Bikeforums Identity Issues -- anyone else have them
 

OK, here goes.

My "road bike" is a Surly Crosscheck. But I don't race cross and I never intend to. But like all cross bikes, it has a mix of mountain and road compoents.

Most of my riding comes in the form of commuting. But most of that is along rural roads. On my "road bike."

I also have a fixed gear. But I converted it from an old vintage touring frame. And I don't live in SF or NYC and do very little urban riding. Besides, my use and ownership of a geared bike make me an infidel in that religion.

I actually wondered outloud if I was qualified to respond to a post on the roadie forum regarding clothing. That's where I got the idea for this thread.

Anyone else have this problem?

I tend to just hit "view new posts" and reply to the threads that appeal to me no matter what sub-forum they are in. Like you, I tend to be all over the place when it comes to the bikes and riding I like. I figure they are all bikes.

Nope. I always figured that I was entitled to define myself. If my definition doesn't fit neatly into somebody else's little box, too bad.

What problem?

I live in the country, outside a city of 5800 and have 3 fixed gear bikes. They all work just fine and I've not heard a discouraging word from any of the local roadies, tourists, mountain bikers or commuters.

I was like you ar first but I always feel most connected with my fellow commuters. Cycling with the family and being car-free are big parts of my life so I can really relate to the folks in those forums also.

Eventually, like with all of us, the cyclist that you are will come out and reveal himself to you.

I'm very much the Gemini, so no, I have no issues with my identity whatsoever. :D

..There's always one, isn't there?

Since you're all figments of my imagination, I don't get too worried about it.:D

Seriously, though, I post pretty regularly in:
Clydesdales
Long Distance Cycling
Road Cycling
Training and Nutrition
General Cycling
Occasionally, I post and respond in: Classic/Vintage, Mechanics and Recreational/Family.
They all apply from time to time, so that's how I roll....:)

So, you're saing you have multiple personality disorder? :p

Same here...it's the advantage of being the village idiot, everyone tolerates me. :D

I figure cycling is too much fun to pigeon hole myself into just one style.

No,Their not Figments...I Am!!:eek:
And I like being a "Crossbiker" I commute and tour on a Mtb!! And I'm very comfortable with my Bikeuality!

Well....let me see.....
Yes....
No.....
What was the question?
Who's asking and why do they need to know?
Yes....:D

I don't really fit into any of the categories either. Technically, I am carfree since I am at college and "my" (actually, my folks own it if you want to be technical) car is hundreds of kilometers away. I don't really commute since my classes are a few hundred feet away from my dorm, but I sometimes pop in there anyway (I guess I sort of commuted last year to and from school... about half a kilometer). I ride on the highway since I live in a small town (both at home at when living at school)... small town scenery can get old (but so can highway scenery) and the highways are usually a lot clearer in winter, so I could post in the roadies (and occasionally do). My bicycle is a frankenbike vintage frame of sorts with old parts (3 speed hub, 333 stickshift) and new parts and custom built/modified parts... so i sometimes post in the classic/vintage parts of the forums. I do most of my own maintenance, so I post in the mechanics forums. I am probably close to 250 pounds (haven't weighed myself in a while) so I occasionally post in the Clydesdales forums. Since I ride in winter, I occasionally post in the Winter forums. I have also been known to post in the General and training and nutrition. So, I don't fit into any one category. In fact, I highly doubt very many people do fit into only one of the categories here.

Heck, I came in HERE to ask about clothing (which I'll do very, very soon)

I ride a hybrid that I basically built from a rigid mountain bike. I call it a hybrid because it was a cheap mountain bike that couldn't possibly stand up to serious off-road use, so I put some decent wheels and high-pressure slicks on it for commuting. Then my commuting still comes in the form of using transit buses for a lot of the miles.

Then my actual Mountain bike is really just my "crappy weather" commuter because it does really well on snow and ice. I occasionally take it out into fields, dirt, and whatnot. It would handle a lot more abuse than I can throw at it, though. I'd bet 95% of the miles I've put on it are just commuting. I had the slicks on it for a while, right after I bought it. Now it's just my backup bike.

So yah. I have a hybrid that's not really a hybrid, and a mountain bike that's never seen a mountain.

I'm a 50+ Clydesdale commuter with a vintage/classic roadbike that I want to convert to a single speed/fixed gear so I can ride recreationally with my family. I'm shopping around for a cyclocross to use for long distance cycling and touring as well as some mountain biking.

I don't know much about bicycle mechanics, but I admire framebuilders and the alt bike builders. My nutrition and training isn't sufficient for a triathlon, and I'll never get into the Tour de France, but some day I'll be car free and can devote my time to advocacy and safety.

I've been away from bicycling and BF for a while and probably should post in Introductions, but what the heck - I like bikes in general so here I am...

c~

I am not ovoleg like some people believe that to be the case.

Don't worry about it. Post to the threads that are interesting. Unsubscribe when they become pointless arguments over dialing it up to 400 W (road forum), whether my mess bag goes with my new shants (SS/FG), or whether you should ride in the BL or WOL (A&S).

My take is that the Bike Mechanics folk are very friendly and helpful and not afraid to laugh at themselves (see the thread about boneheaded wrenching and lessons learned), the SS/FG folk are funny and literate, and the Commuting folks just want to get to work on time, in one piece, and with their underwear.

Nicely done! Nicely done.....

I have a 2004 Nishiki road bike and a 1985 Panasonic fixed gear conversion that I use to get around town. People in the road cycling forum have crazy ideas as to what is proper. So I have to wear my cycling shorts every day to go on my 1 mile ride to or from school??? What??? No jeans?

The SS/FG people seem to ride everywhere out of utility, not recreation, so they tend to be more realistic about things.

For me though I ride my bikes interchangibly, one has multiple speeds and the other doesn't, it's more about why I ride them that defines what kind of cyclist I am.