It's Not About The Bike

If you are at all involved in the road cycling community you know that road bikes are one thing that you can spend a ton of dollars on.  There is always “something better, lighter, or faster” vying for your hard earned money.  While it is nice to have a brand new bike, just remember, that for the very large part, a new bike or associated equipment by itself will not make you appreciably faster or better.

On the 3 state century ride I did a couple of weeks ago I saw just about every combination of bike, rider, and equipment.  I saw, and was passed by a few, overweight middle-aged guys on 25 year old steel framed bikes and new Scott Carbon Addict Ltd’s.  I also saw, and was passed by, young, extremely fit riders on the same mix of bikes.  There was one guy at about mile 50 or so that was on the side of the road trying to figure out how to fix his flatted Zipp 404 tubular.  His bike was real sweet and probably cost $7,000.

As for me, I ride an almost 5 year old Specialized Allez Elite with Shimano 105 components that is a little beat up.  The only things I have replaced on the bike have been the chain, tires, brake shoes, and cables.  It serves me well and I have a lot of good memories as a result of it.  I will probably be replacing the bike within the next year or so but I will still use it as a trainer/rain bike.

I don’t begrudge anyone who spends alot on their machine.  More power to them.  I just hope they didn’t buy the bike expecting it to transform them from an average rider into a Tour De France Contender.  Unfortunately, I think the industry does set those expectations and many people believe it.

If you are new to road cycling, don’t believe everything your hear about needing to spend a ton of money on a bike.  You can have a perfectly good bike that will take you anywhere you want to go in relative comfort and even give you a good platform to start racing for well under $1000.  The most important thing to do is to get a bike that fits you properly. 

If you are an experienced cyclist you probably know, but don’t want to admit it, that the only real thing that will make you faster is to train harder/smarter.  There, I said it.

I guess that’s the end of my little rant.  Just something to think about.

Ride On.