Op-Ed: It’s Time for More of the Bike Industry to Evolve Beyond Toxic Racing Culture

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Cycling Lifestyle Editor, Ron Frazelle has opinions on cycling race culture. Should we all be a little less serious?

I’m not saying that race culture shouldn’t exist. No, I think competitiveness is a natural part of human nature and can be very healthy. There is nothing wrong with wanting to race your bicycle.A few of us do race our bicycles. Even I did at one point in my cycling life, racing XC and Downhill. It was a good time.

Although choices are much better nowadays, there still is far less to choose from for the non-competitive cyclist who simply wants to ride rather than race.The cyclists who don’t race their bicycles are the majority, right? Globally speaking, when you look at how many people use bicycles to get around, that has to be true. But still, bikes marketed as machines that can only “go fast” sell much better than bikes marketed as comfortable and versatile.

It seems that most of the major manufacturers still think that the people who buy these all-rounder-type bikes don’t deserve the good stuff because they aren’t “racing”, riding around wearing lycra, crushing “PRs”, counting calories, or counting grams, so they shouldn’t care how well the bike operates. Either that or they just assume that if you’re buying a bike that’s comfortable and versatile, you aren’t willing to pay for better-quality parts.

We’re getting there. Helping to spread the word of the beauty of non-competitive cycling are people like Russ and Laura fromI never thought I would ride so casually on heavy bikes, and not care. Nor did I ever think I would ride in a position that is more comfortable and upright. It never entered my mind.Based on what I saw in advertisements and marketing, I’ve always thought I needed to have zero body fat, be clad in Lycra, and ride fast all of the time.

 

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