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E113BMX

Hello All

I am shortly to give up my car and go completely to a bike. I've not ridden a bike for about 2 years but used to do so a fair amount. I dont really need to travel a great distance per trip to start with although i hope to build that in later on. I've always been more into speed so mountain bikes and hybrids where never my thing, so the compromise i'm willing to make is against out and out every day uisability, for the times when i might want to go a little faster.

to this end, and with my current budget constraints i've decided to go for an Orbea Onix (i desperately wanted an orca but my budget just wont stretch for now). Helmet yet to choose but i have a few favourites, and to satisfy the gadget freak in me i'm going to grab a garmin Edge 800. I do have some questions and will be back weith them shortly but i've just realised i finish work in 3 minutes so have to get off.

Please treat me gently as i'm making a fairly huge decision to give up the convenience of a car and haven't taken the decision lightly, but any useful hints and tips would be most greatly received as i am essentially a cycling novice despite having had a bike since i was 3, and my greatest achievment was once having overtaken a mini doing 45 down clacton sea front!!!

alihisgreat

if you're giving up your car... is a full on racy bike (even though it is described as a sportive bike) a good idea?

There are less racy alternatives that have full mudguard mounts, rack mounts etc.-> Something like a Giant Defy at the road bike end of the spectrum or something like Genesis Croix de fer at the cross/tourer end. and what about security? using a nice bike like that day to day could be an inconvenience as you may struggle to keep it secure when out and about.


apart from that.. i say go for it!

clu

Good for you about deciding to stop using a car and start using a bike. I've been commuting to and from work now on my bike for a couple of years and I prefer it, I'm not stuck in traffic somewhere in Bristol sat in my euro box.

I would recommend you think carefully about your bike choice though, don't spend too much on a bike to commute with. I've recently had to purchase a replacement bike due to my beloved carbon bike being broken after an accident with a car last year, it pull out in front of me and I went over the bonnet. I was more worried about my bike at the time of the accident when I was on lying on the road, although I'd fractured my pelvis at the time which I didn't realise. I'm back on a bike now so I think I've recovered from it. Very happy with my replacement bike, it was an immaculate 2011 trek 2.1 bought off ebay at a bargain price, It has eyelets for mudguards, although I've put some crud mudguards on it. Although it's not some fancy carbon racer, it's a comfy bike that rides well with a decent spec, that I really enjoy riding to and from work.

Also try to make yourself as visible as possible, although I did as much as I could you can only go so far. Lots of bright clothing (luminous yellow jacket for example), reflective patches and plenty of good led lights, always wear a helmet. When I had my accident the helmet saved me from a very serious head injury, it was cracked on the inside. I prefer to write off a helmet if it will do the job I've purchased it for. As you're a car driver also, think about how a car driver sees you as a cyclist on the road, can they see you well enough? Also you must obey the highway code, no jumping red lights, stay safe.

Also wearing clothing with cycling in mind, it makes commuting more enjoyable too. But enjoy the freedom that being out of a car and on a bike will bring you, I do. I still have a car, not sure why I keep it though.

team47b

Well done for giving up the car. One less car!

I gave up owning a car 6 years ago, it was tough to start with. Always liked the convenience, not having to think, just jump in the car. But thinking about what you are doing is the way forward.

I use my bikes for everything, shopping/touring holidays/transporting stuff/every day trips/days out/exercise and fitness/fun etc

Everyone, usually car owners, will have an opinion about what bike you need, without knowing what you intend to do with a bike.

My opinion ...you need more than one bike!

Oops :oops: or did you just mean you are getting a bike to become a bike commuter?

MichaelW

A high-performance, all-weather, fast utility bike needs to have rack and mudguard eyelets. My preference would be a disc-brake cyclo-cross style but the traditional winter trainer (eg Kenises TK ) or Audax style is good.
Disc brakes give plenty of tyre clearance. Beware racebikes with eyelets but insufficient tyre clearance, also rack eyelets that are obstructed by brake gubbins.
You can save your carbon fibre racebike for weekend playtime or sunny day commutes.

sfichele

I'd definitely go for more than one bike, and use a practical, hard-wearing stead for commuting. I had to replace my entire drive train a couple of weeks ago due to corrosion. I've also had a few offs, and its better to have a tank of a bike that will take some knocks.

The Orbea Onix is a very nice bike :cool: - I wouldn't be commuting on it.

Get something like a btwin sport-2 and put some reasonable wheels on it - like some RS10s

E113BMX

Some very helpful advice and thankyou. I based my bike choice on a number of things, in no particular order. bike2work voucher through work which allow me to get only 1 machine so i figured as i get a tax relief on it I would spend up on it a little bit. I dont really have the money to buy another bike at the moment so for the time being at any rate that just isn't a consideration although i'm not ruling it out at a later date. I dont have to do massive distances. I walk to work for the most part at the moment, my gym is about 3.5 miles away, my furthest spread friend whom i regularly visit is about 7 miles up the road, so i dont have to spend too much time on it for commuting purposes at the moment. I like speed and want a bike which er's towards it for those ocassions when i feel like going out and having a blast. Im not at all bothered about compromise, my preference for cars being for an elise with stiff springs, no sound deadening and flat carbon seats, so having the harshness of this type of bike for everyday use genuinely doesn't bother me. If i'd had the money i'd have gone and splashed out on a kestrel 4000 or a fuji D6 or similar, such is my want for speed.

I should point out of course that i dont intend to permanently give up cars, i'm a petrol head, but for the short term at any rate i think it's the right thing to do in order to jig my lifestyle around the right way.

Several things i'm not sure about. Pedals and shoes. All i've ever had before is a clipless pedal with toe straps or simply a bare pedal, and i've always ridden in trainers. Now of course i find myself in the mire of having to consider a dedicated shoe, what pedal is relevant and such like. I've no idea what a cleat is, or the difference between clip this or spring that, so some help in that respect would be superb.

smidsy

clipless are in 2 formats SPD (mountain bike) and SPD SL (road bike).

They both fit into the pedal via a cleat and mean you need to have specific shoes and pedals to match.

SPD are less awkward when off the bike as the cleat is recessed into the tread of the shoe.

Clip pedals are the old style toe cage with strap over the foot.

You can also get flat pedals that require no special shoe.

E113BMX

so the cleat is the little widget thing which clips into the pedal, but the cleat has to match the pedal, and cleats attach either onto the sole of the shoe in which case they protrude and make walking a funny affair or are recessed and flush with the sole??
Is the sole on such shoes thicker? Can one buy a set of shoes then buy a set of pedals and then just attach the relevant cleats to said shoes and rock along??

E113BMX

Have i misunderstood that. Does the shoe itself come with a cleat and do i then have to find a compatible pedal or vice versa? and Why are they referred to as clipless? these cleat thigns sound very much like clips!!

g00se

With MTB shoes, the sole had deep 'boot' treads, that protrude further than the cleats. Road shoes have flat soles.

When you buy the pedals, they'll invariably come with a set of cleats - though you can but extras for when they wear out.

Just to clarify another poster, it's not just SPD and SPD-SL systems, they're just Shimano types. MTB are often referred to as 2-hole (for cleats are smaller with 2 fixing bolts) and you can also get other makes like Time ATAC and Look.

3-hole road shoes accept cleats for systems from Time, Look, Campagnolo etc .

Clipless is an odd term, it's because these systems replaced toe-clips - metal cages that you slipped your feet into and did up with buckled straps.

RonB

For what you are describing I would think that the recessed/ SPD types would be favourite. Good luck & all the best, Ron.

E113BMX

right you are. so the off roda style with recessed cleats or road shoes with flat soles and protruding cleats will both fit on the same pedals. If we assume the shoes can be different, albeit with the same sleat, the pedal itslef doesn't need to differ i.e. there aren't road or mountain bike specific pedals, but the various models may well suit either application better??

RonB

Sorry but there is a misunderstanding here. Road shoes = road pedals, MTB shoes = MTB pedals. My suggestion was to go with the MTB option, even if you go for a road bike, since you intend to use it for the commute....mostly because of the stop/ start and that they are easier to walk in.

E113BMX

Gotcha!! So recommendations then for both road shoes/pedals and MTb shoes/pedals, assuming of course that i want to fit some manner of cadence sensor, in case this makes any difference at all as to the choice

ForumNewbie

Going from not having ridden a bike in 2 years, to go completely bike instead of car anywhere, especially as you describe yourself as a petrol head, is quite a big change. I think I would have kept the car for a bit while I started biking until I was sure I could cope with the bike for every eventuality rather than the car, in all weathers, but good luck to you anyway.

RonB

E113BMX wrote:

Gotcha!! So recommendations then for both road shoes/pedals and MTb shoes/pedals, assuming of course that i want to fit some manner of cadence sensor, in case this makes any difference at all as to the choice

The cadence/ speed sensor fits on your chain stay while the cadence magnet is fitted to the crank so this has no bearing on your shoe & pedal choice.

alihisgreat

E113BMX wrote:

Gotcha!! So recommendations then for both road shoes/pedals and MTb shoes/pedals, assuming of course that i want to fit some manner of cadence sensor, in case this makes any difference at all as to the choice

MTB cleat and shoe -> (shimano SPD)


Pedal for that cleat->


Road cleat and shoe -> (shimano SPD-SL)

notice how it is larger, thicker, and there is no significant sole on the shoe.. making walking (other than into cafes) impractical.

Road pedal for that cleat ->


hope that clears things up.

cadence sensors generally fit on the chainstay, so shoe and pedal choice is not a problem.

E113BMX

and in terms of groupsets(i hope i have that term understood correctly), if talking shimano from least to mostr desirable (i'm assuming in terms of quality) it is tiagra, 105, ultegra then Dura-ace correct??

rick_chasey

E113BMX wrote:

and in terms of groupsets(i hope i have that term understood correctly), if talking shimano from least to mostr desirable (i'm assuming in terms of quality) it is tiagra, 105, ultegra then Dura-ace correct??

That is correct.

E113BMX

And in other makes (this campagnolo stuff for example) are there accepted equivalents. there seems to be some discussion on this but all in regards personal preferences, i mean in terms of roughly equivalent quality!!

g00se

E113BMX wrote:

And in other makes (this campagnolo stuff for example) are there accepted equivalents. there seems to be some discussion on this but all in regards personal preferences, i mean in terms of roughly equivalent quality!!

This came up the other day. This is my take on it: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12842687#p17510204