My racing cluster is an 11-23, I mostly train with a 12-25. And I mostly have that 25 because of Mt. Doom, I hit those 15%+ grades with tired legs regularly. If I didn't live on that hill I wouldn't really see a need for the 25.

53x39 and 12-25. I like flat crits.

Oh yeah, we've just gone off-topic. Horay.

Hang on. I need more popcorn....

I really don't see what the issue was. A kid comes on, asking for advice, we tell him to adjust his handlebars because that was the most obvious thing wrong with his bike.

Maybe I've been here too long....

Dang it. I just put it back on topic.

Well there was an issue of 1) his wheels not matching 2) taking pictures of his bike at the disco rather than in front of his garage door

But the topic was rather idiotic.

:roflmao2::roflmao2::lol1::lol1:

This is the rudest and most snide forum I'm a member of. I don't really get it...

Even weight weenies and mountain bikers forum are better.

But of course not everyone's a jerk; there are some nice helpful posters here too.

I saw the title of the other thread and figured it would be a mess. I'm sure it is a lesson learned for the newbie, if he wasn't being a troll.

I'd just as soon not answer questions like; "Does this dress make me look fat?"

I'm sure there are questions I wouldn't ask my best friend just because I'm afraid I might not like the answer. Asking a bunch of faceless people I've never met the same types of questions is insanity.

Better to have him hang around and learn by not flaming him than to drive him off by being too rude. If he is a troll think of the lack of satisfaction he'll get by all of the polite answers. That, too, would be somewhat satisfying in a more subtle way.

Subtlty escapes many BF members though, doesn't it?

DK

Fantastic level of irony in this thread so far. Nice.

Well
 

I said it before and I will say it again. Many Roadies are elitist A-holes so I don't think you can expect anything but comments like that toward someone new. I got crucified by Umd and the like when I said I wave to people when they acknowledge me and they go on a long diatribe about how they don't feel compelled to wave back blah blah blah.

People just don't get how the relate to others. If you are an A-hole, you relate as such and aren't aware of your A-holeness. It is a concept called ego-syntonic which basically means that one's A-holeness is so consistent with who they are that they cannot (not even an unwillingness) see their true selves. Roadies as an aggregate are competitive, obsessive, self centered, anal-retentive D-Bags.

Is this the "today I dropped a ..." thread?

OK, I'm not here. Be kind.

You're obviously hanging with the wrong crowd.

THe thread being referenced, and this one, are perfect examples of why I have been a member here since 2004, and have about 600 posts.

I find it takes very little of BF before I find I have reached my fill and I just HAVE to leave for a while.

There are parts of BF that are a treat, C&V for example. This sub-forum rarely rises to that level.

And yes, it is really just a few, predictable, posters.

Actually most roadies that I know in real life are pretty nice. Not all of them but the majority are.

The fastest hammerheads that I know (not wheelsucker types who wait until the end of the race) are also pretty mellow folks. Maybe those hours of pulling hard in the wind makes them that way.

As far as the forum thing goes...BF is tame compared to some other forums on other subjects, like some of the crotchrocket forums.

I used to run a large chat room. Talk about internet tough guys! BF is also tame compared to that.

(shrugs) no big deal.

Considering this is the Roadie section of bikeforums.net, I'd say predictability of the tone here is rather overwhelming. If you're not an idiot. And even if you are. So you're covered.

But you really do hurt my feelings when you call self-centered. Where do you get that?

It's a harsh world and sometimes it takes a bit of a bruisin' to learn a lesson.
Consider it part of the initiation into the wonderful world of cycling.

The 'We're Going to Yell at You' thread should be a Sticky.

If you don't like a topic, then stay out of it. If you hadn't noticed the world does not actually revolve around you and every thread in this forum does not need your input to put it on or off topic. BillyD has a very real point here, and the fact that he had to put in such a direct no BS way to get through to some of ya'll just strengthens the fact that it needed to be made.

I disagree, and posit that it strengthens the supposition that Road Cycling regulars are thick-headed and self-absorbed.

Plus, how do we know if we like a topic until after we've read it? Are we to judge all threads by their titles? Isn't that a bit akin to judging a book by its cover?

The regulars, or the loud thick headed obnoxious minority of them?

The ones who post regularly... which are the only "regulars" that matter, since the silent majority go entirely unnoticed. This is the Internet, not a casual gathering in a town hall.

I'd argue that one only enters "into" a topic by clicking on "submit reply". Up until then we all have control over whether we can be bothered to enter the fray.

I understand that argument, but at that point we're just splitting semantic hairs.

I beg to differ that only the ones that are loud are the ones that matter. They are though the ones that think they are the only ones that matter. I am here to state, for the record, otherwise. And yes, this is the internet, and since I don't see your name on it, nor on the website we are on, I am unsure who decided to make you the boss.

Nobody made me, or you, or anyone, the boss (Al Gore, clearly, is the boss), and I'm not claiming to be the boss. But this silent majority everyone keeps speaking of is entirely irrelevant in the eyes of a newcomer to the forum.

How is a newcomer supposed to know the silent majority even exists? They're silent!

edit: when I say that "the ones who post regularly...are the only ones that matter" i don't mean they're the only ones who have any worth; I mean they are the only ones who get noticed by newcomers and visitors to the forum since they post in such high volume. So if you want to effect perceived change, that's where you need to start.