Do You Road Bike?

[Roadstergal]

I shall race you up the hill, good sir.

 

[theAmazingKickstand]

Dont judge me too harshly. I bought this off of CL brand new never been owned. I was even able to register it on Jamis and get the warranty. It came with SPD pedals, I took off that plastic flat pedal from it.

Sounds like I will have to invest on some better wheels to make it a bit lighter. And do a few tweeks. I havent really taken it out for a spin yet. Just around the block a few times to test ride it.

Super congrats and good for you!!!
I use those same wheels to commute when it's totally dark until 7am. They're way better at blindly flying into pot holes at full speed than fancy wheels. If you put fancy bearings in them they'll kinda sorta feel like fancy wheels on flats and down hill. I think they weigh about 2,000gms. Don't waste your money upgrading to 1800gm then 1600 gm than 1400gms. If your gonna do it do it right once. Its cheaper that way too. You won't notice a huge difference till you get to 1,400gms from those. Get a feel for these and have all your accidents on them. You'll really appriciate fancy wheels once you know what these are like on hills and accelerating. Get someone who knows what they're doing to fit ya.
What's your friends first name at Easton?
Wieners use $70 carbon cages. If you wanna show everyone you know what's up you'll put a classic gorgeous stainless steel cage on your fancy bike frame. It's like wearing a new $5k Purple Label suit with a 60 yr. old Omega. People will know that you're the real deal.

 

[Kim]

Thanks TAK

Im trying to prep myself to do the Napa century ride I signed up for in August (Yes I signed up before I had a bike, gotta have goal right?! ). Any tips for a newbie starting out? as far as conditioning? how much saddle time should I be spending? How far and how long of a ride should I be doing to start out? We are doing the 65miler.

Wheels. Like i said Im not jumping into it yet. Gotta get the other necessary items first. Water cage, emergency road kit ie tubes, CO2, patches, and watever the heck else I should have.

The guy that works at Easton is Ezra. He is my BF's friend more then mine. I met him once at the Solvang century ride not to long ago. Its what got my ass in gear to start riding.

 

[Maurice]

Try going for time instead of miles. If you want to go farther you just have to pace yourself.
You have plenty of time to train, just try to get out as often as possible, and don't try to overexert yourself until you get some cycling fitness in your legs.
Plus having not ridden a bike much, and getting a new bike thats not fitted could easily cause injury.

If you have the time, start with an hour or two every day, if you're super sore just go for an easy one hour spin, it'll help with recovering.

 

[Roadstergal]

Two quick Qs for the local experts:

What is the torque on these three bolts? I don't have the feel for bike parts...

Is there anywhere local to get these stretchy O-rings with the little pull-tab molded into them?

 

[Maurice]

First loosen the bolts to the stem (the white thingy)
Then tighten or loosen the bolt on the top cap. If you have never loosened it don't touch it! it adjusts your headset and you will need to set it by feel to get it right again.

If you have touched it, loosen the stem bolts, and tighten/the headset to where if you picked up the bike by the stem and twisted it back and forth, the front wheel will not have moved. Also, if it's too tight, you will feel the drag when you move it back and forth.

try bicycletutor.com if you're not sure, they have great videos on how to do almost everything.

For the stem bolts it says it right in the picture 9 newton meters, which is 80 inch pounds, or 6.6 ft-lb. Do not overtighten them or you might crack your carbon steerer tube.

 

[Roadstergal]

It does say that - I don't know how I missed it, thanks!

BTW, around the house, the term 'white thingy' is reserved for me.

 

[FourT2Infinity]

Dont judge me too harshly. I bought this off of CL brand new never been owned. I was even able to register it on Jamis and get the warranty. It came with SPD pedals, I took off that plastic flat pedal from it.

Sounds like I will have to invest on some better wheels to make it a bit lighter. And do a few tweeks. I havent really taken it out for a spin yet. Just around the block a few times to test ride it.

Great color!

 

[theAmazingKickstand]

Higher end smaller bike shops will have a collection of new and used random rubbers and computer parts/mounts and spacers and spokes and ball bearings and all sorts cool not easily found things that they've collected over the years.

Tighten the two bolts very carefully. Make note of how many half turns you do. Tighten until you hear the fork steerer crack. It's a very distinct and expensive sounding noise. You'll feel it in your heart more than you'll hear it.
Then insert a new fork and tighten the bolts to 1.5 turns less ......give or take 2-3 turns.
Oh get the red carbon goop from a shop. You put it on carbon seat posts/seat rails and stems/forks - stems/bars. It has little sand balls that bite into the carbon so you only have to tighten about 30% less. It does scratch and rough up your parts.....if you plan on selling anything. Maybe someone already mentioned but be certain to tight those gradually together like a cylinder head or the two crank arm bolts. You don't wanna crank on one and then crank on the other.


Pro Tip: When assembling your bar/stem and bar shifter leave stuff a hair loose. Don't tighten it to hella. This way if you hit massive bump your bars and shifter will just turn down instead of cracking off and slamming you head first into the ground....which may ashully be no big deal depending on helmet choice.

Ja like other brah said, loosen the stem bolts first and tighten them last. They only hold the stem in place. The headset bolt is what holds the fork in place. Make sure the fork and bearings are sitting in there perfectly. There's a great chance they aren't from the store assembly. Don't over tighten it cuz you crush things a little. If you're super careful at over tightening and loosening then you could still salvage your bits. The lower end headsets can take a lot more abuse and ham fisted operator error than fancy ones.
Bling rims do pretty well so long as your'e not retarded. Cracked normal asphalt is totally fine if you get off the seat a little and let the bike bounce around a bit. Slamming them into fist sized rock or soviet quality pot hole or a BMW is what breaks em......but if you're super cheap you'll master the secret magic black art of assemba.....giving life to wheels.
Lightweight makes a set that's about 800grams. They are amazing. You can throw away your small chain ring when you get em.

 

[Kim]

Did a quick loop around lake merritt last night. Only made it around once before we realized we forgot water bottles and it started to rain.

Thing i need to work on...unclip my shoes before I fall over. Jesus that was scary I almost toppled over 3 times haha. It was like when you tip just alil to far back in a chair and you almost fall. yea felt like that haha

and I need to remember which shifter thingy is for which gear. took a while trying to get the right setting and before I knew it the person i was following was way ahead of me

 

[UDRider]

Did a quick loop around lake merritt last night. Only made it around once before we realized we forgot water bottles and it started to rain.

Thing i need to work on...unclip my shoes before I fall over. Jesus that was scary I almost toppled over 3 times haha. It was like when you tip just alil to far back in a chair and you almost fall. yea felt like that haha

and I need to remember which shifter thingy is for which gear. took a while trying to get the right setting and before I knew it the person i was following was way ahead of me

I think you have shimano right? Smaller lever drops to smaller circle thingie (technicals terms yo ), bigger lever goes to bigger circle thinges.

Clipping/unclipping becomes natural. Until you try to impress someone by track standing and fall over.

 

[theAmazingKickstand]

Clipping/unclipping becomes natural. Until you try to impress someone by track standing and fall over.

You do not wanna be the girl at a stop sign who falls over on three other dudes with extra fancy bikes.

 

[Roadstergal]

Did a quick loop around lake merritt last night. Only made it around once before we realized we forgot water bottles and it started to rain.

That sounds like a self-correcting situation.

Thing i need to work on...unclip my shoes before I fall over.

When I first got clipless shoes, I stood the bike up near a wall and held myself up while I practiced the unclipping motion and got the clips set up where I liked them.

This way if you hit massive bump your bars and shifter will just turn down instead of cracking off and slamming you head first into the ground....which may ashully be no big deal depending on helmet choice.

Hey, I have to have a reason for it! Thanks for the tip on the Carbon Goop. It's the headset bolt I'm trying so hard to find the perfect torque for where the spacers aren't spinning and the bars still turn smoothly. You torqued it last time, but I wanted to play with moving the bars down a little after our talk about fit.

800g for the set? Insane. I dunno, I sometimes wonder if it's bad to over-rely on light stuff. I still try to take my big heavy bike out now and then to reassure myself I can still ride. To think it used to be my swank bike.

You do not wanna be the girl at a stop sign who falls over on three other dudes with extra fancy bikes.

Depends on how hawt the dudes are.

 

[theAmazingKickstand]

How far and how long of a ride should I be doing to start out? We are doing the 65miler.

If your'e just starting out don't worry about training right or how many miles you should do/week. Just ride a lot and have fun. Don't over do it cuz it could take a while to recover. "Proper bike training" won't really help between now and your big event. Focus on catching small common issues. Do your lady parts hurt? Is it s numb feeling or a rashed carpet burn feeling? Do something other than muscles in you legs hurt? IT band is big common one. If you grind through the pain you'll be off the bike for the following 2 months. Do you get pain in your arms, back, neck, after 20 mns? Things like that. All that stuff you focus on during fitting and refitting. I think most important parts are fitting and getting proper road shoes and pedals. Those two matter most and you get to keep them for life and transfer over to your next bike.

That autocad straight red line I drew is the effective top tube length. Some companies use slightly different start points for measurements but they'll be clear on what they measure with their size/geometry chart. Those two angels are technically important and will change the ETT depending on how you sit. Right now that's too sensitive of an adjustment for you to notice and nowadays most companies use about the same angles for their sizes. They could be off by half or 1-2 degrees; maybe a little more if its some wierdo frame. A long time ago when dudes were building frames by hand and eveyrone was trying to figure what the best geometry was, two bikes in the same size could fit and turn noticeably different.

Think of fitting as two parts. One part is fitting everything below your waist and the second is for everything above. You adjust the saddle position and pedal cleat to set up everything below the waist. You adjust the bars, stem, stack, etc. to fit everything above your waist.
If you need to fix a problem with your leg position by moving the bars or fix an upper body issues by moving the seat then you got the the wrong size frame.
If you brain fart and fall over at a red light while taking three dudes down with you just start crying asap. No one will yell or get mad at a girl crying in public.

 

[Maurice]

The first time I rode clipless I had no idea how to get out. I rode about a mile before I attempted to stop and fell trying to catch myself on a car, I layed on the ground until I figured out how to get out.
Someone then walked up and told me he fell the first time too

 

[Kim]

I think you have shimano right? Smaller lever drops to smaller circle thingie (technicals terms yo ), bigger lever goes to bigger circle thinges.

Clipping/unclipping becomes natural. Until you try to impress someone by track standing and fall over.

I know that I can make adjustment. When I almost fell over I waited to long to unclip after almost falling over 3 times I would unclip way before i needed to stop, since clipping in was much easier then clipping out.

You do not wanna be the girl at a stop sign who falls over on three other dudes with extra fancy bikes.

I just didnt want to be the chick to fall over at a bust intersection with everyone watching.

If your'e just starting out don't worry about training right or how many miles you should do/week. Just ride a lot and have fun. Don't over do it cuz it could take a while to recover. "Proper bike training" won't really help between now and your big event. Focus on catching small common issues. Do your lady parts hurt? Is it s numb feeling or a rashed carpet burn feeling? Do something other than muscles in you legs hurt? IT band is big common one. If you grind through the pain you'll be off the bike for the following 2 months. Do you get pain in your arms, back, neck, after 20 mns? Things like that. All that stuff you focus on during fitting and refitting. I think most important parts are fitting and getting proper road shoes and pedals. Those two matter most and you get to keep them for life and transfer over to your next bike.

That autocad straight red line I drew is the effective top tube length. Some companies use slightly different start points for measurements but they'll be clear on what they measure with their size/geometry chart. Those two angels are technically important and will change the ETT depending on how you sit. Right now that's too sensitive of an adjustment for you to notice and nowadays most companies use about the same angles for their sizes. They could be off by half or 1-2 degrees; maybe a little more if its some wierdo frame. A long time ago when dudes were building frames by hand and eveyrone was trying to figure what the best geometry was, two bikes in the same size could fit and turn noticeably different.

Think of fitting as two parts. One part is fitting everything below your waist and the second is for everything above. You adjust the saddle position and pedal cleat to set up everything below the waist. You adjust the bars, stem, stack, etc. to fit everything above your waist.
If you need to fix a problem with your leg position by moving the bars or fix an upper body issues by moving the seat then you got the the wrong size frame.
If you brain fart and fall over at a red light while taking three dudes down with you just start crying asap. No one will yell or get mad at a girl crying in public.

My shoulders hurt a bit but I dont know if thats from the bike ride. I havent worked out at all for a WHILE. My legs feel great though. Not any soreness at all. Im going to try and going a bit further this weekend. I admit it was fun. Although after being on a motorcycle for so long then jumping on a bike with thin wheels MAN that thing feels iffy. I took my hands off the handle bars to reposition its a but nerve wrecking. Im sure its something I have to get use to. I want to ride it a couple of times to just get a feel for it then I figured Id go get properly sized at the bike shop in Oaklamd. I would say that id probably keep pedaling to aviod crashing into anyone and just go fall over somewhere by myself bad enough I embrassed myself without having to take anyone else down with me. I also know Id just start laughing instead of crying. Kinda like a motorcycle I suppose we all drop them. Im just dreading the moment! Please feel free to fill me with knowledge.

edit: also yes my lady bits are alil sore. but figured that was just getting use to the saddle no? no numbness however i havent ridden that long either.

The first time I rode clipless I had no idea how to get out. I rode about a mile before I attempted to stop and fell trying to catch myself on a car, I layed on the ground until I figured out how to get out.
Someone then walked up and told me he fell the first time too

thats What everyone who has rode told me. I just dont wanan expierence it! it must look hilarious though. Like I said above IM going to unclip way before I need to instead of waiting for the last minute

 

[aram]

thats What everyone who has rode told me. I just dont wanan expierence it! it must look hilarious though. Like I said above IM going to unclip way before I need to instead of waiting for the last minute

The only times I fell in my pedals was when riding with other people. It's not a big deal though, you'll probably fall once or twice and then be good.

I decided to take my new to me fuji on my first longish ride yesterday and just went my normal motorcycle route 9-35-84-pescadero-gazo creek-1 to santa cruz.

The worst part on the motorcycle (hwy 1) was actually better on a road bike since we picked up a tailwind on the way back and were able to make some good time back to Santa Cruz.

Learned something though: I think the old guys on fancy bikes at 4 corners/alices are angrier/way less friendly than motorcycle people though, one dude was trying to yell at Mr. Mustard when he pulled in at 4 corners.. I mean he's an asset to us all in terms of information and food, don't yell at the only guy you can get a hot dog/coke from in a 10 mile radius.

 

[UDRider]

I learned today that rear skewer in to front wheel can do a lot of damage.

I do hope my wheel can be fixed by next weekend, or at all.

 

[theAmazingKickstand]

just went my normal motorcycle route 9-35-84-pescadero-gazo creek-1 to santa cruz.

.

We did Robert Mkt -84/Alices-35-92-canada-Robrts MKT.
My fave route cuz it's top speed for half of 84 and ludicrous speed north on Hw1 until that bridge....then pose a little for the tourists on Main St. in HMB.
I'm totally gonna splurge and get some 900grm wheels soon.

 

[aram]

We did Robert Mkt -84/Alices-35-92-canada-Robrts MKT.
My fave route cuz it's top speed for half of 84 and ludicrous speed north on Hw1 until that bridge....then pose a little for the tourists on Main St. in HMB.
I'm totally gonna splurge and get some 900grm wheels soon.

I've never actually taken that part of 84 and it's been a long time since I've been on 92, but maybe I'll try it during the week sometime. Coming down 84 from STP is fun but I think it's better on a motorcycle.

When we were heading 1 south we caught a good tailwind and the speeds we were keeping were really fun.. there was one part by a bridge where I hit 47 coming down the hill which I didn't expect you could do on hwy 1.