Panniers, computers, mudgaurds??ARGH!

[QuestionableCarro]

As I have mentioned in an earier post; I finally took the plunge and put a deposit down on the Marin Larkspur hybrid bike from my local bike shop. I cant honestly wait until I have it collected.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...afe=off&rlz=1T4GWYH_en-GBGB315GB315&sa=N&um=1

As I am relatively new to this type of thing, can the folks on here recommend stuff that I can now buy or perhaps some of you have Marin's and have experience of stuff that worked and didnt work?

I will be taking the bike out most evenings but definately 20-30 mile jaunts at the weekend.

Are wireless computers worth it and can anyone recommend a good helmet?

Ta very much

QC

 

[marinyork]

I've had a very similar marin for 4 years. Accesories depend on what sort of riding you want to do. If you aren't going to be doing trails and off road stuff at some point in the future I'd ditch the 700x35 tyres that it comes with. You should be able to get 28s on them. I'd get some kind of better pedals, SPDs or something else. If you genuinely want flat pedals or even toe clips that's fine but I'd recommend getting some SPDs of some sort. Perhaps get some bar ends? Lights - rear get a half watt smart light if you can. About the cheapest punchy light out there. If you don't like rucksacks get a rack or a saddle bag. That's pretty much it, I'm not someone that goes round advocating spending vast amounts on cycling clothes and accessories or the whole mudguard snobbery thing. Gloves, lights, visor/sunglasses and a few tools should be about it.

Just get out there and give the bike some hammer.

 

[QuestionableCarro]

Thanks Marinyork.

Could you expand on the pedals and wheel sizes. Sorry, I had to put my hands up and say I am not understanding!

Are the stock pedals not as good as the one that you recommend and for what reason?

Ta

 

[marinyork]

Yes, absolutely. Many marins come with 700x35 tyres. The numbers are gauges/labels to do with the circumfrence and width (I say gauge as you will see they don't necessarily mean exactly what you might expect) . There are plenty of in depth articles such as Sheldon. Basically narrower tyres roll better, this is because although wider tyres may have a better rolling resistance at identical pressures, you can inflate narrower tyres to much high pressures so overall they roll better. Mine came with 700x35 Kendas. Kendas aren't rated as particularly good tyres but I found mine adequate and got ooh a good couple of years out of the rears. Anyway 700x28s are quite a bit narrower and will still be fine for most paths and tracks but better on the roads. Unless you're doing virtually no road riding whatsoever and a lot of very poor tracks I would recommend this strongly at some point a few months down the line.

Pedals. There are a few different types. The bike will come with some kind of flat pedals. I would recommend clipless pedals for the simple reason you can go quite a bit faster, it should improve your pedal action and it made cycling a fair bit more fun for me. I started off with flat pedals and used to grind along at very low revolutions, 30-45 RPM and going along on the flat was a real chore and feet slipped a lot going up hills. When I got SPDs after 3 years my pedalling technique improved, it was a lot more enjoyable, my speed increased and I went up hills and flats faster. I see other beginners and others from time to time making exactly the same mistakes I did. You don't have to get clipless pedals or toe clips and can stay with flat but if you do bear the above in mind. You can get SPD pedals and cleats for about £20. The shoes are more. Toe clips are about a fiver I think but many people on this forum are rabidly against them but I know quite a few people personally that cycle with them. Flats are obviously fine for a while. Whatever your ability you can just get more power out with SPDs that's all.

Oh yeah, Decathlon have a large range and some cheap helmets, don't know whether there's one anywhere near you. You've got to get something that fits. I have met but some Bell and Giro seem all right for my head and aren't much more. If you get a speedometer and are out in the dark I find it quite good putting a small front light on the helmet for visibility and to read the speedometer.

 

[QuestionableCarro]

Thanks you for taking the time to reply with such comprehensive information. Those pedals sound like something I would be interested in for the hills that surround my town.
I will be sure to mention that to the guy I am buying the bike off next week.

Ta

QC

 

[marinyork]

Just enjoy, don't get the wrong impression, my suggestions are things to consider in the next few months . It's all too easy to spend hundreds on accessories, upgrades and clothes . You don't need most of that stuff but much of it is functional. The marin has had a lot of hammer, been on a lot of adventures and even did a 100 mile ride recently. I'm sure it'll be the same for you.

 

[QuestionableCarro]

Once I get the Bike I am going to start training for the lap the lough event here in Northern Ireland.

www.lapthelough.org

Its the biggest lough in the UK and if memory serves me its about 90 oddish miles.

The event takes place on the 30th August so that will be the Marin well broke in!

 

[HLaB]

Looks a nice ride; narrower tyres and spds look like a good option for that.

 

[QuestionableCarro]

And here was me thinking the tyres/wheels on the Marin were thin as heck!

Well compared to my MTB they are like rizla papers...

The pedals sound like a sound investment. I get 40 quids worth of shop equip with the bike so i might ask for that in addition to my new helmet.

Ta

 

[Randochap]

"Wider tires roll easier, yield higher mileage and offer more comfort and grip." Continental Tyre

Wider is faster!

The truth about rolling resistance:
Wide tires offer more control, more comfort and more fun. While this has become more widely accepted over the past few years Sport Scientist Peter Nilges, was not too interested, he was more concerned with speed. The avid, German League road racer wanted to determine the best tire width and air pressure combination for fastest performance. He completed 300 test-rides with SRM cranks to establish the exact energy consumption for his thesis “Road Rolling Resistance”. He tried three different tire types in three widths at 20 psi, 30 psi, 45 psi and 55 psi on road, dirt track and cross-country The results were clear. Higher pressure was only faster on the road. Off-road rolling resistance was lower, the wider the tire and the lower the pressure. This was similarly true for dirt tracks, soft forest roads or cross-country and up to 40 Watts could be saved in extreme off-road conditions; poor acceleration caused by higher tire weight being generally compensated for. Explanation: A tire at low inflation pressure adapts better to uneven surfaces. It sinks into the ground less. Overall it suffers less retardation.
Schwalbe Tyres

In fact, on all but the most perfect, newly-paved surface, a wider tyre at lower pressure will be faster -- not to mention more comfy -- than a narrow, high pressure tyre. Unfortunately, the "high pressure, narrower = faster" orthodoxy resists all other information to the contrary in many circles.

Even the racing peloton is moving away from ultra-narrow tyres for everything but time trials, where the aerodynamic argument holds some weight at speeds of 50 kph. Unless you regularly travel at these speeds on smooth surfaces, you will be much better served by a tyre in the 28-40mm width, run at pressures from 90-50 psi.

Tyres like these (asuming they are well-constructed) will be fast if not faster than narrower tyres on the kinds of surfaces most of us ride. As stated above by manufacturers and testers, wider tyres absorb irregularities, rather than bouncing and slowing progress, while pounding the rider in the process. all this is wasted energy that could produce forward movement

Personally, I love the ride of my Bleriot, especially when I clad it in the incredibly fast 650 X 42b Grand Bois Hetre,( patterned after the legendary hand-laid French tyres of the 1930s) which has become one of the most renowned "demi balloon" tyres today.

Sure, I occasionally run 700X23s @ 100psi on my other bikes, but I don't find any real speed benefit and they certainly don't come anywhere close to the plush Hetre when it comes to comfort.

 

[Randochap]

the whole mudguard snobbery thing.

What's that?

 

[marinyork]

Er, Randochap, you can't get anything stupidly thin on those rims, I think both me and HLaB were recommending 28mm tyres. There also tends to be some debate about how good the tyres that come with marin city bikes are. I still got 2 years out of one of my sets though.