On 4/24/2021 1:22 PM, Ralph Barone wrote:

The entire “real cyclist” thing is a red herring. All that riding a fully
loaded touring bike does is establish me as a member of a niche
demographic. I used to go to the Vancouver bike show every year and it used
to be packed with either carbon fibre skinny-tired road bikes or full
suspension downhill mountain bikes. Recently e-bikes were added to the mix.
In an entire convention centre full of stuff, I would typically see one
bike I would consider buying.

When I was a newly minted avid adult cyclist, I was charmed by naked
racing bikes - so light, so slim, not a single extra gram! I even spent
a brief time drooling over drillium.

I'm at another end of the spectrum now. At a bike show, I'd probably
spend more time looking at details of fenders, how a rack is attached or
some better way of carrying a practical load.

I went the same way with motorcycles. Perfectly sanitary crotch rockets
no longer interest me. I like to see a bike that looks like it has been
traveling around the world for a few decades.

--
- Frank Krygowski