My bike's here.

Strickland

My first road bike came today. I decided to get an Allez a couple of weeks a go, and settled for the Allez 18 Double Sport, as I could get it on 0% finance from a place not too far from me.

As said, this is my first road bike, and I can't believe the difference from what I was riding. Everything feels a lot smoother, easier, comfier and faster. The only thing that needs changing straight away are the pedals. The ones it came with are pretty uncomfortable after a while, and look quite cheap and nasty.

Im a lot more confident than I thought I would be, and spent a lot of time on the drops when riding. I preferred being lower down.

Admittedly, I am a complete novice so am going to take the bike to a LBS within the next couple of days to make sure everything is set up right or if anything needs adjusting. But, all in all, Im a happy chappy and look forward to getting out on a decent ride soon. Want to get up Portsdown Hill. Last time I went up there, was on an MTB nearing the end of a 65 mile ride, and I hated every second of it. Im hoping this new bike will make it a lot more enjoyable.

Rich Hcp

Leave it a couple of weeks before you take it for adjustment, gives the cables a chance to stretch out.

You'll go better with clipless pedals if you haven't got them already

mattward1979

Good choice!

For the short time I had my Allez sport before it was nicked, I was completely in love with it.

Another suggestion for clipless is to use SPD before opting for the full roadie pedals.. They are great to build your confidence with clipping in and out, and give nearly the same benefits. Plus the shoes tend to be more comfortable, and you can walk in them.

I use Shimano M520's, double sided, very easy to clip in and out of.

Strickland

Cheers for the advice, I will leave it a couple weeks then.

Im just looking at shoes at the moment. I've read it's best to go a size up. How true is this? Im an 11/46.

mattward1979

Best to try a few pairs on in your LBS, and see what you think in terms of size.

Even better, order some that you like online, and send them back if they dont fit!

Personally, I went a size up to give my toes sufficient room so that there was very little contact, and with 3x straps + laces so I could adjust how tight they were across the top middle and toe knuckles.

these are what I have, and they are comfy, great to walk in with a completely recessed SPD cleat: Lake MX85 MTB Shoes

unixnerd

If you get SPD pedals and shoes you'll be able to use SPD pedals on your other bike too.

I use M520s on the mtb and A520s on the road bike.

If you want to get the most from the road bike get a cycle computer with cadence function. Getting a nice high cadence is the key to speed ;-)

mattward1979

unixnerd wrote:

If you want to get the most from the road bike get a cycle computer with cadence function. Getting a nice high cadence is the key to speed ;-)

Or hitting your highest gear and churning away like a ravening lunatic, foaming at the mouth as you pound away out of your seat doing 30mph on the flat.....

That is until 30 seconds later when you pass out..... :P

ride_whenever

unixnerd wrote:

If you want to get the most from the road bike get a cycle computer with cadence function. Getting a nice high cadence is the key to speed ;-)

Silence troll, brutal fitness is the key to equally brutal speed.

Strickland

mattward1979 wrote:

unixnerd wrote:

If you want to get the most from the road bike get a cycle computer with cadence function. Getting a nice high cadence is the key to speed ;-)

Or hitting your highest gear and churning away like a ravening lunatic, foaming at the mouth as you pound away out of your seat doing 30mph on the flat.....

That is until 30 seconds later when you pass out..... :P

Sounds like some pretty good interval training, minus the passing out.

I got myself some clipless pedals and shoes last night, oh and a pair of lycra shorts, oh and a water bottle, oh and some chain lube.

Next week I want to get some decent tyres on there, and I need a helmet, and a track pump, and maybe some more shorts, and a jersey.

It's far too easy to spend money on all this cycling lark.

owenlars

Strickland wrote:

It's far too easy to spend money on all this cycling lark.

You just wait mate: you've only just started!

BBH

Strickland wrote:

mattward1979 wrote:

unixnerd wrote:

It's far too easy to spend money on all this cycling lark.

Ha, Ha, Ha.........it has begun, welcome!!!!!

Super Domestique

Good stuff. I am about to purchase my first road bike, an Allez 16, so am prepared for the spending to start!

How are you finding the Allez for comfort?

noah bubblehead

good stuff, I recently bought a Defy 3. Being my first road bike I tried lots of different shops and bikes. I was really close to a Specialized myself but in the end chose the Giant purely because it was stocked by my LBS, who I knew already. The staff at the Specialized Concept Store really knew their products and were very helpfu,l but the store being around 45 minutes drive away just swayed it for me.

Good luck with buying the rest of your kit. I think I made a mistake when I started cycling 12 months ago by getting some cheap stuff. You often get what you pay for, and some of the cheaper pumps etc didn't last that long. After sweating my knackers off in a cheap waterproof jacket I bought a Gore. Although it was expensive, it's been worth every penny.

valerider

Just put a deposit on my first road bike - Trek 1.5 compact. Looking forward to being able to ride faster and smoother. I'm also going down the spd route as I run them on my mountain bike. This spending lark is addictive though, i'm already eyeing up new bib shorts, new summer jerseys, windproof jerseys, winter tights etc. The toughest call will be getting it all through the "approvals committee". :roll:

Strickland

Super Domestique wrote:

Good stuff. I am about to purchase my first road bike, an Allez 16, so am prepared for the spending to start!

How are you finding the Allez for comfort?

Really comfy. I've heard a few people on here have had problems with the saddle it comes with, but I've had no problems so far. Comfier than what I was riding on anyway.

Super Domestique

Thanks for the feedback. TBH if the saddle didn't feel great I'd go for a charge spoon like I have on my mtb, so comfy and great value too.