When friction on bikes was good

I got a pair of $10 wool gloves yesterday to try and keep my fingers warm for once this winter. They worked. I've tried nearly every type and make of glove out there (Swix, Yoko, Pearl Izumi, Lake, Burton, etc.) and they all have failed in one way or another. These $10 gloves kept my hands warm.

It's amazing how so many times I keep coming back to the simplest solution to a problem. Most people, including me, would have bought more expensive gloves to try and thwart the cold finger syndrome. I tried the opposite and got some good ole cheapo wool gloves that did the trick. For me, the same goes for other bike stuff. My first two mountain bikes had friction shifting...a Schwinn High Sierra and then a Specialized Hard Rock. Friction shifters work. Index shifting wears out over time and doesn't shift perfectly everytime. Friction shifting takes thought, and has a learning curve, but it will always work.

I read issue 30 if the Rivendell Reader this morning on the bus. I've gotten back into the Reader after about two years off. I love this publication. It's the most practical and utilitarian view of bicycling of any bike publication. I find myself of the same mind as Grant, the main writer and founder of Rivendell, on most occasions. His retro-grouch philosophy is refreshing, and he's stayed true to the roots of cycling his entire life...and since I picked up the first reader many years ago I have always enjoyed this. The title of Reader #29 was "The cycling publication for the disenchanted." How perfect is that? He also outlined what would NOT be in this Reader: no surface interviews on people you don't care about, no bike reviews that don't say what we really think about the bike because we can't really say what we think...and such things like that.

It is a huge relief to read interviews with Charlie Cunningham or Richard Sachs that take an hour to read and digest with pictures of all their old rigs and devices and STYLE. I really got to know the people being interviewed, unlike when I read the 2 page long interview with Floyd Landis in Dirt Rag. There were many more pictures of Floyd than text and it was a very bad interview...surface and bland. From now on I'm replacing my future Dirt Rag subscription with a Reader subscription.

I've have always prefered more "casual" clothing to the racing attire of bicycle racing/riding. Casual clothing is more comfortable, less gaudy and pretentious (to the public), and overall more practical if you're carring keys, glasses, a wallet, since regular shorts have pockets. I have been riding Nema stuff for a long time which i love, but even Nema is somewhat too "cool" for the average person. I agree with Grant (Reader #30) that clothing is a large part of why many non-cyclists don't get into cycling. First there is the bike which is costly, but then the public is made to think they "need" all that ugly clothing to wear while riding the bike! If everyone wore more normal clothing and showed how fun it is to ride a bike without looking so racey, maybe more of the general public wouldn't feel so intimidated and get into cycling.

I also have read that aerodynamics isn't decreased by wearing baggy clothing at the speeds that most recreational cyclists and especially mountain bikers go (<20mph)...especially while expending the most amount of energy (the uphills) where speeds rarely go over 10mph. Who gives a crap anyway if you have to work a little harder?
Tight, racing garb may breath well, but i would bet not any better than a Nema shirt that looks like a regular shirt!
Who wants to be a walking billboard anyway with their sausage showing to the world?? Let's help bring cycling back to the people - the everyday person - that wants to commute, tour to see the world, or just ride around their neighborhood with their dog or kids.

These yearly updates on the number of gears you NEED, or the newest cool clothing you NEED, or the coolest frame material you NEED....are just plain market bullshit.