This Guy HATES Modern Bikes - Can We Change His Mind?

foreign [Music] Bike Tech always have always will [Music] love all new Bike Tech I mean frankly 34 centimeter wide bars and 400 Aero socks can get in the sea as far as I'm concerned but I'm a firm believer that the bikes of today are better than they were just a decade ago however I know that some of you lots don't agree we read it in the comments section all the time Aero doesn't make a difference wide tires at low pressures are just slow tubeless tires suck hookless rims suck [Music] Rim brakes for the wind now I would like to go for a bike ride and have a chat with all of you but I can't however I can go for a bike ride and have a chat with one person and lend them the most tech Laden futuristic bike that we have at our disposal to see whether or not we can change their mind about whether modern tech modern Innovation and modern bikes in general just sucks this is our retro Grouch Simon Warren the author of the famous 100 climb series of books which started guiding Riders here in the UK to the best road climbs and now include Belgium Italy France and Spain as well as you might imagine the man loves climbing lightweight bikes and judging from his Twitter feed not new tech Simon thank you so much for joining us and what an amazing day for it as well spring in the pink district there you go right now I love Bike Tech right I think you love Bike Tech too where we differ is on our opinions about modern bikes at the latest tech right yeah okay now let's go for a ride I'm really interested to hear your perspective and also maybe as to whether or not I can slightly change your mind or perhaps you can slightly change my mind yeah I'm quite excited to see what's under there okay right well let's do the big reveal then right Jesus think this bike is an absolute weapon I suspect it's not far off your worst nightmare there's a few things that made my stomach churn a little when I first saw it okay is this a lunch box or a water bottle that's that's one of your water bottles that's right so it's super fast Orca era okay they've prioritized aerodynamics over lightweight yeah how do you feel about that light versus Aero that's a completely the wrong way I mean I'm all about going up hills okay we've also got uh 12 speed Shimano durase okay aci2 they're the people about the fishing gear aren't they that's right yeah with hydraulic disc brakes which I guess you love no no have you ever used hydraulic disc brakes I've never used hydraulic disc fix no uh they're ugly so anyway we'll see and then the wheels okay you're gonna love that boss yeah I mean they are far deeper than I would ever ever ride on a normal day on a windy day in defeat District yeah but Okay the reason I'm running them is because firstly they look amazing yeah they are the 85 mil deep zip 858 nsw okay and they're also because they're hookless right yeah they only weigh 1500 grams which is pretty good even by climate standards right that's I mean I hope this is one thing that's that's really new isn't it yeah no tubeless stuff the Hopeless that just seems to me that it's like the tires just floating on the rim there it's not actually hooked onto it which doesn't sound safe so so it relies on tubeless tires right so you've got those set up tubeless so you can run the lightest and fastest should I say setup yeah they're also 28s so they're nice and wide aerodynamically that works with this rim width yeah and it also means that you can run lower pressures right so I'm going to put about 65 68 PSI in there yeah which I suspect is about half the pressure that you normally run yeah probably yeah I have a feeling right this bike is going to challenge you I mean I'm really excited those Wheels really yeah I can't wait to see what they feel like cool all right well let's stick your pedals on it then yeah and then uh unfortunately what I don't have is any Tech to keep us warm or dry but pedal it'll do that exactly yeah all right let's do it and I get to keep the bike if I like it yeah Alex Payne won't mind all right [Music] we're in the Peak District in central England it's a national park and an absolute Paradise for cycling Simon's route takes us up the Hope Valley into edale over a classic climb and then back I won't have long to change his mind it's just 30 kilometers and it's also not the ideal terrain for my show stopper of a bike if I'm honest I'm a little bit nervous okay firstly I feel a great weight of responsibility as the guy lending him a bike that it's going to be okay I mean if if there's if there's some kind of unfortunate mechanical one of my bits of modern tech fails there's going to be no winning him over I'm also slightly worried that if he does get a puncture I haven't gotten energy with a valve long enough because those rims are so bonkers but I'm looking forward to it I just I really want to have like a genuine conversation so it's going to be good right I think the rain's easy enough let's do it [Music] okay Simon before I get your impressions on the bike all right let's let's go back a step or two what is your idea of a dream bike um something around about yeah six six kilos something tiny lightweight Nimble it looks like it'll just dance away for Clive on its own without me you know having to Pedal it sort of a tiny a tiny profile ever since I was a kid I think I was indoctrinated by Intoxicated by pictures of skinny bikes when I was a kid and that's and that's hardwired into my brain a bike should have skinny shoes it should have 19 mil tires it should be yeah just tiny little thing and every year everything just seems to be getting fatter now yeah the way it certainly is okay and because your bike is a thing of beauty you're on a Time Yeah Yeah with camp and Yolo's record yes uh 11 speed a hold score 11 speed yeah um everything works Rim brakes cables uh it's easy to maintain it's it's yeah it just works and it looks pretty it looks like a bike I feel slightly aggrieved that it's becoming obsolete that brings us on then to these modern Innovations okay so let me get your thoughts on a few key Tech leaps I guess over the last decade or so so hydraulic disc brakes what is it about this that you don't like but so you're underwhelmed by the performance okay they're ugly the wheel is such a perfectly beautiful thing yeah and then you strap that massive bit of nail to it and he ruins it the first time I saw a lightweight wheel some bike show with a disc gun it's like heresy you can't do that Aesthetics is a big part of your uh dislike of disc brakes then you know yes that it it seems that the bike's been reinvented they didn't ask us for our opinion they just did it so you know in the past if I ever wanted to put STI levers on a long time ago you could just put it on your bike yeah if you wanted to put some deep sexual rims like I put them on my bike if you wanted electric gears I could put them on my bike if I want discs I have to buy a new bike new group set new Wheels yeah now I see that do you think though that the fact that bike companies are still making disc brake bikes is because more people want them than don't people do as they're told they're cheap start making nice stuff for Rim brakes brakes You could argue I guess that you can still buy Rim brake stuff yeah it's less expensive also there's the other top end stuff is gone so I can't replace my zip Wheels anymore with a little I like to like version yeah I think Envy stopped making their top end Rim brake Wheels they seem to be you know forgotten it's like you change or you stay where you are cables inside everywhere and all these people swearing I decided to set cables up his ears but all this inside business I mean I literally just smash the workshop up and go home but we were talking about Aesthetics earlier yeah surely getting ready cables yeah you can't say that he's a neat and tidy isn't it what about tires and the wheels okay so you're running a tire pressure today about not far off half I think what you'd normally run these don't feel it doesn't feel spongy no but they don't feel it's a little Zippy right and I think part of that is because that feeling of zip is actually kind of what was slowing us down feeling all those vibrations and that kind of zing you uh you know it made the bike feel alive but actually all those vibrations that yeah made you feel good better Road let me get some now Nick it's horrible they're chip and sealed it a few years ago okay every time you hear a bug yeah slows you down yeah so I guess a low pressure we'll accommodate more of the bumps but like a lot of things it's like a tradition where it's very heavy yeah if as a kid I was starting to pump it up to my arms here that's what I'm gonna do forever we've just paused at the bottom it was quite a famous climb in these parts isn't it ma'am Nick yeah what does that get in 100 climbs what rating I put in my second book uh and I gave a six out of ten I'm gonna regret that today I think uh but you do often have a a nice Tailwind it's not super steep but there are steep patches yeah it's long um but overall it's a really beautiful road yeah okay now obviously this is your preferred terrain right going uphill where lightweight is preferable yeah I've put you on an aerobike specifically to challenge you but you have got a bit of a weight penalty so I think that one is about 1100 grams for the frame which compares to about 750ish for there like yeah their other Road frame will bear so how do you think that's going to feel how many beat wheels on there yeah I mean the it is so impression I'm expecting it to be a little sluggish actually the wheels maybe really I really don't know I'm quite excited we're excited uh interested to see how it feels yeah all right well let's turn a pedal in Anger Sherry right we've got to do it properly we'll try it I just yeah below above my racing rates at the moment uh so I'll give it my best shot you'll get the Kom on that so yeah yeah that's right yeah yeah [Music] First Impressions going uphill on an aero weapon it was a little sluggish I've got to say it's firm it's it's rigid it's responsive um you know I felt solid good up there we had a nice bit of tower into you know you're pushing me it didn't yeah it didn't didn't excite now at this point I'm gonna have to interject after the ride Simon let slip that he'd just gone a minute faster than he'd ever gone before up this climb 10 quicker so very interesting to see the discrepancy between feeling and reality I've probably I've probably challenged you a little bit too far with a full-blown Arrow sled but it's down all the way to the calf now exactly so I reckon I'm doing profession on the one thing I'm slightly nervous about now is that you want to go down win its pass which is Infamous as being very steep very straight very very fast runs away from you very quickly there's a cattle grid at the bottom yeah and you've just got some new disc brakes that you want to try out exactly this is like having a parachute yeah like the space shuttle and it comes into land basically it goes they give you carte blanche to do whatever you want 100 yeah said yeah don't you worry exactly okay let's do it [Applause] oh [Music] it is well that was definitely a ride that I was quite glad to get back from yeah fun though it was New Year Impressions Simon go on first off yeah I was really excited to go on it yeah it it it's a strong bike it's it's solid it's got some zip to it um it did feel really good in the flat yeah that's that's where its home is I thought it was dragging a bit on the climb um probably could have put a bit of extra pressure in the tires um and that front wheel I've never ridden a front wheel as deep as that I was I was fighting it at times just to keep it in a straight line but then it is a horribly rainy windy day yeah I stitched you up when it came to wheel Choice today I'm not gonna lie and I regret that slightly maybe I think in wanting to challenge you yeah I think maybe I've got a little bit of a step too far but um but that was cool and we were tanking it back into yeah that was good I mean a bike like that has to be ridden fast you know you can get tucked in you know what's underneath you you've got to give it all yeah has it made you reconsider at all any of your kind of um your not prejudices no maybe that is the right word about the tech that you hadn't tried before like the discs like the tubeless tubeless how do I know any difference I I really I really couldn't feel any different now the disc brakes they stopped all right there's a little less lag you know when you're gripping carbon rims in the wet with the rim brakes sometimes you have to just brush the water off those are a little less but did they stop me any dramatically different no do I spend the cost of a really nice family car on what advantage what you know what percentage what middle school percentage of Advantage the Aero tubes new Wheels disc brakes are going to give me it simply doesn't make Financial sense um if you were starting from a scratch maybe but still my bike you know it was five grand to replace that with modern tech to get the weight down the same as it is you're looking over 10 grand now things have changed and without sound like Scrooge I've got to keep mine going yeah yeah absolutely I think that's that's one of the things there now where just because the new tech exists it doesn't make the old Tech obsolete like if you love your bike like there's no reason to swap it out right it doesn't make the odds the old Tech obsolete the companies that sound like a conspiracy theorist they're making the old Tech obsolete you know the big the big players in the game they're they're not making their top high and bike wheels and frame sets for people with Rim brakes anymore well so that's where I think you and I disagree because I don't think there is a conspiracy it's simply a case of they can make the products but people won't buy them and so so there's no reason for a company to make it's invest time and effort and money into into Rim brake Wheels if if no one's buying them because then you're like people aren't being sold them they're only being sold disc brake bikes well I mean maybe advertising that's what the pros are being told to ride it's you know you need to support both formats because there's a lot of people out there and lots of really nice bikes who you know want a new Power Wheels once a new pair of this but they have to switch systems yeah lower down the lake low down lower down the Spectrum and I guess it's progress but I think up until the disc brake Revolution progress has always been you could always just add it onto your bike now you need a new complete new system but we should also stress as well that it's not all modern tech that you hate so I guess you're a blessing doesn't it head units I couldn't live without that that's your wahoo yeah on there Strava yep yeah the first thing I Look to every morning yeah it's zwift Swift love Swift and to be honest when zwift came out I'm not going out computer game for bikes and uh I was offered a chance to run up out to do Swift within an hour I was sold and power meters is power meters yeah and uh and I do like a little bit of Science and again gives you more targets to aim for a little bit more you know tracking your decline as you're getting older monitoring it yeah um yeah all these things are good yeah so what I find interesting is that is that it's so individualized isn't it about what tech is right for someone and what is another because there are a lot of people out there that are still not fans of indoor training yeah there are a lot of people out there that that don't like Strava or they don't like this or that and so so I do feel like what you know where the rim brakes work for one person not for another it's a really personal thing yeah and you know what I've taken from today more than anything is the fact that we disagree on a lot of these things but you're actually talking to you face to face and having a laugh about it makes you realize that these are trivial differences right and and when you see something written in black and white on social media in a YouTube comments it's easy to feel inflamed isn't it and you know whereas actually when you meet someone face to face all of those things just disappear and it's part of the game isn't it yeah I'd say you know I've set myself a stall out on social media it's just for a laugh you know get some people angry and it gets other people clapping and you know you pick a side go to battle but it's just for fun yeah so maybe that's the point there in which we wrap things up so which side are you on are you an adopter and a lover of modern Bike Tech and the innovations that come with it oh are you slightly more reserved perhaps about some of the recent developments because we think it's a conspiracy so yeah there you've got the rim break Mafia there you go brilliant um well yeah get involved in the comments section down below and uh I'll be very very interested to read that one I'm sure you will as well exactly yeah thank you very much yes yes yeah I thought my daughter uses it and thanks very much for the uh the experience cool well yeah everybody in modern bike it's been absolutely brilliant riding with you yeah and uh yeah it's been a lot of fun so thank you very much despite the weather as well right please give this video a big thumbs up if you've enjoyed it we'll see you next time

Channel: Global Cycling Network

Views: 655,685

Keywords: modern bike, modern, retro vs modern, modern bike vs old bike, old bike, bike tech, new bike, disc brakes, rim brakes, tubeless, tubeless tyres, tubeless tires, lightweight bike, aero bike, deep wheels, aero wheels, simon warren, 100 climbs, road bike trends, tech trends, GCN, Global Cycling Network, Sports, Cycling, Bike, Bikes, Bicycle (Product Category), Road Bike, Road Cycling, Cyclist, GCN Cycling, sec-feature, sca15, gc21s, ꗧ, r1, c1, ꗶ, Ղ, n1, ඡ, ሙ, ସ, ଙ, パ, ꗖ, ළ, Ꮽ, Բ, Լ, Ծ, Ձ, ፕ15, サ, ኾ, 5031

Id: nwsG49-C7I4

Length: 20min 5sec (1205 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 15 2023