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Share your advice for those new to cycling!
With the coronavirus restrictions there haven’t been as many opportunities lately to go on rides with groups of friends or join in on a club ride. It’s been harder to pick up those little bits of cycling know-how here and there as a beginner, so…
We want to compile a guide with the best snippets of things you wish you’d known when you started out and the best advice you were ever given.
Share in the comments below or email to tech [at] road.cc
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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Latest Comments
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Damn. Oh well... My plan is... I cancel Zwift for the summer as usual. I take that saved cash and pay the TNT shysters for the Giro and TDF for 3...
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- bensynnock 1 hour 23 min ago
Some models have a front section that you can remove and rotate to permit the dipped beam while mounted upside down.
- David9694 1 hour 34 min ago
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OK, OK, you get a £10 voucher to spend at the Diddly Squat farm shop.
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56 comments
One thing above all others: it's NOT a race.
What you wear, what bike you ride, how fast you ride, whether you go out in the rain, what you eat and/or drink during rides doesn't matter. Changing or following advice on these things might make you faster and/or more comfortable, but it is NOT obligatory. Ride what you have.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth... Oh yes: wear sunscreen.
expect to be shouted at at least once every hour by motorists who have paid road tax and want to tell you how to ride your bicycle because they're an adult who passed the driving test by some magic miracle
It tends to happen less at the moment, the driver rarely wants the cold and wet getting in through the open window and spoiling their sealed environment.
Don't wear pants under your bib shorts. Took me a good few months to figure that out.
...on my rides around southern Spain in July. However, in December in the UK the benefit of the humble pant may outweigh the disadvantages...
Ride lots, don't crash. There's no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong kit. Get decent lights, smash it, be the ball.
Don't go on cycling forums.
Steer well clear!
Fit mudguards.
Remove them when spring comes.
Because for nine months of the year it never rains?
Rule 5
1) I think in a thread for beginner cyclists, talking about The Rules is just a turn off.
2) Mudguards aren't so much for your own enjoyment as to keep the bike clean and for the benefit of others riding around you.
What's rule 5?
Rule 5: Harden the f*ck up
Velomanati rules.
Lots of fun, but not to be taken seriosuly. Unless you obey rule 1....
I'd forgotten about that shite.
Captain Badger is right, not to be taken seriously, and fun when you don't
So don't take it so seriously then, it's just shite, especially for a newbie. Us hardened cyclist know it's a bit of fun, don't we? If you're not rocking 53/39 you can just go the fuck home, and as for more than 25 on the rear, etc.
It's what a passing cyclist called out to me a few years ago as I flagged and flogged my way up a hill one day - a well timed and delivered motivational kick up the arse.
That's never happened to me. What a strange thing to say to a stranger.
Isn't that a couple of days before summer ends, in the UK?
Shortly before you pop the mudguards on again and find they rub. Just like the Christmas lights that went into the box in January working - and now don't.
1. Learn your local geography and topography and look at wind direction and strength before heading out. Much nicer to ride out into a headwind where you are sheltered by hills/trees and then ride home with a tailwind on exposed, flatter roads
2. if you can, try to make the last couple of miles of a long ride downhill, gives you a nice boost if you're flagging when nearly home
Sorry, but I think that "tailwind" is a myth like the Loch Ness monster.
Now, "headwinds"... That's a different matter, and they definitelty exist
Live at the the bottom of a hill then?
Buy the right bike to start with. That's actually pretty tricky but it's important - first impressions count. Generally, don't spend less than £500 on a new bike, pretty much anything else in the UK market costing less than that isn't worth it.
Ignore groupsets - you absolutely don't need 105/Rival on your bike. Bike tech is so good across the whole range from both manufacturers that you won't notice the difference as a novice between Claris & 105.
Learn basic maintenance - how to fix a puncture, how to lube your chain, how to set your saddle height, how to use barrel adjusters to tweak the gears so they work on that new bike after a few miles. Learning to fix a puncture in the comfort of your shed/kitchen/living room is the best way to learn, rather than on a wet Tuesday evening in Stoke.
Ride essentials: spare tube, tyre levers, puncture repair kit, pump, something to eat and drink, multitool.
Build up slowly and plan your routes. Start off with a 5 mile circular route so you can bail if you're getting tired.
Ride primary and assertively, never in the gutter.
Don't splash out on bib shorts, cycling shoes, jerseys and so on right away. They're expensive, and if you don't catch the bug you've wasted ~£150. If you're riding for less than an hour you probably don't need padded shorts, particularly if you're on large volume tyres.
Do splash out on gloves - if you fall off your hands will be thankful
Ride flat pedals in trainers.
Realise that you'll probably want to upgrade/change your bike within a year.
Don't follow the hype. Disc brakes, gravel bikes, tubeless, frame bags, all that stuff can wait.
Get a cheap lightset from Decathlon - they're compact, lightweight, charge quickly and are perfect "be seen" lights.
Don't watch NMOTD or follow Jeremy Vine on Twitter, it'll put you off.
Agree with most of what you say, except the £500 bit. - seems a bit arbitrary. My road bike is a £300 giant FCR3. Had it about 10-15 y* , it was the cheapest decent bike I could find. I first bought it to commute, and now is my go-to utility. About 5 y I put drops on it (it started as a fitness/hybrid), and recently upgraded the wheels. I use a Bobyak, and the BY QR skewer is on this more than my MTB.
I group ride occasionally with one of my daughter's friends and his mates - I'm no fitness freak but the set up doesn't let me down in the slightest
When I upgrade my MTB, I'll be spending more probably about 1500 ish, but that isn't out of necessity.
Agreed, avoid BSOs from Costco etc, but a low price doesn't indicate a shoddy bike
Ain't that the truth, or in my case increases general bolshiness. Riding with a camera I find helps calm me down, and is cathartic when uploading evidence
*edit: in fairness would need to adjust for inflation. BoE calculator says £420 if bought in 2007
My Boardman hybrid was a mere £275 I think 5 years ago, fair enough they start at £500 now, but I think you spend as much as you can afford rather than set a price point to aim for.
My advice to newbies on things like NMOTD is accept they happen
You don't have to spend a lot on a bike, but I would think if your budget is <£500 you're better served by buying something second hand. Not that it's impossible to get a worthwhile new bike around that mark (especially if you are happy to upgrade components down the line) just second hand is likely to be much better value.
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