Why the hatred to roadies?

1981miked

Evening people,

Just a quick question and observation, im wondering why there seems to be a bad feeling in general to road bike riders??

I have ridden MTB's for a long time and had a season or 2 racing them XC and Downhill, however as a keen cyclist i take every opportunity to get out there and ride, i own an XC bike, a freeride bike and a road bike and i use all 3 on a regular basis, i find that it helps with the fitness side of the sport not to mention the CV training for the long XC rides the summer brings.

This general feeling from the MTB community to road bikers is perhaps replicated from the road bike side also, but i dont recall ever reading or hearing harsh criticism or slagging off's in any road bike magazines, even out on the road i find that MTB riders don't generally speak to you if your on a road bike, but the next night if im out on the XC or freeride steed they are quite happy to shoot the breeze with you.....When you say that you saw them last night on your road bike....it tends to be a grunt of embarrassment.

I was out on my road bike recently and had stopped at the side of the road due to cramp, 2 minutes later 2 MTB'rs went by not even making eye contact, then closely followed by a nice chap on a road bike who pulled up and asked if i was ok and offered to PHONE his wife to come and pick me up! Maybe i just caught the MTB'rs on a bad day and the road rider on a good day..whatever reason i was confused as to why they passed a cyclist quite obviously in a bit of discomfort!!!

Road bike magazines suggest that it is good training and a break from the norm to get out on your MTB if your lucky enough to own one, im aware i am tarring the majority for the sake of the minority but i just wonder where it comes from??? Surely as cyclists we should all have a mutual respect from each other and appreciate whatever discipline we choose to partake in?

After all we are all members of this forum which is both Road bike and Mtb related!!! Most of the publishers of our monthly reads publish magazines for either disciplines?

Anyway just a thought and i fear i have opened a can of worms...

nicklouse

Why SHOUT? changed.

no hatred.

supersonic

A lot of it is friendly banter!

saintadolf

i agree with what you are saying mostly but i find that if im on a mountain bike i get blanked by road cyclists and vice versa and in MBR recently they said that road bikes were good for the training so maybe its only bikeradar affiliated magazines that dont like roadies

Anonymous

your getting into deep water here / skinnies hate mtb , mtb hate skinnies / ramblers hate mtb / mtb hate ramblers , xc hate down hill / down hill hate xc , i could go on & on & on & on & on & on & on but one thing that unifies all 2 wheeled junkies "DOG SHIT" oh and ramblers :roll:

1981miked

I see what you are saying saintadolf, i have to say that has happened to me a couple of time on my mtb, it has happened more often on my road bike though. Nicklouse..i have noo idea what you are on about with the why SHOUT? maybe i have a face to be hated then? :P

The friendly banter stops when they ignore you though....even bloody horse riders acknowledge me on the road bike...and Golfers even smile at me when im heading out to some nice wee jumps and technical bits near the course...

nicklouse

1981miked wrote:

I see what you are saying saintadolf, i have to say that has happened to me a couple of time on my mtb, it has happened more often on my road bike though. Nicklouse..i have noo idea what you are on about with the why SHOUT? maybe i have a face to be hated then? :P

The friendly banter stops when they ignore you though....even bloody horse riders acknowledge me on the road bike...and Golfers even smile at me when im heading out to some nice wee jumps and technical bits near the course...

what case did you type the topic heading? you used CAPS ie shouting.

1981miked

HA HA Jacks2ts, ur so right. I do dislike ramblers though :roll:

1981miked

I always use caps on heading, got your attention anyway!!!

rob cole

I have no hate for anyone on a bike but 95% of the time find road riders to be very unfriendly when encountered on the road

I will often issue a friendly "good morning" or nod as i past a road rider, and 9/10 times get completely blanked or a miserable face in return

jeeezzzz.....lighten up

1981miked

Im lightened up enough thanks, i just wanted to see what everybody thought or had to say, we are usually in "the zone" and therefor can't afford a hello or a friendly gesture...it effects the aerodynamics.

rob cole

not asking you to lighten up, asking the road riders to lighten up as I always like to see people riding any kind of bikes and want to share the experience with a friendly greeting

its so rare to get a good response that i am always surprised when i get a nod in return or a "hello".....

1981miked

I think if everybody took yours and my attitude the whole cycling community would be much better off Rob. We have all chosen cycling to keep us fit or as a pass time so we should be able to respect each other. At the end of the day when it's oh fuc# hundred hours on a cold winter morning or a rainy Saturday afternoon and we pass another cyclist, it shouldn't matter what he/she is riding, the fact they are out there doing it is enough to warrant a hello i think..

NikB

I always give a nod to roadies but I rarely get anything other than a glare back but I have also encountered it with people on mtb's too. Out on the trails most will say hi as you're going past.

I think to an extent it's more to do with society today as a whole than specifically a cycling thing. I just try not to worry about it really.

dave_hill

Got to say that I've been blanked more often by other MTBers than roadies. Roadies will blank you if they're with their mates, but solo very rarely.

I had a raging row with another MTBer the other week - I'd overtaken him on quite a steep climb local to where I am, which has a gate at the top. As I dismounted top open the gate, he was only a few yards behind me, so I opened the gate and held it open for him to ride through.

He never acknowledged that I'd done this, so I shouted "You're welcome!" after him, at which he stopped, and started giving me the verbals about being a cheeky See U Next Thursday and how I should be more careful about how I spoke to him. So I let rip at him about good manners and common courtesy, and about how it was because of the likes of him that the fabric of society is in falling apart, and so on and so forth.

So it's not just roadies and ramblers. And don't get me started on militant ramblers.

Chaka Ping

I find roadies nearly always nod or say hello back to me.

Maybe it's because I'm usually in lycra?

I think hatred is a bit strong a word anyway, it's hardly mods and rockers or crips and bloods territory is it?

redddraggon

I always give MTBers a proper greeting when I see them on the road - it's the pavement riders I blank.

I just think most of it the forum is friendly banter. Roadies know road cycling is better, but for some reason MTBers are deluded that hiding in forested areas is better

I want an MTB, but it's just to much effort, I'd need a car to get to the likes of Llandegla. At least with a road bike you can just go out and start riding.

Rich Hcp

I have a road bike and a MTB (Also buying a new hardtail)

I always say hi, no matter who they are and what they are riding.

MTBers seem more miserable.

Most roadies say hi when I'm on the trail bike and seem pleased to get a response.

When I'm on the roadie 90% of roadies respond, 60% of MTBs

The worst offebnder is one of my neighbours, he stares like I have two heads when I ride past and if I see him on the road on his roadie, he stands on the pedals and grits his teeth with a "I'm a serious cyclist" face on (He always wears his cycle club gear). he's also ridden past me when I've been fixing a flat tyre. T*sser :twisted:

All types have stopped when I've been changing at ube, which is nice.

At the end of it, we're all cyclists!

Joggers?

They hate all of us!

redddraggon

Rich Hcp wrote:

Joggers?

They hate all of us!

They're just jealous because they go so slow

Chaka Ping

redddraggon wrote:

it's the pavement riders I blank.

Yes, an enemy we can all unite against!

KonaMike

I have no problem with Roadies,but personally I cant stand riding on the roads for more than about 10 minutes to get to a Trail !

ashleymp777

I think the reason they don't wave/smile or anything like that is becasue they're in so much pain from hitting all the ruts and manhole covers on the raod. And if they let go of the handlebars they're bound to hit another small object, like a blade of grass and fall off

shin0r

no hate here

1981miked

Yes we should all overtake them and pull massive skids just to annoy them....i know skids are for kids but nothing beats a good sideways number as you come to the end of a good DH...I agree with everything you guys are saying. Good for Dave_Hill, you tell em my friend, i suppose on reflection alot of it is to do with today's society and the mentality of people. It seems to be me me me and fuc# everybody else.

So moral of the story is, next time you see somebody on a bike, doesn't matter if it's a lycra clad roadie, baggy shorted freerider/downhiller or an XC whippet on his/her top of the range XTR clad race ready rocket. Relax you focus for a couple of seconds nod your head and give them a friendly greeting....We are all as daft as each other for the amount of money we spend on bikes and the weird and wonderful colour schemes we adopt or have adopted in the past with gear and bikes!! Not to mention when we are out in the winter in howling winds and driving rain.....lets be honest for a second THAT IS NOT FUN...yet we always say it was fine and nice to get a bit of fresh air.

It's time to kick the tyres and light the fires.

1981miked

ashleymp777, just had a look at your bike pics....that is a seriously nice bit of bike.

papasmurf.

why do all the poeple that ride those strange lying down bike things all look like child molesters..thats the real question.

ashleymp777

1981miked wrote:

ashleymp777, just had a look at your bike pics....that is a seriously nice bit of bike.

It does me nicely! It still doesn't ride itself though unfortunately!

Anyway................Roadies are still big girls blouses! Only kidding!

SBezza

I have never had a problem with a roadie to be honest, normally give me a nod, never had any issue with other MTBer's either, always say hello or give a nod.

Bigmiksears

it strange, i ride road for the majority and it is only very recently ive ordered my new bike. Ive found moving from home to university there is a massive difference between people on bikes. i wont mention place names as i dont want to directly offend anyone but at home, on the road this is, i would quite happily nod/raise a hand/shout hello/ride up behind someone roadie or mtb an start casual conversation and have that individual(s) react in a positive fashion back. Having moved to university i would be lucky to get a partial nod, maybe a smile maybe a look from anyone around. Its not as though im looking for it, but you do notice it when someone does nod and take note - almost mutual respect and a union between the two individuals. I do find it pretty rude ont the account of the individual but w/e - i feel aslong as i present myself to the world in a positive way - then it can only be a good thing.

I would tend to agree it is a society based issue and not purely based on mtb roadie etc. I would say there was more snobbery on the roadie side of things - that is purely observational and an individual viewpoint however.

Give us a wave if i go by!!

indysmith

The way I see it, everyone's a rude bastard, and the ones that aren't rude bastards are shy and cover it up by acting like a rude bastard.

jeffers696

chill matey, every one promise to wave at every biker they see from now on, mtber roadie or what ever. stay cool tho lol