Moving from a hybrid to a racer

Hi guys! This is rather embarrassing but here goes.

I recently bought a racer/road bike, it's my first bike. I've only ever cycled a standard/hybrid bike a couple of times, loved it and so thought I'd buy the racer as that is what I want to do. The bike is for leisure and not to get me from a to b.

Anyway I'm finding it really difficult to cycle, like I can't even sit on it properly or balance myself, it's just completely different to what I was used to. I feel like I'm learning to cycle all over again (which I only did a few years ago anyway).

Was I stupid buying the racer first? Any suggestions on how to get going on the racer? Feel free to give me lessons!

OldBean

Not at all. Take it easy. Find some place with no traffic, or that you're very familiar with cycling, bring your allen key and whatever other tools you'll need. Then cycle around and get used to it, try the different positions on the handlebars, shift up, shift down, moderate your speeds, brake hard. You'll find how your bike works. If you feel too awkward, try adjusting saddle position, millimetre by millimetre. You'll get there, just take your time

quozl

Assuming it's the right size for you then you'll get used to it. I was on one for the first time last August and it felt weird but it only took a few weeks till I loved the road bike.

I found the back end way more skittish under braking compared to my hybrid. So I had to learn to brake more skillfully and a lot more with the front brake. If you have the same problem it's very fixable but feels scary until you do!

Konkers

+1 on the good advice above go somewhere quiet and relax into the bike. You'll get used to it and start to love it.

mjsc1970

Likewise, i moved to a road bike last autumn. I felt very uncertain in it initially but got comfortable after a while. Nice way to travel.

crosstownk

mjsc1970 wrote: »

Likewise, i moved to a road bike last autumn. I felt very uncertain in it initially but got comfortable after a while. Nice way to travel.

Same here. I used to race road bikes 20+ years ago so I thought the transition from hybrid to road bike would be easy. It wasn't as handy as I had anticipated. I have the road bike 6 weeks now and have only managed 300km thanks to the lovely Irish weather but I am getting used to it. I'm about 90% of the way there. Another few spins and I'll have it mastered - I think.

rollingscone

Two tricks that helped me a lot.

1. Learn to be confident stopping and dismounting in drops. I went to a quiet street and practiced taking off and stopping in drops over and over, this got me over a fairly big hump in that regard.

Once I knew how to stop it gave me the confidence I needed to descend in the drops, which went from being a battle to not go back up onto the hoods (the bit above the brakes) to realising that I felt nice and solid in the drops.

2. Learn to use road brakes. Vbrakes have a very solid feeling when you use them, but road calipers necessarily offer much more modulation, at first this felt like they just didn't work well (they do need to be set up properly) spend some time getting used to stopping far enough in advance, also get used to shifting your weight back to compensate when braking.

OldBean

For what it's worth, both myself and the other half found the descent at the back of the magazine fort in Phoenix Park great for learning to get used to our first drop handlebars - Both in dropping down and moderating speed and braking.

Hi everyone! Months later and I finally got out practising on the racer! Weather was turning me off, the bike was getting very dusty! Anyway it's grand now that I can cycle it (never thought it would happen) but I've a few things to learn. Turning corners is hard enough for some reason. This may sound like a stupid question but are these bikes just for good roads. I was mainly on a tarmac path but there was some debris suck as leaves, etc. there so wondering is that bad for the bike. The roads look frightening to be honest, especially in this bike I'm not 100% with yet. Wonder if I joined a cycling club would I improve? Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Cee-Jay-Cee

Have you the saddle and handlebar height set to a height suitable for you?? Does the bike fit you correctly?

Beasty

So far as roads are concerned, look out for anything that may be big enough to knock you off course (stones for example), potholes and the like together with any glint which coiuld suggest broken glass. Leaves should certainly not be an issue unless it's particularly wet and there are a lot of them (more typically in autum) where you may risk slipping

Joining a club is not a bad idea, but you might want to give yourself a bit more time to "explore" cycling the racer on your own and get a bit more confident on it before committing to a club. The more you get out on the bike the quicker your confidence will build

smacl

Took me an age to find the road bike as pleasant to ride as the hybrid, and like Oldbean, getting used to the drops in a relaxed environment was key, as was just putting the hours in on the saddle. That said, at this point I find it way comfier. much nicer to descend at speed on, and surprisingly robust on crappy road surfaces. I also found the road bike a bit more finicky in terms of getting a comfy set-up than the hybrid, and ended up changing bars, saddle and stem to get what I wanted.

CamperMan

I was the same, rode MTB's and hybrids for years, then got a racer, rode it a mile and wanted to sell it on, it felt all wrong, it felt twitchy, the gear selectors incorporated into the brake levers was weird, felt like I could not get used to it, I then put the racer away for some months and carried on riding the hybrid and the MTB.. I decided to give the racer another go, same thing, after a mile, felt weird.. I continued the trip and did the first 17 miles on it, after that first ride of 17 miles, I then put the hybrid and the MTB away, I love riding the racer now, it cruises along and the average speed I do on it is 18 mph, effortlessly.. even with the windy weather.


All the riding I do is countryside, wide roads, some hills and very little traffic :-)