first spin on a road bike and a few questions

fguihen

Ive spent the last 22 years on mountain bikes. All have been big, heavy, cheap raleigh mountain bikes.

Last night i collected my 1st road bike from cycleSuperstore, and i got my first spin on it today.

I didnt go a crazy distance, just about 7miles round trip, but as its getting dark i decided not to risk narrow roads in dim light on a bike im not used to.

My first impressions are:

the gears are difficult to get used to. it will take another spin or two to get near intuitive with them.

The riding position is unfamiliar, but comfortable enough. what was not comfortable was my left hand. my thumb feels strained from the position. Is this something that i will get used to or i can alleviate by adjusting handlebar height?

The thin tires! wow! man im used to hopping curbs and the like, but on this thing, manhole covers and gravel become major obstacles!

But despite all this, you can really fly on one of these things. acceleration from standstill is much improved over a crap mountain bike.


Just said id give a n00bs first impression of road bikes, and ask a few questions about them.

seamus

Yep, they go like rockets, don't they?

You'll get more confident about the thin tyres in time, but you'll have to watch out a lot more for ruts in the road.

One major thing to watch out for (and it's still catching me out) is the turning arc on the front wheel. When you're turning at slow speeds, keep the pedals at the 12 o'clock and six o'clock positions. If you have them in the 9 and 3 positions (as you're probably used to from MTBs), the wheel may hit your foot and you will lose control and look terribly silly. Don't, ever, pedal while turning at slow speed. A foot can end up caught on the wrong side of the wheel and you will hit the deck in that instance.

The gears are simple enough if you know the mechanics behind it of pulling/releasing cable. But unless you do most of your own bike maintenance, most people probably don't think of gears in those terms.

What I noticed in the move is that much more of your braking (when on the hoods) is performed using your entire hand and not just your fingers as on an MTB. So your hands will ache a little bit for a while - particularly if you're cycling in traffic.

blorg

seamus wrote: »

One major thing to watch out for (and it's still catching me out) is the turning arc on the front wheel. When you're turning at slow speeds, keep the pedals at the 12 o'clock and six o'clock positions. If you have them in the 9 and 3 positions (as you're probably used to from MTBs), the wheel may hit your foot and you will lose control and look terribly silly. Don't, ever, pedal while turning at slow speed. A foot can end up caught on the wrong side of the wheel and you will hit the deck in that instance.

This really depends on whether you have toe overlap or not, best figure out if you do or not. I am pretty sure I only have the issue on my bikes with mudguards, although it certainly can happen without them depending on the bike geometry, crank length, tyre size and rider foot size. If you don't have toe overlap there is no problem with 9 and 3 o'clock position while turning.

biomed32

i actually had the same impression when i first started riding road bikes, you can really fly on them, due mostly to reduced weight and friction. good luck with it and comfort and feeling get much better the more used to the bike you get

Lumen

fguihen wrote: »

my thumb feels strained from the position. Is this something that i will get used to or i can alleviate by adjusting handlebar height?

You might just need to get used to it, or you might be tensing up because you're nervous, or you might need to adjust the rotation of the bars and shifters.

If you want an internet opinion on your handlebar position and general setup it would help if you could post a side-on shot of your bike (from bike level, if you know what I mean). The shop probably did it right, but you never know.