katzenfinch

The Rivendell / Bridgestone guy has a lot of admirers and detractors. Where do you weigh in?

rebel1916

Neither. Definitely either an obsessive polemicist or an advertising wizard though.

FrenchFit 

Nice guy, knows what he likes.

HauntedMyst

Neither. Not sure what would make him either a threat or a menace.

ThermionicScott 

Seems like a cool guy from what I've read.

Mobile 155

Maybe a good thread starter but it will end the same way every time. He is a great sales man and missed his calling when he passed up on used cars. Knows a lot about bikes but states his case in contradictions.

I tried to read his book but found his advice to be the obverse of every other cycling expert I have ever read. I decided to give the book away rather than even use it for reference. But I realize he wrote the book to sell his brand of bike so he has an excuse I guess.

texaspandj

Who's grant peterson? Oh grant petersen. Sorry. Ok, who's grant petersen?

FBinNY 

I'm indifferent. He's a good guy though opinionated, but I don't consider holding strong opinions a negative.

However, based on how you phrased the question, I assume that you don't hold him in high regard.

canklecat

This 2012 interview says pretty much everything I'd have to say: Biking's Philosopher Crank.

Every niche hobby, craft and art form has at least one of the same controversial gurus. Nothing new. In current parlance, however incorrect etymologically speaking, they're the "analog" cheerleaders, rabble rousers and flag bearers.

On the plus side, he's no Ken Rockwell, which is a good thing. Unlike Rockwell, Grant doesn't strike me as a troll who posts controversial and simple-minded polemics merely for the sake of driving web traffic and arguments. And Grant's product is consistent with his philosophy. It's pretty close to my own view of cycling at my age (same as Grant's), and that of Velouria of Lovely Bike -- although her essays are consistently couched in the genteel prose of an Edwardian gentlelady. I keep imagining Lady Edith of Downtown Abbey as Velouria.

GP

I agree with a lot of his views on bikes and cycling even though I don't follow them religiously. I ride a modern road bike and wear spandex. I also have a Rivendell and it's a nice bike but not magical.

I read his book and thought he should have stuck to writing about bikes and cycling.

If you go to the shop in the Bay Area it's lower key than you'd expect from reading all the hype. He's a guy that's been in the industry for a long time and shares his opinions just like Bruce Gordon, Richard Sachs and a few others.

ColonelSanders

Nice post.

I am also a big fan of Velouria.

Darth Lefty 

Vell, Zaphod's joost zis guy, you know?

Mobile 155

You may have a point in that the Book is a turn off because specific examples can be picked out or should I say focused on to the point of covering up whatever message he may have had. I found myself nit picking the terminology and advice to the point of thinking of it as coming from a luddite. In a conversation it might be possible to point out and get clarification on what is being said. Chapter one he advises everyone to simply mash down on the pedals and assures us that is what everybody really does even if we think we are pedaling in circles. He swears we don't pull up with the trailing leg only to talk about unloading the trailing leg later on in the same chapter as if that can be done without pulling up on that leg so as to not have to fight the weight of the foot on the down stroke of the mashing one. You can't lift the foot without lifting the leg. So at a minimum you push pull on the typical pedal stroke. Even if one is more powerful than the other.

Fine advice if you are wearing flip flops and a straw hat while sipping a umbrella drink on your beach cruiser but not so much when saving energy while doing rollers through wine country on Saturday with a few friends. He then goes on in a later chapter and says we have too many gears. We only need eight and we should mash more while climbing. Energy wasting advice if I have ever experienced it. Yet the bikes he designed and sells have more than eight gears typically.

I am thinking that in a conversation he would have to explain more of his just go out and ride dogma and admit that technique can make the experience more pleasurable even if that makes men like Joe Friel a better source for cycling information. I am sure very few of us think we have too many gears and that mashing up a hill is better than downshifting.

bakes1

Threat or menace?
I have not read his book yet but does he threaten or scare people in it?
Or are you simply worried that one mans opinion and salesmanship will affect your own personal cycling?
Or were you just feeling overly dramatic and cheeky when you posted?
In that case you should have posted in A&S and added the word 'deadly'

JonathanGennick 

I admire him. He's identified an audience for his bikes and has a clear vision of that audience. I like that he's got opinions. I probably don't agree with all of his opinions, but I do agree with some of them, and most of what he writes is at least thought-provoking and gets me to consider a point of view I might otherwise have missed.

fietsbob

I'm Older than He Is, I Make My own choices ..


I was never hired by a Major Japanese corporation to run US Operations.

He does stay in Business successfully doing what he does, past the end of that Gig..

bykemike 

His views on diet and health in the book, Eat Bacon, Don't Jog

Eat Bacon, Don't Jog: Main Description: $13.95: Workman Publishing

are oversimplified and possibly lethal. Stay with what you know is generally good advice and this illustrates it.

I like his company, his bikes, some of his views on biking (I am a Carbon guy, however) his marketing.

Retro Grouch 

Bicycling is a big tent with a lot of little cliques and we tend not to understand one another very well.

I have never raced bicycles. I don't commute to work anymore. I have never done a coast-to-coast loaded tour. I don't mountain bike anymore. I basically just use my bike to putz around and I find that to be fun. I get Grant Petersen.

Stratocaster

As usual, wonderful contributions.

katzenfinch

Actually, I do. I own a Bridgestone and an Atlantis and have bought both of his books. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I consider him to be a voice of reason.

Because of the position he takes in Just Ride about racing having an unhealthy effect on bicycle marketing, I think a lot of people who own racing bikes and like to keep up with the latest technology dislike him.

bakes1

You expected more of a contribution to a thread asking if an author of a cycling book is a threat or menace?
Wonderful...
And how do we define your 'contribution' to the thread? Other than stalking. Thanks for the props btw

bakes1

As I stated earlier, I have not read his book but I can't imagine there is a rational person on the planet that could argue that point about racing having an unhealthy effect on marketing. These forums are a perfect example. Weight weenies, among others, regularly spend thousands of extra dollars for upgraded bikes and components while they are averaging 17 mph on their daily rides. But they love the snappy feeling they get while climbing hills lol. And who is anyone else to tell them how to ignore the nonsense marketing and stop wasting money?
I mean an expensive bike is cheaper than an expensive airplane or yacht right? That's all the justification ever needed

unabowler

Like the thousands of extra dollars you have to spend to get a Rivendell bike?

kg1

I haven't read the books either, but I think the general idea is that the bikes a lot of us are being sold are not ideal for the kind of riding we do or could be doing. Skinny tires, big front chain rings, small rear clusters, a large saddle to bar drop, clipless pedals, etc. look really cool, and are great if you're racing and maybe if you can ride at a sustained 20+mph pace, but these sort of features aren't really ideal for a lot of people who could be cyclists. At least a few of my friends and acquaintances think that a racing bike and Lycra is what cycling is all about, not efficient commuting in an urban environment, for example, and that's what's not very helpful. Of course it's fine if someone wants to spend money on something. But isn't it also fine if a thoughtful, knowledgeable observer with a lot of experience wants to relate what he's seeing and thinking?

Thanks.

kg1

bakes1

This.
Well stated