[Closed] Correlation - The fancier the bike, the less skilled the rider?

I bought a nice bike because I'm in to bikes, could afford it and they make me happy. I managed to get up and down the same trails when I had a cheap bike, albeit a little bit slower and less comfortably.

I've always found the law of diminishing returns apply with bikes. Beyond a certain price, the benefits are so tiny that only a pro would really notice.

I drive an a3 and ride a Zesty. If people want to label me that's their issue, I'll still ride with them. You meet all sorts of people from all sorts of walks of life in this sport. Anyone can come off, or have a bad day for any number of reasons, regardless of bike. If you can't grasp this then you need look at yourself not the rest of us.

The local bakery used to provide us with free flap jacks and pasties if we gave them some money.
At first sight, I thought that this might well be the stupidest sentence ever written on STW.

But then I tried it out this morning. Amazingly, it turns out to be completely true. Who would have thought that Waitrose would indeed supply me with free groceries, that the filling station would let me run my car for free, and that could fly to Australia this week completely free.

So long as I give them some money.

Not as stupid as you think. Read the FULL post from david.

It doesn't matter what bike I own, it'll always have the [i]potential[/i] to be ridden better by [i]someone[/i] else...

Does that mean I should stop riding?

rOcKeTdOg - Member
i've mostly been riding this lately, what does that tell you?

.... That you have a red bike.

Read the FULL post from david.

I did. And I quoted accurately; did he give them some money (which he states) or did they give stuff for free, because they were "proud to be fueling the athlete"?

Whichever, it's a spectacularly self-aggrandising post, and deserves to have the piss ripped out of it.

rOcKeTdOg - that does look a bit weird. But I think its purely a colour thang though. Terrahawk was out the other week on a similar getto 69er, but the it didn't look as pronounced as that. If your frame was the same colour as your forks, and your tyres were't same colour, it'd be reet

Now off you go, and sort it out! 😀

As for the other stuff. Does anybody give a flying * what anyone else is riding? Seriously. Get over yourselves. You may be on an Apollo Halfords special, or a 5k carbon race missile

Guess what? Here's the news. Everyone else in society thinks you're a * anyway, whichever you're on!

As for the other stuff. Does anybody give a flying * what anyone else isriding? Seriously. Get over yourselves. You may be on an Apollo Halfords special, or a 5k carbon race missile

Guess what? Here's the news. Everyone else in society thinks you're a * anyway, whichever you're on!

Only a tiny percentage of folk out there could tell there was any difference between the Apollo and the 5k CRM anyway. And if you can tell the difference then the folk who can't most likely think your a ****.

"Whichever, it's a spectacularly self-aggrandising post"

Nick, you may have missed the joke in his post )

Have you thought that it might have nothing to do with your bike but the fact you're not wearing a helmet?
When I see someone mountain biking without one I don't give them the time of day, whoever they are or whatever they ride.

Exactly mrblobby -!

Occasionally (not very often), maybe at work, I forget who I'm talking too and start enthusing about something bike related. You can physically see peoples hearts sink. The light behind their eyes goes out. The will to live ebbs from their very being. Seriously... you can actually see it physically leave the body. Its tragic!

Oh... and well done Nick. I reckon DTF's post went so far over you head, you could barely detect it with the human eye

Read the FULL post from david.
I did. And I quoted accurately; did he give them some money (which he states) or did they give stuff for free, because they were "proud to be fueling the athlete"?

Whichever, it's a spectacularly self-aggrandising post, and deserves to have the piss ripped out of it.

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Op I don't understand your point?

Can't you afford a better bike?

Just for you as you are special.....

That's the interesting thing about life, people have different experiences. I happen to know a few brilliant riders who ride pretty average bikes, as they seem more interested in riding than collecting anodized trinkets for their bikes.

I have also met and know quite a few guys who spend months building bikes that are dripping with matching chris king, team green hope and any other shiny expensive bling bit you care to mention. The are not great at riding (hardly ride at all in fact) and the spend more time lusting and collecting shiny things, rather than using their bikes.

Now I have no idea whether this is the norm, hence me asking the question. I do not care either way (although I do find it a bit odd collecting shiny things and not using them or perhaps expecting them to make you go faster) Maybe I happen to know some very strange people who are magpies, or perhaps collecting shiny bits to build the ultimate bike and then not actually riding it is a fairly common thing?

I personally couldn't care less if someone has a ten grand mtb and rides it on the road, as long as they are enjoying themselves. Buying an expensive bike and then using it as an excuse because it doesn't have the latest bit of go faster bells and whistles, or not actually riding it at all is not something I understand.

Plenty of people buy a Ferrari and never take it on a track or race it. Guess it must be a nice place to be and make them happy when they see it parked on the drive.

FunkyDunc - Member
...The people who were moaning about how bumpy it was and struggling to get down it on the whole were those with the most travel front and rear, on the whole they also looked alot less skilled....

Actually one of the reasons I ride rigid is because I can't stand the dive in front forks on descents if you hit the brakes, so I sympathise with those people.

Actually one of the reasons I ride rigid is because I can't stand the dive in front forks on descents if you hit the brakes, so I sympathise with those people.

Brakes and descents don't mix - one or the other but NEVER together.

I love bikes... but people who ride them are invariably people 😉

messiah - Member
...Brakes and descents don't mix - one or the other but NEVER together.

Can't guarantee what's round the corner except on closed courses.

Sometimes people are walking on the track or someone falls off in front of you, and it's rude to ride over them. 🙂

messiah
Brakes and descents don't mix - one or the other but NEVER together.

Right - so how are you going to slow for the obstacle / stop yourself acheiving escape velocity? Some of us ride where descents take many minutes dropping hundreds or even thousands of feet

Right - so how are you going to slow for the obstacle / stop yourself acheiving escape velocity? Some of us ride where descents take many minutes dropping hundreds or even thousands of feet

I use my head... which is why I wear a helmet 😉

I reckon it's all pretty simple. I love bikes as a hobby and am lucky enough to paid the sort of money that allows me to spend a decent wedge on said hobby. I would be happy riding anything with two wheels, well except a 29er maybe 🙂 , it just so happens I can afford bling bikes so I buy them for my own personal enjoyment.

Know plenty of guys who will happily drop over a grand on a golf club because they love their hobby, no different.

Its all biking, couldn't care less what others ride as long as they are having fun too, properly judging someone because they spend a heap on a bike and don't ride like a pro is pretty narrow minded.... Although I am of course happy to rip the piss out my mates who do it 🙂

I was sat at the top of the rock field path at Wilsden just off Lee Lane (part of the infamous Bingley Bash route)having tried unsuccesfully yet again to ride up it when a bloke with a carbon bling type bike fell off it and proceeded to push the bike up and stopped to chat about his new bike and how he loved it. Then a guy on another really good bike cycled up it like it was a smooth road and just pedalled past me and I was so impressed with his skills I spontaneously burst into appluase. Then a woman came up pushing her entry level hard tail and we exchanged greetings. The sun was shining, the scenery was lovely, everyone looked like they were having a lovely time.

I think TJ nailed it earlier.

Some of us regard mtb as a fun pastime, while others regard themselves as extreme sportsmen, and then there's the tiny group of real racers.

The first group don't really care too much which bike they ride so long as it makes it easy.

The second group want a bike that makes them look good to the very small group of people who care about such things (a subset of this group).

The racer group know that the only thing that counts is first over the line and whatever enables that is good and everything else is an also ran.