3 LIES Holding You Back as a New Cyclist 

Friendly PSA: Don't buy speed from bikers. Oh... nevermind, wrong room

The calves of a Greek God and the arms of a T-Rex!!

I was a t-shirt rider for years, and I was amazed at the difference when I got my first real kit. This is a great video! A lot of valuable advice packed into 14 minutes.

It's uncanny... I went through all of those phases on the lycra: baggy shorts and t-shirt because I didn't want to look like an idiot... then to cheap cycling shorts and cheap cycling shirt because I realised all that flapping was slow and uncomfortable... next to slightly upgraded shorts and tighter shirt... finally to expensive bib shorts and jersey because they fit much better and I'm now convinced I look awesome in them.

Fact. You will get passed by more experienced rider. This will happen less often over time, but there are always going to be more experienced riders. Don't let it ruin your ride and take all the fun out of the sport.

Lol, my partner calls my sugar water 'hummingbird food'. A bit of lime juice and table salt makes it more drinkable.

My new girlfriend thinks I look good in lycra. That’s how I know she’s a keeper. 😂

Another great video Mitch. I've loved watching your journey going from a beginner cyclist to a seasoned athlete. Very inspirational.

Thanks for the info on formula369. I used your link and my bag came this week. After trying, I can say I feel similar to when fueled by Maurten 320, which I used for an event last year. I feel that is too expensive to use for training, so thanks again for this alternative. By the way, I enjoy your videos; your personality, humor, and storytelling.

Since I’m not racing speed isn’t my main focus - getting fitter is, so as long as my Watts are going up I’m good 👍🏻 Therefore comfort and ease (aka lack of mechanicals) is the main goal. If I was racing though, then it’s ALL about speed! Carbs though, are a universal truth for all endurance sports - no matter what your goals are

Going for an ebike like the Kawasaki Ninja can really improve your confidence if you're new.

Not a beginner but still greatly enjoyed the video, and was reminded of a thing or two! Nice work, and thanks for putting this out there!

Beginner here! Got some chuckles and learned some stuff! Subscribed!

The video we all needed 😅 thanks mate

can't wait to follow all these tips to get to work faster! Exciting!

Cool stuff, informative, easy to listen to and humorous. New sub for ya lad.

Your last conclusion line is hilarious and perfect 🤩 😂

This was the perfect intro to cycling video we all needed. LOVED the zone of delusion as well. Fully LOL moment. Keep the vids coming. Instant sub I was so impressed in a world of meh...

Lifelong BMX rider getting into road cycling, this video was great, thanks! 😂😂😂

Thank you Sir! Great advice

I would say most people don't buy new bikes because they want more speed. They just want a nice looking bike and that's totally fine

Love this! nice video Mitch!

All I hard was "buy a new Aero bike"! Thanks for convincing me :)

That lycra thing is very true. I went as fast as I could in lycra got speed of 41 km/h, three days later, same road, same max effort, but a loose jacket- 39 km/h. Another great thing with lycra is the backpockets. I love them.

Love it! I'm not a speed bike, but a MTB, and most of the advice suits well! :3

Great video Mitch . keep up the good work

love your videos mitch!!

I never thought I’d wear Lycra. I bought a road bike and did MTB shorts and a t shirt…. After a few weeks I gave in. Now I love the Lycra and and slowly building up a whole wardrobe

Another great video. Let me know when you want to come to NC, we'll go climb a couple mountains

Bonking is actually wonderful in retrospect….to have that reference point

Glad you took my advice on the mo. If you did a ramp test your ftp would have gone from 300 to Badass! 😂

There are two kinds of “buying a new bike”, one is “replace this with that” (for whatever reason: looks, component upgrades, performance upgrades, proper sizing). The other is “add X to my stable because it’s for .” I’ve done a mix of both: upgrading my “fast” road bike 3 times (once for size), and my gravel bike 2 times (once for sizing). But I added a dedicated trainer bike for convenience, an endurance bike for comfort, and a flat-bar gravel for more technical off-roading than I was comfortable doing on my gravel. Sure, I could probably have consolidated all my drop-bar bikes into a single frame with 2-3 sets of wheels. My was was more expensive, but each serves its own purpose even with overlap.

Great content and presentation. 👍

There's a demographic of cyclists that wear their cycling clothing into the ground. Saggy / see through bibs. Dudes. Consider them a consumable. They do have a lifespan. When they no longer compress and sag on you, or are threatening to go see though, replace them. There's affordable yet quality options. Quality reputable name brands do go on sale, so you don't have to settle for generic.

I have more cycling clothes than regular cloths. It's also important that my shoes match. I truly believe look good, feel good, and ride good.

Love the insane lycra bit 😂the chart 🤌

The demonization of carbs in the fitness world needs to stop. Carbs are life and energy, especially for very active people. And the only fasting I'm going to do is when I'm sleeping.

I'm not sure what your recipe for your videos is. I can't figure out why I enjoy them but all I know is that I do.

last week i did a test and turns out my w/kg is 5.3 lol, only trained about 2 or 3 three times a week so apparentely i am talented! Keep it up Mitch, great content!

All true. Though the most effective upgrades are always upgrading yourself. Thus such thing as training plan and direct drive trainer for your pain cave got top ROI of all the upgrades.

I can confirm J graph, I was embarrassed of wearing Lycra. Now I love it and its super comfy

Started cycling last winter and have never touched no lycras, bib shorts whatsoever. I still ride in my regular ass cotton t-shirts and baggy gym shorts and am still having so much fun, averaging around 30km/h these days in a very flat area. And no chafing and butt hurting after a few months. Guess I just adapted. I'm totally satisfied with how I ride now, so the biggest lie for me has been that you should just wear those skin suits that'll charge you like crazy $$$. But if I ever get more serious about getting faster, I'll definitely consider joining the dark side....

Fun informative videos. 😀 thanks!!

Yes space balls reference!!!

You inflate my ego too much

More important thing about lycra than speed iml is the functionality on the bike. Both the padded shorts for comfort and the back pockets in the jersey for storage, anything else is not allowing you to cycle as it's supposed to be

Good video, I don't necessarily agree with the new handlebar upgrade, I think that can be a good one. Don't forget that as you said 80% of the drag comes from you, the rider and the handlebar plays a big part of your riding position. Of course the no 1 important thing you need for an aero position is a strong core but if you are like Chris Froome (tall and super skinny with long limbs) then you might be the person with the strongest core on the planet, but if you are riding with a 44cm handlebar and a 70mm stem and have a saddle designed only for climbing then holding an aero position will still be likely very painful after 20-30 minutes of riding. Having said that I think the 4th lie that perhaps hold a lot of beginner cyclists back is that pro/retül bike fitting is a waste of money. There are of course better and worse bike fitters but if you are member of a local club then you can ask the club members, mainly more experienced ones who they can recommend as the best bike fitter of your local area.

My biggest hold-back from embracing real cycling kit was the cost of getting kit that was comfortable. Yeah, I did the Amazon cheap stuff, but it wasn’t until I tried that I built an inventory of bibshorts & jerseys. Finding affordable, comfortable kit made it possible to give up all that loose, floppy exercise gear. Great advice for all cyclists, not just new ones. One of the simple sugars I like to bring along is Smartees. Aside from the tartness that can induce thirst/drinking, Smartees are almost pure dextrose (aka “baker’s sugar”), which in my experience is incredibly easy on the tummy. And the biggest change I made to improve my performance was losing weight. Not of the bike, but of the *rider*. It took serious attention to how much & when I was eating, but I dropped 25lb between two seasons and the difference in how I felt and how fast I felt was very noticeable. Everything else was “marginal gains.”

Sitting on my couch, eating beans, and I spot myself riding 0:34 in this video 😮

Glad I found this channel! I signed up for a 100 mile race in August and I am just a beginner (long story about my grandpa giving me his bike). Can you tell me when it comes to carbs... what tells you they dont work well with your body? is the goal to feel the energy, belly feel great, no poop? Lol

Yeah, but if I have a tailwind on a climb, shouldn't I wear baggy clothes ? That would give me a huge advantage !

You are hilarious dude!!!

Great video @MitchBoyer ...very much above average...like yourself 😎😁

Good tips 😊

Interested to see your diet video. I am 53 and been on carnivore diet for 4 months now. I don't ride 6 to 8 hour rides but have had no issue with rides of 3 to 4 hours with zero carbs. I will be experimenting with higher intensity rides because I am planning a 2200km trip.

my Lyrca story... at 17 I got a pair of biker shorts for christmas... growing up a "husky" kid even though I wasn't at the time I always wore overshorts... until in the middle of a FL summer day around noon I decided to go out for a ride... I stepped outside and the heat hit me hard... I tossed the overshorts back into the house and haven't looked back... unfortuantly it took me anothe 10+ years to move to wicking/jersey type fabric for my torso... I wish someone would have told me how bad cotton T shirts where haha... these days as a SUPER CLYDE (aka fatty) I wear spandex... I ride for my comfort... not yours... in Houston the humidity sucks... wicking fabric is king

I look like an avocado 🥑 when I wear bike shorts and top...but I'm gonna give it a try!

I have three road bikes (excluding vintage), a 2022 Vitus Razor, a 1992 Trek 2300 composite, and a 1997 Olmo Giro. There isn’t much speed difference between them unless on a very long descent. On an average ride it’s minimal. Lycra is a far bigger difference.

Always entertaining but now with added extra informativeness. If you're going to upgrade equipment, wheels are where the bang for your buck is (with good tyres).

Perfect intro 😂

You know what you can buy that will make you faster? A trainer lol, someone who can work with you to optimize your training to keep gaining watts. Spending $200+ on a aero handlebar is going to do way less than developing your engines. I'd put money into that before upgrading the bike tooo much. Health and fitness = speed to me and you can buy ways to optimize your training, increasing your speed at a greater rate than tryna figure out on your own. There's people that go to school and specialize in that stuff lol you don't have to if you don't want to! milliseconds faster doesn't equate to more enjoyment in my commuter only atm opinion xD(I say that knowing that some enjoyment stems from seeing you beat your times and scores, I am highly competetive so I understand that it's not just the act of riding for road cycling, but also your times) I think i'm leaning more towards wanting to get into touring/bike packing rather than road cycling/racing so to me really buying speed is irrelevant if you aren't already optimal in the health and comfort on the bike department. over a 100 mile ride you saved 2 minutes with the aero handlebar, woooow, type thing lol, vs I did 50 more watts consistently over that 100 miles, that's friggen something right there.

Ok, time for subscribing 🎉

Funny thing is, when you said that it's only bikeheads who think they look good in lycra I was like wait what? Thinking about it you might be right, but I never considered other riders or myself not looking good the way we dress. Though I hardly wore anything else for bike riding since I was ten, so that might explain it. 😜 I've been thinking if it might be slightly unappropriate that I wear tights to University as well, but I guess who cares. (It is around 30 kilometers from where I live, and I've found that it's a perfect way of putting in riding time with a tight schedule if I go by bike.)

Although I am slowly getting into cycling clothes I don't agree with the point of "go for cycling clothes". I bought them, because I had trouble with sweating on my 21 km commute, but I would recommend to wear whatever makes you having fun on your bike. Riding a bit faster is nothing compared to riding more. I say, if you have fun on your bike and feel good, don't spend money on expensive gear to get 5% faster. On shorter rides you will spend more time with taking your bib on and off than the time you are saving during the ride. Also it is inconvenient to change clothes on the toilet at the office.

There are such things called essential protein and essential fats but there is no such thing as essential carb! That says a lot about what are really essential macro nutrients. Those who are fully fat adapt never need carb, even for vigorous activities.

I Can't tell people enough when they are starting the cycling journey to EAT EAT EAT and the right food (carbs) I neglected this for my first few months of riding and when I started eating everything changed!

Holy moly, those bibs are $255! Here I thought my Castelli's at $75 were expensive.

Love this 😂

I'll never wear spandex! That's not to say I ride with wellies and a duffle coat, just some light black jogging type bottoms and a loose cycling top

10 years ago people would laugh at me for eating so much whilst riding, my nickname was the grazing cow!! Some of my riding buddies would literally just rub marmite on their gums and go out for 6 hour endurance 'fasted' rides. This advice is now the polar opposite! Eat more sugar!!

Know what's equally aero and emphasizes that my arms ain't? 💪🎽 Undershirts. Possibly tight ones. I think that probably looks better for my taste. Given weather allows it. The cheap jogging shorts I like most to wear ain't aero though, granted.

news flash: cycling isn't all about speed. sometimes it is, sure, like if you're into racing or just pushing your limits for training, but MANY of us do NOT ride for speed. Lycra/spandex is NOT a requirement (unless again, if you're into doing races), but this goes for all the points here. This video is for people getting into racing/speed.

I've discovered buying pure carb powder is way cheaper. Between Maltodextrin and Dextrose, is one better than the other? I'd choose Cluster Dextrin over anything, but it's nearly double the price. Opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.

(This is coming from a commuter perspective vs this video, but fr still applies, you got into cycling some but just can't seem to get completley into it for whatever reason, read this lol) I feel lucky to have genetically massive legs lol so I feel I got a head start, but tbh all the pains and stuff go away the more you ride. Literally just ride more and it will get more comfortable(Baring you do have a well fiting bike and all that jazz). Tbh what changed my mind is, bike shop guy told me this. Big plushy saddles will get uncomfortable on long ride, but the right shape and less padding will become more comfortable the more you ride because your butt will just become tougher, the muscles around all of it grow giving you more padding lol (I mean obviously there's a line, like he rides a specialized romin evo no bibs, he said if he had that saddle like 3 years ago he'd hate it just because his butt wasn't tough enough). So literally just don't stop riding, keep at it and eventually those slightly tough rides are a breeze and you won't even have that lil voice in the back of your head, need to go to the store to get a small thing and you would normally drive, ride your bike? Don't force yourself to only bike when training/working out. Make it fun so when it is a workout, it's just easier! Start doing small tasks on your bike that you'd normally drive. Don't be afraid to make adjustments, keep note of pains, uncomfortable feelings, and how you ride and slowly address those things if you don't want to go drop $150-$200 on a "Normal" bike fit, not like the whole hook you up to diagnostic machines and all that to find the optimal position for power output type fit lol those are like $800 or more. The bike you have is not what you get, you can change literally everything, so it becomes more comfortable and better for you, what's best for you is what makes you ride more!

Bonking isn't just about running out of glycogen; it's really about your brain signaling you to slow down or stop because of low blood sugar levels-it’s trying to keep you safe. Interestingly, there's also significant fat oxidation even at very high intensities, like at 90% VO2max, and there’s solid evidence to back this up. It’s worth noting that you didn't mention MCTs. Many professional tour riders enhance their carb intake with ketones. They also focus on training their bodies to adapt to using fats more efficiently, which helps reduce their reliance on carbs and is easier on the digestive system. I have my own mix which has cyclic dextrin, MCTs, collagen and electrolytes. This way I stay in ketosis und have carbs and do not run into the risk of becoiming a pre-diabetic.

So what I’m hearing is that I can and should wear all my Jiu Jitsu rash guards and spats while riding my bike.

How are you liking Formula 369? I'm about to buy a bag from them to try. Although I'm not a roadie, I just got an Aspero-5 frameset (swapped over all my GRX Di2 components) because yes, it is a bit more aero than my previous gravel bike, but also the color scheme on it is just magnificent. That and I just want to go fast on gravel. 😇

Aero matters even more when going slow than when going fast because it means you spend MORE TIME on the same ride segment, and you will GAIN more time going aero than you will gain when you are going fast.

I don't think I get passed because I don't wear lycra or have good tires. Seems more likely that my 205 watt ftp has something to do with it. 😂 Eventually I will get both though. For now, getting fitter is the priority.

I try to have carb deficite on easy rides and only fuel for hard efforts/hard rides.

Durian rider addressed the sugar argument for years! I’m glad people are considering it standardized now. It’s crazy that even GCN once called him a bozo believing in pseudo science. Now they’ve retracted their initial statements 😅.

Great video

At 30kph the aero difference is 4 Newtons. That's equal to the weight of 4 apples. Rider plus bike weight, vs rider plus bike plus 4 apples. I can't imagine caring, unless actively racing against someone.

I finally embraced the Lycra on Sunday, now I looked like a bag of ….. well you know but I was averaging 1mph quicker over the ride

Vittoria corsa pro's are prettttty durrable. I took a new set on an accidental full on gravel ride and they were tough as nails

As a person coming from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you don't need to sell me lycra. I've been into that for years😝

Is it really 60 fat 40 carbs ? Ive read from utube its more 80fat 20carb when on the sofa ? Ps i just subscribed but ive not turned to lycra yet

The graph 😂

my goodness. you forgot about aero socks/overshoes and aero gloves? me oh my..

Made all these mistakes and believed alot of it. These days i went from going ham every ride to just relaxing. Speed was and is never the whole point of my cycling. Fitness is

To quote Leonard, "I look like a sack of custard". Lycra will have to wait.

I decided to give this video a try. Normally, videos with such titles can't live up to what the title promises-I call this the GCN effect. However, this was a really good and in-depth explanation of many important basics. Well done! Sadly, I didn't learn anything new, but maybe next time :)

I wish sungod glasses weren’t so pricey. They’re nice

After all that glucose, remember to brush your teeth twice a day!

What about sugar for the 50+ rider? Everything is far less efficient, does any of this still apply?

one of the best video for beginner's advice out there.. information is on spot

All I got is that I'm a drag on a bike and I'm not sure how to feel about this

I wonder, as a fat beginner femaile rider, im able to push maybe 100 - 150W avrg on a two hour ride, should I still take in 60grams /hour even if my goal is weightloss and I'm not burning as much bc I'm not ousching as much ?

Im definitely in the land of delusion! My WYN tri suit came and looks amazing 😂

I couldn't lie to my friends about the Lycra. If you want to go fast, don't wear baggy clothes. Simple.