General Cycling Discussion - new to riding, disappointed

i bought a new trek 1000 last week and i've been riding it a bunch around my local roads. it's fun and all, but i feel like my bike isn't allowing me to do what i wanted, ride fast. i row collegiately and have a lot of power in my legs and just feel like i'm not able to go as fast as i want in any gear. i was stubborn not to have waited a couple of weeks to get more money, but i wanted to get into it. do any of you think the shop i bought it from will still take a trade in for a higher end bike?

FWIW, you may be able to change the gear ratios on the bike (either by switching the chainrings to give you a larger gear up front, or by switching out the cassette in the rear to give you smaller cogs--maybe even both). The frame isn't necessarily what's keeping you from going "as fast as you want" (though I'm sure that's a relative term and I don't know how fast that really is). Bikes can go pretty fast...have you found a big hill?? :) If you already have a lot of power in your legs, upping the gear ratios may give you the satisfaction you are looking for cheaper than upgrading the frame.
Anyway, if you really want to trade it in, the bike shop MAY take it back...you'd have to call them re: their specific return/exchange policy.

I doubt the better bike will make you substantially faster. Training, however, will.

How fast are you going now? And how fast do you think you should be going, as a new rider?

Candidly, there must be another issue. I have three bikes - one high end bike, one dedicated time trial bike, and one cheapo, heavy bike - my Specialized Sequoia. I have had the latter bike up to 36.9 mph on the flats. You should have a great aerobic engine and tremendous leg strength from rowing. I know, in that my kid had a full ride to Syracuse on a rowing scholarship and he could pump 1000 pound leg presses for quite a few reps.

I wonder if you have the proper size bike, and I wonder if you were fitted properly to the bike. So many bike shops don't have a clue as to how to properly fit a bike - a procedure that can take up to two hours or more. AAMOF, I have three hours of fitting invested in my time trial bike, and it fits like a glove when I race it.

skydive69 is right-on with some solid advice.

Also, I'll toss out as a former collegiate rower (Pennsylvania; lightweight) that even with your awesome aerobic base and leg strength, the sports are different. I'm a lot more proficient on the bike than I ever was on the water. Give it some time to get the body used to moving and exerting effort in different ways. But don't be surprised to find that ultimately you're much more successful in one discipline than the other. Enjoy -- it's a ton of fun!

I'm not a psychologist, but it sounds like you've got buyer's remorse. You want a more expensive bike, and are using the excuse that the one you have is not fast enough. That's not a valid excuse. If you want a different bike, you won't be happy until you get it, so go for it.

As far as going fast, there are no "cheat codes" or shortcuts. It takes time. Good luck to you whatever you decide, and ride safely.

I have ridden for years and tried out a trek 1000 last week.I mtnbike and I am wanting to invest in a road bike. I had no trouble getting the bike to go when I wanted it to. It's not the bike.

BTW, my hat is off to you rowers - I consider it one of the toughest sports ever conceived by man. At Syracuse, they worked out all year, and oftentimes put in three workouts a day - a running event, a lifting event and something either on the water or on an ERG machine. Then there is the competition which is (as far as I can tell from observing) pain personified! In bike racing, you might be in such pain that you decide to slack off - if you do that as part of a crew, you throw off the whole boat. And finally, I have never seen such incredibly conditioned athletes. The varsity 8 looked like clones - 6' 3", about 220 lbs, seemingly no body fat, super leg strength and development and of course the obligatory 6 pack.

sorry dude to ruin ur day but a better bike really doesnt make u faster. if anythig a better bike reduces fatigue and therefore u can ride longer. i ride a piece of crap work horse and i beat the life out of it and i can kick a lil ass on it. i also have a top of the line bike and can do the same on it. so really bikes wont make tooo much of a difference unless u want to be competitive and ride centuries and stuff.

It could very well be just the period of adjustment. I didn't really try to hotrod around on my new bike much until I'd been riding it daily for about a week and a half. You have to get used to your new rig and learn to work with its subtleties. I'm getting that you didn't really ride before this, so you will have a bit of learning to do to get the most efficiency out of yourself and your bike.

One thing I'm learning more about since I have gotten my road bike is spinning faster through the range of any given gear I am in. Getting out more rpms in a lower gear actually makes for faster take-offs, and if you run your way down the cassette that way, you can work up to a higher speed more easily than starting in a pretty high gear and just lugging it up to speed.

The bike matters to an extent, but your familiarity with your ride matters more. Heck, I managed to flog a 30mph sprint out of a 40lb mountain bike, and I'm a girl!

Give it some time and work with it some more. The performance will come to you.

skydive69 is right-on with some solid advice.

Also, I'll toss out as a former collegiate rower (Pennsylvania; lightweight) that even with your awesome aerobic base and leg strength, the sports are different. I'm a lot more proficient on the bike than I ever was on the water. Give it some time to get the body used to moving and exerting effort in different ways. But don't be surprised to find that ultimately you're much more successful in one discipline than the other. Enjoy -- it's a ton of fun!

Bingo. This is a huge point for people who are dissapointed in their progress when moving to a new sport. You don't always use the same muscles or even use them in the same manner. You have a good base, you just need to build the cycling structure on top of it. There is the possibility that your bike is not fitted properly to you, but the type of equipment is probably not the problem . As you become more comfortable with cycling in general, then you may want to consider upgrading. Good luck and keep at it.

i bought a new trek 1000 last week and i've been riding it a bunch around my local roads. it's fun and all, but i feel like my bike isn't allowing me to do what i wanted, ride fast. i row collegiately and have a lot of power in my legs and just feel like i'm not able to go as fast as i want in any gear. i was stubborn not to have waited a couple of weeks to get more money, but i wanted to get into it. do any of you think the shop i bought it from will still take a trade in for a higher end bike?

You say you have alot of power in your legs...maybe you're mashing rather than spinning? it seems like you're wanting a high gear that provides alot of resistance. It's better to spin your legs quickly than to spin slowly on a difficult gear...or so I've heard!

You will get better components with a higher end bike, but I doubt you will notice any significant speed difference. The gears of 52 front to 12 in the rear is standard in the 1000 to 2100 series.
Ask your bike shop if they are willing to let you upgrade. Good luck and have fun riding.

Like others have said - upgrading won't do jack. Unless you put a combustion engine on it.

I started out with an entry-level road bike (Tomasso Capri) and am still riding it over a year (and 3000 miles) later. My bike, unloaded, weighs 25.5 pounds. Regardless, I still am able to outsprint the 16 pound carbon fiber miracle bike guys on my Wednesday group ride. If you aren't racing competitively, the bike is not nealy as important as the engine.

There are many different muscles in the legs. Having "power" in your legs doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to use it while pedalling.

There are many different muscles in the legs. Having "power" in your legs doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to use it while pedalling.

Please explain about how one can have power in one's legs but mysteriously not be able to apply it to pedals with power. I can't wait to hear this explanation! :D

Being a rower myself (Dad Vail Champion: Light Four; Former Coach: Dowling College), I used to ride heavy (mashing) - its what we do-we want to feel the leg drive - until a friend introduced me too "spinning"

Lighten the load, and start spinning, go for cadence (RPMs). I ride a low-end specialized Allez (with toe-clips even) and I am still able to keep up with most of the "italianos" riding around 20 mph

Please explain about how one can have power in one's legs but mysteriously not be able to apply it to pedals with power. I can't wait to hear this explanation! :D

Ever seen snatch weight lifters? There's some leg (as well as back, arm, etc) power. I doubt they'd be very fast on a bike though.

Can't buy speed.

Keep cycling, you'll improve.

Personally I think jonathan just needs to give it time. Once his muscles get used to riding, he's going to fly. Give it a few weeks.

Please explain about how one can have power in one's legs but mysteriously not be able to apply it to pedals with power. I can't wait to hear this explanation! :D

Really? You need the explanation? Okay, his explanation was right in the first line: There are a bunch of muscles in the leg and they all do different things. Just because you can push, push, push when you're rowing, doesn't mean you're going to be using the same muscles in the same way to push, pull, push, pull up and down at high cadence on the pedals. Completely different motions. My 5 year old nephew already figured out the need for concentration on each of the different muscle groups.

Bike sounds too small/tight for you. Also - what wheels/tires you on?

Ever seen snatch weight lifters? There's some leg (as well as back, arm, etc) power. I doubt they'd be very fast on a bike though.

Why do you doubt it? The snatch is a very athletic lift requiring not only power, but incredible agility and balance. Having said that, it is a bit apples and oranges. A guy doing the snatch might have very little aerobic capacity - I have seen it. Rowers on the other hand have not only incredible leg power, but great upper body strength and typically high VO2max readings - not to mention rather high lactate threshold.

thye rowing motion is very similar to a snatch lift

To get an idea what its like to effectively row a race, take the hardest stroke you can on a rowing machine take that down about 85-90 percent, then try to do that 220 times in a row without stopping. The only rest you get is during the "recovery phase" and that varies during the course of a race depending on your position.

A 2000 meter race is essentially a 6 minute, all out sprint

Then you have to worryabout blade work. You go in too shallow or to deep there is a good chance that you'll "crab" which at best will stop the speed of your boat, at worse you'll get thrown out of the boat, or suffer some bodily injury.

Go out with the local club ride this weekend and grab someone's wheel and get in the paceline. You'll get a couple of mph's without even trying and still have enough energy for some sprints. Also, ask one of the group leaders to watch your peddling technique and position to see if he/she can point out anything. Basically humble yourself - that's what I did when I got into cycling. I thought I knew HOW to ride a bike but it was totally different from those days of riding around on a banana seat.

Pedalling is a skill. It takes time to develop the appropriate neuromuscular co-ordination necessary to keep the transfer of effort between all the muscles used smooth and properly timed.

Just as, I would imagine, it takes time to co-ordinate the proper timing in the use of back, arm and leg muscles when rowing

Can't buy speed.

Keep cycling, you'll improve.

Yes you can.
http://tinyurl.com/dcq69
But working on the engine always shows results, too.

Go out with the local club ride this weekend and grab someone's wheel and get in the paceline...

please dont do this.

if you do, at least read this first:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=87401

I advise no more responses to this thread until the O.P. answers some of the questions that have been posed.

ha sorry for the belated reply. i've been riding my bike too much! so it wasn't that i had buyers remorse nor that i was too powerful. i was simply too stupid to shift correctly! i love my bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and again, i'm an idiot.

ha sorry for the belated reply. i've been riding my bike too much! so it wasn't that i had buyers remorse nor that i was too powerful. i was simply too stupid to shift correctly! i love my bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and again, i'm an idiot.

:roflmao:
Well at least you figured out what was going on there. Good luck with the riding!

I've always wondered how shifting can cause so much confusion. How is it possible to shift incorrectly?

Here's a whole article dedicated to not being afraid of shifting: http://www.bfw.org/articles/dontbe.php

New cyclists sometimes ask me if I have any tips for shifting and when they should do it.

Where's the complexity? I'm genuinely curious.

An Emily Litella moment (for those of you who remember the late 70s).

I've always wondered how shifting can cause so much confusion. How is it possible to shift incorrectly?

Here's a whole article dedicated to not being afraid of shifting: http://www.bfw.org/articles/dontbe.php

New cyclists sometimes ask me if I have any tips for shifting and when they should do it.

Where's the complexity? I'm genuinely curious.

people learn at different levels. not only have in not ridden a bike in 10 years, a bike with a single gear, but i had no idea how either lever worked when i bought the bike. i should've asked but i didn't. the complexity lies with it being something i've never done, possibly like driving a manual car for the first time. sure it's easy once you have the hang of it, but at first it's a bit tough. sorry for not having been more experienced out of the womb, bikegod

Dude, I'm not insulting you, nor am I insulting anyone who is having difficulty with any aspect of cycling, nor am I a bikegod. I was just curious what your difficulty was. My reason for wanting to know is so that I can help people who are experiencing the same problem. No offense intended. Thanks for your answer though. I can understand a new rider having confusion over STI shifters. I had it explained to me too. Sometimes I get the impression that some people are concerned about *when* to shift, so I thought that might be your issue, but it's not.

I did once try to drive a manual car, and pretty much gave up on that.

I did once try to drive a manual car, and pretty much gave up on that.

Aw come on... :D

Dude, I'm not insulting you, nor am I insulting anyone who is having difficulty with any aspect of cycling, nor am I a bikegod. I was just curious what your difficulty was. My reason for wanting to know is so that I can help people who are experiencing the same problem. No offense intended. Thanks for your answer though. I can understand a new rider having confusion over STI shifters. I had it explained to me too. Sometimes I get the impression that some people are concerned about *when* to shift, so I thought that might be your issue, but it's not.

I did once try to drive a manual car, and pretty much gave up on that.
sissy! ;) :p

sissy! ;) :p

Haha, maybe so. I thought I might get some comments about that. But I guess I just don't know what I'm missing, and don't really care right now. I'm sure I could learn it eventually, but I feel no compelling need, since I don't really drive anything these days, and don't plan to start any time soon.

Rock on! I had a strong suspicion you'd get the hang of your new bike and start having fun with it. It takes a while to get used to new equipment of any kind, be it breaking in a new pair of shoes or learning your way around a new bike.

Well, as John Muir used to say, "Peace and good roads." Have fun!