Road vs MT Biking Attitudes

[janneman72]

Janneman thank you for this post.I was once a roadie. I was like in moerse cool. Then some friends started riding MTB and I accused them of being softies, frikken riding 20km ph in the veld looking at the flowers. Then I started riding MTB. I had 2 non negotiable rules in cycling, 1) Ill never push my bike. 2) No chick will ever beat me in a race.

That rule counted until my first MTB race. Lank chicks beat me and I pushed my bike. So the realisation came that MTB is hard, damn hard.

 

I have started doing some training rides on my roadbike.

It is amazing how many roadies will not respond to any sort of greeting. They are so ice cool it stinks.

 

Mounties again dont just wave a hello. They stop and chat.

 

My opinion therefore is that MTB riders are very friendly and some roadies are snobs

 

I totally agree with you. Sometimes 20km/h is fast as well on a MTB. We normally average on our local MTB roads in gauteng anything between 22-28kmh. We did a course at the coast December, 26km in 4 hours, <7kmh average. Crazy stuff but great fun and we were exhausted afterwards.

 

Roadies needs to understand if you're not Lance and a MTBikers greets you, you may greet them back except if you're afraid of what your other roadies might think about you. Roadies like to ride without saddles I think, or it looks as if they do.

[EpicRider]

I definitely think this is the case - I get the feeling all road cyclist think they are pro's or on the brink of turning pro

And by the way I do both…

[patches]

I totally agree with you. Sometimes 20km/h is fast as well on a MTB. We normally average on our local MTB roads in gauteng anything between 22-28kmh. We did a course at the coast December, 26km in 4 hours, <7kmh average. Crazy stuff but great fun and we were exhausted afterwards.

 

Roadies needs to understand if you're not Lance and a MTBikers greets you, you may greet them back except if you're afraid of what your other roadies might think about you. Roadies like to ride without saddles I think, or it looks as if they do.

 

bwahahaha!

[Weight Weenie]

i dont share the same sentiments. alot of cyclists enjoy both disciplines of cycling as do i.

my opinion on the difference of attitudes lies in that road cyclists are always concentrating on their training, their heat rate etc, and generally have determined training purpose for their ride, whilst mtb'rs on the other hand also may share some of the same qualities but not at the same level of intensity. there is a far more exciting, dirtier, more free atmosphere, some what resembling the days of your youth, where you enjoyed riding your bmx, very ruff and tumble. and you generally shared those bmx'img moments with friends, hence the more sociable atmosphere from the mtb'rs.

 

however, mind you that there some grumpy mtb'rs and also very sociable roadies.

 

just my 2c

 

****, think I may be a closet roadie, better sell that roadbike ASAP !

[KnobbyMech]

Wanted to bring this up before. When I started mtb (not from a roady background), the thing that I enjoyed most was the people I rode with, suffering like me, making jokes, helping where they could and generally just having a ball. Six years later and the vibe totally changed, although I must admit I am slightly further up the field with some guys taking it very seriously. It is heartbreaking. It is like the sport grew to fast and there are not enough old timers proportional for the new guys to learn from.

 

...or maybe it is because so many road riders started mtb

[KnobbyMech]

i dont share the same sentiments. alot of cyclists enjoy both disciplines of cycling as do i.

my opinion on the difference of attitudes lies in that road cyclists are always concentrating on their training, their heat rate etc, and generally have determined training purpose for their ride, whilst mtb'rs on the other hand also may share some of the same qualities but not at the same level of intensity. there is a far more exciting, dirtier, more free atmosphere, some what resembling the days of your youth, where you enjoyed riding your bmx, very ruff and tumble. and you generally shared those bmx'img moments with friends, hence the more sociable atmosphere from the mtb'rs.

 

however, mind you that there some grumpy mtb'rs and also very sociable roadies.

 

just my 2c

 

Makes sense. Are you Dr Phil?

[scotty]

Discrimination at best.

[janneman72]

Wanted to bring this up before. When I started mtb (not from a roady background), the thing that I enjoyed most was the people I rode with, suffering like me, making jokes, helping where they could and generally just having a ball. Six years later and the vibe totally changed, although I must admit I am slightly further up the field with some guys taking it very seriously. It is heartbreaking. It is like the sport grew to fast and there are not enough old timers proportional for the new guys to learn from.

 

...or maybe it is because so many road riders started mtb

 

I agree with you. Our local MTB club created by the bike shop owner is awesome and the people are amazing, however the same cycling shop but the roadie club just sucks big time.

[Naas V]

This is such a ridiculous statement, mostly because of the generalization that goes with it.

 

It's not about the person, IT'S ABOUT THE BIKE!

 

I've seen it in Gholf(the costlier the clubs and the lower the handicap, the more windgat they were. If the handicap was high and clubs expensive, the funnier/more pathetic the image was) Anyway, same in cycling. High end machines can never be a tool to judge the riders's ability, but definately personality.

 

Put the same guy on a BMX, then a MTB and lastly a road bike, you will see 3 different personalities. If you go one step further and differentiate between top-end bikes and ave run-o-the mill types you'll have 6 different personalities. The permutations are actually endless.

 

Bottomline for me - there's assholes everywhere and a lot more nicer people all over the place...we just don't know them - stop generalizing!!

[Cois]

I think it is the harder wheel pressure that makes roadies hard packed and constipated and dull.

 

Goaties are more chilled cause they are on the lookout for some grass... As the rules state... Look at the grass... Don't stop and smoke the grass....

 

As for myself... I am way to scared to let my paws off the handlebar on the roadbike. I never trusted that narrow wheels. S I would rather just utter a morning folks as the people pass me.

 

And another thing. Roadies see goaties like this dirty bunch of people. Just think what the mud would do to the dry lube on th chain

[Wannabe]

Then I must be the exception. I ride both disciplines, and sometimes I use my Mtb to train on the road. This morning I was out on the road on my Mtb (new roadie still being built up), I passed several cyclist on Mtb and Roadbikes, and I had some of both groups ignore my greeting. YES, I TRY AND GREET EVERY CYCLIST I PASS.

Had a chuckle when I passed a roadie up Tiekiedraai on my knobbly shod Mtb, he could not stick with me, try as he might. Serves him right, as he was one of the guys not replying to my "Good Morning".

[Caerus]

Why even have an attitude to begin with? The same exists between surfers, bodyboarders and longboarders - Its all to do with " I think im better then you, so get out my way or don't talk to me" Its like the whole school yard mentality. Pathetic really.

Edited January 13, 2011 by Caerus

[Zeps]

Maybe it's just us in the souf, but some greet some don't (from runners to roadies to MTBr's). Those who do it's cool, those who don't so what

 

I find most do greet back and I ride road and MTB almost equally, is it really an issue

[AuctionLamb]

I was driving on Sunday on the N1 and waved at this guy in a Silver Polo 1.6....did not wave back. I just think these Polo drivers is full of themselves! Taxi drivers is mostly friendly...always waves back!!! FACT!

[Tokyo]

I don't know what you guys are talking about every body greats me on my roadbike and on my MTB

[katz201]

I don't drive a BMW or a Merc. I don't own a BB or an iphone. But I do ride on a road bike and a mountain bike.

 

I used to be one of those mountain bikers who thought all Roadies are stuck up snobs who only care about shaving their legs and making their bikes lighter. And then I got myself a road bike, because I entered the 94.7

 

At the moment I probably spend more time on my road bike than on my mtb. From my experience the roadies in Cape Town are just as friendly as the mountain bikers. I even posted my thoughts about it on the Hub a while back. A thank you to those roadies who changed MY attitude!