As a former semi-professional blogger and present leisure bike blogger, I do know a factor or two concerning the biking media, and I can inform you that it’s in bother. Large bother. For instance, there will not be practically sufficient articles concerning the new Specialised Diverge:
Solely fourteen!?! Oh, positive, I do know what you’re pondering: “There’s no topic in existence that warrants having fourteen articles written about it”–and naturally you’re proper. Nevertheless it’s not each day that Specialised introduces a brand new gravel bike. (I believe it’s extra like each three days.) Additionally, I picked one of many tales at random, and it was very informative certainly:
From it, I discovered that the Diverge is one among “essentially the most succesful and versatile off-the-shelf journey bikes the world has ever seen:”
Within the fourth iteration of Specialised Bicycles’ flagship gravel bike, the beloved endurance platform receives revamped geometry, clearance for enormous tires, and ample downtube storage, permitting you to hold every thing you want whereas tackling large days within the saddle. Combining all these adjustments into one platform, Specialised Bicycles has created one of the succesful and versatile off-the-shelf journey bikes the world has ever seen.
That is probably one of the absurd cycling-related claims the world has ever seen. I imply positive, the Diverge extremely adventure-worthy, simply so long as you don’t expose it to mud, sand, or rocks.
The Diverge 4 can now comfortably match all the most important, baddest, and most supple trendy gravel tires as much as 50mm, nevertheless it doesn’t finish there. Relying on tread sample and rim width, the Diverge can accommodate as much as 2.2” MTB tires with about 4mm of clearance, for individuals who are actually seeking to maximize journey.
Understand that Body and fork injury from mud/sand/rock build-up just isn’t lined underneath the Specialised guarantee—one thing I’ve needed to clarify to clients many instances whereas working in bike outlets.
And simply as there aren’t practically sufficient evaluations of the brand new Diverge, there additionally aren’t sufficient variations of the brand new Diverge:
I’m positive that is the place individuals inform me firms like Specialised want to supply numerous completely different bikes at numerous completely different costs for plenty of completely different makes use of –oh, sorry, I imply completely different worth POINTS for various use CASES.
Look, I get it. If we don’t hold placing increasingly more content material on the market then the entire thing falls aside. You’ll want to promote a billion bikes. So that you want 1,000,000 individuals to write down concerning the new Diverge, and also you want 1,000,000 individuals to write down concerning the new Grizl.
[Canyon’s Gravel Product Manager wishing his Grizl offered the riding position of a Rivendell.]
That’s two million articles proper there. Then you definitely get one other couple of million tales when all of the “Diverge vs. Grizl” evaluations come out…although really I suppose AI can simply learn the a million Diverge tales and the a million Grizl tales and try this by itself:
Bullshit goes in, bullshit comes out:
If I had been an precise bike reviewer I’d fear that I’m in bother, however happily being a cynical contrarian bike blogger is in no speedy hazard.
Good attempt, AI.
So long as it retains taking issues actually and I stay bitter and resentful I believe I’ll be protected.
Talking of security, let’s discuss pace bumps:
This explicit pace bump is in Wompatuk State Park in Hingam, which essentially the most Massachusetts-sounding place identify I’ve ever heard.
Lyons and others mentioned three yellow pace bumps had been put in throughout Union Road this summer time. They are saying the second is essentially the most harmful to bikers.
He added, “In the event you didn’t know what you had been doing and also you had been coming down the road on them, you’d most likely get harm on it.”
The second pace bump is on the intersection of Union Road and South Nice Road.
“One man shattered his knee or one thing,” mentioned Leif Thornton Tuesday at Wompatuck State Park. “One other lady, I suppose, acquired scrapes on her face and elbows.”
I admit that I used to be skeptical at first. In spite of everything, how exhausting is it to experience over a pace bump? I wager even Lucas Brunelle might handle to do this! However then I noticed the factor:
Holy crap. That’s not a pace bump, that’s a booby lure!
After all, conventional pace bumps don’t actually work to sluggish cyclists. (Assuming they’re not optical illusions like this one.) Hit one at 20mph in your Hyundai and also you’re in for a shock, but with a well-timed bunny hop you’ll be able to experience over one in your bike at 30mph, simple. In the meantime, in Portland you don’t even have to do this, as a result of they’ve these little slots so bikes don’t should sluggish in any respect, which even I believe is obnoxious:
Like if drivers must decelerate shouldn’t cyclists should decelerate too? Additionally, in a automotive, can’t you simply drive in the midst of the road and place your wheels within the channels?
I noticed an identical phenomenon in my very own neighborhood. We stay adjoining to an space during which the streets are privately maintained by a property proprietor’s affiliation, to allow them to do stuff unbiased of the DOT. Some years again, they put pace bumps in any respect the cease indicators, which I believed was sensible as a result of it meant drivers must come to a whole cease as a substitute of merely slowing down just a little after which rolling by them like they often do. Nonetheless, what really occurred was that everybody simply began driving across the pace bumps with out slowing in any respect, which was even worse:
I suppose typically these prolonged visitors research are justified in spite of everything. With regards to street design, you’ll be able to solely depend on one factor, which is that individuals are assholes.
Lastly, whereas we’re on the topics of each security and advertising and marketing, I used to be studying the feedback on that rim brake article from the opposite day, and I used to be each amused and astounded to learn this:
So a rim brake can cease a 23mm tire however not a 32mm tire? And one way or the other, given the identical brake, it’s more durable to sluggish a motorbike with tires that supply higher traction than it’s to sluggish a motorbike with tires that supply poorer traction?
Clearly he wasn’t in a position to course of the brake advertising and marketing and the tire advertising and marketing concurrently and it broke his mind.
