Am I better than my bike?

[KenGS]

"Am I better than my bike" (singular) What gives?

My bike with all the crap I carry weighs in at 20 kg. One big BSO, but it is a touring bike. All I wanted was some thing strong with decent gears. The VWR does all that I need and I can get up any hills I need to. It gets my heart rate up and is good exercise.

A VWR is hardly a BSO. In fact it is a (steel is) REAL bike. If I could lug 20kg of gear up a 10% climb in comfort on foot then I'd consider myself better than my touring bike

[g-boaf]

my bike is waaaayyyy better than me, but that is exactly what i wanted, i never wanted to be out training or racing and think "if only my bike was a little lighter/faster/stiffer". i ALWAYS want to be the weak link, it gives me something to strive for.

for reference my bike is a trek madone 4.5 with a set of braccianos. i am not super slow, i average 31-33km/h on solo rides. but everytime i ride that bike i KNOW i want to get faster to do it justice.

I'm the same as you, and have the same bike as well, but with a set of carbon wheels. I know that I do not do it justice - for me to do that, I'd have to be built like Bradley Wiggins (slowly getting there) and have his speed, which I frankly don't have. I'm doing a lot of training to get faster though.

[greyhoundtom]

My bike and I used to be on par most of the time ............. right now my bike is now way better than me ........... but I will catch up again ...........

[Abby]

My random thoughts:

No one 'deserves' a certain standard of bike. And unless you are a contracted Elite rider, it is highly unlikely you are wringing the very best out of your equipment anyway, whatever you are riding.

Your bike should be:
1. A bike you can afford (including maintenance, occasional upgrade, etc)
2. A bike that makes you smile whenever you ride it (which is usually a function of fit rather than bling)

So long as you are on a well-maintained bike, the limiter when it comes to racing, etc, is you and your training. Exception is a few blingy aero bits if you do time-trials...

Cheers,
Abby

[__PG__]

I went from a 13 kg steel bike to an 8 kg titanium bike. I have a sneaking suspicion that it's more bike than I need but, like that man-mountain with his Dogma, I have fun on it.

LOL - I'm going from a 19 year old 10.5 kg steel bike to a 7.5 kg titanium dream bike. I'm better than my current bike, but my new bike is WAY better than me. Hopefully in the next decade or so I'll give it a run for its money

[velocopedant]

My bike often looks down its nose at me. The other day I thought I heard it making a disparaging remark as I was leaving the garage.

[DoogleDave]

IMO, no-one is better than their bike. The bike is only as good as the rider.

A pro on a cheap bike will still run rings around an amateur on an expensive bike, all day every day.

It is pretty common though that some people are looked down upon for not looking a certain way yet riding a certain kind of bike (as per the example of the 30 kg overweight guy on a Dogma)....or the pressures of riding a fancier bike when doing group rides lest you be persecuted by the group for riding a boat anchor.

Dave

[vince]

My bike often looks down its nose at me. The other day I thought I heard it making a disparaging remark as I was leaving the garage.

your's too? haha i thought i was the only one who had that issue

[newie]

My "good" bike is better then me.
But I LOVE riding it....
I can afford it and it puts a smile on my face every time I get on it, and sometimes when I just look at it resting against the wall.
It makes me want to get out and ride.
Just because the quality of bike exceeds my capabilities doesn't mean I don't deserve it.
Someone riding a BSO or someone with all the gear and no idea. Doesn't matter to me.
If you are on a bike and showing consideration to others, you're awesome in my eyes.

[twizzle]

My bike often looks down its nose at me. The other day I thought I heard it making a disparaging remark as I was leaving the garage.

your's too? haha i thought i was the only one who had that issue

My previous commuter/training bike said "Get off me, fatso!" and cracked. As punishment, I stripped it naked and hung it in the shed - next to it's predecessor, which did the same thing.

[InTheWoods]

my bike is waaaayyyy better than me, but that is exactly what i wanted, i never wanted to be out training or racing and think "if only my bike was a little lighter/faster/stiffer". i ALWAYS want to be the weak link, it gives me something to strive for.

+1. My bike is good enough that I know I have no excuses, and its all down to the engine. Having no excuses provides good motivation

[merlin6014]

My bike (and wheels) are better than me 6.5kg of carbon goodness but i like a nice bike as it encourages me to ride more. Besides i got a KOM on my favourite hill first time out on it so it also makes a big difference in making you look good IMO.

[george-bob]

my bike is waaaayyyy better than me, but that is exactly what i wanted, i never wanted to be out training or racing and think "if only my bike was a little lighter/faster/stiffer". i ALWAYS want to be the weak link, it gives me something to strive for.

+1. My bike is good enough that I know I have no excuses, and its all down to the engine. Having no excuses provides good motivation

that's exactly it! it is nice to know exactly where the weakest link lies.

[g-boaf]

my bike is waaaayyyy better than me, but that is exactly what i wanted, i never wanted to be out training or racing and think "if only my bike was a little lighter/faster/stiffer". i ALWAYS want to be the weak link, it gives me something to strive for.

+1. My bike is good enough that I know I have no excuses, and its all down to the engine. Having no excuses provides good motivation

And when someone else gives you the "hurry up grandpa" comment or something similar, it kind of gets you fired up. I got it from a very fast rider some time last year (he is a top level rider), and it really got me quite angry and fired up. He knew it'd have that effect - which is probably why he said it. I'm glad he did, because I'm getting faster.

[outnabike]

"Am I better than my bike" (singular) What gives?

My bike with all the crap I carry weighs in at 20 kg. One big BSO, but it is a touring bike. All I wanted was some thing strong with decent gears. The VWR does all that I need and I can get up any hills I need to. It gets my heart rate up and is good exercise.

A VWR is hardly a BSO. In fact it is a (steel is) REAL bike. If I could lug 20kg of gear up a 10% climb in comfort on foot then I'd consider myself better than my touring bike

Fair go, Its black, flat looking handle bars, rack on the back, Often with a basket on the front, a tool pouch, two drink cages, lights, and to top it off, a horn and a airzone. Sometimes a crate on the back as well
Nup its a BSO. Real cyclists would not be seen dead on such a thing. Even with all that on it it is better than me though.
Good cyclists don't even want to park beside me at the lights.

[richbee]

The idea is that you ride the bike you're comfortable with. Saying that a 30kg overweight man cannot ride a Dogma is a bit elitist. If he can afford the bling bike and is happy riding it, what right have we to tell him he can't because he doesn't fit our idea of what type of cyclist can ride what type of bike.

ausrandom certainly did not say that.

I think he was pointing to the fact that, in that particular case, the bike certainly was better than the rider.

I didn't say that he did, in fact I deliberately did not quote him for that reason. What I said was that we should not judge anyone by how they look. If he's out riding thats a good thing regardless of whether he's on a 19 YO 23kg tourer with downtube shifters or a 6kg bling new bike with Super Record EPS.

What I understood ausrandom to say was that he didn't want to risk being ridiculed in the way that the gent on the Dogma might be by some elitist riders, or possibly by some pedants

[barefoot]

Am I more eccentric than my bike?

Possibly. Slightly.

tim
on a disc-braked custom Ti roadie, with clearance for MTB tyres, a backward-shifting ("rapid rise") XTR derailer, and very bright purple asymmetric rims.