Old farts and drop bars...

I seldom really get strange looks when I show up on a road bike, unless I'm on my FG. It seems that most of our LBS employees think FG is a fad that only college aged kids ride, and when they find out that I'm on a 25-30 mile road ride on the FG they just scratch their heads. That's nothing though compared to when I show up on my 13" framed Fisher Opie freeride/urban assault bike with a 550mm compound seat post that can be dropped right down on top of the rear tire for hopping around on stairs, picnic tables/benchs, and fountains, and with huge 203mm/185mm disk brakes. Or my even when I am riding my Monocog SS 29er after a muddy trail ride down by the White River. I've actually had LBS empolyees ask if those are my son's bike and I laugh as I tell them I don't have any kids.

I also have a Salsa Campion aluminum "racing" frame built up with a full Shimano 105 group with 39/53t x 11-26t gearing, and a Cannondale Synapse Carbon Fiber Road bike with a more relaxed geometry built up with an Ulterga compact crankset and mostly SRAM drivetrain with 34/50t x 11-28t gearing, and I ride the Salsa twice as often as the Cannondale because I love the more aggressive geometry. The LBS guys just kind of "grib and nod" when I show up on the Cannondale as if to say "that's the right bike for you old man", but I think the Salsa kind of surprises them.

I don't even give it a second thought though because there are only two or three of these guys who I would even let put air in my tires, let alone adjust my derailleurs. And interestingly, I have met several other people (mostly women) at these shops who later quit taking the bikes to the LBS for service and instead bring their bike over to my house where I show them how to maintain their bikes themselves, and then we sit down to a nice dinner or BBQ. I guess I only really use the LBS as an emergency source for tubes and cables, or I pickup Powerbars and Gelpak when I'm in mid-ride.