Completely new to cycling. Any tips or advice?

Moonbiker

Local "chain gang" rider used ride a carrera vanquish 40 mile loop at average speed of 20 mph.

They are ok bikes & won't hold you back.

voicycle

My journey:
Half-arsed MTBer -> Light MTB Tourer -> Hybrid Commuter -> Road Tourer -> Roadie

I still do all of the above but from R-L in order of enthusiasm instead of L-R. Things from my experience that I think are worth sharing are:

- I bought padded (MTB) shorts nearly 3 years before I bought my first pair of bibs. At first it was about what was available for my interests but later it became about a stigma about being a 'lycra clad MAMIL'. Whilst road touring I concluded that padded shorts were a complete abomination destined only to cause saddle sores and should never be part of my kit list. Then I discovered
* BIB SHORTS
and
* CHAMOIS CREAM (I'm using Bikemonger's Bum Butter)
These two items changed my entire relationship with cycling kit. The fit and comfort of bibs vs waist tights is unbelievable. Add in some halfway decent chamois cream and suddenly your arse can keep up with your legs (especially if like me you had a fair bit of experience on a bike but not much experience spending hours on end in the saddle without changing position). Now I wear bibs on the bike whenever I can get away with them, even on MTB or commuting.

A later revelation was Sudocrem for aftercare, but really the first two items are most important. Buy bibs, not waist shorts. And use chamois cream. At entry level I would say purchase B'Twin 500 level and above or dhb if you can. You'll want to replace either after 1000-2000 miles, but if you spend less the product might put you off the sport (assuming you have as sensitive arse skin as I do).


In terms of bike spend, read reviews. Not customer reviews but professional ones (if available). Even if they don't help you buy the best bike you can, they will tell you the strengths of the bike you buy and that will be as important in influencing how you feel about the bike as buying the 'absolute best' one you can afford would be. Whatever bike you buy you should expect that after a season or so (or 1500 miles, whichever comes first) you'll want to upgrade. At that point you'll know far better what you want than you could possibly hope to know now. So buy something you won't go broke on and be prepared to dump it for something new and shiny if you like this lark. As others have said, if you buy new you'll re-sell for 1/2-1/3 of your purchase price. If you buy used you'll sell for 2/3-ALL of your purchase price depending how savvy you are at the initial purchase.


Don't rush to get on clipless pedals but don't avoid them either. You can have a lot of fun on a bike without them, but as soon as you're doing 15+ miles at a time it's a worthy investment. Also this is an oversimplification but broadly true: NO CYCLIST HAS EVER FALLEN OFF THE BIKE DUE TO CLIPLESS PEDALS WHILST GOING MORE THAN 3MPH. The learning curve is about falling when stopped. At speed your body naturally knows what to do.


In response to some things others have said:

* Yes, buy a great track pump. Not pro-level, but something with an excellent rep. Even if you decide you hate recreational cycling this is a home appliance you can keep for a lifetime and get loads of use from. Everything from kids bouncy balls to wheelbarrows to future commuting bikes to car tyres can be maintained with a good household track pump.

* I'm surprised to see anything about helmets. They all adhere to the same minimum safety standards for certification. Some will be better than others, but none will save you from a catastrophic collision with a car. More expensive ones a) look better and b) either ventilate more or are more aerodynamic, depending on stated design purposes. I did replace a nearly new helmet with the next one up in the same brand's range after about 2 months and a couple hundred miles, but even I would acknowledge that purchase was pure vanity/convenience - the first helmet didn't hold a pair of sunglasses very well and this became annoying for me so I upgraded to one that looked nicer and held my glasses better. One of the least substantive and most vain upgrades I've made, but also one I've no regrets about even 9 months later. It didn't make me a better rider but it made me want to ride the bike more, and that's worth something.

* There was only one brief comment about it, but it was relevant to me - coming from MTB and being averse to lycra I avoided drop bars for far longer than I should have. They are highly superior for anything other than highly technical riding. My sub-10-mile city centre kerb-hopper and traffic-dodger has flat bars but otherwise I wouldn't now consider buying a non-MTB without drops. You might not touch your drops for the first six months, but once you get into using them you'll wonder how you ever coped without.

* I wish I got a bike fit years ago - not a proper high-end one, mind, but the kind where you pay your LBS an extra £50-100 to do setup with you. The high end fit could easily have waited til roundabout now, but it would have been good for someone who knew what they were talking about not just to show me the general guidelines but to show me how 'correct' is meant to feel. I'm now adapted to a rather non-traditional bike fit which is going to take me a long time to shake.

* +1 for buying small rather than big (though my opinion here is probably invalidated by my point above about bike fit). Especially on a cheaper bike I find smaller to be better (within reason) - I can fling the bike around as I see fit rather than just hanging on and trying to pilot it.

* Bad saddle, pedals, or bar tape can all easily put you off riding. Saddle especially. They're also all easily replaced, and perhaps good candidates for some of your first home maintenance lessons. If you find yourself avoiding your new bike then google why, in as much detail as you can. If you can't find an answer that sounds like your situation then come back here and post your 'symptoms' as a question. This forum is very good at diagnosing 'issues'.

cycleclinic

advise is simply dont take any advise beyond this at this stage. Get a bike that a) fits b) some padded shorts if the ride is going to be longer than 10 miles and ride the thing. things will fall into place as you go along.

The main issue is getting into cycling. It something we should all do for transport. The bike should be transport first, sport second. for too many its the other way around. Perhaps start there. commuting by bike is better for you anyway.