Am I old-fashioned?
 

Outmoded? Passe? Downright archaic? To actually believe in the power of the rider and not the bike in this day and age? I can honestly say that I've never looked for that extra edge in equipment to keep at the front of the pack with my friends or passing folks on the road and on centuries. I have happily ridden a mountain bike for the entirety of my road cycling life until recently and excuse my hubris but it's made me a damn strong rider.

Sorry 'bout the rant, but does anyone else feel strongly about this?

I know in my heart that if I had carbon bottle cages I could kick butt in the pro peloton.

Thanks. Thank you so much for replying, :notamused:

Okay, actually I am amused. Seeing the "notamused" thing kinda made me realize that.

Did somebody made fun of you bike today?


Not here on in this forum, for the most part. We like new stuff 'coz... well it's cool, but everybody will confess, after the jokes and mocks, the engine is what matters.

Oh, gods above. You shoulda seen its reception on Hot or Not.

why would you ride a mountian bike on the road? so can you keep up with the roadies on a 50 mile ride? are you riding on slicks or knobbies? part of the joy of riding a road bike is the smoothness and great all around ride.

Two reasons.

-It made me strong.
-I didn't have a road bike.

Actually, I think riding on the road has made be a stronger rider, because I've had to push higher gears on the hills than I could with my mt. bike, on or off pavement.

Yes, I feel very strongly, MrMittens. Very strongly indeed.

I feel... like having pie.

So you're not happy anymore?

I bought the first new bike in my life at age 35. My logic until then was that a good bike doesn't make you better, it only makes you a little faster. However, with age comes wisdom. I came to realize that even though I'm actually slower than I used to be, there's no reason to ride a crummy bike if you'd rather ride something nice. I've bought a few bikes since then and love (and ride) them all.

For me, cycling is not so one dimensional as either the bike or the rider. I understand that it is the riders fitness, attitude and ability that will dictate the ultimate speed and distance covered, and I train hard to achieve that. But I also love the bicycle itself as a work of machine art and mechanical wonder, so as a parallel benefit I get fitter, stronger and also get an object to look at, tinker with and enjoy.

So for me it is both the bike and the rider, for different reasons

The person who throws their leg over that one must be fast as all hell. Softride, right? I'd like to try one, just because.

[QUOTE=MrMittens;7412195]Outmoded? Passe? Downright archaic? To actually believe in the power of the rider and not the bike in this day and age? I can honestly say that I've never looked for that extra edge in equipment to keep at the front of the pack with my friends or passing folks on the road and on centuries. I have happily ridden a mountain bike for the entirety of my road cycling life until recently and excuse my hubris but it's made me a damn strong rider.

Sorry 'bout the rant, but does anyone else feel strongly about this?[/QU

You`re treading into dangerous territory here...putting forth the idea that a strong, fit rider might trump the guy who puts more time into buying the hottest new thing and not enough time into riding his bike. I agree with you. Heartily.

Of course, technology is a benefit. Put freakishly fit people together (as in professional cycling), give one a high end bike and the others early 80`s technology...you`ll find differences. That said, the guy dragging around 20 percent body fat, blaming his poor climbing on last year`s wheelset is, well...

But really, what`s it matter? They`ve got the money, they enjoy buying cool stuff, they`re riding their bikes.

Many of us were young, broke, and strong at some point. There's really not much shame in having someone 20 years younger than you pass you even if they are on cheaper equipment, particularly if they have to put in some effort to get the job done.

Besides, VERY few people can make money riding bikes so who cares who's faster or in better shape? What we should be doing is figuring out how to draw all the 200lb+ people into the game rather than making the sport intimidating to anyone who isn't in the top 1% in terms of fitness.

Life is for living and money is for spending. None of us have that much time, so it's stupid to not spend our time and money on what we like if we can, even if we aren't that great.

I partially agree with you.

If you look at slowtwitch, Cancellara has never won a thing in his life, his P3C has - its practically zealotry the way they all preach at the altar of Vroomen and White over there.

However, i enjoy riding my race bike way more than my commuter/winter ride - shunning technololgy just because you can makes you a luddite.

If Lance/Eddy/Miguel/Insertanyprohere was on my DH bike and i was on my TCR i would cream them in a road race, no contest - not even close. All three of them would be putting out greater power than me, but they would be hating it and i would be having fun.

I dont NEED a massive HD telly, but i sure as hell want one.

Oh, and as for riding crappy equipment making you a damn strong rider, the pros all train on astronomically priced equipment, are you suggesting that riding cheap MTBs would make them faster - i really dont see you point here.

I hear my grandmother ask these questions all the time.

So I must say yes you are.

Grumpy likes spending money on cool bike stuff.

Baner,

If you took the time to read to the end of my post, you`d have seen that I agree with you. :) Relax, sloooooow down. ;)

You maybe a strong damn rider in your parlance...but don't bring your mountain bike to a Group A road ride unless you have Cat 1-2 strength. To your point...it is all about the engine. If you have a decent road bike...and not necessarily a $5K CF bike...you can still beat guys on faster bikes if you are strong like you say. Guys on here just enjoy nice bikes and mostly why they ride them.

I don't have a high end bike, I can't afford one. But just like anything else, in conversation, you're not going to discuss bottom of the line because it's boring. Are car enthusiasts more likely to be discussing a Chrysler or Porsche??

I want to talk about the latest and greatest, not cause I'm gonna go out and get it, but because it is the latest and greatest.

like any hobby there is the activity side and the gear aspect. some are not into the gear and that's fine. but others, like myself, enjoy the technological advances that occur when research pushes the envelope to go faster, farther, stronger.
i've been training and doing club rides with my 80s steel pinarello with downtube shifters and only 6 speeds. do have a disadvantage over the newer bikes? hell ya. has it made me stronger? absolutely. am i faster on a carbon build? oh boy...

its cool that they have bottle cages at 11.5 grams, 11 speeds, wheels with negative drag, ceramic bearings and carbon everything. if you can afford it go for it, then you'll have cool gear and if it makes you ride more, a good engine as well.

i love the gear.

you're either a romantic or naive. if you choose to limit yourself to your current bike because in your mind you will prove that your strength and skill are superior, i think that is respectable. as long as you acknowledge that there are indeed serious technical advances that you are actively choosing to forgo.

i swing blades at the golf course and don't carry a single wood or driver, well aware that i would have a much easier time if i chose clubs that are more forgiving. and i do it for the challenge.

Here's the ugly truth about those who post comments here. We're all wannabes. The true top performers don't have time to read these posts and serve up pithy comments.

If the regulars in this forum were to meet for a convention in Las Vegas, we'd look like a bunch of guys who paid $5000 to go to a "fantasy baseball camp" and hang out with retired, B-list major leagers. Everyone would have an overpriced pro glove and $200 shoes. Official team logos would be on everything, from underwear to jackets. We'd strut and talk about "the time when..."

And before any of you young guys make an "oh yeah" comment, tell us first why you aren't in Europe racing twice a week in the pro-am's.

I don't care HOW strong you think your mountain bike has made you. But it sounds like if you had a road bike, you'd be hard to beat. No matter how fast/light your bike is, you can still push yourself to the limit and continue to improve at the same rate . . .

I hate it when BF decorum is interupted with the truth. ;)