Has anyone mentioned white road shoes look good but aren’t worth the upkeep??
I’ll run and hide now 
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Ehhh…sightly tangential…I need to modify this a bit though.
Tires are 90% of comfort.
Get the tire size and pressure right, none of the other stuff makes a damn bit of meaningful difference. Tire clearance SHOULD be a dealbreaker if you can’t fit what you want. Everything else is meaningless.
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What if you’re trapped in 2011 and still pump your 700x23s to 110 psi? 
-A recovering high pressure degenerate
P.S. Don’t worry, I run 28 tubeless and have dropped the pressure to more reasonable amounts.
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Hehe same. Used to run 120…now I run tubeless at 68-70. Sometimes lower. Clearance under 28mm definitely would be a dealbreaker for me for a new bike, but I could care less about any other “compliance” concern.
What’s upkeep?
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I have a 2013 Cervelo that is a lovely bike, but the clearance is so tight I really can’t fit 25s comfortably in the fork with the current wheelset. I wish I could justify using it more, but the roads here have tons of debris, cracks, holes, etc. that make the skinny tires a liability.
I used to ride it all the time but now I’ve been so spoiled by big tires on my other bikes, like you, I will not get a new bike without the requisite clearance up to 32.
My new bike has a frame limit of 28. As someone who’s also currently stuck on 105psi@23 due to frame clearance, I’m very excited for the change. Event just 25s on one of my other bike is significantly less buzzy.
Sidenote: the marketing for my current bike, a 2010 or 11, touted ad nauseam the comfort and compliance of the seat stays, etc. Ooorrrr you could make seat stays that didn’t have 23 or bust lol
Using the term “Snowflake” was so 10 years ago.
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Gravel rides are the same everywhere. Once it’s less than single track and more than bad pavement, it’s always nice country to ride in.
Anything wider than 33 mm is so tire companies can sell more tires.
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Unless you’re going all in on the marginal aero gains, cycling-specific socks are mostly marketing. As long as you’re not wearing 80’s baseball dad cotton socks, a multipack of tech/sport socks from target is pretty comparable for comfort and sweat-wicking at a fraction of the price. (and opens up a whole new world of silly novelty designs, which is where the true performance benefit lies.)
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There is far too much focus on “should my easy rides be harder?”. Want to know why so many people burn out? A big part is because they don’t make easy rides easy and they don’t rest enough. We’re stuck in a world where too many people believe “no pain, no gain” is applicable.
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The question is why it’s so hard for people to read fatigue levels and then NOT ride their bike.
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Serious question - is there a better way to figure out when to go hard vs go easy, or not go at all, than theough years of trial and error? I’ve been doing this quite a while, and have not been able to find any instructions on the topic more specific than “listen to your body,” which frankly is so useless as to be insulting.
That‘s a question I ask myself often. One problem is probably that we all went out for a ride knowing that we are too tired and it was still ok. I know I can overdo it if I had enough easy/rest days before, but will get ill if I haven‘t.
The question is about drawing that line: When are you fatigued? Do you really need to be fully fresh for hard rides? Full recovery from really hard rides takes me multiple days and I am still ok to ride easier in between.
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Half the cycling training questions asked on this forum can be answered with: ‘listen to your body’
The other half can be answered with: ‘it depends’
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I believe the answer is “no pain, no gain” mentality
Amateurs are all over the place with their training. They are often trying to build in-season while they are also trying to do two group rides per week. No wonder they are always tired.
The basics of training haven’t changed in decades:
base (lots of easy miles)
build (increase training load - sweet spot - threshold -extensive intervals)
rest
sharpen (intensive intervals with a lot of rest and easy miles in between)
hit your peak numbers
Typical amateur: group ride, Zwift ride, double down on intervals, KOM attempt, TR workout, group ride, repeat. Post on the forum and ask why they are tired or why have they plateaued.
Here’s an exercise to do:
Next time one needs a rest week, do a max of 3 short rides @ no more than 55% FTP. Noticed how your legs get fresher and fresher day by day. When you go back to training, just do an endurance ride. Do some short efforts (tempo, SS, threshold). Ok, now you know how your legs feel when fresh.
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So what are you saying then, that you should feel as fresh as you did after a full rest week before attempting any hard ride, and if not, dont ride?
How tired is too tired? What level of tiredness corresponds to what intervention? How are we even quantifying level of fatigue? I’ve not seen any training literature address this.
But seriously - there is no universal answer to your questions - you have to use common sense. Suffering and pain scales are relative for a reason, they can only be quantified against your own perception. If you find yourself overdoing it and hitting a negative outcome, learn from it and adjust next time
One measure that has been pretty reliable for me is resting heart rate. In the Inigo San Milan interviews, he mentioned how he uses that with the pros he supports.
It’s a bit of a coarse measurement. If it’s up by 2-3 beats, that may not matter. But if it’s off by 10, that’s a pretty good indicator that a hard workout won’t go well.
I’ve also been tracking HRV through my Garmin watch. I saw how it tracks through actual illness, so when it drops, I now have a sense for when to take note and adjust plans.
My n=1.