Cycling seems to have become very "upper crust"

[Jimidh]

Yes but do you go to cafes or to coffee shops ?

Both so long as they have good coffee and cake.

Humble Hub is one of our favourites - should try it some time. It's a good ride out there from Edinburgh.

Also some good places in Innerleithen.

 

[rivers]

That`s how it appears to me

Doesn`t feel like I fit the criteria any more, almost as though I have to talk posh!

I`ve never been one for "keeping up with the Jones`s" or worrying about other people, but lately in various encounters I`ve noticed that the standard criteria is to be a private consultant, or doctor, or similar, live in a "rustic" residence with at least a double garage (or gararge, let`s get it right!!), a swimming pool, a minimum of 4 brand new cars, plenty of log burners, a coffee machine that cost more than my house did, a lifelong subscription to radio 4...etc etc etc, the list goes on

I, and my semi-detached WITH SINGLE gararge, tools based job, a liking for Lidl`s groceries, a 15 year old car, and a lacking of the cyclists accent (there is one, I know), seem to be feeling a little bit out of place

Maybe I should take up jigsaw puzzles, or get a flat cap and keep pigeons!

Seriously, the whole thing does seem to be getting rather "select", nowadays

You're upper crust compared to me! I rent a two bed maisonette. I also love a bit of Lidl, my car is an 8 year old Kia Picanto, work full time at a university and part time at the Bristol Hippodrome (on a zero hours contract no less!), and my accent is purely f*cked my from my gap decade (apparently a fun mix of american and english, that occasionally sounds Scottish or Irish, I don't know, but certainly not a posh cyclist accent).

I hate jigsaw puzzles!!!

To be honest, my cycling club sees a mix of everything. Really nice bikes that cost several thousand pounds, custom builds, vintage steel, entry level aluminium and carbon, more mid-range things, and people from all walks of life riding them. The only reason I have my best bike is because of a settlement payout I received, and even then, it's only a mid-range carbon. Otherwise, I would still solely be riding my entry level specialized.

 

[bpsmith]

Yes. The idea that successful people are clueless and just copy each other and rush to waste their money seems very odd to me. I believe that the opposite applies.

Absolutely agree with you.

I would even suggest that being "successful" doesn't just apply to how much money you earn. How successful you are, depends on the goal that you are trying to achieve.

We all have our goals in life, so let's not judge people for enjoying the spoils of achieving whatever goal it is that they were aiming for.

 

[Cronorider]

And what is it with snobby cyclists on posh bikes who don't nod or say hello when you see them out riding??

Maybe it's you...

 

[Fonze]

I nod, sometimes too bushed to do so though ..
I also like to chat at any stops gain as much advice and info as I can ..
But I ride for the love of it, like a bug or drug thing, so nothing bothers me other than ass wipe drivers ..

 

[Vapin' Joe]

There is much more affluence in cycling today. More people with disposable income getting into retirement age are taking up cycling as a way to stay fit. (rather than golf)

I'd suggest that most of the new breed are into it because it is fashionable and will be gone when it no longer is. The demographic making up the "New golfer" side of cycling is exactly the same as that which fueled the motorcycle boom from the mid nineties and lasted for a decade before dying on it's arse. Thirty to sixty age group, affluent with high disposable incomes, a liking for the best performance bikes and matching kit, mostly without very much technical knowledge outside of what they read in the magazines.

You will know that a boom in cycling is genuine when you see far more people buying the sort of practical bikes club cyclists back in the day rode when they were not racing or training, ie mudguards, non race geometry and something other than a glorified fag packet strapped under the saddle for carrying capacity. To be a lifelong cyclist you need to enjoy riding a bike for the sheer pleasure of it, not just till the novelty of setting strava times wears off and you have run out of new kit to buy, or those you want to impress no longer do it.

 

[Cronorider]

I'd suggest that most of the new breed are into it because it is fashionable and will be gone when it no longer is. The demographic making up the "New golfer" side of cycling is exactly the same as that which fueled the motorcycle boom from the mid nineties and lasted for a decade before dying on it's arse. Thirty to sixty age group, affluent with high disposable incomes, a liking for the best performance bikes and matching kit, mostly without very much technical knowledge outside of what they read in the magazines.

You will know that a boom in cycling is genuine when you see far more people buying the sort of practical bikes club cyclists back in the day rode when they were not racing or training, ie mudguards, non race geometry and something other than a glorified fag packet strapped under the saddle for carrying capacity. To be a lifelong cyclist you need to enjoy riding a bike for the sheer pleasure of it, not just till the novelty of setting strava times wears off and you have run out of new kit to buy, or those you want to impress no longer do it.

It's entirely possible that you are correct.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

No-one told me the 30-60 age group were affluent with a high disposable income. Where is it?

Seriously though, I have a friend who likes expensive bikes and the toys, but he uses them - a lot - and it's what he chooses to spend his money on. His house is modest and DIY jobs often wait, he spends more time on his bike so that's where he spends his money.

Just because someone has a nice bike doesn't mean that they are not normal working class people. No-one bats an eyelid at a £4K car outside a council house so why is a bike different?

 

[hoopdriver]

I don't think it is the cost of the bicycles - as you say, many a working class cyclist may well have the same or better. I think it is the faddishness, the sense of people following a trend and having no real commitment to, or knowledge of, cycling or being a cyclist.

 

[Saluki]

I'm not posh (my family is though and I am the black sheep) and I ride my bike. I suspect that cycling, for some, is the new golf.

 

[Bollo]

Yet the last time I and some friends tried to stop at a local golf club for a coffee, they wouldn't let us in because of our cycling gear .

Earlier this month Radio 4 broadcast a programme about golf's problems and the rise of cycling.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08wn9mj

The emphasis was definitely on golf's current woes and the comparisons with cycling were a bit superficial, but it's worth a listen if you've an interest.

 

[Slick]

I'd suggest that most of the new breed are into it because it is fashionable and will be gone when it no longer is. The demographic making up the "New golfer" side of cycling is exactly the same as that which fueled the motorcycle boom from the mid nineties and lasted for a decade before dying on it's arse. Thirty to sixty age group, affluent with high disposable incomes, a liking for the best performance bikes and matching kit, mostly without very much technical knowledge outside of what they read in the magazines.

You will know that a boom in cycling is genuine when you see far more people buying the sort of practical bikes club cyclists back in the day rode when they were not racing or training, ie mudguards, non race geometry and something other than a glorified fag packet strapped under the saddle for carrying capacity. To be a lifelong cyclist you need to enjoy riding a bike for the sheer pleasure of it, not just till the novelty of setting strava times wears off and you have run out of new kit to buy, or those you want to impress no longer do it.

It's entirely possible that you are correct.

It's equally possible that he is so wrong. We all have to buy a certain type of bike that smokin Joe approves of before we can even consider that there's a sustainable boom in cycling. Talk about elitists.

 

[Lee_M]

Says the man categorising himself as "successful" and "reasonably well off"

Actually I said "I would probably be considered"

Personally I categorise myself as a bit of a twat, but that's not strictly relevant to this thread :-)

 

[marzjennings]

Cycling is a sport open to most people (more needs to be done to promote it as such). I don't think you'll find the record books full of affluent family names and historically it was a sport of the poor. There are few professional cyclists who come from "rich" backgrounds.

Agreed, the bar is pretty low on getting into the sport, but there is a bar. A financial breakpoint at which point someone has the available cash to train and race competitively. As a kid there was no chance we were going to have the funds for me to race. It wasn't until my late-twenties and making a reasonable income was I able to afford to pay the racing license, travel expenses, entry fees, etc.etc to go race.

 

[Lee_M]

this is a bizarre thread.

Apparently all new cyclists are upper crust, they have no idea, they ride the wrong bikes and they will leave the "sport" when it is no longer fashionable.

In my experience in our club, we have a bunch of people riding all sorts of bikes from 1960s classics to carbon bikes costing 1000s who have found a pastime that they enjoy, gets them fit, is extremely sociable (we do lots of coffee stops) and is just bloody good fun, and they all do it together without any looking down at the "other sort" of bikes.

I think I'll have to get them together and re categorise them and tell them which ones need to leave the club because they arent proper cyclists accoridng to the cyclechat enforcers