I got a roadie two years ago after 22 years of mountain biking and I haven't looked back. I still enjoy the odd ride on the mountain bike but for thrills the roadie is unbeatable. I'm twice as fit as I was for those 22 years and slimmer too. There's a purity and subtlety about road riding that mountain biking just doesn't give you; riding fast in a chain gang, doing through and off and coming come absolutely shattered then hanging the bike up and going for a shower, compared with the filth, the constant wear of components, the expense, the frustratingly slow pace of club rides thanks to other riders' mechanical incompetence, then the whole beer guzzling, fat-belly scene.
Never thought I'd say this but I believe that mountain bikes may be a fun entry into cycling but in the end most riders will drift slowly towards the road.
Just F.Y.I, there's another type of 'Darkside' too.
[img] 
[/img]
So, if you ride a road bike, live in Oxford & dabble with c***s in frocks then you're a treble darksider. 😆
c***s in frocks
that describes quite a few of the forum members on this site!
I pick my road bike up later today. Gulp. I haven't ridden one for.... erm..... a very very very very long time indeed. It may have been during puberty.
I've already been warned not to expect the brakes to actually stop me. Any other pointers?
binners, it's all about brakes; the bad news is that to go faster you mostly can't just let go of them 🙁
I'm sure darkside refers to mtbs on road.cc or was it cycling weekly...
I've already been warned not to expect the brakes to actually stop me. Any other pointers?
Ride hard, ride fast, use EPO, eat only pasta, lose weight, wax your legs, get early nights, dont drink etc. etc.
Its not to bad once you get into it though.
...I've already been warned not to expect the brakes to actually stop me...
nah, they're fine. really.
Any other pointers?
a) taking the peak off your skid-lid [u]is[/u] a good idea.
b) ride in nice places.
c) start saving for a winter bike.
To scooterists, 'Darkside' refers to modern automatic scooters. And they love it, it's a term of endearment!
It's basically the irresistible pull if something others might not approve of!
http://www.scooter-scene.co.uk/darkside/
🙂
P.S. Road cycling is harder than mountain biking x10
That's b*llx - for one thing it depends on how hard you are riding your bike.
as someone once said:
It is more athletic (mountain biking). The skill level of a mountain biker is different than a road racer. There are a lot of road racers who could never do this because of the technical stuff and the coordination it requires.
Turner guy, that could be said for road riding too!
My theory is that the disconcerting number of non-mountain bike related chat on a mountain bike forum is because mountain biking lingo is more "in the moment" and doesn't translate well to forums - for instance:
[i]Dude! Dude, I went for a madcore thrash with our fellow brother huckers, you should have been there, it was totally off the hook. [/i]
sounds (relatively) stupid compared to:
[i]I went for a pootle with the peleton, just a 2000 mile spin last night. You wouldn't have managed.[/i]
And:
[i]Your thread retort was totally rad brother![/i]
doesn't go down well on this forum. However poncy this next example sounds, it seems to be used without question round these parts:
[i]chapeu[/i]
p.s. I don't have either a "hucking" bike, or a sleek road monster, so I tend to say things like, [i]wowzers! wowzy wow![/i] when I'm excited by things - I guess you go with what feels right, but I humbly suggest that this is a good replacement for the c word.
'Darkside'?
I prefer [i]'Worshipers of the Black Devil'[/i] myself.
road bikes are crap. why any one would want one is beyond me.
