Originally Posted by
venturi95
OK, first off I will preface this with the fact the In have been riding a very long time, long before mountain bikes were even an idea and I raced a bunch of USCF stuff way back when. Your enjoyment of the riding experience should never be attenuated by the negativity of others. Do what feels natural and comfortable to you - you seem like a reasonable person from your brief post, and if there are some "local hotshoes" who look askance at your preferences for hydration needs being met by a camelback you need to find some new riding partners. I never underestimate a guy wearing a camelback, and I have had my shorts handed to me by some truly world class racers.
Very much this. However, some of that peer pressure is driven by people clumsily attempting to pass on advice. There are things (bibs/shorts, jerseys, chamois butter, bottle cages, clipless) that are almost universally preferred by cyclists once they try, and will likely be preferred by you once you gain some experience and try them. However, there's no need to rush it while you're in the early stages of the hobby.
Then there are stupid things like sock height.