General Cycling Discussion - Maybe I have had it with "Style Guy."

Any one read this month's "Bicycling" At times, I have liked "Style Guy', because I sort of like snide/smart A$$ humor. As long as it does not get too nasty.
But anyway, this time he went over the limit. What to do..Burn the mag. Draw horns and a goat tee over his stylized mug.
It is ok to attack 'kelly green golf slacks.' But sort of angry over 'sagging seat packs.' Can understand his attack on cyclist's 'day glo green jackets' even tho I have a neeon green jacket for safety..It is ok for the highway dept. , it is ok for me. Safety supercedes style.
But, the ultimate hit...Quote..."Klein Gatorfade paintjobs." what the hell is he talking about..Every critique of bikes brags about Klein's custom paint job.
I have a Klein road bike...The white with ivory ..I love the paint job..It has not faded!
Gatorfade.What is he talking about.? Should the "Style Man" be drawn and quartered by a herd of raging cyclists draging him with a rope by his thumbs...?
I will take as a personal attack any Bike Forum member who attacks a Klein paint job.

Send him a letter informing him that he sucks.

when 'SM' first appeared years ago i cancelled my subscription and wrote a letter to bob strickland saying that i would re-up when he was gone....i'm still waiting....

<not for any content per se, but for the condesention>

Style Man is the epitome of knobness and cycling is full of them. Fortuneatly they are harmless and easily ignored. KLEIN's paint job's speak for themselves. The next thing you know he'll be touting CITOH(K-Mart ten speeds from the '70's) as retro cool. Don't sweat it.

Jim

Send him a letter informing him that he sucks.

Too late.. someone already did, and he published it.

"Bicycling - March, 2004
You suck. The shrill opinions you pass off as laws suck. People like you are the reason people like me don't ride more. Do you think appearance is something there should even be laws about? -Cal Hill, OH.

REPLY: I suggest a $399 Assos Prosline Commander bodysuit. And losing the chin-beard."

The pic of style man makes me laugh though, he looks like one of these milan man-boy models that look sleek but wouldn't be able to hold 10mph if his life depended on it.

Why do any of you even read that stupid rag and encourage crap like that to be on shelves? There are so few good bike magazines we should talk about and buy the good ones and ones that talk down to it's audience like Bicycling should be used as a$$wipe - the only good that rag is for.

Hey, I get it for free at work :p

I have never been one to overact to one given point of view, be it in a magazine, Newspaper, or any other form of media..Each is allowed their point of view.
I just believe if I don't like it, ignore it. A diverse point if view is to be encouraged.Even tho snobby, sometimes I thought the Style Man funny every once in awhile...
Example,in this month's 'Bicycling', the esoteric piece leading the attack on Klein's 'Gatorfade' about helmet visors is a little funny..( ps- My helmet has a visor, am I to be banned.)
Why do I keep subscribing to "Bicycling."?Product reviews are to be ignored. It is too glossy.
But, a- what other mags are there. Not many. b- they do have SomE good articles.
I found the piece on the 90 year old cyclist (John Sinibaldi) good. I thought the story on "Can Lance win Six."?; the Spin story on the junior diabetes racer riding in the "Ride to Cure" ride along with Hincapie; and the critique of the main TDF "In search of Six," to be worthwhile reading.
Because 66% of the mag is crap, there are some good stories. As they say with TV, don't like it, switch it off with the remote. As long as you have 150 channels to choose from.
And again..What other magazines are there.

I think that the style dude is in there to yank people's chains.

and with most of you guys, he is doing it quite well!

I mean, come on, can you really take him seriously?

:)

That is my point..In reply to Foehn...I do not think he is the style guy, offering cycling 'fashion' tips..But he is really masquadering as a humorist?
Do you all not think the column about visors is to be taken seriously..? Maybe he intends to make sport of the fashion plate cyclist.... Like can you wear blue gloves with a green kit?Can you?

Here's my take on Style Entity. He's gay. Which wouldn't be an issue except at one point he tried giving relationship advice to a straight guy. That was wrong. I don't see him as a humorist, I think they keep him around because he livens up what is otherwise a straightforward and repetitive diet of articles. I assume he is good at something, style or something. His forays into other fields have mixed results. His take on coffee, for example, is classic Euro worship. I lived in Europe for a while and loved it. But
espresso is old technology; there is better. I find myself glancing at his column without actually reading it these days. It's kinda goofy.

I think the style guy's there to poke fun at real snobby roadies.

bicycling is a terrible mag

The Style Man is a panty wearer!

Anyone who takes him seriously should have their head examined!

Underwear Nazi
Seriously

It is a form of humor, some found Andy Kaufman to be unfunny(Including me on occasion) but he is still amoung the best. Style man is an attempt to poke fun at the poser class of cyclist (This would also include me, because when you are slow you need to look good, people see you longer) If I wrote a column it would be about the people that claim mechanics suck and they do all their own work. Mostly the column would be about their "solutions" to "problems" And did you know aluminum is faster than steel. That is according to a customer that knows all. We have a piece of each laying on the floor waiting to see who wins the race. :)

And did you know aluminum is faster than steel. That is according to a customer that knows all. We have a piece of each laying on the floor waiting to see who wins the race. :)

Pass a rare-earth magnet over them and I'll guarantee you the customer was wrong. ;)

[Magazines] that talk down to it's audience like Bicycling should be used as a$$wipe - the only good that rag is for.

Not even that. Magazine paper is too shiny - it doesn't have enough purchase to provide a really good wipe. All it does is spread it around.

i used bicycling as a moth swapper...work pretty well.

i still like bicycling mag though. its really readers digest for cycling. i dont like reading results from a race, just too boring.

want a good "magazine"? print 10 new threads from your favorite sub-forum from bikeforums.net, then staple it and read. you could even make a cover page, add 30 pages of your fav ads and gloss it for a real magazine feel.

a good analogue to Bicycling magazine is Blender. its that bad

I've never agreed with anything that Style Man has said. When I take the time to read his crap I always get pi$$ed with myself and wonder why I wasted that 30 seconds of my life.

In reply to his comments in the latest issue of the magazine about a seat pack: I carry a spare tube, patch kit, Alien multitool, and money (coins for a phone call - no cell phone - and folding money for food, buy another tube, etc.)

I once passed a cyclist who had no seat pack, only carried two spare tubes and CO2 in his jersey pocket. He was walking because he had 3 flats and no more tubes. That was really "cool". Hmm. Maybe that Style Man and I didn't recognize him.

LoL. not too many fans of Monty Python here either I would guess.
He / She is poking fun at bike snobs.
relax, enjoy.

Why do any of you even read that stupid rag and encourage crap like that to be on shelves? There are so few good bike magazines we should talk about and buy the good ones and ones that talk down to it's audience like Bicycling should be used as a$$wipe - the only good that rag is for.

I'm an old fart of the "get on the bike and go" school. Just started reading the bike magazines lately. If Bicycling is so bad, what would you recommend instead? Road bike emphasis in my case.

Joat,

check out Asphalt, pricey but good (32.00 for 4 issues) all road, all the time.
Cycle Plus for a Euro perspective.
marty

Nothing wrong with bicycling mag. Its cool to say it sucks,thats all.

Anyone think his point about helmets with visors is considered uncool? I am a roadie/tourer type...I find at times, the visor helps with too much sun.... How many roadies have helmets with visors?
It is not that I really care. Just a poll.....

Anyone think his point about helmets with visors is considered uncool? I am a roadie/tourer type...I find at times, the visor helps with too much sun.... How many roadies have helmets with visors?
It is not that I really care. Just a poll.....

I wear an MTB helmet since I cross over between MTBing and RBing. I will usually leave the visor off when RBing but sometimes I wear it. I personally couldn't care less if I or someone else wore a visor or not. As others have pointed out, StyleMan is the "shock jock" of bicycle columnists. Sometimes people want to read snide and snobish comments just for the humour factour. He's a parody of a parody of a parody of an etc...

Visors must have a function..We buy products to fulfill an expected function.. It is NOT that I am worried that visors are UNCOOL...
But, WHY would anyone raise the point to begin with. As you said the shock jock factor..
Should Style Guy make snide remarks about fashion plate cyclists, well, I think constructive criticism within limits has its positive elements. We all should have broad enough shoulders to consider when we get out of control.

He's harmless fun. It's not meant to be serious, though a quick look around on the weekends will confirm that there are many 'cyclists' out there who share his ideals and opinions... :)


Anyone think his point about helmets with visors is considered uncool? I am a roadie/tourer type...I find at times, the visor helps with too much sun.... How many roadies have helmets with visors?
It is not that I really care. Just a poll.....
There's a functional reason why many roadies don't wear visors - the extra angle on the neck to be able to see past the visor can hasten neck and shoulders soreness. I find this happens to me if the ride is longer than an hour or so, hence I mostly use a helmet without a visor these days.

Visors must have a function..We buy products to fulfill an expected function.. It is NOT that I am worried that visors are UNCOOL...

Some would argue (with some fair amount of validity) that visors can impede vision when riding a roadbike due to the lowered position but many helmets have adjustable visors. Many times, I find them unnecessary when road biking so I just leave it off. To be honest, I've never been too clear on what is or isn't "cool" and this goes beyond cycling... hell many people think all of cycling is uncool so the coolness argument is already a wash.



But, WHY would anyone raise the point to begin with. As you said the shock jock factor..
Should Style Guy make snide remarks about fashion plate cyclists, well, I think constructive criticism within limits has its positive elements. We all should have broad enough shoulders to consider when we get out of control.

Agreed but StyleMan is supposed to focus on the superficial which seems to be the hallmark of Bicycling as a publication. So you have to place everything in its context.

Khuon..To hell with everybody..They have a right to think cyclists uncool. I don't care..
BUt having been to Europe 16 times...European women think pro cyclists are the height of coolness...Pro cyclists ( logging 40,000 miles a year) are treated like Greek gods.. I could see that when watching the TDF go by.
So if it is good enough for those French/Italian women on the beaches of the Riverra, then it must be cool. Is not what is important to those frequenting Monaco, supposed to be a world standard.???

Hey, I get it for free at work :p

That's still way more than it's worth!

Nothing wrong with bicycling mag. Its cool to say it sucks,thats all.

No, it DOES suck.

Why??

Khuon..To hell with everybody..They have a right to think cyclists uncool. I don't care..
BUt having been to Europe 16 times...European women think pro cyclists are the height of coolness...Pro cyclists ( logging 40,000 miles a year) are treated like Greek gods.. I could see that when watching the TDF go by.
So if it is good enough for those French/Italian women on the beaches of the Riverra, then it must be cool. Is not what is important to those frequenting Monaco, supposed to be a world standard.???

American women like the big pear shaped ones...

I just re-read the last 4 issues of Bicycling, and I found them to be informative, funny and useful. I can see where in some areas they could be stronger, but not a "bad" magazine.

I guess if your a big time racer,it doesnt have alot about that as VeloNews does which is fine for me as racing news is boring. Bicycling mag is a good read,a little of everything,for me aleast.

Bicycling mag is a good read,a little of everything,for me aleast.

That's the problem.

I will take as a personal attack any Bike Forum member who attacks a Klein paint job.

The first shop I ever worked at sold Kleins. This was the late eighties/early nineties, so I feel quite comfortable in saying that there were some BUTT-UGLY paint jobs.

I'm just sayin'..

JB...Yeah, I must admit, I do not like the purple Klein paint job come to think of it...Heah, everyone has a bad year, once in awhile...But, my ivory on white...It is cool...
TOngue in check here...But I like my 2000 Klein and its paint job...It is me...

ok, ok... but does anyone know where to get or has a Style Man´s column recopilation?? just for a good laugh!!

ok, ok... but does anyone know where to get or has a Style Man´s column recopilation?? just for a good laugh!!

1. ZOMBIE THREAD
2 do you mean 'compilation'? Because I would guess a 'recopilation' has something to do with copulation - again.

Why do any of you even read that stupid rag and encourage crap like that to be on shelves? There are so few good bike magazines we should talk about and buy the good ones and ones that talk down to it's audience like Bicycling should be used as a$$wipe - the only good that rag is for.

Well said, completely accurate, and not one bit over the top, ;)

ok, ok... but does anyone know where to get or has a Style Man´s column recopilation?? just for a good laugh!!

You did notice this is a NINE YEAR OLD thread didn't you?

I quit reading Bicycling Mag years ago when I found out they basically recycle the articles on a 2-3 year basis. I have been cycling for over 40 years, nothing really new out there. For cycling magazines I read the occasional Momentum or Bicycle Times. I have some old issues of Bicycling from the late 70's early 80's, much better mag back then.

Aaron :)

My contribution to the Zombie Thread.

319683

It's a zombie.. and I think he's hoping you will subscribe to bicycling magazine so he can eeaaattt yyooouuurrrr brraaaiiiinnnnnnsssss

IMHO Bicycling has gotten to be a mere shadow of what it was back in the 80s. That is why I no longer have a subscription. It like so many magazines cater to the "modern"??? reader that has a short attention span. Its mainly a picture book with big glitzy headlines, and no substance.