Pedal Faster!

I am a cyclist in my fifties, sometimes referred to as a "MAMIL"¹ (middle-aged man in lycra). I also work for the premier provider of the Core Values Index™ psychometric assessment and personality test. What do these have in common? Quite a lot, actually.

In late 2020, in the Dark Days of the Pandemic, my wife and I got into cycling. We purchased two inexpensive road bikes and began hitting the local cycling paths near our home. It was intended to be a way for us to get a little exercise and some fresh air.

After a year and a few hundred miles, we sold our bikes on craigslist and upgraded to some proper bikes with carbon fiber forks, high-end shifters and brakes, and even splurged to get them custom fitted to our bodies (which was worth every dime).

Jump forward to 2023 and my cycling has advanced to the point that I'm frequently in the garage hitting the smart trainer using the Zwift online training system, plus longer outdoor rides every week, and then it dawned on me: the way I ride, what I ride, what I wear when I ride, and how I track the results of my rides are all a result of my Core Values Index personality profile (Innovator/Banker for those following along at home).

In this example topic of cycling, how would your personality type affect the way you approach the sport? Does your psychometric profile influence or shape the way you go about any recreational activity?

If you haven't already taken the Core Values Index and learned what your CVI profile is, head over to erep.com/core-values-index/ and complete your assessment. It's super easy and only takes about 8 minutes to complete.

Cyclist Types

When you complete the CVI, you will learn the ratio of four different personality types — what we call core value energies — that exist within your unique psychometric profile. The core value energy that is dominant in your personality is called your "primary" energy.

We will describe each of the four core value energy types in this article, but note that you have a blend of all four within your personality's DNA. If you have a well-rounded CVI profile, two or more of these descriptions will likely apply to you. It all depends on your particular CVI scores — the ratio of the core value energies within you.

Builders

Those who have Builder energy as the primary component of their CVI profile prefer to get things done, confidently assured that they will always know how to handle any situation, boldly acting as the source of power in any activity.

Builders are the most competitive of all four personality types (we estimate that Lance Armstrong is likely a Builder/Innovator). If they aren't competing against other cyclists, Builders will be competing against themselves, always striving to ride farther and faster.

Cycling never gets easier, you just go faster.

A strong sense of accomplishment is important to a Builder. As they pursue improvement in their cycling activities, feeling like they've achieved something must be at the center of everything they do.

There's a saying that if winning isn't everything, why keep score? Well, Builders really like to keep score.

Merchants

These are the group ride organizers. Merchants love to get everyone in a group pulling together toward a common goal, even if that goal is just to have fun — as a group. You won't often see Merchants riding alone if they can help it.

If anyone is going to post pictures of themselves posing with a shiny new bike or their stylish new riding clothes, or the one holding the phone in the front of a group selfie, it will be a Merchant. These folks really like to share what's going on in their life.

Merchants are fantastic motivators and excel at getting everyone enthused to join in. If you go into a bike shop, the salesperson most likely to sell the most bikes will be a Merchant. They develop rapport and can intuitively get along with customers better than any other core value personality type.

Innovators

Cyclists are familiar with the concept of "N+1". This means you can't have just one bike, you have +1 bikes. The Innovators among us are the most likely to justify the need to have a different bike for every kind of cycling there is. Road. Racing. Mountain biking. Gravel. Commuting. Each riding type is a problem and there's a bike that solves each one.

Innovators love nothing more than solving problems, and to them, a new bike or other gear is the perfect solution.

Innovators are not only the most likely personality type to seek out new gear, they also will experiment with new training regimens. They will research nutrition and "fueling" so much they can become experts in their own right.

The people developing new bike designs, new gear, and new energy drinks are most likely Innovators.

Bankers

As we've highlighted before in our blog, Bankers love data and information. This means a Banker is the most likely to go online and research riding routes ahead of time. They will determine the distance, elevation, average grade, and even wind speed and direction before leaving home.

The Bankers in a riding group are the most likely to keep a spreadsheet tracking their rides and ride performance. As they head down the road, they will be perfectly happy staying in the back of the peloton, feeling no competitive urge to lead from the front — that's where Builders like to be. More power to them (pun intended).

A Banker will also be most likely to follow the rules of the road to the letter. They will stop at all stop signs instead of rolling through them like the competitive Builders will do.

Bankers are the most likely of all four personality types to only own one bike.

Of the four personality types, Bankers are also the most likely to only own one bike. They spent months researching the best models and finding the best deal before they bought it, and they will take very good care of it. But it will be their only bike.

As you read these descriptions of how the four core value energy personality types approach cycling, think about how your own personality type influences the way you go about your recreational activities. These descriptions don't just apply to amateur sports, they apply to many types of endeavors, even your professional life.

NOTES

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamil

Core Values Index™ and CVI™ are trademarks of Taylor Protocols, Inc.