Complete road bike beginner
dankay123
Posts: 31
Hi all
Got my new bike yesterday. (Carrera gryphon) I bought this as I want to get fit and then purchase a road bike. I am an overweight smoker and time has come to do something about it. I went out this evening for half hour and managed 5 mile in 24 mins. Averaged 11.2 mph. Room for improvement and will hopefully get better. Any advice welcome. Would I be best to carry on completing the 5 mile trip and shaving time off whilst building a base to work with?
Also, on my bike I have 700c x 28 kenda k west tyres. If I changed to slicks, would I feel the advantage. I have been looking at gator skins
Got my new bike yesterday. (Carrera gryphon) I bought this as I want to get fit and then purchase a road bike. I am an overweight smoker and time has come to do something about it. I went out this evening for half hour and managed 5 mile in 24 mins. Averaged 11.2 mph. Room for improvement and will hopefully get better. Any advice welcome. Would I be best to carry on completing the 5 mile trip and shaving time off whilst building a base to work with?
Also, on my bike I have 700c x 28 kenda k west tyres. If I changed to slicks, would I feel the advantage. I have been looking at gator skins
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Comments
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Pack in the fags. Cut out processed food. Exercise helps but diet is crucial to weight loss.
Gradually increase distances as you feel able to, don't worry about average speeds. You will eventually see big increases in the distance you can ride and the weight will start to come off. Your speeds will increase automatically.
Well done, enjoy riding your new bike.0 -
Measure everything (including number of smokes and calories) but ride for enjoyment would be my advice. The improvements will come naturally.0
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Seriously, forget about time. Just go out and enjoy it, as much as you can. It'll take a little while (depending on your condition and the training you do, obviously) to build basic fitness.
Try to get your pedalling speed (cadence) up, and consistent - find a gear that you can twiddle on comfortably, and then aim to sustain that for the whole of your ride. Once you're comfortable with that, you can try holding 16mph, 18mph, 20mph, etc. This will do your aerobic fitness good, and is gentler on your joints than grinding away.0 -
I am working on diet. Fags are a tough one as I smoked for 20 years. I am gonna try tho. Any advice on tyres0
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dankay123 wrote:I am working on diet. Fags are a tough one as I smoked for 20 years. I am gonna try tho. Any advice on tyres
What do you have now, and what's the bike? Everyone has their favourites, but Gatorskins are my recommendation, particularly for 28mm+ - cheap, very durable and puncture resistant, and great mileage.0 -
I would advise finding a local club that caters for beginners such as yourself. You'll find it provides extra motivation, tremendous amounts of support as you learn all aspects of the sport, and that through riding as part of a group you'll travel further more easily as you build up your base fitness. I suspect you'll probably be turned off the cigarettes when you realise quite what an impact it has on your cardiovascular fitness!0
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Simon Masterson wrote:dankay123 wrote:I am working on diet. Fags are a tough one as I smoked for 20 years. I am gonna try tho. Any advice on tyres
What do you have now, and what's the bike? Everyone has their favourites, but Gatorskins are my recommendation, particularly for 28mm+ - cheap, very durable and puncture resistant, and great mileage.
Bike is a carrera gryphon and it has kenda k west hybrid tyres on it. I chose the bike as a means to get fit this year and buy a road bike next year.0 -
definitely pack in the fags, i've been off them a year now, (ok I am cheating on electric vapour) but I had a lung capacity test at work a few months back,
the nurse told me not to build my hopes up as it was seven years since I had my last and I am pushing 50 now. (cheeky bint, am 47
)
anyway she was shocked and declared a massive improvement
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dankay123 wrote:Also, on my bike I have 700c x 28 kenda k west tyres. If I changed to slicks, would I feel the advantage. I have been looking at gator skins
If I'm being honest you should have just got the road bike in the first place if you are already thinking of changing tyres to make things easier. I have rode a mountain bike on the road before and it's like riding through treacle. But then again, the extra rolling resistance with bigger tyres would surely mean you will get fitter quicker. Just don't expect to start jumping up the Strava rankings Ribble Ultralite Racing 7005, Campagnolo Veloce groupset, Campagnolo Khamsin G3 wheel set0 -
28mm is perfectly fine (good, actually) for road cycling, and Gatorskins are a good choice. Out of all of the things that slow you down, wider tyres are not prominent; not only can the rolling resistance be lower, but improved traction and comfort can make a huge difference for many riders.0
