Trying to get back into cycling

Cabaal

So here's my plan,
Up until two years ago I regularly cycled about 16km a day however then I moved and I end up driving to work.

However back at the end of January I took up running with the aim for finishing a half marathon in September, as part of the running I sometimes cycle during the week to give some muscles a rest...overall I find it helps recovery on my non-running days.

However I've done some (what I view as) decent miles, Tuesday evening I did 30km in about 75min which I found pretty ok and I wasn't wrecked after either, Last year when I tried to get back to cycling I did 16km and I almost killed myself and gave up afterwards, this time I guess the running I've been doing has helped alot.

Anyway its about 46km one way trip to work and it got me thinking, if I can do 30km and not be wrecked could I set a goal of cycling to work perhaps just as a once off to prove can I do it or maybe once a few during the "decent weather.

My route to work used to be a main road but since the M9 section around Waterford has been completed the old road is not very busy so this is my chosen route.

My bike is a Trek 7.1 but I don't have very much cycling gear, the last thing I've purchased was padded under shorts as I did 20km about two weeks back and my arse was killing me. I just wear them under normal shorts.

So with the aim of getting back into cycling as part of an exercise routine and with the ultimate aim of completing a 92km round trip to work what’s the best way of going about it?

cdaly_

One option you might consider is to cycle/drive each day.

Day 1: drive in with bike in boot. Cycle home that evening.
Day 2: cycle back in next morning and drive home in the evening.
Day 3: drive in, cycle home.
etc etc. Gives you the training room without having to do 100k in a day from the start.

The flat bars on the Trek will slow you down. You'll end up wanting drop bars at some point but a conversion of the Trek may not be the most cost effective. OTOH, you could consider adding a set of clip-on aero bars as a quick aero improvement. You can always move them to your proper road bike when you get sucked in...

You might also consider somewhat narrower tyres. ISTR the Trek 7.1 has something like 35mm or wider tyres.

kennyb3

cdaly_ wrote: »

OTOH, you could consider adding a set of clip-on aero bars as a quick aero improvement.

Are these easy to clip on/off?

seanhunt

know the feeling, i used to do a 50k round trip to work every day a few years back and then a longer spin at the weekend and then due to new jobs and commitments I let it fall by the wayside. Got back into it about six months ago and slowly getting back up to covering those sort of distances. Don't know the area you're in but I'd maybe consider driving to some half way point parking your car and cycle from there and then back in the evening, maybe a day or two a week, for a while, and see how that goes. Wouldn't worry too much about cycling clothes for the moment, if its a nice day in the summer, shorts and helmet and a light wind cheater would be fine to get you get started, obviously bring clothes to change into after

cdaly_

kennyb3 wrote: »

Are these easy to clip on/off?

They're actually bolt-on. They're called clip-on to distinguish them from the TT-bike handlebar setup where they are an integral part of the handlebars (I think).

Four bolts clamp them to the handlebars, that's it.

I leave mine permanently mounted as I use them pretty much continuously on my (14Km) commute.

This is the setup I had on my bike when it had flat bars:


Of course I later converted the bike to dropped-bars:


Ignore the brake levers. These are extra levers I added as I'm riding in traffic a lot of the time and don't want to have to move hands to the brake levers before I can stop...

Cabaal

Thanks for the suggestion lads,

I'm lucky work wise as they have a shower I can use so cycling down and then showering and changing clothes is what the plan is.

I'm iffy about drive down, cycle back, cycle down again idea, its great in theory but the route can get very bad fog from time to time and visability is piss poor when it comes down.

As I start work early I'd have to be leaving at 6.00/6.30 (unless I increase speed) so that doesn't give the fog/mist anytime to lift or for the sun to burn through.

In relation to the aero bars, what are the benefits as I've never used them I've generally had mountain bikes over the years and only progressed to the Trek 7.1 FX in around 2006 and have only had flat bars on that. The frame on it broke last year and I got a replacement 7.1 but have hardly used it since.

I take it its about getting into a better riding position which is more comfortable etc?

I've thought about narrower tyres alright but what type of costs am I'm looking at and any suggestions?

My plan was to cycle a few days a week and clock up about 20-30km each cycle to build up muscle etc and get used top being back in the saddle, after a few weeks I had planned on doing a trip down to Waterford in the morning on some Sunday taking it easy enough and then cycle back in the evening.

Aquos76

Cabaal, you should try coming out for a few spins with Sportif Waterford CC, we are mainly geared towards the leisure side of things,(we also have a racing section and a MTB section)and we can cater for up to 3 different levels. From what your are saying, our Tuesday night and Thursday night spins would suit you down to the ground, around the 50-60km mark at a nice average pace of around 27kmph. This group meet at 18.30 at the Ramada hotel out on the cork road each evening and there could be anything up to 15 cyclists out on these spins.

cdaly_

Cabaal wrote: »

In relation to the aero bars, what are the benefits as I've never used them I've generally had mountain bikes over the years and only progressed to the Trek 7.1 FX in around 2006 and have only had flat bars on that. The frame on it broke last year and I got a replacement 7.1 but have hardly used it since.

I take it its about getting into a better riding position which is more comfortable etc?

For me it was initially about relieving weight on my wrists on the flat bars. With the aerobars my upper-body weight is on elbows in padded cups so the wrists get no pressure. I'm told I could improve on that by doing core-strength exercises but that'll be the day for me...

You also get into a more aerodynamic position. With the normal flat bars, your hands are out beyond your shoulders so your body presents a pretty wide cross section to a headwind. On the aerobars, your elbows are tucked in and your shoulders tend to tuck in also. You end up with a lot smaller cross section and therefore less drag. I would say it gave me something like 15% - 20% higher road speed for the same effort.*

OTOH, you have poorer steering control with aerobars. You wouldn't weave through the traffic on them. You cannot stand up in the pedals while on the aerobars either. Almost instant crash... You also have no access to brakes/gears. For a 50k steady cycle on rural roads they should be brilliant. I find I just eat up the kms.

Oh, and go for lower gear, higher cadence (pedalling speed) for less strain and just as much exercise...

I've thought about narrower tyres alright but what type of costs am I'm looking at and any suggestions?

You'll get away with just making sure they are pumped to a decent pressure to start with. You should be aiming for 60-80 psi on 35mm tyres (it'll be printed on the tyre).



*That may need a pinch of salt as I've been improving with the training anyhow...

Cabaal

Aquos76 wrote: »

Cabaal, you should try coming out for a few spins with Sportif Waterford CC, we are mainly geared towards the leisure side of things,(we also have a racing section and a MTB section)and we can cater for up to 3 different levels. From what your are saying, our Tuesday night and Thursday night spins would suit you down to the ground, around the 50-60km mark at a nice average pace of around 27kmph. This group meet at 18.30 at the Ramada hotel out on the cork road each evening and there could be anything up to 15 cyclists out on these spins.

Sounds great but sadly I no longer live in Waterford so dragging the bike down to Waterford to take part would be an awful pain.

Cabaal

cdaly_ wrote: »

For me it was initially about relieving weight on my wrists on the flat bars. With the aerobars my upper-body weight is on elbows in padded cups so the wrists get no pressure.

I've found on the 30km's that my palm's started getting numb and sore so I may look into the aerobars then as an alternative to the flats.

You also get into a more aerodynamic position. With the normal flat bars, your hands are out beyond your shoulders so your body presents a pretty wide cross section to a headwind. On the aerobars, your elbows are tucked in and your shoulders tend to tuck in also. You end up with a lot smaller cross section and therefore less drag. I would say it gave me something like 15% - 20% higher road speed for the same effort.*

I was thinking it would do that alright, as your lower down there's less of you for the wind to catch.

OTOH, you have poorer steering control with aerobars.

Is it much poorer say on turns on the road, would you have to switch back to the flats to take sharp'ish turns on roads?

You wouldn't weave through the traffic on them. You cannot stand up in the pedals while on the aerobars either. Almost instant crash... You also have no access to brakes/gears. For a 50k steady cycle on rural roads they should be brilliant. I find I just eat up the kms.

Most of the journey should be country roads which are in reasonable nick, twisty enough in places and when I get closer to waterford I';ll be meeting alot more traffic so I can just switch back to the flats.

You'll get away with just making sure they are pumped to a decent pressure to start with. You should be aiming for 60-80 psi on 35mm tyres (it'll be printed on the tyre).

Wehn I took my bike out of storage thats the first thing I did was check PSI, its within limitis at the moment

Lumen

Cabaal wrote: »

I've found on the 30km's that my palm's started getting numb and sore so I may look into the aerobars then as an alternative to the flats.

Ergo bar ends? (like this or cheaper equivalent)

Cabaal

Lumen wrote: »

Ergo bar ends? (like this or cheaper equivalent)

Not much cheaper though compared to http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Profile_Century_Aero_ZB_Aero_Bars/4000000916/

Lumen

Cabaal wrote: »

Not much cheaper though compared to http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Profile_Century_Aero_ZB_Aero_Bars/4000000916/

Aero bars serve a different purpose to bar ends. The point of bar ends is to give you a more ergonomic hand position (and choice of positions). The point of aerobars is to get you comfortably aero.

Both are a poor choice compared to drop handlebars but you have what you have.

Cabaal

Lumen wrote: »

Aero bars serve a different purpose to bar ends. The point of bar ends is to give you a more ergonomic hand position (and choice of positions). The point of aerobars is to get you comfortably aero.

Both are a poor choice compared to drop handlebars but you have what you have.

Fair enough
Yeah well its either that or replace the flat bars I have, any idea what kind of costs I'd be looking at to do this?

cdaly_

Cabaal wrote: »

Fair enough
Yeah well its either that or replace the flat bars I have, any idea what kind of costs I'd be looking at to do this?

I did a conversion using second-hand bits and it came out around €100. To do it new you're looking at a good bit more. Also, as the Trek 7.1 has a 7-speed freewheel sprocket block rather than a cassette, you'll find it difficult to get 7-speed shifters and would likely end up having to change the rear wheel to accommodate a 8/9-speed cassette.

I reckon it would be uneconomic to do with the 7.1.

Cabaal wrote: »

Is it much poorer say on turns on the road, would you have to switch back to the flats to take sharp'ish turns on roads?

Most of the journey should be country roads which are in reasonable nick, twisty enough in places

Any sort of turn where you lean rather than steer you should handle ok on the aerobars. It's pretty much a matter of getting used to them.

Cabaal

cdaly_ wrote: »

I did a conversion using second-hand bits and it came out around €100. To do it new you're looking at a good bit more. Also, as the Trek 7.1 has a 7-speed freewheel sprocket block rather than a cassette, you'll find it difficult to get 7-speed shifters and would likely end up having to change the rear wheel to accommodate a 8/9-speed cassette.

I reckon it would be uneconomic to do with the 7.1.

Fair enough,
Perhaps if I stay at cycling this time I may look at getting a new bike under the cycle to work scheme....can't justify it at the moment.

Trek 1.2 WSD looks pretty nice,

Any sort of turn where you lean rather than steer you should handle ok on the aerobars. It's pretty much a matter of getting used to them.

Might shell out the 45e or so and buy the aurobars off wiggle in a few weeks, see how things go

Thanks for all the very helpful responses

Cabaal

So I hit my first 50km cycle on Saturday, approx 55km in 2hours 2min,
Didn't feel too bad afterwards