What are your unpopular cycling opinions?

[Jolyzara]

If you have bought a $15,000 epic 8 you should get a loaner when it is getting serviced. If car dealerships can do it so should bike shops.

[greenbike]

But then where is the need for the backup bike in case your other one is in the shop?

[RecoveryRide]

@wintermute

Zone 2 is popular because it’s easy and whether it was wise or not, we would have shaped the science to make ourselves feel better about being weak and avoiding suffering.

Ooh, good one for this thread. I think that’s wrong. I think Z2 is a response to a) the ‘time-crunched’ phenomenon saying we all need to be smashing intervals 3-4x/week and b) the misguided ‘no pain no gain’ philosophy.

[RecoveryRide]

@Pbase

Not to go down a darker path, but if you’re going to do that study, it would be interesting to see how it changed as the drugs of the moment changed too. Did a lot of us spend years trying to copy training protocols that were inferior for those of us who weren’t eating EPO for breakfast and drinking litres of our own frozen blood?

I’ve often wondered if Ferrari’s training protocols were influenced by EPO in particular. He was (is?) a big tempo guy, and famously limited work above threshold, trying instead to get people to absorb tons of tempo/SS/

[stonerider]

@RecoveryRide

@Pbase

Not to go down a darker path, but if you’re going to do that study, it would be interesting to see how it changed as the drugs of the moment changed too. Did a lot of us spend years trying to copy training protocols that were inferior for those of us who weren’t eating EPO for breakfast and drinking litres of our own frozen blood?

I’ve often wondered if Ferrari’s training protocols were influenced by EPO in particular. He was (is?) a big tempo guy, and famously limited work above threshold, trying instead to get people to absorb tons of tempo/SS/

@RecoveryRide

@Pbase

Not to go down a darker path, but if you’re going to do that study, it would be interesting to see how it changed as the drugs of the moment changed too. Did a lot of us spend years trying to copy training protocols that were inferior for those of us who weren’t eating EPO for breakfast and drinking litres of our own frozen blood?

I’ve often wondered if Ferrari’s training protocols were influenced by EPO in particular. He was (is?) a big tempo guy, and famously limited work above threshold, trying instead to get people to absorb tons of tempo/SS/

The same can be said for everyone trying to copy Lance’s high cadence pedaling style while he was fueled to the gills with EPO and T.

[kervelo]

Zone 2 training is popular because spending a lot of time training in low intensity has always been the basis of the endurance training. Trying to build endurance by doing high intensity intervals is a more recent invention.

[TooManyDogs]

Sure. But a big difference is any mid sized vehicle can fit most people. A bike shop would need to set aside different size bikes to accommodate different everybody.

[JoPage]

My unpopular opinion this week is that

‘Structured training sucks the fun out of riding a bike and life is better spent riding hard with friends’

[AlexMartins]

couldn’t agree more. Waiting to hear “You won’t have the benefits of specific training in zones”

[Pbase]

I very much prefer to ride alone. I come from this school of thought

[Pipipi]

What if someone doesn’t have any friends?

Asking for a friend erm out of interest

[G650]

My brother

[ZeroGravity]

I’m 100% with you on this.

[JoPage]

To be fair, I am definitely like that roadie riding. I’d much rather be very much on my own, with absolutely no one trying to ride alongside me, or chat to me when I am dodging traffic, or looking at the view, or just being there in the moment.

But MTB is definitely different. That is totally about the fun. I have made the executive decision to embrace the 1 watt drop in FTP that adaptive training gave me yesterday, as the last month has been soooo much better overall for riding. I’m riding hard outside again, doing more technical trails again, getting confidence back on the bike after tearing my hamstring in January and generally doing all sorts of grey zone stuff. I’m knackered, but happy. It’s so crazy that the AIFTP thingy actually put my watts up the month before, even though I was still struggling with the injury. I guess that goes to show that it’s literally a choice between following a boring plan or doing fun stuff at the expense of watts. I’d rather the fun stuff, thanks

[Gene_Mitchell_Jr]

Couldn’t agree more. Especially with MTB. Trying to keep in zones on a mtb is nearly impossible and def takes the fun out.

[ArHu74]

That’s what having to do hard/very hard workouts does, plans which incorporate much more Z2 are really a lot more fun

[downhiller]

For all those who find the pointlessness of the rear brake hard to believe:

Razgatlioglu's remarkable braking style: "The bike is in crazy shapes"

[mcneese.chad]

So superbike use in extreme race conditions negates all other cycling use?

• Got it

[mrtopher1980]

Is it me or does he use the rear brakes (that they didn’t remove despite being useless mind you) at about 3 min?

[Crownan]

Note the title “Braking on the LIMIT”, also, they drag the rear brake pretty much to the apex of the corner as they’re still braking once tipped in and it settles the bike.

If anyone is braking that hard on a road bike during normal road riding, you’re doing it wrong.