thinking of getting a bike

freeze4real

hi guys,
I am thinking of getting a bicycle from done deal.

I need a bike to cycle to work. The distance is under 2.9km. I need nothing fancy.

I've seen a guy selling about 30 bike's i'm guessing its a business owned shop, maybe maybe not.

This will be my first time getting a bicycle. o any ideas what I should be looking for ?

Thanks

Sorry for the spelling errors I'm like a zombie now. and its way past my bed time.

Roger Hassenforder

stick up the link

freeze4real

Here's the link.

http://www.donedeal.ie/bicycles-for-sale/cheap-bikes-for-sale/5667229

Roger Hassenforder

freeze4real wrote: »

.

I need nothing fancy.

sorted there then
(Is it the 70 quid one?)

freeze4real

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

sorted there then
(Is it the 70 quid one?)

Yes it's the one.

Darkglasses

Not sure which one you mean, but try to get one without suspension and with slick instead of knobbly tyres.

freeze4real

Darkglasses wrote: »

Not sure which one you mean, but try to get one without suspension and with slick instead of knobbly tyres.

Can you explain why without suspension and knobbly tyres.
I must add that I'll be learning to cycle on this bike lol.

And I'll be traveling down hill at east for 2min of the 15min journey.

Darkglasses

freeze4real wrote: »

Can you explain why without suspension and knobbly tyres.
I must add that I'll be learning to cycle on this bike lol.

And I'll be traveling down hill at east for 2min of the 15min journey.

Sure. Suspension is very very heavy, and offers literally no benefits whatsoever when cycling on tarmac. If you were the type who likes riding at speed off mountains over boulders, then suspension would be the thing for you. But it's just a hindrance on the road. You see a lot of people on the road with suspension bikes, 99% of them have made a mistake and bought something that looks cool rather than something that will be useful or in any way fun to ride.

Similar story with narrow slick tyres v. wide knobbly tyres. Wide and nobbly ones are good for when you have low traction, like on a muddy trail. Skinnier tyres offer more than enough traction on paved roads, and will let you go a lot faster.

Good luck with learning to cycle!

dtpc191991

freeze4real wrote: »

Can you explain why without suspension and knobbly tyres.
I must add that I'll be learning to cycle on this bike lol.

And I'll be traveling down hill at east for 2min of the 15min journey.

Personally I would stick with the knobly tires. Slicks are not easy to balance on for a begginer. As for suspension a bike with front and rear supension is much harder and slower to ride as the suspension sinks when you push down on the pedals alot of the power that would go to the wheel goes to the supension slowing you down massively. Supension also makes the bike heavier making hills and headwinds much tougher to handle. Tbh for a 15 min journey it shouldn't be a big deal. If you want to start out cycling in realative comfort go for light weight mountain bike with at the very most front or no suspension. As you get more comfortable balancing a bike you can upgrade to slick tires even a proper road bike. Don't waste money on anything carbon fibre unless you want to get into competition or serious long distance cycling. Hope that helps.

quozl

Slick tyres are better than knobly tyres on tarmac. They offer better grip even in the wet. It's counter intuitive but as bike tyres do not aqua plane so slick offers the best grip.

I'd get a hybrid with wide slick tyres. I learnt to ride a bike myself 5 months ago and am glad I learnt on that and still use it as my commuter despite getting a road bike for longer spins.

freeze4real

Getting the balance is difficult and my arse is sore.

quozl

Both those will improve rapidly, don't worry :-)

Buzwaldo

freeze4real wrote: »

Can you explain why without suspension and knobbly tyres.
I must add that I'll be learning to cycle on this bike lol.

And I'll be traveling down hill at east for 2min of the 15min journey.

If you really are learning to cycle (some folk find it hard to believe that any adult should be in this position, but it does happen) you could do worse than read quozl's (who posted earlier replies) log on 'learning in your 30's in the cycle training logs - brilliant log - and he's come on a long way.
(sorry I don't know how to post a link)

freeze4real

I had a read of it, it was very informative.

When I'm up in Dublin next I'll use rother service.

freeze4real

So a few weeks ago I tried getting myself to balance and no joy.

when I peddled I couldn't feel my legs pushing the back wheel. its was just too lose.

SO 2 weeks I played arround with the gears and I set it to the last one and it was much more difficult to pedal. So I tried going down hill and withing a few hours I got better at getting the balance.

I practiced down hill and could ride a little up hill but my turnings definitely needs some working on.
week the fool being me tried cycling to work 3km. Down hill was grand but I reached a little section wgere I had to go up hill and lopst momentum or braked and couldn't go. So pushed the bike a little and rode again till I crashed as I couldn't steer straight.

One thing I need to know is how bike 's work. On the right handle are gears which I have 7 and on the left are gears I have and I can turn my anti clock wise.

An insight to how they work would be nice.

Its getting difficult to practice as I come back from work at 6.35 and then its dark, if not its rainy.

Darkglasses

freeze4real wrote: »

One thing I need to know is how bike 's work. On the right handle are gears which I have 7 and on the left are gears I have and I can turn my anti clock wise.

An insight to how they work would be nice.

Certainly! I'll give you a very quick run through here and a youtube video should help too

Mostly what gear you should be in depends on what kinda of hill you're on - uphill or downhill and how steep.

The two gear handles are attached to gears on the front (on your left) and on the back (on your right). The higher the number, the harder it is to pedal the gear, the faster you go. So high numbers are for going downhill.

Lower numbers, very easy to pedal, but you go slower. So low numbers are for going uphill.

The front and back gears are used in slightly different ways. Basically, the back gears are for slight changes in how hard you have to pedal. The front gears are for making big changes in how you have to pedal.

When changing gears, try to be aware that your chain is in a straight line. I.e. not on the rightmost sprocket at the back while on the leftmost chainring at the front.

Youtube will help to visualize this -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNnKvVzzGw0

freeze4real

Thanks for the explanation. I'm free this weekend so will give a go.

freeze4real

I did a test run(cycle) on Saturday from my house to work and it went well. But my legs were sore and was pretty much exhausted.

I cycled to and from work today it took my 20 - 25min for a journey of 2.7km.

It was very chilling so I'm thinking of getting a cycling gear. I have my front nd backlights and highvis jackets.

I still need more practice to build my stamina and especially cycling up hill.

givusapush

Exactly that "practice" and "time "on da bike.you'll be flying then.also think about stretching before and after.you can look up up everthing on da web from training plans to stretching/diet ect.it all helps.good luck

Qualitymark

Freeze4real, first point is too late for you, but may help others: the best way to learn to balance on a bicycle is to set the saddle really low, so your feet touch the ground when you're sitting on it. Scoot along and get your balance like that, then take your feet off the ground; do the same until you're happy and confident, when you're really happy, start using the pedals - always ready to put your feet down as you need to. When you're happy pedalling, gradually raise the saddle.

Now, cycling is exhausting you - well done for learning, by the way! - here's an old CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club) advice given to me in the 1980s: beginners will pedal like mad, then freewheel, then pedal like mad again. Don't do this - it's exhausting. Instead, keep your pedals turning at a gentle, steady pace. Oh, and cycle with the ball of your foot - the pad behind the toes - on the pedals, not the middle of your foot like aged farmers; this, and circling your ankle as you turn the pedals, is much less hard on th'oul muscles.

As for general advice on cycling and how bicycles work, there are two great books. One is the classic Richard's Bicycle Book (now updated as Richard's Ultimate Bicycle Book -

https://libcat.dublincity.ie/02_Catalogue/02_005_TitleInformation.aspx?searchTerm=&searchTerm2=Richard's+Bicycle+Book&searchTerm3=&searchTerm4=&searchType=98&Page=1&media=&branch=&authority=&language=&junior=&rcn=0863186599&fr=tl

(that link is Dublin City Libraries - apologies if you're not in Dublin, but you should get it on interloan if not; actually it's well worth having in your home collection).

The other, about cycling technique, is an old British government book called Cyclecraft -

https://libcat.dublincity.ie/02_Catalogue/02_005_TitleInformation.aspx?searchTerm=&searchTerm2=Cyclecraft&searchTerm3=&searchTerm4=&searchType=98&Page=1&media=&branch=&authority=&language=&junior=&rcn=0117037400&fr=tl

I have this out of the library at the moment, but will be putting it back next week. Someone on this forum recommended it and it's excellent on all kinds of cycling techniques like lane positioning, turning, cycling in traffic, etc.