Originally Posted by
Emperor Ryker
This is ridiculous. Several people said no, and several mentioned the benefits. So how am I in the wrong forum? Just because YOU need to have them doesn't mean everyone else does. And your analogies are bad, because in all of those cases the things you mention are much more crucial to the performance there than cycling shoes and jersey. If I ask whether I need to buy lifting shoes on a bodybuilding forum, no one is going to tell me I'm at the wrong place like you are here.
Actually, in some cases, they're probably LESS critical. How often does a doctor actually use a stethoscope? Not very. And when was the last time you figure a top chef actually used a knife to do his job? In the case of someone like Daniel Boulud, it may have been several years ago. The point is, when they're "tools of the trade," you don't waste your time questioning whether they're necessary. The only time you dismiss them is when you've found, AFTER years of using them, that you
no longer need them - because you aren't the one chopping the onions anymore. To question them without even trying them isn't skepticism, it's lack of commitment. Perhaps that sounds rude, or harsh, or snobbish, but there's no animus intended. What I was getting at regarding being in the wrong forum is that if you aren't prepared to accept certain practices of a community as a matter of faith, you have to be prepared to be an outcast to the same extent, that's all. There are plenty of cyclists who never wear cycling jerseys or ride with clipless pedals, but they generally don't find themselves at home in this church, they go to the one down the street - and they're going to hell.