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A newbie’s first road bike (guest post)

04.28.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

Ramon H.
Ramon H.

Bike Noob reader Ramon H. recently decided to make the move from an old mountain bike to a new road bike. Ramon, who lives in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, has been emailing me back and forth about the new purchase, and after a slight delay to wait for the right color, he took delivery on a Trek 1.2. I asked Ramon to describe the experience of adapting to a road bike.

My wife bought a bicycle on ebay. I made as many adjustments as I could. Naturally, I had tried adjusting the brakes, but the true of the wheels was way off on both wheels. There was no amount of adjusting that could be done that could rectify the situation. I did not want to bother adjusting for the true, so off to the local bike shop we were.

Once we were there, I decided to try getting on a road bike and trying it for posture. I had been to the shop a couple of weeks ago and had asked them to try a 50cm frame, but that day they did not have any available. I already had done some preliminary research and had heard excellent things about the Trek 1.2, being especially an excellent entry level road bike. I asked them if they had any frames available and they had a 50cm, a 52cm and a 54cm. I actually got in the 50cm and they let me take it for a spin around the parking lot. It was a perfect match. I tried the 52cm, but it was not a good fit. After several adjustments and several measurements to get a better idea of my true fit, I decided (with the OK from the wife) that I would buy the bike.

I did ask them if they carried another color since this one was white and red and they said they did not know. I also bought a frame pump, cage holders, tire liners, and a seat bag which they kindly installed before I took it home. Unfortunately, as soon as I got home, I went online to the Trek site and noticed that Trek sells the same model in blue (blue is my favorite color). So we called the shop back to see if we could bring it back to) get the blue one instead. The guy we dealt with said to bring it back on Monday (he needed to get the OK from his manager and he was gone already). He said that he should be able to make the exchange and that they should be able to special order the blue one.

I picked up my road bike on Friday from the LBS pretty late in the day, so I did not get to ride that day. I decided that I would go to a dedicated bike trail for the bike’s “maiden voyage” about half hour from where I live. Once on the trail, I became accustomed to the shifting, the posture and the dropped handlebars. I also did not wanted to bother with traffic and road debris. I was able to put in a relaxed 10 miles and was able to get the bike up to a max speed of 22.6 mph. I noticed an increase of 3-6 mph over my regular speed. I also noticed that I was a lot less tired than when using the mountain bike.

This morning, I decided to head out for a 15-miler on bike lanes around town. I caught a lot of headwind, but even with that decided to do an additional 5 miles; I ended up with about 22 miles altogether. During one of the segments of the ride, I caught some tailwind. I decided to get down on the dropped handlebars and took off like a scalded dog: 25.4mph max speed (yea baby). It was exhilarating and scary at the same time. I also noticed that the bike became much less stable and that BOTH hands (no fiddling with the odometer or waving at other cyclists) are required once you drop on the handlebars as you are holding on for dear life :lol:.

The only down side to the 20+ mile ride were: lots of road debris, I actually got off the bike at least 3 times to toss nails off the bike lanes; and the stock saddle did a number on my derriere. It was not that bad, but I did have to get off the saddle (and bike) every couple of miles after the 10+ mile mark. I was a little bit sore after the ride, but I can see that it would get quite annoying to have to get off the bike when doing a group ride.

I did further research on the whole wearing chamois or padded shorts and I just cannot get used to the idea of wearing it. I actually gag thinking about wearing wet chamois after a long ride *gag*. So after checking some entries under your blog and many other cycling sites, I will bite the bullet and order a Brooks B17 standard saddle. I am encouraged by the many posts talking that chamois/padding is optional once the saddle is broken-in. I will also take advantage of the stores’ (Wallingford Bikes) 6-month return policy in case I run into issues with it. I need to get on the breaking-in period rather quick since I will be signing up for a local 25-mile bike tour a month from now. I will let you know how the Brooks saddle behaves.

It’s my guess that a lot of Bike Noob readers have had similar experiences as Ramon. When to switch from mountain bikes to something else? Should I go all the way to a road bike, or get some kind of hybrid? What about those crazy bike clothes? And those clipless pedals? Welcome to the road, Ramon. You might be interested to note that Bicycling Magazine names the Trek 1.2 as one of the best bikes under $1,000.

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Categories // Bikes, guest post Tags // guest post

I hab a head code and other sundry stuff

10.23.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Broke into a sneezing and runny nose fit yesterday afternoon. At first, I thought it was a bad attack of allergies, but no…when I woke up this morning, I realized it’s a cold. I hope it won’t affect my riding any. As I’ve already mentioned, I’ll be away for the next couple of days, and will be back Sunday. With any luck, my cold will have run its course.

Sunday morning, several of my friends will be riding in the Livestrong Challenge.  The course west of Austin is hilly, and the 90-miler promises to be tougher than the century I did last weekend.  Here’s hoping they have good weather a good rides.

Mrs. Noob’s birthday is coming up in less than two weeks.  It’s gotta include something bike related, like maybe a new bike?  She’s been spending less time on her bike lately, because of a new-found interest in horseback riding (and I’m not going to buy a horse).  Would one of these get her back on the skinny saddle?

The Trek FX 7.5.

Regarding my other saddle problem, that’s all cleared up with two days of rest.  I probably won’t ride Sunday in order to let the cold completely go away, but after that, I’ll be looking to get in the swing of things again.  In the meantime, knock off a few miles for me.

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Categories // Bikes, Rides, soreness Tags // cold, FX, Livestrong, saddle

Little change = big difference (Part 2)

08.26.2008 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

When I rode a rented bike on our recent vacation in Michigan, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fit me. I had specified a 56 cm frame — the same as my own bike — but at the shop, no one checked the fit. After a 37-mile ride, I felt no discomfort at all.

When I got home and took a 21-mile ride on my own bike, I felt soreness in the seat. The bike just didn’t feel as comfortable as the rental. I wondered how that could be, since I got a bike fitting when I bought it in February. So I figured it was time to do some tweaking. I had already learned that a little change can make a big difference, and thought it would be worth a shot here, too.

I started with the handlebars. By turning them slightly upward, I thought I could bring them a bit closer to me, and maybe ease the soreness I was getting in my hands as well as my butt. But that only made it worse, since I wound up putting too much pressure on my hands. I quickly reset the bars to their original position.

Then it was time for the seat. I had moved it back one centimeter earlier, with no appreciable results. I moved it back another centimeter.

Bingo! Magic happened. On our hill ride, I felt like I was in Michigan again. No discomfort at all — either in the hands or the butt.

Whenever my wife’s golf game goes south, we have a little saying: “It’s the grip, stupid.” A slight change in her hand position is usually enough to get the ball going straight again. I guess for me, the new saying will be: “It’s the seat, stupid.”

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Categories // Bikes, Equipment Tags // adjustments, bike fitting, seat

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