Snobs

joolsburger

I'm in Surrey, bike tart capital of the UK I see some very serious bikes around here. I say good luck to them as long as they are having fun and pushing hard. What is a bit odd is seeing a 8 inch travel bike on a bit of Surrey hills singletrack seems a bit OTT to me but each to his own I say.
Money doesn't buy talent or experience or fun so I'm happy as is.

Anonymous

carrock wrote:

invariably, in the lakes, I see lots of people on fancy carbon road bikes ( usually with replica team kit straining over their guts and man-boobs) who push their specialized tarmac s-works up the hills, and get overtaken by old gits on steel tourers complete with luggage

So it happens all the time in all types of cycling, but yes, often the flashier the bike, the more up his own @rse the rider, and the more stupid he looks when he can't ride properly

Nothing wrong with people having expensive bikes, even if they can;t ride for sh*t - as long as they don't put themselves across as being better than you just because they have an expensive bike.

Anonymous

i dont see why having nice bikes means you "should" be able to ride well. in that logic i need to give mine away to all the harcore amazing riders on here and take one of their sh1t bikes instead :roll:

Northwind

If anything, us poor riders need better bikes- great riders can get by with rubbish

Anonymous

Northwind wrote:

If anything, us poor riders need better bikes- great riders can get by with rubbish

ooh, if i wasnt enjoying my yeehaamcgee quote at the moment, this would be my new sig quote.

buduk

omg your making an old bald fat git worried !!! i bought a bike 4 months ago (a hybrid) to get fitter basically ,and enjoy taking the kids out on the road , but the last 2 weekends i have been to whinlatter forest,and mabie forest with my eldest (9yrs old) on my hybrid i found everyone awsome tbh and very friendly ,my question is i have decided to get a
Specialized Rockhopper Expert instead of knackering my hybrid so when i turn up with it ,as i cant ride for shit is eveyone gonna go look at that arse !! as above i dont give a rats as long as i'am getting fitter and enjoying myself who cares then in 10 yrs time i might try the red trail and buy a better bike

Anonymous

no ones gonna care less in the grand scheme of things.

there are a very few folk who seem to think that people have to earn their place aboard a nice bike but what thy dont realise or fail to acknowledge is that thy dont have issue with nice bikes, they have jealousy.

these rare individuals covet your nice possessions and justify it by saying you shouldnt have a gucci bike if you "cant" ride it.

get the best bike you can, first time. every time.

Dazzza

sheepsteeth wrote:

now, bike snobbery goes both ways and more often than not it is displayed by folk with cheaper bikes. they look at folks more expensive bikes and suddenly get very defensive about their own perfectly good bike and they assume folk with pricey bikes are looking down at them.

trust me, folk with pricey bikes dont think they are better than folk with cheaper bikes. and i dont see why folk with expensive bikes should feel apologetic for owning a nice bike.

We have a winner!!!

Im a total bike tart but i appreciate all bikes, it's all about hitting the trails and having fun not worrying about what someone else is riding, hell i got overtaken by an apollo the other day.

Oddly my lbs is narky about my not buying a bike from them, though they hint it's in jest part of me says they really didn't like it, hell i buy what i like not what anyone else :roll: suggests.

Awesome bike blitz, takes me back to the days of the girvin flexi stem that i would drool over.

And reverse snobbery is well a bit sad really.......

Anonymous

i have had my ar5e handed to me my blokes on bikes you wouldnt pul out of a canal, its funny hat all the money i spend and technology i like and believe in is no substitute for actually being able to ride. i dont feel like i dont deserve it though, just think how rubbish i would be on a bad bike and as mentioned above, im so bad i actually NEED a good bike!

Dazzza

Same here until recently that is of course but that won't change me, just makes me enjoy the hills and the challenge all the more.

I can come across ignorant at times but that's usually if im very focused of i have my earphones in. :oops:

Anonymous

im always dead friendly but have slowly started to not bother with folk after a spate of being ignored, maybe folk think my bike is shitty? why are folk so less friendly these days, i like nothing more than a stop and chat about bikes at the carpark.

Anonymous

Always seem to be people stopping to have a chat when I'm riding.
I'm more than happy to oblige. Also, with the amount of trailside repairs / tweaks I've done for people, I should open a mobile bike mechanic business!

Dazzza

sheepsteeth wrote:

im always dead friendly but have slowly started to not bother with folk after a spate of being ignored, maybe folk think my bike is shitty? why are folk so less friendly these days, i like nothing more than a stop and chat about bikes at the carpark.

Don't ask me mate i can never figure out some people, i just leave them get on with it.

Though most are friendly down this way just the odd idiot about, bikings really taken off down here it's like a mini wales.

Except without the used gel wrappers.

Anonymous

maybe folk just think i will eat them or somthing, i am a big old unit

Dazzza

So you end up carrying all the gear for everyone when away.


I was always the platoon mule, slow but i could carry near anything, my burgen was loaded up with 4 gpmg ammo boxes at one time, had to lie it on the floor and get in that way.

SUPERSUTT

well waht about my melin malt 1 bike then its not even disc brake compatable and im running 85mm marzocchi z.5 front forks i dont even know the age of it

Anonymous

Dazzza wrote:

So you end up carrying all the gear for everyone when away.

I was always the platoon mule, slow but i could carry near anything, my burgen was loaded up with 4 gpmg ammo boxes at one time, had to lie it on the floor and get in that way.

exactamondo, no one likes pushing me over a 12 foot wall on their own but i can carry two blokes instead of one and i have less trouble with heavy gear than most. plus, you dont want a wippet to try and bust a door through or knock stuff in with sledge hammer do you.

and dont get me started on skinny blokes building bridges :roll:

Anonymous

SUPERSUTT wrote:

well waht about my melin malt 1 bike then its not even disc brake compatable and im running 85mm marzocchi z.5 front forks i dont even know the age of it

if you like it you like it, if its old enough to not have disc mounts and you're still bombing around on it, it cant be that bad eh?

SUPERSUTT

sheepsteeth wrote:

SUPERSUTT wrote:

well waht about my melin malt 1 bike then its not even disc brake compatable and im running 85mm marzocchi z.5 front forks i dont even know the age of it

if you like it you like it, if its old enough to not have disc mounts and you're still bombing around on it, it cant be that bad eh?

i just wish i could aford a new one money a bit tight at the moment

SUPERSUTT

any way a bike,s a bike end of the day you can only ride at your own level of fittness and skill havin the best bike on the market doesnt make you the best rider in the world . (just make you look good ) lol

Anonymous

we're all feeling that i think mate

llamafarmer

sheepsteeth wrote:

im always dead friendly but have slowly started to not bother with folk after a spate of being ignored, maybe folk think my bike is shitty? why are folk so less friendly these days, i like nothing more than a stop and chat about bikes at the carpark.

I've had a couple of trips to Wales lately and we met so many nice people, it was great. There was a guy camping on his own at Afan who came and joined us for a few beers by the fire, every lunchtime we were chatting with the random folk who were sharing our table and anyone who passed us on the trails when we had breakdowns/punctures offered a hand. The mountain bike community's a thoroughly decent bunch on the whole.

Snobbery is ridiculous (and it definitely works both ways), but I always look at other people's bikes on the trail to see what they're riding, whether it's a simple Carrera hardtail or some exotic carbon full susser. I just like bikes!

Paulie W

I think bike 'snobs' sneering at other people's cheap and cheerful rigs is much less common than 'hardcore' MTBikers (particularly donwhillers) laughing at the so-called all-the-gear-and-no-idea crowd.

SDK2007

I thought it was common knowledge that if you don't have a bike worth at least £3k then you shouldn't be riding :P

guido1

Always a funny one this. i have an expensive bike but i dont care what anyone else rides.
i find that people just get annoyed and use your bike as an excuse when you beat them..LOL

we rode with one chap (a bit of an odd ball to say the least) he only lived 20 mins from Cwm carn but didnt seem to know the course at all and was very very slow- so when he was beaten downhill (by everyone) he would say it was because of our bikes. LOL
he used to like shooting off uphill despriatly trying to impress a girl. V funny.
So there is wierdos in every sport who may put you down for having a poor bike or an expensive one- they are useally just not very good and need an excuse.
just ride your bike and have fun.

lawman

most people i meet out on rides are really friendly, the locals around here are mostly friendly, but its when i get to trail centres things can sometimes get a bit worse, but mostly every one seems really nice and friendly. at llandegla last month i met a guy at the bottom of the climb back towards the bridge, got talking about eachothers bikes and he just said oh have a go and swapped his blur 4x for my 5hitty maxlight he then commented on how light it was and thanked me for the swap. mind you i did an nps xc race a few years ago and all the xcer's were absolute tw4ts. no courtesy, no trail etiqutem, nothin. they swore at me to get out the way and it wasnt like i was trying to hold them up, but when they force you to stop and move out the way and get off its really annoying and rude :roll:

but that is the exception and i have met very few snobs on rides, altho i do get alittle annoyed when people on expensive bikes hold me up downhill, maybe its cos im competitive and want they're bike so i can go quicker

llamafarmer

lawman wrote:

mind you i did an nps xc race a few years ago and all the xcer's were absolute tw4ts. no courtesy, no trail etiqutem, nothin. they swore at me to get out the way and it wasnt like i was trying to hold them up, but when they force you to stop and move out the way and get off its really annoying and rude :roll:

I think if you're going to enter a race you have to accept that you're entering a competitive environment where there's probably a fair number of pro racers for whom it's a lot more important than just a fun sunday blast.

The one race I've done, I tried to just be aware of when the quick guys were behind me and pull over at the nearest opportunity. They were all polite and some were even encouraging me on. Yes it's a pain having to stop, but it wasn't that often and I was racing for fun anyway, those guys were fighting for position and lapping me

Anonymous

here is one for ya.

guy doesn't commit to a jump, slides down hill on his side guiding the bike slalom style to a stop.

guy sees that sliding guy and says "that's a funny way to get down a hill"

now, which way do you take it?

a) the guy was being a prick, looking down at you and thinking that you can't ride
or
b) just being sarcastic as it is actually a funny way to get down a hill?

best this i've found is to come back with a suitable comment, off the cuff if you can, make them think..lol

Paulie W

llamafarmer wrote:

lawman wrote:

mind you i did an nps xc race a few years ago and all the xcer's were absolute tw4ts. no courtesy, no trail etiqutem, nothin. they swore at me to get out the way and it wasnt like i was trying to hold them up, but when they force you to stop and move out the way and get off its really annoying and rude :roll:

I think if you're going to enter a race you have to accept that you're entering a competitive environment where there's probably a fair number of pro racers for whom it's a lot more important than just a fun sunday blast.

The one race I've done, I tried to just be aware of when the quick guys were behind me and pull over at the nearest opportunity. They were all polite and some were even encouraging me on. Yes it's a pain having to stop, but it wasn't that often and I was racing for fun anyway, those guys were fighting for position and lapping me

+1 I've done a fair few NPS races and found the top XCers to be perfectly reasonable and fair when coming past.

lawman

i obviously caught them on a bad day then. it was pissing it down with rain so maybe it was the weather that was pi55ing them off