Joined: Jan 09, 2007 Posts: 1,228 Location: Queenstown (the real south Auckland)
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 5:51pm Post subject:
Friendly Llama wrote:
HuntawayFR wrote:
Friendly Llama wrote:
HuntawayFR wrote:
nebelfj wrote:
I suspect that there seems to be this unofficial 'gentlemans agreement' around WC rounds, because the majority of riders prefer to wear MX style gear while riding down the hill. For whatever reason I don't know... I'm not trying to get into the regnaw debate here! IF there were enough riders who really wanted to wear skinsuits, then i'm sure we would see a change in outfit.
I'm sure most people entering a WC round would be aware of this agreement and if not being able to wear a skinsuit is such a big deal then surely they wouldn't enter. The point is when in Rome ya di ya di ya.....
Obviously skinsuits are faster ( hence the agreement and why everyone wears them at the worlds). However if everyone wears baggies there is no real advantage to anyone, and the fastest guy will still win IMO. Being a minority sport DH still needs alot of public support to help it grow so more than the regular top 5 (if that) can make a decent living. And personally I do think MX gear appeals the a greater audience than lycra.
So please, if most people feel more comfortable in baggies, it gains a greater support/ marketing basis AND the fastest guy still wins why do we need lycra in all DH?
good points & well said,
A different speed can have different effects on people. Skin suits obviously make a real difference, wouldn't it also be best for the spectators to see the pros going that bit quicker, and that would inherently mean the crashes (that spectators love) are that bit bigger?
some riders can't handle the extra speed that skin suits produce......
sam hill at this years worlds, case & point
must have hurt having that fence post up his ass?
he had a fence post up his ass ??? no wonder he crashed
Joined: Dec 25, 2001 Posts: 17,906 Location: Showing my tan lines
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 6:18pm Post subject:
dhroadie wrote:
I used to live with a gay guy. My other flatmate's mother was a pretty stupid hctib (as was her daughter, but that's another story). Anyway, her mother cautioned us against using the washing machine straight after the gay guy "in case you get AIDS from it".
Seriously.
well it would explain why you ride a road bike now
Joined: Mar 10, 2004 Posts: 3,759 Location: The not too distant future...
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 7:00pm Post subject:
nebelfj wrote:
Being a minority sport DH still needs alot of public support to help it grow so more than the regular top 5 (if that) can make a decent living. And personally I do think MX gear appeals the a greater audience than lycra.
So please, if most people feel more comfortable in baggies, it gains a greater support/ marketing basis AND the fastest guy still wins why do we need lycra in all DH?
So, 'minority' sports need to stay away from lycra to be successful?
That explains Lance and the Tour de France then. The public obviously hate men in tight pants.
And Ian Thorpe and the whole of Olympic Swimming. The public find that spectacle so distasteful that it has been 4 years since I heard any news about swimming.
Hamish Carter, one of the most hated figures in NZ sport for his shameful display of the human body.
DH needs to get over itself. The reason it is a minority sport is that it is full of aggressive white males who are critical of anything that is not an aggressive white male.
Last edited by radical_edward on Wed 25th Jun 7:09pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 1,537 Location: Smurf Village
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 7:07pm Post subject:
HuntawayFR wrote:
talking of the gentleman's agreement,
apparently when Nathan Rennie can down & kicked Ben Cathro (orange/mojo rider) out of the hot seat at fort bill, Cathro went to shake Rennie's hand & Rennie refused him,
apparently there was quite a bit of ill feeling towards the team manager of orange/mojo for making his riders wear the skin suits & it got taken out on the riders even though it wasn't their choice
Which is worse for the image of DH? Skinsuits? Or bad sportsmanship?
Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 1,537 Location: Smurf Village
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 7:10pm Post subject:
radical_edward wrote:
nebelfj wrote:
Being a minority sport DH still needs alot of public support to help it grow so more than the regular top 5 (if that) can make a decent living. And personally I do think MX gear appeals the a greater audience than lycra.
So please, if most people feel more comfortable in baggies, it gains a greater support/ marketing basis AND the fastest guy still wins why do we need lycra in all DH?
So, 'minority' sports need to stay away from lycra to be successful.
That explains Lance and the Tour de France then. The public obviously hate men in tight pants.
And Ian Thorpe and the whole of Olympic Swimming. The public find that spectacle so distasteful that it has been 4 years since I heard any news about swimming.
Hamish Carter, one of the most hated figures in NZ sport for his shameful display of the human body.
DH needs to get over itself. The reason it is a minority sport is that it is full of aggressive white males who are critical of anything that is not an aggressive white male.
You forgot another sport going the 'lycra' route.
My most detested sport, Rugby. That's right Rugby fans, your beloved AB's jersey is a fitted garment not to dissimilar to Lycra.
apparently when Nathan Rennie can down & kicked Ben Cathro (orange/mojo rider) out of the hot seat at fort bill, Cathro went to shake Rennie's hand & Rennie refused him,
apparently there was quite a bit of ill feeling towards the team manager of orange/mojo for making his riders wear the skin suits & it got taken out on the riders even though it wasn't their choice
Which is worse for the image of DH? Skinsuits? Or bad sportsmanship?
Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 1,537 Location: Smurf Village
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 7:15pm Post subject:
Friendly Llama wrote:
HuntawayFR wrote:
nebelfj wrote:
I suspect that there seems to be this unofficial 'gentlemans agreement' around WC rounds, because the majority of riders prefer to wear MX style gear while riding down the hill. For whatever reason I don't know... I'm not trying to get into the regnaw debate here! IF there were enough riders who really wanted to wear skinsuits, then i'm sure we would see a change in outfit.
I'm sure most people entering a WC round would be aware of this agreement and if not being able to wear a skinsuit is such a big deal then surely they wouldn't enter. The point is when in Rome ya di ya di ya.....
Obviously skinsuits are faster ( hence the agreement and why everyone wears them at the worlds). However if everyone wears baggies there is no real advantage to anyone, and the fastest guy will still win IMO. Being a minority sport DH still needs alot of public support to help it grow so more than the regular top 5 (if that) can make a decent living. And personally I do think MX gear appeals the a greater audience than lycra.
So please, if most people feel more comfortable in baggies, it gains a greater support/ marketing basis AND the fastest guy still wins why do we need lycra in all DH?
good points & well said,
You say the fastest guy will still win, this is very broad. Perhaps if the riders were going that bit faster, different riders would handle it better. For a really bad example, a top kart racer on a track won't necessarily be a top F1 driver on the same track. I know its a horrible analogy, but you get my idea. A different speed can have different effects on people. Skin suits obviously make a real difference, wouldn't it also be best for the spectators to see the pros going that bit quicker, and that would inherently mean the crashes (that spectators love) are that bit bigger?
Very true. Although a better analogy would be the numerous drivers from F3 and Indy who have come into F1 and sucked dogs balls!
And Richard Hammond who is a self confessed 'driving god' couldn't keep an F1 car up to operating temperature, let alone drive it to it's potential.
Joined: Jan 09, 2007 Posts: 1,228 Location: Queenstown (the real south Auckland)
Posted: Wed 25th Jun 10:16pm Post subject:
Chickenman wrote:
HuntawayFR wrote:
talking of the gentleman's agreement,
apparently when Nathan Rennie can down & kicked Ben Cathro (orange/mojo rider) out of the hot seat at fort bill, Cathro went to shake Rennie's hand & Rennie refused him,
apparently there was quite a bit of ill feeling towards the team manager of orange/mojo for making his riders wear the skin suits & it got taken out on the riders even though it wasn't their choice
Which is worse for the image of DH? Skinsuits? Or bad sportsmanship?
My answer, bad sportsmanship.
Shaun palmer was a bit of a kcirp when it came to sportsmanship but during his time he did more to lift the image of the sport than any other rider
I can't believe anyone really gives a tihs about this that much. Pre-Palmer it was pretty much standard to race in lycra and noone exploded. I don't think it would hold up the sports popularity at all... the fact is DH and riding in general will never become super popular in a culture that is based on teamsports and TV-friendliness. A time trial format makes for so-so TV compared to sports where the entire field is on the track/paddock at once. Sure, if DH was given the publicity and push that rugby is it would become pretty popular but the fact is it won't so long as there are other more accessible sports out there.
Every rugby and cricket player i know watches all the major games in their entirety, i definitely can't say that about mountainbiking or even cycling, and that isn't just because footage is less available. Watching XC is about as interesting as watching paint dry, road is better but mainly because of the team element. DH is like watching a results sheet unfold one line at a time, and it'll stay that way unless you can watch each of the riders runs as they happen... which would get pretty tedious and longwinded. Slalom/4-cross is about the only hope riding has, and supercross already has that market tied up.
I've never felt like a fool wearing lycra at a bike race... because there are a couple of hundred others there in the same thing and i know lycra is a lot more comfortable in the wet, when it's windy, when there are things to get caught on... The only people who seem to care from an aesthetics point of view are the groms. Looking good doesn't win any races.
Joined: Nov 27, 2005 Posts: 136 Location: The Wairarapa
Posted: Thu 26th Jun 10:06am Post subject:
radical_edward wrote:
nebelfj wrote:
Being a minority sport DH still needs alot of public support to help it grow so more than the regular top 5 (if that) can make a decent living. And personally I do think MX gear appeals the a greater audience than lycra.
So please, if most people feel more comfortable in baggies, it gains a greater support/ marketing basis AND the fastest guy still wins why do we need lycra in all DH?
So, 'minority' sports need to stay away from lycra to be successful?
That explains Lance and the Tour de France then. The public obviously hate men in tight pants.
And Ian Thorpe and the whole of Olympic Swimming. The public find that spectacle so distasteful that it has been 4 years since I heard any news about swimming.
Hamish Carter, one of the most hated figures in NZ sport for his shameful display of the human body.
DH needs to get over itself. The reason it is a minority sport is that it is full of aggressive white males who are critical of anything that is not an aggressive white male.
You'll note I never made nor implyed any conclusions that the sport will only move forward if lycra is banned . Though i stand by my statement (highlighted above in bold)
I used to live with a gay guy. My other flatmate's mother was a pretty stupid hctib (as was her daughter, but that's another story). Anyway, her mother cautioned us against using the washing machine straight after the gay guy "in case you get AIDS from it".
Seriously.
well it would explain why you ride a road bike now
No, my choice to ride a road bike has nothing to do with having my tihstar ruined in the night by my gay ex-flatm...
I've never felt like a fool wearing lycra at a bike race... because there are a couple of hundred others there in the same thing and i know lycra is a lot more comfortable in the wet, when it's windy, when there are things to get caught on...
You probably would feel like a fool if you raced DH and proceeded to crash and rip ya skin suit off ya esra in front of the world.
Joined: Aug 04, 2003 Posts: 9,381 Location: Hamilton
Posted: Thu 26th Jun 11:05am Post subject:
HuntawayFR wrote:
he had a fence post up his ass ??? no wonder he crashed
I was hassling you for sitting on the fence, apparently too subtley
Chickenman wrote:
Very true. Although a better analogy would be the numerous drivers from F3 and Indy who have come into F1 and sucked dogs balls!
And Richard Hammond who is a self confessed 'driving god' couldn't keep an F1 car up to operating temperature, let alone drive it to it's potential.
I was going to say exactly that, but my complete lack of motorsport knoweledge made me uncertain if F3 was actually the name of the slower car racing.
About that last post - I bet the fact that he ripped his skin suit was the least of Rankins worries after that crash. Who really cares about that sorta parc. Sure its a laugh for the punters, but thats about it.
Last edited by Friendly Llama on Thu 26th Jun 11:08am; edited 1 time in total
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. Though i stand by my statement (highlighted above in bold)
