Road Cycling Essentials

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ok guys (regular poster on the MTB thread)

I am borrowing my friends road bike (felt thingymabob) to test road riding into work tomorrow. If I like this the idea is that I will get myself a cheap road bike set up to get to work and back on 2-3 days a week.

As for the fit of bike he is the same height as me, and I have given this bike a quick few miles blast a few weeks back and the fit was almost perfect.

My ride to work is about 10 miles each way and from a fitness level this will be easy for me, however the one thing I AM worried about is using clip in shoes for the first time, and seeing as the weather is turning to icey conditions I am after any tips you can give me to stop me from binning it into a hedge :D

I am due to set off at 6am and will be all "light up" with my helmet for safety. All my clothes and gear are already at work to chance into and we have showers etc so thats not an issue.

All I will have to carry with me is my small backpack with some patches and levers etc in case I get a flat.

Is there anything that I might be overlooking for my first ride to work that you seasoned pros might be able to advise on?
 
In this weather, take some emergency clothing in case you do need to stop to repair a flat. A hat or a jumper. You'll be surprised how quickly your temperature plummets.

I prefer to carry a tube rather than a puncture repair outfit. If it's wet it can be hellish trying to affix a patch to a wet tube. You can then patch the hole at your leisure, in the warm, when you get home.

Obvious precautions when it's icy: test the grip by pulling the back brake; try to stay a bit further into the road than normal so you're away from anything frozen near the gutter; keep your lights on; expect drivers to be driving faster and closer than normal (don't ask me why, but whenever the weather worsens so does the quality of driving); wear nice thick gloves to keep your fingers warm.

I do 10 miles each way and when it comes to buying your bike my advice would be make sure it's comfortable. Just my opinion, but on that distance every day the stiffest, fastest, lightest bike you can afford will be a pain to ride. The harshness of the ride will soon start to grate and you'll start wishing you had clearance for mudguards and fatter tyres. I've just swapped from 23mm 'race' tyres to 25mm ones with added puncture resistance and the difference in ride quality is night and day. The 25mm tyres simply soak up the bumps a lot more effectively and I've not lost any noticeable speed or grip. I'm actually craving my 27 x 1-1/4" wheelset off my old bike because it was such a smooth ride.
 
Jonny69 said:
In this weather, take some emergency clothing in case you do need to stop to repair a flat. A hat or a jumper. You'll be surprised how quickly your temperature plummets.

I prefer to carry a tube rather than a puncture repair outfit. If it's wet it can be hellish trying to affix a patch to a wet tube. You can then patch the hole at your leisure, in the warm, when you get home.

Obvious precautions when it's icy: test the grip by pulling the back brake; try to stay a bit further into the road than normal so you're away from anything frozen near the gutter; keep your lights on; expect drivers to be driving faster and closer than normal (don't ask me why, but whenever the weather worsens so does the quality of driving); wear nice thick gloves to keep your fingers warm.

I do 10 miles each way and when it comes to buying your bike my advice would be make sure it's comfortable. Just my opinion, but on that distance every day the stiffest, fastest, lightest bike you can afford will be a pain to ride. The harshness of the ride will soon start to grate and you'll start wishing you had clearance for mudguards and fatter tyres. I've just swapped from 23mm 'race' tyres to 25mm ones with added puncture resistance and the difference in ride quality is night and day. The 25mm tyres simply soak up the bumps a lot more effectively and I've not lost any noticeable speed or grip. I'm actually craving my 27 x 1-1/4" wheelset off my old bike because it was such a smooth ride.
Click to expand...

Brilliant mate cheers for that!

when it comes to actually buying a roadie (if that dark time ever comes ... The MTB lot will never let me hear the end of it) I will be back for more advice!

Wish me luck for tomorrow morning though! Its going to be .... "interesting"
 
Musty Pie said:
when it comes to actually buying a roadie (if that dark time ever comes ... The MTB lot will never let me hear the end of it) I will be back for more advice!
Click to expand...

You're not a true MTBer anyway. You just told us 10miles wont be a struggle for you in terms of fitness.
You need to stop to catch your breath every 2-3 miles if you want to fit in with the MTBers :p
 
its a good job central londons ice disappears before i go out in the morning, i cant afford the tube after dropping so much on my bike 8-)
 
I don't think gf going to like me when I start spending more time with cycling mates than her doing this 500k challenge :-P

On your first cycle on road bike with clip ins. Couple of things ;

Clip ins are great, but you need to think ahead, as you come near traffic lights watch them carefully and make sure your road position is good.

Getting caught on a amber light off guard, then falling off as you struggle to unclip isn't cool;-)

Make sure you have pump and spare tube ofc, also just watch out for roundabouts as some motorists will risk pulling out so test your braking before you get to junctions ect

Lastly enjoy the speed, and thrill of lycra and people wanting to slap your arse when you get to work:-D
 
Jonny69 said:
This is fast becoming a can of worms. I've changed a couple of cup and ball bottom brackets to the newer cartridge style and they've all been symmetrical. I'm wondering if I've just been damn lucky up to now.
Click to expand...

While fiddling round at my local bike recycling charity this evening I accidentally put an asymmetrical axle in backwards. That didnt work.
 
rogan said:
its a good job central londons ice disappears before i go out in the morning, i cant afford the tube after dropping so much on my bike 8-)
Click to expand...

hehe thats the good thing in winter! heavy traffic! :) but my tyres got covered in "ice" when cycling through park this morning..
 
Ok so I made it!

thanks for all of the advice guys. The clip ins where interesting but after my first ride I can feel myself already getting used to them.

I didnt "Push" it today as I was concerned about the ice but did my ten miles in 38 mins which for plodding first timer pace is not too bad.

The ride home will be more interesting as the traffic will be a million times worse than when I rode in at 6 ....
 
Wind direction tends to have a bigger impact than traffic on journey times. My 19 miles out of London in an evening (about 40% in London traffic) only varies by a few minutes if the traffic is bad.
 
Fact.

532514_10151291208438630_1338932276_n.png
 
Lovely ride this morning, was a bit late so roads were quiet, no ice,

Thermal bottoms, levi commuters, base layer, softshell and a warm coat i took off halfway, hat and gloves on, nice cold smooth roads perfect for skidzzzz
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom