Do you find yourself explaining your Chinese bike build at every group ride?

[jonathanf2]

I'm currently traveling right now and have been checking out local group rides. At every ride I've been asked multiple times about my bike, components and general bike build. Do people not research on the internet or have any technical skills to paint and/or service their own bikes nowadays? 95-99% of the cyclists I've met, do not do any bike maintenance at all. Seriously, wasn't the internet supposed to spread knowledge across the globe, or just really bad social media reels?

The coolest cyclist I met on my travels so far was a CAT 1-3 racer, who was super stoked to see my build. Though this guy CF enameled wrapped his broken top tube, so I can appreciate he was of the DIY race-what-you-got mindset.

I did try striking up a conversation with another guy riding around with a very nice Quick Pro bike build, but he gave me some douchebag response about not wanting to damage his expensive Italian bike collection since he claimed he "races" while sporting the biggest Fred beer belly poking out of his tearing-at-the-seams jersey. He said his Quick Pro bike was his cheap bike. I'm like whatevers guy, I'll make it a point to drop you next time I see you!

[SirBikealot]

na, most i've met a inerested in the build, quality and where to get all the parts. And i love the suprised faces when i mention the price at the end.
But i guess most guys in the cycling world have two left hands and are unable to fix a slipping seatpost, so they would never think about building their own bike.
And only the 10k+ guys look down on you, but i laugh with 8k more in my bankaccount, so that's fine for me.

[alfiomotrambo]

I've come to realize that there are two types of people in the world when it comes to cycling: the first are the passionate ones who want to get their hands dirty, find the best value for money, and understand the mechanics of a bike in depth; then there are the second ones who buy their bike from their trusted mechanic, don't even adjust the saddle themselves, and take it to the same mechanic for every problem. Of course, there are some nuances in between, but that's roughly how it works for me. Before I start talking to someone about my bike, I try to figure out which group they're in, so I know what tone to adopt to avoid unnecessary stomach aches or unnecessary in-depth discussions. And then, I'm usually the same school of thought as you, in the sense that I often let my legs do the talking; I always find great pleasure in leaving behind people with bike builds more than double mine

[ediryppah]

Sounds like you're out here expecting people to be interested in your bike, and you're disappointed they're not. The only guy you think was cool was the guy stoked about your build.

Realize people don't give a fuck about other peoples bikes for the most part. They're there to ride.

[Serge_K]

this kind of post makes you sound like a douche yourself, tbh.
I'm known as the weird guy riding weird chinese stuff. Some people are fascinated, others probably assume i'm poor. Some have higher FTPs, others not. Some ask me for wheerls, or bikes, or parts. Others dont.
Importantly: who gives a F?

People are different, some are nice, some are douches, some flex, some don't. Someone's flex is someone else's cringe. Some have skills, others dont.

Road cyclists have a bad reputation, and it sounds like you're contributing to that, here

[Lotnik]

I only get something like nice color. But no one asked about the build. Seriously I don't care. I'm not asking anything about other guys bikes too. I already know everything xD usually people just buy bikes at LBS and ride them. Maybe at the competitive group rides they care more about their gear, but I am to weak to ride with them xD

[kbernstein]

what's a group ride?

[Tijoe]

No.  Nobody cares about my Aliexpress bicycle builds. 

[jonathanf2]

Sounds like you're out here expecting people to be interested in your bike, and you're disappointed they're not. The only guy you think was cool was the guy stoked about your build.

Realize people don't give a fuck about other peoples bikes for the most part. They're there to ride.

I don't want to talk about my bike at all that's the whole point. I don't like having to explain multiple times about my components. These cyclists are the ones coming up to me. The only reason I struck up a conversation with the Quick Pro guy was due to having a frame and components I recognized, but I was surprised by the snooty response.

this kind of post makes you sound like a douche yourself, tbh.
I'm known as the weird guy riding weird chinese stuff. Some people are fascinated, others probably assume i'm poor. Some have higher FTPs, others not. Some ask me for wheerls, or bikes, or parts. Others dont.
Importantly: who gives a F?

People are different, some are nice, some are douches, some flex, some don't. Someone's flex is someone else's cringe. Some have skills, others dont.

Road cyclists have a bad reputation, and it sounds like you're contributing to that, here

I actually don't talk about bikes on group rides, I avoid the gear talk if possible. I'm more interested in people's performance metrics when seeing other cyclists ride.

[Dan S.]

I'm more interested in people's performance metrics when seeing other cyclists ride.

Hmmm, so you are the "What’s your FTP?" guy 

[Merry]

Only been on two group rides. One is apart of my volunteering duties and one is with friends regularly. I don't have a full fledged Chinese build but I built up a CAAD frameset with mostly Chinese parts on it.

There's a roadie at my volunteer one and he asked about the parts on my bike. I told him what and where I bought them, and he was impressed with what I could get for the $$$, especially the Niu Ju mount. He liked how nice it looked with my setup and how affordable it was.

My friend group already knows about my project and liked both how unique and how much value I got out of the project. They're interested in my next build project (might be a full fledged Chinese bike this time). That's about it, I don't get much comments.

[Pedaldancer]

Hmmm, so you are the "What’s your FTP?" guy 

That's the super lovely guy in a group ride .... answer "i really don't know" and they will get crazy.

I don't really get why asking about a bike is stupid? Either it's very much a sign of interest OR just some group ride smalltalk if nothing else suits.
Some people ask, some don't. If mostly it's like " cool color"
Maybe other people also don't like the FTP question as it's like a who is better higher faster comp.

[warthog]

I don't want to talk about my bike at all that's the whole point. I don't like having to explain multiple times about my components. These cyclists are the ones coming up to me. The only reason I struck up a conversation with the Quick Pro guy was due to having a frame and components I recognized, but I was surprised by the snooty response.

I actually don't talk about bikes on group rides, I avoid the gear talk if possible. I'm more interested in people's performance metrics when seeing other cyclists ride.

Some of the responses you received on here have put me off the forum a bit tbh.
I am always happy to talk to someone I meet about their bike. I see it as a shared interest.

[victoringemar]

Haha I get asked a lot of questions about my Velobuild 368/Aerotrace. I don't bring it up if I'm not asked about it, but a lot of people seems to be interested. It beeing black with no logos obviously makes it harder to even guess what it is. It has been a nice conversation starter with a lot of people. When they hear the build price and the specs with it people get even more interested. But as mentioned, not everyone wants to order a random frame without seeing it live, same with wheels, searching for second hand gear etc. But I highly enjoy it and ended up with a really capable bike at an really nice price point. And I will be the one taking full responsibility for it if something goes sideways with it

[Leo.D]

Either they're genuinely curious and you end up talking for 20 minutes about how the supply chain actually works, or they give you that slightly puzzled "is it safe?" look and change the subject.