What's Up With All The People In Racing Suits And Expensive Bikes?

[Froze]

Almost 14 years ago today I visited Sedona Bike and Bean in Sedona, Arizona while on a mountain biking trip. I'm not a coffee drinker, but, I thought it was a pretty novel idea. I just checked the web to see if they are still around, and, sure enough they are, and their website's tagline is " The Original Bike Shop~Coffee Shop" !

That's cool! I like the name of the shop too. I'm a coffee drinker, Espresso, French Press, and Moka Pot coffee are my preferred methods, I think the Moka Pot makes it stronger than the other 2 methods though. So when some bike shop in my town puts a coffee shop in their store I may find myself there after a ride.

 

[swampy1970]

The point is I don't think 18mph is fast. If me a 51 year old forty pound overweight guy can pass all these Tour de France posers then they really are posers dressed up like the real cyclist such as yourself. I think it cheapens what the guys like you work hard at.

Did you ever think they may be just going out for a social ride or a "no drop" ride with some new folks riding?

When I raced we occasionally went out on social rides - it's good for the soul and just good fun. Sure we'd get some folks passing us but it was all good those social 18 to 21mph rides were just that - social. Now, when it was time to train it was a different story - fairly big watts and low weight = mo' speed.

Nowadays, I ride the kind of bike I really wish I could have had when I raced and I ride it because I can and I like it. If you think you're better than me because I'm on a $5000+ bike and you pass me on a given day then phooey on you.

 

[sunshiney]

I see people in expensive gear all the time but I never really thought anything of it. Sometimes it can look goofy, but I always just assume those people are 'serious' cyclists, which now that I think of it is probably the image some of them are trying to convey.

No one I ride with goes in for all the racing suits and stuff, but at the level that we're riding it's really not necessary. I don't really see the point in going super high end with gear for a casual cyclist, especially if you're just starting out.

 

[Froze]

After living in the Mojave Desert area of California for 14 or so years I found out something about expensive jersey's...they don't work any better at keeping you cooler than a cheap $15 or so 100% polyester jersey, and I found out that slightly loose fitting jerseys were cooler than the tight fitting ones. So there is no need to buy expensive jerseys unless you need to flash. Sales, and closeouts are your friends because you can get $50 or so jerseys for just $15 or so and have a quality jersey.

Shorts is a different matter, not because of cooling because there is no difference in expensive vs cheap shorts, but rather it's a difference in comfort, the more expensive ones are usually more comfortable, but there is a very thin line of difference between a $65 short and a $200 short, so thin of a difference it's not worth paying more. Again sales are your friends. Shorts too are in the butt of the beholder when it comes to comfort, one pad may fit one person fine but fit poorly for another so you have to do trial and error.

Gloves can be another one of those trial and error things, and it's something that real expensive gloves don't do much for you then a cheaper pair. Some gloves have thick padding and some thin, why? because some people like thick padding and some don't.

Shoes we're back to buying more expensive shoes being the better choice, they last longer, feel more comfortable, and prevent "burning" feet on long rides.

Of course all of this is just my opinion.

 

[mayasupernova]

Yeah, I know what you mean. In my city, rich kids look like that, they mostly just pose around, rather than use their bike for what they are built for. They are fully equipped but they just paddle around by the river. It makes me sick in my stomach, so I can totally relate. I'd rather not be equipped at alone but cycle with a purpose (better one than just posing), than looking like such snobbish people.

 

[Froze]

Yeah, I know what you mean. In my city, rich kids look like that, they mostly just pose around, rather than use their bike for what they are built for. They are fully equipped but they just paddle around by the river. It makes me sick in my stomach, so I can totally relate. I'd rather not be equipped at alone but cycle with a purpose (better one than just posing), than looking like such snobbish people.

I see this all the time as well not with just kids but the gray hairs too, but their just people who are wealthy enough to afford whatever they want to buy, it's like them buying $110,000 Corvettes and the igiots don't know how to drive them so they either putz around or they crash and burn, or huge 9,000 square foot homes with just 2 people creaking around and they don't even use 9/10ths of the house; it's just life in the rich lane.

 

[Uawadall]

I don't think you have to be Chris Froome to want to wear cool looking gear, if they have the funds then why not? Another thing is just because something looks expensive and has a high suggested retail value doesn't mean it was expensive. I'm not shaped like the average man and can find cycling gear for cheap because of it. 6'4",165 pounds, size 13 feet, and a 61 cm bike frame... The bargain bin regularly has gear 70%+ off. Shorter people and find similar sales and the average joe can simply buy last years model on the cheap.

If someone is dressed like the their in the tour de france and is arrogant or show offy toward you, so what? If you beat them up the hill or out sprint them, they'll be bragging towards themselves. I actually like to see expensive equipment regardless of a cyclist ability for a few reason:

1. Top line bikes are not the sort of thing id entertain buying, but they are a work of art. I like seeing a wide variety of bikes.
2. You realize that a "super" bike isn't some magic pill. The fast guys are fast and the slower guys are slow. It makes you see what you have to do to improve your riding and places new gear very low on the totem pole.

I was on a bike ride with my local club in a different group than I normally ride with. This women asked me "are you on some sort of cycling team?", I said "No why?"..She said "because all your gear matches and you look pro"..I laughed hard. I have a $800 used synapse, three jerseys, 2 pairs of mt. bike shorts and 2 pairs of road shorts. Each item cost between 35 and 50 bucks. I don't consider that too much for one of my favorite activities.

This post is a little long winded, but respect should be earned only through action and not by how someone dresses.

 

[doctorold]

Many riders, many motivations. Why do some spend $$$ on equipment, apparel when they ride very little? Why do some, who can afford it, ride and use crappy stuff? You can judge all you want but it doesn't really matter. Enjoy what you do and let the others worry about what they're doing. I don't understand why some guys ride an expensive CF racer when they ride once a week and look like they're hiding a basketball under their jersey. I don't understand why some guys wear a complete kit that looks like they're sponsored by several companies and they don't even race. (There's many other head scratchers). But ultimately, I just have to shake my head and keep pedaling. That's cycling.

 

[Shark425]

Is it any different than someone buying the jersey of a team they follow, or a racing style jacket just like Jeff Gordon? How about buying a car with a spoiler, wing, and mag wheels like a GT race car? Nobody i know who wears a cycling team jersey is claiming to be a TdF or professional rider , and it isn't hurting anyone , so it doesn't really bother me at all.

 

[Froze]

Is it any different than someone buying the jersey of a team they follow, or a racing style jacket just like Jeff Gordon? How about buying a car with a spoiler, wing, and mag wheels like a GT race car? Nobody i know who wears a cycling team jersey is claiming to be a TdF or professional rider , and it isn't hurting anyone , so it doesn't really bother me at all.

People who buy automotive racing jackets do so knowing they don't drive for the team and others who see them with one know that too, but put a racing team jersey on a cyclist and people think they are a make believe racer. It's weird that way. I don't like wearing racing gear or some sort of clothing advertising anything, be it autos, something to do with bicycles, etc., because I don't like the billboard effect, nor want to advertise for some company that I had to pay for the shirt to do so, usually in advertising they pay you to display their stuff not the other way around. This is why if I buy a used car and the dealer has put on their dealer plate bracket with their logo I go home and take it off; dealer decals are a pain, I have to heat the decal with hair blower and then try to slowly take the decal off, then afterwards use Goo Gone and get the glue residue off, then wash the area and buff with wax.

I hear you though, it's not hurting anyone. I don't know how old you are but back in the late 70's when all those cowboy movies came out everyone wanted to dress like a cowboy even though they were so far removed from living on a farm their genes cried foul, we use to call those guys drugstore cowboys because they were fake cowboys, it's the same thing with the "I want to look like a racer", they're not so I call them drugstore racers.

 

[pwarbi]

While I've also noticed that there's been a trend of people wearing a team jersey while out cycling here in the UK, as others have said it's not really offending anyone so it's nothing to be too concerned about.

Really with all the trials and tribulations that cycling as gone through this last few years, I think we as cyclists have more to worry about than what people choose to wear, or how much their bike costs.

 

[Shark425]

People who buy automotive racing jackets do so knowing they don't drive for the team and others who see them with one know that too, but put a racing team jersey on a cyclist and people think they are a make believe racer. It's weird that way. I don't like wearing racing gear or some sort of clothing advertising anything, be it autos, something to do with bicycles, etc., because I don't like the billboard effect, nor want to advertise for some company that I had to pay for the shirt to do so, usually in advertising they pay you to display their stuff not the other way around. This is why if I buy a used car and the dealer has put on their dealer plate bracket with their logo I go home and take it off; dealer decals are a pain, I have to heat the decal with hair blower and then try to slowly take the decal off, then afterwards use Goo Gone and get the glue residue off, then wash the area and buff with wax.

I hear you though, it's not hurting anyone. I don't know how old you are but back in the late 70's when all those cowboy movies came out everyone wanted to dress like a cowboy even though they were so far removed from living on a farm their genes cried foul, we use to call those guys drugstore cowboys because they were fake cowboys, it's the same thing with the "I want to look like a racer", they're not so I call them drugstore racers.

I wear non descript cycling shorts (plain black) and jersey. I don't like advertising for free , either lol. I'm 70, and I remember the '70's. We called them Rhinestone Cowboys or Dude Ranch hands...

 

[pwarbi]

In the UK when Team SKY was first formed you couldn't move on the roads without seeing at least two or three of the jerseys being worn.

We tended to look on those as the bandwagon jumpers and they probably only started cycling because of the recent upsurge in cycling over here with people like Cavendish and Wiggins becoming household names.