Brand New to Biking --- Advice Please

snohooper

I recently decided to get my foot in the door to bicycling and went to go buy a bike yesterday. I had already made my mind up and decided I didn't want to overspend on a bike if I didn't keep it up, so I wanted to get a hybrid bike. The salesperson convinced me to get a Shwinn Voyageur GSD and I got it for a pretty good price.

I rode the bike home about 3 miles and I was ready to pass out. It was the hardest workout I've had in several years. I live in San Diego, California so its pretty hilly, but I still like I'm in pretty good shape and 3 miles wouldn't wear me out. One of the reasons I purchased a bike was the hope to get to commute to work at some point. The commute is nearly 15 miles. I rode 4 miles this morning, but once again my legs felt like jelly halfway through.

I have 2 questions:
1. How long is it going to take of riding 3-4 times a week before I can get to the point that I can accomplish this commute? I feel that only being able to bike 4 miles even when I push myself to the edge means that I'm starting out lower than most.

2. I also want to make sure I purchased the right bike on the salesmen's reccomendation? Does anyone know if this bike is a good hybrid bike?

Thanks in advance for anyone's help.

alfablue

Is it this one?



Looking at the bike online, it is very much built for comfort rather than speed. Okay for pootling around but I think you would benefit from a faster style of hybrid for a comparatively long commute. The very high bars and the seatpost suspension will not be comfy on long rides.

I suspect that your exhaustion will probably be due to riding in too high a gear on the hills (use the lower/lowest gears and spin faster, and change down before getting bogged down) and maybe a seat height that is set too low (test this by putting your heel on the pedal in its lowest position, your leg should be straight, this means with the ball of your foot on the pedal when riding there will be a very slight bend in the knee, which is correct).

If the hills are really severe, they will challenge any new starter even if they have fitness, but you shouldn't really be needing to really strain at the pedals if you use the right gears and the hills aren't extreme.

alfablue

Not necessarily reccomending it but this is what I mean by a "faster" hybrid fron the Schwinn range



(Super Sport Comfort Road)

snohooper

Looks like I should've consulted here before I purchased. I doubt they would let me exchange it. I only bought it yesterday, but I may have to check. That bike is definitely in my price range too.

alfablue

The second bike there gives a less upright position, and should be better for getting the power down, as well as keeping you more out of the wind, but check the fit thoroghly, and see if it will take mudguards (does it rain in San Diego?) and a rack. If the shop does Specialized, look at the Sirrus, or Giant, look at the FCR, or Trek, look at the FX models - all good.

alfablue

ps: you don't need front suspension for your sort of riding, adds weight for little or no gain, and makes hill climbing harder. Disc brakes are not really necessary either, and on a cheap bike it means other components are compromised to cover the extra cost of them. Cheap ones can be fussy to set up too.

snohooper

Thanks for all of your help so far, Alfablue. You've been extremely helpful.

I called the store and they said it would be fine to exchange and I told them your reccommendation. They seemed to think that the extra money wouldn't be worth the gain as they don't see a huge difference in comfort bikes altogether.

I just wanted to bring this opinion to your attention to get your view on it. I already trust your view more than theirs as they were mostly a bunch of trained kids making 8 dollars an hour. It does not rain in San Diego ever so I don't need to worry about that.

In short, I think you're trying to tell me this other bike has a more downright position like a road bike without the suspension and disc brakes. If the Super Sport doesn't have all that where am I getting the extra performance in? Sorry for all of the dumb questions, but I'm just starting and I'm completely clueless on bike specs.

alfablue

Hi Sno

I personally wouldn't enjoy riding such an upright bike as the one you've got, I think I can lay down the power much better with a more prone position, I think most regular bikers would agree, but I would like others to offer their views. I can't say that the bikes I suggest will make it a whole lot easier when you are starting out (though I suspect they might) but certainly if you get into commuting you would soon "grow out" of the bike you have.

I think the Super Sport (the one in my second picture) does have a much better postition, but remember you can modify the position somewhat by putting the spacers above or below the stem (the bit that attaches to the handlebar) or by changing the stem for a longer or shorter one, or a different angle (you can do this some time in the future if necessary). For now get one with the correct top tube length. If the shop was a good one they would give good advice on fitting, but hopefully if you can try it out you can get one that feels right.

Probably the best position is when the seat hight is correct it will be close to level with the bars (I ride a flat bar bike with the bars below the seat but for you, slightly above, rather than way above, may be okay for starting out - the harder you ride the lower you tend to want the bars). You want a bar height so you are probably leaning at 45 to 60 degrees but without too much weight being but on the bars. As you reach for the bars you should find your palms (not your fingertips) comfortably reach the bars with your arms about 90 degrees to your body.

Sheldon Brown has a good (but fairly complex) article on bike fit, but it basically amounts to racers wanting a flat back (very low bars) tourers (and maybe commuters) a bit more "relaxed" and maybe recreational/casual riders much more upright. With the second bike pictured I reckon you will get the potential for the ideal position for your use.

Whoops - I seem to be waffling - I hope it makes sense :?

emaichael

an adult sized bike, a normal frame shape, seat about half a foot higher than the handle bars. and you should be cracking well...

snohooper

Thanks Alfa. I am going to go to the store tonight and see if they have this bike and test ride it. Your advice has been absolutely helpful.

I get the whole position thing. I felt like I was 12 again riding straight up on the bike I had, but I didn't know I had an alternative to on an affordable hybrid bike.

alfablue

let us know how you get on

snohooper

I went to the store tonight and exchanged for the bike you recommended. It was 100 dollars more, but I went for a 3 mile ride before it got dark and it was a piece of cake. The bike feels so much tighter and the riding position is so much better. I have to thank you for saving me a bunch of money before I purchased a bike that would've been such a pain to ride. I'm excited to get out and ride farther tomorrow.

I'll keep you updated on how far I start getting.

Once again thanks for all of your advice.

Alex_Simmons/RST

snohooper wrote:

1. How long is it going to take of riding 3-4 times a week before I can get to the point that I can accomplish this commute? I feel that only being able to bike 4 miles even when I push myself to the edge means that I'm starting out lower than most.

The more you ride, the more you will be able to ride.

So get out there as often as you can/enjoy and the bike specific fitness will follow. The most important part about gaining cycling fitness is consistency of training/riding. So if you start to ride regularly and gradually begin to increase distance and intensity, you'll look back before you know it and wonder why a few miles was so hard, you'll need that just to warm up!

baudman

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

So if you start to ride regularly and gradually begin to increase distance and intensity, you'll look back before you know it and wonder why a few miles was so hard, you'll need that just to warm up!

I would suggest not to increase both at once. Either increase the distance and keep with your level of effort. Or increase the effort but keep the same distance, and try and get your times down.

I'm glad you got the better bike. There was nothing wrong with the first one per se... but not really the bike you were after I think.

Tips... learn to 'spin' your pedals. Don't push-push-push - but make your feet go the whole way around with the pedal. And, as mentioned above, don't push too-high a gear. There's generally always a gear where you can spin your pedals at a speed that's confortable, without having to push too hard. (That's why you have so many gears). Don't worry so much about your speed, just concentrate on keeping your effort similar (uphill, flat, downhill).

alfablue

snohooper wrote:

I went to the store tonight and exchanged for the bike you recommended. It was 100 dollars more, but I went for a 3 mile ride before it got dark and it was a piece of cake. The bike feels so much tighter and the riding position is so much better. I have to thank you for saving me a bunch of money before I purchased a bike that would've been such a pain to ride. I'm excited to get out and ride farther tomorrow.

I'll keep you updated on how far I start getting.

Once again thanks for all of your advice.

Hey

I'm glad you got it sorted. I hope you enjoy it!

emaichael

snohooper wrote:

I went to the store tonight and exchanged for the bike you recommended. It was 100 dollars more, but I went for a 3 mile ride before it got dark and it was a piece of cake. The bike feels so much tighter and the riding position is so much better. I have to thank you for saving me a bunch of money before I purchased a bike that would've been such a pain to ride. I'm excited to get out and ride farther tomorrow.

I'll keep you updated on how far I start getting.

Once again thanks for all of your advice.

i'm glad to hear it, cycling is something to look forward to, not a chore to keep fit
also, its better for you to not feel cramped on your bike, but for your legs to.. open allot on each pedal stroke, so its almost stretched out, but not completely.

formerlyknownasbonj

snohooper wrote:

If the Super Sport doesn't have all that where am I getting the extra performance in? Sorry for all of the dumb questions, but I'm just starting and I'm completely clueless on bike specs.

a) suspension - some of your pedalling energy gets soaked up by the travel of the front forks
b) aerodynamics - with a more upright position your torso is full-on to the wind whereas if you're leaning forward slightly you're more aerodynamic
c) tyre friction - the super sport has (I'm guessing) narrower tyres than the other bike.

snohooper

I had a 10 mile bike yesterday!!! I'm hoping to be biking to work soon. However, while riding I've come up with a new question.

I don't know if you can tell what kind of gear shifters are on the Schwinn Super Sport from the specs and I don't think I could describe them well enough as I pretty much know aboslutely nothing about bikes. Anyhow, often when I'm going uphill my bike seems to have a huge trouble downshifting the larger gear from 2 to 1. It always seems to get stuck and won't change.

Any tricks or advice on how to get past this? is this a mechanical problem that I should get checked out by the bike shop or is this a normal thing that I need to get past?

Any advice (on both the topic and my poor choice of bike terms ) are appreciated.

pneumatic

Welcome to a lifetime of feeling good (=feeling like you are about to die and then telling everyone else how good it was!)

I cycled a fair bit as a teenager and then got a driving licence and that was pretty much it. At 37, I decided to give it another go. Like you, I bought a hybrid (Marin Larkspur) and, like you, the first time I rode it, I thought I was going to die. It was horrible. But I stuck at it and was encouraged how quickly the legs, lungs and heart strengthened.

Soon I was looking for a challenge and, 8 years later, I can look back on a 1600 mile trip across Europe and two really fantastic weeks in the French Alps, climbing such monsters as Galibier, Alpe D'Huez and Ventoux, as well as all kinds of other memorable trips and experiences on the bike.

A couple of tips:

Tip one: log your mileage and calculate, over time, how much fuel it would cost you to drive the same distance. Ok, you live in the USA where "gas" is cheap, so cheat a bit and imagine you drive a Hummer (maybe you do, in which case, be very ashamed). When you have "saved" enough fuel to pay for the bike, buy another one. My second bike was a touring bike, a real step up from the hybrid and I felt I deserved it. Repeat the mileage trick until you can afford to treat yourself to a road bike. My third bike is a step up again to carbon fibre thrills.

Tip two: remember the old saying in cycling: "It doesn't get any easier, it just gets faster."

As for gear shifting, it sounds like your cables have stretched already and need to be tightened. Get your bike shop to do that for you. On second thoughts, get them to show you how it is done. (Teach a man to fish....etc...)

Good luck!

Zendog1

Your gearshift problem could be cable stretch but my guess would be you are trying to change too late on the hills. This is not a car - all the derailleur does is push the chain over and if there is a lot of tension in the chain (pushing hard on the cranks) its not going to work. Try changing before you are pushing hard or ease off slightly for the change.

baudman

Zendog1 wrote:

Your gearshift problem could be cable stretch but my guess would be you are trying to change too late on the hills. This is not a car - all the derailleur does is push the chain over and if there is a lot of tension in the chain (pushing hard on the cranks) its not going to work. Try changing before you are pushing hard or ease off slightly for the change.

Eeeyup. What the dog of Zen says. If you can see a steep hill coming up, you might want to change down to your easiest (smallest) chain ring so you are ready to then change the rear one down cog by cog as the need arises. You'll soon get a feel for it.

snohooper

I took pneumatic's advice and went on a mission to tune my bike. I found a site online to do it myself (that's pretty much how I figure out anything these days) and within minutes of tuning it, I had all gears switching crisply. I then promptly went for a 13 mile ride. Thanks for the advice pneumatic.

pneumatic

You are welcome!

If you are ever over in Scotland, you should drop by - I'm really rubbish at tuning gears; maybe you could give me a tutorial!

snohooper

This site helped me:
http://www.ehow.com/how_233_adjust-bike-gears.html

I followed it step by step and even ended up understanding it by the end.

snohooper

On Wednesday, I biked to work. It was 18 miles there and back. My legs are still pretty sore today and I have baseball each Saturday, so it looks as though I'm probably going to stick to doing it once a week until it becomes easier. It was an awesome ride down the Pacific Coast Highway. Can't wait till next week to do it again.

Rich Hcp

Well done!

The PCH is a cracking road, you're a lucky man!

You'll start wanting to do the commute ore often, but you'll know when you're ready 8)