Originally Posted by swifferman
Not to stereotype or anything, but to get into road biking, it requires a lot more then to get into mountain biking. Sure they've got bikes that match up dollar for dollar, but our $350 Hardrock is their $600 Specialized Allez. And that's just entry level. So maybe the reason you feel this way is because it's sort of true, road bikers tend to be slightly older, and slightly richer.
Of course I've never really encountered anyone too stuck up. Probably because my whole town is!
I think you've hit the nail on the head right there. Serious roadies tend to spend a lot of time preening themselves and ensuring that their bikes are sparkling clean and running at their optimum before they'll step foot on a pedal. Also, as swiff pointed out, road bikes tend to be quite a bit more expensive than their mountain biking counterparts.
Roadies are generally far more competitive than their MTB'ing counterparts since, most of them, ride in large groups and are constantly trying not to get dropped by their makeshift peletons. This causes them to ride around with a chip on their shoulders at all times.
MTBers, on the other hand, tend to go out either solo or in groups of five or less and, most times, members of the group know eachother fairly well so each knows what the ride pecking order is which means there's likely to be less of that animal competitiveness that's present in the wannabe peletons.
Don't get me wrong, I love riding my road bike and, when I'm on it, I do everything I can to pass riders that I see ahead of me or stick with riders who might pass me but I'm always friendly about it. I also never ride with the silly clubs; something about 15 to 30 sweaty men in lycra hanging out at a Starbucks after a ride just strikes me as weirs somehow.
