Timber_8

Hybrid, Road bike, Mountain bike, Fixie or what ever

Everyone knows I don't participate much anymore but I do read & pay a lot of attention to the Hybrid forum for obvious reasons for anyone that had been around since it began. The most wonderful thing about the Hybrid is that it is the 1 bicycle that is a clear doorway back into the bicycle world for those of us that grew up on our bicycles as children in the 60s, & 70s. Many of us from this era stopped riding bicycles when we began to drive only to realize what we abandoned in later years.The hybrid lets us back into a world that is not the same as when we left it. It is the ultimate cross over bicycle that lets us evolve into Mountain bikes, Road Bikes, Commuter bikes & so on. It is as far as bicycles are concerned fairly affordable & is never a waste of money because it is always useful for what ever direction your interest leads you. The Hybrid forum should not be anti Mountain bike or anti Road bike but a launching point to further your interest in what ever direction you desire. To refer to Road bike as an excuse to shave your legs an show off your junk is ridicules & offensive to many. The Hybrid is the ultimate cross over to almost every form of biking from touring,commuting,trail riding, cruising,century's & so on. When I 1st joined BF there was no Hybrid forum and when it was created my vision was a melting pot of all the different forms of cycling. This is the 1 forum were there is no place for bicycle bigotry, Hybrids are all of the forums and none of them at the same time. The gift of a Hybrid is the doorway to the rest of the forums not necessarily a subculture of its own.

AdelaaR

I agree ... but it is pretty funny when amateurs wear pro outfits with team colors and logo's and shave their legs, though.
Maybe you don't find that funny but I, and probably many others, do.
How much aero do you gain by shaving your legs anyway? I don't know actually
Still ... you love hybrids and I love hybrids ... that's why we're here ... to tell undecided people why they should get a hybrid
Just ignore the bits you don't like ... it's what everyone else does.

qmsdc15

Personally I'm offended by your suggestion that the bikes I ride are for people who don't know much about bicycling and haven't decided what kind of bike they will get when they become serious about riding.

I enjoy poking fun of roadies. Why is it OK for you to characterize me as some (out of shape) old guy who hasn't ridden a bicycle since I was a kid but it's not OK for me to point out that you walk funny in road shoes and you look a fool in those skin tight shorts?

"This is the 1 forum were there is no place for bicycle bigotry, Hybrids are all of the forums and none of them at the same time. The gift of a Hybrid is the doorway to the rest of the forums not necessarily a subculture of its own."

This is a bigoted statement. Why can't we be a community of serious hybrid riders? Why must we be seeking a doorway to the rest of the forums?

Timber_8

I was shaving my legs long before I got back into cycling and it had nothing to do with aerodynamics. I was into the bodybuilding world and that is also what prompted me into cycling as it has others. Cycling related clothing does consist of spandex & Lycra, does it really matter if there is a team logo on it or not. I do not find it odd or amusing, it is simply part of what people who cycle wear. How does anyone know who is an amateur or not, how does anyone know if someone wearing a team outfit is not with a team out training on there own. Who is anyone to judge what is appropriate for someone else to wear or what their hygiene routine should consist of. I just makes people feel bad & that is not what this forum is about. The Hybrid forum welcomes people back into the cycling world. We are not the elitist, we are ordinary people rediscovering the world of cycling.

Timber_8

If you are going to be offended be offended by what I say and not by the words you invent & put in my mouth.

qmsdc15

"Hybrid forum welcomes people back into the cycling world. We are not the elitist, we are ordinary people rediscovering the world of cycling."

Speak for yourself. I am a professional rider, and I consider myself a member of the cycling elite. I am not rediscovering the world of cycling.

I'm all for welcoming new riders to the sport, but I find your stereotyping of the typical hybrid rider as a clueless hairy legged Fred insulting.

Timber_8

Humm can you quote me on any of this or are you just going to keep spewing your foolish Roderic.

qmsdc15

An unbiased reader would not characterize my paraphrasing of your thesis to be particularly inventive.

qmsdc15

it would be foolish to pretend I have misrepresented your argument.

Timber_8

I'm happy for you, I find it odd you take everything as a personal assault against you.

AdelaaR

Yeah ... I consider myself a pretty serious hybrid rider aswell.
I do not feel offended by someone saying that hybrids are a step up to other bikes ... it is almost impossible to offend me anyway, but still: some people are casual hybrid riders and others take it very serious ... to each his own.

I personally find it silly when people walk around in shirts saying "ronaldinho".
I also find it silly when people ride around in "quickstep" shirts for the same reason.
I also find it extremely silly when people driving a casual car stick a "ferrari" sticker on it.
I also find it silly when people put a spoiler (that slows them down) on a casual car and then put a sticker "exclusive tuned street car" on it.
I also find it silly when people wait in line to buy the first iphone.

Face it: people are funny sometimes

Timber_8

I can't argue with that

AdelaaR

It's not that I'm just randomly making fun of anyone.
There's a distinct and logical reason to find all of the things I mentioned above to be silly behavior.

qmsdc15

How disingenuous.

Timber_8

Hardly

Timber_8

Your the one who made it all about you, Your the one who invented you own interpretation and assumed that everyone will interpret it the same way. You always seem to feel your opinion is the only legitimate opinion here. Do you think that because you are bicycle courier that you have some hire athority on what people wear for shoes on their feet or how they equip their bicycles. I have no opinion of you & what you do yet every time I make a post here you seek me out to assault everything I say. You insult my appearance, you insult my bicycles. You invent you own interpretation of everything I say & redirect its meaning to a completely unintended conclusion. What exactly is your problem with me. Are you jealous because it was me that was the instrument behind the creation of the Hybrid forum and not you. I have stepped away long enough. I am tired of being attacked by you at every turn.

AdelaaR

Me, I don't want to specifically insult anyone.
You gotta admit though, Timber, that you started this topic and you implied with your first post that hybrids are a cheap way to get into biking while figuring out what bike you really need.
That in itself is insulting to people who have decided that they want and need a hybrid bike.
Have you seen jbchybrid's bike? That not a cheap bike ... he never told me the exact price but I would think it's between $2500 and $3500 if not more.

edenooch

there this pack of snobs that race around my route all the time they give me these wierd looks when they pass me on the same path cause im not in some stupid outfit with a short bill hat going 22mph like they are on 3k$ bikes!!! they actually make the hipster cyclists tolerable!

Timber_8

The majority of the people that enter this forum are people that are finding their way back into the cycling world. That does not mean that this is not the forum that fits them best and they can evolve or simply be part of it. gmsdc15 has had a personal problem with me for years. I am into my bicycles for $1000s including my Hybrid. My post is in respect to those entering the forum looking for information and guidance not for the established users & contributors to the forum.

AdelaaR

Well ... I ride 22mph and I wear specific bike clothes since lately ... not with team logo's though.

I do not, however, look down upon more casual cyclists because of this and I do not give people weird looks.
I have to shout at them and ask them to make some room in the cycling lane all the time though, but that's not their fault most of the time.

Talldog

Haha... have you told him you think he is silly ?

Sorry, couldn't resist ...

Talldog

Not relevant, but man you are up late.

AdelaaR

Yeah ... I was up way too late there
I feel it's a bit relevant as it was a reply to edenoch's post.

Everyone needs to do what he likes best.
If people want to wear team colors and ride at 13mph on $4000 bikes that are copies of their hero's bikes ... that is their good right.
It is also my good right to find that a bit silly.
I've heard people literally say that they were going to buy a completely new multi$100 outfit because the team colors had changed that year.
I find that hilarious

AdelaaR

Well ... no I don't think he's silly at all.
First off he build his bike himself to his own standards ... he didn't just copy.
Aparently he put a lot of money in it but we each live with our own budget and I don't judge that.
And most of all: he uses that bike sportively and goes fast on it.
He wears a nice outfit but not with team colors or anything.
So in fact ... I'm completely with him

qmsdc15

I'm sorry I found your post condescending.

My apologies to your bikes for any comments they may have perceived as insults.

I have some strong, perhaps biased, opinions on the subject of bicycles. I'm not going to apologize for that. Feel free to offer a different opinion when you disagree with one of mine.