Not had a good day :-( please talk me into keeping my new bike

[JoeyG]

Picked up my lovely brand new Giant SCR 2 on Saturday and had great 16 mile ride on Sunday through a mixture of urban and rural lanes.

Anyway... had some time after work and didnt fancy battling with local traffic, so went up a quiet lane near me which winds its way up a hill eventually turning into a track... wanted to get all the way up so I could come down a different way, but had to abandon it cos my back wheel was sliding about all over the place... the annoying thing is I could have made it up there on a hybrid with wider wheels.

Then had to suffer traffic on the short ride back, was waiting 5 minutes (no joke) at a function for a big enough gap

The whole reason I bought a road bike was because I have only been off-road once since I bought my mountain bike 4 years ago, and now I'm having 2nd thoughts already :-(

Oh and to top it off I fell off and scuffed the handlebar when I got home cos I havent learnt how to dismount properly yet (luckily on the pavement)

Someone please talk me out of thinking what i'm thinking

 

[steve evans]

Oh good, a cheap second hand bike becomes available.

 

[Landslide]

Like you say, there's some great riding to be had around you (your ride on Sunday). I've found myself on roads turning into lanes turning into tracks before - I just got off and walked it.
Hop back on your Giant, get out there, and smile.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Don't worry Joey it will get better. Everyone has good and bad days on the road, but the good always outnumber the bad, and when the really good days happen, you realise why you love cycling.

Incidentally, don't expect to become expert at falling off overnight. I have been practising for donkey's years and still can't get it right

Only last week I put several holes in a brand new jersey by intimate contact with a patch of gravel. The only way not to fall off is not to ride.

 

[ghitchen]

The whole reason I bought a road bike was because I have only been off-road once since I bought my mountain bike 4 years ago, and now I'm having 2nd thoughts already :-(

So now you've been off-road twice in 4 years - hardly enough to warrant not having a road bike!

Oh and to top it off I fell off and scuffed the handlebar when I got home cos I haven't learnt how to dismount properly yet (luckily on the pavement)

At some point any shiny new bike gets scratched/scuffed. It would have happened sooner or later, you were lucky and it happened sooner. Now you can stop worrying about it and get on with riding. Every scratch tells a story, every scuff recalls a journey.

 

[Headgardener]

Oh and to top it off I fell off and scuffed the handlebar when I got home cos I havent learnt how to dismount properly yet (luckily on the pavement)

Someone please talk me out of thinking what i'm thinking

Hmm lets see. Bring bike to a halt using brakes, just before stopping put toe of one foot down (usualy the left but not always) to help balance yourself then swing other leg over back of bike while balancing on toe of foot on the ground. Think that just about covers it. Oh yes don't forget to hold onto the bike when you get off. Its different to riding a moutain bike where you just let go and jump off, or so I've seen some riders do.

 

[JoeyG]

I cant touch my foot on the ground without leaning the bike over so far I lose balance... I've been managing so far by jumping off the saddle as I stop so I am astride the crossbar but I misjudged it earlier (have a few times actually)

They measured me up in the shop so my leg was straight when the pedal is at the lowest position

 

[JoeyG]

Thanks for the encouraging posts... feeling better about things now

Its true, for every 1 time I have been off-road I've been on-road about 300 times... much clearer

 

[yenrod]

Picked up my lovely brand new Giant SCR 2 on Saturday and had great 16 mile ride on Sunday through a mixture of urban and rural lanes.

Anyway... had some time after work and didnt fancy battling with local traffic, so went up a quiet lane near me which winds its way up a hill eventually turning into a track... wanted to get all the way up so I could come down a different way, but had to abandon it cos my back wheel was sliding about all over the place... the annoying thing is I could have made it up there on a hybrid with wider wheels.

Then had to suffer traffic on the short ride back, was waiting 5 minutes (no joke) at a function for a big enough gap

The whole reason I bought a road bike was because I have only been off-road once since I bought my mountain bike 4 years ago, and now I'm having 2nd thoughts already :-(

Oh and to top it off I fell off and scuffed the handlebar when I got home cos I havent learnt how to dismount properly yet (luckily on the pavement)

Someone please talk me out of thinking what i'm thinking

You really want to know...

 

[Headgardener]

Hello JG. It sounds like the bike is to big for you if you can't put your foot down without losing your balance. Try lowing the seatpost so that your knee should be slightly bent when your pedal is in line with the seat tube at the bottom of its stroke (i.e. you can draw a line down through seat tube and crank) when sitting on the saddle. Hope this helps.

 

[Nick G]

Stick with it!

They measured me up in the shop so my leg was straight when the pedal is at the lowest position

Sounds like your saddle's too high. Your leg should be slightly bent when the peddle is at the lowest position (six o'clock), or straight with your heal on the peddle at about the 5 o'clock position.

It took me a few rides to get used to my new road bike, including a nasty case of tendonitis because I was stretching too much (wrong saddle height again).

Don't give up. Get out there. Create some nice 25 mile rides and ride them. Watch your speed improve as you get better. Increase the distance, sign up for some sportives and before long you'll be wishing you'd taken up road cycling ages ago. I stopped cycling for the best part of 20 years and can't believe what I've been missing in terms of fitness and enjoyment. I also can't believe I was mug enough to spend several thousand pounds on gym memberships during that time when I could have been enjoying getting fit instead and for a fraction of the cost.

 

[JoeyG]

Thanks... I dont think the bike is too big, but the saddle is high enough so my leg is straight when the pedal is at its lowest, so maybe I need to lower it a couple of inches.

I will stop being a miserable git and get back out there tomorrow!

 

[tdr1nka]

You need to lower that saddle M8!
It's an idea to lower it so you can put more of your foot down to start with and then raise it to the measurement described above when you feel more confident.

Don't let todays antics get in the way of enjoying your cycling.

 

[DJ]

At some point any shiny new bike gets scratched/scuffed. It would have happened sooner or later, you were lucky and it happened sooner. Now you can stop worrying about it and get on with riding. Every scratch tells a story, every scuff recalls a journey.[/quote]

This is true ! The dint on my cross bar reminds me of how I pulled my newly delivered bike out of the box, and my 20 month baby son wacked it with a spanner. (He loves tools) Cant do much about it though, just have to live with it.! It just reminds me of why I love him so much.

 

[summerdays]

Thanks... I dont think the bike is too big, but the saddle is high enough so my leg is straight when the pedal is at its lowest, so maybe I need to lower it a couple of inches.

I will stop being a miserable git and get back out there tomorrow!

The saddle is very unlikely to be a couple of inches too high.... I generally find moving mine by 5 mm makes quite a difference. Try using one of the suggested measurements for getting the saddle to the right height, then making small adjustments up or down by mm.