I finally did it!

rubertoe

Hi all,

Long time lurker - first time poster.

Well today the 2nd of June i finally said good by to London underground and commuted to work!

It might be only a short commute 12km (High Barnet - Archway) but it felt amazing to be whizzing along at 25kph in the early morning air, with the sun on my face and smile that matched the beautiful morning!

Now i had thought about doing this for a while and although i have been back riding for just over a year now (since some friends signed me up for last years London to Brighton, I'm 31 and hadn't ridden a bike since breaking a wrist on my BMX 15 years ago), it has been fairly intermittent and only when i could be bothered or when the time allowed.

Now i have the bug again.

but i also have a few questions, and welcome peoples opinions.

I have a Carrera Virtuoso, not great but it does the job! and when i bought i immediately changed the pedals and have Shim R540 SPD-SL - now baring in mind i am cycling from the outskirts into the city and have to stop at quite a few sets of lights (i promised the Missus that i wouldn't jump any) clipping in and out isn't really ideal and am thinking of getting some M520 spds - what are your thoughts on these?

Are they any good for commuting and are they easier to clip in and out of than SPD-SLs?

my 2nd Question is Bar Tape, The virtuoso has very thin drops and i am thinking of changing the tape (for something a bit fatter) any suggestions and is this easy to do?

Finally - i have a bit of rear gear slippage when changing up, how can i adjust the gears to stop this happening (its shimano 2300) or is this something that my lbs will need to sort out?

anyway - looking forward to the commute tomorrow - and thanks in advance.

EKE_38BPM

Hi Rubertoe,
Congratulations on seeing the light!

I live in East Barnet, so I know your route quite well.

Regarding pedals/cleats, SPD-SLs and SPDs are about as easy as each other to clip in/out of once you get used to them, but as the cleats are so proud of the sole of the shoe on SPD-SLs, any walking on them can be a bit trickier and the cleats wear out quicker. If you have a lot of walking to do in your cycling shoes, I wouldn't recommend SPD-SLs, but if you already have them, its not really worth changing.
On-bike performance wise, I don't really notice any difference between the two cleat systems, but the shoes you wear do make a difference.
SLs are more road riding specific so have stiffer soles whereas SPDs were originally aimed at MTBers who need to walk around a bit more, so the cleat is recessed meaning they are easier to walk. The stiffness of the sole affects the efficiency of power transfer. A factor on the TdF, but not really an issue on a Barnet to Archway commute.

Bar tape: Changing bar tape is easy enough. Go to a good LBS (Shorter Rochford, Tally Ho corner or Bike and Run in Finchley Central) and ask for recommendations (cork/gel etc).
Have a look on Youtube for advice on how to actually do the wrapping.
Do you wear cycling mitts? I think they are great.

Park Tools have a brilliant How To section. Have a look at that for advice on how to adjust your gears. Its an easy bit of fettling and well worth learning.

Enjoy.

jonny_trousers

Congratulations Rubertoe! Although you had an ideal start to your life as a cycle commuter, if you are anything like me, when you find yourself riding in the next downpour you will still be thinking, 'Hell yeah!'

Not sure I entirely agree with Eke over the SPD/SPD SL thing. I've never actually used SLs, but I do know how they look and if they are anything like my Looks then you are quite right, they are not ideal for commuting. They are a road pedal and are not meant to be regularly clipped in and out of. To be honest, I hate commuting on my road bike because of my road pedals and their awkwardness, whereas I never have any issues whatsoever with quickly clipping in and out of my M520s (a pedal that so many of us here love) on the single speed. Eke's point about walking around in more mountain bikey shoes is well worth considering too.

As for bar tape, yeah, speak to your LBS, but there are gel inserts you can use and double layers of tape to consider. Personally I just get the bike shop to fit it for me, but I am lazy and have little faith in my abilities.

rubertoe

Well that is day two done and dusted!

The legs are a bit tired - but i am sure (well i can only hope) that they this will ease with time!

Thanks for the replys - i think i will probaby - get some M520's and see how i get on with those - there only £20 and i can fit spd's to my road shoes. ( i like the idea of dual sided - as SL's are only single sided and i am not that confident at the lights)

It looks like a trip to the LBS is also required - but i think i'll have a go at re-taping it myself - i am sure it cant be that tough.

Still not sure about the Derailur - so i muight just put it in for a service after having a go myself.

Where abouts in EB Eke - my Girlfriend is from the Village - by the prince of wales!

rubertoe

neilvx

I was looking at the M324 so I could give spd's a go, what are the M520 like when not wear cleats?

MrChuck

I reckon SPDs are much better for frequent clipping in/out than SPD-SLs. Sure you get better with practice same as anything, but SPDs are just easier to get into IMO. Plnety of people do use SLs though and seem to get on fine.

Bar tape is pretty straightforward, make sure you have everything you need before you start and take your time and you should be OK. And if it all goes wrong, bar tape is cheap enough that binning it is annoying but it's not like you've wrecked anything expensive!

MrChuck

Neilvx wrote:

I was looking at the M324 so I could give spd's a go, what are the M520 like when not wear cleats?

If you''re likely to want to do anything more than rolling down to the shops in normal shoes then the 324s are the way forward.

The Rookie

I wouldn't want to ride 520's without cleated shoes unless you get some of the clip on platforms as well like http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shimano-SM-PD22-S ... 2564321036

Simon

EKE_38BPM

I use M324 pedals and I think they are great. I've not owned any other SPD pedals though, so I've got nothing to compare them to. The are fine to us in normal shoes too, without any extra add ons.

On the downside though, I've been told that if you want to refurbish the pedals you need a special tool which costs about the same as the pedal costs?!

Rubertoe, I live near the stairs in the park.

rubertoe

Eke,

I know those stairs well! i used to play sunday league football in that park and a mate of mine was the park keeper there for a long while.

Plenty of good times had in that park as a youth!

I have ordered the M520's from chainreaction - hopefully they will be here tomorrow and i'll give them a go - but for the moment it is the SL's

neilvx

Answered my query so have just ordered some 324s, next on the list is some shoes and cleats

rubertoe

Neilvx.

one thing i do know is that most pedals come with cleats!

neilvx

New to this and thought the cleats were seperate as they dont come with the shoes lol

edit:

Just checked the add and they say cleats not included

tarquin_foxglove

Neilvx wrote:

I was looking at the M324 so I could give spd's a go, what are the M520 like when not wear cleats?

I use shimano a520'son the commuter.

Can clip in for the commute/longer journeys or use with normal shoes for short journeys at an easy pace, I did a 7 mile round trip just wearing trainers with no issues last weekend.