Why are there REALLY so many crashes in pro cycling??? 

You want a great descending (and all around bike), pick a Pegoretti. What Dario said about building bikes “The first thing a bike should do is give the rider a sense of familiarity, second a sense of security, and third a sense of trust,” says 62-year-old Dario Pegoretti, his raspy Italian voice rising and falling like a sonata. “Then we can start talking about performance. Already the first three things are difficult to achieve.”

Great video Dan! I'm 186cm, weighing 75-76 kg. People call me thin! Non cyclists of course!😅 Greetings from Croatia from Kris 😎

You are right there are more and worse injuries because pro racers have stripped down beyond just body fat, they have tripped muscle from their body. Not only does this look terrible it makes the impact of crashes worse. There are more crashes because the racing is more intense. The racing is more intense because all the riders have a DS screaming in their ear the entire race. Racing would be so much better if they simply outlawed the race radios. The sport is a shadow of what it used to be, power meters, radios, ugly clothing, extreme dieting, I wonder who can love this mess.

The 1983 Bob Jackson I have with 531c tubing, is a climbing weapon. And descends just as well..and goes where you point it. Fair enough 11kg with the clincher wheels, but with the 280GEL 28hole tub wheels its around 10kg. With a Superbe Pro Group on it. Did many a race on this set up. Bike still going strong. Rider not as much.. at 74.LOL.

this is a very interesting subject which needs addressing. I've thought for a long time that crashes are so much more common than in the 80s when I first started watching C4's TdF coverage.. I don't know why you thought it was a god idea to talk about it on a bike ride. Better to do it to camera in your workshop without the distraction of wind noise and riding one handed. That aside thanks for this video as usual

Great video as always. Agree with opinion. Going back to the golden age cycling ‘s. history the pros consisted former chimney sweeps , bricklayers and ditchdiggers. etc . Now the riders have less meat on them , than a butcher’s pencil. I also think the bikes are too light,great for climbing but skittish on the descents. This is just my opinion. Again , great video,looking forward to your one. All the best!

I am an apathetic watcher of the sport, but I am going to have a go with an at a glance look between new and old pro tour racing. Theres defo a leaner rider physic of today riding on deeper rims that I imagine would add to faster speeds. But it comes with less control due bike frames looking smaller with higher seatposts/saddle height and narrower bars with turned in levers. Maybe its that slammed look that could be causing problems with todays pro's🤟

Comparing my 85 Trek to my 95 Colnago on a descent is like comparing a Ducati to a Harley davidson! In a sprint however, the Trek wins by a 1/4 mile so maybe, like some older bikes, some modern bikes have become too specialised in their design? Maybe that's why the UAE Colnagos can hang, they're more allrounders like that Bianchi, just aero enough, just light enough, just stiff enough?...just a thought.

Nice video. Thanks.

I was amazed how fast on P.R they ride, 60km/h, on cobbles?! Insane, i'm not surprise if they crash they will be hurt badly. Also, I'm agree with you Dan, a super mega light bike is very dangerous on descents, the bike needs to have weigh in order to stick and turn accurately on the road . but that is my personal opinion, can be right, can be wrong, anyway very good video though, Cheers!

It's an interesting conversation. Yes lower weight may impact toughness. But also these riders are riding at speeds higher than the predecessors iirc and that plays an even high role as velocity is a square function compared to total mass. Next I do not believe it's environment as we see how the vast majority avoid road hazards and the continued rides on the cobble classics. However it does seem likely because it's almost always race pace fatigue will play a part in the mental state of riders causing these bad judgement moves or even just luck from their position in the bunch during that time. I'm following you on the topic of bike choice, however, even pro bikes are built differently from consumer bikes. There are definitely key components that are strengthened or tailored to pro rider demands (someone with an ex pro bike in the modern day should do a comparison video or just an outright statement if I'm correct). To that it's rider confidence + training that determines how well they're cornering on the bike.

Albert Eisentraut is the father of American framebuilding. According to him the farther your ear is from the axis of steering the more unpredictable your bike will handle. Pros are fit in wind tunnels and ride bikes too small. In fact, T Phinney crashed out of three or four seasons because at 6'4" tall he rode a 56! He should have been on a 62-64. Also, a super-light wheel slows down super-fast. The moment your power output drops 40W the guy behind you slams into your wheel.

It's the disc brakes leading to late and overconfident braking. I haven't watched the video yet, I am curious if you agree

Bike weight is not a factor for a stable fast descent. What matters is the placement of the center of gravity of both rider and bike as this constantly changes as the rider shifts position on the bike. Ideally during descent, the lower the rider position and sitting more on the rear end of the saddle (sitting on the top tube is now illegal in pro races), the more stable the descent. Also a longer reach bike offers more stability on descents but often riders prefer to size down on bikes for a lower stack but shorter reach, as it is lighter and more aero.

Liking the Haute Route espresso cup 🙂

Need to solve the wind noise issue, just spoils a good narrative.

A light weight flexible steel framed bike will and can handle the road a lot better than a stiff carbon built frame without a doubt however, Columbus and Reynolds steel tubes are far too expensive to manufacture theses days so just stick with your carbon built bone shakers and hold real tight over those cobbles. !

You must get a staff discount @ that cafe in Forest Row ! 😆😆

....or the Tramadol.......

Interesting video, thanks Dan. I think riders are getting too thin - yes it can look good but it can’t be healthy. And there should always be an analysis of the safety of the roads they are riding, there shouldn’t be ditches! Too many serious crashes are draining the joy out of watching pro riders in full flight. Back off you bastards in cars shouting at your teams!