I do both depending on how I feel on the day. I suppose I could've made that clear in that post. I enjoy competing against myself, but I also just enjoy cycling :)

Same for me.

so clipless is the gateway drug from hipster to roadie!?!?!

the_don,

No, the gateway to roadieism is twofold

1. Aquire 10K. This will be enough to purchase a bike that is better than you'll ever be, ******** outfits and a few do-dads like an indoor trainer and HRM.

2. Create an attitude. This attitude is based in the self-created fantasy that you are now an undiscovered cycling talent. Hang around other roadies. They'll teach you how to further and further remove yourself from reality while ignoring the rest of the world laughing. "They" don't know who you really are anyway so "they" don't matter. Let them laugh.

Man, modify the dollar amount accordingly and that applies to most stuff that dudes buy: Cars, Motorcycles, Bikes, TVs, Cameras, Guns, Golf Clubs...etc...

Oh heck Carlton, I just spent that on a fixed. Why? Well, nothing that would make sense. It's not the dollar amount. It's what is being purchased. Read: What is being purchased is not physical. I think the younger crowd calls it "cred". Older folks call it "buying a life". I don't have a single thing against someone buying an 8K bike and all the amenities. I love seeing cyclists with nice and even extraordinary things. Attitude and sub-standard behavior towards fellow human beings I see as unacceptable. This characteristic is the defining difference between folks who ride road bikes and roadies. The rest is all just surface. You don't know until someone pulls up beside you or passes you. If they pull up beside you and look down at your hardware before talking to you - roadie. If they give a gentle wave or nod or maybe even say "Hey" as they pass you - regular human being on a bicycle. Hear people talking about staying in their target HR zone and what their average speed was and make no mention whatsoever of anything else like the weather, location, pretty girls or whatever - roadie. Hear someone say - "Had a great ride today. Did it rain down here, too? Man, my HR was all over the place. Maybe I'm getting a cold." - Regular human being on a bicycle.

I just got a geared road bike and I've been putting more miles on it than my FG, which has became almost exclusively my campus bike (I live like 2 miles from campus). Since I got the road bike I changed the clipless over to it and put cages back on the FG (it's just easier so I don't have to carry shoes). However, because of this I think it makes me not want to ride the FG on longer rides. But I just switched some stuff around (fork from road bike to FG which allowed me to put a new front brake and run an interrupter cross lever as well as the road lever). So I'm excited about all of that and I think I'm going to take it out for maybe 10-15 miles tonight.

I also have cheap lycra shorts but need to get some better ones, I ordered a jersey from nashbar that was $12 with a coupon but it was too short so I have to return it and they don't have a medium.

So yeah, I think I have roadie tendencies, also my FG is set up like a road bike (ergo road drops w/hoods).

oldfixguy--chill out. Jesus. I've never read so many blanket statements and stereotypes in my life. You sound ignorant.

i mean, honestly, what are you even talking about in your second point? Are you a velo-conspiracy theorist or something?

I look at a girl's bike before her boobs. Does that make me a roadie? I think we all check each other's bikes out. To JUDGE someone by their bike isn't being a roadie, it's being an a$$hat.

It's a super sunny day, nice and warm - I try to avoid being Captain Obvious and chat my wife up about what my average speed was today. It's obvious that the bike ride and the day were good for me - I was on my bike. Again, does that make me a roadie?

I've said this a couple times but I'll say it again - as a 40 year old fixed rider I'm not hanging out at the coffee shop or hanging at the local pub on open mic night. I like to go to the velodrome on rainy days and bang out some mileage, have a couple fun races with other people training. I also like to keep fit since I'm not 21 and eating/drinking everything I want. Again, does that make me a roadie?

No on all accounts from what I've seen, I just enjoy the aspects of road cycling that others do not. I still enjoy the ride nonetheless. Watching my speedo or the hot girl driving the convertible I'm still riding.

:lol:

I have a FG, a SS and a geared vintage 14 speed that i ride most of the time( rx100 groupe, and mavic wheels...oh so smooth) i have the jersey tops and everything...it depends, if i am riding for fun, fitness, or commuting. Sometimes i wear the bottoms, sometimes neither and just wear regular clothes. It all boils down to the distance, and purpose of the ride.

As far as pedals i do enjoy a clipless pedal but i also have caged pedals too. I'm not a weight weenie (all my bikes are steel), and i don't have a superiority complex like alot of roadies, but i do understand the purpose of the clothing. I don't have flashy brands on mine or anything..they're kind of plain and the jerseys are simple. I guess in summary i am just a commuter, and enjoy all aspects of cycling (except unicycles...which i haven't tried)

the frame looks great, but they arent equipping sram so my desire is totally diffused.

today i rode with a jersey and gps tracked it.

Did not start riding a fixed gear until I was 40... I wanted a new challenge.

Have all the kit and gear anyone would ever need but am usually pretty casual on most rides.

You need every piece of gear known to man to ride in Edmonton. Arctic blasts, deadly solar flare radiation, tornadoes, hail the size of small children. I've seen every type of weather known to man in that city.

PedallingATX,

Thank you. You did a very good job of making my point. I'll try not to drag this out.

We as cyclists are one of the most poorly mannered groups I have ever encountered. We suck at keeping ourselves in line. It's why I have such a disdain for roadies (as opposed to people who ride road bikes). You see, the only reason roadies behave the way they do is because we as cyclists permit it. If we called people on their crap then this issue would disappear. Roadies would have no one to act up in front of so their little "trip" would simply be over. They would be relegated to only hanging around others like them and that's a limited gene pool that dies. So, the next time you see a roadie being snotty, aloof, elitist or any of a hundred other things I say call him on it. Tell him it's unacceptable. Do not require him to leave but do require him to behave in an appropriate manner. Roadies are a minority group within our minority group. But, they are plentiful enough that every last one of us has met more than one. They act the way they do because we don't call them on it.

Need a comparison? Good. I have one. Triathletes. I know a number of these guys and gals. These people are completely off the deep end. They wear their HRM's at work. They train like animals. Their lives are being tri-people. They are also some of the kindest, most mild mannered, friendly, all-inclusive people I have ever met. I know tri people who you would look at and say "Yea, dude is bad to the bone". I know tri people who are fat senior citizens that picked up the bug last year. They are all welcome in the tri world. As are their friends and families. I see tri-people training in groups that the rear group is literally kids and non-tri spouses or designated "I'll watch the kids" tri-folk. When was the last time you seen a hard core road ride being caboosed by kids and non-hardcore cycling spouses? Tri's are never aloof, crappy or nasty. Their culture does not permit it. You behave yourself or you quickly find yourself feeling very alone among 35 people. I've watched it happen with my own eyes so I'm not just shooting off. These people have a very special place in my heart because they are both incredible athletes (regardless of current athletic status or prowess) and incredible human beings.

So, that's it. I make all the bold, admittedly big-brush statements to make a point. We as a group need to get it together. We need to be both great athletes and great human beings. We need to start with our own

i agree with this somewhat, the tri folks around here get rather ridiculously focus on everything about the race they miss out on life around them.

I wear whatever passes the smell test.

this is ridiculous. roadies dont say hi now and talk about anything other than average speed? (if you really knew what you were banging on about you would refer to power not average speed and HR, anyway... /roadie snobbery)

...can't ride bikes
what and this doesn't happen in the peloton? you are ridiculous.

My male appendage is bigger than your male appendage.

Roadies do not say "Hi" at all. They indeed do blather on and on about average speed and heart rate. I'm sure "power" and whatever that means is also part of the self-absorbed, wish-I-were-ism talk. Thanks for giving me a little more to roll my eyes over. Oh, I also left out altimeter talk. Nothing like knowing the grade you're on. More bullcrap to impress yourself (no one else cares) with.

oldfixguy--

I see what you're getting at, but I just don't think it is as widespread of a problem as you make it out to be. Honestly, the only roadies I've encountered that are rude or snobbish are poseurs anyways.

It's funny because I'll wave hi to some guy out on the road, and he won't wave back. But then as soon as I show up to an actual crit or road race, everyone there is super friendly and coming up and talking to me. I remember my first crit race they marked me with a blue number so everyone knew it was my first race. Tons of those guys were coming up to me and giving advice/asking how I liked it/etc.

I will agree that triathletes (although dorky as hell) are extremely nice. My favorite group ride in Austin leaves from a triathlon store, and it's one of the only group rides that respected me when I showed up on my FG. Other shop rides will snub FG roadies, but the guys at this tri shop were totally down and thought it was cool.

But, like I said, i think (like everything else) it all varies person to person. Some roadies are very nice, some MTBers are snobs, and some tri-geeks are too focused on their HR monitors to even notice you haha.

Well, triathletes have these little rules about individual effort being exactly that. Team play and all the sad and pathetic behavior that goes along with the peleton is actually looked down on. Remember cycling? One dude/chick with a bike doing their individual best. Of course not. Where would cycling be without teams of athletes wearing microphones and headsets so they can be told how to screw some other team over and keep them from doing their best? Gotta' love it. Make sure to keep the guy with fast twitch muscles in the draft. Gotta' keep him fresh so he can win. Gotta' carry him 99.95% of the way. Go team.

boom. roasted.

PedallinATX,

You are correct - the bad behavior is a minority. I've never said any different. I also agree that tri's (and anyone else who writes on themselves with grease) are dorky. I love giving the few guys in my building crap over that stuff. I'll have to trust you on the road race scene. I believe what you say. Unfortunately, I'll never personally know. I stand against one thing - unacceptable, self-absorbed, elitist behavior. It eats at me because what we do (cycling) is supposed to be an equalizer. No matter who you are, no matter what you do - you can join the greatest activity/sport ever devised. Of course there are different levels. I don't know. I guess I'm just saying it wrong. I want cycling to be what it should be - fantastic, clean, encompassing and human. Hell, I want to look down at your equipment and drool. I love seeing high dollar rigs. I want to climb as hard and as fast as I can. I want to race to the city limit sign and take your crap when you wax me. But, I want to smile and laugh about it. Know what I mean?