Cycling..What is it you wish you knew when you started

valk_scot

thelawnet wrote: »

Brooks saddles are a high theft risk unfortunately.

Given the choice between a sore undercarriage every time I get on the bike and a higher theft risk I'll take the theft risk every time. I'll admit to having a standard gel lady fit saddle on the bike I use for tootling round the town and to go shopping but for anything over five miles or so I want my Brooks B72. Yes, a Brooks saddle can cost as much as some folk pay for a complete bike, eek, but once it's broken in to the exact contours of your bum there's no better saddle imho. I've got a ladies B17 with copper rivets that I bought for faster touring, it cost me a small mint in 1990 and I hardly used it but my daughter has swiped it now. Family heirlooms! If you use a leather saddle btw it's best to carry a plastic bag or shower cap to put over your saddle, if you leave it outside the caf!. Soggy and leather don't mix.

Back to the original point of this thread...after your bike, lock and helmet the accessories that are most worth paying out on are saddles, shoes, shorts and gloves ie where you interface with the bike. Of course you don't have to buy the most expensive just because it's expensive but pay attention here and look for comfort and performance to the limit of your budget.

DKLS

I wish I had known that after really getting into cycling, buying a carbon bike at mega money and various other bits of kit, getting very fit clocking up many miles, obsessing about the weight saving of new kit and cadence rates, reading anything and everything about cycling technique and training methods I started to dislike cycling until I decided to stop. Looking back at some of the photos I look like a sodding lycra power ranger!

I sold the bike and all the kit, went on holiday with the proceeds and bought an old mtb bike from the tip for £15, its been a revelation I enjoy cycling again but have zero desire to upgrade groupsets because it will save me 200 grms or even care what my cadence rate is.

Marco_Panettone

DKLS wrote: »

I wish I had known that after really getting into cycling, buying a carbon bike at mega money and various other bits of kit, getting very fit clocking up many miles, obsessing about the weight saving of new kit and cadence rates, reading anything and everything about cycling technique and training methods I started to dislike cycling until I decided to stop. Looking back at some of the photos I look like a sodding lycra power ranger!

I sold the bike and all the kit, went on holiday with the proceeds and bought an old mtb bike from the tip for £15, its been a revelation I enjoy cycling again but have zero desire to upgrade groupsets because it will save me 200 grms or even care what my cadence rate is.

I've very recently come to terms with the fact there are many ways to cycle. I still love the 'sport' and the kit that goes with it. I really enjoy the commute and the ease and control it gives me. I'm now also enjoying the pootling around, popping to the shops sort of cycling that cleats and lycra don't support.

I now have 3 bikes....

DKLS

Marco_Panettone wrote: »

I've very recently come to terms with the fact there are many ways to cycle. I still love the 'sport' and the kit that goes with it. I really enjoy the commute and the ease and control it gives me. I'm now also enjoying the pootling around, popping to the shops sort of cycling that cleats and lycra don't support.

I now have 3 bikes....

Thats a good way of looking at it.
Its a revelation to cycle down the canal to the pub, prop the bike against the wall and not to worry about it getting nicked or damaged.

armyknife

DKLS wrote: »

Thats a good way of looking at it.
Its a revelation to cycle down the canal to the pub, prop the bike against the wall and not to worry about it getting nicked or damaged.

Yeah, I have a rough looking single speed I knocked up out of spare bits and an old frame that had sat upside down rusting in the garden for months.
I've since done 5,000 or so thousand miles on it, and it's a joy to ride, gets left everywhere, not likely to get nicked and as it turns out, less working parts and tough tyres means, less likely to go wrong.

I don't regard myself as a 'cyclist', a bike is just my primary mode of transport, perhaps I'm a 'utility cyclist' instead.

stevemcol

Gentlemen. Don't let anyone convince you that tight Lycra pants are in any way normal and look OK. They aren't and you don't.

DKLS

stevemcol wrote: »

Gentlemen. Don't let anyone convince you that tight Lycra pants are in any way normal and look OK. They aren't and you don't.

They dont look good on the professionals, never mind the overweight, middle aged blokes who looked they had fallen out of Evans cycles after spending 5k appeared on the roads after the TDF last year. :eek:

Throbbe

I wish I'd known how prone I would be to developing annoying earworms that matched my cadence. Over an hour last week to the accompaniment of the chorus from Lady Gaga's Telephone.

:mad:

stevemcol

Throbbe wrote: »

I wish I'd known how prone I would be to developing annoying earworms that matched my cadence. Over an hour last week to the accompaniment of the chorus from Lady Gaga's Telephone.

:mad:

I thought it was just me! Blondie tracks seem to get stuck in my head while cycling, over and over. You know it's time to change gear when you get off beat!

Jem8472

stevemcol wrote: »

Gentlemen. Don't let anyone convince you that tight Lycra pants are in any way normal and look OK. They aren't and you don't.

But they are really comfortable to cycle in. I have not found anything else thats as nice to cycle in as this sort of stuff.