This week we discuss the evolution of roadie culture in the wake of the blood doping era and the “invention” of gravel bikes. Then we talk about all the good things that come from taking part in trail days, before finishing off with Paceline Picks.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:18 — 60.9MB)
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King Cage Products
Shimano PRO Stealth Sport Saddle
In my little corner of upstate NY regular shop rides are not and have not been a big part of roadie culture. I base this on 40 or so years of being part of the local scene.
What is big are club rides. There is one very large club that hosts 300+ rides a year. These are mostly social where pace lines are rare. There is a racing based club that gets after it hard with a couple of rides a week where pace lines and town sign sprints are a thing.
Then there are the bike path riders. We are blessed with several (part of the Empire Trail) well built and maintained linear parks. Thousands of riders in these, few I would class as roadies.
So yes, get out of your industry bubble(s) and you’ll see that in some places road riding is alive and very well.
Are you using the Pro Stealth saddle for off road riding too? I see it listed as a ‘road’ saddle. Not that there’s much difference between them in my opinion, but just curious.
There’s an offroad version as well; it lacks holes, but is recessed. When they first requested that I give it a try, they were suggesting it for gravel riding and that turned out to be the perfect way to find out how good it is. Now, you may think that a 152mm saddle may be hard to get behind, but once it is down with the help of a dropper post, I’ve never noticed its width. The width is a non-issue.
There’s an offroad version, but I’ve been using the road version on my gravel bike.
The rise of gravel was maybe a bit of a lifeline for small builders. All of a sudden, a lot of cyclists were happy to accept that a Ti or steel frame (even with the extra weight) would be great. I know I did. My gravel bikes are Ti from a small builder, but my road bike is still a carbon lightweight thing.