Conversion from Mountain to Road bike

abdul12

Hi I am new in this forum but certainly a new cyclist to a road bike. I have always ridden mountain bikes in the past.

I am getting new bike assembled tommorrow carrera zeros limited edition (I think) and I want to know the following:


a) if can cycle in normal shoes?

b) if £200 makes carrera more of a liability_theft (e.g. in cycling to work) if you park it somewhere in public than a sliverfox (70£)?

c) I should replace pedals with mountain bike if I won't be able to cycle in normal boots?

d) I can remove the straps on the pedal? (just used to normal pedal I suppose)

e) I know mountain bikes have more grip for rain so what advice would you suggest to avoid getting slipped in rain on a road bike?

Thanks thats all for now.

mangetout_rodney

abdul12 wrote:

Hi I am new in this forum but certainly a new cyclist to a road bike. I have always ridden mountain bikes in the past.

I am getting new bike assembled tommorrow carrera zeros limited edition (I think) and I want to know the following:


a) if can cycle in normal shoes?

b) if £200 makes carrera more of a liability_theft (e.g. in cycling to work) if you park it somewhere in public than a sliverfox (70£)?

c) I should replace pedals with mountain bike if I won't be able to cycle in normal boots?

d) I can remove the straps on the pedal? (just used to normal pedal I suppose)

e) I know mountain bikes have more grip for rain so what advice would you suggest to avoid getting slipped in rain on a road bike?

Thanks thats all for now.

I've moved from MTB to a road bike very recently.

a) depends on what pedal you put on- a clip less pedal cannot be ridden with normal shoes. If you put a flat pedal on then yes you can ride in normal shoes.

b) Not entirely sure what you mean here- but if you are asking is a £200 bike more worthy of stealing than a £70 bike then, sort of.
Bike thieves can be either casual or determined.
The casual their goes for the low hanging fruit, usually- something either not locked- or badly locked with a crap lock that can be easily broken.
The more determined thief will probably go for something worth a lot more than £200- but it depends on what other bikes are there to be stolen, how secure they are and how secure and/or desirable your bike is.
You can make your bike either undesirable OR difficult to take (by using good locks and more than one, used properly) or both.
If a determined thief wants your bike then they will probably get it, eventually.
This is why insurance exists- although for a £200 bike then it probably isn't worth it.

c) up to you- you could just ride it with the pedals it comes with until you get used to the new geometry and then make the decision later. Otherwise clip less pedals + shoes cost a bit extra (to a lot extra) and you then need to get used to them.

d) yes, I am using flat pedals at the moment until I get used to my road bike- I took off the straps but still have the toe cage on it. In a week or two I'll move to a clip less pedal and then try to find a way to not forget this and fall over in the street. (Apparently it is a rite of passage)

e) if you are going to ride in the rain then you could consider a bike with disc brakes.
I didn't, for lots of reasons.
Being observant of the road, braking early, keeping your eye on everything all at once and having eyes in the back of your head (euphemistically of course) helps.
I ride a motorcycle so this sort of thing is second nature to me now- observation on the road is everything when it comes to safety.

simon_masterson

You can take off your clips and straps if you want to (I can't recommend using clips without straps), but they do what clipless do - they secure your feet. If you loosen the strap all the way, you get most of the benefits with very easy foot removal; this is also great practice for using clipless.

Initialised

a) Fit flat pedals and you can ride in normal shoes.
b) Theft is opportunistic or targeted, it is unlikely that a £200 bike would be targeted. Lock it up with a couple of decent locks, next to a more expensive bike and opportunists will pass it by.
c) Yes, all cranks and pedals take the same standard.
d) Yes, but you'd be better replacing them with pedals you're used to.
e) The following tyres have good wet grip: Schwalbe Durano & Ultremo Aqua, Specialized Espoir, Vredestein Duo/Tri comp. Road tyres actually have better wet grip on tarmac than knobbly mountain bike tyres.