This will probably be an inflammatory statement: race culture is toxic and harmful to our industry. Here we go.
We all have opinions, and this is mine.
I am not saying that race culture should not exist. No, I think competitiveness is a natural part of human nature and can be very healthy. There is nothing wrong with wanting to race your bike.
A few of us run with our bikes. I have also done it at one point in my cycling, XC and Downhill racing life. It was a good time.
But, the Corsican culture needs to embody each unique aspect of our industry? For example, most cycling specific clothing that is available is lycra and cut to fit the athlete’s body, often without considering the regular size cyclist, let alone larger riders. The suit is cut to offer an aerodynamic advantage – often at the expense of comfort. But why?
The bikes that are designed and introduced by the biggest brands in the game are often made strictly for speed, rather than comfort. In many cases, these “race” bikes are far from versatile. Sure, I know, it’s fun to have a lot of bikes, one for each specific use/discipline, but that’s not very practical – or realistic for the average consumer.
I am thankful that there are bike brands out there that embrace the non-competitive side of cycling and not just for the culture of the race. But, as an industry, we need more.
More brands like, Surly, Soma Fabrications, Sklar, Marin, Rivendell, Crust, State Bicycles, and Bike Friday, just to name a few off the top of my head. These brands tend to see the bigger picture and offer cycling as a way of life, not just a tool to go fast against others who want to go fast. Therefore, these brands are thriving and surviving.
If you can’t afford to own many bikes, and you can only ride one, don’t you want it to be as versatile as possible? We can’t get people to start thinking about cycling as a viable and realistic form of everyday transport if we alone push people to ride like they’re racing. This is narrow thinking for an industry that has been struggling lately.
Although the choices are much better today, there is still much less to choose from for the non-competitive cyclist who just wants to ride rather than race.
Set yourself up for success
Cyclists who don’t ride their bikes are the majority, right? In general, when you see how many people use bicycles to get around, it must be true. But still, bikes marketed as machines that can only “go fast” sell much better than bikes marketed as comfortable and versatile. But, there is (must be) more to it, when you sell someone a bike.
I hope that the person in the shop is not only selling a bike, but selling “bicycles” as a whole. Right? Isn’t that the goal? Selling cycling as a lifestyle change for the better, and getting another car off the road. We should set customers up for success by putting them on bikes that fit and not on “what everyone else is riding”. We have to drive them to something that makes sense to them, and not the $14k “Specialty” racing bike.
Discouragement leads to another bike left in the garage. And, if a new cyclist isn’t comfortable, they won’t ride a bike. Period.
Like Sex, Speed Sells
There are many ways to ride a bike other than racing or to load any track like no one else but you will use it. It would be nice if the producers surrendered to this, or at least acknowledged it. Instead, bikes that “go fast” get better components, while commuter bikes and all-round bikes get the lower specification levels. Again, sell discouragement. A bike that doesn’t work well, gets left in the garage, and another opportunity is lost.
Shimano makes leaps and bounds in new offerings that respond to the new userand affordable options. In the age of bicycle “transmissions”, these new Shimano groups have been a bit of sunshine, and another sign that maybe someone out there. is it be careful.
It seems that most of the big manufacturers still think that the people who buy these all-rounder bikes don’t deserve the good stuff because they aren’t “racing”, riding in lycra, crushing “PR”, counting calories. , or count grams, so you don’t have to care about how the bike works. Either that, or they just think that if you’re buying a comfortable and versatile bike, you’re not willing to pay for better quality parts.
And, don’t get me started on how these cyclists are treated off the trails by “real” cyclists on their “better” bikes and “serious” cycling attire.
In recent years, however, that has started to change as brands seem to recognize non-competitive cyclists more. Unfortunately, for the most part, the bicycle industry as a whole continues to “blow off” the non-competitive cyclist as a less lucrative segment of users.
And here lies the rub, and where it becomes toxic. As mentioned before, cyclists who don’t ride fast or wear lycra are looked down upon and treated as “less than” by those cyclists who do. I see it every time I ride my bike. Every time.
Let’s do better
Look, we’re all ambassadors for the sport and lifestyle of cycling when we’re out on our bikes. As cyclists, we have a responsibility to be kind and encouraging to users of all types and skill levels. We are doing better as individuals and as an industry in this regard. We can be inclusive and encouraging, instead of resorting to tribalism.
We’re getting there. Helping spread the word about the beauty of non-competitive cycling are people like Russ and Laura from Road Less TraveledRonnie Romance of Ron’s BikesGrant to Rivendell Bicycle WorksNolan above The bicycle sauceCheech and Matt of Crust BikesAdam of Calling In Sick Magazineand of course, John above the Radavisto.
Be the cyclist you want to be
I never thought I would ride so casually on heavy bikes, and it doesn’t matter. Nor did I ever think that I would go into a position that is more comfortable and upright. It never entered my mind.
Based on what I saw in the ads and marketing, I always thought I needed to have zero body fat, be dressed in Lycra, and ride fast all the time. I’ve always felt that I had to have the lightest race-proven components on my bike to be taken seriously as a cyclist.
I am here to say, that this pattern of thinking is the farthest from the truth and quite toxic. No one is better than anyone else based on the choices made about where, what, or how to ride a bike. It’s just stupid and absurd.
I left race culture in 2014, and I’ve felt so free ever since. Not following the “race culture guides” feels so liberating, letting me be the cyclist I want to be.
Let’s stop taking ourselves so seriously, and ride like we were kids again. Yes?
