Health & Family Bike riding

Are there any cyclists on the forum?

I know @pinkboy is. Any others?

If so, can anyone help.

I used to ride fairly regularly up to about 20kms. I’ve recently got back on the saddle and have really been enjoying it. Doing rides up to ~70kms.
I’m still pretty slow averaging around 23-24kms/hr, but slowly building that up as well.

I’ve been using a mates bike up until now and would like to buy my own.

But... what do I buy?
Obviously it’s a road bike, andmore of an ‘endurance’ bike than a racer.
I’ve had a look and like the Giants but they seem expensive? I’ve also seen the polygons. But they seem ‘cheap’

I looked up second hand bikes and you can get them for ~50% of retail. But of coarse you never really know how many Kms they have done. So to replace everything that may need replacing you’d be better if just buying one new.

In reality I’m a ‘newb’ rider. And don’t really know the difference between bikes. Any ‘must haves’/‘must avoids’

And recommendations?

Thanks

Blacky

P.s I would ask this on a cycling forum. And maybe I will. But don’t want to sign up to another forum yet.

 

I would go to a bike shop. I bought a $100 Kmart bike but it’s completely rubbish! Then I went to a bike shop, trialled a $450 mountain bike vs a $750 one. The $750 one was just so much smoother with gear changes. Really nice to ride and worth the extra money. Of course it’s possible to spend much more but then the question is are the improvements in the quality worth the extra spend for you.

 

@Blacky - There are plenty of closet cyclists on PC.

@Gockie - is a tricycle a unicycle with trainer wheels?

 

@Gockie - is a tricycle a unicycle with trainer wheels? [/QUOTE]
You don't need all those extra wheels! One is enough.

I ride my unicycle to and from the station to go to work every day... Mostly the uni with the 26" wheel. I was previously very rubbish in freemounting it but now that's good. Now the last time I rode my gorgeous bike was on a wet weather day because it gets me to the station a bit faster! (And my station has a bike storage cage). So that's the niche my bike is filling currently.

@Blacky, if you want to make yourself a quicker bike rider, regularly riding a unicycle helps. And this is a real thing. Because when you ride a standard unicycle up a hill, there are no gears. So all the pedaling power comes from an increased effort with your legs, you can't shift down a gear to help make it easy.

On my most recent bike rides my partner was telling me that I was going too fast for him. And I did a Parramatta to city ride on my mountain bike and there's a hill right at Lilyfield Rd.... I powered right up it. No assistance with my pedals either, those pedals are just flat. No clips or other connectors.

When buying a bike, you want a bike you will be comfortable riding, with the right geometry for you. I bought a road bike from Anaconda but I just don't like riding it, I feel uncomfortable after a while. Maybe it's because I have to lean forward with my body more than I like with it.
Thus, when I ride a bike, it tends to be my mountain bike. Hardtail. Called Tempt 3. It's a Liv by Giant (Giant's female brand).

One more thing.... When you get your bike register it on Bikevault (find that on Facebook). So if it ever gets stolen, you have a better chance of getting it back.

 

Definitely go to a bike shop and get it fitted. I didn’t realise the that bikes came in different frame sizes. My Kmart mountain bike frame was too small.

Also, consider the seat. To avoid ‘numb bum’, try one with a gap down the middle or a ‘noseless’ saddle.

Noseless saddles definitely improve blood flow to soft tissue and sensitive areas. I bought a cheapie noseless saddle from eBay - and it’s been great.

 

I'm a big fan of Trek bikes, now have my 3rd. Had the first one for 8 years. I rode 4,000km on that bike in the first year of ownership but have now sold that bike to a friend.

My latest Trek bike is a mid-range Hybrid. I prefer the better control the flat handlebars provide. I wanted to upgrade to a bike with disc brakes and road-bike gearing. It's essentially a road bike but with flat handlebars. I realised the value of disc brakes after doing a 1000m+ descent in Sri Lanka.

Also consider a bike that has slots in the frame to accept speed and cadence sensors. These link via bluetooth to my Garmin watch and have a Garmin app for tracking activity. The watch has a heart-rate sensor in the back so can calculate calories burnt during the day and during rides. Also has a pedometer.

Don't bother with a cycle computer. They tend to fail.

Hunt around for reasonable quality USB-rechargeable lights.

I also have a trek mountain bike which I rarely use but might take it out again once I lose more weight.

Have started cycling 80km+ a week again as I want to lose some weight and build my fitness ahead of my next trek in Nepal later this year.

Have now done 4 x 10-day cycling tours overseas (Cuba, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Chile/Argentina). From memory 3 and if not 4 of these tours have provided Trek bikes.

My next cycle tour will be NZ South Island end of next year.

I'm averaging about 23 to 26 km/h. Depends very much on route and time of day. Head winds can be much stronger some days. My training rides range from 20km to 30km. Building up again to doing the occasional 90km ride but would like to lose another 10kg first and wait for the weather to get more consistently cooler.

I find roof-bar carriers a pain. I have a towbar-mounted bike carrier. Only a few minutes to install each time I want to use it.

HoldUp | Yakima

A couple of my personal records:

• 101 km and 1,248m elevation loss in Sri Lanka
• 83 km and 2,113m elevation gain in Sri Lanka

 

Hi all
Thanks for the replies so far

@Gockie - I’ve never sat on a unicycle, so learning may take more than my patience can handle. I do have an old ‘fixie’ in the shed which I rarely use, as it too hard to climb hills on. Maybe I need to pull the old girl out, to get the legs working.

I’ll certainly be going to a bike shop to get it fitted. After a long time riding my current (loan) bike my feet start to go numb. Which is a pretty sure sign something ain’t quite right.
By bum and ‘valued assets’ are fine though.

@wombat777 thanks for the info. I’m also looking at getting a Garmin watch. Probably the 935 which suits me for my tri training.
I had looked into the Trek bikes but ultimately ruled the out due to a large number of issues with broken components (frames and forks) and numerous product recalls.
The tours you are doing look like a lot of fun. Currently I’m ‘exploring’ as much of bali as I can. It’s great fun, but the climbs are hard work, and the heaving traffic can be unpleasant - Albiet the drivers are very respectful and give way (unlike ***** Perth drivers)

Thanks Simon. I’ve tried a few of those flat bar bikes. But I don’t find them as comfortable as the round bars.
I have set my budget at $2,000, but seem to keep looking at bikes in the $3-4,000 range.

Blacky

 

Merida Scultura 4000 2018 | Road Bikes for sale in Beckenham
Merida Scultura 400 Disc 2018 | Road Bikes for sale in Beckenham
Merida Scultura 5000 2019 | Road Bikes for sale in Beckenham
Merida Scultura 4000 2019 | Road Bikes for sale in Beckenham
a few at random
all good value I paid at least that much over 10 years ago for similar speced bike

Huge amount of choice. Anything that is mostly 105 will be fine, a compact crank is enough for many 50/34 front chain ring, I tend to prefer bikes with traditional spoked wheels

$2000 is a very good budget

Bike shop staff are often young men who race. Often they sell you what they like not necessarily what you need.
I would buy from a shop to build a relationship if things go wrong (I only ever buy from online)

Giant is a huge maker seller of bikes. Mostly fair value.
Polygon is an online brand. Good value for money. Maybe a little heavy and slightly older technology.

 

Get out to a couple of LBS and suss out the different brands. Each shop will run a few preferred brands and may even let your have the bike for a day or so to trial it on your route.

 

Thanks for the info.
I hadn’t looked at that brand but they look pretty nice and reasonably priced.
I’m certainly starting to think that I don’t need anything over $2k

Blacky

 

A 2k budget... Well, no excuses. You should be able to go very fast on whatever you buy from the bike shop!

Re: unicycle learning. This morning I drove to the other side of Sydney and picked up a used unicycle from a guy selling it on Gumtree. Old but high quality unicycle (Nimbus) for a good price ($40). I gave him and his 3 kids a demo on riding it, the tyre needs changing but what a bargain!

Anyway, had a chat with the guy selling it. He said he tried to learn to unicycle but couldn't do it so he was selling the 2 unicycles he had. (I didn't buy the other one which he also listed because it wasn't of the same quality). He was also selling a variety of kids bikes (apparently the kids were too big for them... I do wonder why they don't just sell the smallest one, because the smaller girl could have ridden the larger bikes but that's none of my business)

A few things...
1. When I was about to go for a test ride and had to adjust the seat height and tighten a loose crank before riding he had no idea that to ride you should put the seat height up so that your knee is nearly straight at the bottom. (Or at least, not too low). He said, just like a bicycle? Me: Yes.

2. I asked him why he was selling them and he said he tried to learn to unicycle but couldn't get it. I then I asked him how long he tried to ride it. He said about 1 hour. Omg. I couldn't believe it. He gave up after 1 hour. A typical unicyclist needs up to 10 hours to learn to ride. I suppose a unicycling club would have helped him with the basic info such as putting the seat up to the right height, basic knowledge he didn't have. He gave me a demo of his riding.... He did perhaps 1 revolution. But... Persistence is needed.

Side note. The unicycle I bought from him is the most manoeuvrable unicycle for me ever! Maybe because the tread is gone... But I could do circles on the street of about 1m diameter. Either direction. So awesome

I'm now thinking of entering the slalom event at unicycle nationals (October long weekend in Canberra) along with a long distance event. (A friend reckons I could medal in the distance event - and I reckon there aren't so many over 40 women entering!)

Of course I can enter standard races and a slow race too. I can see how I go. I don't need to win, but to compete and do my best is good enough.

For the slalom I will need to mark out a slalom course at home and see if I have good enough manoeuvrability skills around the cones. I have about 5 months to practise... That's heaps.

 

Just because they have 3 kids, doesn't mean they need to sell one.

It's all about picking the 'right' events.

 

Yep, have been a cyclist for years and very amateur crit racer. Threads about cyclists usually end up in the same place as threads about religion and politics

As with everything, get the best bike you can afford. If you buy some cheap rubbish you'll either not enjoy riding and give the sport away or realise quickly that its not what you hoped for and spend more $$ on your second bike.

Giants are probably one of the best value bikes around, Merida aren't too far off either although all things being equal I'd probably ride a Giant before Merida. Saying that I currently ride a Trek which is the second one I've had, also had a Specialized and Giant.

I'm going to dumb down the terminology here but the things I'd suggest to look for are...

The biggest thing that will affect your enjoyment of riding is the bike fit, getting a bike that is firstly the right size and secondly has a comfortable geometry is will be the difference between keeping with the sport or giving it away. There's plenty of websites about how to measure yourself up for bike size. Once you've got the right size, the bike shop should offer to set it up for you (as best they can) seat height, set forward/back, handle bar height/reach. After a while of riding you may end up getting a professional bike fit...they're not cheap but do help.

Make sure the minimum 'Group Set' is Shimano 105 (Shimano 5800) if you want to spend more for the Ultegra or Dura ace then go for it but forget Tiagra/Sora/Claris

Also... I'd very much recommend a 'compact crank' 50/34 (ie the 2 cogs attached to the front pedal have a small cog with 34 teeth and the big cog has 50 teeth) makes it easier to climb up hills. Not the end of the world if you end up with a Semi Compact is 52/36 but definitely avoid a standard crank set of 53/39

You'll probably find the rear cogs (cassette) has 11 cogs ranging from 11-28 teeth which is perfect.

The biggest thing that will affect your enjoyment of riding is the bike fit, getting a bike that is firstly the right size and secondly has a comfortable geometry is will be the difference between keeping with the sport or giving it away. There's plenty of websites about how to measure yourself up for bike size. Once you've got the right size, the bike shop should offer to set it up for you (as best they can) seat height, set forward/back, handle bar height/reach. After a while of riding you may end up getting a professional bike fit...they're not cheap but do help.

So, don't buy rubbish.....Get the right size bike......Get the shop to do a basic bike fit....Get some good quality knicks (bike shorts) and get out riding...oh I find cycling is a social sport so ask your local bike shop if they organise rides or join a local club....cycling on your own is boring as bat ****

 

You'll probably find it really hard to decipher all the different spec's models in each of the brands so firstly I'd start off by looking for the endurance (or sportive) frames in each brand.

Specialized Roubaix
Giant Defy
Trek Domane
Cannondale Synapse and the list goes on (google it).

Usually the bike companies will offer a basic aluminum version of the frame and a couple of different carbon versions. eg Trek Domane AL, Domane SL & Domane SLR
Then you'll find each frame type will be spec out with different groupset options (gear levers, crack sets, chain/cassette/brakes) Shimano Claris/Sora/Tiagra/105/Ultegra/Dura Ace...either mechanical or electric gear shifting and you'll also find they'll either have disc brake or rim brakes.

It really doesn't matter what construction the frame is (to an extent) nor does it matter what group set it is (as long as it's better the Shimano 105) just make sure you get the right bike frame to suit the type of riding your doing (endurance/race/cyclecross) and then the correct sized frame for your body, everything else is just a pi$$ing competition ( pardon the french)

 

If you're in Sydney (I note under your avatar it says you're in Bali) I have my wife's Specialized Roubaix for sale size 52. Perfect for someone between 163 - 170cm tall.
Honestly ridden for maybe 1000km (I have the strava files to show exactly how many km's) and has sat in the garage for the last 2 years.

She doesn't know its for sale yet

 

I would spend a minimum of 2k if you are serious about it..get something you can keep for a while.

Both my road bikes have over 12000km on them, so if maintained well they can last a long time. Few mates have like 20-30k on theirs. I have to replace cables, chains and tyres every few thousand K, but the cost is not much.

May need small replacements over time of components as they wear out - but they are very modular which is the beauty of modern bikes.

Best thing is just to get out there regularly and ride. Set a schedule so you keep at it. Do a few 20k rides a week, then 50k, then you'll be doing 100k+ rides before you know it. Can be addictive!

 

Giant Defy Advanced 2 2019 | Road Bikes for sale in Concord West

Specialized Tarmac Sl4 Sport 2018 | Road Bikes for sale in Nerang

Cannondale Synapse Al Disc 105 2018 | Road Bikes for sale in Adelaide

Trek Emonda SL 5 2019 | Road Bikes for sale in Wynnum

BMC 19 Teammachine Slr03 One 2019 | Road Bikes for sale in Fitzroy

 

How do you think this compares to the ones posted?

Polygon Strattos S7 - Shimano 105, 22 Speed Carbon Road Bike 2019 | Road Bikes for sale in

 

Thanks for the great info, and helping me decipher what a lot of the numbers and names actually mean!

So basically it is bike fit, fit, fit. Shimano 105++ and 'lower' gearing.

Everything else is just noise.

Thats essentially the type of info I was searching for!

How do people buy bikes online? If fit is so important? Or do you just learn to know your bike 'size'?

Thanks

Blacky