Chuvak

Good day!
Was riding in the park on my road bike today. So I’m passing by this group of guys, about 5-6, all with DJ bikes bikes, sitting on the side of the loop. So I do a lap, while thinking about stopping and asking them where they ride in the park and how often they meet. So I come around once again, they are still there. This time I slowed down and took a closer look at their bikes and riders. Here’s the deal: not a scratch on most of the bikes, Banshee, Specialized, and a few more looked brand new. Not a single guy had a helmet, but one guy had full leg and arm protection, lol. What good will it do without a helmet ? Anyways I decided not to stop, POSERS thought I. Was I wrong to assume that?

J-McKech

Maybe not posers persay, but definit dumbasses for not having helmets on while doing park.

Speedub.Nate

To each their own. I don't really understand your rant. What got you so worked up?

Unlikely, but maybe the whole lot of them just bought new bikes this weekend and are feeling things out. Maybe they take really good care of their bikes. Maybe they're riding just a particular stunt off the trail you passed them at. Who knows?

But why judge? No need to assign that label to them, especially if they're doing no harm. Sure, by definition there are "posers" out there, but you can't make that determination with a single pass or two on a trail.

You have to get to know a guy to know what and how he rides, what he buys, and if he's all talk or has some game to back it up. And even then, if someone wants to ride his $3500 DH rig to Starbucks in bright sponsored spandex, where's the harm in that?

duckliondog

I see the same thing on a local trail here in LA. It's a multi-use trail, a lot of people walk their dogs there, but invariably there are guys that ride there in full body armor.

chris_pnoy

Wait, they were chilling without their helmets on!?? Oh my goodness! They've got to be posers!!! Maybe you just couldn't see their helmets, maybe they just don't like the helmets...

I don't know... I guess I had to see them.

Callaway

Possibly they were just trying to get into the sport or were just trying to figure out what to do. I think that most "posers" are just trying to get into the sport and are not sure how. So, if you see them again get to talking with them and maybe you'll get a few more riding buddies. No reason to shun newbies/posers- help 'em out.But hey, either way- as long as they got those $$$ bikes from the LBS-great

Killer B

Ever wonder what they might have said about you?

I suppose you'd think I'm just another 40'ish year old loser if you ever met
me on the trails too...

The look on the 20 yr. old's faces when I pass them uphill/downhill/where ever?

Priceless....

I don't judge people if I can help it....

WannaGetGood

I hate that kinda stuff. Their are kids who come to the skate parks to do the hubs and stuff like that, with bike that are $2400 dollers. I had a Kona Stinky, another had a Banshee Morphine, and another I had never seen before, and can't remeber. But I never saw them actully do anything. And here I am on my sport mart bike doing the 5 FT gap, which is pretty small, but I was at a skate park.

WannaGetGood

I hate that kinda stuff. Their are kids who come to the skate parks to do the hubs and stuff like that, with bike that are $2400 dollers. I had a Kona Stinky, another had a Banshee Morphine, and another I had never seen before, and can't remeber. But I never saw them actully do anything. And here I am on my sport mart bike doing the 5 FT gap, which is pretty small, but I was at a skate park.

WannaGetGood

why did 2 come up?

iamthetas

did you check their hair? if it was PERFECT then posers they may be, but if it was messed up from the wind of the ride into the park, probably newbies with more dollars than sense. a lot of people buy stuff on impulse of seeing what their friends just got and have that "I need one of those" thing. a lot of people in my area will buy a bike,use it a couple times and it ends up collecting dust. they are not posers. they REALLY intend on learning and riding but something new comes along and in the shed the bike goes. some people have no clue as to the need for a helmet either

zx108

well, you have to take into consideration a couple of things.

-clean bikes: i know someone who dirt bikes almost every other day, his bike is SPOTLESS. the kid is awsome on the bike too.

-helmets: anyone who actually dh would wear a full face, it is kind of hard to miss 5 full face helmets.

-just sitting there: maybe they were waiting for something, or they were just chilling and talking for a little.

-components: could you tell that they had some replaced components, like wheelsets, tires, or somethings like that?

-hair: i have longish hair and it is ALL OVER when i am done riding. if they had perfect hair, most def. posers

PA28Scuderia

I don't know about the hair thing guys. I like to think that i'm not a poser and I ride somewhat hard and I think my hair looks better after I ride. Maybe it's just me.

Callaway

I guess I have a hard time understanding mtb posers...I understand like poser thugs, gangbangers,etc... but mtb'ing??? Really, if you have a mtb and you ride it like it was meant to be ridden, aren't you a mtb'er? I just cannot understand having super nice mountain bikes for no reason... Cars and clothes- sure, but the only people that are going to appreciate a nice mountain bike are people that know what to look for, you can easily get a POS X-mart bike for $150 that looks totally stellar to the untrained eye. I know lots of the "hippy-type/outdoorsy" people (I call 'em yippes= hippy+ yuppy) that grow dreads, wear the clothes, try to act the part, but they never actually have done anything outside or even understand the purpose of the clothes they wear etc...
I guess I just dont get it

Maelstrom 

You are in the east. Something I have learned over the last few years in the industry is east coast street guys think a helmet is on par with dating the girl with a hairy upper lip. I can always tell when we start getting the east coasters through, the dj and skate park are packed with people not wearing helmets.

Dannihilator

Hey, I'm from the east and I wear a helm...

Oh wait, I'm not a street rider.

seely

The sickest street rider I know has a spotless bike. Why? It gets painted once a year or so, and he is so good the bike never hits the ground. I wouldn't really judge until you see them ride. Heck, I am a crappy street rider and my bashguard and frame are chewed to ****, because I don't have skill.

ewitz

Cut them some slack, by your own admission they were 5 or 6. Kind of young to be real hardcore. Gotta give them their props for just getting out there. Most 5-6 year olds are just starting to put away there Barney tapes, they are not sitting at the trailhead hoping to be noticed.

Dannihilator

You misread, a group of 5 or 6 people, not people who are 5 or 6 years old.

mtnbiker66

Death to all posers!!!!!!!!Posers suck!!!!!!!!! Well........not death,just pain and suffering..........aw,just let em' pose.

da_empire04

i ride singletrack for hours and get my bike absolutely covered in mud, but always clean my bike after a ride. Ive had a couple of people yell out 'POSER!' when riding around the city doing some UA coz its always clean.

Chuvak

Yes, they probably hid them behind bushes so no one can see them. That's what i do, i throw my 100 dollar helmet on the ground and hide it.
lol, didn’t look at the hair too hard, but tires were clean.

Um, the number of the riders was around 5 or 6! what, you thought a 6 yar old kid was riding a dj Banshee? Was I not clear enough?

dccool879

speaking of posers!!! this kid's bike is better than mine and he makes a video about this and calls himself a trained professional?? And says death could happen?!?!? HAHA! https://video.google.com/videoplay?do...a+kickass+bike
however there is this 7th grade kid i ride with who i'd swear is a poser at first sight but he's a little better than me at the DJ's. go figure he's been freeriding since forever and i've been doing dj's since august 26th

Aus_MTB

Its a hard scenario and i wouldnt really have an opinion until i saw them ride, people can often be really deceiving by their looks. But there doesnt seem to be a huge amount of posers around here

OneTinSloth

since forever? keeping in mind that "freeriding" with a 26" bike has only really been around for the last what, 5 years?

*sigh*....aaah youth.

that video: what is that kid? 10?! and he's riding a 26" bike with like, 6" of travel? i see kids come into my shop all the time getting $1500 freeride bikes because that's "what's cool" now. bikes that weight roughly half of what they weigh. bikes that are too big for them, have more travel than they'll need...but most importantly, bikes that they cannot handle. get a BMX bike for crying out loud. learn to handle one of those, and transfer the skills over to a larger bike when you have the body mass and skills to handle one.

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