Road Cycling

[k2clones29]

I'm getting into road cycling now and am looking for some sources to learn more. I quickly found that the forums around are not as cordial as this one to newbies

Any advice on where to start???

As for my bike, I've been looking around and trying to stay within budget (not the easiest thing to do). I am going to look at a used 2013 Cannondale CAAD8 7 Sora tonight. Seems like a great first bike, and the guy selling it broke his hand last week and has to unload it. As far as fit goes, is there anything in particular I should be looking for to make sure it is the right size for me?

 

[thebikingengineer]

For a first bike, get yourself to a bike shop for a fitting. It might cost a bit of money, but it will be invaluable for your comfort on longer rides. For a quick sizing estimation, get the cranks level and sit on the seat. Your knee should be approximately over the pedal centerline. While seated you should be able to reach the handlebars without undue strain, that doesn't have to be perfect but it should be close.

 

[tm3]

For an interesting and controversial alternative take on the conventional wisdom of bike fit and function take a look at rivendell bikes www site.

 

[Heron]

This is a pretty good book. http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Mag...7&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=road+cycling+skills

 

[Andy]

When looking for a road bike, make sure that you have enough stand over clearance, around 1-2in.

Also, I found Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance to be an invaluable resource, saved a great deal of money by just doing small repairs myself.

 

[thebikingengineer]

I like the Park Tool website for small repairs. You get a nice step by step breakdown of everything, and they make some nice tools as well (in the USA too).

 

[silver]

It seems like you have a bit of a plan. If/when you do get I bike I would go to somewhere like REI and get a chain cleaner/degreaser. Its a simple thing that dramatically extends the life of your drivetrain.

 

[alex2363]

If you plan on night riding get some nice head lamps and back lights. I have Zefal lights inexpensive yet one of the best lights on market.

 

[imthegoal]

Also, when considering your budget don't forget everything else besides the bike. Shorts or bibs, a couple jerseys, water bottles and cages, pedals and shoes (if you are going to go clipless which I highly suggest), helmet. That other "stuff" can add up but is definitely a must. Now a days pretty much all of the major brands are pretty much equal as far as quality so the most important thing is to find the shop that works with you and you feel the most comfortable with.

 

[wens]

For a first bike, get yourself to a bike shop for a fitting.

+1. If you show up with beer or brownies and tell them how happy you are a couple weeks later, you'll also be remembered and most likely get little repairs or such taken care of. I think it's well worth it.

For an interesting and controversial alternative take on the conventional wisdom of bike fit and function take a look at rivendell bikes www site.

He has some decent points, but he's as nuts as the everyone should be on a race bike with 5" of drop philosophy he criticizes. Like most things, most people belong somewhere in the middle.

I like the Park Tool website for small repairs. You get a nice step by step breakdown of everything, and they make some nice tools as well (in the USA too).

Website is awesome. That said, depending on how much you ride you might have to spend more on bike specific tools than it's worth to do your own maintenance. It does save a trip to the shop though!

 

[thebikingengineer]

+1. If you show up with beer or brownies and tell them how happy you are a couple weeks later, you'll also be remembered and most likely get little repairs or such taken care of. I think it's well worth it.



He has some decent points, but he's as nuts as the everyone should be on a race bike with 5" of drop philosophy he criticizes. Like most things, most people belong somewhere in the middle.



Website is awesome. That said, depending on how much you ride you might have to spend more on bike specific tools than it's worth to do your own maintenance. It does save a trip to the shop though!

I dunno, have you seen what some places charge for a tune-up? I like having the tools and knowledge needed to fix things myself if necessary, and bikes are pretty straightforward once you get used to them. I'd say that for about $100 you could have the tools needed to completely tear down and rebuild your bike, that's less than two tuneups at the rate I've seen quoted.

 

[wens]

I'm not sure I ever have seen what a tune up costs, so I should probably defer to others there. I think Allen wrenches, chain tool, cassette tool and chain whip, housing cutters, and a file are great investments, especially since a lot of people already have Allen wrenches and a file. Maybe a torque wrench depending on your Mechanical aptitude and use of carbon parts. I'm not sure bottom bracket tools, trying stands, spoke wenches, etc are worth buying, I don't remember breaking that kind of stuff very often before I started racing bikes.

 

[marcallain]

I'm not sure I ever have seen what a tune up costs, so I should probably defer to others there. I think Allen wrenches, chain tool, cassette tool and chain whip, housing cutters, and a file are great investments, especially since a lot of people already have Allen wrenches and a file. Maybe a torque wrench depending on your Mechanical aptitude and use of carbon parts. I'm not sure bottom bracket tools, trying stands, spoke wenches, etc are worth buying, I don't remember breaking that kind of stuff very often before I started racing bikes.

At our shop, we charge $60 for a tune up. Yes, you could buy some tools at that cost to take care of most of the repairs but please make sure you know what you're doing. We receive bikes all the time where someone was trying to fix something on their own and ended up making things worse and therefore more expensive than what the original tune up would've cost. It definitely not pleasant to inform a client that he broke his expensive carbon frame.

It is helpful to learn the basics (flat repair, chain repair, shifting and brake tune ups) to get you out of a pinch but these days with so many proprietary parts things can get confusing pretty darn quick.

 

[strop]

The bike shop I used in St. Louis offered free lifetime tuneups as long as you owned the bike. Sure, I paid a little more to begin with, but even during the middle of the busy summer I could drop off the bike for repair or whatever and have it back, if I really needed it, in a day or two. hard to put a value on having a good relationship with a good shop.

 

[jim9112]

Website is awesome. That said, depending on how much you ride you might have to spend more on bike specific tools than it's worth to do your own maintenance. It does save a trip to the shop though!

The money I save on beer offsets the cost of the tools. Thats right I fix bikes for beer in my spare time.

 

[wens]

I'm impressed. I can barely find time to stay on top of my bikes, much less work on other people's.

 

[imthegoal]

In my case it definitely is an advantage to race for my local shop. I will come in and lead a bunch of their intermediate group rides normally as a recovery ride after a training ride earlier in the day. If one of my bikes needs an adjustment, tuneup, or anything I will just get to the shop an hour or 2 before the ride and they fix it on the spot for me. The only thing I ever pay for is the parts.

 

[thebikingengineer]

Once a season I like to put on some mindless TV show (on Netflix so there are few commercials) and strip all of my bikes to the bare frame, clean everything up, grease and lube everything, and button everything back up. It usually takes about 45 minutes a bike.

I agree that if you don't know what you're doing you should take it to someone who does, but I'm also a huge advocate for figuring out how to fix things yourself so you're not dependent on your local shop for easy and routine things. I'll go to my shop to get my frame faced and chased or if I need a wheel seriously rebuilt (that one's mostly a time thing), but I can handle just about everything else. Once you get to decent bikes with decent parts there are only a few specialized tools, none of which cost more than $25 (bottom bracket and cassette tools come to mind), and if you buy good stuff the first time (Park) they'll last forever.