Completely new to this!...

MSAldra

Hi guys, I hope this is all in the right place!

First up I'd better say I have no idea about road bikes or anything really. I cycle a hybrid bike 10mins into and out of uni each day but that's about it, so feel free to send out the most basic and patronising of info; I'll need it! (And please forgive the really stupid questions!)

So basically my dad does a bit of road cycling & I'd like to join in; I could ask him for help, but then he'd probably spend hours looking into things for me & end up telling me I need to spend huge amounts of money etc. Ending my ramblings my questions/request are:
1) Anything really obvious I should be looking for or at with regards to a first road bike? Budget is pretty small given I'm a student & all, I could probable stretch to £500.
2) Is weight really all that? And what range should I be looking in? I've read reviews saying a 9.5kg bike is heavy and others saying 11kg is "nice and light-weight". I really don't have a clue here.
3) Gears, how do I know what I want? I had a flatmate who bought a road bike & ended up with racing orientated gears which wasn't exactly what he wanted.
4) I fear what I'm about to ask may be almost blasphemous is the cycling world, but... do I need to get padded shorts or can I swap a soft saddle over from an old mountain bike? I don't mind getting the shorts but I have a spare mountain bike and a few pennies saved is a few pennies saved.
5) Clip shoes, Y/N? I'm tempted to skip them for now so I can spend more on the actual bike & then by shoes/peddles later.
6) Almost every bike I've read reviews for has a review with someone moaning about the tyres. Will I need to change the tyres a bike comes with or are they just being really picky?

Apologies for the long list; any & all help would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers

skyd0g

A) 0 Your dad will probably give you the most un-biased advice, so a sit down & listen to him will probably be some hours well spent. (You could even get him a beer).

1. You could get a decent bike for £500
2. Lighter is better, but don't fret. Heavier bikes = training, more robust and on occasion a good excuse.
3. Gears. Have some. Range is more important than quantity.
4. You can use your MTB saddle. In later miles you may pray for padded shorts. Only your @rse has the answer.
5. Yes, but put them on your shopping list.
6. Picky? Practical? ...add them to your shopping list.
7. Get a bicycle shopping list.
8. Add to it.
9. See above and add another bike.
10. Enjoy!

Sprool

1. Look at the Triban road bikes in Decathlon - good value entry level and the tyres will be fine for a year till you wear em out. Only upgrade them once you have more experience and miles in your legs and theres some rubber worn off the ones the bike comes fitted with.
2. 9.5kg is heavy for a pro track cyclist but 11 is great if you're only used to a MTB.
3. If you're not fit/new to cycling/ live in a hilly area then get a triple or compact rings on front and 11-28 cassette on the rear, so the steep hills are not too much of a struggle to put you off. If you are fit and the world is flat then 11-25 is fine.
4. Big padded wide mtb saddles get very uncomfortable when you start to do more miles. Thinner harder saddles are less forgiving at first but way better after 40 miles.
5. SPD cleats are a big benefit once you're used to them and you can get some budget shoes and pedals to start with, they do make a big difference to pedalling efficiency.
6. See answer to 1.
7. Enjoy!

Jon_1976

1.£500, loads of entry levels at those price point. Allez or Defy being the first 2 I thought of as an example. An entry level Allez is £550 but you could get a discount if you ask (I got 10% off my Allez Elite). Maybe also worth haggling for a better deal as the 2014 range of bikes will be out in 1-2 months.
Or buy second hand.

2. Lighter usually means more expensive. My bike is just over 9kg, which think is fine considering I weigh 85kg lol and its much cheaper to shed body weight.

3. Gears, look for a compact chainset (50/34) unless you are reasonably fit, live in a flat area and want to go faster. Then look for something like a (53/39). Cassettes: the higher the number, the easier it is. So a 12-30 is easier than a 12-25, etc. The lowest number is the small cog in the cassette, lower means faster and harder work (11 vs12, etc) Most have something like 12-25 or 12-30. Cassettes can be changed later if needed (you'll find that yourself by how hilly it is in your area and your fitness lol).

4. Harder saddles (with a little padding) are better. Definitely get some shorts at some point, doesn't have to be straight way.

5.Clipless shoes and pedals, definitely recommended. I actually used the crap pedals you get with the bike (and trainers) for a couple of weeks just to get used riding again and it wasn't too bad. Once you go to a clip less system, it feels massively better (imo). If the budget stops you getting the bike you want, I'd say use the money on the bike and get the pedals/shoes at the next opportunity.

6.Most entry level bikes come with tyres that aren't brilliant but they're round and get you where you want to go. Unless they are terrifying (in terms of grip) just run them into the ground and then buy something else/better.

Also, say goodbye to any disposal income for the foreseeable future as it'll be going on accessories, clothing, etc. Its stupidly addictive.

simon_masterson

Disregard almost everything you read from amateur cyclists about the (supposedly) critical importance of weight. A 12kg bike is 'light enough' (in fact my main bike weighs a little more). On a flat road it's the least of your worries, and until you're light enough and fit enough yourself, it's the least of your worries on the steep hills as well. As bikes get better they tend to get lighter anyway, and even the cheap ones these days are far from leaden - nothing like the old gas pipes with steel rims!

MSAldra

Wow, thanks for the replies guys!

1) Had a look at the Decathlon Tribans, they all seem to be out of stock. Think I'll send them an email tomorrow asking what's what. Thanks for the tips about the 2014 bikes too, might give that a shot.
2) I've given up on caring about weight. I'm used to a mountain bike & a £200 hybrid so I expect anything will seem feather light.
3) I live on top of a hill in the hilly countryside so compact seems the way to go.
4) I expect I'll be starting off doing reasonably short distances to get used to it all, so I think I'll wait and see how that all pans out.
5) Like 4 but probably a bit higher up the list.
6) Much like 4 & 5

Again, thanks so much! I'll have a scout around and see what I can find.

unixnerd

At your budget 500 will buy a really decent used bike, look on ebay and gumtree and take your dad's advice.

After a month or two to get used to the bike and build confidence you'd be well advised to upgrade to SPD shoes and pedals, they're well worth it.

skyd0g

Also look in the Classified section on this site - there's often bargains to be had as people upgrade.

Schoie81

MSAldra - I've just done something simlar, moved from a MTB to road biking. I can't be sure what i've done is the right thing generally, or the right thing for you, but here is what i've found and/or my opinion on road biking.

1) I spent £500 on my bike, a Giant Defy 5 and i'm very pleased with it. It weighs 10.2kg (before I added lights,water bottles, saddle bag etc...) has a 50/34 compact chainring and 11-28 cassette which gets me up most of the evil North Derbyshire hills. I've got two Giant bikes now and i'm very pleased with both of them. Would definitely recommend the Defy 5 if that's your budget.

2) I didn't worry too much about weight. As others have said, at 10.2kg, its over 7kg lighter than my MTB (my MTB wheels weigh over 5kg!!) and when I stick my 80kg body on top of it, a few kg difference in the weight of the bike isn't a big deal.

3) Gears - depends how fit you are now, what you're going to use the bike for and where you're going to be riding it. If you're going to be heading for the hills you need to make sure you've got the gears to get you up them, but if you're only ever going to be riding it around the city streets, you probably don't need such a big range of gears. As I say, the Defy 5 gets me up most of the nasty hills around here, and WILL get me up all of them in due course!!

4) I intend to get some padded shorts, but haven't done yet. I've done 22mile rides in normal shorts on the hard saddle that came with the bike and had no problems. Ride the bike, if you have problems then you'll need to get some shorts. Over shorter distances you probably wont need them, and whilst it may take some getting used to at first, after a while you'll find your bottom conditions itself to the saddle. If you'd prefer, swap the saddle over from your MTB - if it works for you (and assuming it fits on your road bike), don't worry whether its the 'done thing' or not.

5) Clipless shoes - I've just bought some, but rode before without any problems. Again, see how you go - if you're happy with flat platforms, stick with them until you feel you want to change. Maybe some pedals and shoes are things you can add to your christmas or birthday 'wish list'....

6) I too see loads of comments about changing tyres that come with the bike - and Giant do seem to get some stick for shipping their bikes with naff tyres. But I have no intention of chaning mine until they either wear out, or I start having problems with them. At the risk of jinxing myself, I've had no punctures yet (my boss has had three over a similar distance on his £1600 bike!). As I say, unless I start experiencing problems with them - i'm not throwing away tyres that seem perfectly good (to my untrained eye).

Let us know (with pics) when you've got your bike and the most important thing is to get out on it and enjoy it!! Buy the bike you fall in love with in the shop!

markhewitt1978

As you live on the top of a hill you'll want a compact or triple front gears and on the back you'll want 28 at minimum. 30 if you can get it.

Yes you do want clipless pedals. I'd recommend SPD as opposed to SPD-SL to start out with. M520 pedals are excellent.

schweiz

markhewitt1978 wrote:

As you live on the top of a hill you'll want a compact or triple front gears and on the back you'll want 28 at minimum. 30 if you can get it.

Really? At a minimum?

I live about a third of the way up a hill (well at about 6300', it's probably high enough to be a mountain) and it's noted for being quite a 'hilly' area around here and I've quite happily ridden a standard double (53x39) with 25 and 27 (until somone took that bike on permanant loan) and the VN currently has a 50x34 and 11-23 cassette on it and gets used daily.

(I'll admit to having a couple of sets of wheels with 11-28 cassettes fitted for when I go up the big hills down the road, but a compact and a 25 is enough for day to day use.)

MSAldra

Another quick Q. It seems I'm on the borderline between bike sizes. Would it be best to go bigger or smaller?
I'm tempted to go larger just in case I end up growing a bit more.

Edit: My dad thinks smaller in case I end up being all stretched out. So I'm going to assume he knows what he's talking about unless anyone can persuade me otherwise

Jon_1976

Usual advice is smaller.

g00se

To explain why hard, narrow saddles with padded shorts are good - and big padded saddles in normal shorts are bad.

With a padded saddle, you sink into it. So you don't get the pain at your sit bones - as your weight is spread around. However, when you pedal (especially leaning forward compared to other types of bikes), the parts of your arse and the insides of your legs rub against the spongy parts of the saddle. Over distance, this will give you saddles sores.

Also, as you lean forward and sink into the saddle, there's more pressure on your manhood, so you can end up getting numb.

With the hard, narrow saddle, most of your weight is on your two sit bones. These will start to hurt but as your muscles harden up there, you get used to it. Now, with padded shorts, the pad helps take the worst of it off but as the padding is held against your skin, when you pedal, the OUTSIDE of the pad rubs against the saddle - but the inside of the pad doesn't rub against you. That way, you get some comfort without the friction saddle sores.

MSAldra

Cheers guys. I think I'm almost there now!
Also; nice explanation of the saddle situation, helpful stuff