[Closed] Why do people think that ownership of a decent bike makes somebody a crap rider!

Its all good. I've met a few people who seem to have the view that an expensive bike makes them a better rider. Normally the same one's who make comments about need SPD's or the correct tyres etc.

I love seeing riders turn up on cheap bikes and teach us a lesson. Makes you remember what the most important part is. Remember a group of us playing jumping off steps. One guy on a cheap halfords hardtail lands it, lifts onto his back wheel, hops through 90deg and then jumps up the things sideways - flash git 🙂

Maybe strava needs a new category. Not just sex and age but now how expensive the bike is....

premium feature of course 😉

6K or £10 if it's got two wheels it's a bike, crap rider or not and anyone riding a bike out on some of the rides we all love surely deserves respect regardless of the price of their machinery or their lack of or abundant talent.
I bought a Halfords special and could easily have afforded something of a higher standard for my perceived lack of skills. Not everyone is loved up on all the commercial bull or jealous of those 6K egos that snipe at riders on lowly machines. Personally I am waiting to find the right bike for me, something unique and not the bloody same as everyone else and at the right price. In fact I will probably buy a few for different disciplines.

It seems a lot of bike snobs will now be s****ing at my ride, my cheap practical clothes and blame ME for slowing down their ride probably because my bike says I am far too substandard for them to share any piece of trail with me ???? I'm no bike pro but I find those attitudes really old fashioned and frickin sado! It's so shallow. Anyone who thinks like that really deserves to be mucked off with an old Halfords Apollo. Ok we see the same anti feelings across all sport but I honestly thought our biking pleasures were for all to enjoy. I like my hardtails substandard brakes and crap suspension, having ridden rigid bikes in my youth usually on red trail type tracks with punctures and on the rims with no brakes (oh yes I did 😉 ) A crap bike suits me just fine. Ride whatever 2 wheels you want people but don't knock others cause they are not like you. More dash for less cash keeps the majority riding. 😀

I like seeing a nice bike turn up on a ride, in the same way I like to see a Rolls or a Ferrari.
Cheers me up.

And if you're a bit cheeky, you can usually blag a test ride on a nice bike!

Not particularly fussed about how skilfull others are, but it's always great to watch someone who can really ride.

Bikes are nice, it's nice to have nice bikes. I'm an anti-snob, I take perverse pride in my hammered looking full suss, take one look and you know it's had a life. See a lot of people's bikes and you know all it's had is a polish.

Still can't ride it though.

We should do a 'Worn In' bike thread..
Mine's a bit, er, characterful, these days too.
Mechanically it's great, but it does look like I made it myself.

😀

It's the statement that a bike is "too good" for a particular rider that irks me. As if they'd go faster / progress more quickly / have more fun on a cheaper bike. Utter balls, the only variables are how much money you have an what percentage of your earnings you are willing to spend on a bike.

Posh bikes are nice, I'd have a posher bike in a flash if I had enough spare cash.

What about carefully saved for bargain builds? I now have a Mojo frame plus all the bits off my last trail bike. God knows what it would all cost new, but its been put together with used and bargain bits over the course of several years, and cost me about 2300 all in. I don't know whether I'm worthy of such a bike, so if someone could tell me where I need to go to have my ability checked against acceptable standards please?

A college dropout will point and sneer saying 'I'm jealous as I couldn't afford that'

If they've got a lot of money then good for them, chances are they have had to work hard to get where they are but that also means they have spent less time out on there bike, but if they are passionate about cycling who am i to begrudge them the best gear they can afford?

I sign up to the phrase 'all the gear no idea'

I could not give a crap about how much money people spend, its their hard earned money, they can do what they want.

It just when I see a 5k road bike with a massive seat and one of those steerer extensions to get the bars high or when someone is an xc rider, can't admit to theirselves and have to have the latest carbon all mountain bike, set it up with 50% sag, use it for fire roads and groomed foot paths then wonder why its hard work to remotely make the bike do what they want, then proceed to buy more suspension. These are just examples but you get the gist.

Its the whole ignorance and blinkers to any rational thought about what is actually needed and would be far better and enjoyable for them.

Can I just point out that it was only Hora's original statement I agreed with?
Ta.

what has it got to do with anyone else what bike they have and how much it cost?
ive got a nice bike (a mojo) and its probably more bike than i have skill for. But i am getting better and im going on a uk skills course in november.
ive bought the best bike i can afford, im getting used to it, im getting better and one day i hope i will be good enough for what it can offer me.
i find that having a nice bike also inspires me to want to get better and take it out and ride it.
i love looking at other peoples bikes and get real pleasure out of seeing a nice bike.
Just the other day, a rider had a nicer bike than mine, but had never seen a mojo in the flesh aand was really glad to have seen one.
Also its a beautiful looking piece of equipment which i would be happy just looking at let alone have the chance to ride it as well.
im 61 and if i want to and can afford buy a nice bike why shouldnt I?
whats it to do with someone else

The argument works the other way though. If I turn up at a trail centre on an old hardtail, the 3k bike boys assume I'm a rubbish rider. I think that's more common than the OPs original point. What they don't know though is how many times you've been Jedi'd or been to skills courses.

I will stick with my steel timetrial bike until I am quick enough to justify going carbon .At the moment im not very quick and dont want to look a cock going slow on nice kit

It was good years ago when a lot younger and quicker however to kick the ass of a Hotta rider or two on a shitty bike

Lester +1
42 year old with SB66c, XX1 etc.

An expensive bike (although not as good an investment)does its job better than an expensive watch.

What they don't know though is how many times you've been Jedi'd or been to skills courses.

I'm not sure anyone became a riding god by going on skills courses. Sure, they might well help the average rider become a bit smoother but to be properly good comes from a lifetime of riding.

Either way, you can't buy real speed on a bike!

Inverse snobbery, plain and simple.

The argument works the other way though. If I turn up at a trail centre on an old hardtail, the 3k bike boys assume I'm a rubbish rider. I think that's more common than the OPs original point. What they don't know though is how many times you've been Jedi'd or been to skills courses.

Teenrat
what does it matter what you turn up in, to me its the person who cares what other people think who has a problem, not the person doing the judging.
enjoy what you have, enjoy what other people have or can do with what they have and aspire more to better skills (if thats what you want) and better kit once you can afford it.
Dont forget as well, if nobody bought the new stuff, the old stuff would probably cost much more and be harder to get.

Can I just point out that it was only Hora's original statement I agreed with?

Does seem to have gone downhill somewhat since that first promising post.

I will stick with my steel timetrial bike until I am quick enough to justify going carbon .At the moment im not very quick and dont want to look a cock going slow on nice kit

Some may be of that opinion but fortunately I've found them to be very much in the minority. There's a right old mix of kit all the way through the field at our TTs and I don't think anyone thinks anyone else is a cock regardless of how fast or slow they are going. Mostly just happy to see other people are out there enjoying and participating in the sport.

I have an Orange Alpine. And some times I am over biked when I take it to a trail centre, but the majority of the time I'm on the right bike for the riding I do. I used to have 2 bikes, an old DH bike and an old XC bike. But due to circumstances I can now only have 1 so I've picked one that can do pretty much everything. And as I mainly ride for fun it's the bike that suits the most common riding I do (DH and similar) rather than an XC bike that sucks on the downhill sections and uplift days. It's taken me a long time to save for and was a reward to myself for some of the things i'd achieved over he last few years (where I've had to make do with cobbled together old bikes).

And personally I don't give a monkey's what other people think. I worked hard to afford what I want and a happy with it.
I'm sure when I was younger I was also guilty of being jealous of people with better kit but now I don't care

Tom KP

When I see a £6k super bike I'm straight over to look at it, not for a moment do i resent it's owner, I always think fair play for putting the graft in to treat yourself to a nice bike. Same with nice cars.

+1

I love looking at expensive bikes, and to ride one is a real treat. But to own one? No thanks, not anymore i owned what i deemed to be an expensive bike a few years back (4k) but did'nt enjoy riding it because it just felt so fragile, and i actually felt a certain amount of guilt too... sure i worked and earnt the money to buy it, but it didnt make me any happier on the trail than my £700 Giant at the time..

Expensive bikes are lush. XTR is just damn sexy! To imply that you need a 6k bike is debatable and once I owned one, and loved just looking at it as well as riding it. Nothing wrong with having nice things in life. Nothing wrong in being a savvy shopper and getting something on the cheaper side. Anyone is fortunate to own any bike and more importantly the health to ride it.

then seemed surprised / wonder why their bike does not work, or the hub is damaged and they are facing a massive bill.

its sad really..no bike deserves that treatment, whether cheap or expensive!

Though like me a bit of you dies whenever you see a bike being mis-used/maltreated.

It seems to be a uniquely British trait - just like slating and demonising rich/successful people and idolising being poor and down trodden. It ultimately must boil down to jealousy - it can't be anything else. Buy what you want and enjoy it. Or just put it in the garage to gather dust. What business is it for other people anyway.

I had an agreement with my wife that when I reached my goal weight I could buy a dream FS to go alongside my hardtail.

Since the new year I've been working hard to save money for it and also to eat healthily and get the miles in on the bike.

I've lost just over 4.5stone in the last 10months and I'm now lighter than I've been for over a decade so I've put my name down for the next batch of bronson C frames to come in (couple of weeks away now).

My skills aren't amazing but the bike is my reward to me for my efforts and I will concentrate on skills more than fitness from here on. I don't ever expect to be an amazing rider but I enjoy it so b**ls to what anyone else thinks 🙂

I don't really worry if people are concerned that I've got "all the gear but no idea" because I know that I'm significantly wealthier than them and significantly more successful than them so it doesn't really matter.
I know this because if they were my equal it wouldn't actually be a problem 8)

that works out about £1k a stone 🙂

well done, great incentive, enjoy your reward 🙂

Thanks Lester 🙂

I like bikes 🙂

I especially like seeing the unusual, expensive, 'niche' top end bikes in the flesh, so to speak... ( no, I don't strip off and get overly aroused, I keep my clothes on 😳 ). For me, I regard the owner as someone who also shares the same interest and couldn't give a damn what their riding ability is.

What makes a good rider anyway? I'd consider myself reasonably proficient, a little unfit, although there's some stuff I baulk at doing such as tabletops for example. My approach to how I ride is more than likely governed by my age, my occupation and general dislike of physical pain 😉

I would love to spend thousands on a custom road bike but cant envisage the day I spend lots on a mountain bike as by the very nature of the sport they get wrecked through normal use

I think jealousy does come into it as stated. It makes you feel better I guess if said person is on something utterly unobtainable to you to think "all the gear no idea"

crap rider / amazing bike is fine, why not - but crap bike / amazing rider is always cool.

Well said sir.

Oh, and what golfchick said too just hits the nail on the head.

Coming at it from another point of view, at the start of this year I bought a nice (though not even close to 6K) road bike that was a better bike than I was rider. I then had a good hard look at myself in the mirror, both literally and metaphorically, and ended up losing weight and doing some decent training so I could do the bike justice.

I'm now, approaching 50, probably fitter than I've been in 25 years and certainly lighter. I'm also enjoying my cycling more than I've ever done, so for me it was money very well spent.

Hang on. Im a crap rider on a crap bike.

Wheres the justice in that?

I don't think much of it has much to do with jealousy unless the person who is jealous also does not have much of a clue, for example:

1. Most bike frames are made in the same big sheds in the far east and there is not that much difference in performance after a certain price point.
2. Second hand stuff is cheap to pick up.
3. A hope wheel set is not going to be that much different from a carbon one.
4. There really is not that much, if any, performance benefit of slx and maybe even deore over XTR.
5. What really makes a difference are skills and training.

For my part I do not really like consumerism and try not to get too conned by marketing. But I would never say or even think "all the gear no idea" as if they are having fun then good on them. Then thinking about it if someone was making a complete idiot of themselves or just had their bike in the shed it might be a bit sad.

I don't pay much attention to bikes & have no idea how much a particular bike is likely to cost....So couldn't care less what other people are riding............

Although the one exception is when I see someone on a fat bike,I do wonder why anyone would want to drag that heavy thing around all day.....& before anyone says it, I'll say it for you -"cos they're really great fun to ride".......
As are all bikes 8)

It ultimately must boil down to jealousy - it can't be anything else.

#trollsthetroll 8)

Lester, i totally agree. I couldnt give a monkeys what peoples views are based upon what you ride. It makes no difference to how much i enjoy my ride. It is a shame though that people judge or are judged by how much money they have spent, but unfortunately, i feel thats how modern society is.

If I want to ride my 6" trave bike on the Verderers trail then I blooming well will. Why does anyone care??

Removing the "high" end kit from the grasp of mortals will only serve to slow down the trickle of technology to the general public and make the kit more expensive.

And we are all cr@p riders compared to the likes of Sam H or Danny M.

If you care what anyone else thinks of your bike or your handling skills you probably don't ride it enough.

surely a 5k bike for someone earning 100k is infinietly more affordable than a 1k bike for someone on the dole.

Lets be honest, 3-4k isn't a huge amount of money for a lot of people. I imagine folks who take issue with expensive bikes aren't in such a priviledged position, so see things very differently.

Could it also be a confidence thing.
Having an uber expensive bike and knowing with 100% certainty that the bike will handle the type of riding you are doing, will encourage people to push a bit harder than they have previously?

Ha ha.. You seriously think being expensive ensures a bike will handle well?

I find quite a few riders become even more cautious when they finally buy their first uber expensive bike, especially now there's so much carbon involved.

You've only got to look at how much heli tape some folk've applied.

Having an uber expensive bike and knowing with 100% certainty that the bike will handle the type of riding you are doing, will encourage people to push a bit harder than they have previously?

I really doubt this, look at all the nice bikes in the classifieds: no dints, scrapes, excellent condition etc. It would seem that having an expensive bike makes people afraid to crash them.

The point for me is that, for the vast majority of riders, a 20g saving on this, an almost indiscernible amount of extra rigidity on that, a 0.1% increase in potential speed etc is totally irrelevant as they are not chasing podiums. Therefore why pay £XXX for a bike when you could get the same fun for £XXX/2 or 3. It's just a waste of money.

How many of the naysayers are in control if their own budgets and would be shot if they actually bought what they really wanted!!

I find quite a few riders become even more cautious when they finally buy their first uber expensive bike, especially now there's so much carbon involved.

I am happy to try dodgy bits on my inbred. Worst happens and I wrap it round a tree or rock I'll just buy another. £150, nae gears to worry about and mostly deore. My full suss I'd probably just sit down and cry as it would be nearly £1k for the frame and a lot more for any of the XT bits that snapped. Remember the first XTR mech I snapped, I bought XT after that.

Just cause you wrap a bike in helitape doesnt mean your a cautious rider...just prudent about possible future retail value...or OCD about aesthetics!

Kristoff, hats off chap.
How did you manage it?
Need a tale of someone else's success to spur me on. 😕

It's not about the affordability of expensive bikes it's more that as you spend more bikes tend to become more focused on certain elements of riding at the expense of others. For newer riders who may not necessarily know what they want to pursue then it may hinder their enjoyment/development, a cheaper bike that is a better allrounder may be better to begin with for a bit and then spend what you want on the right bike.

Who cares what people ride, if someone wants to spend x on a bike, will so be it.

All that matters is people are enjoying been on their bikes!!

I hate Orange's.. I'm not jealous as seems to be a constant comment in here. Far from jealous, I think they are good bikes. But they seem to be the "go-to" bike for people with a few spare quid, and in return you get a lot of whoppers riding them with little to no skill...

Takisawa2 - I used my fitness pal to keep track of my calories and just kept riding when I could.

In fairness prior to this year I was very lazy and had a really bad diet so it's a big step change which meant the first 2stone came off very easily. After that just a steady plod of 1800calories a day and riding when I can 🙂

some of the 'bling' that goes out of our shop..no idea how its being ridden, hope they are enjoying their bikes though!

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Ride what you like. Talent will always show.

people can, of course, ride/buy what they like.

But the truly valuable things in cycling - like talent, skill, fitness, toughness, and satisfaction - cannot be bought. They must be earned, through devotion, discipline and plain hard work.

^^^That TT bike is hideous.^^^

#fellouttheuglytreeandhiteverybracnhonthewaydown

The other 3rd one is much nicer.

#fellouttheuglytreeandhiteverybracnhonthewaydown

...and then got run over by the big ugly bus.

@ Spin 😀