It’s been just a few years now since I’ve paid shut consideration to the skilled bicycle racing, largely as a result of I don’t have the time. Nonetheless, I used to be vaguely conscious that the Strade Bianche race was arising this weekend, and so at one level throughout some sofa time I punched up the outcomes on my cell phone and noticed that Tadej Pogačar simply rode away from all people with like 80 Euro-Miles to go:
Furthermore, he completed with a smile on his face and sufficient time to hoist is bicycle heavenward in celebration:
Plus, earlier than the race, he principally instructed everybody this was precisely what he was going to do, they usually nonetheless couldn’t cease him.
And to suppose I rode behind him for like three minutes:
I actually am superb.
Talking of professional racing, element firms are nonetheless pretending hookless rims aren’t utterly silly:
Previous to final Thursday’s submit I knew little to nothing about hookless rims; since then I’ve discovered sufficient to conclude that this can be the dumbest pattern in bike tech to this point this century. Simply take into account the follow-up to that video I posted on the finish of final Friday’s submit:
In the event you don’t have time to look at, principally this man’s tire was blowing off the rim in a burst of white jizz like a porn star with untimely ejaculation, and the upshot is that the edges are out of spec by some tiny quantity that’s however adequate to permit this to occur. Because the video notes, the bicycle business pushing hookless rims is similar bicycle business that can’t make an built-in backside bracket work since they will’t hit the exact tolerances essential for it to not creak–however positive, go forward and belief them to depart off the factor that holds the fucking tire on, as a result of theoretically it really works simply so long as every thing is totally good. And it’s doubly ironic when you think about that, a minimum of earlier than thru-axles took over, you couldn’t even purchase a bicycle with out fork security tabs–and but no one’s stopping Zipp and no matter brobag firm bought this man his wheels and all the remainder of them from promoting folks hookless rims, go determine.
All that however, I noticed some hypothesis within the feedback final week as to this man’s marital standing, and I’m fairly positive it’s protected to conclude that anybody utilizing a crabon crank as a door deal with is unquestionably not married:
So sure, hookless rims are ridiculous, however a minimum of the professional biking pundits are targeted on what issues:
Yeah, sorry, the time to talk up was like three a long time in the past:
Almost a century of insouciantly-worn caps ruined by Large Helmet. You reap what you sow.
Nicely, they are saying it takes a giant man to confess when he’s been improper, and along with being an awesome bike owner able to holding Tadej Pogačar’s wheel for nearly the whole period of a bunch journey rollout, I’m additionally totally able to proudly owning as much as my very own errors. For instance, I used to be studying a transcript of this podcast:
In it, they’re discussing the heavy days of the ‘Rona freakout when all people was hoarding bikes and bathroom paper, and it made me bear in mind how on the time I wrote this:
Nicely, right here we’re 4 years later and the bike business is seemingly a large number. Clearly we should always have instructed simply instructed the transient Pando Cyclists to fuck off, that there are solely sufficient bikes and elements left for us actual riders, and that they need to go take up jogging or one thing. Certain, it sounds harsh, however maybe had we completed that the bike business could be in a greater place immediately, and firms wouldn’t be making an attempt to save cash by producing hookless rims.
I additionally surprise if I used to be improper about e-bikes. In 2018 I stated the town ought to cease cracking down on them. Nicely, I’m not saying the cackdown wasn’t misguided essentially, however I’m saying it’s 2024, e-bikes are now burning down the town, and by some means the answer to that’s publicly-funded charging hubs:
I’m unsure how this addresses of substandard e-bike batteries immolating folks within the night time, however I do surprise if it’s prolonging an issue that may in any other case simply type itself out:
I hate motor scooters after they’re within the bike lane and on the sidewalk, however I feel they’re implausible when ridden on the street the place they belong. So if supply individuals are shifting to them then possibly that fixes every thing. Give it some thought:
- They purchase gas-powered scooters, that are sensible for deliveries in addition to for private use
- They register them with the DMV*
- They journey them on the street the place they belong**
- The elevated variety of motor scooters has an general safety-in-numbers impact since New York Metropolis motorcar site visitors will now not be dominated by vehicles
- The tip
*[Yes, that requires effective enforcement.]
**[Yes, that also requires effective enforcement.]
Drawback solved.***
***[Assuming there’s effective enforcement, so…okay, fine problem not solved.]
Sadly, within the meantime, they’ll hold propping up e-bikes for industrial use on the premise that they’re going to avoid wasting the planet and we’ll all must sidestep battery storage lockers:
I do know, I do know, “What about fuel stations?”
Nicely, a minimum of I can wash my bike at a fuel station:
