Since China is the center point for the bike industry here in the USA bikes are going to get even more expensive with the Tariffs that Trump is going to impose and more people are going find other activities like Pickleball which is growing so fast you can get court time. Our bike shops already look like ghost towns.
Usual thing with moving in: before my neighbor brought in some furniture and got curtains I could hear his every skype/viber call. But luckily for him I know hardly any Polish
For a big bike maker, building a very decent aluminum bike with simple and reliable components doesn't require any R&D. They know exactly how to do it, but they choose to focus on high-profit models. Bearings that last longer? Headset bearings are the worst? Only with all the BS internal cable routing. Before everything went to so-called sealed bearings, bearings were serviceable and could last easily decades.
@@grahamaustin9085 That's good. It's normal for a well maintained cup and cone angular bearing setup with adjustable preload to last virtually indefinitely.
Sad... I love my aluminium bike. It's not high end, but neither are my legs. I love the standert bikes, they've got some steel and alu bikes. Unfortunately I'm not flexible enough for their models.
Ollie’s rant on planned obsolescence is spot on. I mean you’re still able to maintain a vintage Raleigh or Schwinn. I’m not sure that you would be able to do that with a Di2 equipped, press fit bottom bracket, internal cable routed, integrated headset, carbon fiber, aero wonder bike. It will be interesting to see how that works out over time.
Ollie really hates products that cant be repaired and have to be chucked away yet has spent the last decade pushing aero bikes with proprietary clamps, bars, seat posts, etc etc that people are unlikely to be able to get parts for in future.
I would like to see afforable bikes that can last a lifetime, this is the way things were. I have a 74 year old Raleigh that still rides like new and is constantly repairable at home. That was no unusual in 1950, this approach to manufature lasted until about 1990. I woul like to see a return to this, good riding bikes, fixable, modestly priced and long lasting.
Then we need to change world economics, going less global etc. This wont happen. The bike you're talking can still be had (new) for a reasonable amount of money however. I can name plenty of steel framesets to start you off.
One thing that has improved since the 1960s is good clincher tyres, and up to a point,more than 5 rear sprockets. Everything else are only very marginal improvements for most riders at a high price in money and complications.
i really don't know what you are talking about non fixable. I service my 2 year old full suspension mtb at home. with the right tools you can swap the seals, bearings, do the hydraulic brakes, ... and a mtb has a lot more tech compared to my roadbike. my (new) xt hubs are still cone bearings like your 74 old raleigh but needs a lot more work than my no-brand hubs on sealed industrial bearings, wich isn't that much work to swap. if you can find the right bearing you can even swapp the bearing on a modern style bb when they are worn out, wich you couldn't do on a 90's style square type bb cartridge. i agree bitd parts did last longer, but i guess if you buy die cast steel parts today they still last a lifetime.
Thanks, guys, for bringing up the "right to repair," i.e. we should not have to throw away an entire product because of one small part failure. For example, bike lights are designed to fail now pretty swiftly because the batteries only have 500-1000 cycles of charge/discharge if they are lithium. We SHOULD have a way to replace the batteries (or a way to get the manufacturer to replace the batteries). But only laws would make force the manufacturers to give the people what they want. They all seem to be colluding to use a throw-away plan to elevate their profits.
I have put tires on backwards purely to troll fellow cyclists. I did this to my Colnago Master (SuperRecord 11s) once and the reactions were priceless LOL
I'd like to see manufacturers finally catch on and start to offer bikes with shorter cranks and narrower handlebars as stock. Currently you either have to change them or buy a custom bike, both of which are expensive.
This is hilarious. Only about 3-5 years ago you were talking about bike anxiety knowing which bike to get lightweight or aero or gravel etc and consumers having too much choice. Now we have one great all round bike choice, we’re going back to more SKUs which will just keep prices increasing. 1 bike model, different specs, different materials to get price down, MORE sizes will help keep costs and waste down. More customisation at point of sale suck as crank length and cockpit sizes will also help reduce waste and cost.
A few thoughts. Maybe controversial. 1. I don‘t even know if there is this big market for entry level road bike tech. The people starting to ride bikes are buying 4k e-bikes. 2. Where is the problem with longevity? I don‘t see bikes got worse. 3. No, disc brakes are NOT the problem. On the MTB side you can buy a set of Deore brakes with levers for 120€ 4. I‘m looking into buying a new set of wheels but from the models I am interested in, NONE is available. The industry is at least in parts struggling because they are not able to pick up the money that is waved at them.
@ Oh man, an that GIANT of a manufacturer even has own frame factories. Unfortunately, Canyon makes no wheels. I have searched for the models I am interested in in Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain and Italy. They are out of stock everywhere. I have the impression that the one rim factory in Asia has a problem. The alternatives all have narrow rims and for that, I can as well keep the old wheels.
Ollie: "I've never been to the Southern Hemisphere" PETITION to send Ollie and crew to New Zealand! I hear there's some good riding, and I want to see him geek out at LotR stuff.
I had aero light pedals back in 1986 when I first started racing. Granted, those were just steel axels and plastic covering. Problem with them: 1)terrible to walk around in the “bridge” cleat. 2) Not as easy to clip into fast during a Crit starting line. 3) Not floating or adjustability 4) Need cleat adapter for 3 hole cleat shoes unless you want to nail into your shoe.
Last year I built my own gravel bike to my specs for $2000USD... I bought the frame from China and sourced a combination of high level and lower level parts to finish the build. And I love it because it is made for my size and comfort.
I can appreciate Ollie mentioning Pirelli regularly. They are a sponsor, after all. But.... why doesn't the back of Ollies lap top have a Pirelli sticker ? :-)
For a shop owner (I am not one), I expect a cheap bike sale is often more troublesome in terms of warranty failures than higher priced bikes. If so it would make sense to have a bigger mark up on a cheap bike and less mark up on the expensive one.
perhaps with a future model of the Ace, wahoo could put solar cells in the screen border so that the device would charge whilst in use. current teechnology might not allow a full charge quickly enough, however it would still prolong the time between charges
Didn’t mention it as thought someone else would. Back in the day of MTB I recall tyres that were optimised by using one way round on front and other way on the rear. Pretty sure they were labelled that way as well
More longevity? Get rid of proprietary parts on bikes. I’d love to see a return back to 27.2 seatposts AND traditional seatposts clamps, and semi integrated cables on traditional bars and stem. Also wider tires - less punctures - less waste of inner tubes etc
13 speed 1x GRX Di2 with a 51-9 cassette and Shimano's version of UDH - that allows for backwards compatibility. Would be happy with 12sp but that's what's coming.
I honestly don't see a problem with the current market. There are bikes free from freecycle to £15K models. There is a price point for everyone. I really don't see a problem with a 12kg race bike with 8 gears at the back and 2 at the front (Claris or Microshift) for £300 approx give or take. I passed a bike race in my car on the somerset levels and there were young riders at the front on bikes like the Carrera Virtuoso and much older cyclists at the back with high end bikes. Those bikes didn't compensate for being 40 years older but were nice bikes for well off men in retirement with high pensions. Maybe there was a 3kg weight difference between the bikes maybe more but there was more like a 30-40kg weight difference between some of the riders. You don't have to have a expensive bike or a bike that is less than 8kg. A bike made of carbon strips and glue with very weak construction that is easily broken in an accident is surely not a practical bike for everyday riding over pot holes. You don't turn up at Tesco to do your weekly shop in a McLaren and you wouldn't have anywhere to put your shopping if you did. Many of us watch GCN with no intention of buying the high end bikes featured but just interested to see what is available. I'm not going to spend £5k on a bicycle let alone £15k and I'm happy with a £400 bike which I will customise a bit to suit me. If I had £15k spare it would be irresponsible to import such a high value item when the UK economy is suffering from the effects of years of a large trade deficit and borrowing.
I politely disagree with you because that's not the point. The market is overpriced and that's consumers fault too, because we're buying their products even though the brands insist in raising the prices every year. I mean, a mid-end brand new bike from a trustworthy company shouldn't cost the current average price because its manufacturing cost is ridiculously lower than the number we see on the tag. Also, that raise the bar of every product on the market. Here in Brazil a decent entry level bike costs the equivalent to 500/600 USD. That's outrageous.
@@iamadairjr The average price of a bike sold in the UK about 3 years ago was £300 and that included ebikes. Those numbers mean surely for every 1 £10k bike sold there must be huge amount of £200 bikes sold. In Africa the average price of a bike sold was something like $50-100 a few years ago and Asia wasn't much higher. I think you can a false idea of the cycling industry when you look at channels like GCN which are focused on high end models with minor amounts of content about cheaper bikes which they tend to make fun of like the Eurobike. Even when they bought the Eurobike there were far superior models available for similar money but they wanted to show entry level in a negative light for their sponsors.
Had an older hybrid in the shop on which the tires had one arrow pointing one direction labeled Road Use, and next to that, an arrow pointing the opposite direction labeled Off Road Use.
When brands like Kona and Santa cruz was near the edge this year ,thats a fearfactor. Kona has build cheaper bikes before but with the "Kona soul" ,now the brands seams to drop that "soul-thing"
The vintage build sounds interesting. I'd also like to see a build buying a not-too-old bike with a good frame, but somewhat out of date components, and then restore / update using good Chinese components. ie, how cheap can you build what is actually a quite good bike with modern features.
Good point. In fact, I wonder if the entire Chinese supply chain is just Alex getting stuff from his drawers that he's sanded off the brand and written some made up name on with a sharpie?
I had a set of those Aeroflot's pedals back in the late 80's/early 90's... super light but the cleats are massive and require to drill 4 holes in you shoes.
longevity/sustainability: i am so with you on this, ollie, but... we're never going to see it from major brands as there's no money in it - at least, at the volumes that said brands are used to. i am always looking at sustainability and longevity for any product that i am buying, and i try to buy second-hand as much as possible. it's *almost* like recycling?
what oli got wrong is that the problem with SKU's is not the different models but each model in 100 colors and with sram and shimano in each tier. the permutation of these factors adds up really quick
It's simple; your first road bike should be entry level, a long lasting material...not carbon..., and relatively cheap. So big brands. Once you know what you like and "need" go bespoke and small brand, or higher end big brand and the old bike becomes the backup and winter bike.
As someone who has used chinese groupsets in the past, they need to step up their game especially their QC, I used to ride a bike with a Sensah Ignite and Sensah Empire pro and both time I ended up changing back to mainstream groupsets. For frames, wheels, bars etc. chinese parts are good enough and often times amazing value for money, but for groupsets and brakesets, I don't think they're quite there yet
I still ride my bike from 1992, great CroMolly steel frame. Bought another bike last year, titanium and think this is what will do for the rest of my life (55 yo)
You can’t be the lightest and most aero bike at the same time but you can optimize the two to make the fastest bike for general use that isn’t for niche events like hill climbs or TTs.
I started with those Aerolight pedal system in the 80's and while they were light, they had a bit of problems with them. first you had to screw them into your pedal bottom, hoping you got them in the right place. Second is tha they are hard to get into or get out of. Fell a few times at stops trying to get out of them. It did get me to learn fast how to stay upright at a stop. I tried for so long but gave up for Look pedals. Now for the past 15 years have been using Speedplay/Wahoo pedals and been loving them since they kinda remind me of the Aerolights.
Ollie mentions cheaper alloy bikes and the first thing Alex says is that even alloy bikes can be premium. I don't think the point is to make a super bike out of aluminium.
When the Chinese get their act together and starts making equal quality parts and equipment they are going to decimate the cycling industry. Some big companies are gonna go
But will they? I have purchased stuff off e-bay - cycle lights, a heated blanket, and other items - and, without fail, they have all broken in no time at all and no longer work. The cycle lights failed out of the box. Their life span can be measured in weeks, not even months. I now, on principle, avoid buying Chinese made items wherever I can - and I know that I am not alone. I know that there are many Chinese products that do work but they are balanced by the things they produce that don't. But you just don't know what you're gonna get. So it's not a case of when they get their act together, it's *IF* they get their act together. And then they will have to overcome a lot of ingrained (and based on such experiences described above, justified) prejudice. I will not be buying Chinese made cycle parts unless it is proven over a long period of time that they are better and are better value for money than existing products, and I suspect that there are many others who feel the same. It's still that same old adage about communist (albeit the Soviet version) Vs capitalist produced items that was a hangover from WWII onwards - the communist produced things in great bulk but were of inferior quality, whereas Western produced items were not built in such quantities but were far superior in reliability and ability etc.
@@Stig10001 The thing is, the quality stuff from good brands is also made in China, not only the cheap stuff. You just have to know where and what to buy. There are thousands of examples of super high quality chinese builds. I made the jump two years ago, and am not going back to paying double for the same stuff.
I have seen many times in the northern hemisphere where water drains down a drain in a counter clockwise motion. I have also see it in a clockwise motion.
The limits on tire width on the low end is brake caliper reach, isn't it? Its not easy to put 40c tires through rim brake calipers. I certainly can't on my 1980s trek 560. Its getting hard to get nice clincher tires smaller than 28c. That frame maxes at 25c
What do you mean headset bearing being replaced every race??? I have never once needed to replace one, did it out of caution a couple times and I still have the old bearings because they were flawless after inspection.
Why Bother? "We could not verify that you are human. Please refresh the page and try again." Clear cache, reboot, pause VPN... check geographies, etc. and all for naught. Same "We could not verify that you are human. Please refresh the page and try again." every time I attempted entering the give away for the Wahoo Ace.
You mentioned Canyon as a good candidate for an entry-level bicycle in the $500-$1,000 USD price range. Currently, the lowest cost option road bike is an aluminum frame Tiagra groupset offering for $1,699 USD. What say you, Gentlemen?
I predict a rebellion against increasingly-expensive, pointless tech that's driving road bike pricing into car-ownership pricing. The reason 105 used to be "the groupset of the people" was because it was really good but also really affordable and really easy to find spare parts for. None of that is true for just about any groupset these days because prices have increased exponentially as complexity increases and availability vanishes. I am not kidding when I say that 2025 might be the year of L-Two and Microshift who are more appealing than ever since waiting 10 days for AliExpress shipping is better than being ripped off after waiting 5 weeks for Shimano/SRAM stock to arrive in the UK.
22:20 Ollie don't make coming down here a priority for that. (toilet emoji) The Coriolis effect doesn't come into play until much larger distances.. ;) That being said, it is summer down here.
If it were up to me I would make endurance road bikes built around 650b. It would be easier to fit ever widening rubber w/o compromising frame geometry and integrity. I would also help with toe overlap on smaller sizes, keep gearing roll-out in check and potentially make a lighter and stronger wheel.
I reckon that cable actuated Chinese groupsets (either L-Twoo, Wheeltop or Sensah) will be sold on entry level bikes from at least one major brand by 2030. It might take a couple of more years after that to see any of the brands' flagship components on more premium models.
The water going down the drain the opposite way is a myth. The coreolous effect is real but on the scale of a household plumbing it is beyond negligable.
I think Wheeltop and LTwoo apps need to be refined before that will happen. I have yet to see these in person, but from what I’ve watched, they are both slightly glitchy still.
I would like to see those 30 gram pedals being tested by that massive power lifter (the one who couldn't go up hill). But get him to do a max power sprint on them.
What are your 2025 bike tech predictions?
Since China is the center point for the bike industry here in the USA bikes are going to get even more expensive with the Tariffs that Trump is going to impose and more people are going find other activities like Pickleball which is growing so fast you can get court time. Our bike shops already look like ghost towns.
It will personally give you fitness advice.
more stupid, buggy electronics
I think the first bike with a full Chinese group set will be a fully Chinese bike sold online, similar to Canyon, probably by XDS Carbon Tech
Lighter aero bikes.
Your new house needs some sound dampening.
Matt the squirrel is already working on it
Usual thing with moving in: before my neighbor brought in some furniture and got curtains I could hear his every skype/viber call. But luckily for him I know hardly any Polish
Yh it's got a damp problem
@@gcntechyay!
@@gcntechlooking at Ollie,s appearance, is he related to Matt the squirrel?
(Sorry had to). 😂
For a big bike maker, building a very decent aluminum bike with simple and reliable components doesn't require any R&D. They know exactly how to do it, but they choose to focus on high-profit models. Bearings that last longer? Headset bearings are the worst? Only with all the BS internal cable routing. Before everything went to so-called sealed bearings, bearings were serviceable and could last easily decades.
My Shimano Hollowtech BB lasted 26,000 miles.
@@grahamaustin9085 That's good. It's normal for a well maintained cup and cone angular bearing setup with adjustable preload to last virtually indefinitely.
Sad... I love my aluminium bike. It's not high end, but neither are my legs.
I love the standert bikes, they've got some steel and alu bikes. Unfortunately I'm not flexible enough for their models.
The new house looks great but it's a bit echoey
Why listen to us just once when you can listen to us twice?
@@gcntech why listen twice when it's the views that count? Make the picture VR split screen!
Tell Hank to fix the echo in that part of his mansion!
@@BikeLife154 oh, is that where they've moved? Not gonna lie it makes some sense: Hank gets rent, GCN gets better deal? Though what about commute?
@@dtsybulskyi I don’t know but it would be a win win.
The fingerprint on the new Wahoo was awesome
Ollie: you know, I’ve never been to the southern hemisphere, fun fact
Alex: ok… (but you’ve been to the bloody Pirelli factory, haven’t you?)
Ollie’s rant on planned obsolescence is spot on. I mean you’re still able to maintain a vintage Raleigh or Schwinn. I’m not sure that you would be able to do that with a Di2 equipped, press fit bottom bracket, internal cable routed, integrated headset, carbon fiber, aero wonder bike. It will be interesting to see how that works out over time.
Ollie really hates products that cant be repaired and have to be chucked away yet has spent the last decade pushing aero bikes with proprietary clamps, bars, seat posts, etc etc that people are unlikely to be able to get parts for in future.
Love it. While I ride for a shop, we realize people > bikes. Build riders, bikes will follow.
I would like to see afforable bikes that can last a lifetime, this is the way things were. I have a 74 year old Raleigh that still rides like new and is constantly repairable at home. That was no unusual in 1950, this approach to manufature lasted until about 1990. I woul like to see a return to this, good riding bikes, fixable, modestly priced and long lasting.
🙄
Then we need to change world economics, going less global etc. This wont happen. The bike you're talking can still be had (new) for a reasonable amount of money however. I can name plenty of steel framesets to start you off.
One thing that has improved since the 1960s is good clincher tyres, and up to a point,more than 5 rear sprockets. Everything else are only very marginal improvements for most riders at a high price in money and complications.
@@davemoss6976brakes are a lot better now than they were in the 1960s
i really don't know what you are talking about non fixable. I service my 2 year old full suspension mtb at home. with the right tools you can swap the seals, bearings, do the hydraulic brakes, ... and a mtb has a lot more tech compared to my roadbike. my (new) xt hubs are still cone bearings like your 74 old raleigh but needs a lot more work than my no-brand hubs on sealed industrial bearings, wich isn't that much work to swap. if you can find the right bearing you can even swapp the bearing on a modern style bb when they are worn out, wich you couldn't do on a 90's style square type bb cartridge. i agree bitd parts did last longer, but i guess if you buy die cast steel parts today they still last a lifetime.
Sound seems very tinny to me...
Thanks, guys, for bringing up the "right to repair," i.e. we should not have to throw away an entire product because of one small part failure. For example, bike lights are designed to fail now pretty swiftly because the batteries only have 500-1000 cycles of charge/discharge if they are lithium. We SHOULD have a way to replace the batteries (or a way to get the manufacturer to replace the batteries). But only laws would make force the manufacturers to give the people what they want. They all seem to be colluding to use a throw-away plan to elevate their profits.
Ollie looks like he spent too much time in the wind tunnel..😄 Looks good!!
I miss the days when Ollie would start every ride struggling to clip in. Looks like these new pedals will be bringing back the good old days!
my bike cost so much I don't ride it, it only sets in the living room 🤣
It could be your way of getting to the kitchen for a snack.
OMG! Thought I (read wife of…) was the only one with a bike A(read 2!) in my living room!!
@@deborahscheers6662 Lol 👍
@@gcntech bars are 800's a little too tight
Love the content, but please get some sound treatments for the new sets, easy fix makes a huge difference!
I have put tires on backwards purely to troll fellow cyclists. I did this to my Colnago Master (SuperRecord 11s) once and the reactions were priceless LOL
Mate, I don't think it's quite the win you think it is...
That first comment of the week was hilarious. It rly got me laughing 😅
Can I ask Chewie Bridgewood how he felt when Han died?
😂
Doesn’t look very aero either.
@@agamemnonhatred more gutted with Luke’s death and the shit show that was next to films. #somehowpalpetinereturned 🤦♂️🤷♂️ gtfooh
@OllieBridgewood Don't get me started on that....
Great to see Campag back in the World Tour…pity the front mech battery looks like a piece of Lego still!
We need a CAAD14. It's far past time
And Ollie's new hair style 😍👌
Waxed! 😎
@gcntech 😅
@@gcntechwhich @silca additives are in there. Extra long life?
@@gcntech which @silcavelo additives are in there
I just finished the refurbishment of a 1984 Moser classic.
It cost me 700$ in total.
Affordable enough for me
I'd like to see manufacturers finally catch on and start to offer bikes with shorter cranks and narrower handlebars as stock. Currently you either have to change them or buy a custom bike, both of which are expensive.
This is hilarious. Only about 3-5 years ago you were talking about bike anxiety knowing which bike to get lightweight or aero or gravel etc and consumers having too much choice. Now we have one great all round bike choice, we’re going back to more SKUs which will just keep prices increasing.
1 bike model, different specs, different materials to get price down, MORE sizes will help keep costs and waste down. More customisation at point of sale suck as crank length and cockpit sizes will also help reduce waste and cost.
Solid lubrication technology for headsets is DEFINITELY the future. It would save a lot of headaches for people.
2025: let's hope Ollie not leaving GCN for pursuing career in Pirelli factory.
Impossible, he can't brag about visiting the Pirelli factory because everyone does it there
2013 wants its mics back
Ollie is building a time machine
A few thoughts. Maybe controversial.
1. I don‘t even know if there is this big market for entry level road bike tech. The people starting to ride bikes are buying 4k e-bikes.
2. Where is the problem with longevity? I don‘t see bikes got worse.
3. No, disc brakes are NOT the problem. On the MTB side you can buy a set of Deore brakes with levers for 120€
4. I‘m looking into buying a new set of wheels but from the models I am interested in, NONE is available. The industry is at least in parts struggling because they are not able to pick up the money that is waved at them.
@ Oh man, an that GIANT of a manufacturer even has own frame factories. Unfortunately, Canyon makes no wheels. I have searched for the models I am interested in in Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain and Italy. They are out of stock everywhere. I have the impression that the one rim factory in Asia has a problem. The alternatives all have narrow rims and for that, I can as well keep the old wheels.
Ollie: "I've never been to the Southern Hemisphere"
PETITION to send Ollie and crew to New Zealand! I hear there's some good riding, and I want to see him geek out at LotR stuff.
Just send him to Brisbane for some heat training
Awesome news Campy back in the world tour where they belong 😊❤ Pete 🚴🏻👍
I had aero light pedals back in 1986 when I first started racing. Granted, those were just steel axels and plastic covering. Problem with them: 1)terrible to walk around in the “bridge” cleat. 2) Not as easy to clip into fast during a Crit starting line. 3) Not floating or adjustability 4) Need cleat adapter for 3 hole cleat shoes unless you want to nail into your shoe.
I knew I'd seen those things before. Couldn't believe they were raving about these as if it was a new product 😂
What you seem to be looking for in 2025 bikes is my 2013 aluminum frame/carbon fork/105 equipped Giant Defy.
1. would like to see alternative for PRO racing show like TdF/GI - event name like "
No shit pro team's mechanics have to replace headsets bearings every time, have you seen how violent they are with the pressure washer?
Ollie in his lumberjack era. Marketing opportunity: GCN shop flannel?
Crackin' news about Campagnolo (an Italian groupset manufacturer for you newbies) !
I like the everything decorating the new studio! … but it looks dark guys.
I'm thinking the dark background is purposeful; to make the sponsored products stand out from the black backdrop.
Last year I built my own gravel bike to my specs for $2000USD... I bought the frame from China and sourced a combination of high level and lower level parts to finish the build.
And I love it because it is made for my size and comfort.
Ace would be the perfect companion to my Bolt v2 for those multi-day bike tours.
Running several 90's titanium MTBs converted to gravel, most came with top spec Chris King bearings, so frame and bearings are both for life.
If ‘your vintage bike restoration is running Shimano and Arnold’ hasn’t got a spare Dura Ace crankset lying around, get in touch as I have👍
I saw that pedal years ago used in custom shoes in triathlon
I can appreciate Ollie mentioning Pirelli regularly. They are a sponsor, after all. But.... why doesn't the back of Ollies lap top have a Pirelli sticker ? :-)
I would love to see more adorable bikes out there. It’s the way to make cycling attractive for newcomers and more people on bikes is a good thing
The Element 8. You mentioned HUGE and you're correct. It appears to be larger than my smartphone.
For a shop owner (I am not one), I expect a cheap bike sale is often more troublesome in terms of warranty failures than higher priced bikes. If so it would make sense to have a bigger mark up on a cheap bike and less mark up on the expensive one.
I went to Australia and every toilet I used had a jet, I was disappointed not to be able to see which way it spun 😂
Didn't know Noel Edmunds presented GCN Tech...😅😂
Yep, gone are the days of his house party
blobby blobby blobby
perhaps with a future model of the Ace, wahoo could put solar cells in the screen border so that the device would charge whilst in use. current teechnology might not allow a full charge quickly enough, however it would still prolong the time between charges
Congrats on your new base / new house! 👍🏾
Thanks!
Didn’t mention it as thought someone else would.
Back in the day of MTB I recall tyres that were optimised by using one way round on front and other way on the rear. Pretty sure they were labelled that way as well
More longevity? Get rid of proprietary parts on bikes. I’d love to see a return back to 27.2 seatposts AND traditional seatposts clamps, and semi integrated cables on traditional bars and stem.
Also wider tires - less punctures - less waste of inner tubes etc
13 speed 1x GRX Di2 with a 51-9 cassette and Shimano's version of UDH - that allows for backwards compatibility. Would be happy with 12sp but that's what's coming.
At 23:18 you can clearly see Ollie contemplating which Dan is more aero. The new buff one or the classic skinny Dan :)
I honestly don't see a problem with the current market. There are bikes free from freecycle to £15K models. There is a price point for everyone. I really don't see a problem with a 12kg race bike with 8 gears at the back and 2 at the front (Claris or Microshift) for £300 approx give or take. I passed a bike race in my car on the somerset levels and there were young riders at the front on bikes like the Carrera Virtuoso and much older cyclists at the back with high end bikes. Those bikes didn't compensate for being 40 years older but were nice bikes for well off men in retirement with high pensions. Maybe there was a 3kg weight difference between the bikes maybe more but there was more like a 30-40kg weight difference between some of the riders. You don't have to have a expensive bike or a bike that is less than 8kg. A bike made of carbon strips and glue with very weak construction that is easily broken in an accident is surely not a practical bike for everyday riding over pot holes. You don't turn up at Tesco to do your weekly shop in a McLaren and you wouldn't have anywhere to put your shopping if you did. Many of us watch GCN with no intention of buying the high end bikes featured but just interested to see what is available. I'm not going to spend £5k on a bicycle let alone £15k and I'm happy with a £400 bike which I will customise a bit to suit me. If I had £15k spare it would be irresponsible to import such a high value item when the UK economy is suffering from the effects of years of a large trade deficit and borrowing.
I politely disagree with you because that's not the point. The market is overpriced and that's consumers fault too, because we're buying their products even though the brands insist in raising the prices every year. I mean, a mid-end brand new bike from a trustworthy company shouldn't cost the current average price because its manufacturing cost is ridiculously lower than the number we see on the tag.
Also, that raise the bar of every product on the market. Here in Brazil a decent entry level bike costs the equivalent to 500/600 USD. That's outrageous.
@@iamadairjr The average price of a bike sold in the UK about 3 years ago was £300 and that included ebikes. Those numbers mean surely for every 1 £10k bike sold there must be huge amount of £200 bikes sold. In Africa the average price of a bike sold was something like $50-100 a few years ago and Asia wasn't much higher. I think you can a false idea of the cycling industry when you look at channels like GCN which are focused on high end models with minor amounts of content about cheaper bikes which they tend to make fun of like the Eurobike. Even when they bought the Eurobike there were far superior models available for similar money but they wanted to show entry level in a negative light for their sponsors.
Had an older hybrid in the shop on which the tires had one arrow pointing one direction labeled Road Use, and next to that, an arrow pointing the opposite direction labeled Off Road Use.
When brands like Kona and Santa cruz was near the edge this year ,thats a fearfactor. Kona has build cheaper bikes before but with the "Kona soul" ,now the brands seams to drop that "soul-thing"
The vintage build sounds interesting. I'd also like to see a build buying a not-too-old bike with a good frame, but somewhat out of date components, and then restore / update using good Chinese components. ie, how cheap can you build what is actually a quite good bike with modern features.
Be cheaper to get a DA group set out of Alex’s spares drawer 😂
Good point. In fact, I wonder if the entire Chinese supply chain is just Alex getting stuff from his drawers that he's sanded off the brand and written some made up name on with a sharpie?
I had a set of those Aeroflot's pedals back in the late 80's/early 90's... super light but the cleats are massive and require to drill 4 holes in you shoes.
New studio is super cool.. all you need is to cover the unseen walls with cloth so you don’t sound like you’re in a tin can 🥫😉
I absolutely adore the factory tour videos
longevity/sustainability: i am so with you on this, ollie, but... we're never going to see it from major brands as there's no money in it - at least, at the volumes that said brands are used to. i am always looking at sustainability and longevity for any product that i am buying, and i try to buy second-hand as much as possible. it's *almost* like recycling?
DAMPEN THE SOUND in that new room!!!
Ollie was seen taking the sound dampening and making it into TT bar pads... the little rascal!
Week 90 of asking for a "The UCI has no jurisdiction here" t-shirt
Pedal pushers apparel has heeded your request.
🤣
Bring back the red Orbea frame!
what oli got wrong is that the problem with SKU's is not the different models but each model in 100 colors and with sram and shimano in each tier. the permutation of these factors adds up really quick
extolling the virtues of a screen with 16,000,000 colours to Ollie....who's colour blind 😂
yep. 😂
It's simple; your first road bike should be entry level, a long lasting material...not carbon..., and relatively cheap. So big brands.
Once you know what you like and "need" go bespoke and small brand, or higher end big brand and the old bike becomes the backup and winter bike.
I agree that we are going to see cheaper bikes. Wider tires and cheaper groupsets will make aluminum bikes more attractive.
As someone who has used chinese groupsets in the past, they need to step up their game especially their QC, I used to ride a bike with a Sensah Ignite and Sensah Empire pro and both time I ended up changing back to mainstream groupsets.
For frames, wheels, bars etc. chinese parts are good enough and often times amazing value for money, but for groupsets and brakesets, I don't think they're quite there yet
You already dismantled the pinarello! 😮
I still ride my bike from 1992, great CroMolly steel frame. Bought another bike last year, titanium and think this is what will do for the rest of my life (55 yo)
“I messaged Isaac and we sorted it out” … Ollie messaged Sir Isaac Newton!!?!??
You can’t be the lightest and most aero bike at the same time but you can optimize the two to make the fastest bike for general use that isn’t for niche events like hill climbs or TTs.
It's pretty obvious that the wall was repainted to match that beautiful bike (26:24).
I started with those Aerolight pedal system in the 80's and while they were light, they had a bit of problems with them. first you had to screw them into your pedal bottom, hoping you got them in the right place. Second is tha they are hard to get into or get out of. Fell a few times at stops trying to get out of them. It did get me to learn fast how to stay upright at a stop. I tried for so long but gave up for Look pedals. Now for the past 15 years have been using Speedplay/Wahoo pedals and been loving them since they kinda remind me of the Aerolights.
I didn't realize people still used tin cans connected by a string for audio. Maybe try a hollow tube next.
I see Alex wisely put that steel bike on the wall rather than the attempt to make it modern ;)
Its a beauty. Shame "someone" drilled two holes in the frame though......
@ 😂
Entry level aluminum frame with mechanical CUES/105/Ultegra groupset! We can keep hydraulic disc brakes.
12:19 The most Ollie’d thing of Ollie’d things.
give us a 'new house' tour, I'd love to see what happens behind the scenes.
Ollie mentions cheaper alloy bikes and the first thing Alex says is that even alloy bikes can be premium. I don't think the point is to make a super bike out of aluminium.
When the Chinese get their act together and starts making equal quality parts and equipment they are going to decimate the cycling industry. Some big companies are gonna go
But will they? I have purchased stuff off e-bay - cycle lights, a heated blanket, and other items - and, without fail, they have all broken in no time at all and no longer work. The cycle lights failed out of the box. Their life span can be measured in weeks, not even months. I now, on principle, avoid buying Chinese made items wherever I can - and I know that I am not alone. I know that there are many Chinese products that do work but they are balanced by the things they produce that don't. But you just don't know what you're gonna get. So it's not a case of when they get their act together, it's *IF* they get their act together. And then they will have to overcome a lot of ingrained (and based on such experiences described above, justified) prejudice. I will not be buying Chinese made cycle parts unless it is proven over a long period of time that they are better and are better value for money than existing products, and I suspect that there are many others who feel the same. It's still that same old adage about communist (albeit the Soviet version) Vs capitalist produced items that was a hangover from WWII onwards - the communist produced things in great bulk but were of inferior quality, whereas Western produced items were not built in such quantities but were far superior in reliability and ability etc.
@@Stig10001 The thing is, the quality stuff from good brands is also made in China, not only the cheap stuff. You just have to know where and what to buy. There are thousands of examples of super high quality chinese builds. I made the jump two years ago, and am not going back to paying double for the same stuff.
I have seen many times in the northern hemisphere where water drains down a drain in a counter clockwise motion. I have also see it in a clockwise motion.
The limits on tire width on the low end is brake caliper reach, isn't it? Its not easy to put 40c tires through rim brake calipers. I certainly can't on my 1980s trek 560. Its getting hard to get nice clincher tires smaller than 28c. That frame maxes at 25c
What do you mean headset bearing being replaced every race??? I have never once needed to replace one, did it out of caution a couple times and I still have the old bearings because they were flawless after inspection.
Why Bother? "We could not verify that you are human. Please refresh the page and try again." Clear cache, reboot, pause VPN... check geographies, etc. and all for naught. Same "We could not verify that you are human. Please refresh the page and try again." every time I attempted entering the give away for the Wahoo Ace.
Really good episode. Trickle down tech to save the industry itself.
You mentioned Canyon as a good candidate for an entry-level bicycle in the $500-$1,000 USD price range. Currently, the lowest cost option road bike is an aluminum frame Tiagra groupset offering for $1,699 USD. What say you, Gentlemen?
Some ideas for whoever gets Ollie in the Secret Santa:
A mirror
A hairbrush
Scissors
People typically criticize specific things in others that they unhappy or insecure about in themselves. 😉
I predict a rebellion against increasingly-expensive, pointless tech that's driving road bike pricing into car-ownership pricing.
The reason 105 used to be "the groupset of the people" was because it was really good but also really affordable and really easy to find spare parts for. None of that is true for just about any groupset these days because prices have increased exponentially as complexity increases and availability vanishes. I am not kidding when I say that 2025 might be the year of L-Two and Microshift who are more appealing than ever since waiting 10 days for AliExpress shipping is better than being ripped off after waiting 5 weeks for Shimano/SRAM stock to arrive in the UK.
22:20 Ollie don't make coming down here a priority for that. (toilet emoji) The Coriolis effect doesn't come into play until much larger distances.. ;) That being said, it is summer down here.
If it were up to me I would make endurance road bikes built around 650b. It would be easier to fit ever widening rubber w/o compromising frame geometry and integrity. I would also help with toe overlap on smaller sizes, keep gearing roll-out in check and potentially make a lighter and stronger wheel.
From what I can see, your new house looks great! When is the housewarming party?
25 December, Turkey with all the trimmings! 🦃
I reckon that cable actuated Chinese groupsets (either L-Twoo, Wheeltop or Sensah) will be sold on entry level bikes from at least one major brand by 2030. It might take a couple of more years after that to see any of the brands' flagship components on more premium models.
The water going down the drain the opposite way is a myth.
The coreolous effect is real but on the scale of a household plumbing it is beyond negligable.
Love seeing Campagnolo back, but saddened to see Look making bikes that looks just like any other aero bike.
I think Wheeltop and LTwoo apps need to be refined before that will happen. I have yet to see these in person, but from what I’ve watched, they are both slightly glitchy still.
They also need to be translated by more than a google translate with no one checking it
I would like to see those 30 gram pedals being tested by that massive power lifter (the one who couldn't go up hill). But get him to do a max power sprint on them.
That Aerolite pedal design isn't new, friend of mine had very similar pedals back in the early 90s.