.
AbsoluteBlack wants to put those cages on pro bikes. UCI requires that the product be "available for sale to the general public". This way they can say it is "available" without having to actually sell one.
Transport poverty happens world-wide, when priority and convenience is taken away from people and alternative modes or transport, and given to private motor vehicles.
You have to try some energy drinks, Jimmy! There are quite a lot of good ones in Sweden at least. Some I even prefer to normal fizzy drinks like coke. The flavoured Red Bulls(not original) and Celsius are the best, but Nocco and Monster are also pretty good.
America used to have a very good public transport infrastructure. The rise of the suburbs and the mass move towards cars was a product of forced bussing and the following few decades.
Halfords is the best bike shop in my area. You can always walk in and someone will be buying a bike. Walk past a school and there will be a 100 Halford bikes. Might not be a Sworks but it's a bike and they commuting to work/school To me big bike brands have not taped into the lower end bike market good enough in the UK.
Not sure I have ever come away from a sportive thinking I got ripped off. Maratona Dolomites, Mallorca312 and Tour de Yorkshire (RIP) were prob my favourites. Also when you reach your 40s it's one of the best ways to get a bunch of friends away somewhere.
I think that the issues about cycling vs car culture in the U.S. is far more complicated than just adapting a European model. My state; Pennsylvania, is only slightly smaller than England but with only 13 million people. Six million of which live in 2 metro areas. That means in about the same area as England with a population of 57 million we have hours and hours of nothing. For reference, it takes 6 hours to drive East-West and 4 hours North-South to cross Pennsylvania without traffic at 70mph. This is just one of the 50 states, and being an eastern state, it has a much denser population than the western states. There are miles to go to making transportation work for more people in this country but the scope of the issue is very very different to the U.K. or mainland Europe.
if you want to ride with a load of other riders and not over pay; try an audax. I've done a couple this year (100km and 150km) and I think I paid about £15 each to enter. met loads of lovely people and even stopped for a pub lunch on one of them!!!
I run ONLY Absolute Black or Ceramic Speed on my Lab71 and litespeed steeds. Here's great news. I am looking to replace both steeds with 2025 models. Instead of holding onto these two magnificant bikes, I am going to sell them at a very good price so someone from one of the lower classrd can enjoy a classy ride.
on the topic of bikes being too expensive i’ve noticed that the commuting ebikes that i’ve been looking at for the past 4 months to potentially buy at some point have either been discontinued or the prices have increased
Thank you Frances for calling out the stigmatism in the US about riding a bike. I really don't get it. I live in a small town, changed jobs and my new commute was 1.5 miles. I literally would get texts or comments from people asking "Are you poor?" "Is fuel too expensive?" "How broke are you?" Just ridiculous. Even some people that I ride in a morning group ride gave me a hard time for riding to work? WTH? So I can sit in a car, waste money, save 1 minute and maybe get road rage, or, save money and literally have a smile the whole way home? This country (USA) is so lobbied towards cars, they made seem "weird" to get around any other way....even walking.
When I sold my old car to buy an e-bike, I was basically called crazy by my colleagues in grad school. They were surprised I even took the subway. I lived further away from the school than some of them. I'm not paying $9 a day to park when biking is free and the subway is $2.40 each way.
Wisdom you have. 'People are strange' sung by the DOORS.
Who cares what the lemmings think?!
USA psychology is broken, whole USA is car-centric mess, i´d never been to USA but I´ve seen a bunch of documentaries about that issue - car-centric psychology.
I recommend to watch @NotJustBikes channel here on YT! He explained it so well in his videos.
(excuse my mistakes in text)
Lmao, I’m lucky enough as you are to ride 3 miles to work, My coworkers still look at me weirdly when they see a fat guy riding down the road to work, All I tell them is that I’m doing it to lose weight, but they look at me crazy for doing it. 🤣🤣
This is fast becoming 'Emily Media'.
The podcast is so entertaining because of all of them, it's great!
@@Heliosmaster "Yall"
I'm here for it. She's awesome.
She is the smart one 😊
@@peterdoege1740 It's not she to wash the bike, right?! :D
Re: Strava mules. I’ve decided to be a Cafe mule. For a fee and expenses, I’ll ride your very expensive road bike to a nearby cafe and gorge myself on cakes while regaling patrons with stories of my riding prowess.
My rates are £10 to show up, £20 for cakes, £10 for coffee, and £2 for each unscripted stretch.
I’ll wash your bike after the ride with a crusty mitten and leave it unsecured so you can pick it up on your own time.
Meh. Im considering a horse drawn strava chariot. It will get more attention than a human with t-trex arms wearing spandex. Oh and win the segment until someone gets a faster horse.
Franchise the idea. I'll take a licence for Glasgow. 😂
Kudos to Producer Emily for coming up with such entertaining segments!
And cursing like a sailor!
I've been stuck at home all week by my lonesome with Covid. I've spent much of it doing DIY jobs with your videos running in the background and just wanted to say you have been excellent friend simulators. So, thank you
in two months that pulley will be on aliexpress
Surprising it isn't already.
And be 1/10 of the price made on the same factory
I'm a teacher and my institution recommended the font Luciole for accessibility. I think it looks less goofy than Comic Sans and I find it easier to read, especially at a glance. It's free and designed by experts.
I’m a big fan of Halfords and have been for 50+ years. Buy a bike from Halfords, absolutely. Get said bike serviced by Halfords, unsonotly.
Fair. I had a Voodoo MTB, perfectly sound and great value. And to be fair, the lad who sold it knew his stuff...and probably works for a real bike shop now 😆
I’ve also got a Rockbros sucker mount for my road bike and it’s solid as a rock. Only cost about £100. That’s for the single bike one
Regarding the sportive issues (open road vs closed): in the U.S., it's common for the roads to still be open (cyclists must stay on the proper side of the road at all times), but local law enforcement is hired to be posted at road intersections so that motor vehicle traffic is only stopped at the crossings when cyclists are actually crossing the intersection. This allows the race or event to happen with minimal disruption to local traffic.
Speaking to a local lad that recently started working at Halfords, I asked him what he did there, he replied "I'm a bike mechanic!" I said that's great really pleased for you... he then, in his proud voice said "I've had the two days training required, first day on the computer, second day on the workshop"...
COST OF PREMIUM CYCLE Components - even though I have never been interested in motorbikes, I still enjoy watching the Motorbike Show with Henry Cole. What really stands out is the cost of the motorbikes, even from low volume manufacturers, that make the cost of Dura Ace DI2 look extortionate.
Talking carrying bikes... I've had a Seasucker Talon for a few years after seeing Phil Gaimon using one. I've driven north-east UK to the French Alps with a road bike on top and had no issues. Mounts to the roof/sunroof in a few minutes. Much easier than faffing about with roof bars and bike carriers which I'd done for over a decade previously.
Only niggles are 1) you still need somewhere to put your front wheel, although you can get another sucker to fix it outside and 2) the fear at the start of the journey that every squeak or rattle is a suction cup about to release your bike to the road.
Other minor benefit is that you can carry them fairly easily in luggage or a bike box for use after flying with a bike. Saves on taxi/bus/enormous hire car.
At my local Halfords the bike mechanic is amazing. If he worked in any other bike shop people would luv him . I would rather he fixed my bike then any other bike shop.
Completely agree with you both on winter shoes. I, like Jimmy, suffer from really cold feet and dedicated winter shoes are the only way I can do a cold ride and not get numb toes. Love mine and would recommend to anyone.
Thanks for taking up my rocker plate topic. Just for context, I only ride my trainer for hours doing Z2 training rides in the winter when I can't get outside. The while Francis is right, and the mechanics are backwards, the real benefit I get is from the constant adjustment in the saddle. My backside is much better able to handle the saddle time when on the rocker.
I have both a KUAT hitch mounted bike rack as well as multiple SeaSucker brand bike carriers. SeaSuckers work well if you are diligent and careful about how you mount them and check them regularly when you stop for fuel. Their primary downside is that there is no way to lock the bikes on a SeaSucker if you have to run into a store or have to spend time away from the vehicle. Not only can the bikes be stolen easily, the SeaSuckers literally pop right off as well and can be stolen in seconds. If security is an issue, a hitch mounted rack is the only external carrier option as most come with some type of cable lock. Also, in the US at least, if the bikes are locked on the rack and are still stolen, your auto insurance should cover the theft. That said, the SeaSuckers are incredibly easy to install and remove and that makes them very convenient compared to a hitch mounted rack that is generally very heavy and a chore to put on/take off a vehicle.
The longest Unbound distance is 320 *miles* . Finishing times are ca. 27 hours and it involves riding through the night with lights on gravel roads. It’s supposed to be an “unsupported” event without pit crews. It’s not for me, but chapeaux to those who attempt.
I recommend Hambini's video about AbsoluteBlack. Lots of swearing :)
Didn't they try to sue him, or at least he said they did.
@@andrewcalladine2507Has anybody not tried to sue him?
I reccomend people go to zambinis videos and just write shame in the comments. He deserves the game of thrones treatment. He's a toddler with a mic and his products will never find wide spread use with his attitude. Im surprized any company is willing to deal with him.
Its too easy for somone nice to come along with better business sense and undercut him. Bottom brackets arent rocket science, despite what zambini might allude to.
Buying a zambini bottom bracket is basically buying expensive merch.
Neck gaiters are life-savers as neck warmers over winter (0-5 C). 🥶
What about a wool scraf?
+1 they rock and can be used to cover mouth and nose
The solution to rocker plates moving the wrong direction under your trainer is to get bike rollers. They let the bike move exactly the right way and feel like being outside. Some issues with acceleration off them during exercises with peaky power and its really hard to stand up, so everything is a compromise.
Re: Helmet ratings
Another resource to check out is Virginia Tech who has a whole catalogue of helmets they've tested. Aside from Road and MTB helmets, they do helmet ratings for other sports.
Ooooh, neck gaiters... underrated... stop draughts in winter on my neck and sunburn on the back of my neck in summer! Also doubles as a handy noise reduction stopping wind noise.
40 years of training and racing (in New England, US), one year of wearing navigators - one of the warmest, comfiest and healthiest years of my life. 100% approve!
I have been using a KOM PPV2 rocker plate for the last 3 years. It moves forward and backwards as well as leans side to side and I love it. I spend a lot of time indoor training as our road season is so short and the rocker plate makes very long rides bearable and even enjoyable.
Virginia Tech in the states has a lab that does testing on helmets. They cover cycling as well as other protective helmets as well. It is interesting how some of the value priced helmets actually perform better than their much more or exponentially priced options.
No surprises there.
On the importance of bikes for transport poverty, think of this, bicycles made the biggest difference to emancipation of any technology. Bicycles are so powerful for transforming what you can do in your life, and what level of personal freedom you can exercise.
Great show, huge fan of your content. Just got a pair of 45N winter clipless boots for $120US. Hitch mount vertical racks are the way to go. I'm actually designed one a few years ago, have a working prototype, and am working on making it a reality. The main feature is one handed installation and lock! I'm still using a 35yo Yakima 3-bike tire hanger design, but it only holds two bikes if I put my fatty on it.
Speaking of weird ways of finding health issues: I fell while hiking a local mountain peak. I broke my collarbone and several ribs. The doctors, out of an abundance of caution did sux CT scans from the top of my head to midway down my thighs looking for internal bleeding and possible brain injury. They fiund none, but they did find blockage of my heart arteries. They decided there wasn't enough blockage, but I'm on the "watch" list.
Rocker plates or other compliance solutions make an amazing difference for long term comfort on trainers in my experience. I 3d printed some feet into which you can place tennis balls for my (entry level) trainer and it added just enough movement to the bike to make it so my butt isn't killing me after just one hour.
Y'all is a Southern (US) colloquialism for you all. Y'all rock.
Thankfully most of cycling sportive events are still free. Here in LTU.
There are some paid ones (mostly hiking ones), but they do organise feeding station, transportation if you fail, check and sometimes maintain routes (even though they are public)
Try Helvetica font. It was specifically designed for reading easier. Works well on screen and paper.
Actually, Garmond is the font in books. Recently book printers have planned to switch to Sustainable-Serif, which is Garmond with higher X-height and thinner letters.
Helvetica is an old classy font that evokes 1930s. Long predates DTP and screens but was great in linotype screen-printing. It looked really bad on earlier lower res dot matrix and laser printers, and screens. Arial was a TrueType equivalent that was OK for low res screens and printers but was very dull. Times New Roman was the serif font that got everywhere and looked terrible - it's intended for narrow newspaper columns, not a full line of A4 at 12 point. For a decade or two, designers came up with fonts that worked well at 300 dpi and a PostScript font with 'C' became almost ubiquitous (can't remember the name) but, once printers and screens got better, those fonts looked bad. Tahoma & Verdana were a huge improvement. Calibri is probably the closest equivalent to Helvetica for screen and printing due to high res screens and printers.
There is a font called OpenDyslexic that is available on some apps like Libby, an e-reader. There is an iOS app for use in Safari, and there is a Chrome extension too. The Wikipedia entry for OpenDyslexic says it’s an option on Instapaper and Kindle Paperwhite. I’m not even dyslexic but I can read much faster using that font.
@@cuebjevokes 1930s?? that doesn’t sound right
Winter shoes sooooo underrated. I tried the warmest overshoes I could find by Endura and even aluminium insoles, but in the end the cold always creaps in from the bottom. Since I got my winter shoes I can ride up to 3 hours even in temperatures below 0°. Usingthe Celcius Arctic GTX by Northwave and fully recommend.
One reason I think sportive’s can be “worth it” is that it can be fun to do for a short holiday. If I’m traveling somewhere that I want to cycle but am uncomfortable doing my own route, then a Sportive is a great way to enjoy a new location with less stress.
I got a cooling neck gaiter/buff this summer and it's one of my best purchases of the year. Just wet it down and the front cools from the wind, spin half way and it's cold on the back of my neck while the front cools again. I also have a balaclava, which works as a neck warmer but definitely overrated, I think I wore it once and only wished I had it once when it was about 20 degrees F and windy.
I absolutely love your Podcasts, keep riding this.
I've been swapping messages with a friend. High paid professional. He bought an Orbea 7-speed urban bike on my recommendation a few years ago (and paid £100 less than I did just a few weeks before as prices dropped!). Now asking advice about a second-hand road bike. I have two he could have but I'm recommending he takes a double jump above entry level road bike and goes modern.
I'm suggesting he has a proper fit (the older you are the more you need a fit and consider shorter cranks) and goes new to get wider rims, wider tyres, mudguards option, rack option - safer and more comfortable on our dodgy road surfaces. Even my 2018 Roubaix is out of date in relation to what this 69-year old thinks are the very good developments in bike design and build. Classic case of Decathlon's thinking where they see such folk starting at their sub-1k level and wanting to take their riding further in groups or fit teenagers
In Germany, people walk a lot just for fun. 3-4 miles by feet is a regular recreational walk e.g. after a proper meal. Public transport is supported at the moment by government. It costs 49 € / month and every normal transport is included nation wide. We also have bike leasing offererd by a many companies to get a superb bike for up to 11k or so. Some companies supports this also with additional goodies like insurance and service flatrates.
Booties vs overshoes: I use an old pair of shoes with overshoes on, keep them on there and only use in winter. No damage from taking off, etc
I found that open road Sportives got me going in longer distance cycling, and I learnt a lot.
I find it hilarious that Jimmy seemed utterly clueless as to why Emily was laughing when he said "I'd like to sign a lifetime contract with someone". I'm not sure if they're married, but from the look on her face and the way she reacted, it looked like she was thinking "yeah, sign a lifetime contract with me ya git!" Are they already married?
On the subject of sportives, there is one near me that is held twice a year and it's very much worth the cost. It's open road, but first and foremost the money they take in is used to buy underpriveledged kids new bikes. Secondly, there are a few stops along the way well stocked with all sorts of snacks and drinks. I live in a rural area, so the roads being open is no big deal. Not much traffic and when you're in a group, you're a bit safer. So I guess it all depends on where your money is going.
The sportives I ride are generally great. Prizes tend to be reasonable around 25 euros and for that you get a reasonable amount of food, mechanic service, insurance and you get to ride with other people doing the same route on the same day. I get to explore parts of the country where I normally would not go ride my bike (and which I know less well so I don't know the best routes). At the same time, I don't see the point of paying over 100 euros for We Ride Flanders or something similar for another Monument cyclo. If I want to go up the Koppenberg, my chances are better when there is no crowd - i.e. on any other day.
Having grown up in Canada and working in the Arctic I can tell you that wearing a good head cover helps keep your hands and feet warm.
Winter shoes are THE WAY to go...I froze my feet for years...Have a pair of LAkes for deep winter and then Shimano for mild cold (which I use for gravel and road). No going back
Buffs are essential in countries with real winters imo. And while on the subject, long indoor rides are also life savers during the long winter months here in Finland :)
I also commented this on the other video but if you're thinking about a Seasucker, give Treefrog a look. They're a bit cheaper than Seasuckers and I've never had a problem with mine and for a while at least they were TÜV approved while Seasuckers were not. As it happens I also drive a Kamiq and for my other hobby (track riding with a motorcycle) I had to install and toe bar which cost me around €1400 to have it done at a Skoda dealer as to not void the warranty.
Sportives in Uk are overrated. In Spain they are great value. Gran Fondos around 60€ including proper cycling jersey, closed roads, great feed stops and pasta and beers afterwards.
Pretty much the Dartmoor Classic but without the open roads. That's one problem with any events on the road in the UK but kind of makes sense with our population density although Belgium is more dense and they find the resource to close a main road for a small regional kermesse
They’re typically $150-$200 in the US.
Our local sportive in northern France is €6. Choice of distances (50, 80, 100km) and also mountain bike options. There’s also a post-event hot meal for €15.
@@martinwarne Now if only I spoke french and wasn’t on the wrong side of the ocean.
An upright road bike with the front wheel and the seat post removed will fit into pretty much any estate or SUV. Tested with my size 57 road bike and a Toyota Auris estate. Also, I've 3d printed a fork holder and bolted it to a wooden plank.
Bike rack wisdom… It depends on how long you intend to keep the car - I wish I had invested in the hitch for my BMW X5 when I’d bought it. The paint damage caused by my strap on rack has probably devalued the car significantly whereas a hitch would have increased the resale value…
Transport poverty has been a thing for a very long time in rural areas - certainly back to the 1970s as buses got cut. Having lived in London for most of the last 40 years I've benefited from ease of walking anything up to 12 miles in 3.5 hours, cycling faster than cars or tube, running, and driving, bus, tube, train, and, now, old person's pass.
Degree in rural Nottinghamshire was OK as I could cycle and there was an hourly bus through the village to Loughborough or Nottingham. Many fellow students had cars (often ex-Post Office minivans). But local youngsters had Yamaha FS1e mopeds while parents worried realistically about death rates. Getting to secondary school or higher education and training was very difficult. My son and his family are in rural North Wales - affordable housing and working in agriculture. All travel by car as walking and cycling is dangerous in narrow, steep lanes with no pavement and no escape room due to high hedge verges.
Homes of Multiple Occupation often leave no space to store a bike, bike clothes, tools. Sofa surfing often makes keeping a bike difficult. Daughter had a bike stolen that was locked securely to railings - cordless angle grinders cut thick cast iron railings in seconds, no point in replacing while still in such digs, eventually replaced when she moved to an old factory converted to communal residential. 19th century terraces all over London often (but not always) have nowhere to keep a bike due to narrow front doors, narrow halls, no space between house and pavement for a secure shed.
Just got home from my weekly pushing now 9-month old granddaughter around Lewisham. As usual, I oggled the window at XO Bikes - a charitable company training mostly ex-offenders to rebuild, service, and build from scratch bikes that are usually unclaimed stolen bikes provided by police. Fantastic choices. A Pinarello Onda with Super Record in one window. Colnago Columbus frame Chorus, tubular tyres in t'other window. Can't afford either as no space or funds for a retro bike. Colnago looks a size too big with Pinarello a size too small - which helps fight the temptation. Both represent my dream bikes from decades ago. A few very nice balance bikes to choose for GD next year.
Sea sucker is cheaper but tow bar is much easier for installation and removal.
It's so good just lifting one handle and putting rack in garage and having totally unencumbered car when it's not on
I find a neck gaitor helps soak up and disguise all the sweat/snot/tears and enable me to open my mouth wide open as I gasp for air on even the mildest incline.
In fact, my maximum distance is limited by the absorbency of my snood.
You guys are legends. I absolutely love your podcasts.
Comic Sans: I told my design students this week that they should not use Times Roman (hard-to-read serif font) and no Comic San; why? Because it's not taken seriously as the story it tells is of under-5 play school signage. Research by the Bank of Mitsubishi found the most legible for the average reader was.....Verdana (snooze), IKEA changed from their beautiful Futura font to Verdana for this reason, though much to the annoyance of the design industry. As a fellow dyslexic, I've found that widening the letter spacing and increasing line space (1.5) helps when reading text aloud. There is less chance of word jumbling as it's eye movement, which is an issue for dyslexics. Also, white lettering on a black background may help, as bright white light sensitivity also hinders the words from staying still. Think about reading aloud on a bumpy MTB trail on a road bike with a 100psi. That's the issue. Well done, Emily, for being so thoughtful.
Having been a cyclist for 50 years and worked at Raleigh and Halfords, built many bikes myself. When i worked at Halfords the first person to train me was clearly not up to stand, the reason i say this is i dropped a headset bolt and he did not know what it even look like.
Yo if you guys want a font that's highly readible then choose a serif font. From a graphic design perspective the serifs can visually link each letter in a word and may assist Jimmy's reading.
Still got my old Boardman elite air 9.8 frame that I used to race crits on. The frame was super stiff and uncomfortable but a very fast bike.
The winter shoves v overshoes should have included a 3rd option, winter socks with a hole cut out for the cleats. We use to do that in the 80/90s when overshoes were too expensive.
On helmets. Now onto my second MIPS helmet. Had Giro (small plastic bit on the adjuster broke), now use a Lazer. Used helmets since Bell, a long time ago. Specialized have usually fitted me best. Shame the one in the test wasn't available when I got the Lazer but the Lazer is good enogh. Before MIPS, my best helmet lasted years, a Specialized which I bought when over half the teams in the TdF were using it. Price reflects aero, heat release, and weight, not safety which all helmets have to pass tests on. I go by best fit balanced against price
I own a top of the line bike and I don’t want anything by AbsoluteCrap on my bike 👍🏼
lol!🤣🤣
Sportives are really enjoyable it’s the cycling equivalent of when runners have a marathon. I’ve enjoyed closed roads ones in Scotland and open roads ones in Catalunya.
Interesting about Halfrauds. I think this is 100% a reaction to Decathlon, who could potentially wipe out Halfrauds' lower end presence using their high end brand recognition (sponsoring a pro team). The risk is that both Halfords and Decathlon abandon the low end market altogether, because margins are too thin ("doing a Ribble")...letting Amazon etc take over that space. There is a legitimate role therefore for secondhand retailers, perhaps like the Car Giant or car supermarket model: making nearly new or recently owned affordable. Any cycling Economics/Business students out there: possible dissertation material!
Lightweight neck gaiters are fantastic in summer if you live anywhere with flying insects. Few things ruin a ride faster than a mouth full of midges.
Brewery Sportives! Ride for beer! No brainer. Open road sportives are just ways to ride new roads/routes, planned by someone else, supported and fed with enough other riders on the road to make traffic less of a problem for us, not so much the other way around!
@jimmy go see a doctor about Raynaud’s phenomenon. I got diagnosed after years of suffering on the bike in winter. I now take a nifedipine pill before heading out in winter and now I don’t have a problem with cold hands or feet. It’s a game changer and no side effects for me at the moment. Docs will test you and make sure it’s safe for you. Don’t delay.
Halfords is where you go when your local bike shop is closed. I wouldnt trust them with anything that has more moving parts than a matchbox
I straight up ENJOY this show.
Fascinating little feature on what gets clicks. Worth the effort in my finger to do the click!
Jimmy, you and I could buy Peleton “The hardware and subscription-based fitness services significantly declined post-pandemic, with decreased revenues in the last nine fiscal quarters. This caused the stock to shed roughly 96% of the share price in the past three years.Aug 26, 2024”
True. Also the stock has dropped another ~15% since then.
For the imperial college thingy there was a US university doing that as well. I watched a video months ago. They have database of all that are sold commonly in the US including through Amazon. Would be interesting if they found same conclusions.
Skoda was bought by VW/Audi and massively improved the cars… Halfords would need to improve their product significantly to make that work…
AbsoluteBlack wants to put those cages on pro bikes. UCI requires that the product be "available for sale to the general public". This way they can say it is "available" without having to actually sell one.
Thank you for my weekly dose of bike chat
Transport poverty happens world-wide, when priority and convenience is taken away from people and alternative modes or transport, and given to private motor vehicles.
You have to try some energy drinks, Jimmy! There are quite a lot of good ones in Sweden at least. Some I even prefer to normal fizzy drinks like coke. The flavoured Red Bulls(not original) and Celsius are the best, but Nocco and Monster are also pretty good.
market cap giant: 88 billion , peloton : 1.87 billion. fact check
Not that I'm going to run out and buy one but I think the Absolute Black ospw is the prettiest one out there!
OpenDyslexic is the font for you. I’m not dyslexic, and it helps me read faster than other fonts.
Thank you, that was one of your best eps.
As per bicycle affordability, more bike shops need to offer reconditioned used bicycles for sale.
As a certified dyslexic the “jimmy just finding out now” bit is cracking me up.
America used to have a very good public transport infrastructure. The rise of the suburbs and the mass move towards cars was a product of forced bussing and the following few decades.
Halfords is the best bike shop in my area. You can always walk in and someone will be buying a bike.
Walk past a school and there will be a 100 Halford bikes. Might not be a Sworks but it's a bike and they commuting to work/school
To me big bike brands have not taped into the lower end bike market good enough in the UK.
Not sure I have ever come away from a sportive thinking I got ripped off. Maratona Dolomites, Mallorca312 and Tour de Yorkshire (RIP) were prob my favourites. Also when you reach your 40s it's one of the best ways to get a bunch of friends away somewhere.
I like neck gators and sun sleeves in the summer as i often forget to reapply sunscreen as iften as i should.
Cheaper helmets can be just a protective but they might not be quite as nice in terms of weight, comfort and ventilation.
I think that the issues about cycling vs car culture in the U.S. is far more complicated than just adapting a European model. My state; Pennsylvania, is only slightly smaller than England but with only 13 million people. Six million of which live in 2 metro areas. That means in about the same area as England with a population of 57 million we have hours and hours of nothing. For reference, it takes 6 hours to drive East-West and 4 hours North-South to cross Pennsylvania without traffic at 70mph. This is just one of the 50 states, and being an eastern state, it has a much denser population than the western states. There are miles to go to making transportation work for more people in this country but the scope of the issue is very very different to the U.K. or mainland Europe.
Not sure of you know, Halfords own Tredz and have done since 2016 ish. They have access to most brands across the spectrum.
What an epic episode
Well done Emily for the pronunciation of Terengganu 😅 took me about six months to get it when I was there
Love your show. Highlight of my week. ( Not as sad as it sounds)
if you want to ride with a load of other riders and not over pay; try an audax. I've done a couple this year (100km and 150km) and I think I paid about £15 each to enter. met loads of lovely people and even stopped for a pub lunch on one of them!!!
great ep peeps!
Strava mule? You mean the guys puling me to a KOM that don't use Strava?
I run ONLY Absolute Black or Ceramic Speed on my Lab71 and litespeed steeds. Here's great news. I am looking to replace both steeds with 2025 models. Instead of holding onto these two magnificant bikes, I am going to sell them at a very good price so someone from one of the lower classrd can enjoy a classy ride.
How about a bike sock to protect the inside of your car. I got one and it stops oil getting on the car upholstery.
re: Shoes and cold feet - you might just be fastening them too tight. I've see the same issue with ski boots.
I would love to see some or all of you guys at RAGBRAI. It is a week long ride (sportive) that seems like it would be up your alley.
You should come to kentucky and do the horsey hundred. It's three days of one of the best country ride you'll ever see in horse country.
on the topic of bikes being too expensive i’ve noticed that the commuting ebikes that i’ve been looking at for the past 4 months to potentially buy at some point have either been discontinued or the prices have increased