Why Gravel Bikes Dominate City Streets | Catching Up With Roman

Gravel Bikes Are the Best for Commuting | Catching Up With Roman
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My name’s Roman. I think we’re in Brooklyn. Is this Williamsburg? This is Williamsburg. We’re in Williamsburg. I’m riding a Konago G4X. It’s a gravel bike. The new group set from TRP and Classify collaboration called Vistar. It’s a 1×12, but it has a thingy thingy dingy in the rear that makes it a 2×12 or 1x 15 or 16. What do you mean a thingy in the rear? So, it has a mechanism that works like a front derailer, but it works on your rear wheel. It’s like an internal hub. Yes, it’s an internal hub that works on your rear wheel that shifts. Makes it easier, so to speak. I have a 48 chain ring in the front and when I click that thingy or when I do the quantum shift on it goes to like a 36 or 34. So allows me to climb steep stuff a lot easier. I mean it’s new tech. I’m a nerd so I love technology and innovation especially in the cycling industry. So whenever a company can stand out and make a product that they stand by, I’m all about it. So, uh, why don’t you tell us how you got into cycling? I got into riding bikes because of injuries. I feel like a lot of people do that. I was playing collegiate volleyball and I had a physical therapy therapist at school. Her name’s Anita. She was phenomenal. So, she basically used to tell me to go ride a bike for half hour after before practice to ease off the pain off my knees. And I kind of got bored sitting on a bike inside. Bought a fixed gear bike. Rode that around the park a few times. You know, you meet people, they invite you to a ride. Next thing I knew, I was riding down to Philly in regular shorts and a t-shirt. Bought my first clipped in shoes. I think I fell like five times at least. But, you know, you’re learning. Uh, ever since that day, I’ll never forget because I came home, I ordered bibs, I ordered a cycling jersey. I was like, I need a water bottle mount that I didn’t have. How did you drink on the ride? Dehydrated like a professional, dude. I was we were arriving in somewhere by the water and I couldn’t see straight. I was so dehydrated. But again, I didn’t know. So that was a learning experience. Oh, so now that I ride more, I basically tell people that once you get kind of fast on a bike, it becomes like a food eating competition on wheels. Who can sustain or digest the most food, drink enough fluids for them to keep pushing? Oh, look at this area. I think that was the theme song for New York City. So, how long has it been since you got on that track bike for the first time? Are you calling me out for not riding a track bike anymore? Not at all. Not at all. I think it’s a great like I love hearing stories of people who get into cycling through track bikes and then, you know, they they find other ways of riding, but it’s still the way they got into it. And I think that’s a beautiful thing. I don’t ride a track bike anymore just because I got into enough accidents when I realized that I like going fast and I’m not that good at slowing down when I need to. So I got into bikes with brakes, you know, rim brake bikes for a while. Then they became disc brake bikes. Then they became hydraulic brakes and electronic shifting. All that stuff. I still admire and I still have love for like NJS track frames, you know, like the real one, not the single speed fix pixie stuff the kids ride. I’m talking about steel lugged frames that don’t look comfortable. Just the other day I saw a guy riding it and I was like, he does not look comfortable. But man, that’s a sick frame, you know? Remember Red Hook Crit? Dude, I loved watching the crit. I loved shooting the crit. It was awesome cuz you have all these pro riders on single speed gear bikes flying at 30 m an hour doing laps. It was impressive. Do you ever race red hook? Hell no. I All right. I’m I’ll be scared shitless racing the Red Hook. I would want to do the running race, which is what I told David and that’s why I did that recent Bandit 5K Grand Prix. There’s this whole like misconception that people have fixes versus roadies. I don’t think it exists. I think it’s all a lie. It’s just a couple of people get carried away and they think their way is better than others. In the end, we’re all on two wheels enjoying getting healthier, getting fitter, seeing the world with our eyes on two wheels. How is it that you make a living? Uh, I make a living multiple ways. So, photography is my passion. I love shooting. I love working in the cycling industry. I love working with bike companies. I love shooting outdoors. However, as a freelancer is not that easy. It takes a little bit of hustle, so to speak, networking. So, that’s one source of income that I have in the bike industry. The other one is another one that also came kind of natural to me is I train people for a living like a personal trainer. I coach CrossFit classes, strength and conditioning. You know, people come to me with different needs. Some people want to get healthier. Some people want to improve for an athletic event and I help them get there. I’ve been doing that since I was 18 because I’ve been a gym rat my whole entire life. I think I spent most of my high school and early college years just studying as much of fitness that I can and then it sort of like I said earlier became natural. I don’t have to think about it. It’s like muscle memory. Similar with photography. Probably the same way for you with video. Like when you grab equipment or you have a project, you’re like, I know what I’m doing. I know what to bring for this. It’s easy. It’s All right, I got to make a comment. It’s funny I’m following your wheel, but I would totally ride it the same way. I know this gas station. I cut through it, too. I’m like, what’s the point? I kind of admire watching people the way they navigate the city cuz everybody has their routes, their lanes, the lines that they take. How long have you lived in New York? Ooh, I moved to New York in 2001. My mom won the green card and then that was my 11th birthday gift. We’re moving to the States. So almost 20 years now. Yeah. All in New York, too. Do you ever race like road or gravel events? I’ve raced gravel um dozen of times, maybe. I enjoy gravel just because of the aspect of you got to be responsible for yourself. You don’t have a team tactic. Although they do teams these days apparently, but it’s just, you know, less cars, less equipment to worry about. Yes, it’s more technical. Yes, you’re in gravel. Yes, you’re in the woods. But I enjoy them more than racing crits. Crits to me, this is what we have type of racing in New York is not necessarily that fun. I don’t know. I don’t have an niche. I have friends that race crits and they love it and I think that’s awesome. Just not for me. I feel like if we had a better road racing scene in New York, I’d probably do that. But like I mentioned earlier, I like training. I like pushing myself. Whether I have a race coming or not, I still want to improve and see what my body can do. I like to sign up for races that are more local. I think Northeast has beautiful scenery for cycling racing and you don’t really see it as much. Like you have the west coast, you have your gravel events. All of it is on the west coast. East coast, it’s tough, but that’s what I kind of enjoyed doing more. I did the race in Spain, the TRAA, again reminded me more of Northeast racing. The terrain, it was raining. It was a technical day. you know, you decide like, am I going to pin it or am I just going to try to be safe and have a good time? And that’s what I kind of think of it in the end. If you’re not having a good time, what’s the point of doing it? So, do you have any uh plans for any future events or races here on the East Coast? Or Speaking of an event, you and I are doing an event. I don’t know how much we can talk about it. It’s in September. We’re going to be riding to Montreal together with a bunch of other people. It’s going to be exciting. I haven’t ridden in Vermont in a very long time. I’m excited to go through that region. It’s kind of a lot, right? Like a big volume of of uh kilometers. Oh, yeah. Uh I think that the most direct route is about 370 to 400 miles, but there’s multiple ways to get there. And as soon as you start going into Vermont area, New Hampshire, you’re kind of picking your battles. Do I want to climb and hopefully it’ll be faster? Do I want to go take these side roads? We have a bunch of cool people involved in the project that are helping us put everything together. So, it’s kind of nice. It all naturally came together and I can’t wait to start it. That’s one of them. I kind of want to go to Boulder to visit my friend. I just like riding at altitude cuz it sucks. The scenery is different. The mountains are cool. What are three pieces of advice to a new person trying to get stronger on a bike? Eat more than you think. Take your time, as in like don’t try to be the fastest, most athletic thing you can be. Take your time developing yourself on a bike. learn the skills. I want to say don’t be an because like you know I’ve seen it like I ride a lot and I see people ride a lot every day and sometimes you see people and be like why are you so angry like you can be nice to people you can wave you can say hi you can help somebody out and make somebody’s day better and that just goes on. So like you wave to a driver, you say thank you to somebody, you know their day is better and then next person they see and they’re going to do the same thing. So they make going to make their day better. Do you think the pricing of of bikes has gotten out of hand? We’re just talking about making it having more cyclists, but not everyone can afford some of the new things that are coming out. Like the price point has gotten higher and higher over the years. Like if I were to show up to a group ride and I see a couple of people Yeah. would I care if they were on the fanciest bike, but they ride like you know? They half wheel you. They don’t they sprint for no reason. Or would I want to ride with somebody who has a 30-year-old bike, but they have what’s the word? Panache or swagger about them. The way they handle the bike, the way they ride. You’re like, “Okay, you know what you’re doing.” And that’s what I enjoy. So, even though the entry into cycling is growing because everything is getting more and more expensive, I don’t think they should keep you from riding a bike. Like even if you can get a single speed bike and enjoy that, that’s going to take you ways and help you develop yourself rather than worry worrying about that you don’t have the latest, greatest, deepest, most aerial, lightest, you know, that type of stuff. I would even go as far as saying go for the local brands. Go for smaller brands that are well known. You know, buy a bike off of your off your friend. Your bike, your friend got a new bike and their old bike is nice. Buy that bike. They’ll give you a great deal. You’ll have to buddy to ride with. Uh, this is a really short interview, but is there anything I didn’t uh ask you that you want to talk about? This is your chance. Cycling in New York. I ride a lot in New York, and I feel like New York City has its own vibe about it. Like, uh, my friend David David Trimble said it in a nice way, we’re all fighting for one inch of space, whether it’s runners, cyclist, pedestrians, or cars. And it’s this ecosystem that we work in together. And I think New York has a very unique one. It’s not always the friendliest. It’s not always the easiest, but it makes it its own thing. And there’s like beauty to it, you know? like um I’ve ridden in other countries and other states and whenever I come back to New York I’m like I’m home, you know? We’re back. All right. Uh where can people find you online? Oh, I made that version or that thing very simple. My social media handle is RomanShot this and you can find that username on Tik Tok, YouTube, Instagram, my website, my portfolio is on there. Romanshotis.com. Very easy. One username everywhere. Nice. Well, thank you for your time. Thank you for your wheel. So we bring to a close the story of rigid control through the unceasing research and the highest quality.