steve-in-kville 

Now that's just funny!!!

GV27

Funny how a lack of scale will fool you. That tank is probably 1.5 gal. max. Probably less. Maybe a lot less! Those are 10" or so rims on that little bike!

GV27

That's my guess to - he probably didn't mean to insult your bike, but to him it's all about speed and he probably thinks you're ready to win the Tour on the right bike. I reckon the young dude on the aero Cervelo I dropped on my upright commuter the other day probably has himself convinced I'm a retired pro or something.

m_yates

What I meant to say was "elitist" not "elite". Believe me, I am not ready to win a race, and I couldn't keep up with a Tour de France rider. I was just referring to the "elitist" attitude of looking down on my "cheap" "heavy" steel touring bike.

rocoach

It's obvious to me that he was impressed with your riding, and was trying to compliment you. He wasn't dissing you at all, but was pointing out that you might want consider exploring the sporting aspect of your chosen method of transportation.

Metricoclock

i spend most my time over in the ss/fg area, and i would have to say from my experience that the road/racing forum is the most acrid part of the site as a whole. Followed possibly by the "car free living" section, they seem to be just as elitist.

I'm not a roadie, but i like what i consider my 'light' bike (lugged steel miyata), and i like my heavy bike/soon to be commuter Cross Check. I'd rather have the extra weight and have the bike be able to handle just about everything i can throw at it.

Popeyecahn

Meh...

No cylinder heads to scape...lol



back OT, I'd quintuple him complementing you in his own way.

And yeah most folks riding are a bit more focused on what lies ahead, I know I am mostly but I have passed along a nod or two and had them in returned on an occasion and vice versa.

orcanova

So he rode along with you and engaged in a perfectly nice conversion, including paying you a compliment. And just why did you go online and start a thread bashing this person...?

randall t

Why all of the labels,somepeople are just going to say stuff without thinking it will hurt someone,hell i guess i am a roadie,i have 3 road bikes,but wait i also have 2 time trial bikes 2 Mtb bikes,but then i have 3 commuter bikes i ride to work,hell no one talks to me on my rides to work,because i never see anyone,drop the hate and the labels

JasonC

I'm not reading this whole thread, but feel compelled to reply. I think I am agreeing with the masses by saying I think you are taking the "roadie" the wrong way. In other words, you think he thinks he is elite... therefore he is.

I am a commuter who used a $350 Giant hybrid for a few years and bought an entry-level Trek road bike last year. The difference is huge. The road bike is a lot of fun, and noticeably faster. Now I am counting the days before I follow the n+1 principle and upgrade to a "better" road bike.

ncherry

Sounds like you're perfect! :-)

I ride with a bunch of overweight weight conscious roadies. They complain about my Camelbak, it weighs a ton but I've lost more weight than the Camelbak so I'm ahead of them. I also tend to be faster and ride further than they do.

rickyaustin

You haven't been by the Singlespeed/Fixed Gear forum lately I assume? haha

I-Like-To-Bike

Easy problems to avoid, except when the same characters leave the lists dedicated to their choices to post their pearls of cycling wisdom about their devotion to their choices in equipment on the commuting list. Double down on the haha!

Longfemur

If you couldn't care less, then don't care less and ignore it all. That's what I do. Using an expression like "lycra guy", and posting that you passed him says the opposite about you.

What's an "elite roadie"? I've been riding road bikes since 1970, and I don't know what that is. Walking into a bike shop and coming out with an $8000 plastic bike endorsed by Armstrong and tight lycra cycling clothes does not make someone a "roadie" or an "elite" anything.

And if I were you, I would lose the who is passing who idea and just ride the damned bike. I go at the speed that I want to go. Sometimes I'm virtually time trialing it because I want more vigorous exercise for the time or distance I'm riding, sometimes I'm just having a relaxing ride. Sometime that means I pass almost everyone I encounter, sometimes other people pass me. Who gives a frig. There's no medal awaiting the outcome when i get home.

dsm iv tr

The fact that you posted this at all may point to the idea that you carry some of your own bike-related insecurity - or maybe you just wanted to vent. After all, if he really had something against you, he wouldn't have bothered to start a conversation.

I, like others here, think he was just trying to connect.

BassClef

Pssst -- Don't tell them I wrote this, but the guys over on Advocacy and Safety are the most self-centered, high horse riding ******-bags I've ever encountered on the internet.

Gonzlobo

Beautiful post
+1

Gonzlobo

Meh whatever. I'm a true bicyclist and I don't like hammocks.

Chicagoan

I had a good laugh riding my new '68 Varsity the other day. I was doing about 15, when out of nowhere some old lycra dude Armstrong Wannabe with this new Xmart Varsity blew past me. I let him get ahead of me but a few blocks later he was about half a block ahead of me when we reached a very steep hill. I caught up with him toward the top and the look on his face was priceless as my 40 pound Varsity clanked past him.

DataJunkie

Lance armstrong wannabe?
How about hinault, eddie, greg, jans, etc?

MIKEnDC

Is that the real you, Data?

Didn't read this whole thread either. I dunno. I have people here on my ignore list because every single post they make (that I see at least) has something about "dropping" or catching someone or some such. It's just mind games, and isn't worth squat.

I'm sure that I must seem like an "elitist roadie" to some (I guess a cross bike is a reasonable facsimile). But I'm sure I look like Fred to the University cycle team guys who blow by me on their training runs.

Whoever it is here that that has the "Ride your ride, and let the bull***** slide" in their signature -->

AdrianFly

mastronaut

The bicycle is a part of who you are, there are stereotypes in all aspects of human activity. You may look down at the guy who rides a bike that is obviously his only mode of transportation, OUI, homeless, broke, etc, but in the end we all share a common bond we ride!
Now get out there and have some fun.

m_yates

I meant "elitist" not "elite". It seems like a fair number of roadies are proud that they spent the most money possible on all gear. For some it seems like it is all about the gear alone. How else can you explain things like carbon fiber water bottle cages, and pedals that cost $500? That extra money spent doesn't make you a better rider than someone who spent, say $75 on pedals and has an aluminum water bottle cage.

The commuting forum seems quite the opposite. People are proud of how little they spent and functionality is the top priority. You will find a number of posts here showing how to build panniers from things like cat litter containers, using safety glasses that cost $1.89 to mount mirrors to, making lighting systems from assorted parts from Radio Shack and Autozone, etc.

This is probably why the bicycle industry caters to roadies rather than commuters. A lot of roadies seem to wealthy suckers who care a lot for name brands and style, while commuters are a bunch of cheapskates. But, all generalizations are false including this one...

lil brown bat

Eh. You know, a lot of things "seem" like this or that until you take the time and trouble to look a little more closely; then you find that it just ain't so. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to other people's attitudes, which are brilliantly transparently clear until you actually speak to someone and ask them what they think about something. That's when the waters get muddy. It's a muddy, messy thing, truth -- if you just stick to your own assumptions about what people think, it'll be much more clear.