New road cyclist

gbjk

Hi,

I'm looking to start cycling shortly; I live about 6 miles from work, taking the shortest route, and I decided it would be nice to start using my commute time to keep fit and maybe pick up a new hobby. It seems like such a social sport I'm also quite sure I'll meet new people at the same time.
I figured I could start off cycling to work and build my stamina and fitness up, and then possibly join a local group, of which there seem to be many.
In general I'm in good shape, but about 2 months ago I pulled my LCL and since then I've been unable to run.
I'd normally run between 5 and 10 miles on road on saturday and sunday, and do treadmill running at the gym, so not being able to has been a bit of a shock.
Since then I've been swimming fairly heavily whilst it recovers, but I've been pleased to find out that I can cycle without it seizing up (which is what it does if I try running).

I haven't ridden much in the last 5 years, but before that I'd cycle fairly regularly on the road, but never on a road/race bike.

I popped into my local evans cycles and had a look at the stock and asked for advice.
I'm looking at getting a new Cannondale Synapse 105, along with a hefty various bits of clothing and accessories.
Is this a good choice for a road bike?

If I take it for a test ride, what signs might I look for to show that it might not be suited for me - or is it (as I hope) just a case that I can adapt to whatever the feel is, given that I'm a complete novice?

Any other advice that might help me getting started?

Thanks

Gareth

feel

There have been lots of threads on here recently where people have been in need of help try searching for similar threads and have a read. This is probs why you have had 40+ views and no replies.

lilactime

if your coming from running get a road bike , any bike around the £1000 mark is gonna be good .

stevewheel

Hi, welcome to the wonderful potholed world of road biking.

A few of my thoughts:-

1. Try as many bikes as you can..they do vary a lot. You may struggle with this at Evans since the best you are likely to get is a ride round the car park watched by a sniper.
2. Worth seeking out an Independent Bike Shop if you can. Service is usually outstanding and they really show their worth once you have "ridden away" on your first bike. Plus, none of them are "printing money" for a living so you would be valuable custom.
3. Make sure whatever you buy is the right size frame and correctly adjusted. Sounds simple but there are an awful lot of people riding round on incorrect sized/mal adjusted bikes.
4. Don't spent too much on your first bike. Needs to be well screwed together, reasonable quality kit. If you get the BUG you are likely to want to put mudguards on your bike and relegate it to the duty of being your winter "hack" bike whilst you buy yourself something sexy for the (warm?) summer months.
5. If you are commuting buy good quality clothing. This is one area where you really do get what you pay for (usually).
6. Join the CTC. It's cheap and does actually do some good for cyclists.

Just personal opinions of course but hope it helps.

gbjk

Thanks for the replies.

Feel, Thanks - I had a read through a few of those before posting - I always consider it rude not to, but there was more in the final link ("New, Seeking Advice") than I'd read before.

Steve, Thanks for the detailed reply - much appreciated.
My company has a ride2work scheme with evanscycles, so I figure I'll go through them for the equipment and bike, etc.
Their head office is right next to me (Crawley) so I can collect from there, which is handy.

I always have to fight my urge to just buy the most expensive or best of something straight away. In this case the cannondale is just under £1k, which is a far cry from the beautiful bike I was looking at, which would be so fantastically wasted on my inexperienced self that it'd be almost funny - so I comprimised to something quite cheap to get started with.

I planned on spending a few hundred on good bibs (shorts and tights), jerseys and layers for the end of the spring and coming summer.

I figure I can take a detour on my way to work (which is on top of a steep hill in the country) and enjoy a longer ride, the exercise, and the scenery on the way to and from work.
The countryside round here is lovely and I'm quite looking forward to it.

Thanks for the pointer to CTC - I'll join it shortly )

Regards

Gareth

gbjk

So, a month later and I've purchased my bike and taken my first few rides, alone.

I bought a Trek 1.7 and a handful of other stuff to get started.

My first few, admittedly short, rides were exhilarating and very refreshing.

Thanks for your advice and I'll hopefully post here more )

Gareth

chill123

Weclome to the roadie ranks! As you've already discovered cycling is great due to it's lack of impact. I've made a similar switch from running to cycling. You sound fairly fit so why not set yourself a goal , say to ride a century by the end of the summmer. I find when you have a goal to aim for motivation is much higher!

Check out this site for some cycling training, advice and tips.

gbjk

Chill: Good advice.
I generally work on goals in all my fitness - right now I feel great because I can cycle to the gym, do a workout or swim, and then cycle to work - cycle home for lunch, and cycle home at the end of the day.

With all of that the miles will probably rack up quite quickly.

I'm looking at cycle computers now so I can work out how far I've gone easier.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Brian B

Remember once you're on the road bike you can only wave to other roadies. Hybrid and MTBs are beneath an acknowledgement from the 'gods of real cycling'.

gbjk

Brian B wrote:

Remember once you're on the road bike you can only wave to other roadies. Hybrid and MTBs are beneath an acknowledgement from the 'gods of real cycling'.

I've been astounded by how friendly other roadies are, and how many there are only just four short trips so far!

Had a scary as hell moment down the hill from my work - I don't know the incline but it's very steep.

I'm shakey enough on the bike as it is right now, but I barely managed to stop coming off as I went too fast towards a corner at the bottom of the hill. I managed to just end up stopping and looking startled, which is much better than being spread across the bushes, I guess.
That'll teach me!

LingfieldXC

trek 1.7 - good choice me thinks. I am picking mine up on saturday. I've been really looking forward to it since teusday when I took it for a test ride. I will ride the 16 miles home from the bike shop.