Wheel size??????????????

dogllabtoof

Hi, im new on here and to road biking in general. However i have aproblem already.

I bought my firsy road bike today off e-bay for £115, it is a claud butler roubaix (cb racing), 2005 model. I purpously went for a chep deal as i didnt want to spend too much, incase i realise it is not for me.

It is a 21" frame, and when i stand over the cross bar i have around 1"-2" clearence.

All sounds good so far but here is the problem. upon examining the bike when i got home i have noticed that the wheels are 622mm diameter.

I know that the normal road bike wheel size is 700mm. Is this going to be a problem for me? and is this bike not suitable for me? What circumstances are these smaller wheels used?

Also does anyone have any info on the bike i have just bought? cant seem to find much on tinternet. Is it any good? dont worry i can take it seeing as i only spent £115 on it. Saying that i do hope that i have not wasted my money :-(

Thanks in advance

Dogllabtoof

chunkytfg

what size are the tyres?

Should be somthing like 700x23c writton on the sidewall somewhere?

dogllabtoof

Think it says 622 x 1.5

ricadus

Don't worry, 700C is also known as ISO 622, and is the most common tyre size for road bikes today.

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

dogllabtoof

Thanks ricadus, thats good news.

any info on the spec of the bike?

on the road

622 is the rim size.

thedoctor

OK. 700mm is the nominal diameter of the outside of the tire. As other posters have said, you've got 700C wheels.
Doing a quick Google, the 2007 model has a new price of £399, although you can get it for £359. So £115 is a good price, I'd say. The current spec has Sora STIs and gears (bottom of the range, but works well enough) , an alloy frame and carbon forks. It's certainly a decent enough bike, and lightyears ahead of what you'd get new for that price.
Result!

dogllabtoof

Thanks everyone for your advice, seems like i wasn't such a bad deal after all.

Bought the bike on tuesday, had a quick 3 mile ride yesterday, my new spd pedals and shoes arrived today, but broke a small bone in my foot playing football last night :-( so wont be able ride/try out the new gear for a while, GUTTED!

Any advice for someone using SPD pedals for the first time? Should i loosen them so i can get out of them easier to start? my cleats are the single discharge action type (twist outward only)

Does it take long to get used to them? Might invest in some body armour ;-)

fizz

dogllabtoof wrote:

Any advice for someone using SPD pedals for the first time? Should i loosen them so i can get out of them easier to start? my cleats are the single discharge action type (twist outward only)

Yep loosen the tension off so its easier to click in and out, dont loosen to much though as you might find you pull your foot right out of the pedal when pedalling uphill, which can have just a disasterous effect and not being able to clip out when stopped does

dogllabtoof wrote:

Does it take long to get used to them? Might invest in some body armour ;-)

No not really, just a bit of forward observation and planning is all you need. You'll be fine.

webbhost

Best advice regarding them I can give is just to ride carefully and safely... I used to race everywhere quiet or buzy, and I have had a few close encounters with cars stopping in front of me whilst going down hill etc, having to slam the brakes on... Luckily my feet were not clipped in and i just lifted out ..

Trouble is with cleats if you have to stop suddenly, your brain might automatically tell you to pull your feet UP ... THEN say o yeah sideways (but by that time you had your narrow miss and you already tipped sideways).

You get the general idea, as the person before me said, just plan ahead all the time.

I have not fell off yet and have taken a good liking to them... find them particually easy.

However you'll soon find out if i have a tip sideways