This is not going to be popular with many cyclists, but here goes. I think we've been duped into thinking we NEED to get equipment that we really don't. Yep, I know - ground breaking info. LOL  Lately, I've been looking at purchasing a new road bike. I want a bike I can ride and race on - criteriums, road races, centuries, and just riding most of our local roads. Looking at photos of some of our NCNCA races, I see every rider on the same type of bike - carbon, aero, deep dish wheels, disc brakes, carbon everything.....and in most cases, ultra expensive. Looking at some of the bicycle companies' websites, I see some of these bikes sell for as much as $13,000 or more. Heck, a "basic" model of these bikes comes in around $6,000. 

The one model of bicycle I really liked was $3,000. Even at that price, I almost lost my breath. It was very basic - Shimano 105, no deep dish wheels, yes it was carbon, but it was a bit heavier and not quite as nice as some of the "other" more expensive bicycles. In fact, in today's racing, it would probably look out-of-place. Which made me wonder.......are today's bikes more of a group-think thing than actual value? Do we NEED all those bells and whistles? Do they REALLY make us faster??? Are they actually more comfortable??? Maybe. But I doubt it. Why??

I started racing in 1980 here in Chico, California. We had steel bikes, steel everything, no aero anything and no carbon. Rim brakes, 32 and 36 spoke wheels, steel forks - really basic stuff. Heavier then too - in some cases, a lot heavier. And yet....I noticed something odd when I was a local bicycle race promoter in the 2000s. The time trial times out at both the River Road 10-mile Time Trial and the Forest Ranch Hill Climb Time Trial actually got slower as the years went on(even with these so-called enormous equipment upgrades). The riders from the early 1980s, with their heavy steel bikes......were faster. Both on the flats and the hills. Some have told me they think it's because the roads were repaved - but to be honest with you, they feel the same to me, look the same and ride the same. You know what isn't the same?? The training. Those folks back then - they rode more, harder, longer, raced more, and spent loads more time in the saddle. And....they participated in more activities - backpacking, running, bike touring, cross country and downhill skiing, hiking, walking, bike commuting, swimming, and even weight training.....and more. 

For those local riders here now, let me tell you what it was like back then: Imagine the Fast 50....which we do on Wednesday nights. Now.....imagine doing that type of ride 6-7 days per week(2-3 hours at a time). That's what it was like. Every single day, the groups would get together and ride - Cohasset, Forest Ranch, Centerville, Honey Run, Neal, Clark, Pentz, Table Mountain, River Road.....this was the norm, 6-7 days per week. Imagine riding to Centerville, then coming down and racing the River Road Time Trial. Or imagine riding up to the Cohasset Store from downtown.....then racing the Criterium at the airport right after.....then riding home. That was the norm. That's what was done. They rode more....they rode harder, longer....and they rode together, almost every day. Weekends were like 100 mile rides - all over the place. And they raced every race. I looked at who showed up from Chico to the Cat's Hill Classic and the Santa Cruz Criterium this past weekend - not a single Chico rider, none. In the early 80s, there would be a whole contingent there. Today, not one. Why???? 

Is it worth the $6,000-$13,000 for that new bike? No. Give me Bruce Gesick on his old steel Celo Europa back in 1984 - and I'll put him up against anyone here locally now......and I'll pick Bruce to win any event on that thing. He was just more fit, rode more, rode harder, longer, raced more - as did ALL of his teammates on Cascade Racing here in Chico, CA. It's not the $13,000 bike - Cascade Racing used their bikes as tools only, tools to ride everywhere all the time. I think we've been duped into thinking we NEED this $13,000 steed to get "more". But that's false - these are marketing attempts by bike companies to sell more product. And I'm not a big fan, obviously, of most of these bicycle developments. I think they're a marketing ploy. The real key is riding, not all the equipment upgrades.

The "best" bike I've ever owned was my Benotto 700 that I got in 1982 at Cyclesport bike shop here in Chico, CA. It was a steel frame, Campy Nuovo Record components, combined with Ofmega components, and Diacompe brakes, Mavic 36-hole wheels, clinchers, Cinelli bar and stem. It was a 57cm frame - about 3cm too big for my young 14 year old body. Even today, I ride a 56....because I find the 57 to be too big. And yet, that was my favorite bike ever. Why?? Because I rode it more than all the other bikes I have ever owned - combined. I lived on that bike. I rode it everywhere, including multiple rides in a brand new Century called "The Wildflower" and this other new ride called "Paskenta" back then. I raced it all over northern California. I rode it in the rain, the dirt, the blazing heat, the wind, after school every single day. I cleaned it constantly - and even kept it in my bedroom so it would always be near me. No carbon, no aero anything. I rode my fastest River Road Time Trial on that bike in 25:00 at the age of 15. And that was one of the slowest times of the day - with Cascade Racing regularly clocking in at 21, 22 and 23 minutes. But that bike - that one was my favorite of all-time. I haven't been on a bike since, where I can say it's my favorite. At least, not yet. 

I'm tempted to get this - gasp - $3,000 "low end" road bicycle - and then ride the stuffing out of it. To race it, ride it everywhere, and put more miles on it than my old Benotto. I'd love to show up to a race, and show you don't need that big(ger) budget bike to compete. I'm convinced - after 45 years in this sport - that we've been duped into thinking we need those Tour de France level bikes(which are more along the lines of $20,000). I know others - in my age category and older - who agree. They've seen what I've seen, know what I know about this sport.....and have also come to the conclusion that we are probably overspending on things we shouldn't be overspending on. What really saddens me is the barrier to entry this might(probably) be causing. Even me, I felt weird even looking at this - gasp - $3,000 bicycle to race it......because I'd probably be sorely out-of-place......and I'd have some Cat. 5 come up to me telling me how I should really upgrade my ride. 

And finally, I'll leave you with this tidbit. When I spent all those years as a bicycle race promoter and cycling promoter, one common theme developed that I saw over and over and over and over again. It was this - the riders who rode CONSISTENTLY were always the riders who improved in every event. Criteriums, Time Trials, Hill Climb Time Trials, Road Races, Circuit Races, Stage Races, Mountain Bike Races, Cyclocross Races and more - the riders that kept their riding consistent were the ones who improved. It took time, but they got there. But most of the time, I saw up and down performances. Because most riders don't stay consistent - they ride, then take time off, then ride again, then time off again - and years go by.....and they have months where they ride, then take a month or two or three off. Then they get back into it, then time off again. And their performances.....just stagnate. And I get that these training programs and coaches are a dime a dozen now - I see them everywhere. The whole periodization training thing - I mean, that was a Soviet thing........but none of us wanted to look at the fact that they were doped to the gills. And yet, we're gonna follow their training programs??? Why??? Honestly, seeing things happen first-hand, the old school way seemed to work just fine. Ride, ride lots....and that's pretty much it. When I hear and read about the programs nowadays, as an old school guy, I just roll my eyes and tune out. 

Again, I get it - it's gonna rile a bunch of people. Everyone in the industry - they're gonna be upset.....because it's how they make their living. Bike sales, upgrades, coaches, all sorts of jobs and companies. It's gotten too complicated - too expensive, too out-of-touch for too many folks, too many barriers to entry, and too many knowledge obstacles. To me, again, in the sport 45 years.....I think its gotten silly. Get a basic bike, ride it tons, the end. That's it. There's hardly any money in that - which is why I'm telling you this entire story now. Keep it simple, keep it basic. It worked for "us" back then.....it'll work now, 40+ years later, maybe even better. And save some of that hard-earned money for something more worthwhile - like replacing all of the tires you're gonna wear out by riding all the time!

Now...go ride!