Help please

Lammya
Lammya Posts: 10
edited July 2013 in Road beginners
Hi, I'm new to road bikes, I've just bought one today, I'm in pretty good shape I play football twice a week but I went out to try the bike today and no lie after around 10 minutes I was aching like mad and struggling, I averaged 12.4mph. Am I doing anything wrong do you think, also I'm pretty daft when it comes to gears and how to work them to he the best efficiency out of the bike. Cheers in advance

Comments

  • halfround
    halfround Posts: 44
    Sounds like a normal speed for a new rider , but speed depends on how much climbing your doing. I would not get caught up on speed to start , just get the miles in buiding up the distance as you improve. As for gears you want to be aiming for a cadence of 80 to 90 most of the time , a computer with this function is something I always have. But most of all enjoy the ride and stretch after.
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    That's great thank you, am I right in think cadence is how many times the pedals turn in a minute?
  • WiganLardster
    WiganLardster Posts: 28
    What part of you was aching after 10 minutes? If it was your knees, chances are you were in too high a gear. And yes, cadence is the number of pedal revolutions per minute.
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    Yeah it was my knees, ahh right so drop my gear down and try that? It just seemed like it was a bit too slack but ill try again tomorrow and see if it helps. Thanks
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    Lammya wrote:
    Am I doing anything wrong do you think,

    You are indeed. You came on here and was honest :lol:
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    I went out on a group ride the other day with some lads from work. Two of them are army physical training instructors who are extremely physically fit. Niether of them were regular riders but just getting into cycling. On the last few miles both of them were hanging. It goes to show, you can be very fit but not "bike" fit. It takes a while for you to get used to using the right muscles in your legs compared to say running. If you are aerobically fit from lots of sport you are half way there, once you tune your legs to pedaling you will be fine.

    As far as cadence goes, forget targeting a specific rate and just aim for a rate that feels most comfortable for you. Then when you feel stronger you can start aiming for a rate that is more efficient.
  • ballysmate
    ballysmate Posts: 15,922
    smidsy wrote:
    Lammya wrote:
    Am I doing anything wrong do you think,

    You are indeed. You came on here and was honest :lol:

    As Smidsy said, a schoolboy error, showing how new you are.

    You should start every post, no matter its subject with something along the lines of .....'I had just done a quick 70 miles, all uphill at an average of 30 mph because I was taking it easy........'

    See? Do you get the idea? :lol:
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    Ok ill change the subject to "so i overtook this car at 40mph" lol :D
  • Jon_1976
    Jon_1976 Posts: 690
    That's more like it :D

    Next important thing, make sure your post count never exceeds the number of miles you've cycled :wink:
  • Gizmodo
    Gizmodo Posts: 1,928
    As the others have said, don't try and push a high gear. I read somewhere, if you go the gym to do weights you can do leg presses with a good weight for 5, maybe 10 minutes - if you go swimming you can swim for hours. The beauty of cycling is you can do a bit of both, lower gear for distance and aerobic workout, higher gear for when you have less time or want to become a sprinter.

    Another critical factor to comfort on a bike is "bike fit". Your saddle height, saddle forward/backward position, reach to the bars and so on are critical to comfortable riding. If your saddle is too low, that can give you knee ache. Search YouTube and this forum for loads of advice on Bike Fit.
    http://youtu.be/FAl_5e7bIHk for example.

    Have you shaved your legs yet? That'll really help as well :wink:
    Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
    Winter - Trek Madone 3.5 2012 with UDi2 upgrade.
    For getting dirty - Moda Canon
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    If your knees are hurting may be your saddle is not set right.

    Steve Hogg is considered the guru of bike fitting...

    Saddle height- http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bik ... can-it-be/

    Saddle setback- http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bik ... oad-bikes/
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • cattytown
    cattytown Posts: 647
    As others have said - you're OK! At this stage it's difficult to tell if any aches are a problem or just using bits you havent used.

    Simple suggestions I'll make are try to spin the pedals a little faster than you would first think, but don't worry about numbers too much.

    Also as a starter, you probably want to list the saddle a little - at the bottom of a pedal stroke knees should be not quite straight. Other than that just get out and get miles on.

    Paul.
    Giant Defy 2
    Large bloke getting smaller :-)
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    Thanks for all the help people :) I'm going out again today, just gonna see how far I can go without killing myself lol
  • fatsmoker
    fatsmoker Posts: 585
    Take a drink with you. And a pump and spare tube. You might find yourself 20 miles form home with a flat and quite thirsty. But don't let that put you off, it rarely happens.
  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    Start out with fairly easy-paced rides. The first week of cycling is not about fitness but just getting used to riding.
    Use your gears to pedal at an easy, comfortable cadence but probably a bit faster than you think. Lower the gears and spin up to about 60 rpm, higher if you can. In normal cycling, you don't press hard on the pedals, you spin circles.
    Check your riding position, saddle height, bar height.
    Make sure you can deal with the common mechanicals (punctures etc)
    Carry a bit of water on longer rides.
    Be aware of the road and how to use it for safety. Bikes are very unforgiving of stupid or naive riding. test out your emergency stops and rearward glances.
    Gloves and helmet offer some protection in a slide and both should be used.
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    Thats great thanks, i'm using The runtastic app on my iphone, so i know how far ive gone and all that lot. how long would you say before i will notice an improvement in how far i can go?
  • cattytown
    cattytown Posts: 647
    Almost immediate, but try not over stretch yourself. Listen to your body.

    P.
    Giant Defy 2
    Large bloke getting smaller :-)
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    Ahh nice one, yeah ill make sure i stop when my body tells me to lol. just gonna see how far i can go at first then slowly get further and further.
  • cattytown
    cattytown Posts: 647
    If you can do routes that give you a few options to bale out, eg a 25 mile route that put you within five miles of home most of the way makes it easier to keep going.

    Paul.
    Giant Defy 2
    Large bloke getting smaller :-)
  • Lammya
    Lammya Posts: 10
    I'll give that a try then thanks. I did a quick ride out today before football training. Was only around 12km but it was 28C so i was sweating buckets lol.
  • fatsmoker
    fatsmoker Posts: 585
    Lammya wrote:
    Was only around 12km but it was 28C so i was sweating buckets lol.

    Tell me about it. Took a scenic route home. Every set of traffic lights i was sweating buckets.

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