After a year in the saddle……

[Mo1959]

or the 4 bum- hurting saddles, I am eventually (ha ha!)planning on selling on.
Somebody should invent a try before you buy bike accessories shop!

I can definitely relate to this one.......and I think it is more than 4 Just ordered yet another today. This better be the one this time!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I can definitely relate to this one.......and I think it is more than 4 Just ordered yet another today. This better be the one this time!

Well, the bum-hurting ones were ok when I started cycling: seems that ladies bikes have to have big gel ones
After about 6 months of cycling I felt really uncomfortable on them, so I tried an Aldi's narrow racing one just because it was there to try for cheap.
They are great

 

[Ladytrucker]

Oh I'm there 4 months in and I'm nodding to every point you make.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

For over 20 years the only cycling stuff I brought was the bikes, cycling shoes and the necessaries to keep the bikes running, I still thoroughly enjoyed my pedalling, these days the kids are grown up and the mortgage is paid off, now I can afford to spend more, but I still keep my bike related spending on a tight rein.
Good post, best one for a while.

 

[Psyklon]

Brilliant Doodah and oh so true!

 

[HLaB]

Whoever said taking up cycling saves you money.................Lied!

I don't lie I'm just economical with the truth

Its saved me money:
£175 Bike (fixie);
£3.99 Bottlecage;
£6.99 Lube;
£12.99 each new tyres;

The vast majority of my miles/spending are for leisure miles

 

[2Loose]

Superb and very true post. It is when putting on your clobber you realise that it costs more than the bike and therefore an upgrade is completely justifiable, after all, how do you do the kit justice...lol

 

[Phoenix Lincs]

I've booked a bike fit for Monday and said to lovely hubby that that'll be a stop to the spending. He reckons it won't be, but I at least mooted the point! (And of course he's a bloke so he's never wrong!)

I only have 2 chain rings - gears next? Do I need 3 to qualify for a 'granny ring'?

I'm awake early, so I think I might spend half an hour getting all my gear on to go for a ride, or maybe I'll need a rest after giggling my way through this thread and nodding vigorously

Have a great weekend folks

 

[deadpool7]

Wow. The original post is almost an exact recanting of my nearly one year of road biking experience, lol. Well said, my friend.

 

[Phoenix Lincs]

It was also the anniversary of my first log into 'MapMyRide' this week. I was also starting to think about keeping receipts etc. decided not to bother!!

Off to squeeze into my expensive Synergy Progels. "What? These old things, had them ages"

 

[Banjo]

Mrs Banjo must have realized by now that the 2 litres of petrol a day saved on my commute doesnt quite cover all the cost of cycling.

if the cost comes into discussion I allways mention that I dont do weight watchers classes or gym membership in fact I havent browsed on wiggle on line for at least 48 hrs, they may have an offer code going today .....

 

[twinkal]

After a year in the saddle……

Well not quite, I’ve owned the bike for a year, but been in the saddle somewhat less. Here are my experiences.

1) You can’t just buy a bike and ride it, now you have to have a bike fit and measure every length and angle on your bike, measure everything about yourself (well not quite everything!).
2)Your bike arrives, oh no, I don’t have pedals. Now do I buy flats, flats with clips, SPD’s, SPD-SL’s, Shimano, Look, Speedplay????
3)Pedals bought, oh no, I need shoes. Do I buy Shimano, DHB or get mortgage and buy SIDI. How many holes do I need in the bottom? Which way round do these cleats go? What, now I need a shoe and cleat fit from the LBS??
4)Glad I bought those pedals after ending up flat on my face in front of loads of people outside a bar!
5)What, I can’t cycle in jeans? I need some padded shorts that make me look like a Russian wrestler? What make? Which sort of padding? Holy s****!
6)Well, if I am going to buy shorts then I may as well show off my belly with a jersey. Now this is easy, I always take medium in tops. Top arrives, and I have to do some yoga moves to get into it and it won’t reach further than my belly button. WTF! Sent back ordered a large, still too small. Now have an XL, did someone feed me 1000 pies whilst I was asleep?
7)OK, right I am off on my bike. Why do my hands hurt? Oh, I need some padded gloves. Fingerless, full fingers, winter, summer, gel padded? Why does everything have gel in it, I thought that was for your hair?
8)Judging by the looks, my old football socks just are not right, what 10 quid for a pair of cycling socks?
9)Still getting funny looks, so I guess my old 1980’s MTB helmet that makes me look like a mushroom is not quite right. 80 quid later (and still looking like Super Mario) I have a new helmet.
10)OK so all set. First 20km ride here I come. Enjoyed that but why is my arse sore and forgot that I maybe thirsty. So, Chamois cream (thought these were for cleaning your car!). Which make? No idea, so just bought some that cost less than I night out. Need some bottles and where do I put them? OK, so I need bottle cages.
11)Second ride out, bum less painful and no longer thirsty. Wife asked how far I had gone, how am I supposed to know that, oh I need a bike computer. So I can buy something called a Cat Eye for 20 quid or a Sat Nav for 400 quid (my laptop costs less than that, can I strap that to the handlebars). So, after spending another 30 quid I can tell the wife that I have done x kms in x minutes with x top speed, x average, but it still does not tell me why it hurt so much.
12)Apparently I need energy, so I have been told to buy gels (why does everything have gel in it?). How do you eat whilst cycling? I see the pros riding no hands, but seriously, I think I will end up in a ditch or something.
13)Now enjoying cycling, but my brakes no longer seem very good and my gears are making a noise. Time for a service, so back to the LBS. What do you mean I need lube, I have already bought that for my shorts? Oh, for the chain. More choices, wet lube or dry lube??
14)Now autumn has arrived and I am a bit cold in the shorts and jersey. So I just need some winter clothes right? Wrong. Autumn gear and winter gear. Arm warmers, leg warmers, bib tights, long sleeve jerseys, jacket, waterproof, windproof, winter gloves, funny hat thing to go under helmet, funny tube thing to cover neck. Then overshoes! You need to be Houdini to get these things on and off. It now takes me half an hour just to get ready to cycle.
15)Nobody told me that my bike was going to be the cheapest bit, I must have spent three times on kit! Now that the weather is warming up I realise that I need more bib shorts, jerseys, socks and funny tablets for my water bottles.
If it was not for cyclechat I would be lost, so thank you all, although my wife will not be thanking you. Without this site I would have needed a pHD in cycling and would have spent more time on research than on the bike (well I did actually!).
I am now totally hooked and would like a Garmin, new saddle, new wheels, better shoes and most of all a better bike (n+1). Where does this all end.
BTW this is just the short version of events and expenditure

Funniest post ever! But so so true!

 

[Pedal pusher]

Great post and can relate to all of it

 

[clockhammer]

Wanted to read this post again but couldn't remember the title. Used 'Gel' as a search word and voila.
Excellent post and I can only echo others comments about relating to every word.
Well done

 

[Shut Up Legs]

What makes me laugh is the endless opportunity for salacious innuendo when we talk about anything cycling related. "Wet lube... dry lube... mini-pump... nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, Squire!"

Anyway, who cares about the money, it's worth every bit we spend.