00:00As brands are constantly pushing to bring out the next best thing to make riding faster,
00:05smoother and more efficient, it recently got me wondering about what upgrades we can make to our
00:10rides that actually bring out more of the fun that we all love. So here are my favourite ride
00:16upgrades which could actually make you slower. We often talk about how the biggest aerodynamic
00:27gains can come from tighter fitting, crease-free clothing. High-end cycling clothing tends to be
00:33made of exotic materials designed to wick away all moisture away from the skin, provide extra
00:38aero benefits through different textures but also be incredibly well tailored. And that's before we've
00:43even got onto the different ways that manufacturers try to make clothing more practical. Sure, another
00:50big part of what brands try to do is make clothing as comfortable as possible and I will be the first
00:55to say that cycling specific shorts absolutely changed the game for me in this regard. However,
01:01shorts to one side, I believe that looser fitting baggy clothing can be even better some of the time.
01:08I think we're getting real evidence of this in multiple places in cycling. First, we're seeing
01:13some brands actually design active clothing for road cyclists which is there to replace your ride
01:19jersey as a more relaxed and comfortable option. Now these garments tend to be made of similar materials
01:24to their typical cycling jersey counterparts as that means it'll maintain the breathability but then
01:30a t-shirt fit is then used to bring the best of both casual and serious sporting worlds together.
01:37I think that the recent boom in gravel cycling also points to some roadies wanting to continue their
01:43drop bar fun but in a more relaxed environment. So how can we achieve this? Well, as mentioned,
01:49there is kit out there designed to provide that relaxed ride feel but another alternative is
01:55actually just to forget cycling clothing altogether. Try popping on your cycling shoes and your favourite
02:01bib shorts and then just a t-shirt and probably a jumper as well at this time of year. Business downstairs
02:06and party up top. And I'll be honest, I've done this a few times recently and there's something that
02:11just makes it feel super freeing. I wouldn't do this on a ride where I actually want to go out and
02:16achieve a new personal record but for a rest ride or a roll around the lanes it feels so much better.
02:22It's just so much more relaxed. There's a constant very physical reminder when you're riding to just
02:28chill out and enjoy it.
02:35There's one number that gets banded around quite a lot in bike shops when a new road cyclist is
02:41purchasing their first road bike and wants to experiment with clipless shoes. Riding clipless
02:46in will increase your pedaling efficiency by 30%. Now, while I'm not here to argue that number at all,
02:52I think it's worth remembering what it was like to ride a bike with flat pedals. You jump on and go
02:58without needing to worry about what shoes you're wearing. Much like my first point, I wouldn't do
03:03this for a ride where I want to go out and execute a really hard training session but if you want a nice
03:09evening cruise or you just want to pop to the shops or go to the pub, it's got to be flat pedals all the way.
03:20This one has to be a bit of a no-brainer. There's no one thing which can provide a constant
03:25distraction for the entirety of a ride like a head unit does, apart from maybe a creaky bottom bracket.
03:32Now, riding without a head unit will instantly mean that you switch off from heart rate zones,
03:36power numbers and average speeds. When you're not fixating on however many data metrics can be
03:43presented in front of you, you provide yourself the head space to let your mind wander, lose yourself
03:48from the ride and just really absorb the joys of being on two wheels. I find doing this on rest rides
03:54incredibly helpful. Sure, you may not want to go above zone 2 for example and having a head unit does
04:01really help with keeping your effort in check. But there's other ways to gauge it. For example,
04:07if you get to the point of not being able to hold a full conversation, then it's likely you're going
04:11too hard. The point stands though, while checking your head unit may become second nature and almost
04:17instinct, when you take it away, you'll realise how much more of your ride you actually absorb.
04:22Now, while this next one isn't an upgrade per se, it is a firm favourite of mine, but it does come with
04:33a word of warning. Me and one of my very good friends often consider what has been our favourite
04:38ride ever and we always look back many, many years to the same one. It was a warm summer's evening,
04:44we'd got around 20 of our favourite local loop miles in our legs and we decided to stop in a town about
04:49seven miles outside of home for dinner and we went to a gorgeous riverside pub and we planted
04:54ourselves in the garden. What followed was to this day the best fish and chips that I have ever eaten,
05:01along with a refreshing pint of local ale. Now, once we'd filled our bellies, we then set off again,
05:06completely forgetting that the toughest climb of the ride was the next bit of parkour that we'd have to
05:11navigate. Reluctantly, we spun up it and sheepishly nursed ourselves home. Now, while the end of the
05:17ride may not have been the most comfortable thing in the world, for me and my friend,
05:20it has to have been the perfect way to enjoy cycling and a timeless summer's evening.
05:26So, while I'd implore all of you to go get a burger or a fish and chips midway through a ride,
05:31be sure to time it right and maybe don't go too heavy on the beers and don't expect to go quickly
05:37anytime soon afterwards. Somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of what causes drag on a moving cyclist
05:49is the rider themselves. This is why time trial specialists, breakaway riders and those who spend
05:55more time in a velodrome than out of it will go to agonizing lengths to contort their bodies in ways
06:00to be as slippery as possible. This is also why professional cyclists spend so much time
06:06working on their flexibility so they have the ability to sit in these more aggressive positions
06:10for hour after hour. We'll be the first to say that being flexible by regularly stretching is no
06:16doubt a good thing and it does help prevent injury. However, while riding the most aggressive
06:21position may be the fastest position, it isn't always what you might want to do and arguably,
06:26if you're not a professional or trying to be one then what's the point? Bring that stem up and back,
06:32don't try and overextend yourself and get yourself sorted with a bike fit if you can and just put your
06:37body in a position that's actually comfortable. Sure, it may not be the fastest position in the world
06:42but if you're comfortable then who cares? There's one modern trend that I've absolutely loved seeing
06:53develop over the past 10 years and that is bigger tyres. It's now the norm for pros to be racing on
06:5925s rather than 23s and it's also the norm for amateurs to ride on 28s rather than 25s and actually
07:06I think we could see amateurs actually graduate to 30s as more tyre options hit the market. The best thing
07:12about this upgrade is that it doesn't actually make you slower. When you run the correct pressure for your
07:17weight you'll enjoy fast rolling tyres, great grip and more comfort. Now, if you were to pivot away
07:22from just thinking about road bikes for a second then I'm sure we've all rolled down the road on a
07:27gravel or mountain bike and enjoyed just how smooth and cushioned it was. So if you apply that thinking
07:33here you could go even bigger and maybe use a fast rolling all-road tyre on the tarmac but do bear
07:39in mind if you go past 30mm you will likely compromise on speed and you will be pushing the limits
07:45on what size tyre you can actually fit in your bike but as clearances get bigger maybe you should
07:51experiment with the largest size possible that you can fit in. You'll be able to run lower
07:56pressures and it will feel great. If you want to prioritise comfort over speed then this one is a must.
08:08A big theme of all my points is comfort and arguably being more comfortable makes things
08:14more enjoyable at the cost of speed. You may not be breaking any new ground in terms of fitness as you'll
08:19literally not be leaving your comfort zone but surely that would make the ride quite enjoyable.
08:25Still frames have long been credited as being one of the most comfortable materials for a bike. Sure
08:30it's heavy but like I say that comes with comfort. You most certainly won't be as fast as you would be
08:34on a modern day carbon fibre rocket but it sure would be smooth. Think about it like this if you were to
08:41combine all the points that I've made here today what would you end up with? Well I guess it would be a
08:46still frame bike with a relaxed geometry it could take around a 32c wide tyre and would probably be
08:53fitted with flat pedals. There wouldn't be a mount for a head unit because you'd just be heading to
08:57your favourite local pub for dinner and you wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb because you'd be wearing
09:02a normal t-shirt and jumpers and shoes that you can actually walk around in. Correct me if I'm wrong
09:08but I think I may have just described everyone's pub bike and something that has arguably been around
09:14for a hundred years. With that in mind I think I need to slowly question everything I thought I knew
09:22about cycling. Let me know about this down in the comments below. If you enjoyed the video then
09:28please do drop in a like, subscribe to the channel for more content and I'll see you again very soon.
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