Is there bike snobbery?

in message , Pinky
') wrote:

"Paul Boyd" usenet.dont.work@plusnet wrote in message
...

snipsnip

Falling off is OK. Falling off in full view of a cafe seating area on
the easy bit right at the start is not OK :-)

Why is it inevitable that whenever and wherever you fall of your bike
(through
your own stupidity/fault) there is always an appreciative audience to
rub it in!

This occasion was two big wet roots between two trees. I approached
cautiously, thinking 'am I going to go through or am I going to chicken
out?' and then thought, bugger it, I'm too chicken most of the time... and
went for it. Front wheel went sideways, I went down hard. Ouch. Needless
to say my clubmate who was riding behind arrived before I had time to
scrape myself off the floor... But that's the nature of mountain biking,
and in my experience and opinion, large wet roots are the nastiest and
trickiest obstacle of all.

All in all, a good day out.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Wannabe a Web designer?
URL:http://userfriendly.org/cartoons/archives/97dec/19971206.html

in message , Mark
Thompson ('pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_ to_reply*.com')
wrote:

"It's not about the bike" means that if you put me on a custom Colnago
and Chris Hoy on my Brompton, then the Brompton will win. OTOH, if you
time me (or indeed CH!) doing the same course on the Brom and then the
Colnago then you've eliminated engine differences and it /is/ about the
bike.

Alternatively, you could put the OP on a £4000 road bike and he would
still
be left trailing by a fast road club. If he can't keep up on a mtb he
won't keep up on a road bike either (well, a 100% gut-wrenching effort
that just about has him hanging off the back excepted).

Not necessarily true. Probably true, but not necessarily. Fast roadie clubs
go pretty fast, and even a really good cyclist on a mountain bike would be
very hard pushed to stay in contact.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; I can't work yanks out......
;; Why do they frown upon sex yet relish violence?
;; Deep Fried Lettuce

On 26/02/2007 17:36, Simon Brooke said,

This occasion was two big wet roots between two trees. I approached
cautiously, thinking 'am I going to go through or am I going to chicken
out?' and then thought, bugger it, I'm too chicken most of the time... and
went for it.

Similar to my thoughts last time I fell off (fell off and hurt, that
is!) - there's a particularly awkward drop/twizzle/root/turn on a slope
that really shouldn't be as hard as it is. I have done it, but the last
time I had that "Oh sh*t!" feeling as my front wheel stopped dead.
Sailing gracefully through the air down the slope I absent-mindedly
wondered where my bike was. It soon found me! There was I, lying on my
back in a bramble bush with a bike on top of me laughing my head off -
the pain came later :-(

All in all, a good day out.

A good falling-off livens up the day no end!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

"salmon" wrote in message
ups.com...
In short. Gave up ciggies. Put on weight. Bought bike secondhand
£25.00. Liked it. Thought I'd join a club for social/rides/company.
Saw bloke who works in cycle store, told him I joined club. He said
did my bike have nuts holding the rear wheel on. Answer Yes. Well it's
a toy bike, get rid of it. The lads at the XXX cycle club all ride
around on 5K jobbies and they'll laugh at ya. Is this right? Are all
bike clubs like this? I thought I would upgrade if I liked it later,
but I don't like the idea of having to keep up with the jones's. I
feel a bit miffed. I really thought it would just be a bit of fun to
go on social rides. I really don't intend to do any serious racing or
off road stuff. Thoughts anyone? The bike is a Raleigh with straight
handlebars and the oversized frame tubing. dual purpose tyres for
track and road, shimano gears. Probably made in China. Was supposed to
join a ride today but I got cold feet.

----------------------------------------
Apologies for outlook express refusing to indent the above as a quote!

I think there is a bit of snobbery, but I think it's all down to how you
look:

When I've been out with a group, other groups and most individual lycra clad
cyclists always say hello or give you a nod of acknowledgement.

When I'm out on my own, if I'm wearing half decent cycling kit then those
wearing similar say hello/acknowledge. If I'm riding in any old stuff (e.g.
old shorts and t shirt) then I don't get anything off anyone!

--
peter

Cheap train tickets database
http://www.petereverett.co.uk/tickets/

Email sent to this address is generally deleted upon arrival
Visit website if you want to contact me

I ride with a group that has a whole range of people and bikes, company
directors and unemployed youths, some top-of-the-line carbon jobbies
and some old steel frame 12 speeds with down tube shifters. Everyone is
just happy to cycle. We all check out our "nice bike" bikes at the
coffee shop but on the road we're all together and it doesn't matter
what you're riding.

The only incentive to have a faster bike is "the last one back buys the
first round of coffee". This usually the company director as he has the
****tiest heap of junk the has ever been called a bicycle. It makes so
much noise that you can hear him coming a mile away. But he loves it
and it makes no difference to the rest of us what he rides (and if he
upgrade someone else may have to shout the caffeine). To tell you the
truth, I never heard anyone make a derogatory remark about another's
bike. Mind you I don't know what they say about me... the heaviest guy
on the lightest bike


--
::dom::

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:46:06 +0000, Pinky wrote:

Why is it inevitable that whenever and wherever you fall of your bike
(through your own stupidity/fault) there is always an appreciative
audience to rub it in!

The two occasions I've fallen off and received actual injury
there was no audience. Only the sighing of the wind in the trees...

..... and for the first, an urgent need to get blood off face & clothes
before my mum saw me (failed, 7 stitches, face painted purple, *massive*
school playground cred!).

But the first "toe-straps" moment (circa 1961), and the second "clipless"
moment (circa 2000) had their audience.


Mike

"Mark Thompson"
pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_t o_reply*.com wrote in
message . 1.4...
The lads at the XXX cycle club all ride
around on 5K jobbies and they'll laugh at ya. Is this right?

In my limited experience it's all about being able to keep up. There's
little difference in speed between a racing bike and a cheapo maountain
bike like yours - just make sure the tyres are pumped up to maximum
pressure and the brakes work well.


That doesn't seem to be the opinion of the people at the club I go to. I
regularly turn up to their intermediate ride on a Sunday morning on a Birdy
tourer (which attracts some attention) and the others seem quite impressed
that I can keep up on it. I asked what it would take to move up to the
sporting group and they said, apart from lots of training that I would need
a proper road bike. One thing I have noticed is that the others can outrun
me if we are freewheeling downhill so I would think that there is something
about my particular bike that requires more effort to propel than a standard
road bike.

In article ,
::dom:: says...

To tell you the
truth, I never heard anyone make a derogatory remark about another's
bike.

Not the bike per se, but perhaps its state of repair? Those with
squeaky chains, rattling derailleurs, squealing brakes and wobbly wheels
tend to be the subject of some good-natured derision IME. Along with
offers to show the owner how to sort it out.

In ,
Simon Brooke tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:
in message , Mark
Thompson
('pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_ to_reply*.com')
wrote:

"It's not about the bike" means that if you put me on a custom
Colnago and Chris Hoy on my Brompton, then the Brompton will win.
OTOH, if you time me (or indeed CH!) doing the same course on the
Brom and then the Colnago then you've eliminated engine differences
and it /is/ about the bike.

Alternatively, you could put the OP on a 4000 road bike and he would
still
be left trailing by a fast road club. If he can't keep up on a mtb
he won't keep up on a road bike either (well, a 100% gut-wrenching
effort that just about has him hanging off the back excepted).

Not necessarily true. Probably true, but not necessarily. Fast roadie
clubs go pretty fast, and even a really good cyclist on a mountain
bike would be very hard pushed to stay in contact.

Though Andy Wilkinson used to use his mountain bike - with slicks and
tr-bars, obv - for longer time-trials on the grounds that it was more
comfortable than his regular TT iron. He came pretty close to the 24 hour
record on it, IIRC, before he was persuaded onto a Giant TCR :-)

--
Dave Larrington
http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk
Pepperoni and green peppers, mushrooms, olives, chives!

Dave Larrington wrote:
In ,
Simon Brooke tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

Not necessarily true. Probably true, but not necessarily. Fast roadie
clubs go pretty fast, and even a really good cyclist on a mountain
bike would be very hard pushed to stay in contact.

Though Andy Wilkinson used to use his mountain bike - with slicks and
tr-bars, obv - for longer time-trials on the grounds that it was more
comfortable than his regular TT iron. He came pretty close to the 24 hour
record on it, IIRC, before he was persuaded onto a Giant TCR :-)

OTOH he probably transcends Simon's description of "really good cyclist"!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/