Are roadies the worst breed of cyclists around?

Gabbo

Hey - before anyone tries to shoot me down, just remember it's not my opinion (though I do agree in part with what he says)

The negative view of the Roadie is that he or she is fastidious, snotty and aloof. On the other hand, the romantic view is that Roadies are the toughest of all cyclists and that their careful preparation and studied appearance is a natural expression of this mental and physical toughness. But there's a deeper truth. Beneath all the training and suffering and Lycra and embrocations, the fact is that all Roadies are freeloading cheats. I'm not talking about doping. No, Roadies are freeloading cheats because the true essence of road cycling is the conservation of energy. Naturally, the only way a bicycle is going to move is if a person puts energy into it and they do what they can to make their bodies strong, but there the effort ends. Beyond this, everything else is based on not making an effort. It's based on making things as light and aerodynamic as possible; it's based on slipstreaming behind other riders for as long as possible and it's about expending as little effort as effectively as possible.

And the Roadie's freeloading ways extend to life off the bike as well. Anybody who's spent any time in bike shops knows the Roadie is the worst kind of product-grubbing discount hunter there is. They have no loyalty to their shop; if they can find it online for £2 less, they'll buy it there. Yet they'll spend £1,000 on a wheel set if they think it might give them an edge, and if you lend them the money for it don't expect to get it back. Roadies are the junkies of the cycling world; they're skinny and untrustworthy, and they'll do whatever they need to in order to keep their habit going. The Roadie's life is full of disappointed people – spouses, friends, family – all of whom have involuntarily funded their depraved lifestyle in one way or another.

Why other cyclists don't like them: They don't appear to enjoy what they're doing and they don't appear to know you exist.

Compatibility with other cyclists: Have been seen at mountain-bike races, but are largely compatible only with their own kind. - Eben Weiss

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... ing-tribes

Zoomer37

Bless him. What a moron

pride4ever

LOL......he,s having a laugh of course but its funny. There is some truth but generalization is generalization whichever way you cut it. Anyone who has raced will tell you that the effort is so encompassing, so brutal, so completely shattering that anything that helps get you through is worth its weight In gold. No other form of cycling can compare with that. As for spending habits, well everyone's looking for a deal, its not purely the reserve of roadies. Made me laugh so nice find OP.

16mm

Bike Snob is spot on, and probably slags every other type of cyclist in the same way. Isn't he an ex roadie?

iPete

Fair and to be treated like the rules..

andi1363

Think the answer is commuters who want you to share their opinion!

Gabbo

16mm wrote:

Bike Snob is spot on, and probably slags every other type of cyclist in the same way. Isn't he an ex roadie?

I'm not entirely sure. Judge for yourself by this picture of him below



He tends not to slag of MTB'ers in the same way. Read more - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... ing-tribes

sloppyschleckonds

Latte sipping w@nkers

verylonglegs

I blame the need to generate revenue through advertising for these sort of articles, journalists/coloumnists are having to write more and more trash and nonsense in a effort to get noticed since the internet opened up 'publishing' to anyone.

bernithebiker

When a skinny roadie on a nice lightweight bike creams past you on the Alpe d'Huez, it's human nature to hope his carbon spokes collapse and he faceplants the tarmac.......

thegreatdivide

Hehe - that article is an old one. My mum cut it out and gave it to me a few years back

To be taken with a [small] pinch of salt ;-)

Bozman

Can't argue with that

dmclite-3.0

I am heaping disdain, so vulgar to talk about it daaahlings. :P

BelgianBeerGeek

Saw this earlier at work and thought I should say something.

Put the bike away at home but walked past a mirror....been there 'til now.

Ciao, darlinks.