> The sport has separated into riding enthusiasts and equipment enthusiasts and the bike companies have completely brainwashed equipment enthusiasts. I'm NOT a

> The sport has separated into riding enthusiasts and equipment enthusiasts and the bike companies have completely brainwashed equipment enthusiasts. I'm NOT a former racer but I've cycled recreationally (probably an average of about 30 miles a week, give or take) for over 20 years. When I first got into road cycling I nerded out on gear. Back then that meant skinny tires, carbon fiber, big bucks. I felt reallllly cool. As I've gotten older I stopped caring about what's cool. Like, in cycling, but in pretty much everything else too. I had to move recently, and ditched my road bike but kept my "cyclocross" (as it was called at the time I bought it) bike, since I wanted something more flexible and comfortable. It ways weigh more, and I ride on big honking tires with hefty tread. I tracked my (solo, non-drafting) rides and I'm slower... by like, .5 mph. I have no doubt that all the gear nerds out there know what they're talking about, and these data driven fads are real improvements, but the margins have gotta be smaller than most of us weekend warriors should realistically ever care about. At a certain point you gotta ask yourself why you're even into the sport - either you think you're gonna win something, and then this is your life (and every advantage is worth it), or you're in it to ride with buddies and enjoy the feeling of moving through space. If you're in the latter category, and you aren't getting dropped, obsessively optimizing gear isn't actually gonna make your experience any more fulfilling.