New to cycling, some advice please!

sartios

Hi all

I'm new to cycling, I have no idea about the different makes, sizes etc etc...

I'm looking to buy a bike for commuting, and for trails/woods etc, and to lose a bit of weight.

I'm 5'7 and 12 stone, and would like to tone up, been looking at a Claud Butler Stone River which someone is selling which hasn't been used, just been sitting in a garage covered up for 2 years, it has 24 shimano acera gears, qmd disc brakes, suntour xct suspension folks,
weinmann double wall rims and more complete with lights, computer, pump and bottle holder.
He wants £225 for it, is this a good deal and good for what I want it for?

Many thanks.

supersonic

It sounds a good deal. But does it fit? I'd try it first. Remember you will have no warranty or anything - I'd also invest in some tools and equipment and learn the basics.

sartios

I am going to have a look tomorrow, it's an 18" frame and 26" wheels,



What sort of tools do you recommend? it's mostly all quick release, also are they a good make? Claud Butler?

I'm on a budget an £225 is my limit.

supersonic

Perfectly reasonable make, good budget bikes. Lots of threads on equipment, but a good allen key set, teflon oil and teflon grease will get you started.

sartios

Thank you, I am on a budget, so £225 is my max, am I best off looking at something else? or will this be a good starter for mainly road and dirt use? as it comes with the lights computer and bottle/pump holders that's a bonus as I would of bought these anyway.

supersonic

It is, of course, mainly geared for off road - commuting will be fine for shorter journeys (or longer, depending on your fitness).

sartios

Brilliant, off roading will be good as I would love to get into cross country as well, it's mainly to get my fitness up, as I an terribly unfit, I can barely walk to the shop and not get out of breath (ten min walk) i do walk fast though.

my main goals to achieve in 2013 is lose a few stone I'm not fat, but overweight for my height, it's mainly my stomach with belly fat which i want to lose, and gain some muscle on my top half, obviously that will be done at gym/home equipment though.

And obviously a better diet will help too.

The Rookie

Cycling is a great form of aerobic excercise to shed some weight......little knee stress, but you have to get used to 'pushing it', no point poodling at 8mph!

sartios

haha thanks for the reply, well I picked up the bike today, and just as he said it's brand spanking new, lovely looking bike in the flesh!

I have done 4 miles on and god it knackered me! I didn't get off and push though I powered through, but I really enjoyed it and it put a smile on my face, great for the mind!

18" frame is a big big for me I think though, I have got the seat about a 1/3 of the way up maybe less, and I have to tip toe to keep my feet on the floor, but it's ok for now, I'll see how it goes, rides nice and smooth, seat hurt my arse after a while so will look at getting a new one? it has a Tioga MC-GROOVE one on it at the moment.

got a question regarding the forks, is the preload for stiffness and softness ?

Need to get some accesories now, going to buy a hydration pack, some gloves, and a decent helmet, and look for some other like minded people to go on rides with!

Anyone from the south east? I am in Sittingbourne Kent, and I looked at Bedgebury Forest, as it's about an hour away from me and it's looks pretty good, they got red and black routes there, anyone been?

Regards

70\ʹspenguin

If you have the seat set at the correct height then you should barely be able to touch the floor whilst sitting, if at all. If you need to stand then slide forward off the saddle and straddle the top tube.

Your arse will hurt for a couple of weeks. Tough it out and it will get better. A firmer saddle than that one will probably be more comfy and id start with a Charge spoon. You can pick em up new for less than £20. But for now just keep riding and bare the pain.

Good luck, and 4 miles is good for your first time out. Just take it easy at first and dont overdo things.

cooldad

Your leg should be pretty straight with your heel on the pedal, slightly bent (very slightly) with the ball of your foot on the pedal. I see loads of people with saddles way too low, and not only is that very tiring, it's likely to pop your knees if you push hard.
I can't touch the ground on both sides at the same time, even on tip toes.

sartios

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback, glad it come with a computer as it tells me my miles etc, looking at getting one of those heart rate monitors to link up bluetooth with my Android phone? any good?

I'll bare the seat out for a while see if I get used to it.

Might increase the height of the saddle see how it goes.

cooldad

I wouldn't waste time with heart rate monitors etc. Use the sweating like a pig monitor instead.

bunji81

I'm also fairly new to Mountain Biking for fitness etc and the thing I found that helped the most as regards to riding comfort was to get the seatpost at the right height, I had mine too low for a little while and it just sapped the energy out of my legs after very little effort.

Best Advice I can give from one beginner to another, is to save your money at first and get the bike set up correctly for yourself. Any local bike shop worth their salt should be able to help you out if your not sure

Gamblor

sartios wrote:

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback, glad it come with a computer as it tells me my miles etc, looking at getting one of those heart rate monitors to link up bluetooth with my Android phone? any good?

I'll bare the seat out for a while see if I get used to it.

Might increase the height of the saddle see how it goes.

If you've got an android phone I'd highly recommend the free RunKeeper app

Turned your gps on, set it to cycling and pop it in your pocket/bag. When your done it will tell you how far you travelled, how many calories you burned, how long it took you and your average speed. It'll also plot your route on a map. It excellent and doesn't use much battery power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQnjExzzJJs

You can also get mounts to attach for your phone securely onto your bike, although I've not looked into it greatly.

zx6man

You can get a new stone river for 259

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B2105.html

Jeez, I missed the post about you picking it up already, sorry.

snoopsmydogg

sartios you can get an idea of bike fit from here - http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CC ... ATOR_INTRO . Makes a decent starting point for some and then you can fine tune for your own comfort but as others have said it would be unlikely that you can touch the floor with your saddle at the right height.

As for recording your rides there are many generic apps out there, Strava is pretty popular but I would take any calorie reading with a pinch of salt tbh.

Gamblor

snoopsmydogg wrote:

I would take any calorie reading with a pinch of salt tbh.

Oh yeah definately, especially as the runkeeper app doesn't take into account height/weight or points on the ride when your freewheeling. I only use the calorie check as a rough estimate.

The Rookie

As has been said, I set the saddle height as knees just bent (to prevent them going over centre and locking out) with my heels on the pedals, no way should you be able to touch the ground!

Learn to keep your cadance high (ideally over 80 crank revolutions a minute) it's much less tiring than pedaling slowly and will alllow you to keep going much longer, you do this by correct use of the gears.

'Pushing it' meant working hard, not getting off to push!

Strava (not available for Windoze phones) or Sport Tracker

cooldad

zx6man wrote:

You can get a new stone river for 259

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B2105.html

Jeez, I missed the post about you picking it up already, sorry.

You also missed this:

"Discontinued
New model replacement: Claud Butler Stone River white"

Which is £328.99

zx6man

Then no harm done :-)

sartios

Thanks for the tips lads, can anyone recommend a good hydration pack? I see these ones on ebay for a tenner look pretty good:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOODSIDE-2-LI ... bd1&_uhb=1

Here a few pics of the bike, not really modified it yet, but the outer edge of the rim was silver but I've sprayed them black, prefer the look.

The Rookie

Tesco direct do a good hydration pack with some storage space for other bits and pieces for about £12.....lots of happy users on here.

cooldad

I bought a Tesco one to try them out (old fashioned bottle and seat pack user) with the plan to buy a 'decent' one if I got on with them.
It's still going strong almost four years later. Never did get that decent one.
Holds tube, tools and bits, a jacket and some snacks. Does the job.

anj132

Yeah looks good for a tenner, good find.

I'll 3rd the Tesco one as well.