Has The Cycling Industry Lost Its Way? [trans_scribe]

 

Photo-Manipulation: March 2024

[Adjusted Video Transcription]:

Elite professional cyclists are often held up on a metaphorical and literal pedestal as an example of what all cyclists should do basically if the pros do it so should you however I'm gonna go counter that flow and give you three reasons why you shouldn't do what the pros do why are you tearing the bike community apart why and to be clear this isn't a knock against pro-cyclists or people that light that kind of writing I'm just simply staying that one particular style of writing shouldn't be the default lens through which we look at all of cycling the first reason you shouldn't do what a pro-cyclist does is they basically have different goals theirs is to compete in when races and bring home a pay cheque and make their sponsors happy and if that isn't your goal then you should probably take what they do with a grain of salt if your goal is to drop your kids off at school pick up some groceries go on a long and lazy meandering tour then it goes without saying you don't need to emulate what they're doing you don't need a carbon fibre bike you don't need to wear some crazy arrow helmet or a skin suit a lot of that is an unnecessary expense that's not going to benefit most cyclists and if anything it just acts as a barrier furthermore advice in training videos that information is great if you want to race and want to participate in that kind of writing but it shouldn't be the received wisdom for all people on the bike if your goal is to just ride around riding a bike shouldn't be like school where you work your way up to some kind of vague ideal and you graduate to a real cyclist and they give you an arrow helmet and clipless pedals just like how everyone who drives a car doesn't aspire to be an F1 racer to be a real driver some people just drive to get around to move their kids to do daily tasks this dovetails into another reason why you shouldn't do what the pros do in particular using the same equipment pro cyclists are train athletes that way like next to nothing they’re super flexible and what suits them so they can accomplish their goals doesn't make sense for a lot of people so don't feel that pressure to slam that stem right on super narrow high pressure tires unfortunately today you know most road bikes are actually road racing bikes or pretend racing bikes again to use the car analogy a lot of people are looking for an event or that affordable you know bare bones pickup truck to do tasks but most bike shops when you walk in there they're basically selling you know the equivalent of Formula One cars or Formula One car light give me a bike with a comfortable ride with tyres that aren't optimised just to go around a closed circuit track and whatever the bike equivalent of cupholders is that might be brazen for adventure nipples more cup holders and more better and the last reason why you shouldn't do what the pros do is because it's their job and it's not yours you don't want to turn something fun into a job do you just like any job cycling has a uniform and tools to accomplish that very specific task aero clothing and funny hats make sense in that context but if it's not your job and your pay cheque doesn't rely on your your cycling performance then don't worry about it again not knocking anyone that does this kind of writing or enjoys this kind of writing or wants to do this kind of writing but there is a big wide world of people that ride their bikes or want to get into cycling that are just kind of put-off and intimidated by this constant messaging it's a way we're able to keep the lights on quite literally you know we're not sponsored by any big cycling brands if you appreciate this independent voice.

Original Images: West Leicester, March 2024