Zach Gallardo
 

The High Priest of Wabi (Zack Gallardo) is still sick! According to his blog, he really messed up his ankle during a tour. Dang!!! Get well soon my Fixed Gear brother.:backpedal:

Meh...he whined like a child and complained a lot about how hard it was. I wish him a speedy recovery, but he seemed out of his depth. What he was attempting is not that hard with proper forethought.

Exactly. And his bike fit looked less than ideal. I know some consider him as carrying the torch for fixed gear enthusiasts, but he does not for me. I do also wish him a speedy recovery, and best of luck in his endeavors.

Now, go easy on poor old Zack. I would love to see him up in the High Country of Colorado. Man, can you see someone like him trying to ride something really tough like Mt. Evans or Pike's Peak?

I'm glad he's still making fixed gear content, but I've always taken issue with his seemingly intractable stance against cycling-specific clothing and other valuable innovations that make cycling more enjoyable and open up more possibilities. Having a bad time on a fixed gear bike tour because you intentionally chose the wrong gear for the job is a pretty ironic self-own.

I just saw his video and don’t understand why would you try to ride hundreds of miles with jeans and a long sleeve button shirt? I’m surprised he’s not wearing loafer shoes. :foo:

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Get well soon Zach

As we say in hiking, "Hike your own Hike." So Zack dress, "strange" for doing distance. You know early cyclist didn't always dress in Bicycle outfits. When did jersey's and things like that start? Early 1900s?? I remember seeing a shot of two early Fixed Gear touring cyclist riding Western France before 1900. :foo:

Back in the day, men wore suits when they rode bicycles. I used to commute to work on a Schwinn 3-speed wearing a full suit and dress shoes, but the ride was just 3 miles long on flat roads, so I didn't arrive at work all dirty and sweaty. It was the racing cyclists who adopted specialized clothing for bicycles such as wool shorts with chamois linings and rigid shoes with slotted cleats. Now it's common for touring distance cyclists to do the same. When I'm just cruising around my 'hood on my fixed fear, I'll just wear a pair of cutoff jeans with briefs underneath, a t-shirt or tank top and some running shoes or walkable SPD type shoes. But for longer rides I'll definitely break out the lycra and full-on clipless cycling shoes. It's all about comfort and practicality. A saddle sore will definitely ruin a long ride.

Zach's great and has been persevering for a long time. I think he could expand his marketing to other products, but thats me. He is obviously satisfied, and successful enough doing it how he is doing it. Best of luck to him.

I liked him at first. Now he sounds like a turd

I'm okay with Zach. At least he's out there doing something somewhat positive.

It's too easy to take pot shots at someone on a forum, and is not good form.

As for his style, that's his personal choice. You do you, and I'll do me thank you very much.

I would compare him to Ryan Van Duzer, or Russ on Path Less Pedaled. They're all people who ride bikes and make videos about it. Glad they do it too. More could.

Personalities projected onto the the platform are an integral part of the enterprise.

As for that attempt to ride to San Diego, which I was really interested in watching unfold, rather than collapse; it was an interesting story really. I appreciated his candor about this adventure. Early in the going I began to feel some unease when he expressed genuine and well founded trepidation on riding around traffic. It was going to be scorers of miles with even worse traffic.

Add in the fact that it's fixed touring and he tried to document the activity on youtube, makes it harder than it already would be. So it was a bold commitment.

I was bummed he had to quit.

But it is important for the potential audience to see real things. Things do not always work out as planned, mis-planned, or okay by accident.

It all goes along with Zach's motto: "Be reasonably dangerous."

So that tour was a bit edgy and dangerous, but not really truly dangerous at the same time.

Did it seem reasonable to you? Probably. It seemed like he was going go all the way.

Sorry, but agree to disagree.

He's constantly talking about brakeless as if it's any different than having a brake caliper and lever installed. You can still skid with them installed.

He had a poorly setup bike with poor gearing and poor clothing choice and poor bike fit. It wasn't interesting to me, just someone way over his head. Not a bold commitment, someone overvaluing themselves.

I do agree, he keeps the niche a little more relevant with the youngsters, but he also perpetuates a lot of half truths or anecdotes versus facts. He could spread knowledge, but he spreads fixie points. It reminds me a little of the rhedit fixed gear subforum. Lots of poop and maybe some actual substance.

He's fine for what he is, but I stopped watching him. Mediocre content at best.

Excellent critique!

Zach's pursuits are his personal journey.

I would've had a brake, and I would've not been committed to the ambitious gear ratio. I would have had my gear attached to the bike andy body differently. But the show wasn't about me was it? It's not about you either.

For me, watching the tour play out and self destruct was a confirmation that some of his choices weren't enhancing. This was instructive. It was entertaining to a degree, however it is no longer entertaining to me when actual devastating harm occurs.

Bike fit is destructive on the body. Perpetuating ambitious gear ratios, bad bike fit, and no brakes (safety) is not positive, nor any form of enhancement. What you get from it is personal, but none of what I mentioned is good especially when influencing others (he is an influencer).

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. However there was no instruction there for me, and his other videos are not overly informative in my opinion.

Zach can do whatever he wants. Since he does so with abundant mediocrity, I'll continue to spend my time ingesting other media.

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I'm pretty much on the same page as you. YouTube is filled with a lot of bad information. Fixie points are of no interest to me either.

All the best to both you and Zach. At least we can ride. Some can't.

This is the crux of the matter. He doles out bad advice to uninformed people. He purports to be an expert; he's not. Unfortunately, when it comes to the internet, advice is worth what you pay for it.

Gotcha. Maybe I misunderstood, and apologies if coming across as aggressive or snarky.

And you are 100% right about that point. My buddy works at a shop that specializes in adaptive cycling. We are absolutely fortunate to be able to ride and enjoy these simple machines.

Well put.

Happy he has capitalized on a niche cycling market, and I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I agree wholeheartedly with your comment. Lots of misinformation.

The single speed and fixed gear bike craze seems to have subsided quite a bit in my area. Not sure about elsewhere but Gallardo still carries the torch with fun content. Hopefully if the craze crashes it won't be 40+ years before it becomes popular again. Me? I converted my fixed to freewheel (I'm 64 so it was time) and it is still my main mode of riding every day.




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I watch his stuff here and there. I mostly like his bike porn vids, and parts vids, since they can apply to other bikes.

Style is a valid reason for doing things. BF seems to have a hard time with this. Obviously there comes a point where you have to admit that hiking Everest in your Italian suit was not a good idea. But wearing an Italian suit most of the rest of the time is not a bad idea.