5 Things for a Newbie to Do on the Forums
 

Okay the other thread on what not to do on BJ really pushed my buttons. Her's my response.

5. Don't pose any questions until you hung around for awhile and searched the archives. Your question has probably been answered a million times (conservative estimate). People get tired of answering the same questions over and over, and assume you are lazy or so hopeless incompetent and helpless that they go for blood.

4. Same answer as above. Most choices at a certain point become just individual preferences based on prejudices.

3. If you begin a post that says I'm _____tall and weigh ______...........don't follow that with "what size should I get"....people have different riding styles, different goals and body types are well, fairly unique. No one can tell you what size bike you should get on a online forum. That goes for seats, shoes, jerseys, helmets, etc. We are not your mother!

2. If boasting offends you, you are in the wrong place. What better place to boast and make up crap about how good you are than on the most anonymous vehicle in the universe - the internet forum. Be an adult and realize where you are - yes, you will likely get flamed but get over it. It is not as personal as you think. They don't even know you. They are a nameless person on a keyboard somewhere who thinks they have made up the cleverest of screen names and chosen the most creative avatar.

1. Some of us are lucky and have wonderful guys at our LBS. In a town that has some crappy ones, I had to test the waters and find the good ones. Read, lurk and search the archives - gain some knowledge of your own don't rely on others for everything you know. Even the good LBS guys don't want to spoon feed those who have no ambition to learn on their own. Do some reading and ask some intelligent questions and you will earn their respect.

OK, this is really a thing not to do, but: try not to take anyone or anything here too seriously, yourself included. BF is a lot more enjoyable when you come in with that mindset.

6. Never post "5 things a newbie should never do" here at BF. :rolleyes: :D

Since you brought it up, I've always wondered what the answers to these questions are. Thanks for starting this thread for people like me who have always been too afraid to ask.

1. I have $2000. Should I get a Specialized or a trek?
2. What is better - aluminum, steel, carbon fiber or titanium?
3. I'm 6'1" and 190 lbs. What size bike should I get?
4. Should I upgrade my Sora system with that Dura Ace stuff?
5. On my weekly hill climbing triple century, I like to maintain a 28 MPH average on the uphill sections.

My local shop is Walmart. Are they a good shop?

never ask: "what does OCP mean?"

Ah. Never fear, I have the answers you are looking for.

1) Specialized and Trek are junk. Save that $2000 as as down payment on a Colnago.
2) They are all better, depending on who is riding them. Whatever I'm riding is better than whatever you are, if it's different. If the same, I will buddy up to you then drop you like a sack of **** on the next hill.
3) No question about it, you need a 48. Sure, it'll be a little awkward, and you'll need a 700mm seatpost, but when you're down in the drops (BTW, you *DID* flip your stem, right?!), you will look like a racer-dude and that's what's important.
4) Well, Sora is junk. And so is Dura-Ace. You should dump that Japanese crap and get Campy instead (you can rebuild it! (tm))
5) That's a pretty slow average, but with some intervals you might be able to bring that up a little bit. But you're probably old (like, 25) so there's not much hope for you. Maybe you should just quit riding.

Walmart is great! Have them assemble your bike for you, saves a lot of time and you don't have to buy special tools.

Have fun!

Incorrect. Just look at all the folks who respond to the same old questions over and over again. They may quickly chastise the newbie but they answer anyway. That tells me most folks her DONT mind.

Oh and if it bothers you to see the same questions over an over feel free not to respond.

Incorrect. Just look at all the folks who respond to the same old questions over and over again. They may quickly chastise the newbie but they answer anyway. That tells me most folks here DONT mind.

Oh and if it bothers you to see the same questions over an over feel free not to respond.

#6: Don't post twice by clicking on "Submit" twice.

What does OCP mean?

:D

Or post: 5 things a newbie SHOULD do at BF threads.

yea yea yea......:)

Don't forget: 7) Ask a question about Bikes Direct or Motobecane so that you can be chastised and called a shill, just like all newb's.:p

...err, that too. :o :rolleyes:

yeah, what does OCP mean?

I understand the just of the argument, roadies can certainly be snobs. However, I still think the cycling community is pretty friendly. I come from a running background and have run a number of marathons in the past 20 years. Like many, I picked up road biking to ease the many injuries and stress from running. I have rode in a couple of centuries in the past couple of years and find them to be much more social and friendlier than any running event.

Here ya go.... link

What's better Campy or Shimano? :rolleyes:

If I put drop bars on my mountain bike, will that turn it into a road bike?

Don't follow forum rules established by members without blue stars next to their name.

I'm really fast because I passed a guy on a Litespeed....

I always reckon the best advice is "Use search before you speak" :)

Gotta be Campy...that nic has a fresh, preppy sound while Shimano sounds Jewish or Portuguese or something.

Hee hee, just like Ichiro.

Hi,

I'm 6'2" and 175#, and was wondering what the best size of a bike would be for me?

Just curious.

BTW, does it come with pie?