It's all about the rider ....

[Boris Bajic]

Well done, you ride in cheap kit... you have achieved something.

This is just another lame thread for the inverse snobs to pat each others backs.

I'm not sure the OP meant it that way and the tone is pretty modest.

I sit rather closer to the OP than to the sort of rider I am thought to be. I have what I think a (very) nice road bike, but it was £1,000 several years ago and even then it was slightly unexceptional. I do very average times and very average mileages, but I like what I do and it seems to like me.

Many of us have noted the upsurge in recent years (past decade or so) of self-appointed Internet Heroes of All Cycling Knowledge and Wisdom.

For them, it's all about optimised training regimes and sustained wattage. It's lovely that people take their leisure pursuits so seriously, but they sometimes give the impression that they take themselves seriously too.

I think the OP is a nice antidote to that sort of Carbon Conan mindset. The fashion bubble will burst as it has before, and many of the Warriors of the New faith will go on to take up another sport they've 'done since they were twelve'.

But until they do, I find the OP's approach refreshing. There seems to be nothing lame about it.

 

[Rob3rt]

So lame that you carried on reading it and have made another reply below this!

Same way as people rubber neck at car accidents, it is ugly, unpleasant.... yet you feel compelled to look!

 

[Spinney]

Same way as people rubber neck at car accidents, it is ugly, unpleasant.... yet you feel compelled to look!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Oh this again

 

[rams1de]

For totally irrational reasons, I refuse to buy from Fat Mikes. So, no I'm not like you.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

It'll be the cycling team in the red shorts photo next <yawn>

Or the rowers

 

[Hip Priest]

I did the Fred Whitton naked on a rusty BSO I found in a skip.

You won't catch me wasting money on cycling kit.

Yours

Hip Priest
(HMP Wormwood Scrubs)

 

[BigonaBianchi]

personally I like to make sure the lunchbox is on full show, whats the point in having it if you dont flaunt it, and besides tha'ts what xxxl sized lycra is for anyway...

..ok TMN do your worst

 

[jowwy]

I'm not joining in this thread

 

[EltonFrog]

It's all about the rider, not the gear for me. I ride a hybrid, nothing embarrassing there, but rarely seem to see many others about for casual cycling. I don't have the latest team gear, or the go-faster cycle glasses, or a high tech road bike. My stuff comes from Sports Direct, i.e. less than a tenner if possible. I don't droll over the latest machines, or upgrade with super-fast, super-light, carbon accessories....

Weirdo

 

[BigonaBianchi]

What, after you've done yours? First you have to have something worth flaunting surely.

Of course

 

[youngoldbloke]

I have yet to buy find anything in Sports Direct that fits, has any quality, is worth even half a quarter what you pay for it.

 

[MarkF]

I'm 50, got the set, MTB, hybrid & road bike, I use the hybrid most, it's a utility thing, commuting/shopping/trail etc, a good % of bikes I see along the Aire Valley are hybrids. My gear comes from Aldi, "treats" like a Campagnolo jersey, arrive as birthday or Xmas presents. I have sniggered this summer at blokes my age in full Sky kit and high end bikes, but good on them, they are out enjoying life, cycling, I like people to spend on high end stuff, the benefits trickle down to all of us in time.

 

[surfdude]

oh you poor, poor people . i have a 10k road bike and six others with a value of 25k all my kit is the very best . i change it every year to the latest gear and up grade the bike as well unless i fancy a new one . but then again i am not poor and won 10 million on the lottery so i can afford it . i really hope i get a cure for this sleep walking and typing soon .

 

[Teuchter]

Agree with the sentiments some have posted above that it's not the bike, not the rider but the ride... YOUR ride.

If that's dressing in team kit, adjusting cadence to maintain optimal heart rate, squeezing every last 0.5 kmh (because pros don't think in mph) out of your legs on your £3000 carbon bike then good for you.

If it's pottering along a quiet canal path, smelling the roses and listening to the birds on your heavy old 3 speed with your picnic and a bottle of bubbly packed in your wicker basket then good for you.

If it's bombing down muddy mountain tracks on full suspension bikes getting a face full of sheep sh*te off your knobbly tyres, dodging boulders and ploughing through ditches full of water then good for you.

If it's gaining personal satisfaction from spending as little as possible on your daily transport but still managing to ride a well maintained bike that takes you to work 5 days a week and out in the country at weekends while costing less per year than some people spend on carbon bottle cages / air fresheners for their cars / monthly bus tickets then good for you.

Just accept that everyone is riding their own ride - and their priorities may be different to yours.

(just re-read that... sorry for the sermon, went off on one there!)