Cycling lost all confidence

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Replies

  • sharonlep
    sharonlep Posts: 50 Member
    I love my new hybrid. I love the ability to ride anywhere, and it's light, so very fast. Don't be do hard on yitrdekf.. To be honest I don't think many people would've been able to trial a bike like that in those tricky circumstances!! Especially someone new to road bikes.
    Get a second hand one. The shop doesn't warrent having your money.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    . You said you were fitted, so I'm confused why anyone would suggest such a bike.If your feet don't reach the pedals, the bike is too big. There should be onlY a Slight bend in your knee when the leg is extended and your foot is on the pedal.

    HOWEVER, when sitting on your seat, your feet will not touch the ground on a properly fitted bike. You have to move off the seat to start and shop. If you can reach the ground while seated, the seat should raised, or you need a larger frame.
  • solorex
    solorex Posts: 696 Member
    jorichards2 wrote: »
    I had about 1.5 m push of get on and stop, I think it was a bit too slow and I was worried about other customers getting in the way, they wouldn’t let me take the bike outside so I’ll find a different shop.

    Yeah, find another shop. That is an unacceptable expectation of the shop to expect you to throw down hundreds of dollars w/o being able to get a good feel for it. That is the kind of response I would expect from Walmart.

    You should be able to ride around the block or parking lot for 5 minutes or so (after having the shop set it up w/ some rough adjustments to the seat/stem) to get a good feel for it. Also make sure to try out different bikes...subtle differences in geometry, stem length, etc can make for a huge difference in feel.

    I'll second the notion of looking at an endurace speced frame (if the budget allows) as a transition from an upright flatbar bike. Heck, I'd like one for longer rides. I was looking at an Orbea Avant that was for sale locally...but ended up buying a different frame. Maybe next year.

    Also don't be afraid to look around on Craigslist or other classifieds. You can find some pretty good deals on private party sales once you know what frame size you are looking for.

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited May 2019
    Road bikes and racers are much lighter than what you've been using, so they might feel "twitchy" or unstable at first. There is a huge difference between the feel of my road bike and my hybrid. The road/racer will be faster and more responsive.

    The bike shop should at least set up the bike on a trainer stand to get a basic feel for it. Obviously you can't ride a bike inside a bike shop. Some shops might not want you take it outside because some people (not you) ride off and steal the bike, after leaving a fake ID with the shop. Neither would they want someone to fall, get hurt, or damage the bike. But lots of shops do allow test rides too.

    As for feeling self-conscious, everyone feels that way at some point and we each have to find our own ways of getting past that to do what we "want" to do.

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