lots of hate out there

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,127
6,314

as long as you can move it the council cant do jack about it pmsl ;)
 

fatwomble

Pedelecer
Apr 1, 2017
135
129
55
Southampton / Winchester
Why do people even care about what other people ride? I've never understood the appeal of road riding, but loads of people do, it doesn't make them wrong (well not much :)).

Why do they seem so threatened, I assume it's a competitive thing?

More choice is always good.
 
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Gubbins

Esteemed Pedelecer
Yes it's a strange attitude from an elitist group. One once told me , in a pleasant and not antagonistic manner that they should be outlawed and if you can't ride one without help then you shouldn't be allowed on a bike.
Thankfully views like this usually stay in the peleton.
 
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mike killay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 17, 2011
3,012
1,627
Yes it's a strange attitude from an elitist group. One once told me , in a pleasant and not antagonistic manner that they should be outlawed and if you can't ride one without help then you shouldn't be allowed on a bike.
Thankfully views like this usually stay in the peleton.
I do wonder sometimes that if they had been called electric mopeds instead of masquerading as pedal cycles under the awful Civil Service term EAPC, then much of this dislike by the Lycras would not exist.
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,793
30,369
Why do people even care about what other people ride?
Yes it's a strange attitude from an elitist group.
I don't think it elitist, more a matter of the purity of the human effort involved in cycling, and the achievement involved.

Using an auxilliary motor to cycle is to them akin to athletes using drugs to enhance performance. Both are cheating.

The basis of the problem is them seeing what we do as cycling due to our machines looking like bicycles. If they saw it as e-biking and not cycling, and saw us as e-bikers and not cyclists, there wouldn't be a problem.

N.B. Crossed with Mike's post above.
.
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,793
30,369
I do wonder sometimes that if they had been called electric mopeds instead of masquerading as pedal cycles under the awful Civil Service term EAPC, then much of this dislike by the Lycras would not exist.
There is already proof that you are right Mike. The first popular iteration of pedals with power was in the 1930s and post war with the autocycles. No roadie ever muttered a word against the riders for two reasons, first they weren't called bicycles or thought of as bikes, second they didn't look much like bicycles as you see in the photo below. Being registered with number plates helped:

 

fatwomble

Pedelecer
Apr 1, 2017
135
129
55
Southampton / Winchester
I don't think it elitist, more a matter of the purity of the human effort involved in cycling, and the achievement involved.

Using an auxilliary motor to cycle is to them akin to athletes using drugs to enhance performance. Both are cheating.

The basis of the problem is them seeing what we do as cycling due to our machines looking like bicycles. If they saw it as e-biking and not cycling, and saw us as e-bikers and not cyclists, there wouldn't be a problem.

N.B. Crossed with Mike's post above.
.
People just worry too much. I ride bikes.

Am I a Commuter, a mountain biker, a singlespeeder, a 29er an ebiker. I'm all of those at different times. I ride for me, not against them, so it shouldn't matter.

There are times I could get up a hill quicker on a singlespeed than I would on an ebike and times I would descend quicker on a unassisted full suspension mountain bike, but I'm not racing someone else, I'm just having fun. I like things with wheels.

People are bloody strange about what upsets them :D
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,793
30,369
People just worry too much. I ride bikes.

Am I a Commuter, a mountain biker, a singlespeeder, a 29er an ebiker. I'm all of those at different times. I ride for me, not against them, so it shouldn't matter.

There are times I could get up a hill quicker on a singlespeed than I would on an ebike and times I would descend quicker on a unassisted full suspension mountain bike, but I'm not racing someone else, I'm just having fun. I like things with wheels.

People are bloody strange about what upsets them :D
I'm the same, I couldn't care less what other people ride or do, but many if not most are not like that. It's a psychological issue with many facets.

Some sad souls see someone else doing something different as an implied criticism of what they are doing, so they get angry.

Others are so certain of their own rightness they feel impelled to criticise behaviour they see as wrong or inferior.

The list is endless, probably containing as many precise reasons as there are people!

The only time we need be concerned is the nutter who feels so strongly he tries to kill us.
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IR772

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 5, 2016
931
1,044
Leominster
Get a few punches in when you can.

Chris and I were at Hopton Woods, which is dripping with serious MTBers, when out of the Transporter next to us a bloke got out his lovely new Haibike All Mountain, I said in a loud voice, "I hate these cheating ebikers".

He looked very hard, then saw our three bikes lying on the ground.

It had to be done :)
 

Paul smith

Pedelecer
Mar 26, 2016
249
198
I passed a geezer the other day on a forest fire road..going up a steep hill..after a few steep hills before hand...I was looking at his calf muscles when I was behind him..jeezuz....thicker than my thigh....anyway..he said..i can see you cheating.... I laughed an waved goodbye to him...
 

LeighPing

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 27, 2016
2,547
1,944
The Red Ditch
I passed a geezer the other day on a forest fire road..going up a steep hill..after a few steep hills before hand...I was looking at his calf muscles when I was behind him..jeezuz....thicker than my thigh....anyway..he said..i can see you cheating.... I laughed an waved goodbye to him...
I prepare myself in advance of flying past a lycra clad skinny thing panting for breath ----------by removing my e-cigarette from my pocket so I can take a nice long drag before gliding past with 3 tonne of gear on my back :)
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