Hello - new to cycling and need some assistance (+ pics)

Kenshin

Greetings everyone! I just got a new road bike two weeks ago, and I need some advice:

1) The area I live in is very hilly - at the moment, I can only do five KM's or so before I am stuffed. Is it better to take my bike down into flat terrain and go for a longer ride, or will heading around the hills be of more benefit if I keep it up?

2) What are the first things I should be looking at upgrading? I already changed my seat to a Selle Italia Flite Team Edition (much better than the seat that was on it!)

3) White bar tape or red? When you see the picture, you'll understand (bear in mind the seat is now white and red)

Cheers...oh, and here's a picture of my bike. My first one:

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Anonymous

seriously? You need to ride more! just get on your bike and ride. hills are good. no need to upgrade anything.

Welcome to road biking and the forum btw.

pottssteve

Ken,

Red tape stays cleaner looking.

Hills get easier if you do them regularly.

What else could possibly need upgrading, except your fitness!


Get out on that baby and ride those 5 ks as fast as you can...enjoy.

Puzzler

Hills will always take it out of you, especially if you don't have much time to warm up before you hit them. It will get easier though.

That frame looks quite big, you've had to put the saddle very low with little seat post showing to make it fit you it appears. Trust you're about 6ft plus?
Make sure you're set up on it correctly.

tmg

I'd get your fitness up before you change anything else on your bike

Set yourself some targets and reward yourself with new things for the bike, will motivate you. So your first 'target' could be set for some new RED bar tape!!

What gearing have you currently got 50/34 11/27 or something else?

bobtbuilder

As Puzzler said, try and warm up a little first before going all out. Either on a flat-ish area, or ride in a gear 2 or 3 easier than normal for a couple of miles to warm the muscles up before the serious hills begin.

If you have a reasonable level of fitness, you should be able to ride for at least an hour unless you are on ridiculously steep mountains. I think your feeling of "stuffed" is just your body complaining about the hard start, and that if you continued you should feel better once you're fully warmed up.

fast as fupp

i usually find that riders who sport red bar tape on their steeds have the breath of satan

i would therefore recommend WHITE

tmg

I have red, therefore I am :twisted:

oscarbudgie

This is a p!ss take right?

New Cervelo, but can only manage 5 kms,and mostly worried about bar tape colour. ....

Squillinossett

Nice bike! My vote is with red tape!

I can say hand on heart best thing to do is just hammer the hills, it will increase your fitness quickly and make the flats seem non-existent! I got back into cycling about 6 weeks ago and as I live in a hilly area I dont have a choice, but every ride I go out on I find im fitter than the last!

2tired2ride

By some watter bottle cages and bottles so you can drink whilsh out on a ride. If you want to be fancie you can buy carbon fibre ones as well. 8)

Garz

If its a struggle to do 5 km start on longer flat rides and incorporate one big hill. After you can take this hill start adding more and your fitness will zip up. As puzzler has pointed out make sure your fit is good first!

Kenshin

Ok, ok, I tell a lie - when I say 'stuffed' I don't mean I couldn't do more. I mean I struggle to do 5 KM's in 20 minutes, and I feel like I should be able to do it faster. Yes, my fitness is poor - that's why I got the bike. But you guys have answered my question - I'll just stick at it.

Where I live is in a valley, so it's hill straight away (and a pretty steep one at that)...

Seat was indeed set too low in the pic. It's fixed now :P

Rouge Penguin

Have you got your tyres inflated properly? 100psi for comfort, 120 for speed. Well, thats my thoughts on it.

A friend bought a bike and was using some budget hand pump, must have put all of 40psi into the tyres. Stuck the trackpump on there and was totally shocked at the difference. Removes shitloads of resistance.

Firecrakka

Stick with the hills, a varied ride is better in my opinion.
Since you admit your fitness needs a lil work, its only natural that the hills take it out of you.
Like Pottssteve and Puzzler said, just keep at it.
Even 20mins a day will have you noticing vast improvements in no time.
Just go as hard as you can and enjoy yourself.

No upgrades required and I say Red bartape is the go mate.
Ties in with the red front end of the paintjob and will stay looking clean longer.


Cheers Crakka.


P.S. Long time reader of the forum, but just started making a few comments.
So....... G'day folks, nice to be on board.

APIII

Are you spinning an easy gear, or mashing a big gear up the hills? Like most people, when I first started, I would push too hard a gear, which tires you out more quickly. You quickly learn though, to use your gears to maintain a steady cadence of 80rpm+, which helps no end.
Bike looks nice btw.

bendertherobot

Not being funny here but I can run 5k in 20 minutes. Are you sitting on the bike or running alongside it?

screebs

keep at it - the fitness will come in time, and you'll be surprised how quickly it does!

I hit the big 40 earlier this year and got a bike, first time out i did 7 miles and went home and collapsed on the bed - absolutely knackered.

Last week i cycled from Edinburgh to St Andrews (67 miles) and was tired but not totally spent. I have only been going out a couple of times a week (at most) but didn't take long to start bumping up the miles.

Stick at it.

Starwasp

Am I the only one who thinks that pink tyres on a red & white frame look absolutely horrible, or is it some trick of the light?

ride_whenever

star, no.

However i see the idea and i think with matching red tyres it'd look amazing.

Starwasp

I think you could also get some limited edition white ( oooh I love white) Michelin Pro 3's....the frame has white, black and red so any of those would be ok. But PINK!!!!

Mothyman

do left bar red and right bar white - then we'll recognise you out on the street

either that or we'll see you pushing the bike up the hills

enjoy

Kenshin

ride_whenever wrote:

star, no.

However i see the idea and i think with matching red tyres it'd look amazing.

They ARE red...it's the light (took the picture with a flash in twilight conditions) so they look pink.

Anyway, I'll keep plugging away at the 10% hills around my house - hopefully one day I'll have the same fitness levels as some of the people on here have! 8)

Anonymous

Kenshin, you'll never have the same fitness as anyone on here, this is the bullsh1t world of the internet!

Whatever you say you can do, we can do it 1 mph better.

Right, off for my 17 mile commute at an average 29mph.

Firecrakka

Napoleon is right. I agree 100%.

Ok, Now I'm off on my 18mile commute at an average of 30mph. :P