Unpopular Opinions

pblakeney

shirley_basso said:

Next year will be mental for road cycling as everyone has become a machine from all the time on their turbos.

Everyone except me....

You'd think so. Yet PB's are still hard to come by. 🤔
Think I am missing those 100 mile all day rides.

Wheelspinner

shirley_basso said:

Next year will be mental for road cycling as everyone has become a machine from all the time on their turbos.

Everyone except me....

The FB bike buy/sell groups I use are loaded with ads for *very* expensive bikes, wheels, trainers, groupsets and more all less than 6 months old with “minimal” use.

I think a lot of people bought the gear then realised it’s dull as dishwater to be training on a turbo. 😀

shirley_basso

Maybe I am a very naughty boy but I've never ridden outside so much (young child notwithstanding). I don't get it.

dennisn

Wheelspinner said:

shirley_basso said:

Next year will be mental for road cycling as everyone has become a machine from all the time on their turbos.

Everyone except me....

The FB bike buy/sell groups I use are loaded with ads for *very* expensive bikes, wheels, trainers, groupsets and more all less than 6 months old with “minimal” use.

I think a lot of people bought the gear then realised it’s dull as dishwater to be training on a turbo. 😀

Are you all in lockdown over there? Not permitted to ride outside at all? Sounds like it.

webboo

No you can ride as normal. There was an issue for some people on how far you were allowed to ride, but it was never that clear that you shouldn’t be doing 200 mile rides. Lots of people bought bikes because the gyms were shut but then realised even of if you bought the Strada equivalent of a bike. It’s still hard and there’s a lot of pain involved.
So now’s your chance for that once in a lifetime get a super bike cheap and win your local 5th Cat race. Except there are no 5th races because of lock down.

Pross

webboo said:

No you can ride as normal. There was an issue for some people on how far you were allowed to ride, but it was never that clear that you shouldn’t be doing 200 mile rides. Lots of people bought bikes because the gyms were shut but then realised even of if you bought the Strada equivalent of a bike. It’s still hard and there’s a lot of pain involved.
So now’s your chance for that once in a lifetime get a super bike cheap and win your local 5th Cat race. Except there are no 5th races because of lock down.

And there's no 5th cat racing because we're better than Yanks so our worst riders are only 4th cat 😉

pblakeney

dennisn said:

Wheelspinner said:

shirley_basso said:

Next year will be mental for road cycling as everyone has become a machine from all the time on their turbos.

Everyone except me....

The FB bike buy/sell groups I use are loaded with ads for *very* expensive bikes, wheels, trainers, groupsets and more all less than 6 months old with “minimal” use.

I think a lot of people bought the gear then realised it’s dull as dishwater to be training on a turbo. 😀

Are you all in lockdown over there? Not permitted to ride outside at all? Sounds like it.

It's called winter. 40mph winds and heavy rain.
I cycle for pleasure and that ain't it.

dennisn

pblakeney said:

dennisn said:

Wheelspinner said:

shirley_basso said:

Next year will be mental for road cycling as everyone has become a machine from all the time on their turbos.

Everyone except me....

The FB bike buy/sell groups I use are loaded with ads for *very* expensive bikes, wheels, trainers, groupsets and more all less than 6 months old with “minimal” use.

I think a lot of people bought the gear then realised it’s dull as dishwater to be training on a turbo. 😀

Are you all in lockdown over there? Not permitted to ride outside at all? Sounds like it.

It's called winter. 40mph winds and heavy rain.
I cycle for pleasure and that ain't it.

I'll buy that. It's just that it seemed (at least on bike radar) that people were complaining about not being able to ride because of covid. Granted races and rides have been cancelled just about everywhere. Actually our club here in Toledo, Ohio did manage to race every Tuesday from late June to mid September. USA Cycling sanctioned races were all called off for the year. Although our club races were, for whatever reason, permitted to start up in late June. We had 30 or so racers each week. Seems like most other clubs could have done this too but most choose not to.

DeVlaeminck

First.Aspect said:

ugo.santalucia said:

Apparently the idea that catching Covid carries some degree of individual responsibility (with a few exceptions of course) was dismissed as bollox in the other thread and therefore qualifies as an unpopular opinion...
I stand by it...

Too popular.

I think that's a genuinely unpopular opinion.

Obviously some people catch Covid because they were flouting the restrictions but others catch it because they work in the NHS or care homes, or they are students who were told to go back to their halls, or a hundred other ways which would generally not attract disapproval. I can see how public opinion could have swung against those with the virus but it doesn't seem to have done so - my perception is that Ugo is in a minority on this one.

ugo.santalucia

shirley_basso said:

Next year will be mental for road cycling as everyone has become a machine from all the time on their turbos.

Everyone except me....

This year already, in TT and Hill Climb the field was a lot stronger than in the past. Virtually every race the CR was thrashed. It's not just Turbo though, most amateur athletes had more time to train effectively

elbowloh

Am i the only one who doesn't get the hatred of Carlton Kirby?

rick_chasey

elbowloh said:

Am i the only one who doesn't get the hatred of Carlton Kirby?

I sincerely hope so. It's not so much him, I'm sure he's fine, but his commentary. JFC.

pblakeney

elbowloh said:

Am i the only one who doesn't get the hatred of Carlton Kirby?

Nope. But I'm sure it still counts as an unpopular opinion.

surrey_commuter

Our foreign aid donation should be a % of our budget surplus

shirley_basso

I read an interesting report saying it leads to spending ending up in spurious places in order to 'hit targets' which I thought was a sensible arguement.

pinno

elbowloh said:

Am i the only one who doesn't get the hatred of Carlton Kirby?

He's far more tolerable than Hatch's exaggerated pronunciations and an intensity that makes you think he's a moment away from getting his testicles connected to the mains.
Plus the clichés '...this moment will be remembered for years to come... it will go down in the annals of history...', is a sure sign he's in dire need of copious quantities of alcohol, marijuana and hotel room full of hookers

dennisn

I'm of the opinion that this proliferation of new lubes is simply old lubes repackaged. To be honest I've used it all in my day (if it was on sale) and have never NOTICED any differences in any of them over 3 in 1 oil or just plain oil, for that matter. Just brings back the old question of "If motor oil can work in keeping hot engine parts lubed, why wouldn't it keep a bicycle chain and other parts lubed?".

webboo

I have not noticed my car engine parts getting wet, covered in dust, dirt or mud. But maybe you drive one of those hot rod jobbies with engine exposed.

ugo.santalucia

dennisn said:

I'm of the opinion that this proliferation of new lubes is simply old lubes repackaged. To be honest I've used it all in my day (if it was on sale) and have never NOTICED any differences in any of them over 3 in 1 oil or just plain oil, for that matter. Just brings back the old question of "If motor oil can work in keeping hot engine parts lubed, why wouldn't it keep a bicycle chain and other parts lubed?".

Very popular opinion.... the counter argument would be that 3 in 1 is actually quite expensive these days.
I am confident rapeseed oil is just as good for chain lubrication

rjsterry

webboo said:

I have not noticed my car engine parts getting wet, covered in dust, dirt or mud. But maybe you drive one of those hot rod jobbies with engine exposed.

Pretty sure a bike chain is a few degrees cooler than the inside of an internal combustion engine, too. I'd imagine the properties you want for each are quite different.

dennisn

Can anyone give me a reason WHY a cheap quart of motor oil would not LUBE a chain as well as some 20 dollar an ounce miracle bike lube?

sungod

dennisn said:

Can anyone give me a reason WHY a cheap quart of motor oil would not LUBE a chain as well as some 20 dollar an ounce miracle bike lube?

vs. wax in warm weather for instance (wax is pretty cheap, but fiddly)...

oil will pick up more cack and ease it's path into the rollers and between the plates, all of which will increase wear a smidge, it will also increase friction which will waste a smidge more power

oil will be stickier, which will waste another smidge more power

whether either is of consequence is another matter, depends on the situation

if you were trying to eke out every second in a tt, any wasted power will increase time

fwiw...
https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/lubetesting/
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/en/cycling/inside/test-data-reports/chain-lube-efficiency-tests/

Harry182

I reckon dennisn is basically right - any oil/wax/bacon grease/etc will work to keep your chain lubed. But here's the rub (see what I did there?) -- Any lube will work so long as the drivetrain's kept clean and the lube's reapplied when needed. I use the bike specific lube I use because it simplifies and reduces maintenance.

Instead of your fancy motor oil you should use bacon grease -- it's free.

veronese68

I could go into too much detail about this but in simple terms this is true:

Harry182 said:

I reckon dennisn is basically right - any oil/wax/bacon grease/etc will work to keep your chain lubed.

I worked for a specialist motor oil firm for a while, any oil is better than no oil at all even for an engine. But the right oil for the job does make a difference.
Motor oil will have various things in it that are not necessary and won't have some that are beneficial, plus it will attract dirt. In dry weather a good dry lube works and doesn't attract dirt. My experience is that in wet weather dry lubes don't work and more traditional oily lubes are better. Gearbox oil is more appropriate than engine oil in terms of additives. Chainsaw oil is a good idea.
So any oil will do, some are better and some are stupidly expensive. But any oil is better than a squeaky chain.

Pross

Thicker stuff will collect debris and end up damaging components. Bike oil costs a few quid and lasts ages if you don't have a tendency to knock over the open bottle every time you use it!

First.Aspect

I just use WD40 these days. Dry lube is utterly hopeless. There is no magic bullet.

elbowloh

First.Aspect said:

I just use WD40 these days. Dry lube is utterly hopeless. There is no magic bullet.

WD40 is not a lube though, it's a water dispersal agent and solvent. It's actually driving out any lube that was on the chain.

First.Aspect

elbowloh said:

First.Aspect said:

I just use WD40 these days. Dry lube is utterly hopeless. There is no magic bullet.

WD40 is not a lube though, it's a water dispersal agent and solvent. It's actually driving out any lube that was on the chain.

Depends what you regard as a lube. And what is a dispersant in your mind? It is a lube. Just a light one, or more properly a mixture mostly of lighter hydrocarbons. But there are heavier comonents in it. At this time of year i spray it on, wipe it off, sometimes, because the lighter components do a good job of mobilizing the crud on the chain, and it doesn't squeak after a 90k wet ride. What more do you want? It is cheap and you dont need much of it.

pblakeney

First.Aspect said:

I just use WD40 these days. Dry lube is utterly hopeless. There is no magic bullet.

What's the old phrase?
If it's to move WD40 it, if it's not to move duct tape it. 😉

ugo.santalucia

Harry182 said:

Instead of your fancy motor oil you should use bacon grease -- it's free.

Obviously we have tried animal fat too and whilst it works OK as a chain lubricant, it tends to attract dogs if you stop at a cafe'... we did find one of those "semi-feral village dogs" licking the chain in the Pyrenees... it was quite amusing