Snobishness in Cycling. Does it exist?

[Saluki]

There most definitely is snobbishness in cycling.
I often see a chap on a dirty and unloved but expensive Bianchi road bike, full lycra, expensive shoes etc (looks like a whale in bright colours bless him) and when I am on my Giant, he says good morning. When I am on my MTB he ignores me. One the one occasion I took OH's Carerra for a spin (its been slightly upgraded and I was trying out the new wheels on it) he made comments along the line of "real cyclists don't ride halfords $**t". I replied that at least it was clean and didn't squeak.

 

[Chescadence]

he made comments along the line of "real cyclists don't ride halfords $**t". I replied that at least it was clean and didn't squeak.

Sounds like a real t*at....I mean cyclist...

C

 

[GrumpyGregry]

When I'm on my mtb I look down on the poor souls riding bikes with drop bars.
When I'm on my road bikes I look down on the poor souls riding bikes with flat bars.
When I'm on my fixed I look down on everyone.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Even my water bottle holders are elite

 

[glenn forger]

I often see a chap on a dirty and unloved but expensive Bianchi road bike, full lycra, expensive shoes etc (looks like a whale in bright colours bless him) and when I am on my Giant, he says good morning. When I am on my MTB he ignores me. .

Good grief.

 

[ianrauk]

When I'm on my mtb I look down on the poor souls riding bikes with drop bars.
When I'm on my road bikes I look down on the poor souls riding bikes with flat bars.
When I'm on my fixed I look down on everyone.

Hold on... when you ride fixed you usually end up looking up at others do you not?

 

[nickyboy]

And inverse snobbery

I like nothing better than scalping some carbon riding, rapha wearing wannabee riding my raleigh airlite wearing aldi gear

 

[Moodyman]

There is snobbery among brands also.

Ride a Giant road bike and roadies will warm towards you. Ride a Giant MTB and you get less attention from MTB ers.

Ride a Kona MTB and MTB ers will embrace you but ride a Kona road bike and roadies will think not a proper roadie.

 

[NormanD]

Ride a Boardman and say "Feck off" to everyone

 

[Psycolist]

I'm not sure if this would count as 'snobbishness' but I always dispair when I see people riding bikes that are so badly kept that you hear them before you see them. I also hate it when I see children being let on the road with bikes that have no brakes, are miles too big or small or tyres balder than me. I live on a road leading to a school and every schoolday, without fail, children go past my house on deathtraps. Even worse is that the local police station is on the same road, and they must see the same things I do, but do nothing about it.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

certain 'elitism' perhaps on the part of riders of very expensive or exotic equipment. I wonder what others think.

There is a perceived 'elitism' of people with bikes of a certain value as displayed on this thread by some of the comments and I have most certainly been treated differently due to what I ride.. there is always someone who wants "to scalp a Rapha wearing wanabee", like myself and show that "It's the ones that have an expensive bike and automatically THINK they're the best of the best are the ones that have the attitude." rather than themselves.
If you notice in this thread there has been no banter, humor, or insults suggested towards people on cost effective bikes, the perception is that being an arse is exclusive and dependent upon the value of the bike.
So you have to consider why nobody gets the same joy scalping someone on a boardman wearing dhb as they do scalping people on expensive bikes wearing rapha or castelli?... you never see that expressed on a forum?.
I dare say some people with expensive bikes do exhibit snobby tendency, but for every one of them there is a person on a cost effective bike acting in a equally pathetic manner.

You can't judge everyone in the same way, some people are just peanuts and you can't identify them by what they wear or ride imho

 

[mark st1]

Well put Venge is that why you always insist i ride 10 bike lengths behind you on my creaky plastic Halfords jobbie.?

 

[oldfatfool]

Well put Venge is that why you always insist i ride 10 bike lengths behind you on my creaky plastic Halfords jobbie.?

No thats because you had beans for tea, hth

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Well put Venge is that why you always insist i ride 10 bike lengths behind you on my creaky plastic Halfords jobbie.?

Got to be something to those cost effective bikes, I like the way the gears work up hills

 

[PaulSecteur]

I firmly believe that snobbery is rife in my cycling life... My bikes constantly tell me Im not good enough to ride them.