On 1/22/2019 4:54 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 1:14:45 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 1:12:07 PM UTC-5, jbeattie wrote:

This is one-step removed from the tweed ride. Look at these guys (from Jan's site): https://janheine.files.wordpress.com...pg?w=640&h=518

WTF is the deal with handlebar bags these days? One water bottle and a canvas handlebar bag? If you can stop for water, you can stop for whatever crap you have in the handlebar bag. The last thing I want riding on gravel is a bulky canvas handlebar bag to add swing weight to the bars. Mandatory wool jerseys and dynos. Gak. It all screams for attention.

:-) Yet if they were in multi-colored lycra jerseys with team and
product logos, they wouldn't be screaming for attention? Hah.

Not nearly as self-consciously. It's like they're making a point.

I don't know how you can say that. You're judging a lot from one photo
plus lots of imagination.

I'm not going to say that those guys didn't make their choices based
on the fashion in their peer group. That happens with some of the
people in any peer group. But it's not a given. FWIW, I started
using handlebar bags in about 1975 and have used them ever since.
I don't stop to drink from my water bottle, and I don't usually stop
to take off my jacket, put on my hat, look at a map, grab a camera,
grab a granola bar, etc. All that stuff is in my handlebar bag
and easily accessible.

All that stuff is in my jersey pocket. I will ride 100 miles with my reduced wallet, a couple Cliff bars, two GUs, my iPhone and that's it. If I need more, I stop.

OK, different styles - for example, I can't imagine bothering to reduce
my wallet for a ride. How much do a few credit cards weigh?

My bag normally carries my wallet, my keys, my phone, tube, tools, patch
kit, spare cable, something to eat (maybe raisins or a banana, maybe a
granola bar or two), a few paper towels for wiping sweator blowing my
nose or wiping hands after mechanical work, a monocular, a lightweight
cable lock, often a couple maps, and maybe one or two other small things.

But the big advantage is simply capacity to carry things. I can stop at
a store on the way home and not worry about how to lug stuff. It makes
the bike much more versatile and useful. I can even dress in layers,
like a sweater or arm warmers plus a jacket, and have places to store
those I discard.

I can even put my rain jacket or vest in a jersey pocket. And if I wanted a bag, I would get a bigger seat pack. Handlebar bags add mass to steering, they rattle, etc., etc.

Well, mine don't rattle, and I've never noticed any steering effect. But
I'm not much of a connoisseur of bike handling.

I don't care what tires a person uses either, but when you claim that fat tires roll better and are faster than lighter, narrower tires (with their "placebo" effect (his words)), you're riding on thin ice. If that were true, the entire pro peleton would by riding 45mm tires.

Well, I think the big change happened when Heine tested a bunch of tires
on an asphalt track, instead of on steel drums. That pointed out that
the suspension effect is important, more than most people previously
thought.

But you don't think the pros are influenced by what the other pros are
using?

Seems to me like racing tires have gotten wider in recent years. So were
the 19s really faster back when they were common? Has something since
changed so wider ones are now faster? I doubt it.

Besides, what's best for the pros is not best for most cyclists, or even
most "fast recreational riders" (as Buycycling described its target
market). I think racing equipment is even less appropriate for the
average avid enthusiast - that is, the people who really like riding
bikes, who ride several times per week and do 30 to 50 mile rides at the
drop of a hat, but not pegging their heart rates all the time.

I'm old and slow now, but in the old days I would ride a century or more
accidentally with friends - no planning, no preparation, just a long
ride at a brisk pace and "Hey, we're over 90 miles!" Many of my friends
were on real racing bikes, although few of them actually raced. I'd be
on the touring bike I still like best. It worked fine.

But I'm not pushing 45mm tires. The widest I ever used (aside from the
mountain bike) were 37s, and that was only for some touring. Still, I
wouldn't be surprised to see 32 becoming a popular width for high-end
bikes in a few years. We'll see.

I think Heine found a niche and is working it as hard as he can. Next thing will be the superiority of toe clips and straps and nail-on cleats with free-range cow leather soles.

Oh, he's definitely found a niche that works for him. And for the
record, I think some of his ideas are either magical thinking or weird
merchandising. Same for Grant Petersen.

But I won't complain about those guys getting people to pay for
nostalgic technology - at least, not while others are getting fat,
out-of-shape 70-year-olds to pay for super-light carbon fiber delicates
with space age shifting mechanisms.

--
- Frank Krygowski