What Are The Most Unpopular Cycling Tech Opinions? | GCN Tech Show Ep. 263

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We recently asked you to share your most controversial bike tech opinions and we got loads of great responses. Alex and Ollie discuss everything from wanting rim brakes to be banned, to saying that anything over Shimano 105 is a waste of money, as well as sharing their own unpopular cycling opinions. We also discuss new pro cycling tech and bring you the first Bike Vault of 2023!
00:00 Intro
00:31 Unpopular Cycling Opinions
12:45 Hot Tech
21:56 Comments of the Week
24:51 Bike Vault
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16 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 897

@gcntech Год назад

Do you agree or disagree with our unpopular opinions? 🙊

@cjohnson3836 Год назад

Paraphrasing; 1) bikes are too aggressive for everyone not in TdF, 2) Gravel bikes are pointless...fails to recognize gravel bikes are exactly the bike 95% of "road cyclists" should be riding.

@akcalder92 Год назад

@@cjohnson3836I literally just commented the same thing lol!

@TheOneAndOnlyWantonWonton Год назад

Send Ollie to Steamboat this year!

@addiecusack1530 Год назад

Love your banter Guys so entertaining and love the controversial opinions 🤣 we all think we’re pros till we ride. 🤣🤣 great stuff fellas 👌 bike 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️

@alinapopescu872 Год назад

@@cjohnson3836 I am in the 95% ,and a gravel bike is precisely what I need and actually ride. No, they are not pointless, they are a great and useful compromise.

@KelvinSuddith Год назад

Ollie hit me deep when he said a solid aluminum bike with sora and no Strava or Zwift. I have that exact set up, and I love riding. I aim for 60+ miles a week

@macroglossumstellatarum3068 Год назад

Whatever works for you, I love tech so I work at a bike shop to get deals

@dtsybulskyi Год назад

You're not alone. I used to ride an aluminium flat bar hybrid bike which I got as a teenager - it's weights around 15 kg, has Shimano Tourney, but thanks to stem adjustment had more aggressive position and was fun to ride. Had to move to Japan for education, bought myself an absolute cheapest road bike for commuting (Hiland Alliance 1.0, the only option available on Amazon for my 194cm height), which doesn't even have Shimano drivetrain or integrated shifters, weights around 11,5 kg - and it is absolutely wonderful to ride. Would a 1500$ bike be better? Definitely, and I will upgrade after returning home, but for 230$ that I've got mine - it's amazing, even for longer rides. Don't let high-tech elitists, whose lives revolves around bikes, ruin your fun cycling.

@123moof Год назад

If it shifts nicely and has adequate ratios at both ends I have really never been bothered by fewer speeds. Once I am out the garage I usually forget about all the faff and just ride. Spend time and a little money to keep shift cables fresh and drivetrains cleaned/lubed/adjusted and you’ll blissfully forget the number if gears you have.

@richardggeorge Год назад

Don't worry, it's a perfectly fine setup. I have high end carbon bikes but still enjoy riding my caad10 aluminum 10spd bike

@KNURKonesur Год назад

all of that means you're probably not an ex-pro-athlete with access to top of the line spec, and you possibly cycle in the rain and off the road and to the shops cause you just like cycling and aren't training for races or events! who would ever want that?!

@reginaldscot165 Год назад

No power meter? No strava? No zwift? Rim brakes? Aluminium bike? So basically how life was when I fell in love with cycling before big money ruined it…

@reginaldscot165 Год назад

@Yippee Skippy 20 years later everything is the same, except I now do sometimes use Strava and now I ride Titanium and Steel bikes.

@marcgtsr Год назад

Heaven!

@beeldpuntXVI Год назад

Heaven

@hugorivera9738 Год назад

If we go back far enough… no paved roads, all gravel, 3 gears, 1x , only French allowed.

@Notorious_MIG Год назад

Lol had ollie become elitist? 🤔

@derekoegema6490 Год назад

Ollie: most bikes aren’t fit for form, they need a more relaxed geometry for the average rider. Ollie 10 seconds later: GRAVEL BIKES ARE POINTLESS

@macvos Год назад

To be fair, mountainbikes have a far more relaxed geometry ;)

@Ferrichrome Год назад

@@macvos but drop bars are cool tho

@macvos Год назад

@@Ferrichrome sure, but Ollie would just reply to get a road bike (never ridden a gravel bike myself, so they might be heaps of fun)!

@Ferrichrome Год назад

@@macvos lol ya, I just like the best of both worlds. But some might say it’s the worst of both worlds! 🤷‍♂️To each their own. And to be clear I love road bikes too, it was the first time I fell in love with riding

@ezeekwheel Год назад

@@macvos but for road a gravel bike with wide slick tyres would be mega comfy and a lot faster

@GoodQuestionx Год назад

*me with no zwift, no powermeter, no disk brakes, on Shimano Sora and a heavy aluminium bike* Olli: "Do you still ride your bike?" me: "yeah" Olli: "You still riding your bike??" Alright Olli, calm it down mate 😅

@gcntech Год назад

He doesn't know how good he's got it 😂

@The2808erik Год назад

If you have road bike with disc brakes and clearance for more than 28mm tires you got a gravel bike not a road bike.

@gcntech Год назад

Endurance road = Gravel bike.... Controversial 👀

@jambrok1926 Год назад

Couldn’t agree more with Connor on mudguards fitted as standard. I bought a new bike online (lockdown) and had the choice between rim or disc brake, my preference would normally be for rim brakes but I opted for the disc version as I figured it would give more clearance for mudguards. The clearance was fine however the eyelets were about six inches up the seat stays and fork resulting in the mudguard stays not being long enough to fit the mudguards, it took me a fortnight of experimenting with homemade stays and cutting the mudguards down to make them fit.

@gcntech Год назад

This ☝ Wouldn't it be great of you had perfect mudguards out of the box 🙌

@JonCannings Год назад

for once 😉 Conor talks sense regarding mudguards

@ConsciousBreaks Год назад

@@gcntech Disagree. We should be trying to reduce waste and our environmental impact! That is why alot of us are cycling, after all. Similarly, I actually do agree with how they're not including chargers for new phones anymore, as many people already have chargers that work just fine. What I think would be a good idea is if, when purchasing the bike, there is a choice to include shop-installed mudgards as a standard add on. That would *actually* be offering a choice, to those who need them.

@CyclingInTheAlps Год назад

I see Ollie's point about gravel bikes however us mere mortals are not being given a top of the range road bike to ride on gravel. I bet if you did a poll - if you have used your own hard earned cash you ain't going to risk it on gravel. I rode my top of the range Fondriest in Strade Biance Granfondo, (the gravel is pretty tame) it was raining all day, destroyed the rims with the braking and the grit and that was that - although its a brilliant event!! If I do it again I would use my gravel bike with 30mm road tyres.

@gcntech Год назад

Great point! Gravel bikes are very versatile and a bit more sturdy than road bikes 💪

@francoispayen Год назад

@@gcntech Didn't he say in a previous video that he'd be stressed out the whole time if he had to ride his fancy road bike out on gravel? Would he ride long distance on a mountain bike?

@fabiopoz9617 Год назад

"No powermeter, rim brakes, 3x9 Sora, heavy deca aluminum bike..." are you talking about my bike? She doesn't care and take me around anyway (also in gravel). With Love, an eavy weight italian kickboxer who Love cycling and GCN

@seligseligabc123 Год назад

You're both giving me much needed & very healthy bursts of laughter in my confined indoor bike accident rehabilitation,👍

@KNURKonesur Год назад

when you do the disc-rim brake comparison, be sure to include rainy weather, descending, downhill, loose gravel and mud ;) also don't just do the standard resin/sintered disc brake pads, but include something funky like kevlar and/or ceramic. also add a rider who is significantly heavier than a cycling athlete.

@andrewrowe5668 Год назад

Hi great session on discussing various opinions. Totally agree with having a bike set up especially for your particular needs! Just to be able to be out and about on a bike is a fantastic start, I say!

@bateriayvr8988 Год назад

12:12 -- yes, we need a disk vs rim stopping power comparison please..! ;)

@xPowello Год назад

We do, but get the bodybuilder in on it as well for us bigger lads. The difference for me as >100kg rider in the peaks between my rim brakes even with swisstop pads, and my hydraulic disc is night & day. No longer white knuckling down some of the reservoir descents!

@MichaelSnasdell Год назад

@@xPowello Haha I just commented the same thing before reading this. After descending AdH last summer I know I would have been dead half way down without discs lol

@marcgtsr Год назад

Also would be great to make a fatigue test if possible. Top os the line disc and rim brakes! Maybe budget too?!

@kennethward9530 Год назад

Please perform tests looking at modulation too-preferably on a winding road covered with wet leaves.

@markxkovacic Год назад

I have both. No contest. Disc brakes are far superior.

@davidneely9400 Год назад

Did I "NEED" a bar bag before? No! Once I got one and found how useful they are, did I continue to use it? YES!!! And remember Ollie, not all of us are looking to drop every ounce, or be as aero as possible. For most all of my rides I'd rather be practical and fast than impractical and just a hair faster

@123moof Год назад

I am mostly a bike commuter and bikepacker by background. Joining a local cycling club for road rides was pretty wierd. The bikes are largely bare, toolkits are pretty inadequate beyond a puncture fix, and worst of all jerseys are stuffed to the gills in the back. It might be more aero, but riding around like a camel with all your crap on your back is just uncivilaized. Seat bags are mostly too small, and kind of fugly too, so I sewed up a full frame bag. I would bet a nickel a well fitted frame bag is more aero than a mess of bottles/cages/pumps all hanging out in the air, and I can now carry a proper toolkit in the bottom, two water bottles (or one and a burrito thermos) up top, and still have space for my phone, wallet, dry gloves, dry hat, etc to boot. My jersey pockets stay empty unless storing my phone/wallet at a coffee stop.

@rob-c. Год назад

Ollie lost himself on this point - and I think forgot he was presenting the ‘tech’ show. Did he need a skin suit when he started wearing one? Did he need an integrated handlebar/stem? Did he need internal cables? Did he need 11 speed cassettes?

@123moof Год назад

@@rob-c. Indeed, many people “need” this, but it. Is a lot of cosplay to look like a TDF participant. One can still have a great time on a slightly more relaxed group ride, or god forbid a casual solo ride. Sometimes you need to take yourself less seriously and embrace making your bicycle your own.

@charlcoetzee93 Год назад

Have you tried a top tube bag? Works for me, less of a parachute.

@123moof Год назад

@@charlcoetzee93 Top tube bags are fantastic, but on my 54 cm road bike I find the top tube is short enough that it makes standover issues, well, constrictive. So while most of my non-road bikes have top tube bags, the road bike found its happy spot with a full frame bag fitted to it. In the future I will happily trade back "nimble" handling for more top-tube space and no toe overlap.

@madyogi6164 Год назад

12:03 Of course rim brakes are fine! Still got them on my road bike and not planning to go into disk version at all. If I had to buy a completely new bike - then possibly so, but no need to switch, just to have disks (incompatible frame issues etc.)

@kurre_kallkvist Год назад

I'm building a gravel bike, not to ride gravel but to get tire clearance for 32mm tires and full mudguards... More comfortable bike means I'll ride more which is the main point - in this case, it's definitely fit for purpose!

@junksmiles Год назад

Let me introduce you to the Domane.

@marta150 Год назад

@@junksmiles Domanes are not made for very short people. Minimum standover is 28 and the reach is way too long for a small person. Used to be you could get a 43cm Madone with 650 wheels, but it is no longer made. And you couldn't put wide tires on it. I rode a Madone 43cm and currently ride a Serotta 43cm, both with 650 wheels with limited tire choices, always ended up with 23s. Before these bike I rode a Terry with the small front wheel. At least I could put 28s on that. My grip is for us under 5 feet tall.

@kurre_kallkvist Год назад

The Domane was my first choice, but prices for those with decent kit are crazy around here...

@julianpritzwald-stegmann9766 Год назад

Unpopular opinion: 50/34t is too big for most amateur and beginner riders. 48/32t (or even 46/30t) should be the standard chainrings for entry groupsets eg Claris & Sora.

@gcntech Год назад

Have you looked at the GRX double? 🔎

@dan_lazaro Год назад

@diedrino Год назад

As amateur and beginner I have a 53/39 9 speed 11/28 dura ace from the nineties and even went bike packing in the alps with it, no problems. It is hard but not too big for me… I still end up spinning too fast in descents anyway

@chicagoan Год назад

50/34 is great paired with 11-32 rear. Best of everything.

@dtibor5903 Год назад

Amateur here with 50/34 2x9 sora. I like to woooooosh down with 60km/h and still to be able to pedal :D

@paullinnitt5450 Год назад

My ride to work bike is and Alu framed, 1x8 speed Shimano Sora, rim brake with mudguards. I love riding it. I also love my good road bike, i save it for summer. I am with you on Gravel bikes.

@playandteach Год назад

I have 2 bikes that would be considered Gravel bikes, but to me they are the relaxed geometry, wider tyre options that you were pushing for bikes to be 'fit for purpose'. My favourite 'road' bike is a GT Grade X - super comfy, and simple 1x gears. For the road for a 60 year old hobbyist cyclist.

@frankeeeej Год назад

I suspect Ollie's controversial opinion on gravel bikes is actually the mainstream opinion :')

@gcntech Год назад

He is the presenter of the people after all 🙌

@unreliablenarrator6649 Год назад

Except people who use bikes as their primary transportation love them. This annoys elitist roadies but who gives a 💩 what they think?

@appa609 Год назад

@@unreliablenarrator6649 Unless you live in the third world, the places you need to go are connected to where you are by a paved road. Huge knobby tires make no sense on pavement they wear fast, provide less grip, and roll slowly. Maybe it makes some sense in winter snow but I'd rather have a cheap mountain bike that I'm not too worried about rusting out.

@oldanslo Год назад

@@appa609 Swapping out huge knobby tires on a stock gravel bike with less huge road tires is a thing.

@Chrisjani11 Год назад

Agree wholeheartedly… if you have $3000 to spare for an absurd fat tired road/ cyclocross bicycle then you are either in the top 1% of elitist cyclists or you’re a fad grabber at any cost

@KeithCollyer Год назад

My main bike is a Specialized Diverge, ali frame. I will certainly take it on much rougher ground than I would my Merida Scultura, and I'm not interested in out-and-out mountain biking. So for me, it is ideal. And it has a more relaxed geometry, which at 65 with arthritis in one knee I really appreciate.

@GamingowyTata Год назад

Im new to Zwift from few days and I love it! Recently even ordered proper fan for cooling 😉

@alastairgain4924 Год назад

I’ve Road biked for 30 years, after I bought a gravel bike I realised quickly it’s the ultimate bike, it rides on the road faster than mtb , I prefer the road position you can take it anywhere so more freedom , it is safer on wet road, most importantly a lot of fun!

@gcntech Год назад

Great to hear you're enjoying the gravel life 🙌

@Ed.R Год назад

I started out thinking gravel bikes were a silly idea and just another money making scheme. However I'm increasingly realising I'm trying to make my road bikes into gravel bikes. Using tryes too wide for the frame, changing parts to get a more relaxed position and taking them where they shouldn't go like gravel tracks. Maybe I should invest in a gravel bike sometime soon.

@Ed.R Год назад

@@Ferrichrome I ride my road bike on gravel more often than I should and never had a flat due to the gravel. Always use good quality tyres.

@glennoc8585 Год назад

How is it safer on a wet road?

@appa609 Год назад

@@glennoc8585 It's not. If anything wide tires provide less grip on a smooth wet surface.

@bingobango6412 Год назад

For me I like the bar bag for when I'm combining any harder gravely, bumpy trails and bringing stuff that'd usually swing around or possibly fly out of the jersey pockets like the phone. Also great on those colder wetter rides not having to unglove, unzip or pry under the jacket or layers to get at the jersey pockets. Just make sure the bar bag can handle some rain if you're using if for your valuables and phones

@gja2000 Год назад

Ollie asking Alex if he would still ride a bike without a power meter with Sora on an aluminum frame...I feel targeted. 😉

@csaba675 Год назад

Hi @GCNTech, rock climbers use Belay Glasses with a prism to help to look up with head pointing front. Can you please test it for TT usage? Thanks!

@HShango Год назад

I agree with the mudguard point, I've got a road bike (and I've been using a road bike for years) it is only at the end of 2022 is when I found mudguards so essential especially since it rains a lot in winter (London and the rest of the UK).

@appa609 Год назад

Most racing bikes don't actually have enough clearance for any form of bender. Maybe one of those origami under seat mud guards but those are cheap and easy to retrofit so don't require coming standard.

@bareenlars Год назад

One for the gravel bike here! I do love my road bike, but commuting to work on a gravel bike lets me train in the "correct position" and not get a flat everytime i jump a curb, smash a pothole etc.. and!!! it looks awesome!

@mopedvieh Год назад

I agree with Ollie on Gravel bikes. Every time I leave smooth tarmac when riding with my road bike, I switch to my mountainbike, which I'm always carrying in my handlebar bag. As soon as the road gets smooth again, I'll re-switch back to the roadbike. Absolutely no need for a bike that would perform decent on both surfaces.

@ryanwells4972 Год назад

Long-time watcher, first-time commenter. Would y'all consider adding a bike restoration segment? Perhaps replete with pre and post restoration pics and a few written details of the changes made. I've got 2 spicy personal examples and I'm sure others would contribute as well!

@stuartpotter4923 Год назад

OK.... 1: bar bags on a super aero road bike, yeah, probably unnecessary. BUT on a gravel/adventure bike where you're riding all day in the middle of nowhere in a vastly changing set of conditions, they're super useful for carrying extra food, in particular, but also extra layers, camera to take pics of the beautiful places you ride, extra tools/spares. 2: Gravel bikes.... I do plenty of rides (Based in Canberra, Australia) where I'm riding a hug mix of terrain... there may be long sections on smooth gravel or pavement, where a mountain bike would be sluggish, not aero and slow/draggy.... but then hit rougher sections of gravel/trail that aren't technical enough to need a mountain bike, they just need bigger tyres. For me, a Gravel bike is a super reliable multi terrain bike that is comfy enough to ride all day, over a wide selection of terrain in the same ride. It can have flat or drop bars.. but mine has drops. BUT it must have clearance for wide tyres. A racy carbon gravel bike with 38mm tyres is just a fat tyre road bike.... but it is a super capable one that'll handle most terrain if you're careful.

@montrose252 Год назад

Cancel disk brakes. Long live mechanical shifiting.

@two_feet_in5229 Год назад

Unpopular opinion: SPD’s are the best clipless pedal. They work great for MTB, Gravel, and Road. Best part is: by homologating, you never have to worry about showing up for a ride with the wrong shoes.

@jaripuolakanaho761 Год назад

4:53 About gravel bikes. I bought my canondale topstone 5 carbon to be my road/ gravel bike because it has relaxed geometry and it can fit wider tires. With 2 wheel set I can do both with this bike. I did think about getting relaxed geometry road bike for same purpose but there is not so much models where you can but 40mm tires on.

@gcntech Год назад

Great point! they make great all rounders 🙌

@owenreaney6864 Год назад

@@gcntechI use my cross bike so it is light and has mountain bike like tires

@stephen_101 Год назад

Hardtail MTB over gravel bike any day. I mean gravel bikes look aesthetically awesome, but MTBs and their wider, low pressure tyres (30psi or less) and bigger gear range are the real way to spend a day out on the gravel routes without feeling like you've spent the day inside a washing machine.

@janphilmillner2307 Год назад

Love the show as always! Ollie, if you want to see what a Tasmanian bush gravel track is like, then just get in touch. Within 10km of our house (just south of Hobart), we have 2 amazing rides that you would definitely NOT take a road bike on. But they are both quicker on a gravel bike compared to a mountain bike. Just saying. Greetings from sunny Tasmania.

@joules2936 Год назад

Hey, Ollie, come up to the Scottish Borders for a weekend of gravel/mixed surface riding, and then you’ll understand why Gravel bikes are good and relevant. I have and regularly do some big routes that include road, gravel (smooth and varying levels of rough) and mud. In fact, there is a GCN challenge - can Ollie ride Scottish Borders routes on a road bike, and will either survive?

@annierobertson7332 Год назад

oh YES - I so want to see this!!!!!!!!!

@peteranderson3768 Год назад

Aluminium - check Shimano Sora - Check Non-internal cable routing - check No power meter - check Rim brakes - check Thank you Olli, you just described my bike…

@amishrider Год назад

Thoroughly enjoyed myself watching this, very entertaining. As for a road bike with relaxed geometry...sounds like a gravel bike 🤷🏻‍♂️ my topstone 3 is so comfortable. I use it for wet/muddy/group/fun rides (mudguards) and for commuting. I use my road bike for fast rides and events (and zwift)

@phyllisboone8957 Год назад

Love my 2005 Trek OCLV Pilot WSD Shimano Ultegra equiped bicycle. It is perfectly fitted to me. Gives me a comfortable reach, standover and ride on narrow, high pressure Conti's. Between this ride and a recumbent trike, I've ridden a lot of happy miles over limestone paved trails, hardpack dirt/gravel and preferred smooth pavement. I've long appreciated the work of Georgiana Terry who brought attention to the bicycle fit problems experienced by women riders. She worked to solve them. And I appreciate Trek for bringing WSD to more of us! I'll keep riding what I have-no reason for the high-priced new!

@andyverrall4370 Год назад

Chris I've only just found your channel through your Wally Gimber report - Sitting at 3 am with a glass of red as unable to sleep this video tells me to ease back on the red stuff - Hope you well

@j19871 Год назад

Ollie, come over to the Stuttgart (Germany) area and you will quickly appreciate a gravel bike on the forest roads/ paths around here. There are quite a lot “in between” of those, with deep gravel in which you would typically stuck or slide around with a road bike on one hand, but which are still way to smooth for a well engineered mountainbike chassis, to experience any fun on them on the other hand. A gravel bike with chunky tires is perfect here 😉

@sssxxxttt Год назад

Quite the same in southern Sweden. The geography is flat and weather windy, hence not a mountain bike. There are quite a few convenient and enjoyable gravel shortcuts where I'm reluctant to take my 26mm all carbon road bike. With spd-sl shoes you can't walk. My 33mm Aluminium gravel bike with spd pedals is the ideal vehicle for this purpose. I can even fit fenders and panniers. And I don't have a team bus ferrying me between the starting points of the different time trial segments. So, Olli, with all respect, I beg to differ ;)

@gcntech Год назад

Maybe we'll send him over... make him eat his words 😂

@francoispayen Год назад

Tons of places in North America where a gravel bike is exactly the right tool for the job, too. Anyways, the comments about gravel/aluminium frames/Sora groupset/handlebar bags is a good reminder of how much GCN has a strong roadie snob bias.

@flo-fiftee Год назад

Totally agree. I live on Stuttgart, too. And here is a huge lot of „in between“. Besides this a gravel bike allows you a much more flexible route planning.

@oliverbridgewood3929 Год назад

agreed! problem is, in the uk we don’t have much quality gravel! so that’s where i’m coming from!

@charlesphilli Год назад

Ollie’s knowledge of desmodronic valves further reveals his inner petrolhead. He knows his stuff.

@chunkytfg Год назад

I thought exactly the same! The minute they mentioned its mechanism I just thought to myself 'I bet the designer owns a Ducati'

@Michaelsmith21588 Год назад

1:54 I have a top tube bag, hate bar bags too. I used to have all that stuff in my jersey before I finally got the top tube bag.

@theredracer Год назад

I love my bike bags! I'm prepared for any injury or bike problem with all the tools and first aid they hold! And this is for YOU Ollie, I love the aerodynamic inefficiencies and excess weight for my year-round training :)

@BoogieBrew Год назад

A small bar bag allows for the crucial option of adding a windbreaker / shell and extra gloves, socks, etc. Same applies to a top tube bag ("fuel tank") for energy bars and wallets, etc.... Leaving precious real estate for other items in jersey pockets. It's pretty hard to argue with the sensibility of compact bike bags & pouches.

@user-cx2bk6pm2f Год назад

Alex's DIY home trainer hack was a brilliant video.. the platform thing with tennis balls that allowed the trainer to lean and move. 👍

@kasperdue7835 Год назад

I’ve heard people using the handlebar bag to store some extra energy powder for when you are doing a long ride and need to refuel somewhere

@bowrepublik Год назад

I sold my road bike and cross bike and bought a endurance geometry gravel bike . Ive been the happiest in 20 years with my ti Gravel bike. Feels as good as my old road bike but i can basically go anywhere.

@paulwells3110 Год назад

I love GCN!! you all do so much for the worldwide cycling community.. Thanks for everything 😉😁😁😁🚴‍♂️💨💨💨💨

@gcntech Год назад

Thanks Paul! That really means a lot, we are trying to foster the biggest cycling community! Great to hear you've been loving our videos... big year coming up 👀

@wagwanyute Год назад

Ah yes cycling 🍃💨

@douglaspate9314 Год назад

Me too!!! It is my favourite weekly fun channel. And informative and cool! The team at GCN feel like family.

@SimonCurrey Год назад

Gravel works well in North Surrey roads are heavily pot holed. Tow paths are flat but knarly. Ideal for 40mm tubeless.

@jascollinscork Год назад

Cracking show to start 2023 guys 👌🏻nice and long too 😍 Ollie did you complete your festive 500….. is that why your away with the fairies 😵‍💫🤔😂

@GhostTrainPhoto Год назад

I've had my gravel bike for ONE DAY, have only been out on it once but the track was way too gnarly for a road bike and a mountain bike would have been overkill (for most of it, the snow got a bit deep at times). Granted I live in America where we have dirt roads everywhere that vary from nice, smooth gravel to washboarded nightmares that will rattle your fillings out. So maybe it's just a location thing?

@Aeronwor Год назад

I am quite sure that derailleur could be improved, by replacing the two cables with a rigid wire, that could push, as well as pull. Also including a toothed plate would place indexing closer to the gears, allowing for easier adjusting (maybe changeable to accommodate for different gear numbers) .... Oh wait I'm reinventing the Shimano Positron. My question is in the future could it be available with shifters integrated into the brake levers, or at least next to them, even if you need something like a surly corner bar? I loved riding with downtube shifters, but the ease of operation with STI was the best improvement in my ride experience since ditching my mtb for a road bike.

@robdale5847 Год назад

Love the new intro graffics.

@yiannispapelis8260 Год назад

I love my Trek Domane - it has a relaxed geometry and with 32mm tubeless, it works pretty nicely on gravel

@KNURKonesur Год назад

well, apparently you should sell it and get a road bike and an MTB instead! ;)

@prestachuck2867 Год назад

@gcntech When you do your comparison tests between disc brakes and rim brakes with premium pads, you should test with the same size tires on both bikes.

@ectorgerson Год назад

Now that I’m 56, I love my sport and touring frame geometries more than ever. My old racing and track bikes mostly hang out in the rafters and I’ve relaxed my cyclocross bike’s geometry with a new fork.

@Alan_Hans__ Год назад

Aluminium frame, aluminium wheels, rim brakes, sora, no Zwift, no power meter, flat pedals and most importantly no oil slick paint. I have a bar bag and an underseat bag. A spare tube in each. Tyre levers, quick patches and a small first aid kit in the seat bag. The bar bag will have food for longer rides, a multitool, CO2 canister, mobile phone (which is used for music and strava). I would happily hop on the Eurobike and ride it. My bike would be lighter and might be more aero but and hour on either bike is still on hour of riding.

@mikewoods6697 Год назад

Gents--there's an admittedly small group of us that refuse to spend the cash for the newest tech out there (even if we had it). Steel frames, alloy wheels, rim brakes, and (horrors!) fixed/ss drivetrains will always have a niche place in cycling. We don't ride at the speed of pros (or anywhere near it), the marginal gains we seek are far simpler--and cheap. Tire pressures, wider tires, rider position, maybe latex tubes will perhaps make us faster. Power meters, Zwift, and $500+ head units will not improve the cycling experience for us in any way meaningful. Cool? Sure. Worth the money/aggravation over time? Many of us will never know-and we are OK with that. Cheers!

@markmoreno7295 Год назад

Choice. It is what makes things work. I have used rim brakes but In San Francisco, going up and down certain streets, i just feel better with high modulation hydraulic brakes. Nothing wrong with rim brakes, and certainly a fresh pair of pads helps loads in San Francisco. So if you do a rim vs disk brake test, have confidence be a parameter.

@238949 Год назад

I would never stop riding my bike willingly, I've never owned a power meter as too expensive (for me) I love indoor training but not on Zwift, I just train with GCN on my ipad and follow the cadence as much as I can, I would love to send Hank a towel for his indoor training sessions (his are my favourite) :)

@nanciparoubek3256 Год назад

I have also never had a power meter, and don't bother w a bike computer or any of that, I'm out to enjoy my ride

@238949 Год назад

@@nanciparoubek3256 I have a Garmin as I have a psychological need (:) ) to know my mileage

@klovercast4266 Год назад

I think the main reason i bought a gravel bike and many others is its the "do it all bike with emphasis on comfort" - yes it does most of it worse (its worse than a road bike on the road and worse than a mountain bike on technical terrain) but if you dont have access to swapping your bikes on a whim, and you dont have the privileges of a fully assembled team to carry all your bikes like ollie. its the ideal touring bike - alot of people will follow up with "just use a mountain bike then" but realistically you're going to be using roads to gravel 80/20% of the time. a gravel bike is faster at handling this ratio than a mountain bike - bc it essentially functions as a more versatile and more flexible roadbike. Ollie's points - (id rather have a road bike on the road and a mountain bike on gravel / intense off road) is why we freakin love ollie! always want to be competitive for speed rather than practicality

@MrEhimsel Год назад

@gcntech @gcntraining can we get a set of training videos on not-smart trainers? And/or an explanation of the tension settings compared to actual road resistance, gearing, etc? Don't have a smart trainer and don't really want to get one, but would love to feel like what I'm doing is comparable with the smarties! Thanks!

@yumyumhungry Год назад

I would really like to know what the optimal Ollie setup would be for unbound. It seems insane to do it on a road bike and much slower to do it on an XC MTB. Most of the pros run 40-45mm tires there

@erics9214 Год назад

Or the Tour Divide. Real gravel races, not that farce they called the "Gravel Worlds" in Europe.

@ivanallenenns Год назад

on the Gravel bike opinion, not everywhere is like england or the EU. Where i live in south america there is a mix on sandy, dirt, gravel and paved roads. I like riding on paved roads but i have to get to them somehow.

@itsianwood Год назад

The 'fit for purpose' theory is cool! 👍👍👍

@danc1829 Год назад

please do the test disc brakes vs a rim brake with alloy rims and good pads such as Swiss Stop BXP 👍

@sssxxxttt Год назад

Additionally you only have to test with an aluminium front wheel where like 70% of the energy will be dissipated. But use direct mount calipers, there's a notable difference in modulation.

@Michaelsmith21588 Год назад

they have done this before

@danc1829 Год назад

@@Michaelsmith21588 not seen it with alloy tracks only si and olly which where both on carbon rims unless I've missed the video

@macvos Год назад

@Yippee Skippy this for a best case scenario. And then repeat the test after a rainy day of descents and road grit and crap on the wheels for a more realistic scenario. There's probably little difference in the first scenario, but a huge difference in the second one.

@Vii_DT Год назад

and direct mount rim brakes like those on Canyon Aeroad, etc.

@nightsfalling Год назад

Alex laugh is contagious 😃

@nonamehere9658 Год назад

Man the pink S-works (first in bike vault) looks lit AF, should have been a supernice!

@zalethciano Год назад

Ollie, Gravel bikes are not pointless, they have a more relax geometry, as you say; and for long gravel routes, like are found here in Colombia are perfect....maybe my route bike could pass through, but it will never be near comfortable as a gravel bike, specially on descens

@spirosmergianos1845 Год назад

100% agree with Ollie!!! At last someone spoke the truth! Gravel bikes are useless, a marketing trick, at least in my country (Greece) where there is no "gravel", just pure dirt roads with stones and gutters!!

@MtKrybnik13 Год назад

I agree and disagree at the same time. Most of us have 2 bikes. I have road and XC bike. For us gravel is 100% useless. But Gravel bikes have bring a lot of new riders cause it's quite good mix of those two bikes. But I don't see a reason to create separate championship, especially when we have a CX championship...

@Gufolicious Год назад

I agree 100% with ollie aswell!!!!! 2000thumbs up

@The2808erik Год назад

Road bikes are useless my gravel bike is as fast with road tires.

@Gufolicious Год назад

@@The2808erik your statement is plain wrong at it has been proven many times.

@The2808erik Год назад

@@Gufolicious How has it been proven ? Outside from top tour de France level racing it doesn't matter. And if you are that good you have a "gravel bike with restricted tire clearance" sponsor from what ever brand that's slapped their sticker on a cheap Chinese carbon frame.

@johnmccrossan9376 Год назад

6:08 and pedals! If you want yo put your own on that's up to you but if I'm spending too much on a bike to begin with I shouldn't have to spend more to actually use it. I'm not saying top of the line pedals here but a nice set of metal flat pedals should be included with every bike

@johnwestwell2241 Год назад

The Alpe d"huez hoodie looks very nice. Unfortunately, all the sizes bar extra small have sold out.

@matthewokner8860 Год назад

i think the biggest thing i like about a gravel bike, the excess space to swap wheels out..... as a daily rider i think its better because occasionally swaping wheels and having two sets of wheels and one frame is cheaper and easier to store

@ezeekwheel Год назад

I think £5k is the threshold for getting all the pro features for the best price. a lot of electronic shifting, semi or fully integrated cables, carbon wheels ect

@Mosely2007 Год назад

Gravel bikes, here I like the wider tires road tires get shredded quickly I only ride paved as connectors as long as you ride its good!

@rosshughes7054 Год назад

Great comment about performance road bikes and the aggressive geometries. I really appreciate what the folks at Fairlight Cycles are producing by offering both regular and tall sizing for a more relaxed geometry (or if you're like me and are all legs and short torso)

@appa609 Год назад

Internal cable routing is absolutely not worth it for 95% of cyclists who have to do their own maintenance. I'd say recessed cabling plus tape are a massive missed opportunity. I'd argue that carbon fibre has the potential to be a very practical frame material in that it can support extremely durable tubes and zero corrosion if built to the same weight as aluminium. It has better fatigue properties and can be repaired at home by normal people. In fact, when I had to repair a crack on my aluminum bike frame, I used carbon fiber! Triple chainrings are fine and I've used them but I'd argue the better solution is just smaller chainrings. The non-racers climbing steep and tall mountains are simply not benefitting very much from a 50 or 52 or 53T Chainring because there's no point to pedalling a 10% descent. A mountain chainset should be like 39/24

@ronikane7574 Год назад

Could you guys do the following test Ultegra cable vs Ultegra DI2 to check the real difference or if is just a waste of money.

@dominickbrookes5103 Год назад

Your brake test was already done by your former presenter from the states. Jeremy did a great job too.

@miker4926 Год назад

I've never come across a perfectly consistent gravel trail wherever I've ridden. It's either very light in which case I'd prefer my road bike, or it gets rough and to the limit in which case I'll just use my hardtail mountain bike with gravel tyres on. So not in the gravel bike camp as I feel it's too limited. But I can see why people go for them, they do look good. I just can't justify forking for another bike when my existing bikes do the job very well.

@nunce3813 Год назад

For me gravel bike is less about performance and race but enjoying the ride comfortably and as far as possible :)

@chicagoan Год назад

Counterpoint to Ollie. A road bike is pointless at this time since a gravel bike is just as good on the road for most riders and offers the clearance and comfort for trails. You say most people don’t need race geometry which is where a gravel bike comes in. Save the road bikes for racers and just get a gravel bike for regular Joe’s.

@lwittrock1 Год назад

For the pro's an easy fix regarding race numbers, would be to assign them permanent numbers that can be printed on their jerseys like they do for professional athletic teams like Football, baseball, etc. Each team would have their own numbers assigned to each team member.

@djibey Год назад

Not a custom paint for the SL7 ! It's a 2023 color with the longest name ever : Gloss Marbled Lagoon Blue-Purple Haze - Orichid-Blaze/Violet Purple Topcoat/Midnight Shadow

@gcntech Год назад

Catchy 😂

@fukawitribe Год назад

Re: the S-Works Tarmac - nice to see Global Photography Network concentrating on the important factors once again 😁

@judithpreston4756 Год назад

I would love to see you do a show on the differences in the geometry of gravel and road bikes. Maybe visually overlay the two so it is obvious to those of us who don't know.

@gcntech Год назад

Sounds like something we could do 🙌

@appa609 Год назад

The only important difference is tire clearance. All the talk of relaxed head tubes and long wheelbases are fighting over like 2 degrees and one inch. The actual effects are small. Manufacturers would like to convince you that these small differences make your current bike unfit for the new purpose and you need to buy a whole other bike to participate.

@judithpreston4756 Год назад

@@appa609 That is the kind of info I need. Would still love to see the different bikes visually overlayed.

@speckles9251 Год назад

THANKS OLLI ! Finally someone getting this straight. Gravel Bikes are neither/nor. Desmodromic valves ... see: Ducati Motorbikes

@johanp8391 Год назад

I agree with Ollie regarding Gravel bikes. A XC hardtail or a road bike depending on how rough the surface.

@jonathanzappala Год назад

I completely agree with Ollie on gravel bikes. A gravel size tire has little extra grip over a CX or 32mm road bike tire. It’s still not enough grip, a mountain bike tire is enough grip. I use 32mm tires in my cx bike for gravel. Most/half of the roads on a gravel ride in Ohio are paved.

@dominicbritt Год назад

Rebuttal of Ollie’s gravel bike opinion - Ollie should remember that most gravel bikes are not £10000 carbon jobbies. My gravel bike is aluminium and I don’t mind if it gets a bit battered and Tiagra/GRX components cheap to replace. My road bike is too nice to trash. My MTB is utterly horrible on anything other than a downhill trail.

@dddreeeeeee Год назад

#askgcntech hey alex and ollie, i have a question about how to properly mount a disc brake rotor with center lock system. i know how its done approximtely but 1 thing is in my mind about grease, some people said we need to put some grease on the lockring just to avoid part of them to seize, but some said that we shouldnt, so which one is right? Thanks. ✌

@thomascdurham9130 Год назад

Ollie, when you asked, would you ride a triple, aluminum, rim brake mechanical Sora, I laughed because I rode my Specialized Allez from California to my Bronx, NYC home at age 60.... and tomorrow at age 70, I will do a short 40 to 50 miles loops just for the joy of riding on that exact same bike. By the way, it's still a 24 speed. 😀

@RomanoCortesJorge Год назад

It is true that, to paraphrase an old cyclocross saying, "a gravel bike is never the right bike for the job." On paved surfaces, a road bike would be faster. On rough and technical single-track trails, a mountain bike is faster. And on hike-a-bike sections that are totally unridable, having no bike at all is faster. But in a race with mixed surfaces where riders do not have the luxury of switching bicycles to suite the terrain, then the gravel bike is fit for purpose. Race courses must also be fit for the stated bicycle genre. To all bike race organizers including the Union Cycliste Internationale-UCI: 1. If the fastest bike for your gravel bike race is a road bike, then you have made a lousy race course. 2. If the fastest bike for your gravel bike race is a mountain bike, then you have made a lousy race course. 3. If the fastest bike for your mountain bike race is a gravel bike or even a road bike, then you have made a lousy race course. 4. If the fastest bike for your mountain bike race is no bike at all and riders have to hike dismounted for the majority of the course, then you have made a lousy race course. It's unfair to cyclists who spend and train for your events--especially those who cannot pre-ride, reconnoiter, or do track readings of the race course beforehand--to set their expectations with a stated bike race category, then create a race where competitors find that they actually brought the wrong bike for the course.

@simonscott3488 Год назад

Where are all these gravel roads in the uk? Have gravel bikes just replaced the winter bike because people don’t like mudguards?

@legstrongv Год назад

I mostly use easier or lower gears on my bikes. When I go downhill ( on my road bike ), I mostly coast downhill, so I don't really use my harder or higher gears.

@nyf_verg Год назад

For Bike Geometry. What if they start to develop some sort of spacer at the bottom of the headset. wouldn't it influence how the bike feels more (it can increase the headtube angle) than just having spacers on top of the headset which just raise the handlebar.

@frazergoodwin4945 Год назад

I agree with Gregor (@10:46) as my bike was definitely less than €4000 (or at least the cost that I've told my wife is less than four grand)

@yomin2162 Год назад

I've always felt gravel bikes work better in real life scenarios rather than races. Say you go on a ride by heading out your front door (tarmac), riding out of the city (tarmac) up to the trail head (off road). What bike would be you choose? Can't ride the fun rocky parts on a road bike, and MTB will take you all day just to get there. Gravel bike's your only real choice.

@ltrtg13 Год назад

I agree wit Ollie about bike geometry. Not sure about gravel bikes as I have never ridden one. How ever I have ridden my Orbea Laufey on road rides. With 140mm travel forks Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ on the front and a Maxxis Rekon 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ rear, 780mm wide bars and 11-51 and 32 tooth chainring. On 50+ mile rides.