General Cycling Discussion - stone cold beginner needs help

hey all, I am a rank amateur/novice/generally clueless cyclist (been at this game about a month) and I am looking for a good website or 3 that can give me the lowdown on cycling and the associated jargon.

At the moment I ride a borrowed bike, when the regular owner is not using it, but I'm looking at getting myself a second hand one soon, and I want to know what the shop-dude means when he or she tells me model x has features y and z, but the a's and b's are 'well... you can see for yourself'. Anyone got any ideas for me (bear in mind I know nothing, I can tell ya what's a wheel and what's not but that's about it :-).

thanks for your help

Colin

sheldonbrown.com? Ithink that's the address. Whole cycling dictionary there.

Here is my best source:

http://www.bicyclesource.com/index.html

actually you don't have to learn all the bike lingo, to be a good cyclist, what you need is a good bike, two legs and a mind set on cycling, and you will come out flying I mean riding your bike, and lastly welcome to Bikeforums, and have a happy threading/posting on this site

I happily rode for about 20 years knowing how to repair a puncture, but not much more.
A lot of the acronyms and stuff they talk about in shops is just marketing. Sheldon Brown and co will talk about real bikes, ie a frame with wheels and stuff attatched. I dont think I have any acronyms on my daily commuting bike.

Your are fortunate in having a bike to ride befoe you buy your own. You will be able to figure out if it is the right size, and if it isn't, then you will have an idea if it needs to be bigger or smaller.


Good luck and ask away

...and then if you have specific questions, just ask them on our friendly Bike Forums, someone will be able to help you out!

Don't forget the Library, as a source of info.

Ride Happy
Pat

www.phred.org
they have a nice glossary of bike terms, including phred/fred...

hey cheers for the help guys (and so fast too, this forum is really active :-). I am in the process of going through the sources you gave me, good stuff indeed.

I look forward to posting here regularly.

Colin
P.S. Thanks again

I have found this site quite helpful.

http://bicycling.about.com/

Carl

What type of biking are you getting in to? (i.e. road, mountain, etc)

basically I'm into road/commute biking, I have checked out all the info on the given sites here and I think I can tell what is Jargon and what is valuable info now. Soon I am off to my local bike shop to check out their range of second hand bikes.

cheers again folks

Colin.

Mail order catalogs are a great way to learn about the equipment side of cycling. You can compare components off the bike, including weight and price. If you are familiar with the components it will make your first bike purchase easier.

There are several mail order companies I've ordered from and all have good web sites where you can request a catalog. The short list is, in no particular order:

Colorado Cyclist
Bike Nashbar
Performance Bike
Cambria Bike Outfitters
Excel Sports Boulder

Also, you may want to peruse eBay prices for bikes, especially if you're thinking of buying a used bike. I wouldn't suggest buying a bike from eBay unless you know exactly what you want and fully understand fit. However, you will get a good idea on used bike prices and the descriptions will educate you quickly as to what is important in a bicycle.

Finally, get a good cycling book. Most will have dos and don'ts, basic mechanical info, safety tips among other goodies.

Welcome and have fun!

I order stuff from Nashbar all the time. It's WAY cheaper than the LBS and I don't have to deal with the snob salespeople.