General advice sought

Atari Boy

I am very new to road cycling so please be gentle.
I have just bought a road biased hybrid - a Giant Escape RX2 and have been riding for three weeks nearly.
My fitness levels are poor and I am overweight although fitness is improving, I am now able to ride for one hour non stop, covering 15 miles. I have found a local club who seem very good and they suggested I needed to be able to ride for two hours covering 30 miles to be be to join them on their rides - this is my first goal. I try to ride three times a week with a day off between rides, each ride is currently an hour long. I measure my 'progress' via Strava which I find useful.
I am enjoying it already and my main goal is to get fit, I am going to enter the L2B next year.

If anyone can offer some advice or tips I would be very grateful.

The sort of questions I have are:

Is my hybrid okay for my cycling if I improve?
Can I continue to ride through the winter, do others?
My peddles have the capacity for me to use cleats, would I benifit from them at my level?
I assume good old fashioned hard work is the only way to improve my speed, correct?

Many thanks,

♠ChumBucket♠

Atari Boy wrote:

I am very new to road cycling so please be gentle.
I have just bought a road biased hybrid - a Giant Escape RX2 and have been riding for three weeks nearly.
My fitness levels are poor and I am overweight although fitness is improving, I am now able to ride for one hour non stop, covering 15 miles. I have found a local club who seem very good and they suggested I needed to be able to ride for two hours covering 30 miles to be be to join them on their rides - this is my first goal. I try to ride three times a week with a day off between rides, each ride is currently an hour long. I measure my 'progress' via Strava which I find useful.
I am enjoying it already and my main goal is to get fit, I am going to enter the L2B next year.

If anyone can offer some advice or tips I would be very grateful.

The sort of questions I have are:

Is my hybrid okay for my cycling if I improve?
Can I continue to ride through the winter, do others?
My peddles have the capacity for me to use cleats, would I benifit from them at my level?
I assume good old fashioned hard work is the only way to improve my speed, correct?

Many thanks,

In order
1. IMO, more than sufficient.
2. Yes.
3. I would stick with hard soled trainers/walking shoes for now.
4. Pretty much, just keep pedaling & enjoy it.

Sprool

as another relative newbie to road, I'd say your bike is fine but drop bars do give you more choice of hand positions when you're on a longer ride and need to ease your muscles a bit.
What would stop you riding through the winter? Get some waterproofs and dont let stuff rust
Cleats give a big boost to pedaling efficiency, I'd recommend them if you want to do longer runs. In fact I'd recommend them regardless of how far you want to go.
Speed is not a valid goal on its own, but combined with distance you will achieve this with training, good diet, rest and patience. I seem to have gone all Zen, sorry about that.

♠ChumBucket♠

You could also add some light weight alloy bar-ends for more hand position options.

edewer

Hi and welcome.
I was in the same position a few weeks ago. my situation is a little different as I went straight to a road bike, and I currently commute 6 days a week to and from work.
The basis of riding is obviously good fitness levels. Avoiding smoking/drinking etc etc and eating well are always a good start. Try eating pasta or something with a decent carbohydrate content pre-ride to give that extra boost.

From there it really is a case of building up stamina and speed, and Strava is excellent for that. I log every ride I do and use each day as a benchmark for the next. I'll throw in a 30 miler some weekends to break up the monotony of riding the 10 miles each way that I normally do, and also throw in a few hills for good measure.

I've just completed the L2B this Sunday just past. I entered with family (two cousins or 21 and 23, and an aunt of 51). All of us were reasonably fit having done a little training, but being the competitive guy I am I really went for it and managed to complete it in just under 3.5 hrs. One thing I did notice on my travels though was the sheer diversity of people riding, from semi-pro types, charging up Dawlish Beacon, to people who I would say were MASSIVELY overweight.

Theres no prerequisite to do these sort of events. Just get out there and do them, and it may not be quite as tough as you think.

In answer to your questions though:

1) yep hybrids are a good comprimise between a full on roadie and the average MTB, and will be fine for cruising as well as really cracking on. Just make sure you have a comfotable saddle and a good set of tyres!

2) Of course, I intend to, but not if we have snow. just make sure you wear the correct clothing, ride carefully if wet/icy, and if weather does deteriorate, and you have a gym membership, get down and do some cardio training to keep your legs fresh

3) I went out and bought cleats after 2 days on my road bike. sure some will find it a little tough to get used to them, but being connected to the pedals allows you to put a lot more power down, and when going up hill in particular I find them a big bonus. I wouldnt ever ride a bike without them now!

4) Nail on the head! Its all about hard work. i push harder and harder each morning and my PB is dropping about 10secs each day as I build stamina. Using Strava also means I have a benchmark against others, and theres loads of segments nearby, so lots of competition!

Sorry for the essay, but always nice to help out those ina position i was only recently in myself!

simon_masterson

Some good answers given.

I will add that you will certainly benefit from using cleats - just having your foot held in place rather than able to slide around changes your stroke fundamentally - but you can start off the good old way and use clips and straps.

A loose strap is much easier (less complicated: no twisting; you just pull your foot out) to get out of than a clipless pedal, and once you become confident and reach a point at which the extra efficiency will be of use to you, you can use cleats and make the most of them (They have the advantage of maximum retention with the greatest ease of release; in order to get the most out of clips and straps you need to pull the straps tight, and preferably use old-style cleats to attach you to the pedal. This makes them a bit more difficult to get out of.)

Mikey41

Simon Masterson wrote:

I will add that you will certainly benefit from using cleats - just having your foot held in place rather than able to slide around changes your stroke fundamentally - but you can start off the good old way and use clips and straps.

This is what I'm doing at the moment, as my new roadie has straps. I find on my hybrid with flat pedals, my feet tend to move around a lot if I'm not careful. With the straps, they don't and I don't have to think about it. Clips and straps are also very cheap to add to existing pedals.

Good to see another newbie though, you're getting on pretty well IMO

Your questions:
1. The hybrid is just fine for now. (seems rather lighter and quicker than mine)
2. I'll be riding as often as I can through the winter.
3. Cleats not essential just yet (see above)
4. Yep, keep riding, push yourself a little further each week, eat well, have fun 8)

negativelycra

OP,

Similar boat, but riding an ebay mountain bike for 2 months ish. My advice? Hills. 2 months ago, I was just uner 15 stone, and going up hills crucified me. On the local "cunt hill", I couldn't even get to the top without stopping, and was in the smallest gear.
Now, I'm just under 14 stone, and last time I went up the same hill at 6.8 mph, in the middle front chainring. I was still crucified, but when I got to the top I had 4 miles to recover, before going up the next one. hills give you the interval training / strength bit, and the satisfaction of beating em is great, the descents are fun, and the motivation they give you is much better than just times on strava (which are also pretty good!).
Last weekend I did my first sportive, at 50 miles. My next aim is to do 100k (pretty easy jump), then 150k, 100 miles, and finally to ride to see my dad (150 miles away) by the end of net summer. I hope in the process I get reasonably fit, maybe even fit enouh to enter a local race and see if I can come better than last.

Oh, and the last motivation? I got strava after 6-7 weeks of riding, so my toals are a little off. However, when I've got to 1000 miles, I'm allowed to buy myself a road bike. For every 100 miles after that, I can increase the budget by 50 pounds, up to a total of a grand (cycle to work scheme). At my current rate, as long as I cycle every 2-3 days (as per now, 3 rides a week), I should be able to justify the total in 1300 miles, or approx 16 weeks. That should get me through the winter - I really want a roadie!

Atari Boy

Firstly, thank you all for such a warm welcome! What a friendly forum.

Your answers are great and give me a great steer.
I fitted some small bar ends this week which do indeed offer me some other hand positions.
I think I will get some gel padded gloves too, I often get numb hands.

The fact that I can ride through the winter is great, I thought I would not be able to. I assume I must just keep it clean to keep it in good condition. What should I wear ?

Silly thing to say, but I am fond of my bike so keen to be able to use it moving forward. It has slick 700 tyres and weighs 12 kg so more than suitable for my ability.

I think I will get some proper bike shoes, any advice on getting started with cleats would be welcome.


Thank you again to everyone who took time to reply, it's really appreciated.

Mikey41

Good call on the padded gloves, should solve the numb hands, what you can also do is run the front tyre at a slightly lower pressure than the rear. That will also help to smooth out the vibration from the front.

During winter, wear whatever keeps you warm. I'm about to get out and ride in 10c temperature here and it'll be shorts, vest and jersey. You generate a good bit of heat when you are pedalling along. A guide I read said that if you go outside and you feel warm, you are wearing too much and will overheat out on the road. If you feel slightly chilly, you will warm up nicely very quickly.

Once it gets really cold, thermal underwear, bib longs, softshell jacket, use thin layers to keep you warm rather than one thick one.

Gizmodo

I don't know what your budget is for winter clothing but Aldi have special offers on cycling gear, including winter gloves, coats, base layers and tights. If you want them now then Wiggle do a good range of products under their own brand name "DHB". Or if you've got more money to spend, Gore bike wear, Assos and Endura all offer superb kit.

For the winter you will need good gloves, wool socks, thermal over-shoes, a hat that is designed to go under your helmet, winter bib tights, a Marino wool long sleeve base layer, a long sleeve jersey and a waterproof (but breathable) jacket.

Don't forget you will also need lights for the bike.

If you want to go to clipless pedals, Shimano SPD pedals such as the M520 or M540 with shoes such as the DHB from Wiggle are a good start - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb/mtb/shoes/

Mountain Bike SPD pedals and shoes are easier to walk in. If you want to go to more road bike systems then Look at Shimano SPD-SL or Look systems, or again if you have money to spend, then Speedplay.

Here is some reading for you:
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CLIP-LESS PEDALS.
Beginner technique: Don't be scared of clipless pedals
Buyer's Guide to Winter Layers