Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
ShiWarrior said:
well, let me say this, as people are suggesting cleats etc

if you have a road bike and is going to use it just on road, I don't know if your commuting or not but do not get mountain bike pedals, they are mountain bike pedals for a reason, if you get SPD-SL shoes and cleats and pedals, they are a lot "wider" so you can get more leverage and power transfer down otherwise your wasting a bit of energy as less is in contact
Click to expand...

I hear you.

However, I think I might get the MTB ones. Only because, I am just starting out and am worried a bit about this issue, so I am at least going to start out with the ones that offer me the most flexibility, even if I am compromising on power. Then, once I've got used to the whole thing, I can decide if I want to switch to Road bike shoes and pedals. Its perhaps additional expense, but it is perhaps the safer option for me, until I know learn more about my cycling abilities (or lack thereof!).

What do you reckon?
 
Last edited:
I was nervous too

I bought my bike about 8 months ago
it had plastic pedals on

road it about a month then I put SPD-SL pedals on, and off I went, no previous experience at all
I just practiced in my garden first, then I went out on the road on my street, then the next day I went round my village, still practicing how to clip in etc, and that was it

as long as you unclip well before the junctions etc, you will be fine
 
Shoes for use with SPD pedals are more convenient for walking around in due to a recessed cleat which is why they are good for commuting IMO.

I would also say any wasted energy from not using road pedals (if there is any) is negligible and not even worth thinking about!
 
ShiWarrior said:
as long as you unclip well before the junctions etc, you will be fine
Click to expand...

Just learn how to balance and you won't need to unclip :D

Don't ever worry about spds etc, you'll have a few slow falls at first, but once you're on them for a few weeks that will all go away and they become second nature, the advantage of coming from MTB is you can balance and unclip anytime at super speed! :D
 
Its not that that I'm worried about, its my stupid wonky paddle feet! I'm unsure if the angle would be great enough. Every time I use the cycling machines at the gym they force your feet to be square with you bike and my feet end up killing afterwards because it really isn't natural for them. This is what I fear with road bikes, despite the adjustment, but I figured MTB pedals, cleats and shoes would offer me a bigger angle.
 
GAC said:
well had a little explore on what i thought was going to be semi rough tracks. oooooh how wrong i was, must have walked 3 km's due to the state of the so called road a couple of parts towards the end the road had been totally washed away not rideable what so ever.

wont be doing this again unless they sort the track out.

http://app.strava.com/activities/72621025
Click to expand...

They better not sort it out as it makes for good mountain biking and links in well with Lee and Cragg quarries. I'd certainly not ride it on a road bike and a cross bike wouldn't be much fun. It's just a traditional drovers road though and hasn't got any worse in the 20 years I've been going up there, in fact certain bits seemed much better than I remembered.
 
Gribs said:
They better not sort it out as it makes for good mountain biking and links in well with Lee and Cragg quarries. I'd certainly not ride it on a road bike and a cross bike wouldn't be much fun. It's just a traditional drovers road though and hasn't got any worse in the 20 years I've been going up there, in fact certain bits seemed much better than I remembered.
Click to expand...

well i was on a non suspension mountain bike (yes its old) and i was shocked at some parts of it.

on a full suspension bike its probably a lot easier than i found it.
 
physichull said:
Ok, so I am looking on Wiggle for some clip in pedals for my first road bike and am getting a bit (a lot) lost. There are some on there for £135 and some for £22, what makes the expensive ones quite so good?!?

Anyone got any thoughts on the following stuff too:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-hexus-ii-16-function-multi-tool/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-velocissimo-due-bibshort/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-free-short-sleeve-jersey/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-aero-wedge-buckle-medium-saddle-bag/

Any help would be greatly appreciated for a newbie.
Click to expand...

Got the Free Aero kit top and bibs, i find the bibs slightly more comfy than the normal Free Aero bibs, the material is a bit different;

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-free-aero-race-bib-short-kit-edition/
 
ShiWarrior said:
well, let me say this, as people are suggesting cleats etc

if you have a road bike and is going to use it just on road, I don't know if your commuting or not but do not get mountain bike pedals, they are mountain bike pedals for a reason, if you get SPD-SL shoes and cleats and pedals, they are a lot "wider" so you can get more leverage and power transfer down otherwise your wasting a bit of energy as less is in contact
Click to expand...

Energy loss will be minimal, and theoretically nil. I'd be more worried about the issue of pressure on your foot, as - theoretically - a bigger area of contact means less soreness on your foot. However, I've ridden a hundred miler on spds and had no issues on that front.
 
arknor said:
I don't see how a wider pedal makes any difference either..

your still pushing down with the same force just if your pro you can go crazy and not worry about your foot slipping from the pedal when your hitting 130 cadence
It's like hitting a nail and then hitting a same diameter nail but with a bigger head to hit.

it still goes in with the same force but there's less margin for whacking your thumb it's not like there's extra leverage
Click to expand...

The bigger contact area does give a more efficient connection to the pedal. I can't remember the reasons, there is an article online somewhere that explains it if you want to Google it. I think it was something to do with being able to use less supporting muscles to keep the shoe in the right place over the pedal which lets you use more power for actually pushing on the pedal.
It's irrelevant in this situation anyway, comfort is much more important than power for commuting. (And I doubt any of us could actually tell the difference in power between the different types of pedal anyway)
 
I use Look Keos on some bikes and Crank Bros Candys on others. Given that I wear Giro Trans and Giro Gauges, which are basically the same shoe with a different drilling pattern I can't tell the difference at all.
 
You don't need cycle signs to be allowed to cycle on the road. In fact, if there are no signs anywhere then it's illegal to be cycling on the pavement.
 
uniQ said:
Yeah they have some really interesting articles :)

Which sort of brings me to my current first world problem. Got my timer and accommodation booked for the Fred Whitton four seasons challenge and can't decide between taking C24's or C50's?

At first the C24's look like the obvious choice but the C50's are only around 350g heavier and complete bike is still under 7kg w/ the aero wheels on.

:confused:
Click to expand...

I tell you what, lend me your C50s (not that they're any lighter than my Pro Lites) and I'll do it on those and we can compare times.
 
physichull said:
Its not that that I'm worried about, its my stupid wonky paddle feet! I'm unsure if the angle would be great enough. Every time I use the cycling machines at the gym they force your feet to be square with you bike and my feet end up killing afterwards because it really isn't natural for them. This is what I fear with road bikes, despite the adjustment, but I figured MTB pedals, cleats and shoes would offer me a bigger angle.
Click to expand...

I have had a host of knee issues in the past, but Look Keo cleats seemed to solve it. They can have a massive float if you want, and the pedal platform is the size of Canada allowing for a massive stamp down of power.

Also the bigger the contact platform, the less pressure on a particular area of your foot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom