Originally Posted by
livedarklions
Last answer because I don't like the paranoia accusation: I've had conversations with people where they've told me they'd like to try cycling but they don't want to wear the clothes. Yes, they're grown-ups, but they're operating from a position of very limited experience when they're considering getting into the activity, so they "read up" the available sources, which tend to be sponsored in one fashion or another, and lo and behold, they're pushing relatively expensive bikes and gear. It seems rather obvious to me that some significant percentage of people will bail on the project at that point, and move on to researching some other less intimidating activity. There's not a lot of incentives out there for telling people to start simple and cheap, then figure out what you need as you get more into it.
I've seen enough "if they don't spend at least $______ on their first bike, they are going to be discouraged and quit" that I think it's the marketing side that isn't giving people credit for being grown-ups who can work it out for themselves, and it gets ingrained in a lot of how we think about the industry. It's not paranoia to note that many, many millions of dollars are being used to affect people's purchasing decisions, it's just reality. None of us are completely immune to it.
So are you basically saying cycling is some kind of elitist activity where marketing is taken to the extreme? So let's say these people who you have had conversations with are put off cycling simply because of the marketing of expensive bikes and gear. What do you think is going to happen differently when they research pretty much any alternative activity? By the same rationale they can also forget about golf, skiing, running, tennis, fishing, hiking, etc, etc. as the inevitable marketing of "gear" will simply be too much for them to cope with.
Personally I haven't seen much evidence of this kind of thing happening out in the real world. Most casual cyclists I know don't ask many questions. They simply ride around on old, cheap bikes and wear whatever they feel like. Those who take cycling up as a more serious hobby soon work out what they need/want to buy. They come to forums like this to ask people to recommend them stuff - like cycling shorts for example. There's no need to patronise people for supposedly being taken in by marketing claims just because they choose to ride in clothes actually designed for riding in. I think it is actually very rare for someone completely new to cycling to rock up at their local bike shop and spend a fortune on bikes and cycling gear. I think most people usually do start off simple and cheap and then work their way up as they get more into it. I wouldn't let it worry you.