Is weightweenies becoming more elitist?

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RTW
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by RTW

Leviathan wrote:
Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:46 pm
It has, sadly, become a shibboleth for conspicuous consumption.. As indeed has most road cycling, at here...

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Maybe it always was. There used to be someone who had identical £8k / £10 bikes in different countries depending on where he was, so he could ride them. And got a new one every 6 months.
Adjust that for inflation (it was 15 years ago) and nothing has changed.

There was another guy who would bring his bike to Europe on the corporate jet.

And maybe they were being boasty. Or maybe, that was just who they were and so what?

The point I wanted to make about people not really modding things anymore is as mentioned above, those people now run companies making very niche very expensive products for themselves and for the rest of the community to buy. The other consideration is that products in general have improved. Things are stiffer and lighter and better engineered now. There perhaps isn't as much to shave / modify with affecting the performance noticeably.

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Leviathan
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by Leviathan

Agreed there was always the "this years Pinarello" crowd, but the difference now is it seems all about "just buy the latest top of the line spetrekdale and show it off." Its the lack of craft and choice I find disapointing. Artisans are pretty much a dead concept now.

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by HammerTime2

We can send a man to the moon but we can't come up with a better background than a white garage door to show off 15 thousand dollar bikes?

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by synchronicity

HammerTime2 wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:32 am
We can send a man to the moon but we can't come up with a better background than a white garage door to show off 15 thousand dollar bikes?
What background would you like to see? I'll consider it when I post something in the intro/gallery forum.
Possibilities may include: a deserted beach with rocky outcrops or else a gumtree forest.
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RTW
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by RTW

HammerTime2 wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:32 am
We can send a man to the moon but we can't come up with a better background than a white garage door to show off 15 thousand dollar bikes?
Mine isn't in front of a garage door.

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LouisN
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by LouisN

I love the way this thread is going :lol: . Keep them coming, and stay positive :thumbup: !!

Louis :)

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by Maddie

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Synchronicity, since you started this topic. What's your opinion?

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Kayrehn
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by Kayrehn

Conversely, I think most weightweenies/contributors to this forum are very much more accepting of heavier builds for aero/practical purposes, so my answer is no. Nobody gets shamed for using clincher wheels here are they?

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alexneumuller
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by alexneumuller

RTW wrote:
Leviathan wrote:
Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:46 pm
It has, sadly, become a shibboleth for conspicuous consumption.. As indeed has most road cycling, at here...

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Maybe it always was. There used to be someone who had identical £8k / £10 bikes in different countries depending on where he was, so he could ride them. And got a new one every 6 months.
Adjust that for inflation (it was 15 years ago) and nothing has changed.

There was another guy who would bring his bike to Europe on the corporate jet.

And maybe they were being boasty. Or maybe, that was just who they were and so what?

The point I wanted to make about people not really modding things anymore is as mentioned above, those people now run companies making very niche very expensive products for themselves and for the rest of the community to buy. The other consideration is that products in general have improved. Things are stiffer and lighter and better engineered now. There perhaps isn't as much to shave / modify with affecting the performance noticeably.
15years ago...I feel better now .... that there is somebody having silly fun.


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Lozaen
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by Lozaen

It is an interesting discussion.
Also interesting to see, that some people will remember "the good old days", 15 years ago.

Given that the average age on WW probably has increased by what...10 years in the past 15 years, yes, most people that at that time were having lot's of time but limited budget might now have other topics to deal with....job, wife, kids...

And as already mentioned....on the one hand side, weightweenieism doesn't make many people faster, on the other side, off the shelf products got so much more capable, there is less motivation to build something light from scratch...
I don't think that WW is turning elitist. It seems, that on the contrary, the boundarys WWs pushed in the beginning of the 2000s, were assimilated by the entire cycling world. It peaked arround 2010 with basically every major bike manufacturer offering at least one bike, at that time typically around 4-6.000$ that was below the UCI limit. Later we "learned" that "aero" is faster, and wider tyres more comfy and discs brake better (they definitely do) and clinchers are easier to handle...
No it seems, that the all aero trend has its peak and we see the first projects that point in a slightly different direction....bikes like the Aethos, the Canyon Ultimate CFR or the BH Ultralight evo.

Also, what I really like to see, is that there is an increasing number of members from far east. Great to see, that the folks there also like cycling and bike related discussions. 15 years ago the community was probably more homogenous, mostly white guys from first world countries.
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HammerTime2
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by HammerTime2

synchronicity wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 7:18 am
HammerTime2 wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:32 am
We can send a man to the moon but we can't come up with a better background than a white garage door to show off 15 thousand dollar bikes?
What background would you like to see? I'll consider it when I post something in the intro/gallery forum.
Possibilities may include: a deserted beach with rocky outcrops or else a gumtree forest.
Here's an example of a better background (Not my bike. Not my picture.)
Image

AnkitS
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by AnkitS

I like garage door photos better than whatever that is.

warthog101
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by warthog101

jeffy wrote:
romanmoser wrote:
Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:23 pm


ps : you can be cheap and elitiste
champagne tastes, lemonade wages.
Champagne tastes on a beer budget here.
Still, it is rewarding to put together a decent bike cheaply I reckon.
Ebay frame, sub 1k wheels and a 105 groupo.
Good enough for my aging legs.
Image

warthog101
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by warthog101

icantaffordcycling wrote:I like garage door photos better than whatever that is.
What about metal suburbia fencing?

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Berzin1
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by Berzin1

warthog101 wrote:
Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:39 am
icantaffordcycling wrote:I like garage door photos better than whatever that is.
What about metal suburbia fencing?
How about a photo of a bike in front of a crack house? Or is that too elitist?

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