big john

Someone in the 50+ forum once accused me of being an elitest snob. What??? I told him I'm the biggest Fred out there.

livedarklions

I've been called a reverse snob and an elitist snob in GC. Guess I have at least two gears.

livedarklions

I think there's a tendency to turn every preference into some sort of moral statement. Mostly, watching people work themselves into a lather over this stuff is pretty damn funny. Guy fixes up a Huffy and all of a sudden, he's da Vinci.

Eric F 

I'm much more impressed by the guy who is actually fixing up a Huffy. If you haven't seen that thread, it's quite fascinating (IMO, YMMV).

Eric F 

I'm confused. I thought you were the biggest John out there.

livedarklions

Link? Sounds like fun!

genejockey 

But, given his claimed climbing speed, not a Jiffy John.

Eric F 

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ege-build.html

big john

lol. Not so big anymore. Need to ask the club to change my nickname.

Eric F 

Larger Than Average John doesn't have the same ring to it.

big john

A couple people have called me Medium John since my shriveling.

Eric F 

Do you speak to people in the afterlife?

genejockey 

Oy.

big john

Nope. When you get older you'll see. Sonny. Now get off my lawn.

beng1

Yea, there is an older guy who rides a route I do and I have slowed and talked to him a few times. I don't know if he is older than me or not, but he rides a carbon-fiber road bike while wearing a tour-de france outfit, and he never goes more than about 12 mph, that is the speed he told me we were going when I slowed to ride next to him once.

When I ride a bike I just like to walk over to it in my regular clothes and jump on and go, why complicate life by having to have a different outfit for each part of the day? It reminds me of what Cher used to do in her concerts forty years ago. So in the winter I hope on the bike in the same clothing I use to shovel snow, and in the summer I ride with the same clothing I use for mowing the lawn.

I have a pair of cycling pants I wore back in the 1990s a few times, which I got somewhere used back then and may have worn in a race, I can't remember. In any old photos of I have of racing on my motobecane I am just wearing cut-off pants and a t-shirt, just like I did when I was a kid, and just like I do now in warm weather.

beng1

Thinking has nothing to do with it. If a "crit" bike has a steeper seat-tube angle that let's the rider have more weight over the pedals, and moving your seat forward let's you have more weight over the pedals, then it does give the bike a geometry more like your "crit" bike. And since they make the "crit" bike that way so it will be more efficient and faster, so to will moving the seat forward on a non-crit bike make it more efficient.

Thinking is only necessary for those who do not know, which is why most of the general population uses thought as it's mode of being.

shelbyfv

That old guy is clearly a poseur and it's just not right that he can have a nice bike and kit. Especially when superior folks have to ride Huffys. Stalk his route, wait at the bottom of a hill and drop him like a hot potato. Give him the look and spank your jorts as you fly past.

beng1

What was mass-produced were chainguards. They covered more of the chain than the guard rings put onto low-end road bikes. I think I have to put that on my to-do list, make a chainguard for my LeCoaster. Until I get time to do that, I simply roll my right pant-leg up a few times, simple and comfortable except in some freezing weather where tucking it into the sock may be better. Thanks for the tip.

beng1

Sorry, I do not know what you are talking about. But thank-you for your time and participation just the same. Oh, you are talking about the 12mph guy. I did not drop him for any other reason than I like to stay in my zone-2, which is different for everyone, so nobody is going to be going the same speed.

I just think it is amusing to pass people up while riding a fifty year-old Huffy while wearing sneakers and cut-off jeans when they are dressed like Lance Armstrong and riding a carbon-framed aero-bike. And I think it is a positive force in the world to keep old things working and in the public's face, because the majority of the public have no idea they have any option other than to be mindless consumers, and they desperately need to be shown their options.

shelbyfv

I'm sure you do, as does Larry!

smd4

Spoiler alert: putting your seat on backwards doesn’t change your bike’s geometry one iota. No matter what you think.

genejockey 

And even then, it's not that crit bike geometry is more efficient than other geometries. It's that it's more specialized for riding crits - fast steering, high BB for cornering clearance, shorter cockpit, etc. It makes them less stable and less comfortable for long rides.

tomato coupe

I'll have balsamic vinaigrette with that word salad, please.

terrymorse 

I would think that the purpose of moving the saddle forward is to get closer to a TT position, to get the torso lower without the legs slapping the belly.

But of course, a TT position makes for poor bike handling, the opposite of what you want in a crit bike.

mstateglfr 

It's interesting how even those who dress/act like they aren't trying to project an image are in fact actively projecting an image.
You do you and continue to take issue with how others live their lives, even though their actions and decisions don't impact you.