1989Pre 

When I saw this, I said to myself, "There are vintage-bike snobs? Cool!!"


Fast-forward to 4:00

Inusuit

Whut?

georges1

interesting video

non-fixie 

C&V bike snobs? Of course not. Some of my best friends ride plastic bikes.

georges1

Many of my friends ride carbon and aluminium bikes whereas I ride steel bikes too.

embankmentlb

Proud member of the golden age of cycling!

Drillium Dude 

I don't look down the nose at any cyclist (notwithstanding inexperienced E-bike riders without proper skillz careening along MUPs with scant regard for the safety of other trail users), so I guess that makes me not-a-snob.

IME, the snobs have all been CF lean and mean machine riders in full team kit that have acted snobbiest to me. I simply shake my head and crack a knowing smile. After all, I'm astride something akin to a vintage Ferrari while they're riding the cycling equivalent of a Lamborghini Aventador. Both are awesome examples of the state-of-the-art, but really: which has more character?

As always: YMMV.

DD

noglider 

It's a fair point. People who know me from outside the bike world know I love to ride my bike(s). Then they'll say something like, "I rode my bike in the park on Sunday and had a nice time. But it's nothing like what you do, Tom."

And that's a shame. I don't want people to measure up to what I do. If they got on a bike and enjoyed going 6 mph for three miles, I'm HAPPY for them.

1989Pre 

I meant this in humor, and hope it was taken that way. I simply had never heard of a "vintage bike snob". To me, the idea is very funny. Actually, I think that most of this video is over-blown. In my club, people show up on aluminum hybrids with racks on the backs, high-end carbon and everything in-between. Then, there's me on my '60's British steel. We sometimes get a couple other "steelies". I do not care what other people ride. I'm too into my own freedom to deprive others of theirs.

52telecaster

I feel you on folks worrying they don't measure up. We all feel that way a bit at times. Anyone who pedals anything is not going to kill me on the road while pedaling.

Trakhak

Your post triggered my own knowing smile---a.k.a. smirk.

I love most things about the C&V crowd except this reverse snobbery. (Ferrari versus Lamborghini? Spare me.)

IME, racers don't belittle any riders except other racers. Did you and the rest of the posters in this thread completely miss that the GCN video is precisely about racers being snobs about what other racers do and has absolutely nothing to do with any other class of riders? And why was it posted in C&V in the first place?

I'm glad I spent 30 years touring and racing my bikes in Edenic peace before the Rivendell guru figured out in 1995 that convincing touring riders that racers are the enemy was the best way to sell all those pre-indexing components he'd bought on closeout. I wonder if Peterson ever regrets what he started.

1989Pre 

Like I said, I have noticed nothing-of-the-kind. You may be listening to the wrong people.

Trakhak

Surprising. I've seen plenty of posts from C&V'ers snickering or complaining about Lycra-clad MAMILs and Lance wannabes and how they never wave back.

In contrast, take a look at the Road subforum. Those people can be vicious to each other, but I can't remember ever seeing a post there maligning non-racers, and that includes C&V riders. For that matter, many of them (like myself) rode C&V bikes when they were brand new.

In contrast, the subforum with genuinely active racers ("the 33") and the Clydesdales and Athenas subforum are refreshingly free of snark, with mutual support shown through almost all the posts.

I'm far from a Clydesdale myself, but I often read threads there. I once remarked in a Clydesdale thread on the warm, welcoming nature of the majority of the posts and soon saw a reply from the late, sorely missed moderator Tom Stormcrowe, who said that the members of that subforum have endured abuse of one kind or another, subtle or otherwise, all their lives and use it as a safe haven.

1989Pre 

I suppose that if we were to take this video, in part or in whole, seriously (I don't really), we would need to define "snob". It is actually an unwieldy and unserviceable word. I think we can open up a can of worms when we quote others or post their ideas in video, because it is assumed we are promoting their views. Ultimately, we, alone are responsible for the company we keep, or reject, so if I was to interact with those who show arrogance, or indeed, if I display it in some ways, I only have myself to blame. Fortunately, I have good people in my life. That being-said, I have still yet-to-encounter a "vintage bike snob"!

bark_eater 

Now I've never even tried to ride a fixed gear bike, but have a lot of experience with "dead arts" and related material culture.

The guy in the video looks like he has about as much experience with that type of bike as me, so it seems to be that this anti snobbery production has some deep seated fears and resentments to work through, representing the vintage bike and duffer as laughable, apparently illustrates a sort of a cycling daddy issue.

What is truly offensive is the Woke templating,
which while farcical is representative of how real conversations are stuck in the same revolving doorway as this product of the technoninnyracy..

And if I have to explain why there are "hands" on the Doomsday clock one more time....

Hondo6

While DD could perhaps have phrased his comment better, IMO he has a point about a subset of ebike riders. IMO some just don't seem to realize (or care) how fast they're going, particularly on sidewalks and MUPs, and IMO likely "override" their abilities.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone on an ebike cruising along a sidewalk at 15MPH (or thereabouts), not pedaling. That's problematic IMO.

To put that into perspective: a 91kg ebike/rider combo (50lb ebike + ~150lb rider) moving at 15MPH has about 768 ft-lb of kinetic energy. That's more kinetic energy than a typical .45 ACP round has at muzzle. Yes, that's enough energy to do serious damage to a body.

And if you think auto drivers are unpredictable, just watch pedestrians/kids/leashed pets on a sidewalk or MUP.

Drillium Dude 

You might want to read my post again for comprehension's sake. After all, I put modifiers in it for a good reason...

DD

52telecaster

Ever rode to a criterion as a spectator with your son and been derided as a recreational rider? Trust me, the racer crowd can be really dumb sometimes. They wonder why anyone would have a kickstand or the ability to haul goods on their bikes and the fact that they ride to work and back somehow makes them "recreational" when people racing are serious cyclists. Personally I always thought most sports were in fact recreation. The woman who rides to work at the school district, my gf, is a real cyclist.

SurferRosa

Hello! I'm an unapologetic vintage bike snob. And music snob. And movie snob. And literature snob. I believe my tastes in certain areas are superior to other people. Sorry if this offends. (Not really.)

nlerner

Wait, not a coffee snob?! I'm offended.

SurferRosa

Yes, sorry. But only if my Folgers isn't piping hot!

This post needs "classic" accompaniment...

Trakhak

So you rode into the eye of the storm. Sorry for that experience. Bike racers at races (and in packs on the road) are, generally speaking, morons, because the cumulative IQ is inversely proportional to the number of racers present. How else can skinny shrimps feel like tough guys?

In fact, I stopped racing, and going on organized training rides, in my mid-30s because I couldn't take the idiotic behavior of large packs, of the type that Larry Sellerz has such a crush on.

I still say, though, that I can't remember seeing racer-to-C&V-guy snobbery on Bike Forums. If anyone can point to at least one example, please report it here.

Kilroy1988 

My opinion on the matter is that anyone who spends any amount of effort considering how people on bicycles perceive one another needs to find something more productive to do, like watching TV or playing with cats.

chain_whipped

Nah, no snobs but sarcasm welcomed.
Participate in most large organized bike ride / event (exception to Eroica's or small C&V gatherings), very, very few vintage bikes are seen.

A large majority ride modern bikes dressed as wannabe racers with logos all over them. Fun to toss the line "you must be rich having all those big sponsors paying you and that $8,000 bikey earns you the podium."

Pompiere

I saw an essay once, maybe on this forum, from a guy who commuted every day to work. He had been invited by one of his coworkers to go on their Saturday ride. He thought it would be fun to bring his fast bike and get a good workout. Instead, they assumed he was a recreational rider, since he always rode to work in cargo shorts and sandals, and asked him to ride at the rear to make sure all the slower riders made it back. He was a little miffed at first, but he was mainly riding with the girlfriends of the fast guys, so after helping with couple flat tires and a getting a couple phone numbers, he thought riding at the back wasn't so bad after all.