new to cycling

Thelonious Monk

Good tires are a must buy. You pay about 35 or 40 euro for a good tire, but you just don't get punctures. I can't ever remember getting a puncture on decent tires.

CramCycle

quickbeam wrote: »

Interesting. At maximum I was doing 15km each way to work and I definitely found the seat cushion a help. I don't know if that counts as a "a few km". I certainly wasn't doing 100km+ events or anything.

15km is decent enough, there are a variety of factors at play including speed, position etc but if I were to use a padded seat for 15km each way I'd have friction burns that would likely be bleeding from my thighs.

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Good tires are a must buy. You pay about 35 or 40 euro for a good tire, but you just don't get punctures. I can't ever remember getting a puncture on decent tires.

Depends what you consider decent, ones that don't get punctures tend to be tougher and slightly more uncomfortable. So decide what you want, you can't have everything. I use Shwalbe Marathons for commuting, bomb proof but many would complain they are slightly slower and give more road buzz. I found that once I got the 28s that became a non issue, the 23s nearly broke me

rolling boh

The op is new to cycling and has said he bought a cheap bike which will be fine to get started and to see if he likes it so I would think puncture protection will be a big consideration .Something like durano plus would be ok I have used them or gatorskins around and had very few problems though I know everybody has different views on tyres but do not think the op needs to be going all out on conti tyres just yet or similar priced tyres .

jamesbondings

Just a quick update.

So I got restless waiting for the pump to come, only to then have to repair a puncture before getting out. So I got a loan of a little hand pump (just to put some air in the tube to repair it).

As this is my first ever road bike I was concerned that I HAD to have tyre levers. But went at it like I did as a teenager. 2 butter knives and slowly took it out.
Thankfully I didn't need to take the whole back end off her as the hole was very obvious once I pumped it.
Put the repair kit on and once dry put the tube back in. Pumped it up and put it back in the shed.

Repairing a puncture as a teenager was always something I hated doing but this one was fairly easy! I mean it was a ten minute job (plus another 10 with the toddler running around me) . The hard part was actually putting the tyre back on!

Amazon will have the pump to me on Monday though, but won't risk another puncture due to under inflation so I'll hold off until I get it.

Pigeon Reaper

jamesbondings wrote: »

Just a quick update.
2 butter knives and slowly took it out.
Thankfully I didn't need to take the whole back end off her as the hole was very obvious once I pumped it.
Put the repair kit on and once dry put the tube back in. Pumped it up and put it back in the shed.

You're not the only person doing this. I've had a lot of neighbors borrowing my bike tools and pumps. Normally I'll have a queue of kids looking for pumps but now it's the adults getting back to cycling.

As an aside if you want a good social experiment give a local kid your old pump and tell them they're in charge of lending it out to the others when needed. It can become Machiavellian surprisingly quickly.

jamesbondings

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

You're not the only person doing this. I've had a lot of neighbors borrowing my bike tools and pumps. Normally I'll have a queue of kids looking for pumps but now it's the adults getting back to cycling.

As an aside if you want a good social experiment give a local kid your old pump and tell them they're in charge of lending it out to the others when needed. It can become Machiavellian surprisingly quickly.

If only I had an old pump! I do have an old bike it works but it's old, so has issues. I'll be giving that to someone local. Want to give it to someone who will actually get use out of it though and not just flog it for a few quid.

I might see if someone local has a foot pump to put the tyre up today so I can get out. I'm not a local local (didn't grow up here) but my partner is so will ask her to put the feelers out on fb!

bbari

jamesbondings wrote: »

If only I had an old pump! I do have an old bike it works but it's old, so has issues. I'll be giving that to someone local. Want to give it to someone who will actually get use out of it though and not just flog it for a few quid.

I might see if someone local has a foot pump to put the tyre up today so I can get out. I'm not a local local (didn't grow up here) but my partner is so will ask her to put the feelers out on fb!

Again..... I'm in Clonee, feel free if you need to borrow pump or bring the bike or wheels over. I'm impatiently waiting for my new bike delivery so pump isn't in use these days.

Balmed Out

I'd normally do a short cycle two or three times a year but have done around 700km since lockdown. Try to do about 5 20km cycles a week now. I have a bike thats 20 odd years and a helmet that's closer to 30 years old, a small pump and a hi vis jacket and don't think you really need anything else. The one puncture I had I went to bike shop and got new tube.
That said nearly 2 weeks ago I ordered padded shorts, a new helmet and a new saddle. It's been 2 months and I still find the saddle very uncomfortable. I'm cycling on my Todd to clear my mind and for fitness and don't see the merit in spending a lot on a fancy bike. You might be a little faster and hills may be a little easier but you aren't trying to keep up with or racing anyone. One piece of advice as a fellow newbie would be to cycle at a gear where you can keep the speed of your legs going rather than as high a gear as you can manage which is what I started doing. Hills are tough but beware the wind too it makes a massive difference. I live in a coastal area and on windier days I'll go inland where its a little more sheltered.

Ps anyone order from merlin cycles recently and did delivery take a long time?

bbari

Balmed Out wrote:

Ps anyone order from merlin cycles recently and did delivery take a long time?

My delivery arrived within the expected timeframe which was 5 to 7 days.

CramCycle

Same here, ordered a few weeks ago, think it took a week, maybe less.

jamesbondings

Big thanks to bbari for offering me a loan of his pump. I was literally about to go get it when I got a notification that mine would be delivered today.

It just came! Huge big box.... For a pump. I'll get the 20k in this evening once the little lad is asleep. Thanks for all your help and advice guys and gals.

If anyone in and around dunboyne has a bike/car/football needing pumped feel free to message me!

jamesbondings

16.5k done - mapometer wasnt too accurate unfortunatley. But delighted to be back out on the road again.
Wasnt in the mood to go but just got up and done it (im doing it to continue the weightloss and get a bit fitter).

Pumped the tyres to 55psi and they held, but the bike felt a bit "heavy" under me. I am going to pump them up to 70 psi tomorrow in the hopes it feels less sluggish. Of course maybe thats just the gleam off the bike now as the puncture makes it " not new" in my eyes.

In hybrid tyres is 70 the max? I would be worried even at 70, just with the bike having 17 stone ontop of it, plus my phone,water etc......Want to make sure i dont get another flat, and it did feel like i was close to loosing the back tyre again tonight. Tyre felt fine when I got home and it didnt appear to loose any pressure at all which meant the patch was a goodun!

rolling boh

Matter of interest what bike did you get ? You mentioned road bike in your first post but hybrid in your last it would make a difference if you have any questions on this forum .

boombang

If you find yourself enjoying cycling, then I recommended considering buying a better bike in time. I don't know how cheap your bike is, but really cheap ones can be really nasty. I'm not talking spending thousands, but the experience of a €500 bike is so much better than a €300.

Also, I very strongly second the suggestion of a track pump. You will only need to use this once to realise it was some of the best money you will ever spend in your life.

cletus

jamesbondings wrote: »

16.5k done - mapometer wasnt too accurate unfortunatley. But delighted to be back out on the road again.
Wasnt in the mood to go but just got up and done it (im doing it to continue the weightloss and get a bit fitter).

Pumped the tyres to 55psi and they held, but the bike felt a bit "heavy" under me. I am going to pump them up to 70 psi tomorrow in the hopes it feels less sluggish. Of course maybe thats just the gleam off the bike now as the puncture makes it " not new" in my eyes.

In hybrid tyres is 70 the max? I would be worried even at 70, just with the bike having 17 stone ontop of it, plus my phone,water etc......Want to make sure i dont get another flat, and it did feel like i was close to loosing the back tyre again tonight. Tyre felt fine when I got home and it didnt appear to loose any pressure at all which meant the patch was a goodun!

What size tyres do you have? Some of the thinner road bike tyres would be up around 100 to 120 psi

Tony04

Generally on tyres with tubes I have I just pump them up until when I pinch them they feel hard, even though i know lower pressures will be comfortable it's not worth running the risk of getting a puncture.

jamesbondings

Hey guys.... I bought this bike.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rc100-road-bike-grey-id_8554266.html

I have a habit of buying expensive things and not using them (gym membership, home gym, golf club membership) and am being made redundant this month or next. So couldn't get the bike to work scheme (without having to pay the rest of the bike in a few months) and also I needed to show the missus I would actually use it and not waste more money 😂😂. We are also saving for a house at the moment so even getting this one was a massive win!

On the description of the bike on the link it has the tyres on it. It mentions hybrid tyres even though its a road bike. My plan is to use this bike to get into the sport and when I'm settled in a new job and the house is sorted (less than a year hopefully) to upgrade to a far better bike. I can upgrade the current one if needs be until then.
I think the better half is very surprised I'm getting out on it as much as I am. So am I really!

jamesbondings

boombang wrote: »

If you find yourself enjoying cycling, then I recommended considering buying a better bike in time. I don't know how cheap your bike is, but really cheap ones can be really nasty. I'm not talking spending thousands, but the experience of a €500 bike is so much better than a €300.

Also, I very strongly second the suggestion of a track pump. You will only need to use this once to realise it was some of the best money you will ever spend in your life.

Also got the track pump delivered yesterday. So handy! Well worth the 20 odd quid I paid. And if looked after I'm sure it will last me years!

cletus

There should be a minimum and maximum pressure on the side wall of the tyre, what do they say

http://www.dorkypantsr.us/bike-tire-pressure-calculator.html

Here a calculator that might get you closer to what you want, but make sure you stay inside the recommendations on the tyre. Sometimes it's just a case of experimenting to see what suits best

Deano12345

jamesbondings wrote: »

Hey guys.... I bought this bike.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rc100-road-bike-grey-id_8554266.html

I have a habit of buying expensive things and not using them (gym membership, home gym, golf club membership) and am being made redundant this month or next. So couldn't get the bike to work scheme (without having to pay the rest of the bike in a few months) and also I needed to show the missus I would actually use it and not waste more money ����. We are also saving for a house at the moment so even getting this one was a massive win!

On the description of the bike on the link it has the tyres on it. It mentions hybrid tyres even though its a road bike. My plan is to use this bike to get into the sport and when I'm settled in a new job and the house is sorted (less than a year hopefully) to upgrade to a far better bike. I can upgrade the current one if needs be until then.
I think the better half is very surprised I'm getting out on it as much as I am. So am I really!

It's certainly an odd way of wording the description of those tires, I think they might mean hybrid as in those tires are more deeply threaded than a set of dedicated road tires.

I'd say the heavy feeling under you could just be those tires being under-inflated. There's zero information online about those tires so I cant find a recommended pressure, but it will say on the sidewall of the tire, I'd start by running it 10-20psi under the max and go from there!

If all you are doing is road cycling, when the current ones wear out, I'd say go for something more road oriented, maybe a 28 or 30c, it will liven the bike up cause the new tires will be a lot lighter among other benefits

I've set up my mates CADDX recently, and I think I ran the tires at 60psi and it runs 35c for reference. It felt super lively, to the point I want to keep the bike for myself, gravel/cross bikes are fun!

jamesbondings

cletus wrote: »

There should be a minimum and maximum pressure on the side wall of the tyre, what do they say

http://www.dorkypantsr.us/bike-tire-pressure-calculator.html

Here a calculator that might get you closer to what you want, but make sure you stay inside the recommendations on the tyre. Sometimes it's just a case of experimenting to see what suits best

Max is 87 I think.... Min is like 36 or something similar.
I'll do that weight calculation this afternoon before I get on the bike, thanks for that!

rolling boh

That bike seems a decent buy to get you started and see if you are likely to keep at it .You will still find a bit of use even if you upgrade in the future and no big loss if you stop . The tyre discreption had me wondering about the bike but decent road tyres would help a bit in the future .Meanwhile enjoy your spins and you will get plenty of benefits from that bike .

cletus

Just for some reference, my bike has 700x40, min and max pressure is 45-80. I run mine at about 50-60 psi, depending on where I'm going to be cycling.

And as regards going smaller, I'm contemplating buying a set of 43's for my bike

Carawaystick

I used to get punctures running lower pressure in the tyres when I got mine first, now I just go for the top pressure, and deal with the road harshness.

part of the sddle-soreness goes as your leg muscles get used to cycling, you put more of your bodyweight through the pedals, and less through the saddle.

A few nice routes around Dunboyne,
from Clonee out the road past Facebook

from Dunboyne out past the Gaa/Scouts towards Leixlip, Gets you to the Royal canal, you can get the train home( well when covid is over)
or out the road past AIB to the industrial estate and left out under the bypass, then take the first right

sweet_trip

Two biggest mistakes I made when first getting into cycling was


1. not getting a good pair of tyres. ended up getting punctures nearly daily. Put a pair of schwalbe tyres on and never had a puncture in over a year since.


2. not listening to the bike shop guy and getting a track pump. You'll need to check your tyre pressure at the very least once a week. Keep it topped up at the max recommended and you'll be laughing. Lower pressures mean more likelihood of puncture and slower ride.


also I recommend getting padded underwear for the soreness. But tbh my soreness only lasted a couple weeks after that I never felt it again.

magicbastarder

sweet_trip wrote: »

Keep it topped up at the max recommended and you'll be laughing. Lower pressures mean more likelihood of puncture and slower ride.

depends on what you mean by 'max recommended' - it's a little more complex than simply pumping the tyres to whatever the max written on the sidewall is. i run tyres rated to 120psi at 80psi, and have never had pinch flats at that pressure (though have had a couple of punctures where i've been able to pull shards of metal out of the tyres).

i've had at least two pinch flats where i got lazy and let the pressure get too low.

jamesbondings

sweet_trip wrote: »

Two biggest mistakes I made when first getting into cycling was


1. not getting a good pair of tyres. ended up getting punctures nearly daily. Put a pair of schwalbe tyres on and never had a puncture in over a year since.


2. not listening to the bike shop guy and getting a track pump. You'll need to check your tyre pressure at the very least once a week. Keep it topped up at the max recommended and you'll be laughing. Lower pressures mean more likelihood of puncture and slower ride.


also I recommend getting padded underwear for the soreness. But tbh my soreness only lasted a couple weeks after that I never felt it again.

I might invest in better tyres going forward (although between ourselves here, the plan is to upgrade the bike once I stick to it).

Have the track pump and padded shorts. Does the pain leave entirely? Ie could I end up cycling without them?

cletus

jamesbondings wrote: »

I might invest in better tyres going forward (although between ourselves here, the plan is to upgrade the bike once I stick to it).

Have the track pump and padded shorts. Does the pain leave entirely? Ie could I end up cycling without them?

the pain goes away, you'd be able to do short distances without padding. Ill jaunt around for 7 or 8 miles with my kids on the bikes without padded shorts, but if your heading out for a long spin, I'd wear them

jamesbondings

cletus wrote: »

the pain goes away, you'd be able to do short distances without padding. Ill jaunt around for 7 or 8 miles with my kids on the bikes without padded shorts, but if your heading out for a long spin, I'd wear them

Pal 7 or 8 miles is a long cycle for me! Hahaha
The longest I have done is the 16.5k I was thankful for the pads then tbh!

Balmed Out

boombang wrote: »

If you find yourself enjoying cycling, then I recommended considering buying a better bike in time. I don't know how cheap your bike is, but really cheap ones can be really nasty. I'm not talking spending thousands, but the experience of a €500 bike is so much better than a €300.

Also, I very strongly second the suggestion of a track pump. You will only need to use this once to realise it was some of the best money you will ever spend in your life.

What do you mean by nasty? I have a late 1990's bike that retailed at 350 pounds. I have no interest really in cycling with others or racing but just do 20km or a little more most days. I presume a better bike would be faster and easier going up hills but im doing it for fitness rather than to go somewhere in particular so have been figuring theres no point spending money on a better bike.

Any advice on saddle position and being set closer or further from the front and what affect it has?