An indexed list of all my videos (with categories, tags, and a search button): www.bikegremlin.com/youtube/ For any questions, comments, additions, and corrections, I recommend you use the BikeGremlin forum (KZfaq is awful with comments and doesn't let you search & find questions and answers later on): www.bikegremlin.net/ The forum topic about this video: www.bikegremlin.net/threads/cycling-industry-rant.300/ Patreon support page: www.patreon.com/bikegremlin P.S. It seems like KZfaq is losing some of my own replies and comments to this video - bug or a feature (censorship) - who knows. Forum does work. :) Relja

"Its better, in my opinion, to hit a tree at 20 or 30 kmh than 40 or 50" Never change. You the man!

Hats off for your sincerity. You won't get sponsors with this video, but, at least you get my thumb up. Keep up such good work.

I’ve got 2010 Shimano 105 rim brakes, got laughed out of my local bike shop when looking for replacement pads.

I couldn‘t agree more. The problem is that you don‘t have a real choice anymore. If you buy a new bike, disc brakes is pretty much standard these days. Rim brake, if available at all, is limited to low-end bikes. I started out on rim brakes and aluminum frames with external cable routing and really love the simplicity. Fixing and maintaining older bikes is a breeze compared to modern ones. We need to go back to affordable, reliable and simple bikes.

9:00 - I LOVE friction shifting. I just move the lever until the gearing feels right and sounds good.

I agree with almost all your point, in particular regarding steel frames, rim brakes, and getting bikes overly complicated ... even with filled up with electronics. That does not belong onto a bike, except may be for the light or the speedometer. For me no electronics on the bike, and simplest technology made with good quality materials. As you mentioned, it is unfortunately not even possible anymore to find a good steel frame or good old J-forks. Many would be surprised how smooth and safe such a bike rides.

More professional mechanics need to be making this type of video!

Bravo. Every point you make is spot on. Been riding for 50 years and my 44-year-old steel, long wheel base touring bike is still a dream to ride and service. The bar end friction shifters eliminate so many problems. The indexed shifters on my three other bikes (including full carbon) are OK but often need attention. Indexing has been a step backwards in terms of practicality. Subscribed. 👍

The only question they are asking to themselves when making bikes and parts is : How can we make more money with these sheeps riding their bike and willing to pay anything? That's where we are at, they don't care about practicality.

Ritchey makes steel frames that have long chainstays!

Sizing is the biggest nightmare now for riders like me who are between sizes. Because of the fashion of long reach, slack angles and short stems it leaves very little scope for adjustment without really upsetting the handling. I either go for a larger frame that has a factory 60mm stem and shorten in 20mm , which makes the bike really twitchy or take the size down , have the seat way back on the rails and lengthen the stem to the point where it just feels plain weird. I never had this issue with older longer stem, shorter reach bikes.

Im 6'4" 190lbs and 43 years old and agree with everything you have said in this video. Even though I own a fully carbon disc brake bike that weighs 16lbs. It's a 2 by, and I i have full mechanical shifting and brakes. I do indeed miss the days of simple friction shifting... And heavier bikes always seemed to have a more firm plant onto the ground in gravel and anything offroad.

I 100 % agree with you about the Disk Brake debacle. Trust me. Done 40 years on rim brakes + 10 years on disk brakes all over Europe. Just back from the Alps and i left most riders in the dust during the descend ! Since 2018 i use the same rim brake pads, costing me NOTHING ! Look at what disk brakes cost in maintenance as well… What a mess…

Am novice when it comes to choosing a bike. My idea of a bike thats good enough is trip to Walmart. Where i got the Ozark Trail gravel bike for $268 (including tax). Ive been enyoing it so far. Am just looking to have fun. The bike industry has forgotten that part and has made everything convoluted. Just like any other industry. Look at any piece of hardware, its getting so specilized its easier to throw it away and buy new one. And they'll plant a tree in Amazon and call themself carbon neutral. Pozdrav iz Bostona,

Great video!!!! I agree so much, I am older rider with a carbon bike and disc brakes. I need to bleed my brakes and don’t want to even try. Just ordered a Rivendell with friction, rim brakes and a triple. Those who know will know. Thank you

Bravo! For someone to finally say it, loud and clear. Old school forever!

very nice "Kein Bier vor 4" picture on the background. Greetings from germany.

I love good practical, common sense advice. Good video. Yes the bicycle industry, like a lot of other industries get us to buy things that are proprietary in nature so you have to by the “next biggest thing” rather than building something that will last.

I've got a Rim brake Surly Cross check (that I'm very attached to) but have been hankering for a bike with disc brakes, you've just about convinced me to stay with my crosscheck (not to mention the 3x that I was considering changing to 2x) Thanks for the level headed advice.

What a fantastic video. I always double my knowledge of bikes when I watch The Bike Gremlin. I'm gonna watch it again to pick up the more subtle points.

The opinions video is very much appreciated, because at least some of the questions have already been on my mind. One of the things which I dislike is the move towards making parts proprietary and exclusive - for example, tube shapes that are not round cylindrical.

Hey, I'm with you! I've ridden and repaired bikes since 1972. Bikes are no more fun to ride now than back then. Steel IS real, lasts almost forever unless it is abused. Don't be afraid of building up an old bike, they are everywhere and can be great with just a careful rebuild. Good luck and good riding.

I went into one of my two local bike shops looking for a 10 x 135 axel, only to be told we don't sell them because you can't buy them on their own, they come with the wheel as a complete unit. The only thing that was complete was the bollox she was talking, I was trying to support my local shop instead of buying online. The other shop laid on the BS about buying a wheel from them as well, yeah we don't stock them but you'd be better off buying a new wheel because if you put a new axel in, it won't run right see, it will be worn out inside the wheel. I had already checked for wear, the wheel still had a good original tyre and innertube as well. I was flipping bikes 40 years ago back when a road bike was called a racer and you could get any parts local or have them ordered in. Locally, My stockists only stock a small handful of random parts and tons of accessories gadgets and the latest must have's now, why would I want Bluetooth gear change when I still have to press something to do it, I don't need the shave a fraction of a second off my gear change. Old English proverb- If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Yep, I had a pedal totally shred a SRAM GXP carbon crank last week. The pedal actually fell off! On inspection the alloy thread insert was completely shredded. The thread has entirely worn smooth and the pedal slid out of the crank!!! Incredible.

Thanks for sharing your thought. I agree with most of what you have explained but i do enjoy using mechanical disc brake because it is some what serviceable easily for a newbie like me. Do you have any thoughts on fixed gear bike or single speed bike?

This is the first time I've discovered your videos, excellent rant! Your pov reminds me of another excellent site, The Path Less Pedaled. BTW, you convinced me to keep my Surly LHT with the rim brakes and 3-by chain rings! Thanks!

Hello! The first thing i would do is (because this is a carbon fork and steer tube) to switch back the stem from the negative to a positive angle and take off one or two spacers from the steer column, therefor the height of the bars would remain the same and it would be a more solid build. The extra spacers you place them back on top of the stem!

Excellent video. Ive got a 25 year old Specialized M2 Stumpjumper I bought brand new...and Im still riding it. Its easy to maintain and I put good components on it, so it has lasted really well. New bikes are far too expensive and prone to failure. Mine has never left me stranded. Maintenance is everything.

Dude, I have 3x drivetrains on three of my bikes! I have 3x7 drivetrains on my old MTBs, and I have a 3x6 on my vintage Cannondale ST500. I have a 2x7 on my old Marukin M420 road bike, though it was originally 2x6. All four of my bikes have rim brakes. My MTBs have index shifters, while the road bikes use downtube shifters. They're not fancy, but THEY WORK! I'm not a fan of the 1x drivetrains, either. 3x7 and 3x8 drivetrains have been around for decades. Why? THEY JUST WORK! Give me a good, solid 3x7 drivetrain, and I'm a happy camper... 😁

YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT EVERYWHERE. Aluminium bike with rimbrakes for me. So right about braking and about bleeding the brakes, and how about changing tubes. So much faster and easy with rimbrakes.

I have seen carbon frame crack without the carbon wheels even sustaining any damage, or without even being knocked out of true. It is also impossible to know if someone has over tightened parts without using a torque wrench. I.e I would not buy a used carbon frame or bike without knowing the owner and how they treated the bike. And buying used, you generally loose the lifetime frame warranty if it came with one, so you better get it cheap.

Are there still Shimano friction shifting lever? To put where on what kind of bar?

I had a race face carbon fibre spider “explode” at 5mph going over a small mound. It threw me over the bars onto my back. The worst component is sram force CX1 hydraulic brake/ shifter lever. The carbon shell leads to endless issues with leakage, thread shredding and other failures.

As spoken from my heart 😊 Especially the discussion about the brakes!

I like the old components. Threaded headset. Square taper BB. Frames wherein the seatstays are welded in line with the top tube. People say "Oh but they're heavier:" So what . Unless you're doing climbs up the Pyrennes it does'nt matter. The only technical innovation I like is disc brakes. Also -these ridiculously large cassettes that are featured on MTB's. The 3 ring chain wheel was fine.

Thanks for the rant. I was considering a new bike , but will probably upgrade my vintage touring bike I bought used that has very little miles on it. New tires, and better cables and better brake levers etc .. I heard how much better supposedly hydro brakes are , but I always suspected on a touring bike the disc can get bent, dirty, pads contaminated and probably not as good as the old school canteliver brakes properly adjust with new pads and high quality cables, levers.

I agree with most of what you said there. Thanks :) I have a carbon fork just like the bike in the video and I don't see the benefit of it at all. I just worry it will break on me one day. Carbon is strong in pure tension but the front fork is mainly subjected to compression so I guess it's only the resin matrix taking all of the load and the carbon itself is not doing much.

Well spoken. Very honest and educational. Thank u

Last good thing in the cycling industry was threadless headset. Lol! No truer words have ever been spoken!! Great video!

I bought a Motobecane super mirage steel 10 speed in 1978, rode it for thousands of miles in many states - road bike miles and maintained it myself until 2021 when the bottom bracket threads stripped and it could not be fixed. The replacement Trek 18 speed has Verve 1 which was the only bike avaialavle during covid is disappointing. the Squashed frame means I have to have the seat raised beyond the height limit and the shimano shifter made out of composite broke,sheared off. The reduces wight of aluminum is over rated. Steel was reliablly strong. I agree. The bicycle industry has focused on exotic stuff that is bad engineering.. Sad.

Excellent video. I ride old steel bikes, and I’m glad I’m not enticed by most of the technology. I do like integrated brake levers/shifters (brifters) but maybe I should go back to bar-end shifters for reliability. I’m not interested in disc brakes or silly crank designs. I love your Trek, and it’s extremely sensible.

Absolutely agree with what you've said, I've got 2 modern geometry/component bikes and yet my 24 year old mtb bike is able to keep up with them and WAY easier to maintain and still feels fantastic!!!!!

Totally agree! I’ve a full suspended mountain bike with 1x and disc brake for really technical or muddy trails and wouldn’t want theses features on any other bikes. Rim brakes are powerful light and easy to maintain. Triples gives you plenty of range. The only drawback is that I can’t find any triples with short crank arms for reasonable price 😢.

I have 223 Trickstuff rotors, got the half off retail second hand so grabbed them, I wanted to try regular rotors, as floating rotors can creak after some years, long before the braking surface is worn out. And I hate creaks on my bikes. No matter size it seems like I will bend them a bit. Of course sticky pistons will make it worse. So remember to lube the pistons. Things come in contact with the rotor, pistons might need re-lubing. bike might fall down, someone might hit the rotor. Stuff happens.

I even sold a modern Di2 disc brake bike because of rubbing and slow shifting. I continue to ride a 10 year old rim brake bike and it's bliss. Ride feel is the same.

Although I have a pretty new bike with almost many of the marketed items you’re talking about, I basically agree with all what you said. What I do enjoy with disc brakes more is the chance to use much wider rims and tyres. The bike overall is a fair bit more comfortable, other than that I still think my 20 year old rim brake bike is great

I still drive my flinstone bicycle with square wheels. I dont have to worry about any of this stuff. I dont even need a Kickstart.

Spot with your points. Thus my affection for Surly (simple but very adaptable steel frames), Shimano Cues and TRP HY/RD cable operated hydraulic disc brakes. Simple and reliable is out there it just needs some digging around to find.

"One by is a fad" Thanks for saying that...I just don't get it on road bike. Smaller cassette, front derailleur, larger gear range...much better

Great video, totally agree. I ride a 20+ yr old Trek - no discs, no carbon.

Your crank thoughts are right, the best shape to resist both torsion and bending is a round tube. Most BMX cranks are tubular.

When do you exert force on the pedal at six o'clock? Usually The Force is exerted in rotation.

Threadless stems were the last real improvement? What about stronger wheels? More precise rim standards? Better tires? Much improved cockpit ergonomics? I could go on. There is no way I would trade my 2022 road bike for a vintage steel rig with friction shifters, my new bike is more comfortable and better in every way. I do love these retro-grouchy rants though so please don't mind me and keep them coming!

Good video man! Agree with all of your points. Industry is getting crazy. For me the worse part is push of hydrolic disc on road bikes with fully integrated one piece bar and stem combos and a shitload of proprietary parts. Nothing worse than that.

MORE RANTS PLEASE! I really dog cy ling rants yt!

I bought an offbrand crankset on Ebay. Instead of holes drilled through the crank where the rings bolt on they are threaded from the backside.

You speak a lot of truths. 👍 Some subjective, but still truths. 🙂 I’ve never liked curved bars personally, and disc brakes for road bikes are unnecessarily expensive, brittle and complicated. I literally don’t understand how they get away with charging as much as they do for road disc brake systems… But on the MTB / hybrid / straight bar side of things? I’ll take discs any day over rim brakes. 🙂 (I have a small commuter with rims and a rigid steel hybrid straight bar bike with discs - and 445mm chainstays 😉). You can get a full front or rear MTB brake system for around 25 euro, which gets you maybe a cheap rotor on the road side. One additional thing I’ve noticed that drives the lightweight change is that although companies love lightweight stuff so they can sell you parts and frames more frequently, a lot more peole are mainly driving cars today, work on computers for a living, and are less used to manual labour. As a result, many are simply out of shape, see steel frames as ’too heavy’ and then opt for an aluminium XC bike with a cabon fork. It’s a bit sad but it is what it is. On the flipside, there are a lot more cheap options to get people into riding today, and a boatload of other, more advanced options of all kinds than, say, in the 90s. I don’t drive electric myself, but I’ve also seen a lot of positives from that front - older people and those unused to physical fitness getting into riding bikes more. E-bikes also need more durable components, so those are starting to drip down to ’acoustic’ bike use as well. I hear a lot of good things about Shimano Cues, for example. Plus if you browse the used market, you have a LOT of options, even in small countries. But yeah - bikes have experienced technologization and ’advancement’ in a sense similiar to computers: in order to buy a good bicycle that fits the bill today, you also need to know about bicycles. I can feel your pain as a previous specialty shop worker myself. Things would be easier if the only thing people could buy would be an expensive but also a durable, high-quality tool. But then you have people complaining about the price all the time. 🤷‍♂️ I think basic mechanical steel bikes peaked in the 3x9 to 2x10 days. When I saw where the industry was headed, I bought a 2x10 steel frame, tools, a lifetime of spare parts and learned to wrench for myself. No regrets. There’d be a lot of demand for simple, durable, ’it just works’ -frames. Something like a Buffalo Bike. I’m sure someone will take on the challenge as the years go by and the SRAM v. Shimano tech development competition goes too far. 🙂

Steel failures do not always show externally - just ask any frame sprayer. Corrosion from the inside out is often not evident until the frame is stripped.

I always wonder how much force a gravel bike carbon fork can take.

Absolutely spot on I’ve probably saved 000’s by buying ‘Old’ rim brake bikes and wheelsets instead of moving over to disc brake

Wow.....just WOW! This video is so damned good. It's one thing to listen to some "bike guy" that doesn't know the mechanics and even physics behind how a bicycle works, but you clearly do...and it's appreciated by those of us that need to be educated and need to stop buying what is promoted as "the latest and greatest". I couldn't hit that subscribe button fast enough. BTW, your English is outstanding, and I appreciate the time and effort you're putting into this stuff. Thanks!

It's good to hear I'm not the only one. I'm riding a steel road bike with rim brakes and Alu rims, and am quite scared that they'll stop making parts for it.

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you have said, apart from being old. 🤔 If I were to buy a 'new' bike, it would be from the 80 to the 90's. I started mountain biking in 84 in Snowdonia, North Wales and our bikes took an awful amount of abuse, but they got us home. Carrying a 34 lbs mountain bike on your shoulder was part of the course 😁. I find the latest bikes to be soulless, no character, plastic looking, fragile, just horrible. It's all race orientated, marketing hype, keeping up with the Jones' BS, throw away society that we live in. A very sad state of affairs. You have my subscription young man 👍

I agree with you, it's unnecessary to save few grams, or even kilos in favor to simplicity. One of youtube bike shop owner said, bike I ride is worry free. He ride steel Rithey Road logic, rim brake version. Cheers

Threaded forks and quill stems allow much easier height adjustments so for casual city bikes the best choice IMO

I'm into mountainbiking and ride a 140mm hardtail on our local trails, some of these trails I wanted to ride through wouldnt have worked with my 100mm one I bought before (which -my fault- I havent checked was upgradeable to something like a dropper and had QR axles). However now I keep up with some 140mm full suspension locals without having to maintain rear suspension at all. Having mostly externally routed cables is a blessing as well and although I thought I'd want to upgrade my drivetrain from 10 to 12 speed, looking at the cost of a 12spd cassette and just wanting a one size bigger first gear I might go to 11 spd if not just getting a spacer or a derailleur with slightly more range. From the beginning until now I found carbon on bikes a bit intimidating especially in MTB . I don't think I'll try going for it in the near future exactly for the points you mentioned but also because you have to be so exact with mounting or it's an immediate life risk. I also feel that the prevalence and dominance of metals even in pro Enduro/DH is a sign. I do all of my maintenance myself and do a small repair shop at my university. The thing is that I rarely have "sporty" bikes in the shop so I kind of have more frustration with dutch bikes where changing a rear inner tube takes what feels like taking half the bike apart 😂 Also hub gears. As many of the bikes I see are pretty old and never cleaned, some of them have internal problems with hub gears. Absolutely dreadful when that happens😅

Relja, your views, opinions and advice are much appreciated and invaluable. Re: the disc vs rim brake argument. "You are preaching to the choir." is an old saying, which I'm sure Serbians have an equivalent for. But, marketing departments are as clever as they are dishonest and if someone has to have the simplest of mechanical engineering principles "belted" into them then they are a lost cause. Re: 1x. I live by the beach. It is quite flat and I ride along the promenade for ~20kms every day, purely for exercise. I ride my single speed most of the time and there are some spots where I need to get off the saddle but I consider this exertion as additionally better exercise. When it's really windy I I know I am going to struggle too much I use my 1x6 bike. My point is that 1x do have their place, but I agree with you in that they have become a fad. Finally, I never watch any of your posts and not come away with something learnt. Thank you.

Good summary of everything wrong with modern bikes. My bike has a wheelbase longer than XL road bike yet it is a 46 size bike. Super stable, long chain stays. Perfect for TT

Agree with everything except Hydraulic disc brakes and 1X. With cable actuated brakes you always have to adjust them as the pads wear. and with hydraulic disc brakes you just set it and forget it until they become squishy, and you have to bleed them. I've been successful bleeding them without putting the bike in different angles like you describe and it gave me a chuckle. As for 1X drivetrains, I switched to 1X drivetrains in 2017 and never looked back. I just easier to use and maintain, you shift with one shifter and adjust one derailleur. With the right cassette and chainring setup you can have enough gearing. The only downside of a 1X drivetrain is the gaps cyclists complain about them not finding the right cadence to ride at a certain speed, you eighter end up grinding harder or spinning faster than normal or just go slower.

10:36 depends on the terrain and trials you ride, if you want to corner well or get extra grip especially on ice, using a dropper post to be able to get lower and lean the bike between your legs makes a massive difference. But riding in the city relaxed or on easy trails straight up, not leaning the bike you might not need one. But riding down 50 to 90 deg steep rock rollers and rising trough gnarly downhill, you don't get the saddle in the ribs, and riding up rock rollers it's a massive help. Also when doing bunny hop, it helps you get height. But also it helps you get on and off the bike easier.

12:45 have to disagree on this one. Crank is thinner because there is lower torque due to shorter lever arm when the crank is vertical. In this case lever arm is ~8cm (distance from crank to middle of the pedal). On the other hand when crank is horzontal the lever arm is ~17cm which means it needs to withstand double amount of torque. So rectangular cross section does make sense

What are your preferred cranks?

First time viewer - have been a keen cyclists for decades - subscribed🎉

Funnily enough, I now run 2-by + electronic shifting because my hands couldn’t handle shifting front with all that friction after 100+ miles in sandy/muddy gravel. It’s also better in the cold, whereas previously my front mech would freeze in one position and never shift to easier gear. Too expensive and another battery to keep track of, but it solves my problems!

I'm currently building up a '93 or so Giant Trooper for myself as a long-distance tourer. Fits me quite well (classic fit) with a 555mm or so C-T seattube at 5'6" height. Very practical frame with 45cm chainstays, downtube shifter bosses, kickstand mounting plate, all the standard front and rear eyelets for racks. And it's 4130 plain gauge tubing, so it rides very stable. It's very similar to the Giant Expedition of that time, just with plain-gauge instead of butted tubing. In my opinion the Giant Expedition/Trooper/Tourer from ca. '93/'94, maybe '95 or so might be a good alternative to the LHT or similar bikes. Those bikes are very underappreciated IMO, compared to e.g. the Specialized Expedition, Trek 520, and similar models.

13:45 what point was he trying to make about the cranks? its better for them to have wider q factor?

Good rant - and in English! Thank you. I'm not sure I agree with all your points, but I understand and respect them.

Track sprint cycle must have short chain stays. That's there characteristic. Any advantage there or purely weight savings?

I love my surly Ogre. Built like a tank, i have a 2x crank with 9 speed cassette and friction shifting. Unfortunately they got rid of the rim brake bosses on the one i have, but simple cable disc brakes have been reliable enough for me. Oh and man is that chain stay long (and adjustable). Sadly i think its the dying breath of surly as they seem to be going in the same direction as the rest of the industry. If youre looking for a modern bike manufacturer that still make bikes like in the 90s and early 2000s check out Soma, i have a Pescadero from them and its rim brake only road touring geometry and a very capable bike.

I have multiple bike and covered bikes to ebikes but mostly low power or mid drive 750 or less but I know everyone says diskbreaks are a must but I still prefer rim breaks for my bikes ,even though my newest is a disk but with was rim 😅

Whats your thoughts on a titanium frame?

Absolutely an epic video mate. Thanks for sharing

great content. Thanks!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience! As a new cyclist it's invaluable to hear different perspectives in order to come to my own conclusions. Поздрав од Скопје!

21:35 restomodded 90s rigid with baloon slicks and front rack is your answer

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Much appreciated.

Check out the New Albion Privateer frame. Canti bosses. Chainstays 430-450mm

the things you are speaking about is why when i buy bikes from decathlon i replace and change almost everything. i think the obsession with single chain rings provide many problems including cross chaining and lack of gear choices.i went to 42 cassette and 34 chain ring and still i dont have the gears i want. i think i will replace with small cassette and double chain ring much better idea and no cross chaining.

Hi, i'm about to switch from my late 2000s' aluminum rim brake road bike to something newer and I decided to invest a little bit more as I ride quite a lot and I have a huge dilemma about the disc brakes and thru axels (you didn't discuss this, I wonder what's your opinion on thru axels) vs rim brakes. Almost everyone around me says disc brakes are the way to go, or electronic groupsets. But I have huge concerns about self servicing (I can repair ANYTHING in my bike), especially on longer trips. If a brake or shifting cable brakes I can replace it, I can even carry a spare with me for the trip, it weighs nothing. But if hydraulics or electronic brakes - that's it! At them same time, high quality carbon wheelsets make much more sense with disc brakes (A pity you didn't mention that)... Dunno what to do... another thing is that for a price of current entry level bike I can buy used, top-of-the-line bike from 7 years before... yeah, buying used carbon is a little scary, I admit.

Carbon forks, especially in this era of oversized steer tubes have made bikes way, way too stiff on the front end. The transfer of vibration to your hands is increased by a lot. Don't think that running lower tire pressure is the "solution", because it isn't and won't be as effective as designing a compliant front end. Only a well made steel fork can accomplish the ideal combination of strength and vibration absorbtion. Of course the best steel fork will be a rim brake type where the fork legs can be made lighter and thinner due to not having to deal with disc brake forces.

The most polite rant I have ever heard ❤

Thank you for exposing the truth about these "innovations". Best video on the subject so far.

Good rant. I'm with you on many if not all of these points. Needlessly complicated and we are a victim of marketing.

Love my 1x bikes with 12 gears. Axs so no trouble with setting it up.

Your comments are spot on. So is the message on your shirt. 👍

The problem is more that there is very little industry difference now between the racing and the utilitarian/recreational use of bikes. I race, and I fully accept the drawbacks and fragility of my lightweight, complicated, expensive carbon go-fast bike and components. The bike is made to go as fast as possible for a relatively brief period of time and the parts and perishables are expendable. I accept this as part of the sport. The trouble is that the bike industry thinks they are being helpful by tricking down this race theory into the bikes required by 95% of the riding public. The non-competitive rider has absolutely no use for performance-based bike builds, yet they are forced to inherit them and the problems that they didn’t ask for when only wanting to ride for fun.

Mechanical disk breaks solve the problem of rubbing. 1/4 turn of a screw and it's adjusted.

Great content! ❤

I recently watched a video in Japan and they are still using rim brakes or in Asia for that matter.