Source
r/bicycling•
hiddencorpse

Amateurs ... whatya gonna do with um?

This might be somewhat of a rant but ...

I guess riding a bike can be a learning experience, but some people just seem retarded, or at least some kind of special when it comes to figuring out how to ride properly.

from recognizing simple issues - to keeping tires inflated. Some people just dont seem to 'get it'?

some things I have noticed about 'amateurs'

Cross shifting - you want a lower gear then fucking shift out of that giant chainring in the front!!

Tire pressure - seriously dude when was the last time you pumped up those tires??

Flat tires - It takes you a whole 10 minutes to fix a flat yet your bike has been sitting in the garage for over a year because its "broken"

basic maintenance - your bike is a serious catastrophe now that you have COMPLETELY IGNORED any kind of upkeep for over a year now.

loud noises while riding - dude cant you hear that your bike didnt shift into gear? time to make an adjustment/pretty sure your brakes are rubbing dont you think you should loosen them?/man that chain is old and dirty I can hear your bike from a block away!

Posted Sep 21, 2010, 12:11 AM UTC

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slykens•

This is horrible. Guys like you are the reason more people don't ride bikes.

Not everyone is a god damn expert the first time they try something.

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hiddencorpseOP•

Hey I was ranting - like I said in my disclaimer.

And I will have you know I have put hundreds of volunteer hours in at my local coop helping people fix their bikes - so in fact I have contributed greatly to the number of people riding bikes.

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hiddencorpseOP•

My point is that some people just DONT LEARN or REFUSE TO LEARN

they annoy me oh and mormons as well, FUCK THEM

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ElanthiusEnter bike & year•

There's too many things in the world for everyone to be an expert in all of them. I watch films but I don't think its necessary to go to film school and learn to be a director. Similarly some people ride bikes but don't feel its necessary to be an expert bike mechanic.

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hiddencorpseOP•

Why pick on the people who want to participate but not learn? Because it annoys the hell out of me to the point where I am pretty much maintaining all of my friends bikes for them because I cant stand to see how they treat their bikes.

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[deleted]•

Normal people don't give a shit about any of the things you listed. I do, because I love cycling, but when my friends bring their bikes to me for tune-ups and I fix a lot of basic shit and explained what and how I did what I did, I can tell they don't care and will just be happy it rolls nicer and can shift through all of the gears again.

2
hiddencorpseOP•

Whenever I discover something new, these are the types of things I automatically learn. for example first time I rode a road bike and cross shifted I immediately noticed the chain rubbing, thought about the placement and behavior of the chain in relation to the derailleurs and immediately understood why there was a rubbing noise. I made a mental note about it and never did it again - yet my friend who is actually very intelligent just cant seem to get this concept into his skull.

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[deleted]•

Good for you?

3
NeanderStaalLeader 722RS, KHS Flite 100, 2x tallbikes•

It can be very hard to remember the days when we didn't know squat. I have to make a special effort sometimes when explaining something to a friend that I consider elementary. In the past I've had good luck with reminding myself of all the things they know about that I haven't a clue about. We're all interested in / good at various things.

The best thing to do (and if you already volunteer at a co-op, you're doin' it) is to share the knowledge with those who need it in an encouraging manner.

Now, all the nicety-nice aside, that crap makes me FUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

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sinfulsamaritan2012 Foundry Ratchet•

Whether you're an elitist or not, a master bike mechanic or not, or a purple three-headed rhinoceros or not, one thing remains the same: your post isn't really in the helpful, community-friendly spirit of r/bicycling (or all of Reddit, for that matter).

Many of us come here for the exact opposite of your attitude. I still screw things up, and I'm learning as much as I can as fast as I can. Reddit is one of the places I come to learn—if it had been earlier on in my cycling days, I might not have continued it if I had met someone who shared your belief about the "retarded...special...amateurs." You were one once yourself. How you progress past that point is a personal issue, and none of your damn business.

You ride your bike, and I'll ride mine.

1
robbyking2012 Felt F75X•

While I understand that there's a learning curve to any new activity, it's a rider's responsibility to at least learn how the machine they're operating works.

I think your downvotes are a sign on of the new era of Reddit, and I've noticed this trend across all the nitche subreddits. While r/bicycling is better than most, the quality level has fallen. (Bring on the downvotes....) If you look at the top 10 "hot" submissions, they have less to do with cycling than they do with (gulp) "bike culture" or beginning cycling: SCUBA Biking, the Peloton Movie, beginning bike maintenance advice, the "Giant Bike," Walmart bike advice, etc, etc.

The links at the top of r/cycling aren't geared towards serious cyclists anymore, they're geared towards new riders and fashion cyclists.

Okay, bring on the downvotes!

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