General Cycling Discussion - Who is better, you, or your bike?

Whilst giving my two cents in the the thread about average speed, I stumbled on the thought, - do I deserve the bike I am riding on? Do I do it, and its components justice? If my bike could talk, would it be proud to have me as a rider?

I am not always sure. How about you and your bike?


The facts:

Bike: GIANT TCR ZERO ( 2002), Campagnolo Record 10 Speed Carbon
Me: 400-650km a week: Can do a sub 2 1/2 hour 100km solo.

I look at it this way if my frame and component choices were any less it would fall apart underneath me.

Ha, good question. I spent so much money and time upgrading my MTB into a sleek racing machine, that the only thing I have to upgrade now is.....

me. :D

Bike: Steppenwolf Tundra, Rond Quake CP, full XT, ceramic 517s and Hugi 240 hubs etc.

Me: 150lbs (skinny git), 350-400km per week.

Originally posted by Weasel
Ha, good question. I spent so much money and time upgrading my MTB into a sleek racing machine, that the only thing I have to upgrade now is.....

me. :D

I feel this way a little too...hmmm, when can I get a few ti leg pins from???

Rich

Well, let's see...I've got my lower-end comfort bike, a bit clumsy, slow and unmaneuverable with the leather seat and the big saddlebags....

Then there's me, a bit clumsy, a bit slow and unmaneuverable, with the rapidly-becoming-leathery...um...and the big...er....

Let's just say we seem to be made for each other.

Is this a trick question? ;)

Some days I wonder if I deserve or do justice to my Raleigh R600 that is now my commuter.
Other days I really question my need for my Litespeed. I don't race, I'm overweight, I'm a cold or rainy weather wimp, and I've been known to make excuses. Then I remember that my wife bought the Litespeed for me (What a sweetie :angel: :love: ) so it doesn't matter if I deserve it or do justice to it. It was a gift. :D

Originally posted by RonH
Is this a trick question? ;)

Some days I wonder if I deserve or do justice to my Raleigh R600 that is now my commuter.
Other days I really question my need for my Litespeed. I don't race, I'm overweight, I'm a cold or rainy weather wimp, and I've been known to make excuses. Then I remember that my wife bought the Litespeed for me (What a sweetie :angel: :love: ) so it doesn't matter if I deserve it or do justice to it. It was a gift. :D

want to send the Litespeed over here? :D

I can definitely put it to good use heh heh

I would definitely say Poululla deserves his bike. I am impressed by the numbers. Ditto, Weasel.

Me, I ride a 1983 Trek 760 (racing model). Reynolds 531. Suntour Superbe components. 10kgs. A sweet old bike. No rust. Got it for my 16th birthday. Entered my first criterium a week later. We've covered a lot of miles together.

I still need a good 3 hours + to tackle 100km. At the moment, my 250+ km a week are on ice due to an Achilles Tendon injury.

But, I will soon be getting a new bike. And, it will be hot. Will I deserve it? Absolutely. It is going to be my present to myself when I finish my Ph.D. dissertation (we historians take a long time).

So even if I can't ride right now, I am writing like hell.

Cheers,
Jamie

I bought a tough and reliable out of bounds kona roast. Doesn't liks distances but likes drops and technical riding. Enjoys being beaten up on extreme drops and laughs every time it runs down a steep descent.

Me - I love out of bounds riding with some technical. Drops I am still working on. Distances suck I prefer short power spurts over a good long ride any day. Steep rocky descents sends my stomach into my throat and I enjoy pain every now and then.

I don't push the bikes limits but I am getting there.

bike: trek 5200

last ride: 19 miles @ 12.4 mph

Physiotherapist has advised to put no stress on my knees. It gets boring :( .

I'm thinking of buying the full postal team kit so everyone can :roflmao: at me as they pass.

:irritated:

All of my bikes are better than me.

They don't drink. They don't swear. They never complain. They never have an uncharitable thought toward their neighbors. They don't even care that I am not the fastest rider in the pack.

I don't deserve them. I am not worthy of them. But I love them.

:love:

I'd say me and my bike are pretty even, i might be able to go for a bit of a better bike, but not until it brakes, then i'll upgrade. So to answer hte question, i'd say i am prob a little better than bike.

Me and my bike are one.I treat my bike like shes human and Crow treats me like I'm made of steel.Hey wait...maybe I'm not getting the better treatment out of this deal?... Ah well, love is hell.:D

Originally posted by KennethToronto
want to send the Litespeed over here? :D

I can definitely put it to good use heh heh
Thanks for the "offer" but I'll just live with my guilt. :D

I do try to take good care of both bikes. They stay in a comfortable spot in the living room next to the fireplace when I'm not out riding.

My bike is a better lover. :love:

although her parts are a little outta date, the shimano 600 is still mint.. it just took me to London, Ontario from Toronto (235km on highway 2) no probs at all. I felt comfortable on it and i didnt feel like i was doing too much work at all. This is the first major ride on my road bike and so far im impressed

my mountain bike.. i race with it and it hasnt broken yet, so it must be the bike for me.

If my bike could talk:
"what the hell is wrong you - GET OFF ME - How would you like it if I jumped on your back, dragging you all over the place, all the while dripping dripping sweat all over your body. Get a life. Wait a second, thats a 9 foot droooop!!!"

I got a mean machine(Bike), I got myself a mean looking man, I guess its me:D :D :confused:

5,082km in exactly 3 months (to this day). I think I've done my bike justice.

the soldier is the weapon. that is to say, the weapon is the will of the soldier to close with and kill the enemy. those things that cut, dig and go bang are tools.


the rider who is willing to give his all, to continue to strive despite the pain, makes the difference.

excelsior! ever upward and onward!

ad astra per merde et aspera

Going uphill, my bike would get no-where without me. But going downhill my bike always seems to beat me to the bottem. :confused:

Both my bikes are entry level standard.

Kona Blast

Giant OCR2

And they are both better than me, so it's pretty safe to say I don't think I'm very good on a bike.:D

Who is better? According to Flann O'Brian in The Third Policeman:

"The gross and net result of it is that people who spend most of their natural lives riding iron bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish get their personalities mixed up with the personalities of their bicycle as a result of the interchanging of the atoms of each of them, and you would be surprised at the number of people in these parts who are nearly half people and half bicycle"

Considering we spend gobs of $$$$ squeezing the last gram our of some component, I may well be worth billions !!!

I'd say I do my bike justice. There is no way I touch the abaility of my Fox Forx, being that I live in southern MI

Great topic!

In terms of performance, I'm better than my entry-level mountain bike, although the bike is virtually indestructable and I respect that. The bike admires the way I ride it.

My road bike and I are about on the same level. We have a very good relationship.

My old road bike is, in some ways, better than I will ever be. She's a little old-fashioned, as am I. We've been through a lot together.

I am better.

My bike is my posession. I own it, it does not own me...I think...

I think my bike is better. In fact, I had to apologise to it for my lack of ability. It had to have been displeased with me, because it bucked me off a couple of times, I guess hoping a better rider would hop on.

My bike...
It can loose weight easier than I....
Mind you... once I shed 10 lbs... It will stop complaining...

:D

Just like there are better riders than me, there are better bikes than mine.

My bike.

I feel honoured to ride my bike; I doubt that my bike feels honoured to be ridden by me.

My bike is better than I am---new '02 Klein Quantum.

Heck--I'm just an old fart on a pricey ride.

Would I give my bike up??-----When you pry it from my cold -dead fingers.

I think my bike is better to me than I to it. So far at least, I've never seen the bike leave the yard without me and I often go places without my bike.

Carl

My bike, but I'm starting to catch it up ;)