The real truth lies here.
Modern society is pretty much fucked. The world is made up of vacuous, self-centered morons brainwashed by the internet and mainstream media, who in turn are no more than puppets of .ooo1% of the population who own 99% of the wealth and pull the strings of every major government, bank, business and institution. 1984 is a reality, we just don’t realise and acknowledge it, because if it was made that obvious then we might just say “wait a minute, they’re fucking us!” We are made to believe we have freedom, whereas, in reality, all we actually have is the illusion of freedom.
Cycling may be the only real freedom we have, and even that is surreptitiously controlled for us, and is controlling us. We are told we need the latest carbon frame that looks like dog shit and rides not much better, while a 30 year old steel bike does exactly the same job, which is: to move us across the earth and put a smile on our face, yet we are convinced that we won’t be happy unless our new standard bottom brackets constantly creak and need fortnightly servicing. Mountain bikers are now being cajoled into believing that an extra 6mm of width on a rear hub will change our lives. It’s enough to make me go back to a hardtail. With a longer fork, slacker angles, wider bars, shorter stays, bigger wheels, fatter tyres, less gears, naturally.
Of course, advancements in technology do make a difference to our rides, especially for mountain biking. Road, I’m not as convinced. My Bosomworth, while heavier, with less gears and slower shifting than my Jaegher, is still a great bike to ride and would no doubt make me stronger if it was my only ride. Suspension and dropper posts for the MTB are pretty much essential and improve the experience, but if I lost the rear shock I’m sure I’d still be able to ride most of the terrain I do now, maybe with a bit more discomfort and a little less control, but wouldn’t that put the emphasis back on me to sharpen my skills and pick my lines a little more carefully? Thinking? No, we can’t have that.
Same can be said with the choices we think we make in our everyday lives: we aren’t making them, they are made for us. We don’t need all that shit they are selling us. We have the freedom to think for ourselves and make our own minds up, yet still just go along with the status quo, what the tv tells us to buy, what the corporations tell us to consume, what the 000.1% want us to do. Be good little happy consumers and shut the fuck up. Or go ride your bike, any bike, and use the time to think about what’s real and what we’re told is real. Don’t be afraid, set yourself free. It’s the only truth we can really believe.
Now head over to The Gear page and buy some shit.
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View Comments
@wilburrox
Yes, of course. The VMH has disc on her gravel bike. I do not.
Yet.
@minion
It is sort of interesting to watch the enthusiasm with which mountain bikers embrace each and every innovation to come down the pipe, compared with the reticence that informs the view of roadies regarding such matters. Remember how quickly disc brakes appeared on mountain frames? It was damn near overnight. I'm not saying one is inherently better than the other. OK, I am. There's no effing difference between 26 and 27.5, or 27.5 and 29 for example. But I am also saying that it's an interesting set of observations, from the roadie's perspective.
@PeakInTwoYears
Should take up welding. Or something suitably apolitical for this page ;)
I was reading this article on Pez yesterday & recognised a few of the sentiments, not dissimilar to what Brett's riffing on regarding the "need" for new tech.
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/features/lees-lowdown-tech-trouble/#.VkQBsvmqrpI
From a personal perspective, after the R3 got totalled & replaced with a new R5, I was unwittingly upgraded from Ultegra 10sp to DA 11sp. 5 months in & I'm not sure I've had more than a handful of rides where I've felt it's correctly adjusted & adhering to the Principle of Silence adequately, the margins for error are so small that over adjusting is way too easy. Whilst I love the 52/36 combo up front, I can't say I'm noticing any difference between having 10 & 11 gears to play with down back...
This is what I'll be riding when I head back to Aus in a couple of weeks for a visit...
Along with a Ken Evans, my dad picked it up for $10. Super Record. Wheels were from a roadside rubbish throw out, and he picked these up the other day... free.
Awesome text.
It's always good to know that somebody somewhere have the same thoughts I have.
Cheers from Brazil.
@Owen
You're wrong there I'm afraid. By that logic there's no difference between 26 and 29.
Anyway, stop talking about bikes, this is supposed to be about being brainwashed by the NWO, and you're all proving my point!
@brett
Note that I very carefully did not say there wasn't a difference between 26 and 29.
Critical thinking about why we need all these upgrades is brainwashing these days? What's in the water down there? I mean beyond the normal every wild animal that wants to kill you when you go outside.
Yep there's 25mm difference between the etro of 26 and 650, and 38mm from 650 to 29. so very indistinct between 26 and 650, and a ton between 650 and 29.
With the reporting on threaded bbs for bb30 cranks, there seems to be a lot of blowback from journos against the "better, lighter stiffer wider" press fit standards.
@brett
$10- "tell em they're dreamin"
Can your dad find some more stuff like that.
Ill pay him tuesday