Road Cycling - Newbie goes for a road bike

Hello everyone. I am new to the whole road cycling scene. I currently am a Spinner at the athletic club that I work at. I will be getting certified to teach the class in a couple of weeks. But spinning has really turned me onto cycling in general.

While I know that road cycling(slow twitch) is nothing like spinning(fast twitch), I am very interested in the science/art of the sport.

Friday I am getting fitted for my first bike. The person who is fitting me is the local cycling guru. Everyone goes to him. Is there any questions that I need to be sure to ask when getting fitted?

I talked to the guy today about pedals and shoes. The only ones that he recommends are Diadora and Sidi because they are European made quality and imported to America. Instead of other companies that have the crappy quality of american made products that are made to look like a good european company. He is not a dealer of any product so I know he isn't biased on that part. Anything someone wants is what he orders.

We also had discussions about Speedplay pedals vs. LOOK pedals. What does everyone think? Is it a good idea for me to have a lot of float? I am in Charleston, SC so I will be doing a lot of city riding. I feel that maybe I should go with a pedal that has zero float so that I can clip out faster in case something happens.

Wow, I typed a book....thanks for any help!!!!

Dont base your decision on float dpending on where you will be riding, i would get a double sided entry pedal if you will be unclipping alot. i use genius 4 sidi shoes with speedplay x2 pedals and i do alot of city and rural road cycling. What kind of bike are you getting?

Um, I'm not sure what kind of bike I am getting. I think I'm gonna base my decision on what he suggests since he is the expert. He has a return policy so I can test the bikes before I decide that I want them. He can build hybrid bikes, he can do totally new bikes, and he even sells used bikes.

I will most likely get a used bike to start with. I was looking at something along the lines of a Cannondale R600. Do you have any suggestions?

I'm a big guy. 6'4" at 235lbs. I do a lot of weight lifting so I need something that is gonna support my big frame.

thats what i have an 03 R600, i am small compared to you 5'9 127lbs.

What size is yours? I'm sure I'll need something that's at least 60cm.

56cm, it's a great bike and the frame is very nice.

a guy i know just got a klien that was a 62. He is about 200, I'm 6'2'' with a 61 and its good for me. I would say try a 62 and see if its good.

I Don't think pedal float makes any difference in how fast you can click out. I do think pedal float can save you a ton of agony and pain down the road. (pun intended) If you are doing any serious mileage, you need to give you knees every advantage possible. With your size, you can generate a lot of power, but if that power is put through mis-aligned feet and knees, you will only damage yourself.

Since you are new to the sport, you should take extra care no to go out and Hammer your self right away. You need to take it easy, and work on your position carefully. It is the only way to avoid injury if you plan on really packing on the miles.

Regarding the Shoes, all mine have either been French, or Italian. I did see a pair of Nike Poggio II's that are pretty damn trick, but they are $$$

Shimano makes decent shoes, and I think they have a couple of pairs that are not priced out of this world. My suggestion to you is simply try on as many pairs as you can, find some that feel snug in the heel.

Charleston eh? I live in Savannah, If you ever come down this way, lemme know. I'll ride with ya.

Yeah im 6'3 and my bike is 58cm..so i guess everyone is different

Personally, I really like the combination of Time shoes and Speedplay pedals.

Given that the Time shoes take the 4 bolt mounting pattern of the speedplay cleats, no adapter is needed, saving weight on the shoes and making the cleat sit much more comfortably on the shoe...

I Don't think pedal float makes any difference in how fast you can click out.

Charleston eh? I live in Savannah, If you ever come down this way, lemme know. I'll ride with ya.


I thought float was how much you could move your foot around on the pedals without becoming unclipped? So if you have too much available float you would have to turn your heel way out the get out of the pedal which might be too late ya know?

Heck yea, I would love to ride sometime. Right now I'm just getting started. There is a group down here called Carolina Cyclist and I think I'm gonna ride with them.

What size is yours? I'm sure I'll need something that's at least 60cm.

At your size, I'd be looking at a 62 without seeing you. If you have been doing a lot of weight lifting, you are probably bigger in the torso than most cyclists. As a result, your shoulders may be wider and your ability to get into the drops may be compromised somewhat. So...

go to a bike shoop that knows something about fitting....you can get a stem that is a bit higher (or have the current stem raised up with spacers) that may make it more comfortable for you to ride in the drops..and also make sure the handlebars are wide enough. If they are too narrow, it will restrict your breathing.

BTW..don't pass judgement on spinning vs. cycling on muscle usage until you get out there. Most of us who ride a lot, or race or raced ride many miles at 85+ RPM...I have taken a lot of spinners out for rides and they find that spinning and riding at that pace have little in common, as they find the riding more difficult. Spining classes are (so I am told) less than an hour. Rides are much longer. 85+ RPM for 2-3 hours or more.

Yea, this bike shop has everything to get me custom fitted.

I didn't want to make any comparisons to spinning vs. cycling because I know that there are a ton more factors in cycling(wind, cars, other cyclists). Spinning classes are supposed to be 45 minutes, but I always continue to ride with the instructor because they go for 90 minutes. So I do ride longer than your average spinner.

If you are a newbie cyclist on the road, you should be wary of clipping into the pedals to start with. Clipless are fine for experienced riders, but you need a fine sense of balance, and the ability to ride in autopilot before its really safe. Most newbies have some "failure to unclip" falls as a result of clipless pedals.

I agree, that's why I'm gonna get one pair of shoes and 2 pairs of pedals. I can start practicing on them on my spinning bike. Then hopefully I'll be ready for the road.

What size is yours? I'm sure I'll need something that's at least 60cm.
When the "expert" does the fit he'll determine the frame size for you.

I have Look pedals. They provide plenty of float.
How fast you unclip depends on how quickly you respond to a given "unclipping" situation. If you've never ridden with clipless pedals you'll want to practice with your bike mounted in a trainer or ride where you'll have something soft to fall on. Everybody falls a few times when they switch to clipless. :)

At 6'-4" and 235 pounds, you'll want to talk to the "expert" about wheels. You'll most likely need a 36 spoke wheel, maybe 40 spokes.


When you are riding "correctly" you'll be spinning at a cadence of 75-95. I know that's not as fast as in a spinning class. Some riders spin at a cadence of >100.

Yea, in the spinning class we change our cadence throughout the class depending on if we are climbing, running, or jumping.

I've used Speedplay and SPD pedals and find, even with SPDs set on low resistance, the Speedplays release much more easily. What kind of pedal you use tends to be a matter of personal preference. It's difficult to know what you will prefer when you haven't used any of them.

how do you jump in spinning class on stationary bike? My speedplays are by far the easiest to unclip and clip into. I was using ultegra spd-sl pedals for most of the year and before that m535 pedals with one side platform/1 side spd. The speedplay are very weired to get used to though.

how do you jump in spinning class on stationary bike?

Well it's kinda like breaking a gear. We are pedaling on a real hard uphill seated climb. The the coach yells out for us to pass them. We jump up onto our feet and pedal as hard as we can for a given amount of time 20-45 secs usually. I know its not as real as jumping on a road bike, but it's as close as we can get it. There are lots of variations that we do to. This is just one of the styles.

Which speedplays should I go with? I know the zero's have a max of 15 degrees. I was also looking at the X-series, but that looks like its almost too much float ya know?

Jumping in a Spinning class is a repetitive in and out of the saddle movement at a pace set by the instructor. It helps develop equal leg strength during those transitions. It is a useful exercise, especially for MTB riders who do technical climbs and need to move in and out of the saddle frequently without losing power.

As for pedal systems, I would go with either LOOK or SPD, depending on whether or not you intend to be walking around in your cyclig shoes often. I have LOOK pedals on my Bianchi road bike, but when I am in the Spinning room, I use SPDs, since i am off the bike fairly often, coaching one on one, checking on my students, etc. If you have minor knee problems, Speedplay X series pedals would be a good bet; and if your knees are really messed up, the Speedplay Zero would be a good choice, as would a Bebop. You may want to take your Spinning into consideration as well. Do any of the bikes have dual sided pedals? We have several bikes with 3 way (LOOK, SPD, or cage and strap) pedals, some with M535s (SPD or cage and strap), and some with the standard cage and strap only. Most clubs will not allow you to change the pedals, since you may inadvertantly strip the crankarm threads out.

Good luck with your soon to be new machine!!!

DEMON

I use the X2 Speedplay's and I was thinking it may be too much float before I bought them, but I got used to them and would not switch back. I used Look p396 before the Speedplay's

Do any of the bikes have dual sided pedals? We have several bikes with 3 way (LOOK, SPD, or cage and strap) pedals, some with M535s (SPD or cage and strap), and some with the standard cage and strap only. Most clubs will not allow you to change the pedals, since you may inadvertantly strip the crankarm threads out.

Well I work at the club and repair, oil, etc all the spin bikes so I don't think they will have a problem with me putting my own pedals on....LOL...our instructors change pedals all the time. Soon I'll be an instructor also. On our StarTrac spinners we only have the standard cage and strap. Most of the instructors use SPD, but I have heard bad reviews about them so I dunno.

FLY02, look down at your foot, now twist (twitch really) your foot 9 degrees as quickly as you can. What did that take? less than a 10th of a second im sure. Don't worry about the unclipping speed.

For a big guy, I think the Look pedal give you the largest platform. I have look and spds and I notice a big difference. A couple of friend have the speedplays and they like the low weight, but for someone as big as you, the large platform will be more stable. As for float vs. no float and unclipping, you will adjust, you don't worry about the time to unclip, get the pedal that works best.

Spinning might be fast twitch...have you heard of sprinters on the bike? Check out Mario Cipolini and Alessandro Petacchi! Pure sprinting!

Just remember that after 45 minutes of spinning you get off and shower. After 45 minutes on a bike you might feel pretty good and decide to ride another 45 minutes...at that point, you could be an hour and a half from home or car and you still need to get back.

As for shoes, I recommend trying on as many pairs as you can...same with bikes. :)

Thanks for the insight fogrider!