One of the great thiongs about cycling is that is doesn’t have to stop when you get off the bike! For a start you get to buy new gear in the endless pursuit of the perfect set up. For those inclined there is the pleasure of being able to maintain and upgrade your bike/s (n+1). Those who do not know how to maintain bikes I do not understand…. There is also there whole world of media around bikes from films, magazines, podcasts, books, social media and more. On this page you’ll find many of my favourite examples, some obvious, some perhaps not so.
This really have become the go to for so many reasons. One might argue as it has grown the influence of sponsors and promotions has become more so but at the end of the day they are running a business. Not sure how many will remember the very first episodes on the red couch and the home made roller set up! They have done some excellent ”shows” in the past from the basic fun to some very educational maintenance videos etc. I bought the GCN race pass during lockdown which was upgraded to GCN+ when that went live. Frankly I love it. The documentaries are brilliant. This passes the wife approval test with flying colours. If you haven’t explored GCN then you have been missing something. Kudos to the presenter team to make it so enjoyable.
Openly I am not sure why I enjoy this so much but I keep following it. Francis’s down to earth blog also has some gems in there with regard to bike advice. It’s perhaps a bit weird but his move from London to the North had us at home following the entire transition.
The vlog of Tobias, a Swedish cyclist living in Japan. It is frankly brilliant, in part due to Tobias’ quirky presentation style. A semi obsessed weight weenie we seem to share many worrying traits. One key one is being almost OCD over having a clean bike! A clean bike is a quiet bike, is a bike that shifts properly, that looks frikkin awesome and so much more. Last night he cost me a tent after watching a low cost bike packing set up he reveiwed (have to explain why we needed it later to better half). His photography and filming levels are exceptional and at times just being able to ogle (is that a word) at the rides he does in Japan is enough. There is however a LOAD of technical information that is excellent. Share with him his journey for the perfect “one by” set up to then see it get dropped for “two by”! He’s on Strava too.
Juliet has been a model, bike courier, pro snowboarder and more but today she works as an ambassador for brands and vlogs her cycling adventure. A little like Francis Cade’s Vlog it’s a bit a day in the life but I find it really interesting. The opening ”morning” has almost become a habit for me now for a reason I cannot comprehend other than its simply happy and happy things are good. She has done some pretty bad ass cycling including Red Hook Crit. A good mix of road and gravel….
Dustin Klein – Everything’s Been Done
Dustin is a bit out there, but the adventure crew brings a great perspective to riding. As Dustin partakes in the weed not allowed in the house but I get my sneak peeks. I love his van conversion stuff but more so his fresh approach to all things bike. We need characters to make life colorful, EBD does exactly that.
Sometimes (like every day) its nice to just sit down with a beer in a pub on your own and read a bit. Cyclist magazine for me is a go to for such times with a great spread of articles covering technical issues, new gear, rides and more. It really is a great balance between it all with some great photography. It might not be as “cool” as some of the other magazines I’ll mention but its probably one of the best!
No other way to put it other than hardcore bike porn. The photography alone makes it fantastic but many of the articles are fascinating. Often focusing on the historical aspects of cycling but also examining the now. So very well put together. Perhaps a bit pricey when you start to add up all your bike costs with Zwift subscriptions are more, but definitely another great companion to pop to the bar with and spend some quality solo time reading.
Sur Le Rivet 