New to this

Going by your name I would say that you are obviously a decent bloke

Welcome to the forum.

As Elderone said, number one is bike fitting, see http://youtu.be/FAl_5e7bIHk

Take a look at this thread http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12893646

Whufcrule wrote:

cheers lads as soon as i get it which i cant wait ill get my self set up on it watch the videos and what not yeah we all gotta start some where just the size off the thin wheels are bit daunting do u soon get used to that???

I found my road bike to be very 'twitchy' compared to my hardtail but you soon get used to it. Road bikes are much more comfortable than they look.

Whufcrule wrote:

cheers for the confidence boost charlie i gotta wait 5 to 14 days for delivery which will be torture if its 14 days haha

That's nothing! I have a new Canyon on order which is not due to be built until April.
Now that's torture

tiredofwhiners wrote:

If you're 16 stone, get your tyre pressures right, or you'll be forever getting pinch punctures.

I was that heavy (now 14 stone) but still check my tyre pressure and inflate before every single ride, without exception.

This is useful for getting your tire pressures right http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf

I'm over 18 stone and run both tyres at 120psi. Don't worry about being a big bloke on a road bike, I had same concerns earlier this year when I started but after a few weeks realised it wasn't worth the worry. One thing I would advise is to check the wheels stay true. I had that problem till I upgraded my wheels due to a rta and found the more expensive wheels stay true compared to the wheels that came with my giant.


And why does he need to lose 2 stone? Ok it will help on climbs but if he's fit he will be fine. I'm 18.5 stone and do well both on flat and climbing. It's all about fitness and getting the miles in your legs.

Whufcrule wrote:

Seriously lads what sort off pressures should my tires be if I'm 16 stone 5 I don't wanna run them to low and get punctures shall I just do it to the maximum psi it will allow?? To be on the safe side?? Cheers

According to the info on the weblink that Gizmodo posted a racing bike should have a 60/40 weight distribution back/front tyres. A 16 stone bloke on a 9 kg bike is 110kg give or take so say 65kg on the rear and 45kg front.

According to the chart if you are using 23mm tyres then you should have around 150psi on the rear and around 105psi on the front. A 25mm rear tyre would be 130psi and a 28mm would be 110psi.

Running 120 on the front is fine but if you take it down to 105 then the ride won't be as harsh.
A wider rear tyre would be a safer option but as k3vinjam3s says 120 should be okay.

Sorry for the anorak reply but you did ask
I was even boring myself towards the end :shock:

yes they are on the breaks. move the specific lever to change one way, and the brake lever itself to move the opposite

brakes even...

shud have said my comment was for 'mid' range shimano, as gizmodo points out varies on make and on the lower end shimano you have a specific thumb shifter on the hood like on my orbea.

Whufcrule wrote:

i think my bike coming with shimano ultegra if thats how u spell it haha which dont mean much to me guys im spending just over 2grand on the bike so im hoping its coming with some decent parts on it so how do u change those ones for any one who got those???

As per my previous post, Ultegra is higher end Shimano levers use the brake lever to move to a bigger cog and a smaller paddle behind to move to a smaller cog.

Shimano road bike gears, low to high end:
- 2300 (8 speed), Sora (9speed), Tiagra (10 speed)*, 105 (10 speed), Ultegra (10 speed) and Dura-Ace (11 speed)

Ultegra and Dura-Ace also come in electronic versions called Di2.

[Edit:] * Tiagra added after ChrisOnABike pointed out my omission.

Gizmodo wrote:

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Gizmodo wrote:

Shimano road bike gears, low to high end:
- 2300 (8 speed), Sora (9speed), 105 (10 speed), Ultegra (10 speed) and Dura-Ace (11 speed)

Er, doesn't Tiagra (10 speed) come between Sora and 105?

Sh1t, I knew I'd missed one but I couldn't see it :roll:

No worries. My knowledge extends no further than what is actually fitted to my own bike, so it's quite nice to be able to make an actual technical contribution for once!!