00:00As the next wave of road bikes gets released we've seen some brands step backwards with the
00:04technology that they're offering. We've seen this on the Cannondale Synapse, the Specialized Athos
00:09and a few others. Now this can come in the form of a 27.2 seat post or more reliable bottom bracket
00:17fittings. So here are six things which I've identified which I think should be on the
00:22majority of new bikes. Now this one is one that I hope is a current trend and will soon fade away
00:31and that is the use of matte paint. Now I can imagine this is going to polarize quite a few
00:37people however I for one would love to see the mass return of the gloss finish. One of the key
00:44reasons why a lot of bike makers opt for matte paint especially on their performance road bikes
00:49is because it's actually a lot lighter than a gloss finish so it does provide a very easy way
00:55for them to knock some weight off the bike. However frames with gloss paint are much easier
01:00to clean, grease marks are easier to wipe off and you can polish them to a high shine
01:06over and over again. Matte paint tends to get shiny once you've washed it a number of times
01:10and you can never get it to be as crisp and as fresh as it was when it was brand new out the box.
01:16So let's hope the timeless gloss finish returns in force and we can all have bikes which gleam
01:21and glisten in the sunshine for as long as they're on the road. I'm a massive fan of a normal stem
01:30with a normal face plate with a normal set of bars. The ability to adjust handlebar angle,
01:36switch between different handlebar widths, change stem length with ease and to experiment with
01:41different handlebar shapes is too much of a benefit to miss out on for the aesthetic benefit
01:47of an integrated setup. A conventional stem also allows for a more affordable and convenient way
01:53to adjust your position as it changes over the years. If you're heading out for a fast
01:58chaingang ride and you want to take advantage of the negative drop on your stem then you can.
02:04However if you've got a sportive the next day and you want to flip the stem for a more relaxed
02:08position then you can also do that as well and that is something you would not be able to do
02:14with an integrated setup. On top-end bikes I wouldn't feel shortchanged if they'd been fitted
02:19with a lightweight carbon stem and lightweight carbon bars and if I could choose the sizes of
02:24those components at the point of purchase then I'd know that it'd be dialed in for my position from
02:29the get-go. Surely that's more valuable than offering a lump of carbon which only caters for
02:35the pros. Continuing in the same vein, integrated cables but to an extent. Now that Shimano have
02:45joined the wireless party on many new bikes we're only left with the brake hoses to find a home for.
02:51Now I am happy to see hoses routed through the frame and I'm not even opposed to seeing them
02:56being routed through the bars. The place where I draw the line is at the stem. If the cables were
03:02to pop out at the center of the bars and then promptly slide into the top of the frame at the
03:06head tube and at the top of the forks then I only see that as a benefit. You're not gonna have to
03:12deal with that three hour brake bleed just to make a small adjustment to stem height. It's understandable
03:17that on aero bikes they do go fully integrated and of course for the pros it also makes a lot
03:22of sense. However for us mere mortals having them exposed really isn't an issue and it only serves
03:29to save you both time and money when servicing or you need to make a small adjustment.
03:37As I've already mentioned I think we'd all love to see the mass return of the 27.2 seat post.
03:43However I do have a caveat and that is that I think it should be reserved for endurance
03:48and climbing bikes. When we look at aero race bikes I think they should stick with their
03:53annoying proprietary seat posts. They offer a valid gain for the intended style of riding
03:59and you can't argue against their aesthetic credentials. However on climbing and endurance
04:04bikes those aero advantages aren't as important so using something that's a bit more universal
04:10does make a lot of sense especially when you need a post that actually builds in a bit more comfort
04:15and isn't directly honed in for those aero gains. Now as an extra bolt onto this I would actually
04:21like to include seat post clamps as well. I think the bike makers have had their opportunity to play
04:26around with some pretty weird and wacky designs but actually the standard seat post collar is
04:32definitely the best one out there. The worst possible failure you could encounter with a seat
04:37post collar is the bolt snapping. Now this is usually down to salt corrosion or just a lack of
04:42bike washing. Now this will be unlikely but potential failure is actually a whole lot better
04:48than the potential with the internal seat post clamps that we're seeing on modern bikes and
04:53that's because I would much rather have a bolt snap than have a seat post that slides down that
04:59creaks or risks over tightening and then potentially damaging not only the seat post
05:04but the frame itself as well. I think the simple matter of fact is that your standard seat clamp
05:09actually works perfectly and usually ends up being lighter weight than the usual bungs found in modern
05:15frames. Yep that's right I know you saw this one coming so I'll keep it brief. Threaded bottom
05:25brackets. They just work. Even though the bearing is still technically pushed inside of the threaded
05:31cup you aren't interfering with the frame itself. You won't work the frame out of tolerance. You fit
05:37one, you ride a few thousand creak-free kilometers, you take it out and then you replace it with a
05:42fresh unit which fits in exactly as the same way as the old one did. It's simple, it's effective
05:48and really they should just be standard across all performance bikes. I'm really tired of tiny
05:57allen key bottle cage bolts. I'm seeing more and more bikes coming out with three millimeters or
06:01even two and a half millimeter heads. These bolts are ones that tend to end up in a really awkward
06:06position meaning it's really hard to get a clean swing of them. This tricky angle can often result
06:12in mashing up the head and eventually stripping the bolt. They're small and fiddly and I want all
06:17new bikes to have a minimum of a four millimeter head. When bolts have a four millimeter head you
06:23have a greater ability to latch onto a purchase and more successfully turn the bolt without
06:28stripping the head. I'll admit it's a very niche problem to have but the solution is so so simple.
06:36Well there we have it. There's six things which I think should be included on the majority of new
06:41bikes. Let me know what you think about them and if you think I missed any. If you enjoyed the video
06:46drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content and I'll see you again very soon.
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