Irrational bike snobbery.

[dav1d]

I'll ride pretty much anything (I have ridden a couple of bikes that have been on display in a museum - the same bike, just not mine! Mine got used. Didn't think they would be so old though!), as long as it's not pink or green (hate green), and as long as it is a mans bike (though I think my racer is a womans though it's not that obvious). Though I won't ride those mini bikes that many people seemed to by several years ago (they had the peddles under the seat, I can't ride bikes like that at all!).In most cases, if it goes, I'll ride it!

 

[Hover Fly]

I wouldn't buy a Trek, Cannondale or Giant, for the same reason I don't buy Coca Cola Pepsi Cola or 7 up. I would ride one if I was offered it free though.

 

[MacB]

I'm learning to be snobbier about bikes but only in the price banding, brands don't even enter my head yet. 6 months ago I thought £300 would have been a really expensive bike..........

But I've been through all this in my incarnation as an enthusiastic golfer. There is a lot of correlation, and I'm sure it must be so for other hobbies as well. In golf I tried just about every gimmick and gizmo going. Once you got beyond the GCSO(golf club shaped object) level, there were only three aspects that made a difference:-

using equipment, clubs and balls, best suited, and fitted, to you

the amount of effort you put in to practice and improve

the level of natural talent you had

I know I'm going to burn through money on bikes, some of it foolishly, as I tinker and learn. I'll develop irrational hatreds of some brands, generally based on the flimsiest of evidence. I'll both love and hate the hobby(not sport for me, I'll never be that good) at various times, frequently on the same day. I'll keep improving until I find my natural level, dictated by ability, age and time available to improve. I'll keep logs of what I achieve, try new gizmos and may even give clipless a go sometime.

Most of all I'm going to have fun, I'll go on CC rides when I can and when I can keep up. I'll probably have a pop at Audax, L2B and maybe, one day, LEJOG. I'll meet a lot of like minded folk, see a lot of bikes and fully expect to admire most of those bikes, maybe their owners as well.

For all this I have to thank some scrote of a bike thief. If I hadn't had my old, cheapo, bike nicked first time I left it at the station. I wouldn't have looked at new bikes and wouldn't have started thinking about a 40 mile round trip commute. Most of all I wouldn't have the guys at the golf club burst out laughing when I suggested I might try this. I may have started out to prove a point but am totally amazed by the buzz I get from cycling.

 

[mickle]

Sorry, but I have to differ with Mickle here.
I'll ride anything.
Including my Daewoo Shuttle.

I've a Daywoo Shuttle! My mum bought it for me.

 

[punkypossum]

Trek - agreed - poor design makes you wonder how they sell anything

I must be poorly designed myself then - both my bikes are treks, and the main reason for that is that the geometry suits me to a tee...

 

[ComedyPilot]

I have a Merida and a Raleigh.

I'll sell them to suit the aesthetic appeal of this thred.

 

[craigwend]

"There are certain brands I wouldn't be seen dead on"

I'd rather be seen alive on any 'brand' than dead on specifc ones, I suspect it might affect my balance?

 

[Chris James]

Let's face it, most bikes at equivalent price points are substantially the same. The drive chain will probably be either Shimano or Campag, and the wheels are likely to be very similar or in the case of off the peg factory wheels, identical.

So that leaves the frames, half of which will have been welded by the next robot along in the massive Taiwanese factoryt that makes just about all bikes nowadays.

So the snobbery about bikes is not about which bike is better, but simply about which bike makes you feel better about yourself. So one person might feel that riding their Colnago they are making a statement about Italian styling, even if the bike is actually worse than the Trek of the bloke alongside.

On a different note, I have had hand built 531c frame with carefully crafted lugs and a 631 TIG welded frame. If anything the TIG welded frame rode better, but the handbuilt one is a lot more expensive and supposedly desirable.

Much of it is an ad man's con trick to get you to pay more for the same thing. I can see the attraction of buying something totally bespoke and unique but getting snobby about one mass produced factory bike as opposed to another is just daft.

 

[GilesM]

Much of it is an ad man's con trick to get you to pay more for the same thing. I can see the attraction of buying something totally bespoke and unique but getting snobby about one mass produced factory bike as opposed to another is just daft.

Of course it is, but the thread is titled "Irrational Bike Snobbery"

 

[got-to-get-fit]

i kind of know what you mean here ...it is a bit irrational as most of the bikes you list are probably much of a muchness build and quality wise but its that indefinable thing that stops you buying it. You cant rationally explain why with any solid argument why you hate them but 'you just do'
heres my list -

Claud Butler
Specialized
Giant
Boardman

This extends to other aspects of my life -

Ford's
Timberland
Fred Perry
Nokia's
any MP3 apart from an i-pod
Reebok
Value range from tesco



Incidently i own a Carrerra, a Dawes and a Bianchi

 

[Hilldodger]

Ford's

But, but.......what about the Capri?

Careful how you answer

 

[tyred]

FORD - Fix Or Repair Daily

 

[got-to-get-fit]

capri ghia ....rodders!!

 

[ChrisKH]

Nuffink wrong with the value range from Tescos. I 'ave one of their shirts on today, innit.

 

[Dan B]

Only one of my pair is on that list, which makes me sad because I like to annoy bike snobs. But at least the other has mudguards rack and panniers, so it's probably annoying some other kind of bike snobs.