Snobs

Hercule Q

we dont really get much of that down this way everyone just wants to ride their bikes and have fun i've only had one guy who rode past as me and my friend was pushing up a hill he's got a 224 and i got a hardtail with a 42t front ring and he was sayng something about a chairlift and the fact he could ride up on his carbon xc rig

Anonymous

I'm always moaning that we should have gondolas or chairlifts everywhere.
I reckon we should scrap public transport, and replace the whole lot with chairlifts .

Anonymous

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I'm always moaning that we should have gondolas or chairlifts everywhere.
I reckon we should scrap public transport, and replace the whole lot with chairlifts .

lol.. yep, totally get you there..

CycloRos

I've not witnessed any bike snobbery and if I had I'd have told em to get fooked! When I'm out and about I'll always stop and chat providing I'm not in my flow. If I ignore someone its not cos I'm being rude they're just getting in the way of my enjoyment...

I do find the weekend warrior/trail centre loiterers the most comical of all, you can tell who's been out for a good day and who's just posing by the amount of mud on themselves/kit.

In general the more friendly and more interesting folks are those who look extremely red faced covered in sh*te they're the folks I'm more likely to engage in converation

Paulie W

CycloRos wrote:

I've not witnessed any bike snobbery and if I had I'd have told em to get fooked! When I'm out and about I'll always stop and chat providing I'm not in my flow. If I ignore someone its not cos I'm being rude they're just getting in the way of my enjoyment...

I do find the weekend warrior/trail centre loiterers the most comical of all, you can tell who's been out for a good day and who's just posing by the amount of mud on themselves/kit.

In general the more friendly and more interesting folks are those who look extremely red faced covered in sh*te they're the folks I'm more likely to engage in converation

No snobbery here then eh?!

el loco pollo

sheepsteeth wrote:

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.

You hit the nail on the head there mate. These twats need to get rid of the chip on their shoulder, perhaps they would ride faster. I don't understand why anyone should "earn" their place on a nice bike; none of us are pro bikers after all. Seriously why do they care about other people so much? Small willy syndrome maybe.

I wonder whether these people also think that someone shouldn't have a nice car unless their surname is Schumacher?

Anonymous

I went from a trike to a grifter, can I play...lol

aye man snobs of all kinds....I had this discussion with a mate at work just the other day...
basically said about myself, that why have all of a sudden (over the past year) got all concerned over what bike i've got to ride to work on....when only and ever since I got the first MTB they have been dogs... cheap ones, max spent was £110 on an Apollo grip shift from Halfords in newcastle (northumberland street). Had is for 4 years, nothing wrong with it apart from gears now and then, now for some reason I wont' touch em? that's my own snobbery right there, or is it the fact I can afford better bikes since I earn more cash? who knows...strange isn't it.

even now, the bike i've just bought 2nd hand is a real good bike but I wanna change stuff to make it look and feel the way I want, it's my bike, my experience, my ride.. why should I care what other people think, that's a fleeting feeling that passes and doesn't really make much sense at all..I recon it can only lead to anger and the dark side of shaving your legs..

wow, errm time for a coffee I think.. funny enough the work's bike rack is right outside, I think I may go let that Boardman Pro's tyres down..lol

Kiblams

I know people laugh at my Pinnacle out on the trails, and sometimes I play up to it I have recently been spending alot of money on the bike, and It's not to get faster or 'bling' up the bike; it is me trying to make sure the bike is safe enough to screw up technical sections and not brake components too easily.

I also can't help but look at others bikes anywhere I see them, I hope this isn't seen as me judging them (most of the bikes are higher spec than mine anyway) but I like to see what people are willing to ride in different places and get a feel for what cheap parts I can get away with safely.

skullthaw

VWSurfbum wrote:

but when there's a noble steed locked up or rides past, I just have to look to see what it is and spec etc?
I'm not a snob but i like to look.

haha i totally agree my mates always give me a funny look

you cant let that get you down your bike is not old, any way cant be worse than what i was riding 5 years ago an ameco daquri ... bomb proof

some guys i ride with spend £1000's on bikes and still only helps them a little bit just enjoy riding!!

stevieboy

I get looked upon as a snob when i'm on my Scott because it's expensive and I'm usually wearing my team gear and I always kind of suprise people when I open my gob and say hello, nice day etc etc

But then I get fanboys riding their fanboy bikes who look down on me because I only ride a £4k hardtail that hasn't got a 'maxle' or a 'virtual pivot point' or 'insert fanboy aimed marketing term' etc.

When i'm bored after training I like to trail hussle, i.e wait for said fanboys to enter trail, follow them and hound them and being polite and chatty as I pass, usually to no response as they're blowing out of every orifice. That usually hurts them.

However if I come to across a fellow mtb'er I'll always offer encouragement, like I was offered a few years back. What goes around comes around and all that.

So, if you're into biking and you ever see me coming the other way, don't expect anything less than a smile and a greeting, regardless of what you ride/look like/smell like or ride like. Ignore me at your peril

Naveed

Snobs are the worst of the worst, they represent all I despise in this world. When I moved to Surrey I met up with a guy for a ride. Before meeting up he emailed me asking me 'what do you ride?' He then proceeded to tell me that he rode a Santa Cruz Nomad.

When we met up he chuckled at my Giant Trance X and asked 'what bike is that? despite GIANT being emblazoned on the downtube. He then asked which model, when I mentioned it was the Giant X3 he looked away distastefully. He then told me that his job was great and the money he was on was fantastic. He then asked me what job I did and what the money was like.

What a twat, I'm sure he was just going through a mtbing phase, next month will be his golf phase followed by his tennis phase.

paul.skibum

I don't know why this is such a big deal - surely everyone deals with a wide variety of numpty's in their daily life?

Sure everyone should ride a mountain bike but some people who do are not people I want to know. I dont care what you ride but just because you ride something dont expect me to like you.

I once chatted to a guy in Swinley whose bike caught my eye as it had a rohloff - looked interesting, a little over kill for swinley but still a 6-7 inch bike with rear hub sounded good. 3 seconds in I couldnt be arsed with the conversation as it bore no relation to my mtb existense and he could impart no useful info on the hub. I made my excuses.

The guy spent his money on what he thought important but based on no real knowledge - do I care. not one jot - I enjoyed my ride I washed bike, I left. Good luck to him but I think he'd be better of on another bike in the majority of his riding.

Doombrain

something positive to add.

on Friday i picked up a new bike and managed to get out today for a early morning ride to check it out and try and bed the disks in.

coming to the top if a good hill i came to a stop and put the bike down on its side to inspect the disk (rubbing a little too much). A road biker came past and asked me if i was OK and did i need any help. The direction he came from is a nasty long hill and i quickly waved him on with many 'no thanks, I'm just tweaking'.

Good on him, his lungs must of been burning and he was more than happy to stop and help me out. Good job he didn't, i could of burst into tears....

canada16

I work in the same building as an architect and he has a full carbon bike.

He lives in a rich area and the bike weighs like 19lbs for a HT.

He is the nicest guy and we talk all the time.

I think snobs should be shot.

Pahwww Im better than you because I have more money, pahwww la dee daa.

gaz047

i only hear of this bike snobbery and reverse bike snobbery on forums (a bit too often aswell!!) as brought up already you get d£cks in all walks of life and mtb'ing is not exclusive to this.
whether your a great rider or just starting out, have an expensive bike or a cheap bike, im not interested as long as there are people out enjoying what their doing.
if you let on to someone on the trail and they don't bother so what, just don't bother next time you see that person, simple.

fletch8928

Not snobbery of sorts but i got talking to 2 local lads who rode upto the local (when at mothers), 1 kinda hid his bike and 1 was proud to have it right at the door.
I noticed the proud 1 had the same wheels as me and was asking him about them, we got chatting and when i said i had them on Scale 50 i got mixd comments of "yeah seen that bike" and "wow great bike". it is/was a good bike, proper middle of the road in my opinion. Anyway the proud 1 dragged me around his bike , i have to admit i had not heard of the frame but he was raving about his rear mech (XTR) and asked if i used SPDs as he has just got some. The other guy kept on about "you dont need this,that or the other".

End of the evening i had had a good chat about bikes but i coulnt help feeling that 1 of them thought i was looking down my nose and the other saying "hope to catch you next time your down". I had said to try the SPDs and laugh when you are lying on the floor after stopping to open a gate

We all have bikes we wouldnt have and we all have bikes we WOULD have. We all ride bikes we DO have

hender

i'm new to this mountain bike game and when i'm out i often have a little glance at what people ride - out of interest. at the end of the day i purchase a bike that i can afford & suits my level. if this bike isn't as good as the next bloke who cares! i'm enjoying myself. you will always get people who look down at you - that's life unfortunately!

CowboyBob

I'm getting back into biking after a two and a bit year gap and nothing has changed. People still buy bikes as fashion accessories, buying that sessions trendy must have. Bike snobbery is always going to happen when you have mags like MBR doing pieces on Budget Bikes that cost £700.
A budget bike for me would cost £250 max.

I ride what I can afford to wreck. At the moment I'm finishing off a Scott G-Zero P1 project bike that I started three years ago so I will have a mix of old frame, newish forks and drive grumph. The frame is not well known so I doubt people will care much about it.

Flenser

Even the Roadies seem to say hello round here. :shock:

Anonymous

I was taking a friend of mine round Llandegla today - second time he's ridden a bicycle in about 30 years he says!
Anyway, he was on my old faithful (see sig), and was doing admirably.
When he set off, I commented to a group that had stopped nearby how good I reckon he was considering it was the second time ona pushbike in about 30 years, and they commented that maybe he shouldn;t have such a posh bike then, they'd seen that one outside the cafe earlier, and thought it looked really expensive.

I liked the look on their faces when I told them it wa my spare bike, and that it was 11 years old

Tom Barton

hmm - Perhaps not so much snobs as just horrible people full stop.

I'm lucky enough to have a very nice bike, I have previously had cheaper bikes of different prices and descriptions. But as I get older I can afford a bit more and so treat myself. I always say hello to others i meet and offer help to those with mechanicals etc and generally haven't met too many horrible people out on the trails.

I have however had people in the past sniff at my older bikes for being old or not good enough and equally I have had a quip at having a very fdlash bike now. Can't win with these sort of people either way - their just jerks and you gotta ignore them. Their often the same gits who ask what you do and how much you earn and where you live, what you drive etc - i.e. usually far too concerned with the size of their penis and best ignored..

Anonymous

^^
Nah, they weren't really horrible, they just made that one snarky comment. I think they were a bit jealous to be honest - although their bikes were pretty nice as well.

gregmorris234

jay12 wrote:

i say "whatever bike you have ride it.you can still have fun. having an expensive bike don't mean your going to be faster. if julien absalon was riding on a 1998 raleigh rigid hardtail he could still beat most/all snobs on bikes worth£2000" i personnaly think that it's a shame we have such people in the society

Exactly, I used to have a Carrerra Kraken £250, and i was overtaking people with their £2000 Commencal Meta's. Its the rider that counts not the bike!

el loco pollo

gregmorris234 wrote:

jay12 wrote:

i say "whatever bike you have ride it.you can still have fun. having an expensive bike don't mean your going to be faster. if julien absalon was riding on a 1998 raleigh rigid hardtail he could still beat most/all snobs on bikes worth£2000" i personnaly think that it's a shame we have such people in the society

Exactly, I used to have a Carrerra Kraken £250, and i was overtaking people with their £2000 Commencal Meta's. Its the rider that counts not the bike!

I drive a knackered old astra, and the other day I overtook a porsche, a mercedes and an audi on the motorway. Clearly I am the superior driver.

andy46

i know all about bike snob's, i came across some today their bikes were no better than mine so they started to take the p!$$ out of my pedals just coz they're flats FFS!!

btw i use dmr v8's and think they are great!

TOSSER'S :twisted: :roll:

Stoo61

andy46 wrote:

i know all about bike snob's, i came across some today their bikes were no better than mine so they started to take the p!$$ out of my pedals just coz they're flats FFS!!

btw i use dmr v8's and think they are great!

TOSSER'S :twisted: :roll:

Shoulda burst their tyres.....then their noses..... :twisted:

andy46

Stoo61 wrote:

andy46 wrote:

i know all about bike snob's, i came across some today their bikes were no better than mine so they started to take the p!$$ out of my pedals just coz they're flats FFS!!

btw i use dmr v8's and think they are great!

TOSSER'S :twisted: :roll:

Shoulda burst their tyres.....then their noses..... :twisted:

john74

i think people forget how mountain biking started with the old klunkers hammered together with what people could lay their hands on. DID THESE PEOPLE HAVE LESS FUN?

REMF

Doombrain wrote:

I was born in Stoke and have an inbuilt hatred of snobs.

Having been so busy over the years I’ve only just got back into biking. A few months back I was out on some local trails (Woburn) on my old 2007 GT Avalanche 1 enjoying the day with a friend doing some jumps and generally throwing myself about. After a while we got talking to two chaps.
After explaining about my return to the bike and made a passing comment, and while looking at my very clean and looked after bike "Humm yes. It is old, isn't it" capped with a quick glance to his friend then bike which was some £1000 full sus (I think).

When I started years ago I didn’t come across anything like this, ever. Is this common in MTBers??

PS: If you're reading this, I’d like to meet again so I can look down on your bike or whatever I can better

What a t**t.

he does sound a bit of a t*t, but yes, you are too sensitive.

thestringer

i ride around on my Carrera Kraken - and i see roadies and other various expensive MTB's floating by , mostly faster then me

i love to look at all the bikes, and love it when i see the local chav's skidding past on there Asda Asbo bikes , they seem to do it with such class, baseball cap pointing to the sky and a fag in there mouth's

but serious it's not the bike , it's the rider right ?