Point83.com

Meh, he's a retrogrouch. Which is not meant as a slam, but rather as a categorization of where he's coming from. He's going to come up with rationalizations for why new things (that he doesn't sell) are rubbish.

I like clipless. It's nice not to worry about slipping off a pedal when you're pedaling fast or on bumpy terrain. It's a a simple quantifiable benefit. Will it make you go faster. No, not really. Only a *new* red bicycle will do that (red ones are faster, a brand new one doubly so).

Personally the pedals I use on my most frequent bikes are a flat/SPD combo (giving me the best of both worlds), and the Shimano M636 pedal which has a large platform surrounding the SPD. They're bikeable with normal shoes also, though that rarely happens.

Heavy retro bikes and riding slow are the bomb.

My most recent pedal observations:
I put the crank brothers mallet pedals on my 4-speed cruiser, and they're not bad. When I tried riding that bike in the rain though, my sneakers slip off the pedals pretty frequently. I have had the experience of my feet slowly sliding toward the outer edge, which makes it annoying when I'm track-standing at stoplights, as it's hard to scoot my feet toward the middle for a better grip when I'm not pedaling, as well as more violent slippage when accelerating from a stop. I put on the grippier metal plates that these pedals come with, and that helped a bit, but I try to wear clipless shoes when riding that bike in the rain.

So flat pedals seem fine in dry conditions. Wetness requires some way of keeping the feet on the pedals. For wet riding in street shoes I prefer cages to flat pedals, I guess. If I'm riding through some shit with people behind me that will be inconvenienced if my feet slip off and I swerve into something (.83 rides) then clipless are helpful.

here's the pedal I'm talking about, in case you don't know it:

Not leaving well enough alone...

I respect Grant's knowledge about bikes the same way I do Aaron's, Charles', Sheldon's, or any other person who has lots of time in the field and clearly enjoys it. However, like Aaron, Charles, Grant, and Sheldon, I have opinions which may not be agreed with by everyone that I have based on my personal experience riding and working on bikes, and tend to take theirs with somewhere between a grain to a pound of salt.

Fitting is something I'm good at, and I know what I like, and Grant (with Aaron in tow) cannot ever convince me that Albatross bars and Moustache bars are comfortable. It's not to say that some people don't enjoy them very much, it's that everyone is different. I personally find Grant and Aaron's never ending assertion that if you are not comfortable on a bike, the first thing to look at is handlebar height, is half cocked. Sure, it's a factor for many people, but talking to them about it is far more important than rushing into a handlebar and step swap, which will cost you several hundred dollars in parts and labor assuming you don't know how to do it all yourself. As a result, most of Grant's writing alienates me based on the fact that I:
- like flat bars (and 25mm-35mm downhill bars too for that matter)
- like my bars to be below my saddle
- find Grant's suggested riding position really uncomfortable
In additions to minor things like cloth tape is the best thing ever, sandals are acceptable footwear when riding, and the whole clipless pedal issue, to name a few.

To be clear, I suspect it is either brevity, or laziness which keeps Grant and other learned people like him from repeatedly restating "We've found that most riders are most comfortable when..." while writing or talking about fit, but I think it's worth repeating as often as you make any generalization about people and what they like or want from anything as personal as a bike.

For myself, I know what I like to ride, and it is based on years of having access to several full product run of several different brands, models, and the chance to ride them. The issue that I personally have with fit, is a lot like what many women have when trying to find a good fit on a bike (wait for it). Generally, men are longer in the upper body and shorter in the arms and legs than women are. As it turns out, I'm what statisticians call an "outlier". My upper body is comparatively short and my arms and legs are comparatively long for a male of equal height to myself. This means that I can straddle a bike which would be the right size for my legs, but is far too big for my upper body. Meny women get this all the time, which is why there have been some early builders like Terry, who pioneered fitting women differently than men (I think a smaller front wheel is silly, but that's a different rant), and the evolution to major manufactures having a womens line of bicycles. I can relate, because the same is true for me, but nobody makes, to steal Trek's branded term, WSD bikes big enough for me. So like a few other outliers, our only options is to make do somehow, or get a custom made frame. If Grant saw me out riding my fixed gear bike, and never asked me about my bike or experiences, he would assume that I have been the victim of a horrible fitting, rather than a carefully selected and well informed decision.

There are several things I like from the "old days" and I like new innovations as well. I see no reason not to marry the best of both when building a bike if it suits your needs, but you have to know what your needs are. When I am talking to a customer or a friend who is looking to buy a new bike, I usually start by trying to figure out what sort of cycling experience they have, what bike(s) they do or have owned, what sort of riding they do, what sort of riding they want to do on the new bike, and perhaps the most nebulous of all, why do they want a new bike at all? In my experience, there are four main reasons people buy a bike (in no specific order).
-First time buyer: This is someone getting into bikes for the first time. I include someone buying their first adult bike as well. These are people who want to ride, but have no knowledge of bicycles apart from what they think they want, what they have read (kind of dangerous), and what their "bike friend" told them (probably really dangerous). For the most part, they are blank slates, or have a basic idea of what they envision themselves doing on a bike.
-Returning bicycle buyer: This is someone who has some experience riding, but has not ridden a bike in a while. They have some good saddle time, can recognize some features about different bikes, and ask fairly educated questions based on what their experience has taught them.
-Upgrading buyer: This is someone who wants something better, or better suited to a type of riding. It can be the person who got a entry level mountain bike in spring, and realized they want a more aggressive cross country bike with disc brakes for wet weather and stream crossings, a hybrid owner who commutes 250 or more days a year and wants something better than what they have now, or a CAT 1 road racer looking to branch out into cyclocross.
-Replacement buyer: This is someone who has lost a bike to theft, damage, failure, or damage incompatible with cycling. This is not limited to the bike in some cases, and may be a cyclist who has suffered an injury which requires a different kind of bicycle design to continue riding, such as a hand powered trike. It may also be someone whose current bike doesn't fit them in a way which can be corrected for. Whatever the reason, their old bike isn't an option and they need a new one.
There is a fifth type, but they aren't the same as the four listed above.
-Hype buyer: This is someone who thinks they need a new bike for some reason, but probably don't. It maybe they have more money than sense and use a new bike every year as a status symbol. It maybe they are uncomfortable and want to get something else without investigating having a fitting done to see if their old bike is just set-up wrong for them, or they are ignorant that such options exist. They aren't buying a bike for a specific reason apart from one they have created in their own head.
Once I know what the person says they are going to do and any specific requirements they have are, I can begin to point them in a direction. Say someone has a budget of $3000 for a commuter bike, and wants it to be or have:

- cro-mo frame and fork
- lugs, but willing to consider TIG
- disc brakes
- fenders
- rack

For the example listed, there are several options given the budget, and the person is probably willing, or actively interested in assembling the bike from parts or a full custom build, and clearly enjoys older bikes because of their stated preference for lugs. But there are some limitations. There is nothing wrong with disc brakes and lugs, but there are very few options. Most lugs (and by extension frames) are made for a 1" headset and fork steerer tube. There are virtually no 1" disc forks offered in the current market. 1 1/8" is more likely to offer disc forks, but harder to find a lugged frame as previously mentioned. This is a perfect time to suggest fillet brazing if you have a builder who does it and a budget that will allow it as an alternative to lugs. Since this will likely be a custom job at best, or a frame built up from parts, using a threadless headset would be no problem unless fit of the bike needs to be changed regularly (which is almost never the case). While I don't think threaded headsets are bad, threadless are lighter, require fewer tools and more commonly available tools, easier to adjust, and more secure than threaded predecessors. Assuming you won't be riding in rural Indonesia for years at a time and do have reasonable access to either an Internet connection or a metropolitan city, 1 1/8" headsets are also easier to find and probably cheaper. Also, since the bike is being build for this one person, stem size, angle, and stack height can be accounted for from the beginning. The only big advantage a quilled stem offers is being able to raise and lower it easily, which is a useless advantage if you already know how high you want your bars to be.
Now, knock $2000 off the budget, and it's a different game altogether. Custom is almost certainly off the table. Now they will be looking at what is being made for commercial sales be manufactures. You still have options, but there are not as many, and you will have to look harder to find something you like, compromise on some things, or change a few parts to get you there. In short, the more you know what you want, the easier it is to get it, price not withstanding.

So, when reading articles by gurus of any type, consider that they may not have a truly altruistic reason for what they are putting out as being "correct", especially if they make a product and want you to buy it. They have a vested interest in their business. You have an equal interest in making a well informed decision. The hard part, as the person trying to glean knowledge, is if it is "correct" for you.

Ah, good. My longest post ever.