Getting pissed about comments made about appearance only invites more of the same. Just shut up and ride. It's about the ride, not what you wear, your bike, or how much you know.

I am a serious bike snob, and poseur too boot.
But, as this is a new year I'm going to turn over a new leaf,
I (at great pains to me) am going to make the following offer:
Send me you wool, Brooklyn chewing gum, Faema, Colnago, Cinelli
Team jerseys (size med please) I will take good care of them and
make sure no one mistakes you for a member of those exalted teams
of yore. I am at least old enough to appear to be a poseur from that era.
The original post mentioned the jersey, not the full kit. No poseur status there,
and besides, Its probably the poseurs who are *****in the most about wearing
team kit.
wear what you like (with exception of above send it to me),
as Taj Mahal says "Ain't nobody's business but my own"

Marty

Anyone who looks down on the average cyclist for wearing pro gear needs therapy.

I'm buying a Ben Rothlisberger #7 jersey for myself soon. I won't ride with it on, but I might play a game of catch with the neighborhood kids. Will I be an NFL poser?

Ask the bike teams if they appreciate the income they realize from selling team jerseys. In the big sports, merchandising's 3rd in income to ticket sales and T.V. If one supports pro biking i.e. would like to see it grow, it would make sense to wear team jerseys.

That being said, I don't own any, and I'd prefer a team T shirt that I could wear more casually.

Very well stated! There are some that are simply pressed to find issue where there is none - except in their own (simple) mind.

Though, I wouldn't tell him to his face unless I knew him, my first thought is poser and I need therapy. Earn the kit.

Virtually all of the cycling apparel catalogues and web sites offer team kits. I note that sizing charts offer these kits in sizes ranging generally from S to 4 or 5XL. It would seem a hideous waste for these companies to manufacture these thousands of items if the intent was to sell them only to actual team members. This is particularly true of the larger sizes.

In my view, those who are concerned with what others think to the point where they alter perfectly legal and appropriate activity in their lives should quit riding altogether. After all, there are thousands of motorists who don't want you to be on the road and environmentalists who don't think cyclists belong on trails.

Go ahead and annoy someone.

why earn the kit? what someone decides to wear is up to them. frankly i think that team jerseys are way too pricy and don't understand why anyone would want to drop more money on a top that has no performance perks over a plain jersey but that is me and my sense of aesthetics.

a side note: it is thanks to enthusiasts buying team jerseys that the pro teams are able to field riders. i'm sure they are happy to let 'mere mortals' wear their kit if it means more$$$ for them.

NEWSFLASH-
WE ARE ALL POSERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
and if you don't think you are- then you definitely are.
btw what so wrong with posing????

Why earn the kit? By that same logic nobody should ride carbon fiber or Dura Ace, either, since they haven't "paid their racing dues."

You know its funny I was just having a discussion about people being poser with my sister. She is 12 and in the 7th grade, no lie, its the same thing in 7th grade; you can't wear surfing stuff if you don't surf or they call you a poser for example. Do you guys really want to act like 7th graders?

I don't laugh when I see tracksuit wearing walmart cyclists, but get an uncontrollable urge to chuckle at heavily logo'd riders. You can wear whatever you want, but if you want to be a cycling billboard, I just find that funny. Hilarious, actually.

My only logo-covered jersey is my Arrogant Bastard Ale jersey, and I can back that up in all respects :D

poser: pretending to be something you're not

I'm just calling a spade a spade.

Yes, I agree that most everyone is a poser for at least a few things in their life. Me? Among other things, I'm a Slipknot, Kill Switch Engage poser. I really don't care what you wear or ride but I still think poser when I see someone wear something that they've not earned. I also think that I have no right to judge them but it's human nature to form impressions and that is my first impression. As long as you think you've "earned the right" to wear what you're wearing go right ahead. Don't change your behavior to fit my stupid 7th grade opinions.

I wear a "Chivas" soccor jersey. ( Las Chivas are a Mexican soccor team from Guadalajara) I am not a soccor player, nor am I from Guadalajara. I just dig the shirt. Wear what you feel comfortable in, and f*** 'em if they don't like it. ( I hate lycra shorts myself, but thats just me. Wear what works for you.

And you all can send me your Cinzano marino wool jerseys. I promise to care for those and pose with them all over.

Whether one is a poseur or a raceur, why would anyone provide FREE ADVERTISING some some craporation? Are they paying you to do so?

If you're on a ride with guys who ride for a pro team and you're not but wearing one of their shirts, do you feel like a jackass?

Because I would.

[QUOTE=soda]poser: pretending to be something you're not

I'm just calling a spade a spade.

Who says they are pretending..You know everyone 's inner thinking..I have worn a Detroit Lions sweat shirt..Would one choose to be a poseur for them..Have to have low esteem, if you did...
It is just who you support for god's sake...
I wear a Bonjour jersey of which I am proud..The double meaning is obvious.I like some of the team members..Graphics are great...Don't have to compete with anyone because of my jersey.
I know it is far fetched, but there are corportations for which I might offer free advertisement..

I think the comparison with the Chivas and Beckham jerseys or Lions sweatshirts breaks down because those shirts are more generally "wearable" than are bike jerseys. (I wear Newcastle and Cubs stuff, myself.) Most major-sport team jerseys can be worn anywhere casual, like to the grocery store or wherever, but bike jerseys are really only wearable while biking.

And I think this makes a difference. If you see someone wearing a Chivas jersey at the local grocery store, you will think that the person is merely expressing support for a team. But if you see someone at the local soccer field showing up with the Chivas jersey, Chivas shorts, and Chivas socks, you are more likely to think, "This guy is really full of himself, he fancies himself a professional." And if he sucks, you are more likely to think of him as a poseur.

If they sold bike jerseys in regular t-shirt form, I might be inclined to get a USPS or Discovery jersey, to demonstrate support for the team. But as a triple-cranking newbie who huffs and puffs up the hills, there is no way I would show up on a group ride in full uniformed regalia.

if you assume that a "triple-cranking newbie who huffs and puffs up the hills" fancies himself a pro, then you're not in touch with reality.

I'm not sure if I am misunderstanding you, Lord Opie, or if I was not clear enough myself.

I am the triple-cranking newbie, and I definitely don't fancy myself a pro.

My point was that if you see someone engaged in a recreational activity in full "uniform," you are more likely to think that the decked-out one fancies himself something special. As opposed to just seeing someone wearing a football jersey at the store, where you are more likely to think that the person wearing the jersey is just a fan.

Before I got back into cycling I had no idea the level of ego that went along with the sport. One Saturday while driving through town I saw a co-worker riding with his bike club.
On Monday I went to his desk and casually said "Hey, I saw you and your buddies riding around in your costumes Saturday."
I wasn't trying to be condescending but I didn't know how else to say it.
Needless to say that was the last conversation about biking we ever had.

You think the Justice League of America ever has these arguments?

Refer to my sig, and i want to get he italian champion Alessio Bianchi jersey, because i am Italian and i liek to wear pride, but also there juersey looks the collest, unlike discovery BLAH.