My Accumulated Cycling Knowledge

novatri

I’ve gotten into road bikes in the last year and last week purchased a mountain bike. I also try to hit the spin classes when I can.
Seeing a lot of questions repeated I thought I would make a summary of knowledge gained through my experiences.

1. Spin Classes

A. These classes are not meant to be intimidating but intense for those who are time crunched. Do not feel obligated to match the intensity of anyone or get out of the saddle if you don’t want to. Try to maintain 80-100 rpm when seated and drop to 60ish when climbing out of the saddle. Think stair stepping for climbs. To fast and you’ll go into the anaerobic zone. To slow will increase the chances of knee injury.

B. When adjusting the bike start with the saddle about where you would wear a belt when standing next to the bike. The handlebars will usually be about level or a little higher than the saddle. Lower handlebars are more for racing and will compress your ribcage and effect breathing. Your legs should just fully extend, not locked out knees, and thighs should be about level when at the top of the stroke.

C. Most spin bikes will have cages to attach your shoes to, and Shimano SPD clipless pedals on the revese side. I highly recommend getting a bike specific shoe for spinning and biking. The shoes start just under $100. Some look like regular sneakers.

D. Bring a towel and water. Also a head band if you sweat a lot. Relax your shoulders and hands. Clenching just wastes energy and can cause muscle cramps in your back.

E. A 1 hour spin class will burn about 1400 calories for me at an intensity that will leave my exhausted for the rest of the day. However I can burn 1000 calories/hour with a slightly less intense pace, and maintain that for several hours without getting exhausted. Lesson: Intensity is not everything.

2. Road Bikes
This is general knowledge not specific to high end carbon racing bikes.

A. Always wear a helmet! Every bone can heal, brains can’t.
B. I recommend cycle shorts with a chamois pad. Chamois butter is a good investment.
C. Wear sunscreen or sun sleeves. The sun is harsher then you think when riding. Sunglasses are a must to. Cycle specific glasses wrap around your face so bugs can’t fly in-between the glasses and your face. (Protection from both sun and bugs)
D. Staying hydrated is very important. For rides over 1 hour drink a sports drink with electrolytes, not straight water. Also bring food to snack on as you ride. No food can cause a bonk, hitting the wall, glycogen depletion, a very bad day.
E. When turning have the inside peddle up so it won’t catch the ground.
F. When climbing in the saddle or going over rough road put your hands on top of the bar. Also if your running short of breath, hands on top of bar. This expands your chest for better breathing.
G. If you get clippless pedals practice with them before hitting the road. Be sure to unclip BEFORE you get to the stop sign. I recommend mountain bike shoes and SPD clip pedals over road shoes and LOOK pedals. Look pedals clip on only one side so they can cause falls from not clipping in fast enough. Mountain bike shoes have tread on the bottom and road shoes do not. So when starting from a stop if your clips don’t engage right away you can still find purchase and get through the intersection safety.
H. Obey all traffic laws and announce yourself when passing on multi use paths. Don’t be that jerk that gives the rest of us a bad rep.
I. No the seat is not to skinny. Saddles are designed to cushion your sit bones not your whole phanny. I’m 6’ with a medium to large frame and a saddle width of 150mm. There are specific women’s saddle designed better for that anatomy. But just because something says women’s or men’s doesn’t mean you can’t use it if it fits. *Does not apply to bathrooms.

3. Mountain Bikes
A. Helmet and eye protection still apply. Just got one so I’ll update later.
Happy to answer any questions!

skylark94

Good list. I will add one suggestion for road bikers.

- Carry a tire repair kit. After finding one of my tires flat while preparing for a ride, I got to thinking about how much it would suck to end up miles from home with a flat. I now carry a spare tube and a co2 inflation kit with 4 air cartridges (2 to inflate the tire and 2 spares for when I blow one out because I haven't sealed it right) It all fits very nicely in an under saddle bag.

The day after I started carrying my kit, I encountered a woman who was walking her bike home because of a flat. Unfortunately, I couldn't help her because my tube is for a mountain bike and she was on a road bike.

mmapags

I would add to ready for anything on multi-use paths when passing. I've had people block the whole path and not move when I called out a warning. I've had people jump to the left when I called passing left. And I had a unique one the past Sunday when I called passing on the left and it was a family of husband, wife walking and 2 young children on bikes. The husband and both children moved right to give me clearance and the wife moved left then jumped right to look after the kids. Could have been dicey if I wasn't ready for anything and had slowed to be totally under control. I've seen posts about rude cyclist but I try my best to be courteous. It's be great sometimes if some, not all but some of the others on the path would do the same.

zoom2

G. If you get clippless pedals practice with them before hitting the road. Be sure to unclip BEFORE you get to the stop sign. I recommend mountain bike shoes and SPD clip pedals over road shoes and LOOK pedals. Look pedals clip on only one side so they can cause falls from not clipping in fast enough. Mountain bike shoes have tread on the bottom and road shoes do not. So when starting from a stop if your clips don’t engage right away you can still find purchase and get through the intersection safety.

Yes and no. Mtn. bike shoes are great for a lot of folks if they're not riding high mileage, but the soles tend to be more flexible and can contribute to hot spots if a person is putting in a lot of miles and/or at high effort (eg during a race scenario). I started with mtn. shoes, but my feet have been happier with road shoes on my road bike. For casual rides of hours I was good with mtn. shoes.

Always assume that cars are not looking out for you. Don't assume they know the rules of the road...even if they carry a CDL (I just returned from a 20 mile ride where a dump truck and a school bus operator didn't know how to handle stop signs...jeebuz).

novatri

G. If you get clippless pedals practice with them before hitting the road. Be sure to unclip BEFORE you get to the stop sign. I recommend mountain bike shoes and SPD clip pedals over road shoes and LOOK pedals. Look pedals clip on only one side so they can cause falls from not clipping in fast enough. Mountain bike shoes have tread on the bottom and road shoes do not. So when starting from a stop if your clips don’t engage right away you can still find purchase and get through the intersection safety.

Yes and no. Mtn. bike shoes are great for a lot of folks if they're not riding high mileage, but the soles tend to be more flexible and can contribute to hot spots if a person is putting in a lot of miles and/or at high effort (eg during a race scenario). I started with mtn. shoes, but my feet have been happier with road shoes on my road bike. For casual rides of hours I was good with mtn. shoes.

Always assume that cars are not looking out for you. Don't assume they know the rules of the road...even if they carry a CDL (I just returned from a 20 mile ride where a dump truck and a school bus operator didn't know how to handle stop signs...jeebuz).

Road shoes will give you more efficiency. But I'd still go mountain bike show for the security of the treads. I'm not a racer, just long distance casual pace type of guy.

novatri

I would add to ready for anything on multi-use paths when passing. I've had people block the whole path and not move when I called out a warning. I've had people jump to the left when I called passing left. And I had a unique one the past Sunday when I called passing on the left and it was a family of husband, wife walking and 2 young children on bikes. The husband and both children moved right to give me clearance and the wife moved left then jumped right to look after the kids. Could have been dicey if I wasn't ready for anything and had slowed to be totally under control. I've seen posts about rude cyclist but I try my best to be courteous. It's be great sometimes if some, not all but some of the others on the path would do the same.

Children are less predictable then animals. But good advice from everyone. Always be defensive with people and cars. More so with cars even. Two ton car vs 20 lbs. bike...I'd have a better chance winning the Lotto.

sillygoose1977

H. Obey all traffic laws and announce yourself when passing on multi use paths. Don’t be that jerk that gives the rest of us a bad rep.

This x10! I hate seeing idiots out there who make the rest of us look bad. Know the laws and etiquette.

novatri

Bicycle Fitting-

Bikes are like tuxedo's and wedding dresses. You start with a size that roughly fits you and tailor it from there with seat post height and angle. As well as handlebar height and angle. Just about everything is adjustable on a bike. Or replaceable if not a Walmart type bike.

Buying a bike- You don't need the super high end. Used is ok if you know your size and take someone who can look over the bike for problem issues.

Bicycle clubs are a great place to find used bikes that have been cared for properly.

New-
Carbon: Light, responsive, reduces road vibration, EXPENSIVE!
Aluminum: Light-ish, more road vibration, can take a pounding, less expensive.
Steel: Heavy, reduces road vibration, can be mended by a welder in the middle of nowhere, great for those on a budget or considering a world tour.
Titanium: Exotic beyond my budget, not mendable as far as I know. If anyone has personal experience with this frame please share.

zoom2

New-
Carbon: Light, responsive, reduces road vibration, EXPENSIVE!
Aluminum: Light-ish, more road vibration, can take a pounding, less expensive.
Steel: Heavy, reduces road vibration, can be mended by a welder in the middle of nowhere, great for those on a budget or considering a world tour.
Titanium: Exotic beyond my budget, not mendable as far as I know. If anyone has personal experience with this frame please share.

Titanium can be repaired, but I think it's a fair amount costlier than a similar repair on steel. A friend of ours has a custom Seven Mudhoney that she uses for cyclocross and road racing. Last Summer she was in the middle of a peloton crash and I seem to recall that her bike was off for repairs for a few weeks.

Carbon is costlier than aluminum, but the price is steadily coming down and there are different grades of carbon. I upgraded from my first aluminum road bike (Cannondale Synapse with mix of 105 and lower end components) to a higher-end bike (Cdale SuperSix with SRAM Rival and Force crank). The price difference was about a grand, but I ended up with a bike with much better components. It's also a dream on our rough, chipsealed roads vs. that buzzy aluminum frame, even with narrower tires. I don't end my rides with numb hands, feet, and crotch. :glasses:

iamlottiebee

I don't really road ride, but I do MTB ride. As far as my pedals go, I love Egg Beaters by Crank Brothers. They literally look like an egg beater, and come with special cleats, the beauty of them being that you have 4 points of access to clip into the pedal, not 2 (or worse, 1, as mentioned with the LOOK pedals). More points of access obviously mean a better chance of clipping in faster, and the design also makes it easy to knock out any dirt that may get caked into the pedal from the trails (depending on the kinds of trails you ride!).
Oh, and it's nice to ride with a CamleBak (or similar) as opposed to water bottles. As straights can be few and far between on MTB trails, and I personally like to keep my hands on the bars as much as possible so I don't streer off into a gully, so it's easier to just feed a tube into your mouth and spit it back out after than fumbling with the bottle in cage scenario.
The tips my BF always calls out to me when we're riding to help improve my technique include:
- Use the burms! (when cornering on burmed corners, it's faster than trying to steer through them)
- Weight over your handlebars! (when cornering and climbing for better traction)
- Weight behind your seat! (when going downhill, helps with stability and stops your going face first over your bars)
Thats about all I got, they work for me at least

amyindm

Great tips thanks! I still have fond memories of my first time in clips... getting to a stop sign and then tipping over onto my husband and his bike. So smooth. Haha.

I love road riding now but am just dipping my toe into riding single track on my mountain bike. I went a few weeks ago on what I'd been told was "beginner" single track and had a mostly exhilarating yet terrifying ride. I didn't quite pop over the top of a hill though and went flying into the woods. I got a bit banged up. What's the trick - just making sure I fully commit? Practice? Learning to love slamming into trees? Help!

novatri

Beware of rail road tracks-

When crossing tracks, cattle guards, and cracks in the road do so at a perpendicular angle. Your wheel can slide into these and it's not pretty. Tracks are often at 45' angles to the road. Just swing out a bit and go perpendicular.

Relax the butt-

When coasting down hills I often stand on the pedals and squeeze my legs on the nose of the saddle. This gives great stability at high speeds and gets blood to your numb parts.

Transporting your bike-

Secure the front wheel with a busted tube or a bungy cord when using a bike rack that is not roof mounted. If the wheel hits the car to hard it can go out of true.

novatri

I love road riding now but am just dipping my toe into riding single track on my mountain bike. I went a few weeks ago on what I'd been told was "beginner" single track and had a mostly exhilarating yet terrifying ride. I didn't quite pop over the top of a hill though and went flying into the woods. I got a bit banged up. What's the trick - just making sure I fully commit? Practice? Learning to love slamming into trees? Help!

My mountain bike experience is limited to text only so far. The trails here are closing because of rain every time I have a free day. I've read for turning you have to load the front tire because that's the one that grabs. Also putting your weight forward when climbing sounds logical.

I think beyond that practice and personal experience are key.

novatri

The tips my BF always calls out to me when we're riding to help improve my technique include:
- Use the burms! (when cornering on burmed corners, it's faster than trying to steer through them)
- Weight over your handlebars! (when cornering and climbing for better traction)
- Weight behind your seat! (when going downhill, helps with stability and stops your going face first over your bars)
Thats about all I got, they work for me at least

What exactly are burms?

AmyRhubarb

Always assume that cars are not looking out for you. Don't assume they know the rules of the road...even if they carry a CDL

My brother and his family are avid cyclists, both road bikes (my nephew is currently racing for Team Specialized! proud auntie here) and mountain bikes. When the boys were younger and they first started riding on the streets with my brother, he would always ask them:
What's the #1 rule? People are idiots!
What's the #2 rule? Don't be an idiot!



Sadly, I've seen idiot drivers and idiot cyclists. You guys be safe out there!

zoom2

Always assume that cars are not looking out for you. Don't assume they know the rules of the road...even if they carry a CDL

My brother and his family are avid cyclists, both road bikes (my nephew is currently racing for Team Specialized! proud auntie here) and mountain bikes. When the boys were younger and they first started riding on the streets with my brother, he would always ask them:
What's the #1 rule? People are idiots!
What's the #2 rule? Don't be an idiot!



Sadly, I've seen idiot drivers and idiot cyclists. You guys be safe out there!

Wow, that is way cool to have someone like that in your family. I have a friend who is an elite endurance mountain biker and it's really fun to follow her races, vs. simply following the results of total strangers.

iamlottiebee

The tips my BF always calls out to me when we're riding to help improve my technique include:
- Use the burms! (when cornering on burmed corners, it's faster than trying to steer through them)
- Weight over your handlebars! (when cornering and climbing for better traction)
- Weight behind your seat! (when going downhill, helps with stability and stops your going face first over your bars)
Thats about all I got, they work for me at least

What exactly are burms?

Sorry - mis-spelled! "Berms". its when a corner is banked up on one side. If a corner is bermed and you "use the berm", you'll swoop through a corner alot faster, but the berm will obviously tilt the bike on an angle and you have to counter-balance (and keep your speed up!) so you don't fall off. If you steer through the same corner keeping perpendicular, you have to slow down a lot more to get round (then bring your speed back up again, which taxes more energy, etc), as usually berms are put on tight corners for the purpose of getting round them as fast as possible.
I've only ever seen proper bermed corners on man-made tracks, though. If you only have natural trails in your area, you may never come across them.

Another tip I remembered for when you're navigating tight bends / chicanes and have to slow right down is to ride your brakes a bit but keep peddling through the braking. It helps keep control of the bike when at very slow speed so you don't lose your balance and topple over!

Oh, an run a lower tire pressure than you would for road. I use around 40psi. Gives better traction and makes for a less bouncey ride. Over inflated tires will cause you to bobble around over every tree root - your behind won't thank you for it :laugh: