newbie with some possibly stupid questions

tnwoolley

Hello there,

new to road cycling and on the verge of buying my first bike (Ribble 7005) but there are so many questions I need clarifying!

First of all...

What is the difference between a bike with a horizontal/sloping top tube?

If I get a 'winter' or audax bike does that mean it is unsuitable for riding in summer?

Do you need to get treaded tires to cycle when its raining?

Is it best to get a single speed/fixie to work on fitness? (which is mainly what I'm attracted to road cycling for)

If I get a single/fixie will I be able to keep up with other riders if I go out with my local club?

Please take pity on a poor, confused soul and impart your pearls of hard earned wisdom!

nipon

1.take a look at giant bikes they give a good idea of sloping top tube 2.no 3.no 4.no 5.definately no.

andrewjoseph

Is it best to get a single speed/fixie to work on fitness? (which is mainly what I'm attracted to road cycling for)

If I get a single/fixie will I be able to keep up with other riders if I go out with my local club?

You do understand what a fixed gear bike is don't you? I'm not being condescending, but if you are new to riding I think a fixed bike will put you off unless you are really dedicated.

on a Single Speed bike (SS) you will only be able to keep up with other riders who are also riding SS.

alfablue

Ribble's Winter/Audax bike is so called because it can take mudguards and a rack (and the Ribble comes equipped with mudguards). Some road frames can't take 'guards. It also probably has clearance for slightly fatter tyres, and may well have long drop brakes to accomodate them and the mudguards. So winter riding requires mudguards, as does Audax (long distance events where you are often required to have mudguards and also need to take a bit of gear in a rack pack or saddle bag).

A more traditional Audax bike would have more relaxed geometry and may well be made from a steel rather than aluminium frame for more comfort over very long rides.

Unless you want just pure speed, both Ribble's Audax bike or a "true" Audax bike make for great all rounders. In summer you can just take the mudguards off. These bikes would be suitable for club rides. A single speed or a fixie is IMHO a very bad idea for a first bike, you can get fitter on any bike by just riding longer and harder, no need to make it really awkward for yourself (sorry guys - not really anti SS).

Mettan

tnwoolley wrote:

Hello there,

new to road cycling and on the verge of buying my first bike (Ribble 7005) but there are so many questions I need clarifying!

First of all...

What is the difference between a bike with a horizontal/sloping top tube?

If I get a 'winter' or audax bike does that mean it is unsuitable for riding in summer?

Do you need to get treaded tires to cycle when its raining?

Is it best to get a single speed/fixie to work on fitness? (which is mainly what I'm attracted to road cycling for)

If I get a single/fixie will I be able to keep up with other riders if I go out with my local club?

Please take pity on a poor, confused soul and impart your pearls of hard earned wisdom!

I've got a Ribble Winter framed bike - perfectly adequate for Summer or Winter training rides/club runs - obviously, if you're competing at a "high" level you'd likely purchase something better to Race or TT on. But again, for training rides both Summer and Winter it's a perfectly adequate machine (particularly if you're on a budget).

tnwoolley

Excellent.

Thanks so much for the information everyone, you're bringing me one step closer to a whole new biking world!

Think I will pass on the fixed gear/SS option as I'm not a self hating masochist just yet and start weighing up double/triple/compact etc issues next.

Stand by for more questions ha ha ha!

Thanks again.

Apollo748

If you're going out with your local club and doing hills I'd recommend going for a compact or triple. My preference is compact.

BUICK

I haven't done a club run, but on rides with friends who are on lightweight geared road bikes, I haven't had any trouble 'keeping up' on my fixed gear. Quite the opposite in fact. I'm not pretending it would be the same on perhaps more severe hills (if we were planning a really hilly ride I might choose to go geared) and on very long rides gears definitely conserve energy, but I'm surprised that the fixed option is being written off so swiftly here?

andrewjoseph

I suggested fixed/SS is not a good idea for a newbie to cycling, not that it's a bad idea 'per se'.

One of my reasons is that I live in the Valleys of South Wales and have little experience riding anywhere else.

I've not done any 'club runs' but would imagine they would be very difficult on a SS. Geared club members may not be kindly disposed to waiting atop a wet and windy mountain top.

salsarider79

SingleSpeed is a bad idea for a starter bike unless you ride a SingleSpeed Mountain Bike. Fixed is an even worse starter bike. These are more for town bikes where simplictiy is the key. They are direct drive so you can't stop pedalling, its all very strange.
SS is fine on club rides, but you are limited, and it is a lot harder to keep up. I've had no prolems with going SS, and kept up with some very fast riders riding geared.

The Ribble sounds like a very good starter bike. Something practical, that you can commute on, sounds like a great idea. Go for MTB clip in pedals/shoes and you'll be sorted.

polemann

tnwoolley wrote:

What is the difference between a bike with a horizontal/sloping top tube?

Different bike have different geometries to suit slightly different purposes. Like everything else in life there's a trade off. A more comfortable bike might be slower etc. I'm not 100% clear on the hirizontal top tube but its suffice to say it always best to try a bike before purchase.... and for a first bike I would strongly recommend going to your LBS (Local Bike Store) and finding the right bike and getting fitted... this is free usually when you purchase from them. The ensures you have the correct saddle height and peddle placement etc...

tnwoolley wrote:

Do you need to get treaded tires to cycle when its raining?

Good question. the same one I had when putting slicks on my mountain bike a few years ago.... The grip with the road is maintained via friction so the more rubber on the road the more grip well thats the theory. When your cycling you'll actually be pushing the water away from the road. Mind you I suppose if your going very fast -- maybe 80 mph you could aqua plane which would be fun. The knobs on a mountain bike tire keep the grip on muddy surfaces and aren't really designed for the road.

Ice and snow are different problems and I don't have any idea what to do in those cases.....

alfablue

For ice and snow you can get studded tyres, like the Schwalbe Ice Spiker

(I don't think this is for road bikes!)

but realistically, avoid riding in such conditions completely (well, especially ice, though sometimes it won't be obvious it is icy till it catches you out).

il_principe

tnwoolley wrote:

Do you need to get treaded tires to cycle when its raining?

From the late great Sheldon Brown:


Bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!

Unfortunately, most people assume that a smooth tire will be slippery, so this type of tire is difficult to sell to unsophisticated cyclists. Most tire makers cater to this by putting a very fine pattern on their tires, mainly for cosmetic and marketing reasons. If you examine a section of asphalt or concrete, you’ll see that the texture of the road itself is much “knobbier” than the tread features of a good quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while incontact with the road.

People ask, “But don’t slick tires get slippery on wet roads, or worse yet, wet metal features such as expansion joints, paint stripes, or railroad tracks?” The answer is, yes, they do. So do tires with tread. All tires are slippery in these conditions. Tread features make no improvement in this.

In fact I'd suggest having a browse of Sheldon's website as well. It's full of advice and tips. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

idaviesmoore

tnwoolley wrote:

I'm not a self hating masochist just yet .

Oh, you will be fella....you will be :twisted: