Originally Posted by deacon mark

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I hope this does not speak for the cycling community at large it would be a sad thing. As a long distance runner for 35 years we never look at the shoes a person wears when they show up to run. Abebe Bikila showed up in 1960 at the Olympic Marathon in Rome without shoes and happened to win the Gold Medal, then 4 years later in Japan won it again this time he wore shoes. I do not ride much with groups just because of time and logistics but those who ride with me I hope appreciate my mechanical skills and could bail them out if they had trouble on the ride, they even ask question about wheels and the various components. I am no expert but the last fellow I rode with still has downtube shifters ( indexed though) and a 7 speed freewheel. Earlier this summer he managed two 5 hour centuries back-to-back on consecutive days and he is 51 years old. I like to ride with anyone who wants company and the only problem I see is you might be fast and I cannot keep up, otherwise I can slowdown that is easy.