I’ve been around in the industry for a while. I’ve ridden bikes since I was 6 years old, worked in bike shops, coached mountain biking, raced bikes, and overall, just love the community and culture of cycling. In my decades in the industry, I’ve noticed a few things I want to share to help everyone; these are reminders, tips, and some hard truths that everyone (regardless of cycling discipline) could benefit from hearing.
They might be helpful, or you might call BS on all of these, but hey, they’re just my opinions, so it doesn’t matter that much.
A new bike probably won’t make you faster
You don’t always need the latest and greatest to get better. In fact, the latest bike technology will impact your riding less than just working on a set of skills that you might be lacking. Spending money can’t replace time spent on the bike.
But a new bike, new component, or any new gear is a great way to inspire yourself to ride more, and it might help with that; plus it’s just fun to tinker.
Learning how to set up suspension correctly is better than fancier suspension (usually)
As noted above, the latest tech won’t have much impact if you’re already using components from the last few years. Not that much has changed, and it’s more valuable to know how to set your suspension up correctly than to have the newest dials, dampers, and air springs.
Deven McCoy
Find settings that work. Understand what your dials and knobs do, and that will get you on the right track. Once you have an understanding, then you can notice and feel the difference in all those compression and rebound settings.
Tire pressure, casing, and compound matter more than you think
You shouldn’t be afraid to mess around with tire pressure to find the right pressure range. Far too often, people run their tires too high or too low without understanding the effect that it can have on how your bike feels. Much like suspension, but much easier to understand and track.
Inserts and tires are cheaper than a new fork and shock and will most likely improve your bike’s ride feel.
Deven McCoy
E-bikes are actually really sick
David Bontrager
Hot take, but true. eMTB’s are a ton of fun and a useful tool when used responsibly. I understand how polarizing they can be and how poor judgment and manners can make e-bikes a weapon in the wrong hands, but for the most part they allow more people to get out and enjoy the trails, which means more people advocating for the trails we all use.
If you’re still hating on e-bikes, that energy could be better directed towards something positive, and life will get a lot easier.
Unplugging is good for you
Deven McCoy
Turn off the ride tracking from time to time. Take a break from the metrics and logging of all the data. Don’t feed the machine and add to the heatmaps. It sure is fun to dive into the numbers and compare times, but comparison is the thief of joy, and the less time we spend looking at our phones, the better.
Don’t bring the ego to the trails
It’s not always about being the fastest or sending it the deepest. Riding a bike is just riding a bike and shouldn’t be about the ego. If you’re just riding your bike to prove something to someone else, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, and it will likely lead you down a path of ruin. It’s okay to walk a feature in front of the buddies if you’re not feeling it, and it’s okay to take it easy on an off day. Don’t always push it. We all want to be here for a long time and a good time.
Being too elitist is corny
E-Bike haters, singlespeed purists, and specific-brand haters all have the same narrow viewpoint, and it’s tiring. You can have an opinion about something; that’s okay, but looking down on another person who is just enjoying the same sport in a different way is an archaic way to go about it. Like what you like, and let others do the same.
Just because you can afford the latest and greatest doesn’t mean you’re better than the next person on the trail.
Deven McCoy
You should probably wash your helmet pads and knee pads
Go give them a whiff and tell me I’m wrong. Wash those helmet straps and maybe your insoles while you’re at it, and thank me later.
Deven McCoy
* You should probably wash your water bottles and hydration bladders while you’re at it.
Grab a bottle cleaning tablet or dilute a little bleach in some water, and clean those suckers out. Mold likes what we like, and it’ll take any chance it gets to feast on the residuals.
That post-ride beer is doing more harm than good, but who cares
We’ve all heard that the post-ride beer is the greatest hindrance to performance, and that cutting that out will see you sleep, recover, and ride better. Which is all true, but sometimes the thought of a cold, bubbly is what keeps you going on a slog back to town after a big ride.
Marc Van Hecke&solGetty Images
I’m not advocating for drinking or trying to encourage it, and usually that cold beer is just a nice cold root beer for me, and good lord, if that doesn’t totally keep a bonk at bay more than any alcoholic beverage ever could. I guess what I’m getting at is that don’t starve yourself of the little things.
Deven McCoy
Bike weight doesn’t matter as much as you’ve been led to believe.
A few grams here and there really doesn’t matter at all. A full water bottle or too much sealant in your tires is more weight than most carbon frames shave off from one iteration to the next, and you really won’t notice it that much. Where you will notice weight is in the tires and wheels, but even then, you could just ride more and get in better shape.
BIKE
I’ll admit that bikes have gotten pretty great over the last few years, and most will be within an acceptable weight range, but we really shouldn’t be worrying about the overall weight that much, that is unless you’re going for the most competitive weight and trying to set some records.
The highest engagement hubs aren’t inherently better
At a certain point, it really isn’t that big of a deal that there is .5 degrees of float in your rear hub. Sure, a super huge step between engagements is pretty annoying and will be noticeable, but a lot of brands are pushing that slow engagement as a good thing, thanks to the pedal-kickback boogeyman.
Deven McCoy
I think what really matters is that a hub has strong, reliable, and easy-to-service internals – oh, and it should ideally sound good when coasting.
You should be tipping your bike mechanic
Photo courtesy of&colon Sunnyside Sports
If you take your bike in for service, you should tip the person doing the service. Bike mechanics aren’t always paid super fairly, and they perform skilled labor, so it only makes sense to tip them and show appreciation. Sure, service can take a while and can be expensive, but that’s the game, not the player, and showing appreciation will make the next time you bring your bike in for an overhaul or a small maintenance item that much easier on you and the folks wrenching on it.
Opinions are opinions, not a fact
Most of us love to chime in when hidden behind a computer screen, and I love it. But it’s rare that you actually hear someone being as vocal and opinionated outside of the internet. There are so many different preferences throughout the industry. From brakes to frame material to tread patterns to pedal choice. One isn’t inherently better than the other; you just like what you like.
You’re doing something wrong if you aren’t having fun.
Bikes should be fun. Full stop. Maybe at the very least they should be fulfilling. But somehow people find a way to make things that should be fun feel like a chore, and that sucks. I find myself looking at bikes that way sometimes, and it’s a reminder not to turn on Strava, not to try and record a video on a ride, or sometimes just to go for a ride for myself, without the personal pressures of being fast or whatever else might cloud my vision of fun.
This also applies to a point made earlier, and if you’re deep in hating on another type of riding, it just comes across as silly. We’re all essentially doing the same thing, and it doesn’t matter that much if someone does it slightly differently.
This story was originally published by BikeMag on Jul 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add BikeMag as a Preferred Source by clicking here.