Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

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Marx
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Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Marx » Fri Jan 27, 2017 1:53 pm

For reference: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

Even though the heart of cycling - that of a bike, the rider & somewhere to ride - as remained unchanged since the beginning, cycling culture has evolve over the years buffeted by trends & technologies year by year.
In this changing cultural landscape something like 'The Rules', on the Velominati website seems to have sunk it's roots into a time of about 20 years ago (I might need to confirm my source for dates) where if you read through these 'rules' now, you be left with an image of a cyclist which hardly matches what today would pass as a rider 'on point'.

I was just wondering how everyone else felt about these rules & whether it's a situation where to be unmoving with the times has made what was once regarded as gospel to now be looked upon as source ridicule?
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby trainspotter » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:06 pm

They're more like guidelines...
But more importantly they're not to be taken seriously, except when necessary to ridicule a mate

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Hergest » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:11 pm

Surely it's never been anything more than a tongue in cheek joke? I can't believe anyone has ever taken 'the rules' seriously.
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Derny Driver » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:12 pm

The rules were always meant to be a joke and not taken seriously.
They are actually a P!$$take about people who take themselves too seriously.
Apart from a couple of etiquette points such as 59 and 77, if you find yourself agreeing to this stuff, then you have a few issues.

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby RonK » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:13 pm

Marx wrote:I was just wondering how everyone else felt about these rules & whether it's a situation where to be unmoving with the times has made what was once regarded as gospel to now be looked upon as source ridicule?
Regarded as gospel? :roll:

They were never regarded as gospel. It's humour, always has been - can't you tell?
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Marx
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Marx » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:20 pm

RonK wrote:
Marx wrote:I was just wondering how everyone else felt about these rules & whether it's a situation where to be unmoving with the times has made what was once regarded as gospel to now be looked upon as source ridicule?
Regarded as gospel? :roll:

They were never regarded as gospel. It's humour, always has been - can't you tell?
FFS.
No fun around here, that's for sure.
No surprise the rant threads are always at the top in this forum.
I'll assume you don't have the cuff-links then?
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby RonK » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:25 pm

Marx wrote:
RonK wrote:
Marx wrote:I was just wondering how everyone else felt about these rules & whether it's a situation where to be unmoving with the times has made what was once regarded as gospel to now be looked upon as source ridicule?
Regarded as gospel? :roll:

They were never regarded as gospel. It's humour, always has been - can't you tell?
FFS.
No fun around here, that's for sure.
No surprise the rant threads are always at the top in this forum.
I'll assume you don't have the cuff-links then?
Don't feel bad about it. There is no need to be embarrassed that you actually believed them to be true. We'll just have a quiet chuckle to ourselves. :lol:
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Marx » Fri Jan 27, 2017 3:15 pm

RonK wrote:We'll just have a quiet chuckle to ourselves. :lol:
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby silentC » Fri Jan 27, 2017 3:19 pm

I was going to say that RonK is especially grumpy today, but then when I thought about it, he's actually not!
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby rkelsen » Fri Jan 27, 2017 4:34 pm

silentC wrote:I was going to say that RonK is especially grumpy today, but then when I thought about it, he's actually not!
You would be too if you forgot to bring your teeth to dinner...

Do you whippersnappers know how hard it is to chew steamed broccoli with your gums?

:x

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby warthog1 » Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:24 pm

I've never read all the rules but do enjoy the humour in them.
I'm not sure if you took them seriously or not Marx. If you did, you certainly wouldn't be the first or the last :)
Silent has nailed it there Ron :P a sharp wit he has :lol:
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby RonK » Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:29 pm

warthog1 wrote:Silent has nailed it there Ron :P a sharp wit he has :lol:
hehe - yes, sharp indeed. I thought he was being especially nice, but then when I thought about it, I realised he was not.
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby warthog1 » Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:33 pm

I think he meant it in a nice (defusing) way :)


I reckon there are a few rules in there that are taken seriously even if it's subconscious.
Sock height?
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Uncle Just » Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:36 pm

I was just wondering how everyone else felt about these rules & whether it's a situation where to be unmoving with the times has made what was once regarded as gospel to now be looked upon as source ridicule?
There's probably a hard core of riders who follow them because they may have been around before cycling was mainstream and that was the done thing. Many of them make sense to me, others are taking the p*ss. They signify a hard approach to the sport which is what attracted me to cycling 50 plus years ago. For a young, impressionable cyclist starting out, foreign, hard to get magazines with pics of Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Van Springel, Van Looy etc battling the muddy classics was so inspirational and way beyond the suburban existence I lead. Cricket and footy were so boring in comparison! Back then and much before it was a working man's sport done under often spartan conditions such as training alone in the depths of winter. Here in Oz there were very few out riding during the "dark ages" when cycling reached its nadir so if you saw another out riding it was often someone you knew from a club. Today anything goes, from the outfits people wear, where many ride their best, usually expensive bike, whereas clubmen would ride their ratty training bike saving the best for race day. It's a "look at me" pastime now for many and those who don't race may chase strava times then sit around drinking coffee etc after a ride which was never done. As I say, I like many of the rules particularly the aesthetic side of presenting a bike and what you wear on it. For many the rules don't matter obviously but I will always appreciate a cyclist who knows how to ride, has a clean, well set up bike, and offers assistance to those willing to learn how to ride and maintain a bike properly. :wink:

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby silentC » Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:44 pm

RonK wrote: I thought he was being especially nice, but then when I thought about it, I realised he was not.
:D
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Arbuckle23 » Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:39 pm

I may or may not religiously adhere to rule #41 :wink:
And it "might" annoy me if I see said said items all over the shop on other bikes :D

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Defy The Odds » Fri Jan 27, 2017 10:33 pm

rkelsen wrote:
silentC wrote:I was going to say that RonK is especially grumpy today, but then when I thought about it, he's actually not!
You would be too if you forgot to bring your teeth to dinner...

Do you whippersnappers know how hard it is to chew steamed broccoli with your gums?

:x
This is the best thing I have read all day ! :D

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby ironhanglider » Fri Jan 27, 2017 10:48 pm

warthog1 wrote:I think he meant it in a nice (defusing) way :)


I reckon there are a few rules in there that are taken seriously even if it's subconscious.
Sock height?

There is some history to that at least in Australia. There was a time when amateurs and pros operated under different sets of rules. For amateurs the rules stipulated that riders had to wear socks, and they must be white. (Knicks had to be predominantly black too). Pros had no such rule.

Pros would often race with no socks and if asked would cite something about power transfer. I suspect it was more to do with differentiation than any other purpose. (I even know one rebel amateur who cut the feet off his socks and attached the tops to his shoes!) It also allowed him to get another season out of his shoes before his feet were too big.

Anyhow it was fashion for a while to wear really short socks, to look as pro as possible.

Of course now the UCI has a rule on sock height because of some perceived advantage from compression socks, and they don't want the peloton to look ridiculous. I'm just happy if both socks are the same length and colour.

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Thoglette » Sat Jan 28, 2017 1:19 am

ironhanglider wrote:There is some history to that at least in Australia. There was a time when amateurs and pros operated under different sets of rules.
Now it's just clubs & teams vs the rest of us: registered team kit; club kit or "neutral" for the hoi polloi
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby foo on patrol » Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:13 am

I still don't bother wearing socks for training and racing half the time. :wink:

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Duck! » Sat Jan 28, 2017 8:10 am

It's bee my goal since becoming aware of The Rules to break every one of them... :-)
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby am50em » Sat Jan 28, 2017 11:34 am

:shock: Including rule #5?

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby warthog1 » Sat Jan 28, 2017 5:54 pm

ironhanglider wrote:

There is some history to that at least in Australia. There was a time when amateurs and pros operated under different sets of rules. For amateurs the rules stipulated that riders had to wear socks, and they must be white. (Knicks had to be predominantly black too). Pros had no such rule.

Pros would often race with no socks and if asked would cite something about power transfer. I suspect it was more to do with differentiation than any other purpose. (I even know one rebel amateur who cut the feet off his socks and attached the tops to his shoes!) It also allowed him to get another season out of his shoes before his feet were too big.

Anyhow it was fashion for a while to wear really short socks, to look as pro as possible.

Of course now the UCI has a rule on sock height because of some perceived advantage from compression socks, and they don't want the peloton to look ridiculous. I'm just happy if both socks are the same length and colour.

Cheers,

Cameron
I had heard about the white socks and black shorts. Not all the other history though, thanks. :)
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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby SheikYerbouti » Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:57 pm

I know they're a pisstake, but when my mates are soft because rain is forecast, I have no hesitation with enforcing Rule #9 and Rule #5.

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Re: Velominati - The Rules. From revered to ridiculed?

Postby Xplora » Sat Jan 28, 2017 11:50 pm

It's all fun. Some rules are plainly retarded, for example the flat saddle, so tread carefully. Others seem silly, like no man satchels, but I've seen toolbags nearly disappear into wheels too often to write The Rules off.

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