The missing link, the one piece of gear that will help you finally ride like a pro!

If my post grabbed your attention and made you pull out your wallet and tugged on your heart strings then today is your lucky day, I have discovered that one piece of gear that will make you ride like the wind, and sprint like lighting. (ok ok, tons of sarcasm here).

I just read a post over at cyclocosm that left me shaking my head and thinking how so many people turn into gear heads because of the constant marking hype, the post was about speedplay pedals. The problem is like with anything, when truth is mixed with fiction, it makes it hard to know what is what. I do believe that performance cycling gear, and advances in gear technology certainly help with riding faster and with more comfort and control, but too many people make this a compensating mechanism, they fool themselves into thinking that some expensive cycling gear will make all the difference in their riding performance. I think gear is a critical part of the cycling performance mix, as there really are benefits to some gear, but I’d say physical and mental fitness is 90% of the equation and 10% fit and equipment, but a lot of people get these reversed in priority. For the average club cyclist, a 10K bike and all the latest bike gear isn’t going to do much, they only gear I endource is gear that are training aids like, heart rate monitors, power meters, power cranks, stationary, etc.  and not buying the latest carbon tid bit that will save you 0.0005 grams of weight. As much as I love gear, I know it’s place in the cycling performance mix.  Of course if you’re a pro at the top of the food chain where every second and advantage counts, then yes little gear changes like this become more important, but for us mortals, I think you’d be better off spending your money a month of coaching etc.