This post annoyed me.... Significantly ....
Cant we just be pleased that people are riding bikes?
To paraphrase someone - Just rejoice at that news and congratulate those people sharing in our hobby and interest.
I see a chap regularly who rides his bike daily - its little more than a supermarket BSO from the 90s with a tote crate nailed to the front.
I doubt the bike has ever been in a bike shop, let along subject to a bike fit.
I see him at the local supermarket doing his shopping, I see him in the city 15 miles away, i see him tooing and froing around town.
He's knocking out at least 100 miles each week, hes fit, hes happy, he seems healthy.
I know another lad who a few years ago was an alcoholic and getting into trouble with the police. He ended up on community service litter picking after a court appearance and from there found he enjoyed it and ultimately got a job with the council as a litter picker. The problem is he starts work at 6am, the depot is 4 miles form his home, buses dont run at that time and he doesnt drive. He didnt have money for a bike fit, or a £600 bike, ill bet he didnt have £60. He ended up borrowing a bike 24" wheels one of the local teenagers had grown out of and with the help of a few people battered it into life. He's never looked back.... but for me.... the ill fitting BSO played a significant part. He still rides an X framed MTB, onroad, to the depot and back almost a decade on. Are you really saying she shouldn't have taken that bike? - He'd probably be dead or in gaol.
Another couple of old boys I see at the pub must weekends ride secondhand classics theyre easily in their 70s and i dare say their fit has changed since they aquired the bikes, they ride out at weekends and the occasional summer week day, do 20-30miles at a sedate pace stopping for a beer and a cake. They both have huge panniers front and rear and ive never seen a thing in them beyond their coat and hat while in the pub.
I ride a bike that cost me £450 in 2012, the frame has always been a bit big and i use a really short stem to make it feel okay. I got it when i was getting back into cycling with the intention of making sure it was do-able before spending more on a better bike. Well that bike has now got about 60'000miles on it and while i've often thought about new better bikes.... This one seems to do what I ask of it and being entry level chains cost £5-8, cassettes £15, bearings are pennies.
Are these efforts somehow less worthy than then the efforts of someone on a £4k bike, fitted at a bike shop with stuff above entry level.
I am usually in the top 10% on Strava and take great pleasure in whistling past people on plastic bikes with all the posh gear on my £450 bike with a teeshirt and Craghopper shorts on!
One of the things about Shimano entry level stuff is that its trickled down and actually pretty damn good - in my view its the smart buy. I can't really see that a top end groupset at £1200 is going to make any difference to my riding, it'd just bring bigger bills.
When buying "vin-ordinare" entry level wine I was told buy a bloke who knew about this stuff to avoid the stuff that's usually just above the base price as the retailers and sellers know people will buy that rather than the cheapest, often the cheapest is better than the stuff £1 more.
I suppose in a way it's the same attitude that seems my neighbour spaffing £750 a month on cars while grumbling about still paying the mortgage and a loan for holidays and so on.
