Crazydad

Not only do I not care what you are riding, I also don't care what you are wearing.

Only 2 things matter:
1) Are you riding?
2) Are you having fun?

scyclops

IMO you're on pretty solid ground here. To ridicule someone based on the quality of their bike, possibly something which is beyond their ability to rectify, is all kinds of wrong (most of us agree on that).
On the other hand, to mock someone's choice of words (operative word here being choice) in their failed attempt to sound hip, well, that's just good clean fun.

JoeBear50

I agree, the enjoyment is being out in the fresh air and riding your bike. Who in the world would want to say. "I pulled the trigger on a full squish," in the first place. If someone said that to me I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. But then again I'm an old Fuddy Duddy who has no idea of what being cool is.

scyclops

Sometimes self-deprecation is the highest form of cool.

pablosnazzy

even if it's not the highest form of cool, self deprecating humor it is still pretty up there and always awesome.

JonathanGennick 

I wanted to clobber that last guy who referred to my "fleet" as a "stable".

I hate the horse analogies. I'm not too keen on bow-and-arrow analogies either.

orogi

I agree.....!
Just enjoy the ride, especially with friends in common interest "bicycle"

danlikes

I like building up junk bikes. Dumpster Divas, Dogs, reconditioned, recycled, go green, and all that. If you pick a bike at good will you saved the frieght of bringing it from the manufactured to your loaction, the carbon produced at the production plant. But thats just me.

Now if I was a professonal racer i would be on the most advanced machine I could get my hands, my trainers would be last years racers and my coach would be able to tell me the wieght of lance armstrongs left nut.

But i am just a mid 40s to big, to slow, and to cool to care about all that. But I do like to ride, not much on falling though.

ProFail

No one cares what everyone else rides? Bike lust....?

rankin116

It's pretty funny that you actually think I give a **** about you at all. My last post wasn't intended to be a dig at you or about you. You taking it as a personal attack says way more about you then it does about me.

dminor 

I still prefer 'arsenal.'

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ing-used.-.-.?

kenhill3

I like arsenal, too, D.

Being a carpenter, tho, my own way is to think of my bikes as 'tools'. Most pointedly, the road bikes are tools to augment my MTB experience: road riding as a a means to mountain bike end. Something like that. Sheesh, you know what I mean.

The MTB's are the tools most fun to use.

MLKATO

I agree with the OP,but there are gear snobs in every hobby. As a guitar player,there seems to be headstock snobbery. Some won't let it go and insist you need a $1000 or more for a good guitar. I have a older mountain bike and love it. Some people laugh at Wal-Mart and other department store bikes. These bikes are higher in quality than that was sold 20 years ago. My sister and brother in law bought two Diamondbacks from Sports Authority for a little more than $200. I say they are pretty good bikes and they ride them 20 miles at a time. We're talking bikes people,c'mon!

scyclops

Former guitar player here - I do get what you're saying (I remember Mexican Strats, same parts / same wood as the entry-level American Strat, just assembled in Mexico and half the price).

When I started MTBing I felt the same way you do, I thought, a $200 x-mart bike can't be that bad, can it? But I quickly learned that there are major functional deficiencies that become apparent once you start riding even mildly technical singletrack. The first thing you will notice is that the disc brakes on $200 bikes suck... bad. This will get you killed or force you to ride slower on DH sections - either way, not much fun. Then there are things like weight, crap suspension forks, narrow bars, the list goes on.
That said, as long as your bike does what you want it to do and you're happy with it, who's to say you need anything better?

Rangerover

LMAO - i just curious what pullin the trigger is on a full squish is so i know when i do it lol, "its not what u ride - its that u ride".

fuji86

Oh, trust me, you'll care when this guy rides around your neighborhood ? I don't want to see this in front of me on my commute, ever.

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/07/29...miami-streets/

JoeBear50

^^^^ Why would you care? He's not bothering anyone. You're not a prude are you?

So he's riding around in a speedo in Florida, maybe he dosen't like the heat. What's the problem?

Daspydyr 

There is a snobbishness in biking though. When I roll up on my '94 Nitro I get treated like an ugly flat chested fat chick at a FRAT party. Then the day came that I rolled up on my FULL SQUISH, C/F SCOTT (sub26lb-dude) that I PULLED THE TRIGGER ON. (Sorry P/Snaz) People that had turned a blind eye towards me for a year now welcomed me like a millionaire uncle. There is a class system.

Would we really let Minor D be a mod if Huffy sponsored him?

dahut

I ran afoul of some roadists yesterday. I was on hour two riding my old Hardrock MTB/City hack, and they were on their new Cannondales and Felts.
I had been all over 20 miles of country roads and trails and they had been, well.... I have no idea. It looked like they hadnt ridden at all.
They were all gaudy jerseys and click-clacky shoes, I was cargo shorts and torn polo.

The wave of their disdain made me feel sooooo dirty. Well that and the fact that I was dirty - and sweaty - and tired - and grimy

So some people DO care what I ride. Not that I care if they care, but caring is sharing.

pablosnazzy

heck yeah there is, and there shouldn't be, hence the point of this thread. i know realistically people are gonna judge, but so many of us honestly don't care, we are just happy to see you out riding, and we sincerely don't care what you ride or how slow you ride or how much you might have to walk on techy crap or uphill (i will push my full squish up ANY hill, no matter how small). people feel intimidated, and they really really shouldn't, and no one should make them feel that way.

pablosnazzy

you should see how they look when you ride past them on your road bike with your hairy legs in the cargo shorts with chain wallet and t-shirt you wear when you ride your mountainbike....

EpicSchwinn

Nobody cares what you ride, so long as it has this sticker.

Now let's start an organized society of anarchists!

LesterOfPuppets

I already know no one cares what I ride. I still like to let them know all the time. And they just say "meh".

Chicks seem to dig the Pinarello, though.

dminor 

I would but I'm busy getting ready to attend a psychic convention. I'm still not sure why we do these . . . .

cleon

Funny thread. Just like car enthusiasts don't car about what they drive...wine aficionados don't care what they drink...gamers don't care about their CPUs...must be true...