Things I've learnt in a year
Schleck's Chain
Posts: 31
About a year ago, I took the plunge and bought myself a road bike. I hadn't owned one before and had a lot to learn. I thought it might be useful to share some of the things I wish I'd known at the beginning. Apologies if some of this is a bit obvious to many:
- Buy cheap, buy twice...
...but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I didn't know if I would enjoy road cycling so avoided spending a lot of money on my first bike and then feeling guilty when it rusted in the shed. I bought a £200 Viking Giro D'Italia. It was a serviceable bike but, by the end of the summer, I wanted to up-grade and saved for a Trek 1.2 in the end of season sale. Part of me wishes I'd bought the Trek from the start but i) I didn't know I'd enjoy cycling quite so much and ii) I now have a handy winter bike to avoid the Trek getting rusted up from road salt. Clothes are a different matter though - the less said about the Halfords jersey I bought the better.
- Think about gearing
The Viking had standard gearing. This really hurt on the hills but probably helped build strength quickly! It made anything over 15% very tough. For my Trek, I went for a triple to give more range. This helped a lot but you still need to push yourself by not always dropping into the lower gears for ease.
- Get informed help with your bike set-up
I bought my bike online. I put it together but hadn't got some of it set-up right. When I got a puncture early on, the chap in the local branch of Halfords was really helpful. He adjusted the height of my saddle, fixed all the errors I'd made in setting the bike up; it made a huge difference. If I bought my first bike again, I would get it from a store to get all this help from the start.
- Don't worry about initial pain
My first few rides I had a few aches and pains (back, backside...). All of these faded away as my body got used to cycling so don't panic. Obviously seek help if they persist!
- Get Strava
I love Strava (plus Veloviewer). I find it really motivates me. I know I'm never going to get any KoM's but watching my times improve and having PBs to aim for has been fantastic.
- Love hills
I quickly found that I loved the challenge of climbing hills. To begin with, it was embarrassing - I'd be having to stop halfway up a big climb and suck oxygen. However, persevering quickly led to improvements in my fitness and it was an amazing feeling to make it to the top of a Cat 3 without stopping for the first time.
- Clip in
After some hesitation, I summoned up my courage and bought some Shimano SPDs. They make a huge difference; far more comfortable and help you generate more power. I would class them as essential. Equally essential is nervously practising unclipping before you go out for the first time.
- Vary rides
Some rides, I go for as many hills as I can find, some distance, others a time trial loop I've identified nearby. It keeps things different and probably helps a lot in developing different areas of fitness.
- Eat and drink
A bit obvious but take on liquids. I've not embraced all that cycling nutrition can offer but have dabbled in hydration tabs. For food, I've opted for NutriGrain breakfast bars and fruit bars - no gels yet...
Hope that is vaguely helpful.
- Buy cheap, buy twice...
...but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I didn't know if I would enjoy road cycling so avoided spending a lot of money on my first bike and then feeling guilty when it rusted in the shed. I bought a £200 Viking Giro D'Italia. It was a serviceable bike but, by the end of the summer, I wanted to up-grade and saved for a Trek 1.2 in the end of season sale. Part of me wishes I'd bought the Trek from the start but i) I didn't know I'd enjoy cycling quite so much and ii) I now have a handy winter bike to avoid the Trek getting rusted up from road salt. Clothes are a different matter though - the less said about the Halfords jersey I bought the better.
- Think about gearing
The Viking had standard gearing. This really hurt on the hills but probably helped build strength quickly! It made anything over 15% very tough. For my Trek, I went for a triple to give more range. This helped a lot but you still need to push yourself by not always dropping into the lower gears for ease.
- Get informed help with your bike set-up
I bought my bike online. I put it together but hadn't got some of it set-up right. When I got a puncture early on, the chap in the local branch of Halfords was really helpful. He adjusted the height of my saddle, fixed all the errors I'd made in setting the bike up; it made a huge difference. If I bought my first bike again, I would get it from a store to get all this help from the start.
- Don't worry about initial pain
My first few rides I had a few aches and pains (back, backside...). All of these faded away as my body got used to cycling so don't panic. Obviously seek help if they persist!
- Get Strava
I love Strava (plus Veloviewer). I find it really motivates me. I know I'm never going to get any KoM's but watching my times improve and having PBs to aim for has been fantastic.
- Love hills
I quickly found that I loved the challenge of climbing hills. To begin with, it was embarrassing - I'd be having to stop halfway up a big climb and suck oxygen. However, persevering quickly led to improvements in my fitness and it was an amazing feeling to make it to the top of a Cat 3 without stopping for the first time.
- Clip in
After some hesitation, I summoned up my courage and bought some Shimano SPDs. They make a huge difference; far more comfortable and help you generate more power. I would class them as essential. Equally essential is nervously practising unclipping before you go out for the first time.
- Vary rides
Some rides, I go for as many hills as I can find, some distance, others a time trial loop I've identified nearby. It keeps things different and probably helps a lot in developing different areas of fitness.
- Eat and drink
A bit obvious but take on liquids. I've not embraced all that cycling nutrition can offer but have dabbled in hydration tabs. For food, I've opted for NutriGrain breakfast bars and fruit bars - no gels yet...
Hope that is vaguely helpful.
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Comments
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Thanks for posting. I find Strava fun but it can put pressure on every ride if you're not careful. My last ride I tried as an experiment to not look down at the Garmin once and really enjoyed it for a change.0
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+1 on avoiding cheap clothing. Was given a Sports Direct Muddy Fox jersey as a present last year and it utterly vindicates the ridiculous amount I'd spent on quality gear. I tried it out and with a phone, tube, levers and pump in the pockets, the back of the jersey hung below my saddle.
You don't need Assos or Castelli but go for a good brand name!0 -
Thanks for posting SC, I'm 11 1/2 months behind you. Also thanks mousorgan - I'd been wondering whether that cheapo muddy fox kit could be any good.0
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To be honest i dont find the muddyfox tops that bad even with stuff in the back pockets!!
If your lbs sold them then i dont think ppl would think twice about buying them tbh0 -
Never say never about a KOM,
I've been riding on the road for less than a year and using Strava since day 1. I used to look at KOMs and wonder how people could ride segments that fast.
Last week I got my first KOM, a 0.6 mile bit of road that leads back to my house on one of my circular routes. I'd only been out for 23 miles so felt good. Knowing it was there, I went for it - properly went for it. Head down bum up and cycled like a demon.
With an average speed of 27.8 I'm now 1st out of 146 riders.
I know people mock Strava but getting that KOM felt great. For someone who still considers themselves a noob on an entry level bike it does wonders for your confidence.0 -
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I'm about 9 months into my road bike 'career' and I agree with most of your points (the ones I don't agree with are only because I haven't done them...). Clipping in should have been top of your list - when I picked my bike up from my LBS the guy in the shop said "we'll see no doubt see you in a few weeks for some clipless pedals" I looked at him, laughed and said, "I don't think that's going to happen!". Couldn't have been more nervous about using them, but did give them a go and now don't think I could ride without them, definitely the best decision I made.
I have some MuddyFox padded shorts and honestly can't complain about them, price was really good and they've been fine for me, not tried the tops though. Hills totally agree, started off thinking "why am I doing this on everything more than a 'bit of a bump' but now plan my rides around tackling a new climb!
Food and drink I think is largely a personal thing. I'm not interested in tabs and gels, but do take food and drink with me on longer rides but I did 54miles with 4500ft of climbing last weekend following a bowl of bran flakes and two slices of jam on toast and just some water and half a fun-size snickers on the way around and I was fine. I'm sure many people do need to eat and drink often but I don't find I need to."I look pretty young, but I'm just back-dated"0 -
In terms of clothing, I've been pretty happy with the Altura bib shorts and long-sleeved top I picked up. And I swear by a Helly Hansen baselayer when it is cold. I'm sure I can up-grade to better but they feel comfortable for now (and have enough pockets).
I only tend to eat if I'm going for more than two hours. Then I have a NutriGrain bar every hour or so. You are right in that everyone is different. I could be over-eating but since I haven't had "a hunger bonk" yet, I'm happy to play it safe.0 -
Grate user name, welcome to the forum.I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles0
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Hi
Well I only got my road bike two weeks ago today and I'm loving it. I had been using my MTB and ended up putting road tyres on it and clip less very recently.
So glad I made jump to road bike. I had my first embarrassing stationary falling over incident on Monday....
My front wheel lost the nipple into the wheel so I had that fixed but wheel was pinging. Worked out spoke too tight so loosened, fixed that problem but put wheel out of true. After some help from YouTube I fixed that too....
Whilst testing wheel for pinging outside my house I tried to unclip, couldn't and fell over on grass verge in a heap. Felt really embarrassed and did what everyone probably does, jumped up... looked around to see if anyone had seen me... Think I got away with it. Quite funny really. Could have been more public - like at a traffic light. There's still time for that!
Great points in original post.
Andy0 -
Just another 'pro' for clipping-in... chain broke on my MTB last night whilst climbing a hill, second time its happened, first time I was still using flat platform pedals and when the chain went, I was treated to three or four nice deep scratches up the back of my calf as my foot flew off the pedal. Chain snapped last night whilst clipped in and it was quite the 'non-event'... no blood lost! Although the footwear did make the walk home slightly slower..."I look pretty young, but I'm just back-dated"0
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I'd add join a club to that list. Great way to meet new people of all cycling abilities, you'll push yourself harder than you thought you could yet it never feels quite as painful as going hard on your own. I've only done a few rides this year on my own, riding with other people is much more fun and keeps me motivated, although that may be the thought of having cake halfway round...
+1 to whoever said about buying a hybrid before a road bike. Still use mine when I cycle to work and I'm happy I have it for that, but I do sometimes think I should have bought a cheaper hybrid.0
