General Cycling Discussion - Techno Weenies

All right I'm so sick and tire of these guys who ride at a local PUBLIC park with all their race gear and latest and greatest parts, and titanium everything. I'm SICK of all of it. What ever happened to just having a good bike that served it's purpose, instead of all of these techno weenie, wannabe racer, I drive a more expensive car, bike and live in a better house than you so get out of my way, because I'm trying to race ina public park. It really hacks me off. But i'm not ranting or anything.:mad: :p :D :irritated

do you know for sure that they dont race? but yes, i here ya!

Times have changed, people do buy the tech for it's performance, don't let a few people spoil that image.

yeah, I used to race on apretty regular basis, but I got tired of the whole scene. but a lot of these guys are the regular 9 to fivers and suddenly they become pro class racers after 5 pm. and if you are on the same trail, you're a major inconvenience for them and they let you know by yellng at you to get off the trail if you're not "fast enough". When I was younger, riding a bike was a lot of fun for me, but now I actually get more joy from building and fixing bikes for others. there are too many politicians and "advocates" in the whole cycling world. That's also a reason why I don't join a club. it's just a bunch of old men sitting around complaining. Just get on your bike and ride dammit.

I do understand the tech, but i mean getting a new fork about as frequently as you change your underwear. gimme a break. I overheard these guys talking "chop" behind the X5 they came in and blabbering about "yeah Im going to the next race blah blah blah..." here's the kicker, they're both about 60 lbs. overweight. really cracks me up.

I am a racer, the discipline I'm in really beats up a fork, so every 1 to 2 years I have to change forks.

well iwas actually speaking mor along th lines of getting new stuff every time it comes out, and money seems to be no object. Don't get me wrong, I go through parts pretty quickly as well, but I usually stick to the midd priced low end stuff. I use what has proven to be quality, not what has the most bling factor.

Originally posted by jcivic00
well iwas actually speaking mor along th lines of getting new stuff every time it comes out, and money seems to be no object. Don't get me wrong, I go through parts pretty quickly as well, but I usually stick to the midd priced low end stuff. I use what has proven to be quality, not what has the most bling factor.

That is stupid getting new stuff when it comes out.

Seems to me like you are somewhat jealous. If they got the money they have every rite to buy what they want, how often the want and for as much as they want. Being less fortunate gives you no rite of accusing them of being “weenies”. Now, if you want to call them jerks, fine with me, maybe they are but don’t label every rider with more expensive parts on their bike then on yours as “Techno Weenies"!

seriously, jealousy, or money has nothing to do with it. I could get all the same stuff. but to constantly upgrade because of newer tech, or looks is a weenie way to do things. I mean I know ppl who go out and have to have the latest and greatest shoes, or car, or house. and IMO they're all weenies. They're just a paradox unto themselves, and they really piss me off.

maybe I shouldn't use the word weenie, how about Corporate Consumer Tool. yeah, I think that sounds better.

there are lots of people who have the money to pay for new parts as they go out...

But this doesn't mean they should automatically be judged to be non-seriuos/non-bike deserving riders because they can buy what they want and are a bit overweight..

So what if they get a new fork every 6months... So what if they have the $5000 bike in between thier legs... It doesn't matter whether they race or not... It is thier money.. And for me, they spent it wisely(they spent it on thier bikes:D )...

You can be a millionaire and still love bikes...

jcivic00:Easy on the posting, you can always click the edit button if you want to add something:D

There are a few prestige spots for poseurs, it seems. In Montréal, I never see them in traffic except maybe Sunday morning; I rarely see them around Mount Royal and I sometimes see them pn Lakeshore Blvd. But their most frequent gathering place seems to be the locks at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. Did they arrive by car?

BTW, I was thinking of the poseurs, not of the racers or racers wannabe. The poseurs I have in mind are those whom I easily pass while riding my touring bike... and towing a trailercycle and a child trailer.

Regards

Well, the way I see it, those guys do their part in keeping prices realistic for us.

I understand your rant though. However, I dig tech, so if I had the money, I'd be all over the new stuff.

I did not come here to offend, this is a public forum and I am merely speaking what is on my mind, If I offend you or anyone you know please tell them what I think, my opinion obviously matters to you. I enjoy cycling, and it really hacks me off when someone has to ruin something by clouding it with marketing gimmicks and style factor. I ride for fun, I ride for excercise, and I will keep riding. So when your $700 fork or your $2k frame breaks, and you feel a need to spend more, think of me as I'll still be riding with the extra money in my pocket.

There's a little bit of technophile in many people. I, for instance, have succumbed to one, just one tiny weight weenie expense for my road bike: I put lighter bottle cages on, Tacx Tao cages. They're not quite as light as the titanium cages, but they cost less than half as much. To my dismay, though, because the recesses for the bolt heads are small, they came with their own mounting bolts, which must weigh twice as much as the bolts that came with the bicycle. :)

Public parks, typically, are no place to race bikes. 'Nuf said.

My solution is to avoid them. Around here this is easily done by leaving the flatlands and climbing some hills. This type of rider avoids major hills like the plague.

good point steve, but in this case there really aren't many hills around, it's in the middle of a metropolis, and has been infested with this sort of rider, along with their overgrown grocery getter or gas guzzler.

I happen to love the cafe racers - they make me smile every time I see them!

Originally posted by Colonel
I happen to love the cafe racers - they make me smile every time I see them!

Cafe Racers??? You mean like this one? They make me smile too.

Seems to be a number of issues jumbled together here.

So he is talking about a "local park". I took this to mean that he was talking about a bike trail. I ride on bike trails and if it is clear and I can see no one is around, I might crank it up a bit. But by in large, I ride on trails only when I am content to go down to 0 mph as needed (which may well be often). I usually ride on these things to get some junk miles in at the end of a ride. And if he is complaining about people riding down trails like they are doing a road race, I agree with this one. Multiuse trails are no place for high speed riding. It is just too dangerous.

The other major issue seemed to be people riding high end road bikes without being elite atheletes. Well just how good of an athelete does someone have to be to ride Dura Ace, Ultegra, 105, Soro, etc? I mean do you have to have a certain distance in an hour time trial or something - 25 miles for Dura Ace, 22 miles for Ultegra, 20 miles for 105 and so on? The truth is that the bike companies are glad to sell high end bikes to anyone with cash and no questions asked. Besides, what is wrong for a guy who has some cash and can afford a top end bike from having one anyway?

Now I ride a pretty functional 105 equipped bike. I don't mind other people riding more upscale bikes. It is no skin off of my nose if they do. I find it rather strange that people take offense at this one.

I am not sure what the point of your post is. It's either that
1. you feel somehow slighted by people who are not "serious" racers having too nice of a bike to suit you,

or

2. You are angry that people spend their own money as they see fit.

You do realize that the tone of your post reeks of jealousy and petty contempt for those who have more disposable cash (and nicer bikes) than you.

Not sure why you believe yourself to be the arbiter of common sense, but by your rationale we should all be riding 3 speed Schwinns (who need all these new fangled "gears") and driving a Ford Escort. Both will get you where you want to go.

I am not a pro racer by any means, but if I had the money to ride a $5k bike like the pro's use, you bet your ass I would do that.

If you are just angry that people in your park are rude, then just say so. Don't try and equate rude behavior with a certain class of people. Believe me, it is not that small a group.

jcivic00, this may sound a bit childish, but don't get angry, get even.

By the sounds of things, you ride more than them and probably have more stamina and speed. So the next time one of them tells you to get out of the way because your not going fast enough, let him pass, and then hang on to their rear wheel. When they run out of steam you can repay them the same compliment and tell them to get out the way as their not going fast enough.

The other method would be to not get even, get angry.

For this, when they tell you to move over, let them pass and when they get alongside you, punch them in the face (Only joking).

It sounds like the original poster has some issues and spends too much time worrying about what other people ride/spend money on.
I say to him "Don't worry about other people, ride your bike and have fun."

Life is too short to spend too much time worrying about other folks.

the whole purpose of this thread is to rant. I have nothing against those who have the quality materials, and or parts. My beef is with the few, the few who feel that wherever they go everyone should yield to them, that their status exceeds everyone else. Obviously I have offended some. So I must be speaking of you. I don't really care what someone has on their bike but I do find that the majority of the few who act and ride as I speak of are indeed Techno weenies.

Originally posted by jcivic00
Obviously I have offended some. So I must be speaking of you.

HaHa not me but you are speaking of the people that pay my paycheck and put food on my table.

:roflmao:
that's priceless!

J,

You know there IS a dude rollin' through the park behind you on $229 Walmart Schwinn, that thinks you're the "Techno Weenie"....

Can you spell "perspective"....?

Originally posted by Richard Cranium
J,

You know there IS a dude rollin' through the park behind you on $229 Walmart Schwinn, that thinks you're the "Techno Weenie"....

Can you spell "perspective"....?
booooooooooooooongggggggggggggggggg!:beer:

Haha now that is priceless!!!:D

well actually, he doesn't because I'm not the one who forces people to move over, or tell's them to get outta my way because "I'm trying to race." And chances are I'm the one who probably brought him to the park in the first place in order to get him to ride more to begin with. And I didn't say I have a problem with people who have expensive bikes, just a problem with the ones who act like they're hot s*** because of their status and equipment, whatever that may be. Read 5 posts above this one.

I think alot of people here are getting hooked by
the techno weenie appelation.
Personally, I am a techno weenie. I like fooling around with
components. I like taking them apart, and sometimes even
being able to put them back together.
I like new stuff, I'm a retrogrouch,
I want a Richard Sachs frame, and a 1967 Pogliaghi, or
a 1972 colnago Mexico.
I play with tubed electronics, I work with computers
I am a techno weenie.

Maybe you're ranting about poseurs?

Marty

jcivic, I hear you,

But riders who think they are always racing (and I'm in their way) just amuse me.

To me, technoweenies are people who opt to spend rediculous amounts of money on items that save a few grams of weight or add an almost insignificant aerodynamic advantage, as opposed to training a little harder or losing some of their "spare tire." You know, the ones that say x part will shave 5 seconds off their 20 mile ride. I say, why don't you train a little more or eat fewer twinkies if you want to be 5 seconds faster... Those are the ones that annoy me.

i guess i was using the wrong terminology, poseur apparently would be the operative word. I have always used techno weenie, because these poseurs are usually quite decked out.

Honestly, life's just too short to be annoyed by such things. Let the weenies/poseurs be themselves and just don't let 'em get to you. After all, isn't it all about enjoying your ride??

:beer:

Originally posted by ohsfan
Honestly, life's just too short to be annoyed by such things. Let the weenies/poseurs be themselves and just don't let 'em get to you. After all, isn't it all about enjoying your ride??

:beer:

Just like the saying goes “Give the world the best you have. The best will come back to you.” Thus, "Form is temporary but class is permanent." so cheers:beer:

Why do you let other people's behavior bother you so much? There will always be people who do things totally opposite of what you do, in all areas of life. Live and let live. Part of growing up is growong in acceptance and tolerance of others, all others.

I would personally like to thank everyone who has made this rant possible. To those of you who understood, thank you, to those of you I offended, ignorance is bliss, and to those who didn't get it, I'm sorry.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29349
figured I'd post instead of retyping

Originally posted by jcivic00
Obviously I have offended some. So I must be speaking of you.

I guess you are talking about people in the forum now..

I must say, those people who you say are "offended" are offended not because they are the "techno weenies" you are talking about. They are just offended because you branded a certain class of people as techno weenies, which does not, I might add, necessarily mean they are in that class...
That is why we have to be careful in our generalizations...


I don't really care what someone has on their bike.

you don't care? so what is this all about?

The "weenies" in particular apparently are called poseurs by most, I just used the word weenie because that's what they are to me.

I had a speeding Lance wannabe give me a MOVE! on a rail-trail. Seemed silly to be racing on pretty unstable limestone so I just gave him an Oprah " You go girl!"
He looked back but didnt know how to respond.

Mockpo, nice one. I'll have to remember that one, if I have a similiar situation.

Originally posted by jcivic00
i guess i was using the wrong terminology, poseur apparently would be the operative word. I have always used techno weenie, because these poseurs are usually quite decked out.

I would go for "poseur" as opposed to "Techno Weenie" myself or simply "jerk". A Techno Weenie, as I understand it, is simply a person who is enthralled with technology. There's nothing wrong with that. Hell, Lance Armstrong is a self-described Techno Weenie. I don't think he's a poseur. I don't know if he's a jerk or not since I've never met the guy but all signs point to him as being a pretty classy friendly fellow. One can certainly be a Techno Weenie... a person who appreciates and enjoys the bleeding edge technology... without being a jerk.

P.S. I would venture to say that a good majority of the jerk poseurs know very little about the actual technology.

Well thanks everyone for giving different sides, I'm finished with my rant now, the irritation has worn off. If this thread warrants being closed, by all means go right ahead. Again thanks guys for humoring me.