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I'll start...
I like riding my commuter more than my MTB and road bike.
There... I said it!
Anyone else care to share their controversial cycling opinions?
The 'rules' are a load of shit.
It doesn't matter what you ride.
It doesn't matter what anybody else rides.
Everybody else thinks cyclists are dicks because the majority of us act like pompous entitled arseholes.
Anybody on a bike is a cyclist.
The Rapha Festive 500 is the peak of Grinchy middle aged antisocial grumpyness. Spend time with your friends and family, help your family with the prep, you miserable git.
Disc brakes on road bikes are a travesty. Road bikes should be sleek, fast and quiet, not heavy(er), draggier, uglier and squealier. If you want to slow down quicker, pull the levers harder!
As Tullio himself said 'I make my bikes to go, not to stop!'
[/deliberately controversial]
Enduro is a boring format.
It's like downhill, but not quite as technical, and like cross country, but with unsuitable bikes. And it's impossible to broadcast in an interesting way.
I can state my opinion as I've taken part in an enduro.
There is more to life than cycling. If you miss a day/week/month/year, life goes on.
You don't need to wave at every cyclist you see/pass.
ads678
Member
The ‘rules’ are a load of shit.
Always interesting as you can never really tell if the person calling them shit thinks they are real or a joke.....
Wear a helmet.
Use lights, even in daylight.
Hi viz pants for everyone!
Strava is for dicks
Disc brakes on road bikes are great
1 x looks ridiculous with a stupid huge cassette
Any ride that doesn’t involve a pub stop is a waste
There is more to life than cycling. If you miss a day/week/month/year, life goes on.
Hold on, easy now... there's limits to controversy
Most "classic" rides are actually a bit dull, a few interesting bits linked by miles of boring grind.
Hi viz pants for everyone!
Why?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/COLOURED-CLASSIC-BOXERS-UNDERWEAR-12-PACK/dp/B0152HHJK4
Lycra is the right tool for the job of riding a bike. That you don't wear it means you're either vain or a fool or both.
I understand a dropper is a good bit of kit, but if it's the most important component on your bike and you can barely ride without it then you have bad technique.
Climbs are much more enjoyable than descents.
Cafe stops have no place on a ride. Time is precious, if you have 3 hours for a ride then you should spend all of that 3 hours riding.
Related, if the ride is scheduled to start at 9am then that means we're moving by 9:05 latest. If you want to faff then arrive early.
You're bike is better than you are, yes, even you, and me. It's almost never the bikes fault you couldn't do something, it's yours.
Deep breath...
Not so much an opinion, but a controversial bike...
My fatbike is a 90%+ a tarmac commuter, which sometimes like currently runs a 29er front wheel and fat rear wheel, it's been dual speed (24/38T rings) due to a lack of rear mech cable since around July. I've been using the scarred Specialized road stem on it from my old Tricross Singlecross RTA almost six years ago to give me some extra steering stability at speed (and a bit more aero) for well over a year. 😮
Flat pedals work fine on road bikes. In fact opposite to above, baggies also fine.
ads678
Member
The ‘rules’ are a load of shit.
Always interesting as you can never really tell if the person calling them shit thinks they are real or a joke…..
🤔😉
People need to simmer down about e-bikes, they are a thing, they are here to stay and you just need to accept them.
It really is you not the bike. All the carbon fibre and suspension technology in the world isn't going to help if you are fat and unfit (like me) so stop swallowing the marketing Koolaid about weight, travel, geometry, wheel size ad bloody infinitum and just ride your bike, whatever it is, more.
Or buy an e-bike
Any ride that doesn’t involve a pub stop is a waste
I knew there was a reason that despite living close we'd never met @Houns!
- "Cyclist" is a dirty word.
- Safety gear does more harm than good.
- Sausage rolls are better than cake.
- People who eat gels while riding instead of stopping for proper food should be deported, or at least put on some sort of register.
- Cycle racing is about as interesting to watch as a game of Guess Who where neither of the players have bothered to turn up.
Ha! Just thought the same when read your post, then I scrolled down. I’ll wave as you ride past the pub/cafe/ice cream van
Disc brakes on road bikes are a travesty. Road bikes should be sleek, fast and quiet, not heavy(er), draggier, uglier and squealier
Only on your road bikes >>> so many LMAO smileys it would have crashed the server <<<
Mountain bikers tend to be far older men who look hideous in Lycra.
60mm Carbon wheels on a road bike really are for summer dry windless days only.
Discs brakes on road bikes are awesome for very fast descents, carbon rim brakes not so awesome.
Maxxis Shorty sucks the life out of my trail bike. Ascending is a chore and makes me want an ebike.
A hardtail is for life, not just the winter.
Anybody that thinks there is a "right way" of enjoying yourself on a bike, is a dick
Ebikes are great.
Aero isn't everything.
Triathlon is a legitimate branch of cycling.
29" is just marketing BS
12 speed is just marketing BS
Ebikes are 90% marketing BS, and should be restricted to people who show an actual passion for cycling.
i always use miles for distance and speed.
i always use miles for distance and speed.
and feet for climb/descent!
i always use miles for distance and speed.
People only use KM to try and sound more impressive, it has nothing to do with preference for the metric system.
Pedals, any competent rider can happily use either clips or flats. If you struggle with either, learn to ride properly.
26in ain't dead.
Lance Armstrong will make a Tour comeback with the blessing of USADA.
He will win and become the darling of cycling all over again.
Lycra is the right tool for the job of riding a bike. That you don’t wear it means you’re either vain or a fool or both.
I understand a dropper is a good bit of kit, but if it’s the most important component on your bike and you can barely ride without it then you have bad technique.
Climbs are much more enjoyable than descents.
Cafe stops have no place on a ride. Time is precious, if you have 3 hours for a ride then you should spend all of that 3 hours riding.
Related, if the ride is scheduled to start at 9am then that means we’re moving by 9:05 latest. If you want to faff then arrive early.
You’re bike is better than you are, yes, even you, and me. It’s almost never the bikes fault you couldn’t do something, it’s yours.
Sounds like someone else is a time crunched road cyclist! I genuinely can't go out with my local club as however pleasant a group of guys, and however good the route, I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR A 1HR COFFEE STOP!
Great thread by the way, it's like group therapy.
Mine:
1) A properly designed trail centre/bike park trail that's appropriate to your skill level is superior to the best natural riding.
2) 26" was in hindsight, terrible. Mainly, IMO, due to BB being above the axles (or close to it)
3) Orange full-sussers since about 2016 look lovely
4) While they may be fun, good exercise, and allowed on the same trails; e-bikes have no place in a group ride with non e-bikes.
I understand a dropper is a good bit of kit, but if it’s the most important component on your bike and you can barely ride without it then you have bad technique.
I'm going to need this one explained to me though...
The cycling media are some of the worst for promoting the "them vs us" cyclists vs driver scorn...i'm looking at you road.cc
You don't really need 160mm travel to ride 95% of trail centres..
Enduro races should include some (or at least more) uphill, otherwise it's just DH that you pedal to the top of.
Colour coordinated components are for blind idiots.
The Forestry Commission trail centres in Wales need to learn that descents are more fun if they're steep not long.
Driving from Yorkshire to Bike Park Wales (or anywhere more than a couple of hours from it) when you could drive to Scottish, Lake District or Welsh mountains in the same time is a waste of your time.
Zwift activities have no place on Strava
Oh, and anyone that thinks a Bianchi or Pinarello looks good is absolutely out of their ****ing mind.
I miss bar ends.
And this one isn't controversial - for DH, XC or enduro, flat pedals are for new riders. Sam Hill is the exception that proves the rule, and he'd be faster with SPDs.
Zwift activities have no place on Strava
Thanks, didn't have the guts for this one.
That, or Zwift miles should count as half as they require far less commitment than going out in the wet and cold and actually posting an interesting local route (only jealous as already-fit buddy is sneakily getting even fitter on Zwift this winter while I lie about injured and posting on here...)
Any ride less than an hour long does not require water, food or spare clothing.
its not about the bike.
Oh, and anyone that thinks a Bianchi or Pinarello looks good is absolutely out of their **** mind.
I can't resist a nice Bianchi, until it comes to actually buying one and realising how overpriced they are with all sorts of cheap and nasty cost cutting components. Not for all the celeste in the world I'm afraid!
No one wants to watch your sick edit.
2) 26″ was in hindsight, terrible. Mainly, IMO, due to BB being above the axles (or close to it)
3) Orange full-sussers since about 2016 look lovely
I like the cut of your jib.
About the same proportion of drivers and cyclists on the road are dicks (Although the potential outcomes for drivers and cyclists are very different).
Gravel bikes/biking were not invented by a marketing department trying to sell more bikes, its an actual thing.
Related, if the ride is scheduled to start at 9am then that means we’re moving by 9:05 latest. If you want to faff then arrive early.
No, if a ride starts at 9, it starts at 9. Discussions over route choice, who's leading, cafe stops and the weather take place before that.
I’m going to need this one explained to me though…
Some people like to evangelize over how they're more important than suspension, disk brake and >2.1" tyres put together. Other people just get on with it. TBH I have a dropper on one bike and not the others, I use it, but don't really notice it when it's not there. It's a very expensive, heavy and fragile addition to mountain bikes.
It WAS a spoon.
The vast majority of MTBs are pointless overkill for the vast majority of UK trails.
Bike brands are largely incompetent when it comes to making durable products, as evidenced by the woefully short bearing life experienced in most MTBs.
Triple chainsets are wonderful, everyone who doesn't have on is just kidding themselves they don't need a granny gear.
Lycra is the right tool for the job of riding a bike. That you don’t wear it means you’re either vain or a fool or both.
Lycra is the right tool for the job of riding a bike but should be worn covered by baggies unless in an XC race. Half acceptable on the road maybe but not uncovered when worn by anyone over 12st (I'm include in this).
Noisy hubs are the work of the devil.
Coloured Hope components looks shit in any and every colour.
We all look like idiots to people who don't ride bikes - doesn't matter if its lycra or a full face helmet and storm trooper padding.
We don't need half the crap bike journalists tell us we do. Most of the niches they tell us about can be covered by "going for a ride on a bike". I may be 0.3 seconds slower than if I was on the ideal bike but it really doesn't matter as I am not in a competition.
There is no such thing as a pain cave or similar, it is your garage and you are riding several hundred quids worth of kit in your garage because it is too cold to go outside.
Just because you're riding a bike, you're not automatically in the right.
and in a similar vein
About the same proportion of drivers and cyclists on the road are dicks (Although the potential outcomes for drivers and cyclists are very different).
hhmmmmm.....commuting through central London I'd say about 75% of cyclists are dicks to some extent - this increases to 100% if they have any deliveroo branding on them.
Cycling happens outside London.
The benefits of helmet wearing are overstated
I`m not finding the majority of these opinions controversial at all.
I`m not finding the majority of these opinions controversial at all.
I disagree with about half and strongly agree with the other half - so i guess that's spot on
Zwift/turbo training is not cycling
no dear work-colleague, you have not ridden alpe d'huez, you just sat in your shed for longer than normal
I have never had any problem with Avid brakes.
I wave at/acknowledge all cyclists when I am out.
I stop at all red lights, even if there is no one crossing.
I don't care if 1X everything is in.
I would never call any time on a bike ..junk miles, if I am cycling, it's all good.
'Massive' group mountain bike rides outside of an organised charity event or race are stupid and irresponsible.
fat blokes make good cyclists.
lycra is ****. tweed is far nice to wear.
beer is the perfect cycling drink. both isotonic and thirst quenching.
touring is by far the best form of cycling............ FACT
Bikepacking...spending loads to have a crap nights sleep
(But yet still do it/type 2 enjoy it)
It WAS a spoon.
Spooning leads to forking.
More? More.
The single most important component on a bike is the tyres so pick them well and look after them. A few PSI can change the characteristics of a bike, and bad tyres can make any bike feel terrible.
If you consistently break wheels and frames, unless you're riding world cup DH for a living, it just means you're a poor rider who can't ride with any finesse.
If you have to drive to a ride and the total time getting there and back, including packing, unpacking, cleaning up kit and any other faffing, is more than the time spent riding you are doing things very wrong indeed. Ideally aim for 1 hour riding for every half hour travelling.
Ultimately, cycling is great, but it's not quite as great as running.
If you have to drive to a ride and the total time getting there and back, including packing, unpacking, cleaning up kit and any other faffing, is more than the time spent riding you are doing things very wrong indeed. Ideally aim for 1 hour riding for every half hour travelling.
I dunno, there's a lot to be said for a weekend away. Although I'm inclined to squeeze a lot of riding into those, I managed 320 miles in a Scottish long weekend last summer! That's not to say squeezing a trip to Afan or BPW isn't a worthwhile day out.
I enjoy being over-biked.
A hard tail always looks better single speed.
I miss bar ends.
Beaten to it.
Zwift/turbo training is not cycling
Totally agree, don't think anyone would disagree, but the fitness gains make cycling more enjoyable because you can go for longer and suffer less.
My ones,
Big shaggy beards used to be kinda out there but are now a ridiculously cliched "mountain biker" look.
Anyone who color coordinates their bike kit is a bit sad
worrying about aligning your valve core \ rim labels \ tyre labels shows a mental lacking
roadies are grumpy. Well that's what I thought until I went riding with my sister and they all nodded and said hello to her and ignored me. Still grumpy though.
SPD's have no place in mountain biking only for roadies.
Forget gravel bikes get a retro mtb instead.
Top of the line bikes are a waste of money for most riders. Might as well get a mid range bike. they are just as good.
Most alloy bikes are fine and it's more durable than carbon.
All of the above is a bit tongue in cheek.
Mountain bikers tend to be far older men who look hideous in Lycra.
I think you meant fat.
Triple chainsets are wonderful, everyone who doesn’t have on is just kidding themselves they don’t need a granny gear.
Agreed, but I am old and slow.
Lycra is the right tool for the job of riding a bike but should be worn covered by baggies unless in an XC race. Half acceptable on the road maybe but not uncovered when worn by anyone over 12st.
I may be old and slow but I'm only just over 9st.
I think full suspension bikes are overkill for the majority of UK riding.
Expensive bikes are worth it, even if you aren't at pro levels of ability.
Steel isn't even in the Top 3 materials to build a frame out of.