Snobishness in Cycling. Does it exist?

[Cycleops]

I have no problem with recumbent riders, they're pretty laid back!

I think mickle was joking when he said he looked down on them!

 

[yello]

I think mickle was joking when he said he looked down on them!

I think Ron-da-Valli was joking when they said laid back.

 

[Ron-da-Valli]

I think Ron-da-Valli was joking when they said laid back.

I was!! Maybe my career as a comedian is over before it started!

 

[Lee_M]

The guy that goes out and buys a 5k or even a 2k bike straight off is likely to be a 'cheque book cyclist'.

or maybe he is well off and can afford to do that. or is that not permitted and you have to prove yourself first?

your comment is snobbery

He likes to create an impression and loves to be seen and admired. In twelve months time he is unlikely to be cycling having moved on to some other passtime or got bored.

you know them then?

I buy into the price/quality thing but if you only have £300 to spend you only have that ammount.

agreed, but if you have £3000 to spend why should that person be criticised?

thats like saying you must buy a skoda even if you can afford a porsche.

lifeis to be enjoyed, and so is cycling,

In cycling lack of money doesn't preclude you from enjoyment. You can get just as much pleasure on a budget machine as you can on carbon dream machine.

i absolutely agree, but you can also get as much enjoyment on a £3k carbon

 

[gavintc]

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

Spot on - whenever I open these threads, the comments are so predictable.

 

[mickle]

I look up to circus unicyclists.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I suppose there is nothing to stop you buying a Rolls Royce and hanging furry dice from the mirror, equally if you have the cash you can buy a £3K Pinerello and put flat pedals, prop stand and mirror on it - some will sneer.

 

[David Haworth]

The guy that goes out and buys a 5k or even a 2k bike straight off is likely to be a 'cheque book cyclist'.

well, he might be a "cheque book cyclist" but so what? a) he's giving custom to a bike manufacturer and I'm sure they all need it, b) if he does sell it in a year then someone else gets a really nice bike cheap and c) maybe he gets his enjoyment from being seen and admired? who are we to say he's wrong. it's not like his having a posh bike somehow precludes you from having one.

there's nothing wrong with a triban 3, but if you've got the cash to splash, there's nothing wrong with going in at the high end either. it does you no harm what they do so why do you care? I think that's snobbery just as much as the peleton looking down at the carrera cyclist is.

lets just be happy that someone has some equipment that they are getting enjoyment out of.

David

 

[David Haworth]

I suspect you've bought into the BS of what you perceive to be a "bottom of the range model"

that's not the point. I fully understand that I could have bought the bottom of the range model and it would have been perfectly good for my needs. the bottom model of whyte R7 is a damn fine bike! however I fancied one a bit higher up because I liked the look, equipment stuff appeals to me and it was a different colour. I ended up with the top of the range because I saw a very lightly used on on ebay for much, much less than brand new.

is the bike more than I need? probably, but I wanted it, saw a good deal on it and could afford it. and I've made another cyclist very happy by giving him the money to go and buy something else. everyone's a winner.

David

 

[Hip Priest]

I know a handful of really good cyclists who race and have expensive kit, and I haven't experienced any snobbery from any of them. I also know many recreational cyclists who have cheap kit (like me) and haven't heard any reverse snobbery from them.

I think it's because I don't hang around with tossers.

 

[gavintc]

I know a handful of really good cyclists who race and have expensive kit, and I haven't experienced any snobbery from any of them. I also know many recreational cyclists who have cheap kit (like me) and haven't heard any reverse snobbery from them.

I think it's because I don't hang around with tossers.

Sadly, you will hear the quote 'all the gear, no idea' on here from some commentators.

 

[Hip Priest]

Sadly, you will hear the quote 'all the gear, no idea' on here from some commentators.

Yeah, I've heard that. If I see a slow cyclist on a £5k bike, I don't sneer. I'd be the same if I had a spare £5k to spend on a bike!

 

[redcard]

As per this thread, the snobbishness appears to be coming from those riding cheaper bikes who somehow seem to think they represent the 'real cyclists'. Those riding £3K bikes are phonies and wannabes.

Keep putting your spare money into pension funds, I'll spend mine on expensive bikes. Let's see who wins

 

[400bhp]

What is the prize?

 

[sddg7tfl]

I don't know about snobbishness, but one of the worst insults i've ever had came from a guy on a cannondale road bike, wearing all the gear,
with massive beer belly and backside.
As i passed him on my girlfriends raleigh shopper he yelled out "bloody poser, you ought to get off those drugs".
(I was only nipping up the corner shop).

I've seen him around a few times since while i've been out on my roady, still hauling his whale blubber at 10.5mph.