Bike Fitter's 10 More Most Hated Products

The following companies (that you'll see in my content) support me either financially or with free stuff, so huge thanks to these guys for helping the channel thrive:
Attacus Cycling,
SCOTT,
MET Helmets,
Shimano,
fidlock,
Hutchinson Tyres
Sungod
Tailfin
GT85
Garmin
Parcours Wheels

#cycling #bikes #bicycle

[nereosmandl]

James said that consumers need to learn how to read geometry tables. As a future video, could we get james' guide to geometry tables? :)

[jaunedroite]

The Specialized Aethos costs 5.200 Euro for the Comp version with a 105. The S-Works version costs around 15.000. How could this even remotely be considered a "bike for the people" in the first place?

[cduc]

Love the honesty, which is becoming increasingly hard to come by in the world of cycling. Agree with a lot of these - there's so much marketing jarg and over-engeneered nonsense that's simply not needed. A steel disc brake bike with decent clearance for larger tyres is the perfect bike because it can do the vast majority of things for the vast majority.

[martimcfly]

Love it when James activates rage mode

[jonathandosman]

James is a real watch guy with the dime piece frog watch. 🤝

[tinglydingle]

The bike sizing thing is so true. I'm 195cm, which puts me in the top 1% of the UK population for height, yet I ride a large Canyon frame. There are two sizes above that!

[BrianRPaterson]

I agree about those rear suspension. Systems built into the frame - they look like a problem waiting to happen.
However, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the Redshift shockstop post. The mk1 version with the springs is very easily tunable, and it irons out the more serious bumps that my 35mm tyres don't. Without any noticeable bobbing.
It's great for gravel and the crap, badly cracked concrete roads i ride. If I ever wanted to race, I could pull it off and stick on a lighter regular post.
Seems like the perfect compromise to me.
Cheers

[daviec]

The thing with Brooks **leather** saddles is that they've got incredibly short rails, and were designed back in the time when angles were more slack, and all seatposts had setback.
If your bike has steep angles, and you want a very specific seatpost, you better know that the sizing and fit is bang-on.
If you have a bike, where all that is bang-on, you will be quite happy with your durable flexy saddle, even for all day riding, but it can easily go either way.
When you go to the Cambrium rubber saddles, you've got a lot more room for adjustment, but you better hope the shape and flex of them is exactly what you like.

[arcoulant]

I have a Brooks B17 Special on my touring bike the bars are level with the seat and its bliss, and Brooks C17 curve (rubber) on my gravel bike and it just works .

[NikeonaBike]

there is a bit more $topping the Aetho$ from being a "bike of the people" than the geometry.

[ehrenfull]

Regarding long reach handlebars, all the "avoid" handlebars could actually be good handlebars to buy for fixed gear riders which is pretty funny. Since they don't usually use STIs or brake levers with hoods the longer reach on the handlebars make them easier to hold

[DavidLaw-xe]

I would love to see you address the issue of crank length. Generally I find crank length to be excessive on almost every bike. It's rare to find anything below 170 mm except on S or XS frames.

[benibf]

I've used both the Brooks B17 carved and C17 (cambium) carved on my fixed gear as well as my two gravel bikes, all of which have a saddle to bar drop of around 34 mm. I like both saddles, but the B17 (aka the leather one) is easily the most comfortable saddle I've used. Maybe it's because my saddle to bar drop is rather shallow, but it just works. At one point it did become more uncomfortable once the leather started to sag, but tightening the screw on the bottom made it super comfortable again.

[chrisjames]

Agree about frame sizing. Absolutely crucial to try before you buy. Also, aside from bike frames, cycling clothing manufacturers need to address their flawed sizing structures too. They seem to assume that height is somehow proportional to how unfit you are. That the taller you are, the fatter you must therefore be. Nightmare for people 6ft 2" + who have the physique of a healthy eating regular cyclist. To me that just seems like a flawed and somewhat paradoxical logic in sizing structure. I'm sure Jimmy will have opinions on this but for us tall skinny guys it's kind of frustrating. The amount of money I've wasted on kit over the years bears not thinking about.

[bourkey]

The Trek VCLS handlebar being long reach makes so much sense! I've a 58 Trek and I get bad neck and shoulder pain, feel like I've to stretch too far. Other similar sizes frames I had no such issue.

[malcontent_]

Perhaps, the most important section was James' commentary on *_over-simplification_*_ of stack & reach_ measurements – very helpful

[ronitdebnath]

I think Francis rides a size named 52 addict RC which has a 540 effective top tube length. That is hardly small regardless of whatever its called.

The thing with Brooks saddles is that they are amazing when you're riding in an upright position. I have one on my city bike for a decade now and it just works perfectly. That's the one with a flat bar with gigantic sweep and not a bike where you need a fit on. Coming from this I did the mistake to get an Brooks C17 when I got my first serious bike just to quickly discover that it's in the way in aggressive riding positions. I got a Supacaz Scorch as a replacement and I do love this saddle so much!

Speaking about wide dropbars for more control : there is this rare breed of people that like to ride dropbar mountain bikes for bikepacking on hiking trails and/or off-road ultras where they make a lot of sense. I started looking for a gravel bike, just to realise that gravel is boring and I want to ride the most remote trails possible.

(If you aim to ride really remote trails swiftly, don't make the mistake to buy a Gravel bike, most of them are seriously undergeared. Get a dropbar mountain bike or build your own starting with mountain bike frame and cassette.)

[Pastamistic]

Just use a shorter stem for long reach bars. Mine are 104mm so I swapped the 100mm stem for an 80mm stem. I like the tops being closer when climbing and the longer reach bars give me that greater differential between hoods and tops.

[bernardo]

The alternative to the aethos is the winspace slc. and at half the price. Also the cube agree c62. endurance focused aero bike