Originally Posted by
gtragitt
It is a truly laudible goal for people to have a passion for improving their biking skills, stamina and health, but they have no excuse for being intolerant nor uncivil. They can ignore the posts that don't address their passion, rather than trying to make somebody feel less worthy! They also might try to help foster that passion in somebody who hasn't reached their level of expertise!
I think we are in agreement.
The problem comes in the details. Lets pick an example:
The performance bikers know from experience and studies the importance of higher cadence biking.
A Newbie enters the discussion and claims that low cadence is better based on his/her experience on relatively short rides. The performance biker may be not gracious in telling the Newbie what is a well known procedure.
This has happened to me many times. It helps if you know that you do not know. Trouble is that our culture has developed to the point that every opinion must be graciously handled regardless how uninformed.