MTB snobbery / fashion

Boy Lard

I've only recently got into mountain biking and I bought a bike which I thought would sufficiently do the job that I wanted it to do, spending as much as I thought I could afford/justify. I used to be very happy with my bike, and when I am out on my own I still love it to pieces. However, nearly everyone I ride with has a full suspension bike, or if they have a hardtail it is a more exotic, or job specific bike (jump/free ride).

I've never really unedrstood this sort of feeling with regard to objects. My car takes me from where I am to where I need to be and I don't care what it looks like. I used to think my bike was just a tool for doing a certain job, but now I'm getting very protective of it, I don't mean to feel embarassed by it, but sometimes that's what happens.

I've got a 2010 Trek 6000 by the way. I've changed the stem and bars (shorter and wider respectively), new pedals and a new saddle, oh and changed the tyres as well. I guess it feels pretty different to the bike I first bought. I'd love to upgrade the forks as well but will have to wait for the cash to become available.

I am just torn by my feels towards the bike, seems really alien to me. How much do you love your bike and do you sometimes wish it was better?

wordnumb

Recently I've been taking my 10 year old hardtail out instead of a more modern fs. It ain't what you ride (within reason - BSOs are still BSOs) it's how you ride it. Frankly, if my only option was an argos special, I'd rather be riding than pining over shiny kit.

t0pc4t

I love it a lot, I don't really wish it had anything other than the pro-pedal bit that the anthem X3 and upwards have.

I love it because I can divorce it from any kind of utalitarian purpose, my commuting bike is made of pig iron and has a horrible rack on it, it's horrible but it's for commuting. My anthem is pure toy and so I can lavish that much more money and attention on it.

I do wonder sometimes if longer travel would have been a better bet but then I hit a technical trail and am reminded that the strengths of the bike far outstrip my skill as a rider.

salsarider79

I think everyone sometimes wishes their bike was better. Sure I'd love a ceramic bearing BB, jockey wheels and decent set of wheels, maybe an upgrade to the componants....but the truth is, I have what I can afford, and I'll ride it as it is. Anyway, I've gone flying past people on bikes worth 10 times mine.

p.s. Some of those were going in a different direction..... :oops:

bartimaeus

On of my riding buddys has been out on his FS, his wifes hardtail and now his own ebay sourced winter bike (most expensive component a £25 XT rear mech - and I think that includes the wheels). He's still faster up the climbs than I am - and he can still go down stuff I am avoiding.

Unless you are minted, you can always see things that could be improved on your bike... but as long as you have a bike you feel confident in, then that's all that matters.

LjStronge

I think it's a normal feeling.

I ride a Rockhopper Hardtail and got just the frame to start. I bought all of the componants to go on it but had to beg/borrow some bits off of mates until I could afford my own stuff.

I would love to upgrade the fork to a reba and the crankset to an XT but I love having a bike that still needs more mork. When I bought new wheels (Hope Pro 2's on Stans) I was well chuffed as I managed to save for something good and really looked forward to putting it together.

Now every little bit (XT 34T Cassette coming) I look forward to, I never want my bike to be complete and perfect because I'll never have anything left to tinker with!

JonnyN

LjStronge wrote:

I think it's a normal feeling.


but I love having a bike that still needs more mork.

You can never have enough mork!! haha!

Have you just invented a new word? More Work

LjStronge

JonnyN wrote:

LjStronge wrote:

I think it's a normal feeling.


but I love having a bike that still needs more mork.

You can never have enough mork!! haha!

Have you just invented a new word? More Work

lol - Mork

That's the word for the "Tinkering, refitting, installing components" on bikes! :oops:

CycloRos

it's quite a common feeling when new to something (mountain bikes are not a special case), because you don't have the experience to know what's good/bad or indifferent.

There's nowt wrong with a Trek HT, I re-started my adult mountain biking life on something similar quite a few years back. There's always going to be others on more exotic machinery, but as long as your happy with your ride that's all that matters!

Certain mass-produced bikes can feel a bit bland in comparison to more boutique/expensive ones but that's not to say they don't perform equally as well, a lot of it is psychological.

You'll also find that most mountain bikers that have been around for a while will have multiple bikes which they use for different disciplines to maximise their own enjoyment.

.blitz

It's not what you ride it's how you ride it.

Stevo_666

.blitz wrote:

It's not what you ride it's how you ride it.

Does that just apply to bikes?

j_l

.blitz wrote:

It's not what you ride it's how you ride it.

+1



though its funny, in every sport / hobby etc you get flash harries with all the gear and no idea, I surf and you wouldn't believe the amount of numptys who turn up to the beach in big shiny new VW T5's with £1000.00 + longboards who can't make it past the white water or stand up,


be proud of what you have, improve your riding and just enjoy it.

clodhoppa74

it's a male thing tbh. the bike i've got is probably one of the cheapest and 'sh1ttest' on this forum. it's a £300 vulcan that i've stuck hayes strokers on.

i've had an enforced summer off the bike, and i tell you, i'd give anything to be back on it, and i really don't care what it is. it takes me over hills and, erm, down dales. it takes me around gisburn. it's ace like space.

sure, when i see the rich/single/dedicated lads huffing about on bikes that cost more than my car i get the greeneyed monster, but that's because it's a shiny new thing. i'm still happy with mine. when my riding calls for an upgrade it'll get it, eventually. shocks are next, but i'd give anything not to be looking at other people ride when i'm not.

be thankful you've the opportunity to go out riding with mates, that's what it's ALL about imho.

miss notax

J L wrote:

.blitz wrote:

It's not what you ride it's how you ride it.

+1



though its funny, in every sport / hobby etc you get flash harries with all the gear and no idea, I surf and you wouldn't believe the amount of numptys who turn up to the beach in big shiny new VW T5's with £1000.00 + longboards who can't make it past the white water or stand up,


be proud of what you have, improve your riding and just enjoy it.

I agree with this completely BUT - at the risk of sounding a bit hippy-ish - can't we just respect that people can ride whatever they want / afford etc and just let them get on with it?!!

I say this as someone that started off learning to ride on a nice full-susser, and i'm SURE I got all the 'all the gear and no idea' comments when I was out riding. As it was the bike cost me less than you would think second hand - but why should I have to justify myself?

It's the same with cars - i've driven £100 until-the-MOT-runs-out cars and very nice ones, and it annoys me intensely at the evils I get from some people.... :roll:

At the end of the day everyone works bl00dy hard and is entitled to ride / drive etc whatever the hell they like - if they like to spend all their money on their pride-and-joy MTB then fair enough

Boy Lard

I completely agree with the sentiment that it's the rider and not the bike. Having watched some people who are exceptionally good on a bike, they could ride anything and make it look good.

It has just seemed odd to me that most every thing I own I have bought because of how well it does it's job. I used to do a lot of archery and some of that stuff can get really expensive. I used to love turning up at tournaments with my old(ish) equipment, and winning simply because I was better. In that circumstance I was actually proud of not having better equipment.

The fact that I've even questioned whether my bike is good enough, or, however briefly, wondered what other people may think about me because of the bike I ride is a new and disconcerting feeling. Maybe I am more worried about my own skill level than I realised, self doubt is not something I have ever really suffered.

shm_uk

What despairs me most about mountain bikers is the one's who you can tell are judging you by the bike you ride.

Most of us are just out riding. But for some, it's some kind of lifestyle statement or mid-life crisis.

Thewaylander

I still despise people who ride expensive full sus bikes with 0 ability.

on the account i keep thinking you will never ever learn correct technique on that it's always best in my veiw to start ona HT at least to get used to unweighting and getting the bike to flow. but as i know it's there choice and i leave people to what they want to do.

But back on subject though, it's shiny to have nice things especially when it's for your favourite ways to spend time.

bails87

shm_uk wrote:

What despairs me most about mountain bikers is the one's who you can tell are judging you by the bike you ride.

I think this is more to do with the person "being judged" rather than the person who's apparently "judging". Why would anyone on a nice bike give a rats danglies what you're riding? Unless someone actually says "You shouldn't be here because your bike's rubbish" then don't assume they're judging.

I ride a £1k hardtail. If I see someone on a £4k superbike, I think "fair play, if I had that kind of money lying around, I'd buy something like that.". Likewise, if I see someone on a 10 year old, 7 speed, rigid ATB I'll think "Fair play, if that was my only bike (or I didn't ride often enough to spend a lot of money on a new one) then I'd be out on that". Because it's better to be out riding that sitting at home because someone, somewhere has got something shinier than you.

Anonymous

Thewaylander wrote:

I still despise people who ride expensive full sus bikes with 0 ability.

Sounds like jealousy, pure and simple.

On topic though, there is nothing I'm not satisfied with in my bike anymore. The only thing I fancy changing are the brakes, because th eping-ping-ping of the Juicys is starting to drive me even madder. Especially since I got a new Shimano rear hub which freewheels totally silently, meaning that PING is even more obvious.

But, I bought the whole bike, in order to hammer the descents like a man posessed, and was ready and willing to compromise XC ability, or ease of climbing in order to achieve that. I knew what I wanted, and what I didn't want, and got it.
There are people who will think I'm "overbiked" if they see me at trail centres (load of bollorks), but that's because it's not the reason I have this bike. I ride a bit of everything, and I'd rather have a tough, slack angled frame that will take an absolute beasting, and yet CAN be ridden round trails, rather than an XC bike, which could NOT survive large drops and crazy descents.

Mickey Eye

Thewaylander wrote:

on the account i keep thinking you will never ever learn correct technique on that it's always best in my veiw to start ona HT at least to get used to unweighting and getting the bike to flow. but as i know it's there choice and i leave people to what they want to do.

This is why I'm still on my hardtail. That said, I'm a sucker for shiny objects and I don't grudge anyone who has worked hard, saved and bought themselves the silly bike of their dreams, even if they are not using it to its full potential (yet).

bails87

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

I still despise people who ride expensive full sus bikes with 0 ability.

Sounds like jealousy, pure and simple.

Agreed. If you were mega rich, and a few grand was the same to you as £500 to most people, why wouldn't you walk into your LBS and say "I think I want to get into MTBing, what can I get for £3k?". I know I would.

Thewaylander

bails87 wrote:

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

I still despise people who ride expensive full sus bikes with 0 ability.

Sounds like jealousy, pure and simple.

Agreed. If you were mega rich, and a few grand was the same to you as £500 to most people, why wouldn't you walk into your LBS and say "I think I want to get into MTBing, what can I get for £3k?". I know I would.

I do have a pricey bike cheers:p Cheers 2010 Mondraker Dune R. bit shy of yoru 3k above so no i'm not jealous at all I feel i learnt all my best skills on a hardtail and so did allt he best riders i know. Then we progressed when we figured we personally couldn't push our hardtails fast enough for our taste anymore.

Thewaylander

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

I still despise people who ride expensive full sus bikes with 0 ability.

Sounds like jealousy, pure and simple.

And you didnt read what i had written, I dislike people starting out jumping to a top bike because i think its worth investing in personal bikes skills that can only really be well learned on a hard tail.

If you have been riding a while and still a bit rubbish and go out and buy a 3k bike cool no worries you have earnt the cash ride it, I know i have done just that and i''m not great. but i know I'm better than if i'd jumped straight into the full bounce market

Kiblams

I hate everyone with cheap bikes!

On a more serious note; I used to be a backwards bike snob :oops: (getting smug/superior feeling when tackling stuff on the rigid bike)

Now I have suspension I can ride longer but am technically terrible out on the trails

toasty

I still despise people who ride expensive full sus bikes with 0 ability.

I work far too much, this year that's included loads of evenings as well. I've managed to end up at the end of summer hugely unfit and out of practice, but comfortably well off flash bike wise.

Should I go out and downgrade to a low end hardtail, as not to offend? The unweighting argument is absolute rubbish, 5" of travel smooths out the trail, but you can't just sit down through everything. It just lets you hold speed without being quite so picky over lines. Put in enough hours riding anything around and you'll improve.

Tons of people you see out on the trail, on top end bikes, are riding those bikes to get the max fun out of their time out. Due to spending far too much time inside slaving away.

underdog

Someone mentioned it above me but reverse snobbery is just as popular, not just in the MTB world but everywhere.

I ride my "cheap" FS, I don't get out as much I'd like, say once every 2 weeks at the moment, and so it means rather than having a 2hour blast on a hard tail I can do 5 hours on my FS and make the most of my free day. Oh and it looks the bollocks of course

Thewaylander

Indeed i love my 6" ;p damn smooth all day and pedals well, with perfect slack ass angles for being a little hooligan went you want.

lovepasty

Dont fall victim to fashion or snobbery, I'm talking from experience in other fields but will be applying it to my fledgling MTB career

Dont upgrade until you are good enough to appreciate the new kit, If I bought a £5000 bike now I'm sure if would feel nice but in reality I would not really understand or appreciate the advantage over a cheaper model. When you can understand the imropvement and use the advantage it gives you it is so much more satisfying than just going straight an buying top of the range long before you can use it

t0pc4t

I'm not a snob about bikes but when I see a rider I have to check out their steed

which can get a bit dicey on the road

LjStronge

3K Full Suss with Super Skills - Gets my respect
£200 Hard Tail - Gets My Respect
3K Full Suss - Just Learning - Gets My Respect
£200 HArd Tail Just Learning - Gets My Respect

Simple

If your out on the trail, because you want to be there and enjoy yourself, I couldn't give a monkeys what you are riding, as long as you nod your head when I say hello, that's all I care about.

toasty

lovepasty wrote:

Dont upgrade until you are good enough to appreciate the new kit, If I bought a £5000 bike now I'm sure if would feel nice but in reality I would not really understand or appreciate the advantage over a cheaper model.

Funny you say that, we've taken complete novices with us mountain biking before, never ridden offroad before, and hired them bikes. Generally everyone I've seen seems to have a far better day out hiring a big full susser (Orange 5s are what we normally plonk people on), than on a heavy hardtail.*

I can appreciate the learning curve aspect, but you can't assume everyone is going out with the goal of become a world champ. I'm not suggesting all novices go out and buy a £3k full susser obviously, but it can be eye opening the difference.

* Although we do know someone who jumped on a carbon Trek full susser race bike at a demo day for her first ride out and hated it to bits. I do agree it's possible to completely miss the mark if you go too far to either extreme.