Russ, your channel by far has the pulse on the ALT biking world when it comes to education, older traditional and new release components, for encouraging riders such as myself to embrace the technology of decades past + the improved boutique components that don’t start with the capital S. Please keep doing what you are doing, and expanding your relationships with talents like Nolan, and as a product design influencer with like-minded companies like Merry Sales, SOMA, and others. I appreciate what you are doing. Grand Fundo!
When I bought my hybrid bike in 1991, I never realized I was ahead of my time. Here I've been doing "alt cycling" all these years and never knew it was a thing. I was just taking bike rides.
I feel you. Here in germany, going on bike rides with friends and family on the weekends is an essential leisure activity that millions of people engage in.
This speaks the truth. I've worked in shops for decades. Practical bikes were always made during the rise of racing and mt. bike dominance. The hybrid is an example. Manufacturers in trying to either respond-to or to create trends messed with even that humble category. It drifted from too athletic to overly clunky comfort ladened designs. Even though I know why, I still ask out loud sometimes "why does a Surly cosy so much?". Being so closely related to a hybrid but double the cost means wondering, do all the braze-ons really cost that much?
I think used bikes with updated components will become more popular among alt cyclists. Steel frames will be more sought after vs. people switching to aluminum.
Was living off a 1992 Cannondale M900, until I put so many miles on it the frame failed. Now doing the same to a Trek 950 chromoly Steel. So smooth, can flex the hell out of the frame. Love it.
I can be included in the camp of putting new components on older bikes. I have 2 steel Univega Via DeOro hybrids from the mid 90’s. I enjoy tinkering and putting new components on them. At 65 I am far less concerned with going fast and more about enjoying the ride as I get my cardio while burning calories.
@@christophersmith7703 And they make such great gifts for younger riders, a highlight of my cycling year was gifting a plated 26" MTB with new crankset and pink pedals and pink bars and lots of cheer from me. She rides it all the time.
My 2011 Surly Cross Check has been ridin through hell and back and has surface rust all over the place...yet I'm going to take the frame to get it sandblasted sometime this year and see how deep that rust goes. I'm thinking it's not too bad and if that is true, I'm doing a new build with the frame. I love that bike so much I don't want to get rid of it, yet I don't want to buy yet another bike.
Thanks Russ! An interesting topic that you have explored in other podcasts is e-bikes and their relationship to alt cycling. It is one space that has seen growth since the pandemic.
Every time I go exploring on my 12+ year old Haro, with a 44-32-22 9-speed triple coupled to an 11-34 cassette, I wonder why triples have died. I love the small steps between the front chainrings, and the total range is hard to beat.
Absolutely, the triple is the “peak” of “mechanical” group sets. I bought a complete 3x9 Shimano Sora group set last year while they were still available so that I have spares.
I bought the last 3x XT touring cranks and MTB cranks i could find. Triple is perfection. Middle gear for most terrain, low for steep and high for stomping. I never lack the gear i need
I recycle every aluminum can I use, with hopes that they'll become a new aluminum frame for someone out there. And thanks, Russ, for this look at bike trends and I'm resolving in the new year to be in with the alt crowd. Kidding, already there. Speedsters are just alt riders who switch between a race pace and a party pace. And I saw that in the '70s with German friends in Frankfurt and their winter bikes with fenders for an alternate vibe. 😀
Another great video. Long may the alt cycling continue to grow. I was inspired by your Marin Larkspur 2 review, so I bought one. Now it needs sticker 👍
I took a spin on our local bike paths late Christmas morning expecting to see all the kiddies out on their new rides but was dismayed to see not a single one on my 15 mile loop; so sad. It leads me to believe 2025 may not be a recovery year for the industry.
Sadly this is a lot more to do with children no longer getting or even wanting bikes for Christmas than the bike industry having issues - most Christmas bikes are bought from toy shops and big box stores rather than bike shops, so they're very much decoupled from what most people would call the bike industry, who make bikes that can actually survive being used every day rather than shed ornaments (mostly anyway). The car industry have also worked long and hard to convince the general public that children getting around without using a car is too dangerous, and given the kind of infrastructure they've played a huge part in encouraging, particularly in the US, they're not wrong.
The sad thing for our future generations is I just came back from the beach for Christmas and nine out of 10 kids were riding E bike scooters that they didn’t even pedal….
I've recently been getting back into 90's mountain bikes with 3x7 to 3x9 drivetrains. Triples really are superior and this is coming from someone who has been riding bikes for 30 years on and offroad.
Aluminium was never gone. 90 percent of bike frames are made of it. And it always has made sense to buy a bike with aluminium frame and top-tier components instead of a carbon frame with mid-tier parts.
Was hoping someone was smart enough to post this. Aluminum > Steel > Titanium....I have owned it all...because of hydroforming which cannot be performed with other metals due to ratio of modulus of elasticity to yield strength and Aluminum being more ductile than both Steel and Ti. Even on an aluminum drop bar road bike with carbon fork with 28c tires, a modern Al road bike has a silky ride, easily as good as my carbon road bikes. Aluminum as you correctly say, never went away and this is why virtually all top bike manufacturers sell Aluminum versus Steel and Ti. If latter two frame materials had a distinct advantage, top bike brands would make and sell them. Steel is heavy and little value with Ti compared to carbon and Al and why top bike makers don't make them.
@@lukewalker1051 Brands making aluminum frames is more about ROI rather than it being the best metal. Titanium is the king but not every cyclist will have the money to drop over $4k for a frame, that's where aluminum comes in; lighter than steel and (roughly) the same cost with the trade-off of vibration dampening.
@@kyleross4372 Wrong. Sorry to trump your armchair analysis with my engineering degree but Aluminum is better than both steel and Ti. Btw, I have owned all of it. Reason is physics. Momentum of inertia. Differential flex modulus due to hydroforming which can create more vertical compliance than lateral stiffness both steel and Ti can't match. Round tubes can't beat A-symetric tube shapes which put flex and stiffness in the right places. Btw, its the same reason an aero carbon bike with airfoil shape tubes will never have the ride quality of a more round tube shape bike. Its the reason Specialized killed the Venge and went with the more 'all arounder' SL8. Moment of inertia.
@@lukewalker1051 You know they make non-round Ti frames right....Lynskey is an easy pull with either their helix design or the diamond shape. All I'm saying is that manufacturers make bikes in aluminum primarily because they can't make aa larger margin off the others, no need to get snippy with strangers on the internet, hope you have the day you deserve.
@@lukewalker1051 The industry "can" make great alumium bikes, but do they? What do those ideal tube profiles look like and where are the being applied. The issue is that the cycling industry is marketing based first. Press-fit BB bearings should be good enough but the industry isn't willing to spend an extra few dollars per frame to simply get it right. The industry is like most - it's mostly about profit margins and following marketing trends.
Hadn't considered a name for what I do. Alt seems to fit but I like all-terrain all-weather touring. Been a solo rider and almost purposefully since starting to ride beyond just trying to get to places like work or the store. My issue with many types is the competitiveness-with trying for online clout with strava times, to Instagram lookalikes, to flaunting money by buying performance, to the cliquish petite bourgeoisie titan realm weekend warrior two-wide in the lane pack riders. I'm over the feelings about it all and just keep to myself. The day I go to a race is if the price of parts on bikes is registered and below $700 because I want fun and adventure, without the distortions of misplaced ambitions and compensated inferiorities.
I bought an Ltwoo groupset for my current bike, and I love it. Incredible mechanicla shifting; the ability to shift 3 gears up the cassette and 4 gears down is a game changer
The sad thing for our future generations is I just came back from the beach for Christmas and nine out of 10 kids were riding E bike/ scooters that they didn’t even pedal….
If you are smart, you will know the value of both. I grew up bike racing. I am still top 2% for my age. I ride both. E-bikes are the best tool for ride recovery. I can stay with any pro or elite cyclist on the planet with my custom built ebikes. I turn the power way down and get a very good work. Its easy to ride 20mph with 100 watts rider output which is a good low effort recovery ride. Ebikes are perfect for recovery rides and seniors need more recovery time after out hammering with their friends on non-motor bikes. Objective is ride more both at zone 2 and threshold to improve V02 max. I sometimes turn the motor off completely when riding with slow non motor riders which offers more weight and parasitic drag compared to a regular non-motor bicycle. E-bikes can offer more and not less work out. I have one friend who just returned from a 1000 mile backpacking trip on a high end dropbar e-bike who is a very strong cyclist and he never turned the motor on. He rode it as insurance because he was carrying a 45 lb payload and doing a lot of climbing.
Regarding the resurgence in aluminum frames, Salsa has been shipping their Journeyman/Journeyer since 2019 and the Stormchaser since 2020. Not exactly an "alt" manufacturer, but definitely not one of the big 3. Both are solid options.
Thank you for sharing this great information on traditional alternative cycling. I am a veteran cyclist and I still have my cromoly Giant super sierra XT I bought in 1989. I transitioned to several other bikes Aluminium but recently I bought myself a Kona Dr Dew cromoly 1x12. I can't say I like the 1x12 as compared to my 3x7. The 12 speed chain doesnt last long (I get 4-5000km) where as the 3x7 I cannot remember because it takes so long I forget. So, now I am in the process of converting this to 2x or 3x whichever gives me more durability.
I have in my fleet 2 x 90's mountain bikes with 3x7. A 3rd 90's mtb with 3x9. All steel! 3x is really the best and I've had more than 30 bikes so far in my life. Having that straighter chainline provides better power transfer and less wear. The industry doesn't want to create anything that lasts anymore.
I hope to see your review of the Boreal bicycle. I wish you a good 2025 year. I sold a bicycle last year with my Modolo Dumbo classic, I thought I could buy them again, but they are discontinued, sad as I like them, I tried to find some left over, but the only one in Africa was far too expensive for shipping to Canada, they were fully adjustable, and I could install a Microshift Thumb shifter inside the top tube. Maybe one day another shop will pick up the desing.
I've also been riding a fluid formeduminium fram for over 8 years. Rides over the rough as well as the 90s Shogun Metro SE steel frame rebuild I had to leave behind in Vietnam in 2014. It's a dirty old Reid Urban X2 in drop bar kit, cost me $800 Aussie abd it rides like a Jamis at 3x the price. Mind you, literally the only stock parts are the frameset and rear wheel, but I love to tinker and it was a sweet ride that got me aling most of the Great Ocean Road in near stock state in 2018 (had drops and R9 brifters abd 35mm tyres by then, but all else was original. The geometry and sizing is as good as I've ever had from an off the shop floo bike.
One project I would like to do is to renovate some old bikes laying around with gear problems that belongs to my family members, and make them get on the bikes and even organize family bike trips. I do not know how to work with components and would love to know where to start. Just thinking aloud.
At 2:13 in the video I don't think I fully captured why x2 drive trains are going to make a resurgence in 2025. What factors are playing into that? What advantages do 2x drivetrains have? I am preparing to enter the world of cycling
Have you heard of UK based events like the York cycle rally and the National Clarion Easter meet? I've never been to them but they seem similar to the "alt bike events" you described and have been going for many years. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on them.
I've been doing a lot of research around recumbent tadpole trikes. We need some younger people getting into that to get rid of the old fogie stigma. They seem pretty neat and like a very comfortable way to ride long distances. I feel like the segment could definitely use some innovation too when it comes to folding. In a similar vein...I'm hoping we'll see more "everyman" bike geometries (AKA short reach and tall stack).
I guess I have always owned “alt” style bikes. A Raleigh sport three speed as teenager and now a Raleigh hybrid. I am sixty now and it is interesting to watch how trends come and go.
I think I overlapped my first visit to Girona last Sep with you at the Sea Otter. Would love to Party ride with you when I visit Spain next. -Brian (Canada)
We need more 46-30 cranksets for road. Most 46-30 cranksets have wider chainlines so aren't fully compatible with road components. I have a miche crankset that fits this condition, unlike the fsa or shimano grx ones.
Now, the "spirit of gravel" is called alt biking. It's good, though, because it's about people enjoying the go out biking, no racing, and comradery. Nobody is left behind, and bring whatever bike you have, we're just going places, getting to know people, coffee shops, and breweries 😊
As a mechanic i dislike square taper for various reasons. Much easier to clean and service if you just need to knock the crank out with a mallet and Allen key
"Bike racing industrial complex" is the perfect description! It's a colonial force! It sells tribalism over human experience and sharing a great ride with like minded riders!
The industry will be inventing lots of new stuff to make bikes more tech-laden and costly, hopefully so that all of us MUST buy a new bike. Wider tyres always make old frames obsolete, so we can expect even wider tyres on road-race bikes. It's a total fix, but not everyone has the time, knowledge and skill to upcycle the old and good stuff and keep it going. The industry is digging its own grave.
I had never un-discovered aluminum 😁 I see steel coming back stronger as well, like on rocket ships. Better steels, thinner tubes. I keep my bike for decades, so I don’t touch resins/plastics. I think CF makes sense for pro racers as their bikes are disposable but that’s it.
I’ve been telling all my friends to buy a bike now if they’re thinking about a new one in future, because the policies that are currently said be enacted in the next administration will absolutely raise prices. Real bummer, it’s the last thing consumers or the industry needs….
I think aluminum is here to stay again in MTB. So many broken frames and parts. People are tired of it. Gravel seems to be ever evolving in the weirdest little ways. But I'd like to see more microshift. They have been killing it. Now they need a dialed 11 speed set up. Good stuff 👍🏻
Russ, -framebags are better than water bottle cages. (Russ, I like 10oz canvas treated with linseed. You paint so you know about drying oils.. So if ya sew a bag with canvas and brush on linseed and let it dry for two weeks (another 2-3 weeks to cure fully) it polyimerizes and becomes like a leather sort of.) -more rim brake push back. they are lighter, easier to maintain, and more elegant. -titanium frames evermore popular, but yeah aluminum is great for most bike purchases more than carbon. China will quietly kill it in the ti frame dept again with its OEM/close to OEM sales. -30mm and 28mm axles 100% -enough of the genre labels and more categorization of geometry so as to leave the cyclist to interpret what 'gravel' means or what a frame is best for.
I don't understand the square taper love. Can someone tell me what I'm missing? It seems like there are no upsides and it's less stiff. All I ever hear is "you can find a square taper at any shop around the world", but I practically never need to replace my BBs anyway.
Larger ball bearings (lower friction), adjustable chainline for different frames for the same crankset, better sealed and they do have damping properties which I find to be a feature, not a bug.
@@travischapman6763 You're more likely to be experiencing frame flex. The crank arms will bend before the tiny amount of spindle beyond the bearings of the bottom bracket.
Mountain biking is so confusing to me. Why have a 32T 1x drive and show people flying down mountains with big smile when most of the time your spun out doing 15mph.? Am I missing something? Is it me? I'll be the first to admit I don't know much. I'm not judging anyone here, but I really think some of us would enjoy a quick on the flats bike that could do some jumps and still go fast without having to go to ebikes...
Swap out the drivetrain with the gearing that suits you and the terrain you ride. I coast down hill and spin small gears to get back up. Not much flat riding on an mtb for me
The move away from square taper and other standards by big manufacturers is to lock people into complete groups and specialist tool ecosystems. It's completely the antithesis of any cycling motivation, be it sport, commute or alt. But sport cycling suffers from the brand tribalism of this, the most. The standardisation of bicycle components in the 20th century was to isolate the machine from the athlete riding it, it was true sportsmanship, the literal level playing field, especially when the road wasn't level. The benefits to athletes are passed on to the rest of us because standard parts are hard for manufacturers to inflate prices on and are easier to find knowledge and learning about. Everybody can replace a square taper crankset with basic tools and a bit of reading, even if they're not hugely mechanically minded. Mixing and matching Shimano, SRAM and other brands used to be mostly possible to get a system that performed better than a stock full group, even better than the sum of the parts. Now it's nearly impossible. My cargo bike and tourer commuter share a common, mullet 1x9 speed hack thanks to a decade old microshift R9 derailleur model that makes the 650x45B in the backfiets style cargo swappable with the 700x35c in the tourer/commuter. Both these bikes change swiftly and cleanly under load. I honestly have no idea how I'll ever replace these rigs with what's available on the completely destandardised market we have a decade later. Short of buying a ton of machine shop tools I can't afford and learning how to make my own. (On an aside, I did try 3D printing a carbon fibre PETG cassette but the support material left so much protrusion on the teeth, the cleanup was painful and the part failed afte a few weeks because the CF lowered the layer adheasion.) that said, there are now web sercise that make it possible to custom 3D print our old favourite groupsets if we have the design skills and deep pockets... So, as that service gets cheaper, square taper and other standards will always be available. Just not as cheap as mass produced nonstandard stuff.
I'm probably going to get snubbed by everyone in the group I've ridden with the last four or five years. It's a TREK Store sponsored group ride, TREK actually pay a guy to lead the group every week. But anyway back to what I was going to say, I will soon have my custom steel bike that I had made for me here in the US because it's almost done. 10 speed mechanical group and rim brakes with 25mm tires. All components are silver aluminum too. I contracted this frame builder in February 2024, talk about a long waiting time, but this just goes to show how busy he is and how much in demand his bike are. I have a modern titanium bike with DA electronic and hydraulic disc brakes but I am so sick of charging and brake noises. I've quit the tubeless crap a long time ago already, there's nothing easier than just changing a tube when you get a flat tire. I happy to see people and read the comments from those that are doing the shift back to things that are actually good.
Grant Peterson sure knows how to “beat a dead horse”. He has made a career out of doing things different just for the sake of being different. If rapidrise worked why doesn’t Shimano still use it? the rest of the bike world doesn’t see index shifting as the worst thing known to man, but Peterson seems to.
I run Box Components box one shifter and derailleur with a connex chain and e-thirteen x-46 cassette. Tenet pedals, Rev grips stem and grips. Long live the different companies!!!
Here I was expecting SRAM and Shimano to merge into SRAMano, and make all their components electronic and proprietary. After that similar to Taco Bell from the film Demolition Man; Soon all components will be SRAMano.
My only problem with the sword/advent X derailleur is I wish they pulled Les cable to move. Not an issue if you use their brifters. I would like to see a sword/advent X bar end shifter (indexed)
I have both a "conventional" giant tcr race bike and surly "alt bike' and the idea of a cultural cleavage between the two is nonsense. They both serve different purposes but that does not make one "alt" over the other. The men at the top of the cycling industry dont give a damn about whether you consider yourself an "alt" or a regular cyclist as long as you keep swiping your credit card. If anything, Surly peddles themselves way more on the back of a cultural/lifestyle image than Giant who will make just about any kind of bike for every purpose. Alt cycling brands are no different from the mainstream, they simply adjust their marketing and product design to catch people who are told that they are alienated from the conventional bike market. Surly states on their website "this is not some exclusive club you are welcome to join as long as you are comfortable in your own skin". As if other bike brands discriminate on who can or should ride their bikes. As if Surly is somehow unique and not just another for-profit interested in selling as many bikes as possible. I like Surly as a well designed product, but lets not kid ourselves over culture war nonsense.
My mind is swimming with the $2000 aluminum framesets that everyone is "suddenly" all talking about, while I'm still grabbing pretty darn decent $500-1000 Chinese carbon frames. Of my stables of 10 bikes I've got 2 aluminum frames, 4 steel, and 3 carbon. The aluminum ones were all purchased despite being aluminum, not because of it. The only frame I have have killed was aluminum.
Russ, your channel by far has the pulse on the ALT biking world when it comes to education, older traditional and new release components, for encouraging riders such as myself to embrace the technology of decades past + the improved boutique components that don’t start with the capital S.
Please keep doing what you are doing, and expanding your relationships with talents like Nolan, and as a product design influencer with like-minded companies like Merry Sales, SOMA, and others.
I appreciate what you are doing.
Grand Fundo!
Microshift is becoming a real force in alternative cycling- God bless ‘em!
I’m looking at them for a setup for a bike that I’m restoring, need something that’s works and is inexpensive
@@woduk I've moved 2 bikes over to Sword 1x and it just works, and for the price I am really impressed.
*astronaut meme* always has been
My cheapo road bike has a Microshift front derailleur (communist China) hooked up with an L-TWOO brifter (Taiwan). Works very well I'm ngl.
I have a Microshift drivetrain on my new Marin Kentfield 2 hybrid. I like it so far.
When I bought my hybrid bike in 1991, I never realized I was ahead of my time. Here I've been doing "alt cycling" all these years and never knew it was a thing. I was just taking bike rides.
I feel you. Here in germany, going on bike rides with friends and family on the weekends is an essential leisure activity that millions of people engage in.
This speaks the truth. I've worked in shops for decades. Practical bikes were always made during the rise of racing and mt. bike dominance. The hybrid is an example. Manufacturers in trying to either respond-to or to create trends messed with even that humble category. It drifted from too athletic to overly clunky comfort ladened designs.
Even though I know why, I still ask out loud sometimes "why does a Surly cosy so much?".
Being so closely related to a hybrid but double the cost means wondering, do all the braze-ons really cost that much?
Same here, all my bikes are from 1990-2005
Most of them rim brakes, which I think should also be reconsidered, except on mountain bikes.
It's funny that biking has become so competitive in both road and mtb that just riding your bike is alt biking lol
Thanks
I think used bikes with updated components will become more popular among alt cyclists. Steel frames will be more sought after vs. people switching to aluminum.
The popularity of ‘90s steel 26er restomods supports your thoughts. I built one up for my son and it rips like nothing else.
Was living off a 1992 Cannondale M900, until I put so many miles on it the frame failed. Now doing the same to a Trek 950 chromoly Steel. So smooth, can flex the hell out of the frame. Love it.
I can be included in the camp of putting new components on older bikes. I have 2 steel Univega Via DeOro hybrids from the mid 90’s. I enjoy tinkering and putting new components on them. At 65 I am far less concerned with going fast and more about enjoying the ride as I get my cardio while burning calories.
@@christophersmith7703 And they make such great gifts for younger riders, a highlight of my cycling year was gifting a plated 26" MTB with new crankset and pink pedals and pink bars and lots of cheer from me. She rides it all the time.
My 2011 Surly Cross Check has been ridin through hell and back and has surface rust all over the place...yet I'm going to take the frame to get it sandblasted sometime this year and see how deep that rust goes. I'm thinking it's not too bad and if that is true, I'm doing a new build with the frame. I love that bike so much I don't want to get rid of it, yet I don't want to buy yet another bike.
Looking forward to cotterpins, and centrepulls. Thanks for posting love your channel.
Thanks Russ! An interesting topic that you have explored in other podcasts is e-bikes and their relationship to alt cycling. It is one space that has seen growth since the pandemic.
I still love my two by, with added granny gear 😊. OK it's a triple 😂, but it does all I need, if it ain't broke why fix it ? 🤔
3by is the best buy!
Every time I go exploring on my 12+ year old Haro, with a 44-32-22 9-speed triple coupled to an 11-34 cassette, I wonder why triples have died. I love the small steps between the front chainrings, and the total range is hard to beat.
Absolutely, the triple is the “peak” of “mechanical” group sets. I bought a complete 3x9 Shimano Sora group set last year while they were still available so that I have spares.
I bought the last 3x XT touring cranks and MTB cranks i could find.
Triple is perfection. Middle gear for most terrain, low for steep and high for stomping. I never lack the gear i need
@@VYBEKAT They still sell those on bike-components de - maybe I should also get some.
I recycle every aluminum can I use, with hopes that they'll become a new aluminum frame for someone out there. And thanks, Russ, for this look at bike trends and I'm resolving in the new year to be in with the alt crowd. Kidding, already there. Speedsters are just alt riders who switch between a race pace and a party pace. And I saw that in the '70s with German friends in Frankfurt and their winter bikes with fenders for an alternate vibe. 😀
Russ, Thanks for the trends update. Happy New Years to you two.
Another great video. Long may the alt cycling continue to grow. I was inspired by your Marin Larkspur 2 review, so I bought one. Now it needs sticker 👍
We need more internal gear options. Especially for mountain biking
I took a spin on our local bike paths late Christmas morning expecting to see all the kiddies out on their new rides but was dismayed to see not a single one on my 15 mile loop; so sad. It leads me to believe 2025 may not be a recovery year for the industry.
Sadly this is a lot more to do with children no longer getting or even wanting bikes for Christmas than the bike industry having issues - most Christmas bikes are bought from toy shops and big box stores rather than bike shops, so they're very much decoupled from what most people would call the bike industry, who make bikes that can actually survive being used every day rather than shed ornaments (mostly anyway). The car industry have also worked long and hard to convince the general public that children getting around without using a car is too dangerous, and given the kind of infrastructure they've played a huge part in encouraging, particularly in the US, they're not wrong.
The sad thing for our future generations is I just came back from the beach for Christmas and nine out of 10 kids were riding E bike scooters that they didn’t even pedal….
Don't know what others are doing but an early 90s 700c hybrid will be my build.. mixing old with new
An alt ride in the Midwest is The Heywood. Held in May, the weekend after Mother’s Day. $25 entry, 4 distances.
3X is the new 2X change my mind😂
❤I love my triple cranks! ❤
I've recently been getting back into 90's mountain bikes with 3x7 to 3x9 drivetrains. Triples really are superior and this is coming from someone who has been riding bikes for 30 years on and offroad.
Aluminium was never gone. 90 percent of bike frames are made of it. And it always has made sense to buy a bike with aluminium frame and top-tier components instead of a carbon frame with mid-tier parts.
Was hoping someone was smart enough to post this. Aluminum > Steel > Titanium....I have owned it all...because of hydroforming which cannot be performed with other metals due to ratio of modulus of elasticity to yield strength and Aluminum being more ductile than both Steel and Ti. Even on an aluminum drop bar road bike with carbon fork with 28c tires, a modern Al road bike has a silky ride, easily as good as my carbon road bikes. Aluminum as you correctly say, never went away and this is why virtually all top bike manufacturers sell Aluminum versus Steel and Ti. If latter two frame materials had a distinct advantage, top bike brands would make and sell them. Steel is heavy and little value with Ti compared to carbon and Al and why top bike makers don't make them.
@@lukewalker1051 Brands making aluminum frames is more about ROI rather than it being the best metal. Titanium is the king but not every cyclist will have the money to drop over $4k for a frame, that's where aluminum comes in; lighter than steel and (roughly) the same cost with the trade-off of vibration dampening.
@@kyleross4372 Wrong. Sorry to trump your armchair analysis with my engineering degree but Aluminum is better than both steel and Ti. Btw, I have owned all of it. Reason is physics. Momentum of inertia. Differential flex modulus due to hydroforming which can create more vertical compliance than lateral stiffness both steel and Ti can't match. Round tubes can't beat A-symetric tube shapes which put flex and stiffness in the right places. Btw, its the same reason an aero carbon bike with airfoil shape tubes will never have the ride quality of a more round tube shape bike. Its the reason Specialized killed the Venge and went with the more 'all arounder' SL8. Moment of inertia.
@@lukewalker1051 You know they make non-round Ti frames right....Lynskey is an easy pull with either their helix design or the diamond shape. All I'm saying is that manufacturers make bikes in aluminum primarily because they can't make aa larger margin off the others, no need to get snippy with strangers on the internet, hope you have the day you deserve.
@@lukewalker1051 The industry "can" make great alumium bikes, but do they? What do those ideal tube profiles look like and where are the being applied. The issue is that the cycling industry is marketing based first. Press-fit BB bearings should be good enough but the industry isn't willing to spend an extra few dollars per frame to simply get it right. The industry is like most - it's mostly about profit margins and following marketing trends.
I’m restoring an old gt hardtail bike and definitely looking at Microshift gears for it, something good quality and inexpensive
Hadn't considered a name for what I do. Alt seems to fit but I like all-terrain all-weather touring. Been a solo rider and almost purposefully since starting to ride beyond just trying to get to places like work or the store. My issue with many types is the competitiveness-with trying for online clout with strava times, to Instagram lookalikes, to flaunting money by buying performance, to the cliquish petite bourgeoisie titan realm weekend warrior two-wide in the lane pack riders. I'm over the feelings about it all and just keep to myself. The day I go to a race is if the price of parts on bikes is registered and below $700 because I want fun and adventure, without the distortions of misplaced ambitions and compensated inferiorities.
I bought an Ltwoo groupset for my current bike, and I love it. Incredible mechanicla shifting; the ability to shift 3 gears up the cassette and 4 gears down is a game changer
which groupset? was it road or gravel? I've been curious of the clutches on such brands.
@travischapman6763 R9 2x11 hydraulic
I’m considering my next build using the new Velo Orange aluminum frame when it’s released. 🧡
The sad thing for our future generations is I just came back from the beach for Christmas and nine out of 10 kids were riding E bike/ scooters that they didn’t even pedal….
That's at the top of the list of trends that will continue in 2025 and beyond.
In other words - motorbikes
If you are smart, you will know the value of both. I grew up bike racing. I am still top 2% for my age. I ride both. E-bikes are the best tool for ride recovery. I can stay with any pro or elite cyclist on the planet with my custom built ebikes. I turn the power way down and get a very good work. Its easy to ride 20mph with 100 watts rider output which is a good low effort recovery ride. Ebikes are perfect for recovery rides and seniors need more recovery time after out hammering with their friends on non-motor bikes. Objective is ride more both at zone 2 and threshold to improve V02 max. I sometimes turn the motor off completely when riding with slow non motor riders which offers more weight and parasitic drag compared to a regular non-motor bicycle. E-bikes can offer more and not less work out. I have one friend who just returned from a 1000 mile backpacking trip on a high end dropbar e-bike who is a very strong cyclist and he never turned the motor on. He rode it as insurance because he was carrying a 45 lb payload and doing a lot of climbing.
@@lukewalker1051 I'm sure the "kids" at the beach that the op mentioned are thinking about all that. 🤣
Nice Brother's shoutout. I love my first gen Mehteh and have bought a few more things from them since. Great company.
My chlorine dream teal Surly Straggler with purple accents is screaming for that purple chain ring.
Regarding the resurgence in aluminum frames, Salsa has been shipping their Journeyman/Journeyer since 2019 and the Stormchaser since 2020. Not exactly an "alt" manufacturer, but definitely not one of the big 3. Both are solid options.
Never knew about the Nor’ Easter. What a fun idea. Thanks
We have C.O.G.S. here in Seattle. A great group who just enjoy going on rides.
Can't wait to see what you do in Spain.
I can’t wait for the new Wheel Top wireless derailleurs as you can adjust the rear derailleur for each individual speed. Plus 14 speed!
Today was the day I finally accepted "alt-cycling" as a term. I know it has always been a thing, but I never felt like it deserved a name.
Got my vote for bike rides in Spain.
More internal gears and belt compatible frames is all I’m looking for.
I have been really happy with Sensah shifters paired with shimano derailleurs specifically the Sensah Phi and 7-10 103 rear deraileurs.
Thank you for sharing this great information on traditional alternative cycling.
I am a veteran cyclist and I still have my cromoly Giant super sierra XT I bought in 1989.
I transitioned to several other bikes Aluminium but recently I bought myself a Kona Dr Dew cromoly 1x12. I can't say I like the 1x12 as compared to my 3x7. The 12 speed chain doesnt last long (I get 4-5000km) where as the 3x7 I cannot remember because it takes so long I forget.
So, now I am in the process of converting this to 2x or 3x whichever gives me more durability.
I have in my fleet 2 x 90's mountain bikes with 3x7. A 3rd 90's mtb with 3x9. All steel! 3x is really the best and I've had more than 30 bikes so far in my life. Having that straighter chainline provides better power transfer and less wear. The industry doesn't want to create anything that lasts anymore.
@@SurpriseMeJT Great to hear from other like you that think alike. Cheers
AWESOME Alternative Cycling Predictions for 2025! 😎💯👍
Shimano Cue still looks like a great value
Cues*
Good to see alternative sources for drivetrain as the big S brands more more and more to electronic.
I hope to see your review of the Boreal bicycle. I wish you a good 2025 year.
I sold a bicycle last year with my Modolo Dumbo classic, I thought I could buy them again, but they are discontinued, sad as I like them, I tried to find some left over, but the only one in Africa was far too expensive for shipping to Canada, they were fully adjustable, and I could install a Microshift Thumb shifter inside the top tube. Maybe one day another shop will pick up the desing.
Modolo Dumbo classic are bicycle handlebars
I've also been riding a fluid formeduminium fram for over 8 years. Rides over the rough as well as the 90s Shogun Metro SE steel frame rebuild I had to leave behind in Vietnam in 2014. It's a dirty old Reid Urban X2 in drop bar kit, cost me $800 Aussie abd it rides like a Jamis at 3x the price. Mind you, literally the only stock parts are the frameset and rear wheel, but I love to tinker and it was a sweet ride that got me aling most of the Great Ocean Road in near stock state in 2018 (had drops and R9 brifters abd 35mm tyres by then, but all else was original. The geometry and sizing is as good as I've ever had from an off the shop floo bike.
That's what real cycling is.
...steel frame rebuild I had to leave behind in Vietnam...
thank you for your service.
@ lol
Great. I haven`t even caught up with the 2010 trends 😁
Thanks Russ!
One project I would like to do is to renovate some old bikes laying around with gear problems that belongs to my family members, and make them get on the bikes and even organize family bike trips. I do not know how to work with components and would love to know where to start. Just thinking aloud.
Hi Russ, I see you get a mention from " I Know A Guy Bicycle" first in the list i people to watch over xmas season. Like your previous post
At 2:13 in the video I don't think I fully captured why x2 drive trains are going to make a resurgence in 2025. What factors are playing into that? What advantages do 2x drivetrains have? I am preparing to enter the world of cycling
Is that a Bad Granny in the back ground? Did I miss an episode where you talked about that frameset?
As a retired amateur rally driver we ended up doing historical rallies….you must arrive within a time and not the fastest.
Have you heard of UK based events like the York cycle rally and the National Clarion Easter meet? I've never been to them but they seem similar to the "alt bike events" you described and have been going for many years. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on them.
I've been doing a lot of research around recumbent tadpole trikes. We need some younger people getting into that to get rid of the old fogie stigma. They seem pretty neat and like a very comfortable way to ride long distances. I feel like the segment could definitely use some innovation too when it comes to folding. In a similar vein...I'm hoping we'll see more "everyman" bike geometries (AKA short reach and tall stack).
I guess I have always owned “alt” style bikes. A Raleigh sport three speed as teenager and now a Raleigh hybrid. I am sixty now and it is interesting to watch how trends come and go.
I cannot believe I made it through the 1x Hype without buying one.
I think I overlapped my first visit to Girona last Sep with you at the Sea Otter. Would love to Party ride with you when I visit Spain next. -Brian (Canada)
Was anyone a little distracted by the frame-set/rolling chassis in the background? What is that thing? Looks cool.
We need more 46-30 cranksets for road. Most 46-30 cranksets have wider chainlines so aren't fully compatible with road components. I have a miche crankset that fits this condition, unlike the fsa or shimano grx ones.
Now, the "spirit of gravel" is called alt biking.
It's good, though, because it's about people enjoying the go out biking, no racing, and comradery. Nobody is left behind, and bring whatever bike you have, we're just going places, getting to know people, coffee shops, and breweries 😊
A nice Bad Granny from sourcycle in the background.
Long live square taper
Great and simple standard for many decades. Marketing be damned
As a mechanic i dislike square taper for various reasons. Much easier to clean and service if you just need to knock the crank out with a mallet and Allen key
Standert out of Germany makes some nice aluminum and steel bikes.
You should make/sell an FKT sticker!
I was going to buy and build a new bike but decided to keep my 90s mtb. Trends fade away.
"Bike racing industrial complex" is the perfect description! It's a colonial force! It sells tribalism over human experience and sharing a great ride with like minded riders!
What's the bike in the back ground
Looks like a Kona Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa?
So 3-by will be the new 2-by?
I call "ltwoo", "luitenent woo"
lieutenant*
What happened to Campagnolo? They were the pinnacle of cycling components at one time.
They’re irrelevant these days due to their high price point and no beginner friendly groupsets to on-ramp new users.
Perhaps the increase in electronic shifting and e-bikes also has its toll on the industry?
I would buy a “Grand Fundo” Tshirt!
The industry will be inventing lots of new stuff to make bikes more tech-laden and costly, hopefully so that all of us MUST buy a new bike. Wider tyres always make old frames obsolete, so we can expect even wider tyres on road-race bikes. It's a total fix, but not everyone has the time, knowledge and skill to upcycle the old and good stuff and keep it going. The industry is digging its own grave.
I had never un-discovered aluminum 😁
I see steel coming back stronger as well, like on rocket ships. Better steels, thinner tubes.
I keep my bike for decades, so I don’t touch resins/plastics. I think CF makes sense for pro racers as their bikes are disposable but that’s it.
I like the trend of people riding bikes in general, being less car dependent for daily travel, commuting, etc.
Please let us know, what a bike is in the background!!
I’ve been telling all my friends to buy a bike now if they’re thinking about a new one in future, because the policies that are currently said be enacted in the next administration will absolutely raise prices. Real bummer, it’s the last thing consumers or the industry needs….
New riv components in 2025 is definitely interesting .
Hi did I hear you say you have podcast?
th-cam.com/play/PLlwgJTJiCVEY7ZZItl1ZoTqInjZ7_KWFs.html&si=OBUbU1gX6qJjd-ko
Ltwoo R9, 11 speed hydraulic road groupset is very good.
I really want to see aluminum bikes take off again, but manufacturers would put in creativity into creating compliance through design.
I think aluminum is here to stay again in MTB. So many broken frames and parts. People are tired of it. Gravel seems to be ever evolving in the weirdest little ways. But I'd like to see more microshift. They have been killing it. Now they need a dialed 11 speed set up. Good stuff 👍🏻
Russ,
-framebags are better than water bottle cages. (Russ, I like 10oz canvas treated with linseed. You paint so you know about drying oils.. So if ya sew a bag with canvas and brush on linseed and let it dry for two weeks (another 2-3 weeks to cure fully) it polyimerizes and becomes like a leather sort of.)
-more rim brake push back. they are lighter, easier to maintain, and more elegant.
-titanium frames evermore popular, but yeah aluminum is great for most bike purchases more than carbon. China will quietly kill it in the ti frame dept again with its OEM/close to OEM sales.
-30mm and 28mm axles 100%
-enough of the genre labels and more categorization of geometry so as to leave the cyclist to interpret what 'gravel' means or what a frame is best for.
I don't understand the square taper love. Can someone tell me what I'm missing? It seems like there are no upsides and it's less stiff. All I ever hear is "you can find a square taper at any shop around the world", but I practically never need to replace my BBs anyway.
Adjustable Q factor.
Less stiff? Looking for anyone who can bend a spindle without moving the wheels first :)
Bearings are better protected inside the frame.
Larger ball bearings (lower friction), adjustable chainline for different frames for the same crankset, better sealed and they do have damping properties which I find to be a feature, not a bug.
@@Rob-zf2cv maybe I have a crappy square taper bb, but mine is flexy and I’m no sprinter.
@@travischapman6763 You're more likely to be experiencing frame flex. The crank arms will bend before the tiny amount of spindle beyond the bearings of the bottom bracket.
What's the difference between LTWOO "Asian" and Microshift & Shimano Asian?
US offices, customer service, replacement parts, documentation warranty and not having to buy it off a site with nonreputable sellers.
What is wrong with old reliable 104/64 BCD, cheap available and works
Who said anything is wrong with it?
I just built my new bike up with microshift
Microshift, a glimmer of light at the end of a really dark tunnel.
Alt bikes rule... Guess I'll have to wait for 2026 for 3 speed hubs and BMX bars on everything... EVERYTHING ✊
Any aftermarket company's making a T-type rear derailleur out there?
Any companies*
Besides Sram ?
Two top tubes is better than none
Mountain biking is so confusing to me. Why have a 32T 1x drive and show people flying down mountains with big smile when most of the time your spun out doing 15mph.? Am I missing something? Is it me? I'll be the first to admit I don't know much. I'm not judging anyone here, but I really think some of us would enjoy a quick on the flats bike that could do some jumps and still go fast without having to go to ebikes...
Swap out the drivetrain with the gearing that suits you and the terrain you ride. I coast down hill and spin small gears to get back up. Not much flat riding on an mtb for me
Unpopular opinion - Microshift is not really cheap
The move away from square taper and other standards by big manufacturers is to lock people into complete groups and specialist tool ecosystems. It's completely the antithesis of any cycling motivation, be it sport, commute or alt.
But sport cycling suffers from the brand tribalism of this, the most. The standardisation of bicycle components in the 20th century was to isolate the machine from the athlete riding it, it was true sportsmanship, the literal level playing field, especially when the road wasn't level.
The benefits to athletes are passed on to the rest of us because standard parts are hard for manufacturers to inflate prices on and are easier to find knowledge and learning about. Everybody can replace a square taper crankset with basic tools and a bit of reading, even if they're not hugely mechanically minded. Mixing and matching Shimano, SRAM and other brands used to be mostly possible to get a system that performed better than a stock full group, even better than the sum of the parts.
Now it's nearly impossible. My cargo bike and tourer commuter share a common, mullet 1x9 speed hack thanks to a decade old microshift R9 derailleur model that makes the 650x45B in the backfiets style cargo swappable with the 700x35c in the tourer/commuter. Both these bikes change swiftly and cleanly under load. I honestly have no idea how I'll ever replace these rigs with what's available on the completely destandardised market we have a decade later. Short of buying a ton of machine shop tools I can't afford and learning how to make my own. (On an aside, I did try 3D printing a carbon fibre PETG cassette but the support material left so much protrusion on the teeth, the cleanup was painful and the part failed afte a few weeks because the CF lowered the layer adheasion.) that said, there are now web sercise that make it possible to custom 3D print our old favourite groupsets if we have the design skills and deep pockets...
So, as that service gets cheaper, square taper and other standards will always be available. Just not as cheap as mass produced nonstandard stuff.
I'm probably going to get snubbed by everyone in the group I've ridden with the last four or five years. It's a TREK Store sponsored group ride, TREK actually pay a guy to lead the group every week. But anyway back to what I was going to say, I will soon have my custom steel bike that I had made for me here in the US because it's almost done. 10 speed mechanical group and rim brakes with 25mm tires. All components are silver aluminum too. I contracted this frame builder in February 2024, talk about a long waiting time, but this just goes to show how busy he is and how much in demand his bike are. I have a modern titanium bike with DA electronic and hydraulic disc brakes but I am so sick of charging and brake noises. I've quit the tubeless crap a long time ago already, there's nothing easier than just changing a tube when you get a flat tire. I happy to see people and read the comments from those that are doing the shift back to things that are actually good.
Grant Peterson sure knows how to “beat a dead horse”. He has made a career out of doing things different just for the sake of being different. If rapidrise worked why doesn’t Shimano still use it? the rest of the bike world doesn’t see index shifting as the worst thing known to man, but Peterson seems to.
I used rapid rise on a bike for years and I concluded that there wasn't any "advantage" to being reversed. maybe if used on thumpshifters...
Hey! I wash!
I run Box Components box one shifter and derailleur with a connex chain and e-thirteen x-46 cassette. Tenet pedals, Rev grips stem and grips. Long live the different companies!!!
If you ever wondered if you were a dork, watching this video makes it official.❤️
Here I was expecting SRAM and Shimano to merge into SRAMano, and make all their components electronic and proprietary. After that similar to Taco Bell from the film Demolition Man; Soon all components will be SRAMano.
that's why I don't buy their products
I, for one, welcome our new bicycle component overlords. 😅
What else than (wonderful, but rare and expensive) Campagnolo components are left if you do not want to buy parts from these two?
My only problem with the sword/advent X derailleur is I wish they pulled Les cable to move.
Not an issue if you use their brifters.
I would like to see a sword/advent X bar end shifter (indexed)
I have both a "conventional" giant tcr race bike and surly "alt bike' and the idea of a cultural cleavage between the two is nonsense. They both serve different purposes but that does not make one "alt" over the other. The men at the top of the cycling industry dont give a damn about whether you consider yourself an "alt" or a regular cyclist as long as you keep swiping your credit card. If anything, Surly peddles themselves way more on the back of a cultural/lifestyle image than Giant who will make just about any kind of bike for every purpose.
Alt cycling brands are no different from the mainstream, they simply adjust their marketing and product design to catch people who are told that they are alienated from the conventional bike market. Surly states on their website "this is not some exclusive club you are welcome to join as long as you are comfortable in your own skin". As if other bike brands discriminate on who can or should ride their bikes. As if Surly is somehow unique and not just another for-profit interested in selling as many bikes as possible.
I like Surly as a well designed product, but lets not kid ourselves over culture war nonsense.
hit the like button at grand fundo 😂
Ltwoo mechanical is reliable and inexpensive
This year I may buy a titanium or aluminium frame . I haven’t owned an aluminium bike since the 90s
AltAlu❤
My mind is swimming with the $2000 aluminum framesets that everyone is "suddenly" all talking about, while I'm still grabbing pretty darn decent $500-1000 Chinese carbon frames. Of my stables of 10 bikes I've got 2 aluminum frames, 4 steel, and 3 carbon. The aluminum ones were all purchased despite being aluminum, not because of it. The only frame I have have killed was aluminum.