Two Things

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

The Cycling Industry Is Not Out To "Get You".  

With the advent of the 32" wheel diameter the oft heard cries of "foul" aimed at marketers and the cycling industry at large are being brought back to the fore. 

I read comments, (I know......you aren't supposed to read the comments!), on threads concerning the new 32" wheels and I see the same old complaints I've seen over the years. Complaints concerning internal cable routing, disc brakes, 27.5"ers, "Plus sized tires". and 29"ers, not to mention bottom brackets, head sets, and more component changes. 

"It's just another thing they've done to make us spend more money!"

This one is one of my favorite old saws concerning the bicycle industry. It is as if anything new comes along with a gun held to your head "making you buy it". This is such a ridiculous complaint and it deserves the utmost derision in return. It is just a stupid, knee-jerk, thoughtless comment. No one is making you spend your money. The consumer can vote by NOT spending any money on new tech, and often they do. Quit complaining in this manner and keep your credit card hidden, go out and touch grass. It'll be okay. 

I know I could go on because I've seen so much negativity lambasted at products people thought no one needed and were a waste of time over the years. Guess what? More often than not, those things become the hill someone else is going to die on concerning something that shouldn't be changed in the future. See 29"ers vs 26"ers, and now what people say about 29"ers vs 32"ers. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of those who are against the idea of a 32"er were against the idea of a 29"er twenty years ago. They probably have forgotten all about this though. 

And the whole "standards" thing is a farce. There haven't been standards, in a strict sense of the word, EVER in cycling. There is the standard you came into cycling with, and which you think shouldn't ever change, yes. But in reality, cycling is in a state of constant change. Just ask any bicycle mechanic who has to buy hundreds of dollars worth of tools every year just to keep up with those changes. 

In one sense, this is the problem with cycling. Not that any company is out to get you by changing things, but that these companies keep inventing "new" things which we don't really need. Once in a while actual innovation to the betterment of all is achieved. (Threadless head sets, cartridge bottom brackets, 29"ers), and at other times it is change for no real benefit to anyone (internally routed cables, various bottom bracket types, XD drivers). So, this foments the idea that cycling is just trying to make it so you have to buy the latest thing. You do not "have to" buy anything. 

You just think you do..... 

Gravel Porn: Ben Witt on the Heywood 390 course

Doing It Right

Wednesday I saw some Instagram stories from the guys at the Heywood Ride.  They were out  for a long day of course-checking for their upcoming event on May 16th. 

This was for their longest route option. A 390 mile beast of a loop running through the Driftless Area. (IYKYK) 

There are shorter distances which, I imagine, most people will rather do, but these ultra-distance gravel routes always tug at my heart. No surprise there, I suppose. 

I was most chuffed to know that Marty Larson and Ben Witt "get it". They understand that you just do not simply throw a route out with a GPS track and expect it to work. It will not work. These guys know it won't work that way. This is why they drove the course to check everything out. And they found a problem they had to account for with a re-route. 

This level of care and attention to detail is worthy of your attending this event. If you have a hankering for a good time on a bike, I cannot recommend this ride strongly enough. Check it out. There is still time to get onboard at any distance or commitment level you want to.