I love to ride; almost everyone that knows me knows that. So people often ask how they can get started riding. Like any sport, there is equipment to buy, practice, and a culture to learn and understand.
Bikes Have Grown Up
The first and biggest hurdle is the bicycle. People often have the idea that bicycles still cost about $100 like ten speeds of long ago. And most people are familiar with the bicycles in Target and Walmart, that they see when they were shopping for soap or trash bags. Getting one of these bikes is ok if you don’t plan on going very far or you are OK with no service after buying the bike. These bikes typically are heavy and have cheaper components that may not operate as smoothly. Additionally, there is no service and tune-ups after you buy the bike from where you bought the bike. A heavy bike, ones that weigh more than 20 pounds, can wear on you if you ride long distances or up hills. Since you are pushing your own weight and the weight of the bike as well.The best bet is to go to a number of local bike shops (among cyclist, abbreviated to LBS). While the bikes there will cost more (often much more) than Target, you are paying for a better quality bike, free lifetime tune-ups (although not in every shop, you should always ask), and the expertise of the staff. Bikes in a LBS range from moderate to extremely expensive, so don’t let the first few price tags chase you out of the store, look around, or ask for help.Typically, an entry level bike is around $650 to $700. Yes, entry level is about $700. This will be an aluminum frame bike that will get you around town with decent components.Bike Choices
Aluminum bikes are lightweight and stiff. They are so stiff that you will feel everything on the road, painted lines, pebbles and grains of sand, called road buzz. If you live in an area with older roads, or the local road maintenance crews use slurry seal, |
| You may not want to start this high. These are special edition Colnago bikes I saw in a Ventura bike shop. The red Ferrari edition is $9,000. The gold Ernesto Colnago 80th Birthday edition is $19,000. |
Your Seat is Important
One item on the bike that everyone has a misconception about, is the saddle. The narrow saddle is important, especially for longer rides. The narrow saddle limits the contact points with your body. A wider saddle, with a gel pad on top of that, spreads out the contact area and more of your bottom will end up sore, basically. The pad in your biking shorts will help you a lot, along with making sure that you position your “sit bones” on the right points of the saddle. The staff of the LBS will help set your position on the bike when they do the bike fit. The bike fit is another important aspect of the service you can expect at a LBS instead of Walmart. Bikes come in different sizes to fit the different sizes and body types we all come in. A proper bike fit will allow you to pedal for hours and hours without any issues, while a bike that is a little too big or too small, or some other component that is not in the right position can hurt.A proper bike fit can last up to 30 minute, and it is important. Make sure your bike and saddle are comfortable.
Bike Clothing is not a T-Shirt and Cargo Shorts
Clothing is next. A number of people tell me that they think that the road cycling clothing, or kits, are silly looking. They don't like the tight fitting jersey or shorts or they don't like the helmet. There is a saying that the coolness of your kit is inversely proportional to the distance to your bike. Ride your bike or stand next to your bike, you look fine; go into a store for water, you are going to look odd. We cyclists get this, but every piece of our kit does have a real purpose. A helmet is vitally important for your safety. Yes, the bike helmet looks dumb and it is essentially a plastic coated Styrofoam cup on your head. But your head is about 4 to 5 feet above the ground and falling to the pavement and bouncing your head off of the pavement will cause some real damage. That Styrofoam cup can save your life. Helmets that have more vents and are lighter will cost more.
The padded shorts are a good investment. Without a pad, riding beyond 1 hour or so could become painful. Shorts with more panels sewn together with higher quality pads cost more. The jersey is tight fitting so that it does not flap in the wind. A flapping t-shirt will tend to slow you down, and jerseys and shorts are treated to resist retaining odors. They both should be washed after every ride, but air dried and not thrown into the dryer. Cycling shoes require clip-less pedals. The combination of shoes and pedals will connect you to the bike, allowing you to pull as well as push on the pedals. This will engage you hamstrings as well as your quadriceps. This system is more efficient and will help you. But it is a big change in how you ride a bike. For example, when you come to a stop, you have to unclip, or clip out, one of your shoes before you come to a full stop. Otherwise, you come to a stop, your feet are still locked onto the pedals and you will flop over. This happens to everyone the first few times, including me. Years, or decades, of just simply stepping off of the pedal at stop takes a couple of rides to change. The helmet can run from $70 to $300, the shorts go from $60 to $200, jerseys, $50 to $120, pedals should be about $100 and the shoes can go from as low as $80 to $320. Again, keep your budget in mind along with your sense of style.
The padded shorts are a good investment. Without a pad, riding beyond 1 hour or so could become painful. Shorts with more panels sewn together with higher quality pads cost more. The jersey is tight fitting so that it does not flap in the wind. A flapping t-shirt will tend to slow you down, and jerseys and shorts are treated to resist retaining odors. They both should be washed after every ride, but air dried and not thrown into the dryer. Cycling shoes require clip-less pedals. The combination of shoes and pedals will connect you to the bike, allowing you to pull as well as push on the pedals. This will engage you hamstrings as well as your quadriceps. This system is more efficient and will help you. But it is a big change in how you ride a bike. For example, when you come to a stop, you have to unclip, or clip out, one of your shoes before you come to a full stop. Otherwise, you come to a stop, your feet are still locked onto the pedals and you will flop over. This happens to everyone the first few times, including me. Years, or decades, of just simply stepping off of the pedal at stop takes a couple of rides to change. The helmet can run from $70 to $300, the shorts go from $60 to $200, jerseys, $50 to $120, pedals should be about $100 and the shoes can go from as low as $80 to $320. Again, keep your budget in mind along with your sense of style.
What You Should Carry
Flat tires and other mechanical problems are a fact of life of cycling. There is no AAA for cycling. Talk to your LBS staff about how to change a flat, if you do not know how, or check out YouTube videos. Flats run in streaks, you can go months without any trouble and then you get a bunch of flats over a few weeks. You should carry a small bike bag with tools and spares to help you out on the road. I normally carry two spare tubes, a CO2 pump, two CO2 canisters, 3 tire levers, a tube repair kit, a old driver’s license, a minitool, for minor adjustments and a minipump. I can get hit with 3 flats and I can keep rolling. I have had two flats on a ride a few times. The key thing is you could be miles from your house or car and walking back is not a good thing. You have to be self reliant to a certain extent. The Bike Computer
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Depending how seriously you want to get into cycling, the next item on your shopping list should be a bike computer and a heart rate monitor. If you are riding to improve your health or fitness, then a bike computer and a heart rate monitor is important. By comparing your numbers over time, you can see evidence of your improvement and provide goals for you to achieve. A computer will sometimes come with the sensors you need to measure your speed. Find Some Friends to Ride With
Lastly, try to find a local bike club that regularly rides. Most bike clubs welcome new members and will take the time to explain the culture and how to ride. They will take rides on routes in your area and eventually you might want to challenge yourself with a metric century (100 km or 62.3 miles) or a century ride (100 miles), the marathon of cycling.If you ride alone, try to find routes that have less traffic, where the traffic can see you easily and there is less cross traffic (less driveways to shops and fast food places for cars to cut into in front of you).
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