A Cracked article, but it’s pretty informative. I’ve ridden bikes since the 3rd grade. Back then bike racks were a standard part of any elementary school parking lot. There would be 40 bicycles in a couple racks on nice fall day. I still ride regularly on nice weekends in jeans and a bright red sweat shirt.
Much like the author I’m not interested in all the new high tech bicycle accessories. No Lycra shorts for me or ass balm. Toe Clips? Hell no. I don’t care about speed. The whole point of riding is to get on a country road, get some exercise and enjoy the scenery. I’ll ride about six miles on a nice day.
It’s pretty interesting. It’ amazing how they’ve taken such a simple pleasure and made it mind blowingly complicated. If it makes these young studs happy then thats cool.
btw Do elementary schools still have those long bike racks?
How could it be more high tech than special shoes that clip into the pedals and seats molded to your privates? That seems pretty futuristic to me. Especially for a weekend rider.
I wondered if a lot of that stuff is for pro riders? Cracked often exaggerates stuff in their articles.
Toe clips(old school) go back many decades. The clip in style at least 20-25 years.
Molded seats 10-15 at a guess though the upper level types use leather saddles that are a sort of sling. And those go back decades.
Newest tech: electronic drivetrains/shifters. 11 gears on the rear wheel combined with 2 or three chainrings.
He’s ONLY referring to thing related to road bikes, not cross or mountain bikes. You get on a mountain bike and you’re back to old school cycling. No padded shorts, no bag balm, lots of suspension, big tires, pedal decks, no feet ‘stuck’ to the pedals, etc.
Whomever told the author that the leg needs to be straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke is 100% wrong. There should be a 10 to 30 degree bend in the knee. But he’s right that excessive bend not only looks stupid, but is horrible on the knees.
The point of clip ins (which I use) is to be more efficient with the pedal stroke. They’re easy to use (once you get used to unclipping), but in no way mandatory for recreational cyclists.
Only road cyclists wear the lycra. A cross or mountain bike riders wears the standard outfit of shorts and a t-shirt. The point of the tight clothes is to reduce resistance. Again, the author focused on road cycling and painted all of cycling with that broad brush.
Yeah, this is a horribly written article. Ride how you fricken’ want. There is nothing confusing or embarrassing about being a recreational cyclist. Sheesh. :rolleyes:
I ride 4,000+ miles a year. I have a carbon fiber bike that cost me over $2,500 and a Garmin Edge 705 GPS bike computer that costed me $650. Lycra shorts and Cool-Max jerseys fit snugly over my 215 lb, 59 year old body. I wear carbon fiber cycling shoes that clip into pedals.
My 10-speed actually has 30 gears. Heck even my water bottle cages are carbon fiber. And I have buddies who have even more expensive bikes. Some bikes now have electronic shifting!
That Cracked article is pretty accurate.
We cyclists are a pretty strange bunch. Our idea of fun is doing things like riding 100 miles in under 6 hours on that tiny seat in the middle of the summer heat. Some of use even go farther. I’ve done over 200 miles in one day a few times. My youngest daughter once won the women’s division of a 24-hour race by doing 355 miles. I guess foolishness can be genetic.
My mistake if I’m being whooshed, but in case you’re serious PSXer****, lots of delivery people use bicycles modified with a little engine so they can go faster with less effort. They’re illegal in New York City, but that’s not stopping anybody.
Did something hit a nerve? Cracked isn’t high journalism, but then the real stuff isn’t always very accurate. There are plenty of people described like in her article. It doesn’t say that all bicyclists are like this. Mountain bikers have their own array of ridiculous products and stupid beliefs.
I don’t get what #5 is saying completely. I’ve always been taught when I was a kid is that your feet should be able to touch the ground, but they shouldn’t go flat and your heel shouldn’t reach. And I have no idea if that’s what she’s saying or if I’m wrong. I first learned that bike shoes were a thing in 2008 or so. And #1 is totally fair game to poke fun at these guys. When your gear costs more than most “normal” people’s bikes, you’re trying too hard.
The hipster trend is of course the opposite. A fixie (fixed gear) bike, and then to make it cooler and more dangerous, you remove the brakes so you must rely on your coaster brakes all the time. But you gotta look good.
Not sure what a “long” bike rack is, but these are all over (I don’t spend any time in K-12 schools to know what they have).
I’m going to have to argue with you on a few things. True, you don’t have to follow any particular trend, but most serious riders wear the same stuff on any kind of bike they’re riding. CX racers pretty much ARE roadies, just on road bikes with knobby tires. I’ve never seen anyone race CX with a t-shirt and baggies.
Lots of MTB riders wear baggies, but I’ll bet the majority wear padded lycra underneath. I’d even bet most use clipless pedals. All racers wear lycra though. Downhill MTB might be the exception.
Tight clothes don’t just help with wind resistance, they also make riding more comfortable. Having something brushing your skin for hours can chafe. Having seams can rub you raw. Using cotton clothing retains sweat and makes clothes heavy and even clingier. Lycra solves all of that. No chafing, no seams, and moisture wicking.
I guess it must be a regional thing with the clothing. I race road and CX, and wear different clothing for each. True, for CX I do wear padded shorts (actually, capri’s because it’s fall), but looser tops. There are many people in CX here that wear baggy shorts (and some even ride MTB’s, but that’s because it’s a very inclusive club and we encourage everyone to participate). I can’t tell if they have padded shorts underneath.
The serious (competitive cross country) MTB’s that I know do also use clipless pedals, but some do not, it depends on the person.
My point with my whole rant is that people should not be discouraged from riding a bike by silly articles like this. Riding a bike should be joyful, and if you aren’t the type of person who wants to get technical and spend thousands of dollars on all the bells and whistles, please don’t feel like by not buying in you aren’t a real bike rider. Just go ride, screw everyone else.
FordTaurusSHO94 I totally agree. That was the point I was trying to make in my OP. Cycling is an activity anybody can enjoy regardless of fitness level. The Cracked article makes it sound like some kind of super endurance sport. That may be true for some, but the rest of us are very happy getting fresh air and stopping after a few miles.
Six to ten miles is plenty for me and gives me a good work out. I limit it to six in hot weather. I’ll go to ten on a brisk Fall day. I need to get a beat up bike that I could safely leave in the bushes. There are times I’d like to stop and do some hiking on my cycling trips. But I can’t risk leaving my Schwinn. Somebody would grab it.
Many people believe that they should be able to firmly plant their feet on the ground while they are sitting on the seat. If they can’t, they feel that the fit is incorrect. Of course this is wrong, as proper fit with regard to seat height is about the degree to which the leg extends while pedaling. Usually, when the seat is at the correct height one cannot sit on the seat and firmly plant one’s feet. And that’s fine. Riding a bike requires proper leg extension, not sitting on the seat when stopped. I always tell them to just get off the seat when they stop.
That’s not necessarily true at all. While there are posers in the riding community, most riders who own expensive gear and bicycles are chasing performance.
I own what what most would consider an insanely expensive mountain bike and lots of expensive gear. I’m not “trying too hard”. Rather, I’m obsessed with mountain biking and ride as often as my schedule and body will allow. I ride on the edge of what my bike and my body can handle for many hours a week in the pursuit of fitness, performance, and thrills. My bike is strong and rigid yet light, nimble and durable. Those qualities together cost a lot of money, but that is what it takes to achieve the results I desire. Of course, the bike only gets one so far, the rest is up to skill and fitness.
It’s accurate for “cyclists,” but less so for people who just ride bicycles. Then of course, you have people who think everything they do has to be done “pro” style. So then I have situations like my 12 year old son telling me he needs a bike and equipment that costs more than my car so he can just hang out with his friends around the neighborhood or ride on a flat paved bike trail.
Actually friend,IIRC it’s worse than that. Fixie means the rear sprocket is fixed to the hub, ie pedal forward go forward , pedal backward go backward. The pedals always turn with the rear wheel.
There is no freewheel, and no brakes.
I believe this is a racing bike being used on the street. I guess it’s like the above mentioned racing equipment being used on the street as well. (clip on shoes, carbon fiber everything, electric shifters)
I find it strange…but far be it from me to judge. In the 80’s I used to drive a ridiculous (and cool) 67 mustang on the street with 12-1 compression, tunnel ram, 2 x 4 bbls, roll cage, narrowed rearend…etc:D
That seems pretty futuristic to me. Especially for a weekend rider.
