New bike coming Monday - Before ride advic please

chuck norris2k9

My new and first road bike arrives monday

Specialized Allez Triple 2011 model

I probably wont have time to get out on it on Monday due to work, but i want to know want i should do to the bike before going out.

as in protection/lube etc or other advice..

if anyone has advice and products to use then please let me know, thanks[/list]

Down the Road

Have a dealer check it over and set all the torques correctly and check your fit on it

meanredspider

Check tyre pressures - something 100psi or north of that depending upon how heavy you are.

Check saddle height.

Go ride

Give it a clean and lube afterwards.

Garz

They usually get supplied with factory oil/grease, or the LBS puts some on. This will last a few rides before you need to re-lube the chain.

+1 to Down the Road's advice.

jgsi

If you know what you are doing then it is all pretty straightforward to verify the out of box setup - you bought off internet?
If you bought from lbs then it should ride perfectly out of their doorway.
If former and you are not certain then take it to a competent mechanic who will happily take money off you to enjoy a safe ride.

chuck norris2k9

sorry, it was bought off internet.
will Halfords be ok for a check or do they have no idea?

meanredspider

chuck norris2k9 wrote:

sorry, it was bought off internet.
will Halfords be ok for a check or do they have no idea?

Read around the net for pre-ride checks. Lots of good info on YouTube. You really should learn the basic stuff for yourself. Bikes are generally very simple.

chuck norris2k9

thanks ill you tube later

unixnerd

Get into the habit of doing your own maintenance, it's not that hard and you only need a few simple tools. Going to a bike shop / Halfords every time isn't just expensive it's inconvenient. And if something breaks on a run you'll be stranded with no idea how to fix it. I've seen folk pushing bikes because they can't get a slipped chain back on!

greasedscotsman

Having crashed my first proper road bike on ice at a similar time of year, which also happened to be a Spesh, I think you might guess what my advice would be! It will be very tempting to ride, but be careful, it's pretty slippery out there right now!

Buckled_Rims

unixnerd wrote:

Get into the habit of doing your own maintenance, it's not that hard and you only need a few simple tools. Going to a bike shop / Halfords every time isn't just expensive it's inconvenient. And if something breaks on a run you'll be stranded with no idea how to fix it. I've seen folk pushing bikes because they can't get a slipped chain back on!

I rode with a guy on an expensive bike that his RD kept clicking during a sportive. I mentioned to him that it just needed the index screw adjusting half a turn. His response was "Yeah, I know, I'll take it to the bike shop and get them to sort it out."

Teach

Before ride advice?
Be like a big child before Christmas. I don't care how old any of us are, I still get really excited if I get a new bike.
If you are tempted to sneak a ride in on Monday after work, make sure you have helmet, lights and ideally reflective clothing, although some may disagree with some of these points.

chuck norris2k9

slipped chain and changing tube is no probs

as far as going ou after work - itll be a bit late at half ten pm!

mattshrops

get fully lycra'd up and sit on it in front room and dream of being oldest/fattest (delete as appropriate) person ever in TdF. i believe the hexperts call it visualisation. ahem. 8)

sturmey

I am sure there are some competent mechanics @ Halfords but I would recommend you avoid the place like the plague.
I bought a bike there once and the mechanic giving it the once over before purchase put it in the workstand, but then admitted he didn't even know how to change gears on it, let alone set the indexing. What a joke.
A decent bike shop would not let any employee this inexperienced near the workshop. Sadly, Halfords do not have the same scruples.

MichaelW

I dont know how much other riding you have done.
If you are an inexperienced rider and NEW to clipless pedals and riding your FIRST road bike then my advice is to steer clear of clipless pedals for a while and use simple platform pedals.

chuck norris2k9

ive not used clipless as yet so ill not use yet

btw - anyone know what type of pedals come with the bike?
all pictures show no pedals

as far as experience, thats none on road bikes
but mountain biking, plenty

meanredspider

chuck norris2k9 wrote:

ive not used clipless as yet so ill not use yet

btw - anyone know what type of pedals come with the bike?
all pictures show no pedals

Very possibly none...

willowthewhite

My 2010 Allez came with some cheap pedals and toe clips (there still wrapped in the packaging they came in) so you may get some with yours

chuck norris2k9

anyone recommend some decent starter pedals?

if it doesnt come with any.............

Garz

Get some double sided, like M520's to begin with (you will ofc need some shoes to go with them).

upperoilcan

MichaelW wrote:

I dont know how much other riding you have done.
If you are an inexperienced rider and NEW to clipless pedals and riding your FIRST road bike then my advice is to steer clear of clipless pedals for a while and use simple platform pedals.

He should go straight in and get clipless,you gotta start some time and the sooner the better..........Its a learning curve first time round no matter how much riding you've done...(As i found out when i started using them a few yrs ago).

One can always get used to clipping in and out in the safety of your home by propping yourself up against a wall or something...

delstron

You could go down to the local bike shop and get the cheapest pair of platform pedals they have £5-10 which will do you for a few weeks until you try clipless.

Alternative is to get some SPDs straight away and ask the shop for some clip in plastic inserts to use with ordinary shoes for a while. M520 pedals are cheap enough.

Or, as someone said, get going on clipless straight away, adjust to minimum setting, easiest release (and ride around on some grass for a bit to get used to)

1stGenRex

upperoilcan wrote:

MichaelW wrote:

I dont know how much other riding you have done.
If you are an inexperienced rider and NEW to clipless pedals and riding your FIRST road bike then my advice is to steer clear of clipless pedals for a while and use simple platform pedals.

He should go straight in and get clipless,you gotta start some time and the sooner the better..........Its a learning curve first time round no matter how much riding you've done...(As i found out when i started using them a few yrs ago).

One can always get used to clipping in and out in the safety of your home by propping yourself up against a wall or something...

I ordered a set of Crank Brothers Candy C pedals, as they seemed good for both MTB and road use, and many people spoke well of them. This is having never used clipless pedals and cycling shoes, I went on my first ride this weekend with great success in terms of distance (a lot further than I thought I'd go) and learning how to use the pedals. It's really not THAT hard, and I agree that he's going to have to learn sometime, might as well be now.

I ordered them because I THOUGHT I wouldn't receive any but I did. still wenth through ans installed them ASAP though and I couldn't be happier with them

OH an I forgot, they come with covers so you can use them as a platform pedal, but I don't suspect I'll be using them