Obvious Things New Cyclists Might Not Know

Secteur

Thought this might be a good place to share tips.

I'm new, and learnt (on this fora) that;

1) it isnt a good idea to cycle in the wet on a road bike

2) you should "feather the brakes" before actually braking in the wet

3) dont try to change the rear gears when putting significant force through the pedals (causes horrible noises etc)

Please post any nuggets of road cycling/bike related advice here that you take for granted, but might not be so obvious to someone who has never properly cycled before and would make life easier / safer...

Biffz0id

I don't see the problem with cycling in the wet to be honest.

father_jack

"1) it isnt a good idea to cycle in the wet on a road bike"

Correct my road bike is make from weetabix. When weetabix gets wet, it goes all soggy.

:roll:

Anonymous

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

cornerblock

Never ever ever praise Rapha stuff otherwise you will be shot down by the poor people.

kamil1891

RichardSwt wrote:

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

this is a joke, isnt it?

MarcBC

Wiggle assume the blame for anything.

danowat

RichardSwt wrote:

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

They melt in the wet too..... :roll:

"don't go out in the wet"......

Are you serious?, in this country, you'd never get any bloody riding done!!!!

I've got a good tip....

Don't start time trialling, its horribly addictive, horribly expensive (if you let it be), and is a cruel, cruel mistress at times

antikythera

"Don't ride in the wet" that's like waving a red flag to a bull, or in Internet terms an invitation to t*ssers to respond, you can already see that, don't you?

However the intent of your thread has merit. My contribution: when you find yourself on difficult (dangerous) surfaces (e.g. soft sand, gravel) try and avoid the instinctive reactions, don't turn or brake sharply... try to ride through it!.

nakita222

Cornerblock wrote:

Never ever ever praise Rapha stuff otherwise you will be shot down by the poor people.

Rapha vs Assos
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... 9&start=30

Fiddling aroung with gps in traffic, will result in one riding into the back of a bus, and being laughed at.

ShutUpLegs

Secteur wrote:

3) dont try to change the rear gears when putting significant force through the pedals (causes horrible noises etc)

That is an acquired skill, practise makes almost perfect

Anonymous

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

this is a joke, isnt it?

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

slinkyspring

my tip -: turning on tarmac is very different to turning on dirt. braking too

nakita222

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Anonymous

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

pawlo

You learn most things as you go on. As for breaking in the wet, my tip is dont clean the sides ( breaking surface ) of your rims, works for me, carry a multi-tool, this has got me out of the shit more times than i can remember, don't throw old inner tubes, cut them up - they make great chain-stay protectors, wear sun screen, do one thing every day that scares you, floss, remember compliments - forget the insults, keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements, stretch.

kamil1891

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

I am really scared now of my BMC pro machine I wanted to travel with it to more warmer countries...

How can you protect bike from melting in the hot weather??

oscar-j

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

That's what you get for penny pinching and buying a cheap bike.Shame

oscar-j

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

I am really scared now of my BMC pro machine I wanted to travel with it to more warmer countries...

How can you protect bike from melting in the hot weather??

I know this sounds daft but sun cream lotion really works well.Gives it a protective layer and really nice shine too

Anonymous

oscar-j wrote:

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

I am really scared now of my BMC pro machine I wanted to travel with it to more warmer countries...

How can you protect bike from melting in the hot weather??

I know this sounds daft but sun cream lotion really works well.Gives it a protective layer and really nice shine too

Not sure about sun cream, never heard of that. But I know that some bike shops sell a special type of foil that reflects the heat. I'm sure if you go in to a LBS and explain you need some heat reflecting foil to protect your carbon bike from the sun they'll know what you mean.

oscar-j

RichardSwt wrote:

oscar-j wrote:

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

I am really scared now of my BMC pro machine I wanted to travel with it to more warmer countries...

How can you protect bike from melting in the hot weather??

I know this sounds daft but sun cream lotion really works well.Gives it a protective layer and really nice shine too

Not sure about sun cream, never heard of that. But I know that some bike shops sell a special type of foil that reflects the heat. I'm sure if you go in to a LBS and explain you need some heat reflecting foil to protect your carbon bike from the sun they'll know what you mean.

trust me,it works better than anything else i've tried.Halford's do the best stuff.It's called autoglym carbon fibre sun lotion.it will be with their range of polishes.sometimes hard to find but they'll always order some in if you ask nicely

greasedscotsman

Whatever you do, don't wear one of these.



But one of these is fine.

Anonymous

oscar-j wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

oscar-j wrote:

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

I am really scared now of my BMC pro machine I wanted to travel with it to more warmer countries...

How can you protect bike from melting in the hot weather??

I know this sounds daft but sun cream lotion really works well.Gives it a protective layer and really nice shine too

Not sure about sun cream, never heard of that. But I know that some bike shops sell a special type of foil that reflects the heat. I'm sure if you go in to a LBS and explain you need some heat reflecting foil to protect your carbon bike from the sun they'll know what you mean.

trust me,it works better than anything else i've tried.Halford's do the best stuff.It's called autoglym carbon fibre sun lotion.it will be with their range of polishes.sometimes hard to find but they'll always order some in if you ask nicely

Ahh, cool I didn't know that, cheers.

I know Felt are working on a special heat reflective paint. But so far it's only available in their Felt/Garmin team Tartan colours.



So if you do find yourself in the LBS it maybe worth asking about Heat Reflective Tartan Paint.

oscar-j

RichardSwt wrote:

oscar-j wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

oscar-j wrote:

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

nakita222 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

No, not at all.

My mate Dave left his carbon bike (a Focus form Wiggle I believe) in boot of his car last summer and went for a beer. Came back a hour later and all the tubes had collapsed and deformed. Wiggle were very sympathetic but wouldn't replace it for him, they said it's very common.

That happened to my pinarello, I didn't read the manual, so I washed it with boiling water, and the tubes deformed and melted. YOur not meant to wash them with hot water, anything above 50degrees causes them to melt. I was devestated, but a ffriend of mine knows a lot about carbon, so I gave him, the bike and he restructured it. He's a carbon mechanic. Now the fork and chainstays are all wavy now.

Shame, that's a really nice bike. Just a pity you ruined it.

I am really scared now of my BMC pro machine I wanted to travel with it to more warmer countries...

How can you protect bike from melting in the hot weather??

I know this sounds daft but sun cream lotion really works well.Gives it a protective layer and really nice shine too

Not sure about sun cream, never heard of that. But I know that some bike shops sell a special type of foil that reflects the heat. I'm sure if you go in to a LBS and explain you need some heat reflecting foil to protect your carbon bike from the sun they'll know what you mean.

trust me,it works better than anything else i've tried.Halford's do the best stuff.It's called autoglym carbon fibre sun lotion.it will be with their range of polishes.sometimes hard to find but they'll always order some in if you ask nicely

Ahh, cool I didn't know that, cheers.

I know Felt are working on a special heat reflective paint. But so far it's only available in their Felt/Garmin team Tartan colours.



So if you do find yourself in the LBS it maybe worth asking about Heat Reflective Tartan Paint.

I know over in Thailand all bikes are fitted with an umbella holder to the bars.This is a very effective way of ensuring your bike stays out of the sun

neil_sheehan2000

RichardSwt wrote:

I know Felt are working on a special heat reflective paint. But so far it's only available in their Felt/Garmin team Tartan colours.



So if you do find yourself in the LBS it maybe worth asking about Heat Reflective Tartan Paint.

Isn't that the stuff that you have to apply with a left-handed paintbrush?

MarcBC

neil_sheehan2000 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

I know Felt are working on a special heat reflective paint. But so far it's only available in their Felt/Garmin team Tartan colours.


So if you do find yourself in the LBS it maybe worth asking about Heat Reflective Tartan Paint.

Isn't that the stuff that you have to apply with a left-handed paintbrush?

If you mean you should paint right to left, yes. It then crosses the warp thread of the weave giving the protection.

Cleat Eastwood

Some french riders still wrap their bikes in cabbage leaves to protect them, I think they have to be the large continental ones. There is also a cabbage based spray for carbon frames. Just ask at your LBS.

Anonymous

MarcBC wrote:

neil_sheehan2000 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

I know Felt are working on a special heat reflective paint. But so far it's only available in their Felt/Garmin team Tartan colours.


So if you do find yourself in the LBS it maybe worth asking about Heat Reflective Tartan Paint.

Isn't that the stuff that you have to apply with a left-handed paintbrush?

If you mean you should paint right to left, yes. It then crosses the warp thread of the weave giving the protection.

Yes, I'm told that's the case. This is something that the Sky team have been experimenting with. They've developed some special brackets that attach to a standard workshop stand so that you don't necessarily need a left handed paint brush.

They've called them Sky Hooks.

Secteur

Oi you lot, let's keep this on track!

greg roche

If you're using sky hooks, you'll need to ask your retailer if they have a 'long stand' to hang them from.

secretsqizz

Nice idea on thread but given up on it as it has become breeding ground for badly edited posts like some annoying begging letter chain email.....