So I’m bored and this question popped into my head. I’d love to hear what are others unpopular cycling opinions are. These shouldn’t be hot takes; they should be resoundingly not popular in cycling at the moment but they are opinions you have.
I’ll start.
Carbon bikes are only widely used because they’re cheaper to produce than metal bikes. It’s all a money making scam.
Edit:
Want to discuss the opinion further? Why not head to the discussion thread?
Dropper posts are not all they’re cracked up to be (coming from an XC guy). I don’t find them particularly necessary in 95% of situations.
I’ll bite. On the podcast, they have repeatedly called Keegan Swenson the “best cyclist in the USA” yet Ritchie Rude (who has also been on the podcast) has won an EWS championship. Remember the “W” in EWS stands for “world” and it is a global series.
I’m not saying Keegan isn’t fast but as far as I can tell he isn’t top tier competitive on the global level, yet RR has won the season overall.
The other, deeper, more sinister take is that the TR podcast crew doesn’t consider gravity riders cyclists even though its on option on the app. In that case, my unpopular opinion is that, in the age of inclusion, that yes, gravity riders are cyclists.
I’ll disagree…even road bikes should have dropper posts 
Ooh, spicy Tuesday thread I’m in.
I’ve got a couple hot takes:
While it’s difficult to meet new friends at high speed, I wish roadies were more actively friendly. I made more actual new friends, exchanging numbers and meeting up to ride again, in a few weeks of MTBing than in 10+ years of road cycling.
You probably just need to ride more, more than anything else.
Roadies would benefit from actual practice of almost anything more. Again a learning from MTB, but: MTBers practice. MTBers will session a line and spend dedicated time practicing certain skills. Almost all roadies, myself included, just seem to ‘pick it up as we go.’ Roadies workout, MTBers practice.
EDIT to clarify: I consider these resoundingly unpopular not because people actively might disagree, but because they don’t implement it in practice. I’ve literally never seen a road cyclist spend 30 minutes hitting a right hander trying to tighten the apex, improve the speed, or hold a better line. I’ve never seen a road cyclist say, I’m going to spend 60 minutes practicing my low speed handling, non-dominant hand drinking, etc.
Spicy 
ISM is the Elon Musk of cycling.
You don’t need a coach. Ever. Just friends, team/club mates to exchange views, ideas, stories and memories with.
Coaching is paying some one to artificially care.
Another from me
There is no cycling media. There is cycling advertisement however.
Controversial….fitness: the lower the level, the more the personality.
And vice versa
This might not be unpopular, but it is polarizing (see what I did there?):
If you jump on the wheel of a solo rider unannounced, you’re a morally bankrupt fascist with deep seated character flaws.
Multi-hour, high $$$ bike fits are overrated for most people. You just need a frame in the right ballpark and minor adjustments to stem, seat height, pedal cleats etc. to get comfortable.
It’s not necessary to wave at every other cyclist you see on the road.
Oh lord. Listen, I’m prone to spit and blow my nose quite a bit when I’m riding (look up exercise-induced rhinorrhea). If you don’t tell me you’ve grabbed on, you’re gonna get a faceful of spit/sputum/snot, and I’m not going to apologize. If you do tell me you’re there, you won’t…and I might even point out hazards, let you know when I’m slowing, and more!
Apologies, I meant to add to the list of comment
Just kidding 
But yeah i’m not a great cyclist tbh.
No.1:
Buying an aero bike, training, or otherwise attempting to go fast while using handlebars wider than 38cm on a road bike is a level of abject fredliness akin to wearing tighty whiteys over your bibs and a cotton tee shirt. Any argument otherwise, including and especially shoulder width, is nonsense/superstition and an arbitrary psychological barrier - or else outright contrarianism deserving of ridicule and public shunning.
(posted from an aerobike with 44 cm bars by a wide-shouldered man)
Interesting takes. My purely N=1 opinion from my MTB days is that, when riding the MTB I had committed the time that morning/afternoon/evening to drive 30-45min to a place to ride and planned on spending several hours there riding/honing my skills. With the road bike, it’s usually riding a 30-40mile loop that I “just” have time to complete before other tasks in the day take precedence and I need to get back home. So, no time to spend 15-20 minutes practicing a road turn to get it perfect when good enough gets me home on time.
Your FTP is not your 1 hour power 
