This might be more appropriate for "General Discussion," but since the kind if guys I'm gonna gripe about are liable to be the bane of beginners I figured I'd put it here. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that the best way to run the risk of squelching your interest in something early on is to talk with other enthusiasts about that something... especially online. MTBR seems to have a group, though there are one or two "gear snobs" as I call them that pop up now and then. Moreso, though, it seems you run into these guys in chat areas and general forums where you both happen to discover you enjoy biking.
Once that's established, one person.. usually the one that's either not.. or not so much of a beginner asks the other what they have. So the newbie, often not being one to throw down $1,000 plus on a bike when entering back into the sport, describes their entry-level bike.
The other person is then VERY quick to reply with at best a :/ or at worst something along the lines of "those suck."
Of course, it can be other things like accessories, too. Say you have a set of WTB Velociraptors or something that came highly recommended by your LBS and had consistently good reviews here on MTBR's review sections. The "gear snob" is very quick to tell you about how your choice in tires, despite the fact that you think they ride like a dream, plainly sucks. Then they go on to laud their personal preferences like Kenda or Maxxis or whatever. And heaven forbid you divulge that you ride with Brand X safety glasses because you can't yet bring yourself to toss away $100 for a pair of glasses lest you get a lecture on how anybody who's anybody wears Tifosi or Optic Nerve or whatever.
The thing that grates really quickly with the gear snobs is that, first of all, they have no capacity for diplomacy. They don't seem to relate to the idea that each person has their own preferences and, of course, budget... and that maybe someday Newbie Joe will look into some more serious and costly gear... but for now they just want what's workable. They seem to give off this aura that if you haven't invested about $2,000 in accessories, clothing, helmets, and other gear alone then you might as well not even bother getting on your bike. They don't seem to be able to say something as diplomatic as, "Well, I never had much success with Velociraptors. I'm partial to blah blah blah." They just render their opinions as if they were facts delivered from on high straight to their lips.
Then, to top it off, they can't really back up their opinions with facts. Sometimes they may be based on personal experiences with a product, but they forget that mileage may vary. But generally they can't come up with anything better than, "I don't like those. They suck. You should buy these."
You see this a lot with other things... music, games, movies, shows.... mostly things that are matters of opinion rather than genuine merit. Because they don't share your opinion on the value of a North Face or Platypus hydration pack versus Camelbak, they figure you might as well wrap the water tube around your neck and hang yourself right now. These guys can be poison to the newbie looking for like-minded individuals to share their newfound interest with... so watch out for them.
All in all, though, it's just so disheartening to come across someone that operates with the mentality of, "I have opinion X and you have opinion Y. Because opinion X is my opinion, it's obviously more correct than yours."
Once that's established, one person.. usually the one that's either not.. or not so much of a beginner asks the other what they have. So the newbie, often not being one to throw down $1,000 plus on a bike when entering back into the sport, describes their entry-level bike.
The other person is then VERY quick to reply with at best a :/ or at worst something along the lines of "those suck."
Of course, it can be other things like accessories, too. Say you have a set of WTB Velociraptors or something that came highly recommended by your LBS and had consistently good reviews here on MTBR's review sections. The "gear snob" is very quick to tell you about how your choice in tires, despite the fact that you think they ride like a dream, plainly sucks. Then they go on to laud their personal preferences like Kenda or Maxxis or whatever. And heaven forbid you divulge that you ride with Brand X safety glasses because you can't yet bring yourself to toss away $100 for a pair of glasses lest you get a lecture on how anybody who's anybody wears Tifosi or Optic Nerve or whatever.
The thing that grates really quickly with the gear snobs is that, first of all, they have no capacity for diplomacy. They don't seem to relate to the idea that each person has their own preferences and, of course, budget... and that maybe someday Newbie Joe will look into some more serious and costly gear... but for now they just want what's workable. They seem to give off this aura that if you haven't invested about $2,000 in accessories, clothing, helmets, and other gear alone then you might as well not even bother getting on your bike. They don't seem to be able to say something as diplomatic as, "Well, I never had much success with Velociraptors. I'm partial to blah blah blah." They just render their opinions as if they were facts delivered from on high straight to their lips.
Then, to top it off, they can't really back up their opinions with facts. Sometimes they may be based on personal experiences with a product, but they forget that mileage may vary. But generally they can't come up with anything better than, "I don't like those. They suck. You should buy these."
You see this a lot with other things... music, games, movies, shows.... mostly things that are matters of opinion rather than genuine merit. Because they don't share your opinion on the value of a North Face or Platypus hydration pack versus Camelbak, they figure you might as well wrap the water tube around your neck and hang yourself right now. These guys can be poison to the newbie looking for like-minded individuals to share their newfound interest with... so watch out for them.
All in all, though, it's just so disheartening to come across someone that operates with the mentality of, "I have opinion X and you have opinion Y. Because opinion X is my opinion, it's obviously more correct than yours."