Bought temporary bike for a while. All advice welcome

AndyCouchman

Hi
I've taken on board you guys advice and bought a 'temporary' bike from 'fleabay' to get used to cycling again
It's a Mens Raleigh Racing Bike 12 speed, 700 x 28c new tyres, quick release wheels, 23.5" frame, shimano gears & brakes. Has a few marks & scratches as you would expect with a secondhand bike but all in full working order.
It only cost me £60 and I'm picking up tomorrow.
I'm coming back to cycling after a 35 year lay off (I'm 55 going on 15, five foot 11 tall, and weigh 105kg. One reason is to get fitter and another is I'd like to eventually try road racing. I also play a lot of competitive table tennis so although overweight, my aerobic capacity isn't bad.
I know this isn't probably the bike for racing but it will be a start.
All advice in any area gratefully received
Regards
Andy

imposter2.0

Good luck with the bike. The only advice I would offer is to be aware that your aerobic fitness for table tennis will probably not translate too well to cycling. But either way, the more you ride, the better you will get...

singleton

Ride it lots, and try to work out what you like and don't like about riding it.
That will help you to get the replacement close to your needs and wants.

keef66

Well I returned to road cycling aged 50 after a 25 year absence. It's bloody hard work at first, so be prepared for that and don't let it put you off. It does get easier, or at the very least you'll be going faster / further.

The things I wish I'd known from the outset are that it's a lot easier to lose weight by modifying diet than it is by increasing exercise, and losing excess weight is the quickest and most effective way to improve performance on a bike.

I was riding reasonable distances at a moderate pace for 7 years and still managed to put on a stone. Thought it was just an inevitable part of late middle age until I tried the 5:2 diet. Lost 18 pounds in 4 months, and actually look pretty good in lycra now

That's the equivalent of 8 bags of sugar I was having to lug up every hill. So much easier now. Very close to 60 years old now, and if anything ride more than I used to - more time; kids self-sufficient, more disposable income too, which cycling is good at using up.

Things I couldn't do without:

Decent padded bibshorts.

Originally had shorts with a waistband, but that would dig in and once you've tried bibs I doubt you'll go back

Proper cycling tops with rear pockets

Clipless pedals and cycling specific shoes.

You'll probably want to start with plain flat pedals, and they are fine. As a teenager in the 70s I cycled thousands of miles in normal shoes or trainers, on flat pedals with toeclips. Nowadays I have SPD pedals and touring shoes with stiff soles. Bit scary at first, but being attached to the pedals is so much better in ways I can't really explain.

And carry with you a spare inner tube or two, tyre levers, pump and some patches just in case. Some stick this stuff in their jersey pockets, others, like me, have it in a small saddle pack so it's always on the bike.
And if you've not done it in a while, try swapping a tube at home in daylight. Some combinations of tyre and rim can be a bit tight and it's best to know you can manage it before you have to do it for real miles from home.

AndyCouchman

keef66 wrote:

Well I returned to road cycling aged 50 after a 25 year absence. It's bloody hard work at first, so be prepared for that and don't let it put you off. It does get easier, or at the very least you'll be going faster / further.

The things I wish I'd known from the outset are that it's a lot easier to lose weight by modifying diet than it is by increasing exercise, and losing excess weight is the quickest and most effective way to improve performance on a bike.

I was riding reasonable distances at a moderate pace for 7 years and still managed to put on a stone. Thought it was just an inevitable part of late middle age until I tried the 5:2 diet. Lost 18 pounds in 4 months, and actually look pretty good in lycra now

That's the equivalent of 8 bags of sugar I was having to lug up every hill. So much easier now. Very close to 60 years old now, and if anything ride more than I used to - more time; kids self-sufficient, more disposable income too, which cycling is good at using up.

Things I couldn't do without:

Decent padded bibshorts.

Originally had shorts with a waistband, but that would dig in and once you've tried bibs I doubt you'll go back

Proper cycling tops with rear pockets

Clipless pedals and cycling specific shoes.

You'll probably want to start with plain flat pedals, and they are fine. As a teenager in the 70s I cycled thousands of miles in normal shoes or trainers, on flat pedals with toeclips. Nowadays I have SPD pedals and touring shoes with stiff soles. Bit scary at first, but being attached to the pedals is so much better in ways I can't really explain.

And carry with you a spare inner tube or two, tyre levers, pump and some patches just in case. Some stick this stuff in their jersey pockets, others, like me, have it in a small saddle pack so it's always on the bike.
And if you've not done it in a while, try swapping a tube at home in daylight. Some combinations of tyre and rim can be a bit tight and it's best to know you can manage it before you have to do it for real miles from home.

Thanks
That's really helpful. You answered some of the questions in my head.
Are you a member of a club? Do you race ?

Bobbinogs

Good advice above. I think my advice about racing would be that, after a 35 year lay off and a weight north of 100kg, I would forget about racing for now. Get back in the saddle and learn the craft again, perhaps do a 10 mile TT at the end of this season as a useful marker for next year...work through the winter and see how it goes next spring.

Club riding is good (use the BC or CTC pages as both have a club finder tool) but I also find it a tad restricting so prefer to balance the odd club ride with just getting out and riding my bike where I want, when I want and at the speed I want.

keef66

AndyCouchman wrote:

Thanks
That's really helpful. You answered some of the questions in my head.
Are you a member of a club? Do you race ?

You're welcome, no and no, in that order.

I'm an antisocial kind of cyclist; I like being able to go when / where I like at whatever pace I fancy and for as long as I want. Plus the local club kit really wouldn't suit my complexion. Done a few sportives now and won't be doing any more. Thought it would be good riding round with a bunch of like minded cyclists, but seemed to spend all the time being overtaken by @rseholes who think it's a race, but have the bike handling skills of toddlers.

Never been in the remotest bit inclined to race either, mostly because I don't seem to be able to go very fast, which would seem to be a prerequisite.

Sounds like you are interested in racing, so I think finding a suitable club would be the best bet. At least you'll get a feel for the amount of improvement required to compete.

DeVlaeminck

If you want to road race check out LVRC which is age specific - you'll be a D as they work on 5 year age bands (though usually race with two age bands together) from the age of 40. They allow you to race up an age if you can't keep up with your own race - if you need to take advantage of that do so there are some very fast 50-59 year olds.

You will probably want a better bike to road race on but what you've got is enough to get you fit for now. I'd look at 2017 for racing as the standard is high - even that timescale will need some commitment if you are coming from 30 years off the bike and with weight to lose.

For racing you need the fitness but you also need the skills - mostly riding in close proximity to others without causing a crash but also saving energy by holding a wheel, cornering smoothly etc. Initially it's fine to go out on your own for fitness but I'd be looking at joining a club - find one that suits so don't feel you need to join the first one you contact. Ideally a club with a decent representation in veterans racing but also one that is welcoming with a range of training rides or at least people who can introduce you to the local cycling scene. If you say what area you are in someone can probably recommend one.

AndyCouchman

DeVlaeminck wrote:

If you want to road race check out LVRC which is age specific - you'll be a D as they work on 5 year age bands (though usually race with two age bands together) from the age of 40. They allow you to race up an age if you can't keep up with your own race - if you need to take advantage of that do so there are some very fast 50-59 year olds.

You will probably want a better bike to road race on but what you've got is enough to get you fit for now. I'd look at 2017 for racing as the standard is high - even that timescale will need some commitment if you are coming from 30 years off the bike and with weight to lose.

For racing you need the fitness but you also need the skills - mostly riding in close proximity to others without causing a crash but also saving energy by holding a wheel, cornering smoothly etc. Initially it's fine to go out on your own for fitness but I'd be looking at joining a club - find one that suits so don't feel you need to join the first one you contact. Ideally a club with a decent representation in veterans racing but also one that is welcoming with a range of training rides or at least people who can introduce you to the local cycling scene. If you say what area you are in someone can probably recommend one.

Yes, I'm planning on using the rest of 2016 into 2017 for training / fitness and starting racing next year