45 year old, fat, newbie commuter needs advise please

sketchley

Well done. Now please have a beer

And No i-pod.

Kieran_Burns

Don't get obsessed by weight - BMI is complete monkey bollocks

There have been fierce debates about whether wearing 'phones is okay or not. I'm firmly in the not camp

I rely on my hearing to sense things going on all around me, and the sounds give me fair warning of any incoming traffic. Lessening this advantage lessens your protection (IMHO)

rhext

fatboybiker wrote:

New Schwalbe City Jets arrived so they'll be getting fitted tomorrow along with a clean and lube. gotta sort the slipping gears out. I need a good guide on setup if anyone knows of one.

What's the problem with your gears?

dhope

fatboybiker wrote:

On the cr@p ride in this morning I couldn't get off my mind what some people had posted on this thread :? :? some people have said i'll see no weight loss for ages.

Maybe no weight loss but you'll be slimmer

rhext

dhope wrote:

fatboybiker wrote:

On the cr@p ride in this morning I couldn't get off my mind what some people had posted on this thread :? :? some people have said i'll see no weight loss for ages.

Maybe no weight loss but you'll be slimmer

Dhope is right, you're confusing getting thinner with losing weight. Measure your waist size instead: that'll make you feel better!

fatboybiker

rhext wrote:

fatboybiker wrote:

New Schwalbe City Jets arrived so they'll be getting fitted tomorrow along with a clean and lube. gotta sort the slipping gears out. I need a good guide on setup if anyone knows of one.

What's the problem with your gears?

The chain seems to slip on the smallest cog (again.... my poor terminology) at the rear, when I'm using the big ring at the front.
also in certain gears, this is gonna be very hard to describe... instead of that lovely quiet 'purring' noise as the chain goes through the derilleur there is a rattley noisey as if its not quiet in the exact correct alignment.... if you know what I mean.... can't describe it any better than that sorry.


@ Sketchley.......... beers are a chillin'........

davis

fatboybiker wrote:

The chain seems to slip on the smallest cog (again.... my poor terminology) at the rear, when I'm using the big ring at the front.
also in certain gears, this is gonna be very hard to describe... instead of that lovely quiet 'purring' noise as the chain goes through the derilleur there is a rattley noisey as if its not quiet in the exact correct alignment.... if you know what I mean.... can't describe it any better than that sorry.

Actually your terminology is pretty good. Bike geeks would probably call what you call cogs "sprockets" otherwise you're doing well...

First problem: Here it's probably one of two problems: your chain is *actually* slipping over the teeth of the sprocket, or your rear mech/derailler is skipping between that sprocket and the one next to it. I'd guess that it's the latter, and that's almost always down to limit screws or cable tension. I'd suggest tweaking the "high" or "H" limit screw slightly as a first pass, 'cos it's a very easy fettle. Incorrect gear cable tension is very common, and it's pretty easy to adjust too, but it's a little bit more of a knack.

See here for the rear derailleur stuff:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailler-adjustments-derailleur
http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-rear-derailleur/

Edit: If it is actually the chain slipping, then check the teeth of your cassette for wear, and you probably want to check your chain:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Second problem: (Are you talking about the front derailleur?)
Best guess is you're "cross-chaining" -- running in the big ring and the largest sprocket such that your chain goes at an angle and is rubbing on the FD. Don't. Cross. Chain: Try to keep the chain in a fairly straight line by limiting your selection of gears...
-or-
Does it happen at a certain pedal (crank) position? If so, it's probably the awesome power of your mighty thighs twisting bits ever so slightly or perhaps your chain ring is bent. If so you might be able to get a bit more clearance on the FD.

Edit: Can't believe I forgot - A very good place to start is Sheldon: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/. There's some outdated info on that site (he doesn't update much, what with being dead) but it's still very very good.

rhext

Small cog slipping could be poor limit screw adjustment. The 'H' screw possibly needs adjustment:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-hel ... derailleur

The problem you describe across the rest of the cassette is probably due to incorrect indexing. There should be a barrel adjuster on the rear mech. Adjustment is usually just a matter of tweaking that backwards/forwards until all is running smooth. The link above covers this too, although you might like to search for a simpler set of instructions. The Park Tools guides might be comprehensive, but I tend to find them so comprehensive that they're difficult to follow.

Nik Cube

wel done on you first week of riding.

2 points I think you will see weight loss and then stablization so keep at

on the gears there are lots of good you tube vids showing you how to adjust them - i'm sure you'll be fine sorting them out.

And finally I Pod - Yeah man just don't play too loud and don't use noise cancelling headphones you need to be able to hear and make sure you route the cable to keep it out of the way.

Initialised

Congrats, ranting about drivers, worrying about weight and speed, fettling, you're becoming one of us. Well done on sticking out the whole week. Nice one, keep it up.

For your gear problem http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-rear-derailleur/ you'll probably have to do it every few months.

fatboybiker

Initialised wrote:

Congrats, ranting about drivers, worrying about weight and speed, fettling, you're becoming one of us. Well done on sticking out the whole week. Nice one, keep it up.

For your gear problem http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-rear-derailleur/ you'll probably have to do it every few months.

Watched that vid thanks.... very easy to grasp.

Was horrified when he said at the end NEVER use WD40 on your bike :oops: how ignorant am I..... :?: but why not :?:
LBS for proper lube in the a.m.

davis

fatboybiker wrote:

Watched that vid thanks.... very easy to grasp.

Was horrified when he said at the end NEVER use WD40 on your bike :oops: how ignorant am I..... :?: but why not :?:
LBS for proper lube in the a.m.

Meh. Don't fash yerself too much. I might be starting a flamewar here but it's not the worst thing in the world, especially when you're just cleaning/freeing stuff off. I'm going for a bottle of chainsaw oil next 'cos it's about a 20th of the price of the "special" lubes. This is for the commuter, mind. The "best" bike gets special treatment

Dirty road muck/salt/grit will probably do more damage.

*ducks, runs away to bunker with popcorn*

Edit: Oh, the *never use WD40* "rule" is 'cos it dissolves/displaces the well-embedded lube that's deep down inside your bearings. If you were to soak a chain in diesel/white spirit it'd be gone anyway. Just don't spray it on your bearings, 'cos that probably is a bit dumb

EKE_38BPM

Well done FBB. 80 miles in a week from a standing start is very impressive and worthy of bragging about at work and down the pub. Keep up the good work

I'm glad you took our advice about riding primary and out of the door zone. Getting hit by a car door hurts a lot.

For bike maintenance advice, I use Park Tools. For general advice (is part A compatable with part B kinda stuff) I use Sheldon Brown. I think most people on here use those sites too.

iPods: For me, no way.
I ride in London where I am constantly playing in traffic and need every bit of extra sensory information I can get about what is going on around me (OK, maybe not smell and taste and hopefully not touch). Cutting down on how much info I get through my ears is a big no-no.
Riding in the sticks, I can see why you might want some tunes, but if motor vehicles are going to pass me at 50+mph, I want as much warning as possible.

Initialised

I use Finish Line Green and GT85 every couple of weeks.

For me there's nothing worse than coming up behind a iPod challenged pedestrian who fails to move when you ring the bell/shout at a choke point on a shared path causing you to drop to 5mph to get past them. I'd be doing the same by using headphones on my bike. I did use a portable mp3 player years ago, it was CD based unit circa 2000AD, I decided to stop after moving to faster roads (A1058 before it was sanitised) and needing to know what was behind me without having to turn my head all the time.

clarkey cat

i listen to music but really crappy non-noise cancelling headphones and I can still hear all the traffic around me - i have it on only quietly but its probably still not advisable.

pianoleo

I've got some little Sennheiser earbuds - not noise cancelling or anything fancy like that. The left one goes in my left ear, and the right one gets tucked between jersey and base layer. iPhones have a well hidden Mono setting (Settings -> General -> Accessibility). I keep the volume low, so that if I'm in serious traffic I actually can't hear my music, and my right ear is firmly open to my surroundings.

Chicane-UK

Well done and keep it up. Really impressive stuff.

You will definitely lose weight if you keep it up.. a good friend of mine moved further away from work (almost exact same distance for the commute as you) and decided he needed to hit the bike more. He was quite overweight when he got into it and wasn't even riding in every day out of the week (but doing some recreational miles on the weekend) - but still dropped 3 stone (really) in the space of 10 months.

Keep at it and keep us posted. Was a good read

jeepie1999

I'm impressed you have gone from your opening post of "I'm about to begin commuting for the first time" to doing 80 miles a week - little wonder you find it sore.

I've been doing my commute (10 miles each way) for a couple of years and still only rarely do 5 days in a week.

Well done, hope you keep enjoying it.

fatboybiker

thanks for all the comments.

I'm already looking forward to my second week (might not feel the same tomorrow once I've actually done the miles ) My legs still ache but aren't painful.

Gears are sorted, adjustments to the 'H' screw and sorted the indexing. Lots of cleaning and lubing. Thanks for the links to Sheldon Brown RIP and bicycletutor.com some brilliant info.

repair stand will be going on my christmas list.....

New Schwalbe City Jet tyres fitted and they do seem tiny compared to the meaty chunkies that where original ( hope my fat aris don't kill em )

couldashouldawoulda

Seriously well done!

Remember you've given your body a shock and that going forward - overdoing it may impact your system, especially your immune system. Take a day or two off now and again and make sure you sleep well. BUT after the break get back on the bike again - dont use that as an excuse long term. Maintain that policy as your goals increase.

Once again - well done!

vaseline

Great thread. I've bookmarked it so I can keep updated of your progress Fatboy.

My journey to work is 15 miles and although I am capable of about 40 to 50 miles on a weekend without too much trouble, I just can't pluck up the fortitude to do the little ride to work in the morning and back in the evening. You might end up a source of inspiration for a lot of us mate.

fatboybiker

Gutted today. NO commute today. Poorly youngster had to be kept off school meaning I had an unexpected extra day off (mind you, the legs feel better for it).

It's a bit frustrating as I now won't hit my 80 miles this week unless I do a weekend ride to make the miles up....

EKE_38BPM

Liking your attitude, but remember that rest is part of all good training regimes. So today wasn't just a day off the bike, it was an integral part of making the new (smaller) you.

Hope the little one feels better.

CiB

Vaseline wrote:

My journey to work is 15 miles and although I am capable of about 40 to 50 miles on a weekend without too much trouble, I just can't pluck up the fortitude to do the little ride to work in the morning and back in the evening.

Meh - you just need to get over that first step. Do it once, then come back and tell us how easy it was relative to your initial concerns.

FBB, and you Vaseline - add yourselves onto the Stats board [link below] and you'll soon be doing the miles, with added incentives. You watch.

fatboybiker

@ EKE thanks... she's much better today.....

as for today......YES

I can honestly say I enjoyed todays rides into and home from work....

Gears running sweeeeeeeet, new tyres... not sure how much difference these have made to be honest but alls good.

I took a different route today..same distance almost but through more populated roads through the city to work and it was 'more interesting', if thats a valid phrase. What I mean is because there was more to think about ie more traffic to consider, more peds, more bikes on the road and just generally more going on. the journey seemed quicker although it wasn't.

Maybe the sun being out was a factor I don't know, but there was FBB on his cheapy
Specialized push iron, with my helmet and my sunnies 8) on wizzing through the queing traffic with a cheesey grin on my chops, I almost felt like a proper biker/commuter/cyclist etc etc..... all I need now is some proper riding clobber and who knows.....

clarkey cat

you are a proper biker. simple as.

davis

Think that's another convert. Win.

soundninjauk

This thread is full of awesome. Seeing someone go from 'what's this about' to becoming one of us in the space of a week was something to behold.

fatboybiker

Maybe should search for this answer but CBA..... :roll:

Red lights, ped crossings, zebra crossings, filtered junctions etc etc...

I'm still in noob-feck-it-what-coppers-mode and jump all of these or ride through em before getting the green light blahblah....

Is that wrong ? If I ever want to consider myself a proper cyclist I should follow the 'code' right ?

*FBB throws flame proof blanket over self in preparation for roasting :oops: *

Kieran_Burns