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error?
i have made it painfully obvious that i have serious misgivings about the whole gravel paradigm, where the industry has made a concerted and collaborative effort to convince us all that, not only is gravel a happenstance, but one into which we should all invest, if we know what's good for us. unfortunately that marketing thrust was initially somewhat divisive, with one half aiming towards the creation of essentially a road bike with greater tyre clearance. simultaneously, the other half looked towards bicycles which could be festooned with aesthetically challenged luggage, and mounts on every tube, including the front fork. those allowed them to affix everything including the kitchen sink, for offroad adventures of days, weeks or months.
the flies in the ointment that have been successfully ignored, lest the emperor's new clothes be identified as non-existent, is that for the speed merchants, we already had cyclocross bikes, and for the adventurers, the mountain bike filled the majority of demands aside from flat as opposed to drop bars. that particular bubble was effectively burst by specialized who offered their diverge with either type of bar, and several independents who exhibited gravel bikes with front suspension. the ever-widening and knobblier tyres were also guilty of undermining the copywriters' art, but similarly ignored to maintain the facade.
the situation bears legitimate comparison with the oft asked question "once you've sold everyone double-glazing, then what do you sell?" the industry has effectively developed the road bike about as far as is possible, or at least as a far as the great unwashed are willing to spend. the mountain bike continues to exist on a continual variation in wheel size, while cyclocross remains a small niche within a slightly larger niche. the e-bike may have been a diversion, but many of those are made by usurpers, manufacturers who had no previously reserved parking space in the velocipedinal realm. so the more traditional purveyors needed something that might realistically increase the market without causing too much disruption at the build end of the equation.
but could it all have been an error of judgment? not the instigation of the gravel paradigm in the first place, but the way it has been marketed or the way we have interpreted that marketing? is there, in fact, a memo somewhere that has been discreetly buried, lest the truth be discovered? while not waivering from my contention that gravel is but cyclocross with a reputedly shinier name, might our apprehension of its existence be just a smidgeon off-centre?
granted, i do not have specific evidence concerning the physical state of the roads in north america, but i'm inclined to believe they're not that much better than those in the uk. it's all very well creating challenging gravel parcours, but i could point out to you this very minute, several local roads all but indistinguishable from the dirty reiver, the gralloch, or unbound. and if the majority of uk roads are currently suitable for human consumption, rising costs and reduced government funding may well be on course to change that sooner, rather than later. couple that with the knowledge that the number of cars on the roads is steadily increasing, while their sports utility vehicle guise makes serious injury a more likely outcome, then getting out of the way probably only requires a gentle nudge.
what better way for governments to sideline a potential problem, by subliminally persuading it to move elsewhere, somewhere that will cost almost nothing, yet sideline continual demands for low traffic zones, cycle tracks and improved velocipedinal infrastructure? at their behest, the industry becomes a benevolent saviour with enlarged profits. as i mentioned only yesterday, i have spent the past five or so months riding my cyclocross bike, with its 33mm rustic rubber, on often seriously potholed and poorly repaired roads in winter weather conditions that are, truth be told, not that much different from summer weather conditions. argue all you like, but drop bars are far more versatile than any type of flat bar, while its nimbleness helps me avoid the worst of the sinkholes.
we could have achieved all this on cyclocross bicycles, but the apellation tends to suggest a fixed connection with the sporting endeavour for which they were originally designed. gravel posits a more marketing friendly neutral territory, while accommodating the inarguable fact that many a trunk road is peppered with the gravel expelled from their potholes. essentially a win-win situation. yes, let the uci build a whole race series around it, for that almost guarantees a ready-made emulatory market, one the majority seem to have fallen for, hook, line and sinker.
i realise i have now let the proverbial cat out of the bag, so mum's the word.
monday 16 march 2026
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................three score years and (almost) ten
in the late 1980s, when i owned and drove a bright yellow citroen 2cv, suddenly there seemed to be 2cvs everywhere. it's scarcely an unusual observation; when you possess something, it seems to be a common happenstance that you notice others who do likewise. it's amazing just how many drummers seem to be playing drum workshop kits, but i'm sure that if i played tama or pearl, i'd think the same about those. in the psychological lexicon, there's probably a word that describes those circumstances, but it's an intriguing thought nonetheless.
it seems also to be a paradigm common to youtube videos, unless, of course, google is far more invasive than for which i have given it credit. later this year, i will reach three score years and ten; i am one of those optimistic chaps who considers age as just another number. it's not something that particularly bothers me much, but in some ways, it must bother others, for my standard youtube feed seems more prone to serving me up videos determined to help me continue cycling into my sixties and, probably soon, the decade following that. i am rarely in the habit of watching these particular movies, given that several seem to assume that i am somewhat desperate to maintain a competitive edge of which i have never been in possession.
others are based in a different reality, that which pertains simply to remaining fit and healthy enough to prolong velocipedinal activity. i have viewed one or two of those, but i'm not convinced of their relevance. few seem to take account of any health issues that may have impinged upon said activity; in my case, last year's health scare has thankfully not dampened my continued joy of bike riding, but it has noticeably shortened the distances over which that joy can be prolonged. but let's face it; along with many others, i count myself lucky to be still alive, and if i can only ride 80-90km each weekend instead of the 160km i used to manage, well, so be it. at my last hospital appointment to check my blood counts, the nurse pointed out that i was still probably fitter than most of the folk working in the hospital, including the doctors. i could only agree.
so are there specific things that cyclists in their late sixties/early seventies ought to be paying attention too? probably not, to be quite blunt. i recall robert millar, as was, mentioning that past the age of thirty, he'd had to train even harder just to maintain the pace he'd had in his twenties. but i very much doubt that matters of health and fitness are quite so rigidly defined. i'll not deny that i noticed a slowing down of pace when past sixty, a decline that has effectively continued to the present. that's hardly unusual for the majority; admittedly my slowdown turned out to be a bit more than just the ageing process, but that's quite likely why i thought little of it in the first place.
at the risk of incurring the ire of the medical profession, or sports scientists the world over, my advice, for what it's worth, would be to keep doing what you're doing for as long as you can. the mighty dave-t is well past four score years, and still rides as frequently as he likes; he's slower than he was and doesn't travel quite as far, but so what? i know folk who are a quarter of his age who wouldn't be able to keep up if you popped them on a bicycle. that, however, is scarcely the point. the mighty dave has been riding since he was about quarter the age he is now and has muscle memory most of us would pay for. he hasn't undertaken any specific regime to maintain stamina and fitness; unless you plan on competing, it seems perfectly fair just to keep riding your bike.
i am not decrying those who make the youtube videos of which i speak; i have no problem with experienced riders passing on that which they've learned over the decades. some folks might be a tad unsure whether their slowing speed or stamina is common, or whether they're doing something wrong. however, as far as i can see, provided it doesn't hurt more than you think it should, and you're not suffering from palpitations or bouts of light-headedness, cycling still cures everything. if in doubt, have a word with your doctor, and if you're planning any extensive or potentially strenuous rides, it would be a good idea, at our age, to get a health check.
anthony wills, founder of kilchoman distillery, recently invited me to participate in a bike ride from scotland to ireland in time for yesterday's rugby match in dublin, raising funds for the doddie weir charity. though i would love to have participated, i harbour grave doubts that i could have withstood either the pace or distance, and well did i know that mrs washingmachinepost would almost certainly have filed for divorce had i agreed.
if nothing else, know your limitations, and you should be fine.
today's post was brought to you courtesy of charlie parker's 'swedish schnapps +the great quintet sessions 1949-51, on verve records.'
sunday 15 march 2026
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................a bicycle isn't forever
all my early bikes were steel. not specifically because i was heavily into the 'steel is real' camp, but at the time, that's pretty much all that was available. the first was made from reynolds 531 and, as far as i know, is still in occasional service on the island. its replacement moved up a notch by featuring reynolds 653, and, at the time, i harboured notions of utlimately ascending the reynolds ladder, by acquiring a 753 frame, until being pulled off course by an inexplicable desire to own a colnago, the first of which was the long defunct superissimo, built with columbus brain tubing and featuring far too much chrome for its own good.
that was possibly the first bike i had owned long enough for it to suffer from corrosion, a factor that is rarely absent for those of us who live in scotland, and more specifically, the hebrides. aside from the chromed parts of the colnago becoming peppered with corrosion quite quickly, ultimately, the bottom bracket seized in situ, resisting all attempts at removal, until i passed it onto a friend with a professional bike shop nearby, he was eventually able to have the frame suitably fettled and returned to the land of the living.
the superissimo was replaced with a carbon colnago c40hp, in the misapprehension that carbon's imperviousness to corrosion would make it the ideal bicycle to ride in salt sea air and persistent precipitation. although i was essentially correct, i was also wrong; it transpires that the rear aluminium alloy dropouts, plugged into the carbon frame, provided the ideal recipe for corrosion, resulting in those dropouts gradually turning to white powder, rendering the frame unsafe to use. incidentally, in the latter part of this century's first decade, i learned that peat dust, of which there are copious amounts all across islay, is acidic, eager to cause untold destruction to aluminium components. i lost two sets of chris king hubs due to cracked spoke holes on the hub flanges.
my current road bike is based on a ritchey logic frame, on which, as recently related, the rear derailleur cable became corroded inside the cable adjuster which threads into the back of the gear mech. while that is soon to be replaced, i purchased a pair of campagnolo bottom bracket bearings in order to carry out more remedial work on the transmission. but while i had the frame in the workstand and flipped vertically to access the drive-side bearing cup spring clip, i discovered serious corrosion taking place under the paint (as shown in the image above). according to ritchey, the steel tubes are prepared with a rust inhibitor, but in the pervasive climate in which i live, it's no guarantee of rust-free cycling.
sadly, in light of the weather that has dogged the hebrides for the past three months, i very much doubt there is a bicycle or component which might survive unsullied in these conditions. one of my sunday morning colleagues recently purchased a new pair of shimano dura-ace rim-brake calipers, and already the cable bolts have rusted beyond presentation. in the days when i reviewed bicycles, more often than not, a similar fate had inevitably befallen the stem plate bolts within the usual three-week review period. and that happened in summer as well as winter.
titanium and stainless steel would likely be suitable materials, and since many carbon frames feature carbon dropouts these days, perhaps framebuilders have become wise to climate change, but that still leaves the componentry; arguably easier and cheaper to replace, but never immune to climate driven degradation.
i'm considering my options.
saturday 14 march 2026
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................late to the party
there are a number of videos on youtube at present, declaring undying love for the long-suffering rim brake on road bikes. not all of these are based on nostalgia; some offer cogent reasons to remain faithful and eschew aligning oneself with the sheep-like drive to adopt hydraulic disc-brakes. some of the proffered reasons are highly tentative, cascading to an eventual, "because i don't like discs" or the more pragmatic "because i can't afford discs." whichever it is, there are perfectly practical and acceptable reasons why remaining true to rim-brakes makes excellent sense.
for instance: maintenance. it would be a highly skilled influencer who could maintain that fettling disc-brakes is in any way less complex than changing the pads on a dual-pivot caliper. it's uncannily easy to check pad wear on rim calipers, but a tad more involved to find out if disc-pads are worn or otherwise. i can only admit that, on the few occasions i have attempted to check mid-fettle, to be honest, staring blankly at a set of pads has rarely provided any valid indication as to the replacement status thereof.
however, even those dyed-in-the-wool adherents to the disc paradigm will surely agree that one of the least satisfying jobs to accomplish, is forcing those nifty little pistons back into their 'pots'. i purchased a park tool device that resembles a wedge on a stick which is inserted into the caliper while the old pads are still in situ. the tapered nature of that wedge allows the home mechanic to increase the pressure incrementally until the pistons have retreated. yet its efficacy is often hard to determine, given that the pads tend to obscure whether success has been achieved.
depending on the make and model of disc-brake, the process of removing and replacing pads wil vary. in the case of the sram rival calipers fitted to my specialized crux cyclocross bike, compatible pads feature a small fin at the rear which includes a hole through which a small retaining bolt is fitted. it is tightened and loosened by one of the smaller size allen keys in the bunch, thus increasing the level of faff. employing the park tool, then having to remove the pads to check if all is serene in calipersville can be a soul-destroying experience.
there really has to be a better way.
well, it transpires that such might well be the case. a tool that has probably been available for ages, only came to light on my recently discovering the augmented version designed for four-piston mtb disc-brakes. thankfully, for the present, road and cyclocross machinery seems quite content with a mere two pistons of stopping power, but the chunkier, bouncier off-road fraternity apparently have found a need or desire for the ability to come to a dead stop far more quickly. however, though hardly in the same class as park tool instructional videos, the short (eleven second) movie from manufacturer absolute black shows how the mechanic applies the tool, but less than clearly just how it actually works.
from what i can garner from repeated watching, the carbon reinforced polymer body works in a similar manner to that of the park tool, but its less destructive format allows it to work directly on the pistons, without relying on the worn pads as an intermediary. and instead of the potential brute force approach of park's wedge, the absolute black method employs a titanium bolt, the turning of which increases the lateral pressure applied to the pistons. granted, the cost is effectively double that of the park tool at £29.95, but that's hardly out of the ballpark for someone who could afford a disc-equipped road or cyclocross bike in the first place. i can assure you that, as national pad replacement day approaches, i will be ordering just such a device, if only because i hate the process of replacing disc pads. and it can also be used as a bleed block (if i ever learn how to do that).
it's a far more couth alternative to odd bits of wood and a big screwdriver, both of which could easily lead to damaged pistons and hydraulic seals, the very nature of which is their almost clandestine existence when trying to adjust them (you can barely see tham as you irreparably damage them).
if only i'd known about this sooner.
friday 13 march 2026
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................the language barrier
as a student, i held down a summer job at the nearby airport, a job which offered certain fringe benefits such as seven-day banking, free food (i worked for the terminal building catering franchise), and a in-house newsagent which stocked several north american publications for the predominantly north american passengers arriving and departing scotland's former 'transatlantic gateway'. one of those publications was a compact and bijou book-type science-fiction magazine entitled 'analog'. i had alerted friends who worked in said newsagent as their own summer employment, that, whenever a new edition arrived, to immediately alert me and enable the opportunity to purchase before any of those transatlantic passengers got there first.
the short stories contained within offered a veritable cornucopia of science fiction, from the serious (isaac asimov), to the sort of thing you'd more likely expect from the marvel universe. on receipt of an e-mail to my inbox yesterday afternoon, i now wonder whether a member of the senior marketing staff at merida bicycles was also, either a purchaser of analog magazine, or quite possibly and undoubtedly more likely, a fan of d.c. comics. why else would they have named their latest creation reacto?
at one end of the spectrum, you have colnago, who can scarce help themselves with a naming convention entitling their bicycles with an obscure series of numbers and letters (y1rs or v5rs), scott creating bicycles that remind either of a thin metallic food covering (foil) or those with obsessive behaviour (addict). considering professional cycling's chequered past with regard to outlawed stimulants, i can only assume that the latter sneaked past scott's proof readers. 'reacto', however, sounds as if it refers to one of the avengers' more low-profile members.
my inference of the latter's juvenile categorisation may seem a tad disingenuous, but such naming preferences surely cast doubt on the seriousness of professional road cycling which purportedly strives for serious approbation amongst the cognoscenti. if i might place this in some sort of recognisable perspective, can any of us imagine eddy merckx riding a reacto? nope, me neither. but, it seems, naming rights are merely the beginning of the lingusitic depths to which today's cycle manufacturers are willing to stoop.
it is, perhaps, worth mentioning that the e-mail to which i referred above, arrived not from merida, but from classified, the purveyor of an inexplicable rear hub, and a perfect example of a solution determinedly searching for a problem. though i have enquired far and wide, i have yet to receive an explicable reason why anyone would wish to ditch a relatively economic and efficient front derailleur and replace it with a rear wheel incorporating a classified hub? approximate cost of installing the levers and electronics is likely to relieve your bank account of a figure approaching £1,500. and all this to save a couple of hundred pounds.
now that i've ended my rant for now, the e-mail from classified, attempts, in essence, to upend the cavalier attitude of merida bikes in naming their reputedly 'most uncompromising aero' road bike. rather than simply stating that merida has opted to outfit the latest reacto with a classified hub, classified's take on matters has it that merida is the latest and "...growing group of leading manufacturers integrating powershift into premium performance platforms, reflecting the increasing adoption of the drivetrain technology across the high-performance oem segment." translation: "merida is the latest manufacturer to fit our hub."
the inference, i imagine, is that, if professor reacto thinks it's a great idea, perhaps you should too. because apparently "global performance brands are increasingly specifying classified as part of their next-generation product strategies. i don't know about your own take on such matters, but i find it of worrying concern that those global performance brands actually have next-generation product strategies in the first place. you see, i thought that we were better than this; that, as a sport, we could employ language that is less the province of the financial investment realm and more akin to 'boy's' own. could we not just have next year's bikes and top of the range, rather than product strategies and premium performance platforms?
platforms belong in railway stations.
i totally agree that this is pure semantics, and, overall, of utterly trivial interest. but that's how they suck you in.
thursday 12 march 2026
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................entertained
it was robert millar (pippa york) who first highlighted the proposition that competitive cycling was simply another branch of the entertainment industry. ok, it possibly deserves greater approbation than does britain's got talent, or 'death in paradise', but ultimately, all forms of cycle sport (and sport in general) exist for our entertainment, whether or not that particular aim was present at the point of inception. were that not the case, not only would it be unlikely we'd have access to live broadcasts spanning several hours, nor would there be any incentive for commercial concerns to spend lavishly to have their brand featured on cycle jerseys or cooling pods on formula one race cars.
of course, within sport in general, there is no equality; placing a logo on the jersey of even one of cycle sport's top and most successful teams costs a great deal less than a far smaller logo on max verstappen's company car. this disparity is based on the notional difference in popularity of differing sporting endeavours, resulting in a wide variety of tv coverage and where that coverage is broadcast. we are all well aware that cycling has been handed over to a single subscription service at dramatically increased cost, while the likes of formula one is still paid lip service on terrestrial tv as well as the nation's principal satellite broadcaster.
there is, of course, an inherent conundrum in such an inequitous situation: greater television coverage is very likely to result in a greater number of viewers, meaning that minority sports, several of which have been relegated to subscription streaming, will probably struggle for ever to achieve the viewing figures enjoyed by tennis, motor-racing, football and cricket, to name a few. but irrespective of this wide variance in popularity, it hardly denies that all comprise the panoply of entertainment available across the world. granted, many cycling devotees will struggle to comprehend the entertainment value of sports such as darts, snooker and golf, but just like beauty, entertainment is apparently confined to the eyes of the beholder.
however, though we are frequently fed youtube videos and online articles attesting to the joys experienced by many of cycle sport's better known participants, it's unlikely that many entered the arena, secure in the knowledge that a worldwide audience of enthusiasts would find their competitive ministrations brimming with entertainment value. aside from the desire and ability to earn a living from racing bicycles, there presumably has to be an inherent or cultivated competitive urge, expressed by the need or desire to beat their fellow competitors. augmenting a natural ability by means of state-of-the-art nutritional and training techniques, the immediate focus is unlikely to centre around how much interest is fostered in the apprehension of the innocent bystander.
i might illustrate this apparent dilemma by comparing it to my own participation in music-making. though i voluntarily play bass drum and occasionally snare drum in the community pipe band, i do not particularly care for the sound of bagpipes. however, i am acutely aware of the alleged entertainment value gained by the majority when listening to our public recitals. but perhaps more pertinently, the playing of a drumset alongside guitars, accordion and fiddle, which is purely geared towards musical entertainment, an aspiration of which i am acutely aware. sadly, the music which forms the greater part of our set-list is very definitely not the sort that i would listen to on a voluntary basis. however, it has been pointed out that the music in which i would happily and fully immerse myself, would be lucky to achieve an audience of one.
i have therefore knowingly subsumed the search for creativity to that of bland entertainment, a situation which is common to many musicians.
but that brings to light the undeclared question, are cyclesport's finest practitioners aware of the need for entertainment, their part in its creation, and the possible occasional capitulation to make it so? in conversation with the mighty dave-t on sunday, he pointed out that tadej's consistent habit of winning virtually every race he enters, was seriously diluting the enjoyment factor. in essence, it's the same in cyclocross; if mathieu van der poel is on the start line, even the most hardened cyclocross fan is well aware that he will romp off into the distance and win, something the dutchman accomplished with a 100% record across the 2025/26 season. unless you're a fully signed-up member of the mvdp fan club, the sporting lustre emerges somewhat tarnished.
of course, one would hardly expect either of the two named combatants to restrict their winning abilities simply to satisfy the presumed expectations of the cognoscenti, but do we believe that this is a situation of which they're aware? after all, if a jazz drummer is willing to perform in a dance band with a predilection for irish songs played in 2/4, could tadej and mathieu not find other means of enjoying the race without necessarily being first across the line?
just a thought.
tuesday 10 march 2026
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