Yes...lights are for use in the dark... Thanks Sherlock...

​@@vpghahat6328well apparently James didn't get that

😂😂

Ha ha ha brilliant!

Everytime I see James i change the video.

True, but if he sells it then it’s not junk

"My highest-rated bike is the one I sell the most.."

Imagine buying pre built bikes in 2024

@@BostilCensurado just like 99% of people do.

@@HeyxArno yeah, and Pinarello and Festka bikes cost as small family car

Well stated. 👍

And some not even that, but based on some extra features it has.

He's a bike fitter after all XD

Leave James alone, its the last thing this channel has 😂

Which is 10x more useful than every other review which sells you a bike that you will be uncomfortable on

His arrogance is of biblical proportions; don’t we realise that he knows everything. He’s the sole reason I avoid all of the videos with him in. Today, I thought I’d try to ignore him but here we are again….not going to be watching any with him in!

@@julesselmes Agreed with both of you. Gasp, lights on a gravel bike... with braze-ons on the fork too? My gosh, what ever could those be used for?!!

I have massacared my downtube with little stones, some protection would definitely come in handy. Gravel destroys bikes more than compact dirt does.

@@obfuscurity I spent hours internal cable routing a headlight with an external battery that I hide in a drink bottle, cables through the frame, through the headset and the bars, and it plugs in a very strong light below my Garmin (Gloworm XSV light). Who would ever need a light on their bike, and one with an external battery?! Imagine people riding their bikes after dark, what a disgrace!

🤣🤣🤣 Bike fit James is one of the best guests on Francis channel

He didn't say a single word about the bike with regard to bike fit! Where is the point? It doesn't make sense. That's the worst, most incompetent and senseless video ever!

It doesn't even have lights built in per se, it's like two out of a dozen models that do (currently.) It appears like he just googled Cannondale Topstone images and started rambling on what he saw. Blatantly obvious he has no actual hands-on experience with that bike at all. Pointing out 700c wheels as a feature says it all.

Gt Grade , underrated bike of them all

It is becoming unwatchable.

Cade Media Extra just dropped another 2.5h long video from a long cycling trip, that's the content I always liked

The podcasts should be renamed the Jimmy & Emily show!!

@@KNURKonesur I follow the channel for this content - still really good and Cade is one of the best at it

@@mattleigh4727 I think maybe the issues is that content is spread too thin - there's a bunch of videos that are clips from the podcast. I feel bad for criticising, as I know they've spoken about the impact of negative feedback. I do think it's legitimate to point out that the channel has moved away from producing content that I think a lot of 'core' viewers loved

But he is a bike fitter....

I find hard to REACH that conclusion, it just doesn't STACK up.

Not just stack and reach, he also mentioned built in lights and a downtube protector!

Probably their competitor sells them.

Got the 2021 Advanced Pro, and it made me love gravel riding / racing on a whole new level. And no, I'm not a bike fitter, I just ride the thing...

@@bikesandstufff competitor?

had a Revolt, such a deceivingly long reach on it.. just couldn't get along with it.. great spec for the money though!

same

Seconding the Topstone recommendation. I have a mid-range Alu Topstone 1 and like it a lot. The top-end that James was looking at does have some random proprietary accessories.

Totally agree, alloy medium never felt more comfortable on a bike

r/Topstowners

Well, the title says "Bike fitter ranks", so I guess it's not unusual that he ranks the bikes according to which ones FIT most people best.

@@TobiB89 sounds more like the ones that allow him to not have to actually perform a fit and will work easily for anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to get into anything more than an upright position.

@@speedrocker13 and isn't that what you'd expect from a video like this? Finding a bike that most likely fits you without paying extra for a bike fit. Most people neither need nor want a low and racy position. And this caters to the majority, not a few people, who like to race. If he only wanted to make money he would advise people to buy the longest, raciest bike available so he can profit from a fit.

@@TobiB89 No, one end of the fit spectrum does not define best. He also has said in other videos that almost everyone leaves his shop with the same saddle after a fit. It’s very unlikely that everyone is best suited to one fit setup and one saddle. It seems as if nothing about the rider matters and he just has what he likes to sell and that’s what everyone gets pushed to. Everyone certainly doesn’t need to be at the most aggressive end of fit, but nor do they need to be at the most upright. There’s a reason why there are bikes across the range of fits, so riders can get what suits them and not be forced onto a one geo fits all approach. He also can’t grasp how gravel riding might involve bits of “mountain bike” terrain. Seems he believes everything needs to fit in one simple box, without any variation or nuance. Check out some other bike fitters with content on KZfaq as you’ll see how much more thoughtful the process can be.

@@speedrocker13 This guys advice seems to centre around putting old office workers on bikes who have limited hip and back flexibility and core strength. He draws the bike into the reach of the rider without them having to over extend themselves. I think its a good approach and gets people cycling without pain who otherwise would not, however, I also think cycling more, enduring discomfort and building flexibility also makes sense for many people. Personally I find lower stack to be better as it allows me to rotate my hips to bend over to reach the bars rather than hunching my back but has the disadvantage of greater wrist pressure.

And stopped providing closed captioning too.

just ordered a purple haze frame and fork and im getting very excited

I bought the Mitte after seeing it on the channel. Ride it everyday and love it.

Because he's clueless like his little influencer mates and their DSLR's (on full automatic mode).

@@Chunky246😂😂 if KZfaq is the gauge, pro filmmaking’s been dead for years.

Can’t really tell the difference between 5’10 and 6ft unless two people are stood next to each other

beef

Except one of the bikes he was most complementary of was the decathlon bike.

@@zmuzzy101 a channel sponsor so guessing it kinda had to be mentioned, but to be fair ive had the riverside 920 and the triban rc520 as i worked for them and got good prices, and good value propositions. only wish this video had more than one obligatory one.

@@geoffersmaher I forgot they're a sponsor because they've been hyping them for free for so long!

​@zmuzzy101 I think Francis has been riding the triban on his travels so that had to be in the mix, good bike it gets plenty of praise I rode one in France for a year it was ok fair play.

That was his point tho, it's a race bike for racers not average Joes

@@cybertonto72 I'm a 45 y/o average Joe, not a racer, and I do 3+ hour rides on my Addict Gravel without issues. And who cares about 650B wheels on a gravel bike???

@@cybertonto72 They are not though. Racers downsize because those "racing" gravel bikes are still too high.

@@punter11235 Indeed. They will go 1 size down and install a super long stem.

great value option

I have the 2022 version (before it got super slack) and it's so much fun!

Who cares about his thoughts? If you've been riding it for 2 years it must be good for you, no? Who cares if some geometry chart says it's "not optimal".

@@irfuel what's wrong with wanting to know somebody's thoughts? It's not like if you put out a video and said something to the effect of " oh that's a garbage bike" I'm just going to go out and buy a brand new bike that he approves of. I'm just genuinely curious of his thoughts that's all.

A bike fitter would be my last guess for someone to think that one geo is universally best.

100% agree.... Not that I'm biased at all just because I have a Focus Atlas too! 😆🤪 I have lower back & knee issues, the Atlas feels like "home" for me, love riding it; whether it be for bikepacking, commuting, general fun & fitness 😁🚲🏕️

For most people that suits them best

Sizing based on seat tube height is completely outdated. 52cm seat tube is not a "S" by any means. Yeah it was in 1985, but bikes have become much longer. Always check reach figures to determine sizing. I'm the same size, and in MTB I have an M, road/gravel S.

had the brown topstone 1 and loved it

@@geoffersmaher I also have that Topstone 1. Very nice with a proper fit.

I don’t think they exist. When I look at the geometry of gravel bikes my size none of them are more comfortable (reach and stack) than my Giant Defy road bike. I would have thought they would be more relaxed but they are not.

A low bike with spacers and a positive degree stem will handle awfully. You want to be running as little spacers as possible ideally so you’d want a frame that fits you perfectly without adding spacers

Came here for that aswell

got that revolt X(suspension fork edition) pro 0 which is the high end edition. pretty much a XC bike with drop bar. probably good if you doing some really hard gravel but thats the only pro. cons are, heavy, slow, horrible build quality and im not enjoying that mtb RD at all. dropper post seems pointless for me really. i just simply tell you not to get that bike, spend a while to sell that bike and the buyer seems not enjoying it as well. i just felt that giant havent really ready to make a gravel bike yet.

@@songjoseph3314 Slow? lol

Here here & exactly my point as well. The Revolt is en epic machine. :)

@@songjoseph3314 You are trolling. I have never such utter bollox in years. I own a few Revolts & what you wrote makes no sense & it utter tosh. The Revolts are kings of Gravel.

@@KJlem spell checker 🙄

I'm 1m75.5cm tall and I ride an S. The M requires me to install a shorter stem and the saddle is very low wrt the top tube (only 8cm extension). I would go for the S in your case.

Not really, no. There is the myth that all pro cyclists somehow have way above average flexibility, but that is simply not true. They are mostly selected for their extraordinary aerobic capacity and then figure out an aggressive position that works for them. But a dedicated amateur who trains a decent amount of time will probably be able to sustain a reasonably aggressive racing position too if they want to. There is also the fact that the customers of £400 bike fits aren't a representative sample of the cycling population. They will be on average much older and way more likely to have pre-existing issues (otherwise they wouldn't want to spend so much on a bike fit), which gets him to the conclusion that almost all bikes are terrible and that everyone needs to be on £10000 Pinarellos that have the geometry of a garden fence. Also with the latest tendencies on bike fit for racers, we could argue that most modern aero racing bikes aren't aggressive enough, because narrow handlebars require longer reach, and rotating the whole position forwards requires longer and lower handlebar positions as well for the same hip angle. Brands like Cervelo have to make "pro only" stems with lower stack for their sponsored teams (which isn't really UCI legal, but that's a discussion for another day). These bikes are already designed to be reasonably accessible to the general public, and are far from being only suitable for pros.

@@Marti-234 Also don't underestimate how pro cyclists are wanting to suffer while riding the bike if that would mean getting a 0.5% advantage compared to their competitors. No amateur would want to do this.

No one knows, especially not James.

the canyon is hard to compare. it is designed around a short stem and a bar that drops low. so comparing to a bike that is designed around a normal stem and handlebar is tricky.

@@raphindahouse Thank you for reply. Can you please clarify, is there any advantage with this Canyon setup (short stem, low drop) over Pinarelli/Cannondale? If I would now ride both of them what would be the difference?

@@k.o.David1 the new Canyon Cockpit for the Grail is designed like that, because it provides relaxed and aggressive positions with one handlebar. aggressive in the hoods and the drops, releaxed in the tops. Designing a bike around a short stem provides the posibility for a longer wheelbase and slacker head angle and therefore more stability. Bike geometry does not concern only the fit, but also the behaviour of a bike.

It's comfortable though.

had the topstone 1 under the bike plan and was comfy, sold it and an old bike to fund a sour frame and forks

I have the same, with a carbon fork of course, really best of both worlds