Roadies aren’t hung up on kit, there’s actually a bit of reverse? snobbery in roadie circles.
+1.
The best thing about riding on the road is that there is nowhere to hide. You either can or you can’t, you either do it or go home, with none of that ‘I put the wrong tyres on’, ‘My shock is at the wrong pressure’, ‘I’m quicker on the downhill bits’, and other nonsense that seems to accompany some, not all, but some mountain biking.
Everyone who has ridden on the road with anyone who is keen or involved in competition will know that it’s you that counts; we’ve all been blown out the back by some skinny lad on a clunker, or some guy in trainers and a parka.
Flash kit counts for nowt.
…and I’ve certainly been at my fastest on a cheap aluminium frame with at best Ultegra; spend money on good tyres and train like a madman…