Of Magic Elixers and "Go Fast=Yes" Potions

Joe Friel has a great post over at his blog everyone should read.

http://www2.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/03/marketing-and-sport.html

When I was just starting out years ago, I bought some new tires. The shop mechanic said these were the best tires out there and would probably add 2 mph to my average speed. I was a little suspicious about this claim. Guess what? They didn't. In fact, they turned out to be some of the worst tires I ever owned. They were impossible to get on and off of the rim and handled like something out of the Flintstones,. Further, two of them split open and those that didn't wore out quickly. The only blessing was that I learned my lesson and got them off of my bike shortly after that.

A lot of people think their bike makes all the difference. I'm faster because I'm on a Trek or Specialized or Giant or whatever. I've got to get this bike because rider X rode it to victory in race Y. Guess what? Last year, when rider X was with another team, he rode a different brand of bike, and he probably was still 10 mph faster than you. The differences between frames, components, sports drinks, its all minuscule. Now maybe there is a particular brand of frame that fits you a little better than the next one, maybe there is a sports drink that tastes a little better to you than the next one so you hydrate better, but there is no universal go fast solution. If there was, everyone would be riding it.

There is no legal product out there that is going to add 2 mph to your speed. Period. End of discussion. No matter who is endorsing the product or what company is behind it. Lance Armstrong didn't win all those Yellow Jersey's because he was on that Fatigue reduction drink. He didn't win them because he rode a Trek with Shimano components. He won them because he trained smarter and harder than the next guy, because he was more focused on his training and his goals, because he scouted key stages multiple times in the months leading up to the tour and because when the critical time arrived in the race, he was mentally tougher than all the other riders. If Armstrong would have been riding a Colnago with Record, he would have still won the same number of races. If US Postal/Discovery Channel gets sponsored by Pearl Izumi and not Nike, doesn't matter. If Armstrong wears Rudy Project shades rather than Oakley's, he still has the same number of Yellow Jerseys hanging in his closet.

So as a consumer, when one of your buddies or someone at the bike shop tells you that you have to buy product X because it will make you go faster, remember two things:

1. The only thing that is guaranteed to make you go faster is training. Better training, more structured training, harder training. There is simply no substitute for hard work.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

Evaluate what works for you. If a certain brand of bike fits well and is comfortable, buy that one. If you like the ride of a certain set of tires, ride those. If a sports drink or gel tastes good for you, use that one. Chances are, if you are comfortable on your bike and have confidence in your equipment, you will feel better about riding, you will want to ride more and indeed be a little bit faster. Just figure out what works for you rather than jumping on the latest craze.

In the long run, if you evaluate things with a skeptical eye, you'll save yourself a lot of money and time.