Hi, I'm a young man of 19 who recently got into cycling (been planning on a long tour this summer). I recently moved, and decided to ride with the local cycling club. Not one of them but has a carbon or aluminum-and-carbon road bike, while I have a steel touring bike with fenders, a rear rack, and a Brooks saddle. Before we even started riding, I got the feeling that I was "not wanted." Sure, I've just moved with a 5000ft elevation increase, and I've slacked off in the winter so I'm not in shape yet, but if I were, wouldn't I be able to keep up with the rest of them? It's not a race after all. So what's to be hostile about?

And just in case it will help--how much of a speed difference would it make to remove my fenders and rear rack? I like my fenders because it keeps grit out of my drive train, and it would be a real drag to remove that stuff every week end, so I'd only do so if it were to make a difference.

Stuff like this cracks me up...and not you, but this thing about clubs, both social and racing where if you don't appear to have "the gear" you are immediately branded.

I love guys that come into the shop and announce that they are "Ride Leaders" like it's an award or something they've earned...LOL...

FWIW, I know a bunch of pretty decent racers that, when the weather is bad put clip-on fenders on their bikes for the very reason you indicated. To keep their nice stuff as nice as they can when riding in lousy conditions. Funny...Zabel endorses a brand of clip-on fenders that will fit on a race bike.

Taking off the fenders and rack...I've told this story before about the young studs that "broke away" on a training ride and were run down by an ex-pro on a cyclocross bike, with cross tires, fenders, rack, and a tent on the rack held on with bungi-cords.

But any weight you can comfortably remove will make your ride more pleasent, unless it's raining and then leave the fenders on.

People need to lighten up...

You show up on an old steel bike with fenders, out of shape, you were right on your feeling that you were not wanted.If you were in shape, would you be able to keep up with them? Who knows? You could be so much slower than them it is beyond belief. Or you might keep up. Start with a slow group and if you're faster move up. Nothing worse than an out of shape slow guy dragging down the group.

Your fitness will matter most, the fenders and rack won't make to much difference.

Sure there is. Crashing. A huge pileup is much worse than some slow guy slowing everyone down.

To the OP, if you like your rack and fenders, keep 'em on. They're very useful if you actually ride your bike to places and not just around various loops for "training". It sounds like you might want to find another group to ride with.

Az

We have a guy who rode with us on 19mph avg pace on a mountain bike with slicks. Ride what you have and don't worry about what people think.

Steve

We've had a guy with MTB and slicks out at the Tuesday Nighter (B group), 24.5mph for 27 miles. He got 5th I think.

Sometimes people are just a little slow to warm up. You said you "got the feeling" you weren't wanted. Perhaps that was partly your own awkwardness riding with a new group with a mismatched bike? Maybe they're just not a chatty bunch and it'll take a couple of rides (where you keep up) before you're accepted as a member of the group.

I ride 6000+ miles a year. I do centuries. I have four road bikes. I ride all of them. All are steel. Depending on the time of year, up to three of them will have fenders and two of them will have racks. Three of them have Brooks saddles. The fourth has an Ideale saddle (French copy of a Brooks Team). I don't allow carbon fiber on my property.

If you ask me, your gear is far superior to theirs in terms of function. Unless they are actual racers, they should be on bikes like yours and not on carbon fiber racing bikes.

As for the rack and fenders, no and maybe. There could be some slight aerodynamic gain if you removed the fenders, but I've never noticed one. No measurable gain if you removed the rack. The weight of either accessory is also negligible unless the rack is made of wrought iron. In fact, on your next ride with these people, you should bring a trunk bag and fill it with snacks. After the ride, share them with the riders who were nice to you.

If you really want to start messing with them, ask them how they get to work. When they say they drive, ask them "Why? You have such an nice bike."

>>Dealing with elitists<<

You rang?

I ride a CF Giant, and have had my (slow) butt handed to me several times by guys who ride more than I do on old steel. I bought it because I liked it, but I will readily admit, it is much more a recreational bike than a functional bike. I do have to say though, it rides great. Wish I did.

Perhaps they assumed you didn't have pack riding skills. You may need to prove your ability before they accept you as a peer.

I ride in a group with an old steel-fixed gear and definitely got that "not wanted" feeling at first and attributed it to my bike. In hindsight it had nothing to do with my bike, it just takes a lot of trust to ride at 25mph in a tight pack of people.

See if your area has a randonneuring or audax club. They might be more your style.

you miss the point.

it's not elitism, nor is it hostility. it's self preservation.

it's also not about your gear, it's about the possibility of getting taken down by an out of shape squirly rider.

if you're capable of riding smoothly within a group, then you'll get your welcome soon enough. in the mean time, HTFU.

This weekend I passed an older guy on a beautiful European steel something-or-other with old-tymey clips, old-tymey cycling shoes, wool Campy jersey, old-school cycling cap, no helmet. Everything was in pristine condition. Just the sound of his bike was lovely. As I passed him, I said "How's it going?" He said nothing.

Good thing I wasn't on a bike with fenders or he would've openly sneered. Or, maybe he did, and my underdeveloped sense of taste made it so that I couldn't fathom the subtlety of his non-response. Elitists rule!

Sounds like you took a football to the basketball court and expected to fit in.

Just because there's a bike involved doesn't mean it's the right bike club for you. Instead of calling them elitists, go out and find a club that's a better mix for you.

I don't know about the club in question, but with my club, we speak with our legs. If you have decent form and are smooth, you'll be "accepted" into the social group, regardless of what you ride. If you look like you are trying hard and learning new riding skills, you'll be accepted. If you keep it up, you'll soon find that your bike is ill-suited for aggressive road riding and you'll want to find a road bike.

If you are new, just like first impressions in a job interview, showing up with an ill-suited bike is a proxy indicator for your skill until your skill level is known. Once you start showing skill, or the desire to improve your skill, then the first impressions are just a colorful footnote.

I say it depends on his riding. If someone's consistent and can keep pace with the group I think everyone will forgive his choice of bike.

If you've got an odd bike, AND can't keep pace with the group well... yea, you need to either find a different group, or get yourself in shape QUICK - or you'll risk being permanently branded as that guy.

It's funny how much people can extrapolate about another person from such a short interaction. I am left wondering who's the elitist in this tale.

I went for a 75 mile solo ride Saturday. I get a kick out of the snobs in full kits that smirk at my neon yellow jersey when we're riding on the bike path. What they don't realize is that I had to ride 40 miles on busy streets to get there & was hit by a car last year along with a couple close calls.

I won't wear the neon when I finally make it out to ride with the local bike club I joined because I feel safer in a group. I didn't join last year because I was on a MTB with slicks & probable was too slow to keep up.

I guess it wasn't clear that I was joking. I'll put ironic jokey-faces all over my next post to make it painfully obvious. The guy appeared to have great love for his gear, and while I thought it was a bit rude to not acknowledge another rider, I'm not quite ready to kill myself over it.

my club has an A, B and C group. see if your ride has a slower group and hang with them for a bit.

I'm hearing a lot of people say "you're too slow to fit in until you get into shape." In my defense, I didn't know what the environment would be like until I got there, and it's hard to develop to the point where one can ride ~15-20 mph for 90 miles if one only rides alone. Companionship and _friendly competition_ helps spur oneself on. As far as finding another group, there's this and a randonneuring group, which I plan to also try. This club covers both road cycling and mountain biking (which I'll check out next week; they alternate).

Since I probably am too slow, I have plans to ride a lot before the club meets again, so I hope to get up to speed.

[edit] scotch, The group did seem to be _unofficially_ broken into groups. Naturally, I lagged a bit behind the slow group.

how did you find out about the ride?