New to road biking, a couple of silly questions

[Monkreadusuk]

Hey all,

I've just purchased my first proper road bike, up until now i've been riding a borrowed hybrid at home and using the work issue mountain bikes at work. The reason behind my purchase is to start commuting 16 miles each way from Fareham to Havant (down south) 5 days a week.

I am slowly getting used to the bike before I start commuting, however I've encountered a few issues.

Should my palms/the bit between my thumb and forefinger, ache when riding on the hoods? Am I griping too far forward and putting too much weight on them?

Should I be using my whole hand to brake when on the hoods? I've tried using my first two fingers but I can't get enough 'pull' on them to stop well

If i'm changing gear and I hear a "click,click,click" then the chain drops a cog, am I doing something wrong? Sometimes it does this and I have to push the brake leaver to shift again before it changes gear. Maybe i'm not pedaling fast enough, or not pushing the lever hard enough?

Is it normal for me to find it so hard to stand up and pedal compared to on my hybrid?

Sorry for the silly questions, I don't want to ruin the nice new bike though :P

Many Thanks,

Monk

 

[biggs682]

monk

a question back

what type of gears does the bike have ?

re resting on hoods it sounds like the hoods are just out of your grip ie to far away so a shorter stem might help ,and this would also explain brake lever operation struggles .

standing up and pedal ? if you mean you are out of the saddle and pedaling then no shouldnt be any different .

what size bike is it and how tall are you ?

 

[Monkreadusuk]

it's a 58cm frame, i'm 6ft3. The gears are 3 front 7 back i think Will mention it to the LBS I got it from on sunday when I pop along to get some shoes and see if there is anything they can do

 

[biggs682]

it's a 58cm frame, i'm 6ft3. The gears are 3 front 7 back i think Will mention it to the LBS I got it from on sunday when I pop along to get some shoes and see if there is anything they can do

frame size sounds about right , the lbs should be more than happy to help and advise . let us know how you get on .

what bike is it

 

[Monkreadusuk]

Specialized Tricross

 

[Pale Rider]

"Click click click and the chain dropping a cog" sounds like the gears need adjusting/indexing.

Cables inevitably stretch a bit with use on a new bike which messes up the change.

Should be a simple enough job for the bike shop.

 

[biggs682]

Specialized Tricross

they look nice

 

[DTD]

Welcome. The Tricross is a nice looking bike – most LBS's like you to bring a new bike in after a few weeks to check the cables etc, so it might be a good time to get those answers.

 

[hinsbluck]

right,frame size sounds about right , the lbs should be more than happy to help and advise . let us know how you get on .

 

[Monkreadusuk]

Thanks for the advice. Will run it down to my lbs soon.

Have just done my first ride with clipless pedals. All went well and i felt a lot more in tune with the bike. That was until my right foot would not release. Then the cleat detatched from the shoe. Its now stuck in the pedal. Lol.

One more question, Im riding 7.5 miles a day at home trying to get my average speed up before i commute. Should i keep to 7.5 miles and get faster? Or should I increase distance instead?

Cheers,
Monk

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Thanks for the advice. Will run it down to my lbs soon.

Have just done my first ride with clipless pedals. All went well and i felt a lot more in tune with the bike. That was until my right foot would not release. Then the cleat detatched from the shoe. Its now stuck in the pedal. Lol.

One more question, Im riding 7.5 miles a day at home trying to get my average speed up before i commute. Should i keep to 7.5 miles and get faster? Or should I increase distance instead?

Cheers,
Monk

I know others will contradict me, but you are aiming for 16 miles commute each way, so work on the distance and don't worry about the speed. speed will come in time. you need to be able to cycle 32 miles a day to be able to do the commute, how quickly you achieve those 32 miles is not important (unless you are only managing 8mph or something like that on a road bike - I'm not particularly fast but I usually hold around 13mph)

 

[matthat]

I agree with above post!! Distance is more important. The speed will come in time!! I used to do six miles each way and could regularly average 18 - 20 mph but that was flat and did route for 5 yrs so was well practiced!! Even though ride only took 20 mins i used to allow 40- 45 for any problems on route but more often than not I got to work with a good 15 - 20 mins to spare so had time for a brew before i started! I'm newish on here but feel free ask any Q's! Also do route to work over weekend a couple of times so that you can get a feel for it but not against the clock. And probably less traffic to contend with. Good luck

 

[Monkreadusuk]

Thanks for the advice. Only reason I worry about speed is I don't want to have to leave more than an hour or so before work. I figured if I could average 16mph then i'd be within my time limit. However at first I shall try leaving it 1hr30 before work and see how I get on. Distance shouldn't be too much of a problem I hope, as when I get to work I then ride about 15-25 miles out and about, before the ride home

Just a shame I can't use my road bike at work, instead i'm stuck with a hybrid

 

[Dirtlover2005]

Thanks for the advice. Only reason I worry about speed is I don't want to have to leave more than an hour or so before work. I figured if I could average 16mph then i'd be within my time limit. However at first I shall try leaving it 1hr30 before work and see how I get on. Distance shouldn't be too much of a problem I hope, as when I get to work I then ride about 15-25 miles out and about, before the ride home

Just a shame I can't use my road bike at work, instead i'm stuck with a hybrid

Are you a postie?

 

[Monkreadusuk]

Are you a postie?

Nope, just patrol on a bike rather than on foot most of the time. Nice being paid to keep fit :P