Best time in history to be a cyclist

[Boris Bajic]

Sorry, that's hogwash as well. I started cycling competitively in the late 80s, but I'm happy to say that we're in a proper 'golden era' now....

Aaah.... So you missed the mid-80s then? Never mind. It can't be helped.

That was a true Golden Age.

It's not that bad now; don't get me wrong. It's nice that you kids have some posh equipment to play with....

But the mid-80s.... Nothing of its like will ever happen again. Perfect. Just perfect!

 

[tyred]

What the mountain bike did imo is provide ordinary mortals with the sort of gear ratios that they could actually ride up hills instead of the ridiculous 48t single chainwheels or 42/52 chainsets on derailleur bikes or Raleigh's crazy obsession with 46/18 on their hefty utility bikes.

 

[raindog]

Of course, back in my day, this was all fields......

 

[Beebo]

He looked at me scornfully and told me they used to ride 100/150 miles TO a race, then race, then ride home, back in the day, quote]

Great Uncle Eric sounds a bit like the Monty Python Yorkshireman sketch.

 

[RhythMick]

I recently told my great Uncle (Eric Kenny age 80's) who used to race as a lad that I had got into cycling and I was training for the 55 mile cat&fiddle. He looked at me scornfully (he's a nice bloke really!) and told me they used to ride 100/150 miles TO a race, then race, then ride home, back in the day, they had to, no one had cars then! Before anyone asks, yes we're from Farnworth, Bolton, but amazingly, no relation, unless there is something he's not telling me!

Anyway, it made me think, with the bike tech, gps, strava etc, are we living in the best time to be a cyclist, if not when and why?

LUXURY !

 

[dan_bo]

Yes, that's right- I LIKE WHITE DOG POO.

 

[Globalti]

What the mountain bike did imo is provide ordinary mortals with the sort of gear ratios that they could actually ride up hills instead of the ridiculous 48t single chainwheels or 42/52 chainsets on derailleur bikes or Raleigh's crazy obsession with 46/18 on their hefty utility bikes.

It wasn't just the gear ratios; it was the wide handlebars, good brakes and the smooth riding fat tyres that made mountain bikes so much easier and more comfortable to ride than road bikes.

To carbon frames I would add the acceptance of compact chainrings and wider gear ratios, as well as SIS gear changers as factors that are bringing road cycling to the masses.

For a couple of years now it has been said that mountain bike sales are flatlining while road and commuter bike sales are rocketing; I also predict that this year's bad weather will be held responsible for turning even more mountain bikers into roadies; take a look on the Singletrack forums and you'll find more and more "what road bike?" threads from MTBers who are sick of the mud and the wear and tear on kit and components. Road riding was almost taboo on that forum until recently.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Eras as far as UK cycling went:

In my childhood, nobody knew their Campag from their Camembert. Everything was Huret and Simplex.

When I was 20, most people had got into cars and motorcycles. Bicycles were for students and political activists or 'proper racing types'. I just pootled on a 10-speed 'racer'. I'd graduated from 5 to 10 when I was about 19.... 10 gears! Wow!

I was about 25 when rigid MTBs first appeared. My peers had money for the first time and MTBs became a sort of urban accessory. Many, many non-cyclists started turning up on them. This is the first time I remember people having an opinion about tyres, brakes or frame manufacturers. Marin and Kona (as I recall) were cool brands. My road bike (they were now known as that) was old hat and a bit geeky. MTBs made cycling cool for the first time I could recall. Few people I knew used them off-road. Nobody new to cycling wanted a 'road bike'. I do think the MTB saved cycling in the UK, but its popularity had everything to do with fashion and little (in many cases) to do with off-road riding.

I recall the TdF at that time being something you could only watch in eclectic, foreign cafes in Soho or near Seven Dials. Nobody knew or cared about it or any other road races. Road bikes were as far below the radar as ever they had been.

I hate to say this, but among my non-cycling peers the difference for road riding was Lance. His brand made road cycling cool as MTBs had made cycling cool. People started wanting a road bike and their main frame of reference was Lance. They knew a hundred and seventeen facts about him and didn't know the name of one other rider, or when the TdF took place, or where it finished... anything really. It was Lance. He was cool. He was tough. He nearly died and he beat the Frogs at 'their own game'. Trek was cool. Lance was cool. "I want a road bike. How many Watts are you putting out? I need to work on my cadence. What's the range of your groupset? How do I inflate a tyre?"

This is truly the Golden Age. People I've never met ask me whether I prefer Shimano or Campagnolo. I quite liked it when nobody gave a flying f**k at the Moon which I preferred.

Me? Bitter?

 

[Globalti]

Good summary. You're right that mountain biking was cool; but it was also a brand new experience to us; from the age of eight I was dragged up mountains and considered myself a climber, although I wasn't really very fit. Then along came this exciting new way of getting out and about in the countryside, you could go anywhere you wanted, even up mountains and back down again, which was as thrilling as skiing down a mountain and what was better was that it got you much fitter than just walking. From 1989 to around 2009 I was absolutely obsessed with mountain biking to the point of driving my family mad. Then came disilllusionment, which I think was driven by boredom and an increasing dislike of the beer bellies, the litter and the selfish behaviour I witnessed, especially on the couple of occasions when I visited trail centres.

 

[mr_hippo]

Years ago, armed with only a few jam butties and a bottle of water, I was away for the day and I do mean a bottle of water - glass screwtop pop bottle of tap water! These days we seem to do a pre-flight check worthy of any airline pilot - mobile phone - check, GPS - check, multi tool - check, etc.
How far did we ride? Well with the aid of a piece of string and Geographica's Cyclist map of 50 miles around (wherever), you had a rough guess, some people had hub mounted mileometers.
Roads at the weekends were virtually empty - I remember pushing my bike about 20 miles home and only seeing a handful of cars! In my home town, the local cable works employed about 70,000 people and that is not mis-typed! On a weekday when the works buzzer sounded at 5pm, the road were awash with cyclists.
By the mid 60s, the bicycle was being replaced by the motorbike then the motorbike combination and finally the car
I think out here I have the best of both worlds - today's technology and yesterday's traffic once I get out of Korat and that is less than 30 minutes. There is a new road here that connects Hwy 2 with Hwy 304 that reminds me of the East L:ancs Road (A580) in the 60s - wide, straight and not much traffic!.

 

[Red Light]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2255587/Olympic-hero-Harry-Hill-dies-aged-92.html

"Cyclist Harry Hill won bronze in the 4,000m team pursuit at the 1936 Berlin Games.
He rode 200 miles to London before setting off for Germany because he could not afford the train from Manchester.
On his return, Harry had to cycle home after spending all his cash on an Olympic jacket."

 

[Boris Bajic]

I've always liked Dvorak - and I find his 9th Symphony (From the New World) particularly evocative as I read some of the above posts.

 

[Globalti]

Sorry Boris?

 

[Poacher]

Think Hovis advert(s)

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Another interesting consideration or question would be. With wiggo looking like he might win the Tour and the Olympics coming up the profile of British cycling may rise greatly. Specially if Vicky P, Cav and others win gold. This I suspect may change the perception of cycling for many people and make it cool... As such we could be heading for a golden era for cycling, what do you think?