# Racing bikes - not road bikes please!



## Ludwig (31 Jul 2008)

I've noticed a current trend where the bike which has been known as a racing bike for as hundred years is now referred to as a road bike. If you have a lightweight bike with drop handle bars and no suspension it is a racing bike. "Road bike" is just so bland , general and dull. It is another example of how the middle class marketing muppets have infected the world of cycling with their silly terminology.


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## dodgy (31 Jul 2008)

You can also race on a Mountain Bike, that doesn't have drop handlebars. Put it this way, when someone on here refers to a road bike, I know exactly what they're talking about.


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## Tynan (31 Jul 2008)

a road bike is exactly that, the other are accurately named although there's plenty of overlap

everyone knows what a real racing bike is


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## Disgruntled Goat (31 Jul 2008)

Racing Bike?

'Racer'

Pron. Ray-sa as in "Oooo you've gone and got yer sen a ray-sa"


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## stoatsngroats (31 Jul 2008)

http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/complete-bikes/road-bikes

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/c/Cycle/7/Road_Bikes/

http://www.awcycles.co.uk/category/Bikes/Road_Bikes/8/index.aspx

...to show just a few, where there are many....(Google - Road bikes..)

or wikipedia.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_bicycle

Road bikes....gotta luv 'em...eh...?


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## bonj2 (31 Jul 2008)

they're not necessarily used for racing, but they are used ont he road.


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## yenrod (31 Jul 2008)

The term road bike has simply evolved to make it so that its more widely available whereas racing bike is far more hardcore.


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## mickle (31 Jul 2008)

Ludwig said:


> I've noticed a current trend where the bike which has been known as a racing bike for as hundred years is now referred to as a road bike. If you have a lightweight bike with drop handle bars and no suspension it is a racing bike. "Road bike" is just so bland , general and dull. It is another example of how the middle class marketing muppets have infected the world of cycling with their silly terminology.



It's not a trend Ludwig and, despite your suspicions, it has nothing to do with middle class marketing muppets. The general population might refer to them as 'racers' or 'racing bikes' but for a hundred years they've been known as 'road bikes' by actual cyclists. Not silly terminology, simple historical fact.


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## domtyler (31 Jul 2008)

Ludwig. You are, quite simply, a fascist.


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## Moonlight (31 Jul 2008)

I do not race my bike to college, it is designed for the road though, and I use it on the road. Racing bike sounds like I'm trying to make up for something


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## Maz (1 Aug 2008)

Moonlight said:


> Racing bike sounds like I'm trying to make up for something


Would that something be...lost time?


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## mr Mag00 (1 Sep 2008)

pass him a thistle


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## Yorkshireman (1 Sep 2008)

Wonder what happened to 'Roadsters' (designed for road/path - but definitely not 'racers') ... Hybrids, City bikes ?


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## remking (5 Sep 2008)

20 years ago I had a "Racer" and so did everyone else who had a bike that looked like mine. I had never heard the term "Road Bike" and neither had my friends. We all cycled quite long distances. I really dislike the term "Road Bike".


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## mickle (6 Sep 2008)

remking said:


> 20 years ago I had a "Racer" and so did everyone else who had a bike that looked like mine. I had never heard the term "Road Bike" and neither had my friends. We all cycled quite long distances. I really dislike the term "Road Bike".



This is really interesting. 'Racers' are called road bikes in the cycling world and have been forever. It's not marketing speak and it's not snobbery. It just is. Why do you dislike it so much?


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## Rhythm Thief (6 Sep 2008)

mickle said:


> This is really interesting.



Are you sure?


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## mickle (6 Sep 2008)

Rhythm Thief said:


> Are you sure?



I'm an anorak aren't I? 

It is though, why do people have such strong feelings about a term which has been in use for decades?


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## yello (6 Sep 2008)

mickle said:


> why do people have such strong feelings about a term which has been in use for decades?



Or, equally, strong dislikes for new terms. I guess it's just part and parcel of being human; we like and dislike stuff for no other reason that personal feelings and there's no logic involved to it. 

For me, as a child, a 'racer' had drop bars... there was no such thing as mountain bikes, there were 'choppers' and everything else (i.e. sit up and beg) was simply a bike. I couldn't tell you when I first head the term 'road bike' but I'm guessing it was round about the same time I heard of mountain bikes... late 80s??


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## remking (6 Sep 2008)

Okay, I'm just going to talk out of my rear for a bit... and hypothethingy..

In the 80's (when I was at school) all of the kids had bikes. There were choppers (I never had one and I am emotionally scarred as a result), there were racers, there were shopping bikes (basket on the front), etc. Cycling was not a hobby, it was truly the preferred form of transport for a very large number of people. These people most probably were not part of any cycling fraternity. If they had been then they would probably have come across the term "road bike". The shift between calling it a racer and calling it a road bike, I believe is as a result of the bicycle falling more into the realm of hobbyist (excuse this word, it may not be quite right for the description). The car has become more prominent since the 80's as the preferred way to get around. This means that a larger number of bike buyers are from the cycling fraternity rather than what I would describe as the general public. With the advent of the internet and forums such as this, the whole thing has become so much more condensed. 

Unfortunately, how ever much I might hate the term "Road bike" it is now the formal description of what the majority termed as "Racer" in the 80's. When I say "Majority" I do mean majority because there were probably more people riding racers to get from A to B than there were enthusiasts (thats the right word).

Of course the above may just be a load of bull.


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## tdr1nka (6 Sep 2008)

I like the term 'safety bicycle'.


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## fossyant (6 Sep 2008)

Racer refers to a cheap £100 BSO. Road bikes are proper bikes.....


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## PrettyboyTim (6 Sep 2008)

Ludwig said:


> It is another example of how the middle class marketing muppets have infected the world of cycling with their silly terminology.



Damn the middle classes and their foolish ideas!


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## Mortiroloboy (6 Sep 2008)

Tynan said:


> a road bike is exactly that, the other are accurately named although there's plenty of overlap
> 
> everyone knows what a real racing bike is



 Obvious really.


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## Over The Hill (6 Sep 2008)

Do you not simply ride on the road on a road bike and race on a track on a racing bike?

Just beacuse both have drop handle bars and look about the same from 100 yards away does not make them the same thing. 


Funny though we have sports cars but not sports bikes!!


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## Hilldodger (6 Sep 2008)

tdr1nka said:


> I like the term 'safety bicycle'.




There was a time when safety bicycles used for racing were commonly known as 'jiggers'

That was in the good old days mind, when an 'ordinary bicycle' had a front wheel at least 48" in diameter


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## Joe (6 Sep 2008)

I call it a racer to non-cyclists so they know what I'm talking about!
Road bike to the rest of us.


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## alp1950 (6 Sep 2008)

So lets see if I've got this right-

Family: Bicycle 
Genus: Road bike; Mountain bike; Hybrid; etc
Species:Racing bike; Tourer; Audax; etc


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## Scoosh (6 Sep 2008)

alp1950 said:


> So lets see if I've got this right-
> 
> Family: Bicycle
> Genus: Road bike; Mountain bike; Hybrid; etc
> Species:Racing bike; Tourer; Audax; etc


A good descriptive form - maybe one that could be adopted on CC


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## Baggy (7 Sep 2008)

scoosh said:


> A good descriptive form - maybe one that could be adopted on CC


Indeed - my tourer has drop bars, but that alone doesn't make it a racer - it's a road bike.


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## mickle (7 Sep 2008)

Baggy said:


> Indeed - my tourer has drop bars, but that alone doesn't make it a racer - it's a road bike.


No it's not a road bike, it's a tourer.


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## jasper (7 Sep 2008)

Not a new thing at all. In the racing world, you was either known as a roadie or a trackie...hence the name road bike (for roadie's). It was the general public that adopted the term racer for a bike with drops and deraileur gears.


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## TonyEnjoyD (8 Oct 2008)

*Newbie here*

Hi all,

Recently took up cycling again and started with "Cycle to work" (only 5 miles each way)

Must say that I hada fun time trying to get through to the shop assistant that I wanted a racing bike to commute! Ended up with a Giant SCR03.

Further to the discussion on these pages, I had my first "Racing" bike back in the 70's (after my original Purple Chopper) when there were basically three types of bike - Racer, Tourer (racer with a pannier rack and big mudguards) and "upright" bikes whoch oldies and grandads rode.

Then along came the early versions of an off-road. Basically an upright with all the bits stripped off (front brake, gears (if they had them), mudguards, panniers etc and they were purely used for off-road stunting.

I still used my Racer - as they were widely known as at the time - for basic cycling about town (to mates etc) and then one cycling holiday to Norwich (235miles) where our record was back home in a day and a half - 135 miles on day 1 and the remainder on day 2.

My current average is a lot lower but not bad considering only been cycling again for 3 months and I average around 14.5mph on most runs.

Anyway - great forum


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## John Ponting (8 Oct 2008)

Over The Hill said:


> ...
> 
> Funny though we have sports cars but not sports bikes!!



R1, FireBlade, GSXR, are all sports bikes

ST1300, K1200GT are touring bikes

KTM 990, Tiger are trail bikes

Hornet, GSR600 are utility or hybrid bikes

Harleys are cruisers

Gold Wings are anacronisms




in modern marketing speak


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## Angelfishsolo (8 Oct 2008)

My first 'big boys bike' was a _*Chopper*_, I loved it. Eventually traded it for a _*Coventry Eagle Red Dragon*_ 10 speed drop.

I also remember the *Grifter* and the craze of fitting insanely wide handlebars on them. (Also seem to recall it was one of if not the first bike with a grip gear shift) 

At that time a Road or Racing Bike would have been known (by my and my peers anyway) a 'drop'. 



yello said:


> For me, as a child, a 'racer' had drop bars... there was no such thing as mountain bikes, there were 'choppers' and everything else (i.e. sit up and beg) was simply a bike.


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## Twenty Inch (8 Oct 2008)

I'll race you on any of my bikes.


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## Amanda P (8 Oct 2008)

Interesting that, last time I looked, Ebay has no category for "road bikes" - only "racing bikes". (It doesn't have "touring bikes" either, which is unhelpful).

Not that Ebay is a general arbiter of terminology...


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## Dunbar (10 Aug 2010)

Well my 'steed' is a 'lightweight tourer' then. 

It used to be a racer, when I could compete. Now, as soon as it's put back into roadworthy condition it will be a 'Get-me-around' for exercise. Which might be on the road... Or more likely in Sutton Park or some other expanse of car-free land with half-decent roads. 

So if you see a portly, older gent, on a metallic-copper '60s racer, in the vicinity of Sutton Park, 'Birmingham' (Warks), it won't be Howard... It'll be me... Probably.


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## jimboalee (10 Aug 2010)

Listen to Mickle.


'Road bike',,, Short for 'Roadracing bike'. = As close as damnit what the tour pros are riding in the World cup, TdF, Giro and Vuelta.

'Track bike',,, Short for 'Track racing bike'. What the track riders at the Worlds are riding ie. NOT street legal at all.


ps 'Sports bike'. looks like a 'Road bike' but a pro wouldn't be seen dead on it. Weighs more than 16lb.

'Tourer'. Has the name 'Galaxy', 'Dalesman' or 'Randonneur' on it. Some older ones have 'Romany' on them  

Everything else = Push bike.


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## ianrauk (10 Aug 2010)

Holy near 2 year old thread resurrection Batman.


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## jimboalee (10 Aug 2010)

ianrauk said:


> Holy near 2 year old thread resurrection Batman.




There are not many other interesting threads worthy of a good argument.


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## perplexed (10 Aug 2010)

Anything I ride is called a "wind jammer", because that's exactly what happens when I climb onto the bugger...


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## StuartG (10 Aug 2010)

mickle said:


> It's not a trend Ludwig and, despite your suspicions, it has nothing to do with middle class marketing muppets. The general population might refer to them as 'racers' or 'racing bikes' but for a hundred years they've been known as 'road bikes' by actual cyclists. Not silly terminology, simple historical fact.


Sphericals!


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## HLaB (10 Aug 2010)

Holy Smoke this old thread has been refound 

I dont race and none off bikes are used off road so in my eyes their road bikes. Shanaze Reade races (wins) on a race bike but its nothing like my road bikes


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## kewb (10 Aug 2010)

racer`s imho are wheeled whippets , road bikes are any bike that wouldnt survive strathpuffer 

and mtb`s are useless at climbing lol .


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## jimboalee (11 Aug 2010)

Have you noticed bikes labeled "Audax bike"?

These are bicycles which the manufacturer consider ideally suited for riding long distances at faster than a leisurely pace. They are not 'Road bikes'. They are what were formerly known as 'sports tourers'. Marketing hype has renamed them to appeal to the ignorant.

A 'sports' bike, as has been said before, is a lower cost heavier version of a 'Roadbike'.

The term "Racer" was banded about because when and if cycling apeared on the newsreel, these were the cyclist who were shown. The public associated dropped bars and no mudguards with the Racing chappies on the moving pictures Pathe news before the main feature.

There were of course 'Tourers', which were not always equiped with derailleur gears, they were usually Sturmey Archer with small chainrings and larger than 20 tooth sprockets, racks, panniers, mudguards and a cyclimeter. Most had semi-dropped bars for comfort and the general public saw the semi-drops and incorrectly thought "Racer".


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## tmcd35 (11 Aug 2010)

When I was a kid in the 80's I had a racer - I know cause it had dropped bars, and all my friends had mountain bikes. Today the racer I had as a kid would be called a road bike and my friends mountain bikes are now called hybrids - go figure.

For me when I hear the word racer I think of some uber-cool, ultra-light weight, carbon machine costing a few thousand and used by riders on the Tour de France. 

I associate the word 'road bike' with bikes that have narrow slick tyres that you wouldn't take down a gravel cycle path for fear of damage to the bike or your back - as in 'you ride them on the road'. Where as my hybrid with thicker semi-slicks handles the aforementioned dirt tracks with little in the way of problems. 

In fact I'd say that tourers, audaxes, commuters and racers are all just different, specialised, types of road bike


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## Globalti (11 Aug 2010)

In my time a racer was also know as a "ten speed".


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## youngoldbloke (11 Aug 2010)

The correct term for a bike used for road racing is 'race bike'. I have a bike that could be used for racing, but isn't, so it is called a 'road bike'. A fixed wheel bike with no brakes used in a velodrome is a 'track bike', again if used for racing it would be my 'race bike'. I would _*never*_ use the terms 'racer' or 'racing bike'.


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## Bill Gates (11 Aug 2010)

You wouldn't call a dedicated TT bike with tri bars and a disc wheel a road bike, but it is a "racer". On the other hand a "racer" could be a Track, Road Race or TT bike. 

My understanding of what is meant by a road bike is a lightweight bike with drop handle bars and gears that could be used for touring, training or racing TT's or Road.


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