retired the road bike

[karl61]

today i went out for a ride on my work bike, nothing special, a carrera subway that i bought on e-bay. the seller only had it 6 weeks.a real bargain.

so after debating wether or not to don all road bike "attire" i decided to go out on this, normally on a sunday i'll do a 40+ ride, but today i cut back to 20.

i just chucked on some scruffy gear and went for a ride, and to say, i really enjoyed the difference. for some reason i never felt the pressure to hammer the pedals.

if i came to a bit of a hill i just dropped down and took my time, and if i came to a bigger hill i dropped the front on to the granny ring....bliss.

but what i did find upsetting (slightly). was that, usually when on my road bike and another roadie passes you in the opposite direction,what do we do? yep, you know the answer, give a polite nod,right?well....what did i get after i nodded? nothing, zilch, zero...roadie snobbery.

so with the road bike being set up on the turbo in the shed, unless the snow or whatever stops me riding through the winter, this will be my option.

so what am i trying to get over.... i aint got a clue, maybe just ride what you got and enjoy it.

safe riding all.

 

[DCLane]

Why not use the road bike over the winter? OK, so I've a 'winter' road bike for commuting duty, but the 'best' road bike will be out on dry weekend days.

The MTB only gets used off-road and for commuting in really bad weather.

Why do people nod/wave? It's probably them waving at themselves - if they don't like MTB riders, then they won't nod/wave.

 

[RWright]

You still have the road bike, ride them both, it is what I do. I don't have to really deal with cycle snobbery in my area. It is so rare to see another cyclist that about all of them give a big smile and wave. If I am on my drop bar bike, several of them (some not even on their bike) have stopped me for conversation or rode up and ride and chat for a few miles. I am not sure what happens in towns a little farther away with more cyclist. I am guessing the full kit race bike crowd doesn't pay much attention to the casual crowd and vice versa.

I enjoy both bikes and it is nice to sometimes be able to put on my shoes and ride in casual clothes at a slower pace. If other riders don't want to wave at me or acknowledge me that is fine, I am going to wave at all the small number of riders I see anyway. It is not my nature to not wave, not sure how it would be if I saw a lot more riders during my daily rides, if I passed hundreds I might change my mind and could understand others not waving as well, but it might be good arm exercise.

 

[defy-one]

Bike snobbery is alive and well in the greater london area. I try and say hello or nod when cyclist pass,but it's amazing to see the different reactions i get when on defy v sirrus

 

[biggs682]

just ride it does not matter re its price tag or condition its about the riding surely

 

[Globalti]

It's because you wore scruffy attire, therefore you weren't considered a proper roadie.

 

[Davidc]

Last time I wore 'proper' cycle kit it was cotton not lycra.

I sometimes wear sports shorts and top, more often just casual clothing, never lycra. That's been the case for decades. Wear what you like, if some twit coming the other way wishes to ignore you as a result then fine, just accept that they're stupid.

 

[albion]

I don't understand the snobbery bit, unless it is a commuter area where RSI would occur if everyone was acknowledged.

It certainly does not happen up north, though I did have the lead rider of a Sunday peleton shouting 'get a road bike' as they all passed up a steep hill once.

 

[Phil_bucks]

Bike snobbery is alive and well in the greater london area. I try and say hello or nod when cyclist pass,but it's amazing to see the different reactions i get when on defy v sirrus

trust me mate, they aren't ignoring you because of the bike you're riding

 

[400bhp]

Bike snobbery is alive and well in the greater london area. I try and say hello or nod when cyclist pass,but it's amazing to see the different reactions i get when on defy v sirrus

I don't buy it.

It's very difficult to see what make/model someone is riding when passing in the other direction.

 

[Herr-B]

You should pass me sometime, I nod to every cyclist.

You've got me thinking now, should I be doing so? Can anyone point to the section of the highest code that says I have to be selective in my salutations?

Or should we all be encouraging all cyclists with a little nod or wave.

 

[defy-one]

I think it's nice to ackowledge all cyclists,had some great conversations in or out of London with commuters.

 

[Saluki]

We nod or wave to all other cyclists. The other day, when out on our MTBs and covered in mud, we passed a guy on a roadie coming in the opposite direction and he nearly rode into a bush as he had his head turned so far to his left so he didn't have to make eye contact with us. Numpty! All in rural Norfolk too

I love riding my MTB as I really don't feel the need to go as quickly as I do on the roadie, but the roadie is much more of a mile-muncher so it depends on what distance I want to ride and how long I have got as to which bike I take.

 

[compo]

I find the weather makes a difference. A bit of sunshine, like yesterday and all the Mamil's who have spent their kid's inheritance on a flash bike and even flashier gear suddenly come out of hibernation. These people are better than everyone else, you know that because they can quote much of the cycling magazine articles verbatim so they are not going to acknowledge a scruffy little erk on a Halfords bike. Wait until it is cold, wet and miserable and the real cyclists are out and you will see a difference in people's attitudes.

 

[Leaway2]

I find quite the opposite, if I nod/wave to MTB/BSO riders most do not acknowledge. Its just a case of some do, some dont.