Kajjal
Guru
- Location
- Wheely World
Only if unlike myself you can control your cake intake
For Beginners - What is the single most helpful advice or change made?
- Thread starter 2IT
- Start date
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RMurphy195
Well-Known Member
- Location
- South Birmingham
When buying a bike - buy what you fancy, you'll ride it more!
DRM
Guru
- Location
- West Yorks
Top advice, as Jens Voight says "Shut up legs & do what I tell you" They soon learn to obey.
YahudaMoon
Über Member
Replace the stabilizers.........2016
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Yep, stopping wearing one may be the single biggest improvement I've made: my neck pain's gone, wind noise reduced, cooler, easier to see behind, temptation to enter overpriced cycling events removed...Of course, well remembered! HELMET!
coco69
Veteran
- Location
- North west
Yep, stopping wearing one may be the single biggest improvement I've made: my neck pain's gone, wind noise reduced, cooler, easier to see behind, temptation to enter overpriced cycling events removed...
Now youve started something lol
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
No, I didn't start it. But you're right. I forget which site I'm on. I'll go report it instead.
Spinney
Bimbleur extraordinaire
- Location
- Back up north
Mod Note: just a reminder to all that any discussion of helmet wearing goes only in the dedicated thread!
iamRayRay
Quads of Steel
- Location
- Hertfordshire
Not to go too hard at the start - always get KO'd for being too keen!
rugby bloke
Veteran
- Location
- Northamptonshire
Don't listen to music, listen to your body - taken me a while to realize this and has made riding so much more enjoyable.
Profpointy
Legendary Member
Couple more:
get a track pump. For decades I mistakenly thought they were a luxury for racer types. Wrong - properly pumped up tyres roll better and puncture less - and the old thumb test and normal pump just ain't enough.
Smooth not nobbly tyres ( for the road). Tread doesn't grip more and is harder work to pedal - pump 'em up hard - see previous point.
Get saddle height right - probably a good bit higher than most "beginners" think.
Don't get suspension for road or canal paths etc - only desirable for proper mountain biking. Extra weight, and makes the bike worse. It costs money too, which on a cheap bike especially is far better spent elsewhere on the bike where it can do some good.
Mudguarda - a good thing.
Panniers or saddle bag are much better than rucksack.
A soft saddle is likely more uncomfortable than a hard one - though the latter does need to suit you.
Most braking should be via the front brake. Learn to brake hard safely with the front. You just can't stop quick using mainl.y the back brake. Care is however needed if turning corner or slippery surfaces
Don't dismiss drop handlebars or toe clips / clip in pedals as a "racer only" thing. Both have advantags for casual cycling too - although don't suit everyone.
Low gears are a good thing - many / most road-oriented bikes ar egeared far to high
get a track pump. For decades I mistakenly thought they were a luxury for racer types. Wrong - properly pumped up tyres roll better and puncture less - and the old thumb test and normal pump just ain't enough.
Smooth not nobbly tyres ( for the road). Tread doesn't grip more and is harder work to pedal - pump 'em up hard - see previous point.
Get saddle height right - probably a good bit higher than most "beginners" think.
Don't get suspension for road or canal paths etc - only desirable for proper mountain biking. Extra weight, and makes the bike worse. It costs money too, which on a cheap bike especially is far better spent elsewhere on the bike where it can do some good.
Mudguarda - a good thing.
Panniers or saddle bag are much better than rucksack.
A soft saddle is likely more uncomfortable than a hard one - though the latter does need to suit you.
Most braking should be via the front brake. Learn to brake hard safely with the front. You just can't stop quick using mainl.y the back brake. Care is however needed if turning corner or slippery surfaces
Don't dismiss drop handlebars or toe clips / clip in pedals as a "racer only" thing. Both have advantags for casual cycling too - although don't suit everyone.
Low gears are a good thing - many / most road-oriented bikes ar egeared far to high
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Many of that list are good but a few go too far IMO:
You can't stop as quick with the back but if you're careful not to skid, it can be pretty quick, it adapts to braking over lumpy descents better (the back naturally releases a bit if you hit a bump, whereas the front will often grab) and it's better than not stopping
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41lbl6q12Kw
If you're riding smooth clean tarmac, then yes, bald tyres will be fine, but a bit of a groove helps bite through the little bit of mulch and stuff I ride over, which is on most less-motorised roads here most of the year. Keep the nobblies for deeper stuff than you'll get on roads, though.
...and probably a good bit lower than hip-rocking sophomores think. Your weight should be shared between your saddle and your legs pushing the pedals (which is why you find the saddle harder as your legs tire).
Hah! No, although a soft saddle also needs to suit you and not just be a fat pillow.
Don't brake while turning or crossing slippy stuff if you can help it: brake before and roll through.
You can't stop as quick with the back but if you're careful not to skid, it can be pretty quick, it adapts to braking over lumpy descents better (the back naturally releases a bit if you hit a bump, whereas the front will often grab) and it's better than not stopping
Advantages but drawbacks too. They're basically netural, changing the trade-offs/balancing act. Maybe you'll think they're change them in a way you like, but don't worry if you don't.
Use 'em if you've got 'em, but don't be afraid to get off and push if you've not got one low enough. The pros used to do it lots - see 3min in, for example:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41lbl6q12Kw
and become confident
in traffic of all sorts. And obey the road signs; there's enough minority idiots 
out there giving us a bad name - !
Apollonius
Guru
- Location
- South Staffordshire
Apart from his praise for the Irish mud police, I agree with every word of @Profpointy 's contribution above.
Ride as if you have the right to be there, is my offering.
Ride as if you have the right to be there, is my offering.
Profpointy
Legendary Member
ah very good! Should have been mudguardai of course.
