Bum and Gear questions

[ChrisBirmingham]

Complete newbie who has a new Trek X02 which was a bit of a bargain at £500 for a 3 month old bike.

Really want to make cycling a hobby and have started cycling the 5 miles to work but...

I soon found out I need some padded cycling shorts as my bum hurts So many out there on the net Im lost as to what ones to buy.

Also gear changing. I'm having a mare using the paddle gears on this bike which I hope is down to inexperience. Sometimes the lower gears will change sometimes they won't. Am aware you have to tap the paddle twice. I can't get the higher gears to change at all and am almost snapping the paddles at times in frustrations.

Any tips would be really welcome. My cycle to work is 5 miles and through 3 parks with hardly any road time so is worth it but all my focus is on gears and bum ache right now. Am hoping with your help this will change.

Thanks

Chris

 

[vickster]

Go to a bike shop, try shorts on, buy from there. Next time, buy online. However, as with many things, you get what you pay for. The dhb range from wiggle is well regarded, but sizing can be random with bike wear, so you may need to buy a couple of sizes and return, for free, those which are no good

Gears wise, maybe they need adjusting, go back to the shop that sold you the bike and ask them to take a look...although your post suggests you may have bought second hand? Are the shifters double tap? Yes, need to get used to them, but they may need adjusting. There are plenty of guides on YouTube about adjusting gears and also operation of double tap

 

[Ernie_RBR]

Any padded shorts will do, however, I have a saying buy cheap you buy twice, You can go to sports direct they are fairly good with there prices and not to bad for quality ..Ref the gears it sounds like you need them tightened up I recommend you get them checked usually cost 5 or 6 pound to get them sorted.

 

[Boo]

Chris - I'm a total bike n00b too. Only had it a week.
I bought a pair of Endura Humvee shorts with a removable padded liner, which means I can buy a couple of spare pairs of the inner liner shorts to rotate them.
Not cheap, but worth every penny.
Best thing I've found though, is don't overdo it until your nether regions have got used to cycling. Half an hour every other day, and I'm fine to keep getting back on. Any more than that, and I suspect I'd be too sore to want to ride again for a bit.

 

[Deleted member 18052]

Chris - I'm a total bike n00b too. Only had it a week.
I bought a pair of Endura Humvee shorts with a removable padded liner, which means I can buy a couple of spare pairs of the inner liner shorts to rotate them.
Not cheap, but worth every penny.
Best thing I've found though, is don't overdo it until your nether regions have got used to cycling. Half an hour every other day, and I'm fine to keep getting back on. Any more than that, and I suspect I'd be too sore to want to ride again for a bit.

another vote for the humvees

 

[Cuchilo]

Personally ive found decent shorts with a good padding has cost between £40 - £60 and up . Others may disagree but my bum doesn't hurt so I don't care what they say
Regarding the shifting , you may need to tighten the cables up a bit as you mentioned the bike is a few months old .

 

[Cycleops]

You bum hurting might just be down to getting used to a particular saddle. To preempt your next question saddles are very much a personal thing due to size weight etc. Suffice to say the padded gel ones are hardly ever comfortable.

Sounds like your gears need adjusting, as Vickster says just take it back to the shop who can then tackle the problem for you, rather than trying to fix it yourself.

 

[smokeysmoo]

THESE bib shorts are well reviewed and if you are smaller than 2XL also an amazing bargain right now

I'm guessing the bike was a private second hand purchase which rules out simply taking it back to the shop to sort out, but you could still take it to your LBS to get it fettled and they shouldn't be charging much for a quick gear tweak, or better still, this is my goto video for gear fettling, it explains things really well and demystifies the whole shenanigans

 

[migrantwing]

THESE bib shorts are well reviewed and if you are smaller than 2XL also an amazing bargain right now

+1

 

[ChrisBirmingham]

Thanks all, well went to local Halfords and asked their advice also as they had no fitting room for tryimg on shorts. To be fair the padding in the ones I chose was minimal and the guy agreed and suggested a padded seat cover. He swore by them and as they were £40 cheaper than the shorts I went for it. Also bought a helmet and some gloves and a heads up Halfords are currently having a 3 for 2 offer on cycling stuff so as I had bought 3 things I got the cheapest one free. Hopefully the seat cover will work but no worries of it doesn't. Thanks for posting the gearing video, will look at it later

 

[vickster]

No to padded seat cover on long rides, risk of it slipping and rubbing

 

[ChrisBirmingham]

I understand that Vic, it's probably a short term solution as at the minute am only doing 25-30 minute journeys to work and back

 

[JasonHolder]

Go into a shop and get shorts.
Spend an hour in a car park just learning what levers do what. Its sometimes not very apparent to new guys and girls

 

[Widge]

Hhhmmm...those 'Tenn' bib-shorts seem like a good enough deal! Thanks smokysmoo
I just snaffled a pair in size small. (I am yer original 9 stone weakling!) I never had a pair of 'bibs' before.....I'm not exactly cut out for the 'Big Daddy' look....but at that price I figure worth a try? My 'Lidl' padded pants ain't up to much

Thanks

w

 

[JasonHolder]

Bib shorts are the only shorts anyone should wear if you haven't worn any. They will change your life