ypsetihw

My riding buddies have all disappeared. I'm down to like 2 or 3 regular roadies who still want to ride pavement, and it's only September! There is one high profile shop here that crams CX down everyone's throat to the point that people who don't even ride are buying these things, and my strava and facebook feed is nothing but people riding drop bars on the grass. This started over a month ago, and has reached a fever pitch, and the leaves haven't even begun to turn. It's absolutely obnoxious, and what's worse, is that if you dare say CX is wildly stupid or uninteresting (they hold CX practice in a public park and literally ride circles on the grass) you're instantly a pariah.

I have to hand it to the shop, they have created a high dollar market out of thin air, and are selling (and servicing) a ton of bikes to people who have no use for them whatsoever. With that said, am I the only one flustered by the fact that literally the entire cycling world seems to have lost it's mind?

nycphotography

Seriously. When you think the the whole world has lost their mind, and you're only sane one around..... while it is entirely possible that you are in 1939 Nazi Germany and everyone around you has all lost their minds (or at least their will to speak their minds) and you are the only sane one left... hmm hold on. Even then. I mean just try speaking your sane mind and see what happens. Maybe even then they are more sane than you are because they know what will happen if they speak out?

But really, which is more likely? You're some kind of genius savant sent to save us from ourselves? Or that you're just the 1 sent to prove the other 4 right?

u235

Tell them to get off your lawn!!!
At least they didn't switch over to doing freestyle in the skate park like the other jobless hippies.

seau grateau

Cross is the future of road cycling.

superdex

sounds like someone's never gotten his bike dirty. try it, you might like it. or look at it this way -- there are fewer pylons on the bike path....

02Giant 

I really want one of these; https://images.velochannel.com/2017/0...TERRA-M30D.jpg in SRAM Flavor.

Abe_Froman

Seems like a MUCH more fun, and realistic way to race bikes. In the US at least.

canklecat

Fretting over how other people enjoy bicycling is the future of road cycling.

That said, any sport that involves getting off a perfectly good bicycle to carry it uphill doesn't sound like fun. To me.

/lawn

RJM

Just now got back from CX practice.


CX is awesome.


Roadies don't even get off their bikes to run and jump obstacles; they are barely above triathletes with their bike handling skills.

Abe_Froman

Tri-athletes mount/dismount mid race. I think that puts them above roadies

ypsetihw

fair, I have gotten my bike dirty and I hate it, because I actually clean it, and it's a huge pain in the ass. there is no reason to get a perfectly tuned drivetrain muddy, ever. I eat plenty of bacon and drink more than enough beer as is, without messing up my bike or my knees.

mstateglfr 

I havent ever done CX, but it looks interesting. I llve me some gravel and single track though so i get the appealing parts of CX.


If you are alone, then has everyone else lost their minds or...

ypsetihw

that there is a pretty bike, and I never said I didn't like cross bikes, in fact I think they are wildly useful. I don't think cross is the future of road cycling, but cross style bikes might be.

rjones28 

ypsetihw

I actually find trail/single track riding on a fixed drop bar bike appealing. but that's not cross. maybe I'm more drawn to "gravel" type riding.

ypsetihw

troll level: elite

ypsetihw

First of all, this is the road cycling forum, so I had hoped to find like minded individuals here. Secondly, while many people I know were sloppily and slowly riding bikes on a lawn this evening at "cross practice" I was replacing the brakes and tuning my modernized steel roadie that I ride all year long, particularly in the winter when the garbage roads and salt make me not want to ride my nice bike outside. Fenders, wide tire clearance, 8 speed 12-32 48/36 super compact crankset, slack geometry, high BB, brifters, drop bars spd mountain pedals and shoes . . .

I basically built a cross bike and I still don't see the appeal. I think part of the issue is that the shop that promotes cross so heavily in our local scene has a very "our way or the highway" mentality, and if you don't conform to what season they say it is, you're out of the cool kids zone. At the same time, every jackass who ponies up $300 for branded kit and pays who knows how much for their cross and mountain bikes, gets high-fived and coddled and coached and whatever else.

Ironically, in the local club racing scene, their team SUCKS. Not surprising given that the only prerequisite to riding for them is buying outrageously expensive branded kit and bikes from the shop.

kbarch

I'm aware it's a thing, and have a CX bike, but not so I can ride around in circles on the grass, and I don't know many who do. Although I appreciate the idea of being able to ride across an un-tracked landscape, what bothers me more than losing the occasional company of a couple of regular riding mates is the idea of masses of CX riders messing up a nice park lawn.
You say these people "have no use for" CX bikes, but evidently they do. It's funny how cycling is like religion sometimes.... I wouldn't deny the phenomenon you describe, but I wouldn't get so worked up about it. Aren't there any other shops in your town, maybe one that will give you a high-five for keeping your drivetrain clean?

redfooj

gravel riders are cooler

just accept it

RJM

lol.

How did your first CX race go, man?

12strings

This was the appeal for me. A criterion race sounds fun to me, but crashing at 30mph on pavement and breaking my collarbone doesn't.

With Cross, I can (and nearly did) crash on every lap in the grass at 10-15mph and jump up and keep going, no damage to me or the bike.

Still, even as a recent adopter of cyckocross racing, it sounds like your area gets too fixated on seasons and gear. In my area, the 1-2 of us who race cx still show up for our weekly road rides. I don't know why they wouldn't...it's still good for keeping fitness up.

I didn't even buy a new bike to start racing, I'm using my road bike with 30mm cross tires, And I wouldn't hesitate to take it mountain biking with friends who aren't serious mountain bikers, since I'm pretty sure my bike fitness would more than make up for their more mountain-specific bikes.

Jakedatc

It has been shown that areas where they ride CX races come back better than before. As long as it wasn't muddy you will never know anything happened a few days later. Even if it is muddy it will come back just fine. Nationals were here in Hartford this year and you would never know it happened




And if you are multi-time world champion you don't always have to get off your bike.

Abe_Froman

I was in that race over the weekend

Abe_Froman

It was an absolute blast. I think I got a stick or rock caught in the frame; had to stop and take out my back wheel midway through the first lap...the whole field passed me lol. Still, I ended up passing about 20 people or so, finished 99/125. And the rear wheel I'd just rebuilt myself remained straight as an arrow, so all things considered, I'm very happy haha. Didn't even put the bike down once .

I was surprised at how exausted I was...I had plenty of power to get up the steepest hills some people walked...but man I was gassed after 1 lap. I really need to work on cardio if I'm going to keep doing this.

Jakedatc

Did you ride the curb up the stairs Abe? that is a sick move to even think of. But hey.. why would anyone want to ride CX.. it's not fun at all.