I think this Specialized webpage promotes a bad image.
09-08-16, 06:52 AM
#51
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Target marketing? The guy who already owns a road bike and can afford buying a gravel bike. But not just any gravel bike. One that is as good or better than his road bike.
09-08-16, 06:52 AM
#52
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Is it just me, or does being "an ambassador for the sport" always seem to mean "do it my way"?
09-08-16, 07:00 AM
#53
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Great what do you know another person offended. Get over it.
09-08-16, 07:30 AM
#54
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09-08-16, 07:35 AM
#55
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My daily bike commute takes me by some homeless camps and through hardscrabble neighborhoods where many people don't have bus fare to get to work or social services. You see them riding their old, abused bikes with their impossibly out-of-true-wheels, dangling brake cables, disconnected shifters often rolling on a flat or two. Seats askew riding too low for human comfort, foam padding exposed through worn vinyl. They wear somebody elses cast-off clothing wearing backpacks, or carying bedrolls and duffels on a rack, sometimes carrying a baby trailer full of belongings bungeed to a rear rack or just the seatpost. No helmet, no lights no gloves, not even in the rain or snow, wearing too much in the summer and too little in the winter, they press on at slightly bettere than walking speed, determined to get to that job, that shelter, that other place, whatever it is; they pedal with a drive and determination that rivals the titans of the tour. Those people to whom a bike is an essential lifeline...THEY are the serious cyclists.
The rest of us are hobbyists.
The rest of us are hobbyists.
09-08-16, 08:01 AM
#57
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Seriously, that's all it takes to elicited a rant from you? Glad we're not neighbors! Lol
09-08-16, 08:09 AM
#58
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09-08-16, 08:10 AM
#59
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My daily bike commute takes me by some homeless camps and through hardscrabble neighborhoods where many people don't have bus fare to get to work or social services. You see them riding their old, abused bikes with their impossibly out-of-true-wheels, dangling brake cables, disconnected shifters often rolling on a flat or two. Seats askew riding too low for human comfort, foam padding exposed through worn vinyl. They wear somebody elses cast-off clothing wearing backpacks, or carying bedrolls and duffels on a rack, sometimes carrying a baby trailer full of belongings bungeed to a rear rack or just the seatpost. No helmet, no lights no gloves, not even in the rain or snow, wearing too much in the summer and too little in the winter, they press on at slightly bettere than walking speed, determined to get to that job, that shelter, that other place, whatever it is; they pedal with a drive and determination that rivals the titans of the tour. Those people to whom a bike is an essential lifeline...THEY are the serious cyclists.
The rest of us are hobbyists.
The rest of us are hobbyists.
Are you a member of the anti-tourism council?
09-08-16, 08:19 AM
#60
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What is seriously wrong is the price of these bike. For $1300 you get a chromo frame and fork, 9 speed with Shimano Alivio RD.
09-08-16, 08:42 AM
#61
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Sounds like someone got dropped by Fred and is upset...
Looks like a cool guy to hang out with, and go on a bike ride to a local brewery, to me.
I did a nice 25 mile ride on everything from road to loose deep sand this past weekend with three friends. I had a Scott, the fiancee was on her Specialized, and the friends on a Klein and a Gary Fisher. Only one of us had a jersey on (from a local microbrewery, BTW), none of us had cycling shorts, and none of us in proper shoes or cleats. Heck, I rode in gum soled indoor soccer Adidas shoes, with black calf length socks doubled back down on themselves, with baggy khaki cargo shorts and a t-shirt. Are we not "serious" enough for you? We had a grand time, BTW.
I'd be willing to bet considerable sums that if the younger generation were polled, they'd rather ride with that guy than a bunch of chubby accountants kitted out in lyrica.
The only appearance that matters for the sport is a person sitting on a bike and pedaling. Your appearance likely looks ridiculous to me, FWIW.
Thankfully I can understand that my off time activities that don't provide an income don't require me to dress in the same manner that I need to when in a professional setting.
Meh, most of those folks in Detroit are smart enough to ride old single speeds. Much more durable!
My opinion is that - Serious Cycling has an image. I'm not talking about kids riding around the neighborhood or the family who does 3 miles on Saturday on their $100 Wal-mart BSO's. I am thinking about those involved in it as a sport and a serious passion, who are the type of customers who would buy from a Specialized dealer. Or for that matter Cannondale, Fuji, Kestrel, Cervello ... any of the brands sold at a "real" bike shop or "real" online retailer. Not Walmart or Kmart or other "big box" stores.
I know, another thread about "how you look" versus "how you perform". Sorry. My opinion is - we need to be good ambassadors for the sport to help it thrive. Look the part, act the part, and promote its positives in a patient and respectful way. The industry won't thrive if younger generations don't take it up
I believe part of the allure of the sport is the appearance. I bristle when people refuse to wear helmets because they "look weird" or "stupid". Nothing is "cooler" for lack of a better phrase than a great helmet, matched with great kit and shoes. Doesn't mean you have to ride in team uniform if you're not on a team, but I believe in looking the part as well as acting the part. Doesn't mean that performance and ability don't come first, but appearance matters.
I have a white collar job -- what would my clients and co-workers in the firm think if I came into work dressed in ratty old clothes? Not a professinal image.
Meh, most of those folks in Detroit are smart enough to ride old single speeds. Much more durable!
09-08-16, 09:51 AM
#63
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Only on a bike forum would being able to snap a pencil be considered strong and muscled.
09-08-16, 10:04 AM
#64
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09-08-16, 10:10 AM
#65
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Bravo! +eleventy-one
My daily bike commute takes me by some homeless camps and through hardscrabble neighborhoods where many people don't have bus fare to get to work or social services. You see them riding their old, abused bikes with their impossibly out-of-true-wheels, dangling brake cables, disconnected shifters often rolling on a flat or two. Seats askew riding too low for human comfort, foam padding exposed through worn vinyl. They wear somebody elses cast-off clothing wearing backpacks, or carying bedrolls and duffels on a rack, sometimes carrying a baby trailer full of belongings bungeed to a rear rack or just the seatpost. No helmet, no lights no gloves, not even in the rain or snow, wearing too much in the summer and too little in the winter, they press on at slightly bettere than walking speed, determined to get to that job, that shelter, that other place, whatever it is; they pedal with a drive and determination that rivals the titans of the tour. Those people to whom a bike is an essential lifeline...THEY are the serious cyclists.
The rest of us are hobbyists.
The rest of us are hobbyists.
09-08-16, 10:41 AM
#66
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Looks OK to me! I guess they are trying to relay the message that you can still be a serious cyclist and not have to look like a pro wannabe.
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09-08-16, 10:56 AM
#67
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quoting myself from another thread in C&V
Companies move manufacturing to Mexico and China to save labor costs, but more important to me, they do it to dodge environmental regulations. I would like to see somebody like Specialized, rather than market themselves as TdF and New Adventure imaging, manufacture in China to our environmental standards (or better). Make their own power with cogen, solar and wind, scrub their carbon, NOx and sulfur. Then market themselves as providing green transportation with green manufacturing.
09-08-16, 11:40 AM
#68
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I think this dead horse has been sufficiently beaten.
Closed/
Closed/
