Newbie on the block :)

matty_doh

Hi all,

I'm currently 17 years old and following some procedures a few years ago to correct my walking I piled on the weight and never really regained my fitness. My dad has been into road cycling for the past couple of years and that got me thinking - I would like to try cycling again to help regain my fitness, as I find sole-gym work a little uninteresting.

So, for this reason I decided to replace my ageing cheap bike with a Felt Q620 (the 2009 model) that I'm picking up tomorrow (I chose it after trying a friends and also finding a good deal) and deciding to go for a hardtail rather than a pure road bike since I enjoy nature photography. So I would like to ask some more experienced riders a few questions.

When cycling after not being on a bike properly for a prolonged period of time, what's the best way to get back into the swing of things? At the moment i'm planning on cycling up and around around Beacon Fell (A small hill in the NW of England) just to regain some fitness, then try harder trails.

Does having thicker tires, designed for off road usage, render the bike completely unusable on the road?

Are there any alterations to the standard bike that should be made? At present I am just planning on using a cycle computer and couple of bags - a frame and an underseat bag to be precise, but i realise this isn't very technical!

Is it worth the extra few pounds for recognised branded inner tubes? - I tended to go through quite a few tubes when I was biking regularly.

Thanks for any replies and sorry for the wall of text :oops:

Cheers, Matt.

wheres the mountains

hi matt - im matt
I have just got the bug back for mtb, picked up a bike a few weeks ago, ride it to work every day. Massiv scott tyres, nackers me out on these long dutch roads road. different back in wales
gl man

ThanksBye

With the tubes,the £2 tesco ones arnt bad, and i would get 2, so if u get a puncture on a ride, u can just switch the tube, and mend it at home

Kiblams

Hey, I got back into MTB after 10 years out of the saddle in january of this year, I basically started off my riding less than 5 miles at a time and when the pain from the saddle had gone away I started extending the distance. I can now ride 18 miles after work everyday and recover reletivly quickly.

Just gradually increase the speed and miles that you ride and keep at it! you will soon see a massive improvement in fitness, long before you see any difference in weight.

I keep switching between a 1.95 tyre and 2.5inch tire on the front of my MTB, and I am slowly discovering that tyre pressure rather than size has more of a bearing on how easy a tyre will roll on roads and offroad (lower pressure is faster in my case). The only disadvantage that I have noticed in using wider tires on the road is the little extra weight that comes along with the more rubber.

I personally found that my cycle computer was very unreliable when things got rough, so I decided to plot the route on an online mapping website which told me the distance and so I am happy with taking a spare inner tube, tire levers, a pump and multitool. Has been all I need to keep going so far (might need to start taking my chain tool and some tape/cable ties once I get into the more harsh riding)

wheres the mountains

i have tomtom :] :roll:

matty_doh

thanks all for the speedy replies and answers!

I've been wondering about 'Dr Sludge' puncture protection - is it worth the couple of quid?

I have a couple of cycle maintenance kits and what i don't have my dad does


Edit; I also have a TomTom, the basic version - is it possible to get mounts for these to use on a bike?

wheres the mountains

duct-tape

Ditch Witch

Hi and welcome!

The best way to get back into it is to take it at your own pace, go at as much as you can and do what feels right. If you're not having fun, you won't keep it up

blister pus

matty_doh wrote:

Hi all,

I'm currently 17 years old and following some procedures a few years ago to correct my walking I piled on the weight and never really regained my fitness. My dad has been into road cycling for the past couple of years and that got me thinking - I would like to try cycling again to help regain my fitness, as I find sole-gym work a little uninteresting.

So, for this reason I decided to replace my ageing cheap bike with a Felt Q620 (the 2009 model) that I'm picking up tomorrow (I chose it after trying a friends and also finding a good deal) and deciding to go for a hardtail rather than a pure road bike since I enjoy nature photography. So I would like to ask some more experienced riders a few questions.

When cycling after not being on a bike properly for a prolonged period of time, what's the best way to get back into the swing of things? At the moment i'm planning on cycling up and around around Beacon Fell (A small hill in the NW of England) just to regain some fitness, then try harder trails.

1) Does having thicker tires, designed for off road usage, render the bike completely unusable on the road?

2) Are there any alterations to the standard bike that should be made? At present I am just planning on using a cycle computer and couple of bags - a frame and an underseat bag to be precise, but i realise this isn't very technical!

3) Is it worth the extra few pounds for recognised branded inner tubes? - I tended to go through quite a few tubes when I was biking regularly.

Thanks for any replies and sorry for the wall of text :oops:

Cheers, Matt.

1) No, but it makes it harder to get about if you have large width tyres designed for mud as they have greater rolling resistance on the road. A narrower semi slick type tyre would obviously give less rolling resistance and feel a lot easier getting about on the road.

2) Nope, bike's fine, go out and enjoy it and get used to it, and riding in general. Time will quickly tell you whether you really need to add things, and if you do it'll be out of necessity.

3) Better quality branded tubes tend to have better quality valves I've found and you'll find that's important in the long run as it minimises valve failure rate. With decent tyres, correct air pressure, decent fitting tube and careful riding you'll limit punctures quite radically.