Road Cycling - New guy needs advice

Ladies and Gentlemen and others:
Great forum and thankful that I found it. As stated in the subject, I am very new to road cycling and I need some help. I am 6'1", weigh 201 lbs; what do you think is a good frame size for my bod? I prefer to buy used since I am the bread winner for the family and my wife wouldn't appreciate me dropping over $1k for a dust collector in the garage. Secondly, I have tried sitting on a few bikes at the LBS; OUCH to the discomfort down there! Should I start out wearing two pair of shorts? Do you know of any cycle shoes in size 13 or 14? What are some brand names for a steel road bike? Is aluminum a good material for road cycling? By the way, I plan on cycling once or twice during the week and Sat/Sun on weekends with the long range goal of competing in triathalons in the distant future.
Thanks in advance for you input!:beer:

Originally posted by rotopsycho
Ladies and Gentlemen and others:
Great forum and thankful that I found it. As stated in the subject, I am very new to road cycling and I need some help. I am 6'1", weigh 201 lbs; what do you think is a good frame size for my bod? I prefer to buy used since I am the bread winner for the family and my wife wouldn't appreciate me dropping over $1k for a dust collector in the garage. Secondly, I have tried sitting on a few bikes at the LBS; OUCH to the discomfort down there! Should I start out wearing two pair of shorts? Do you know of any cycle shoes in size 13 or 14? What are some brand names for a steel road bike? Is aluminum a good material for road cycling? By the way, I plan on cycling once or twice during the week and Sat/Sun on weekends with the long range goal of competing in triathalons in the distant future.
Thanks in advance for you input!:beer:

Your height is not very important. What IS important is your leg length and upper body length. Your inseam is one of the most important measurements, and you need a good bike shop to "fit" you.

There are a couple of good articles on the web about bike fit. One is at Sheldon Brown's web page, and I believe the other is at WWW.rivendell.com. I don't have the exact URL's handy, but I can guarantee that someone else does.

As regards that "ouch" when you sit on the seat, there are padded cycling shorts that help. Mostly, it is a matter of time - just getting your body used to it, and when you get old and crochety like I am, you can just ride in your levis with no problems. Don't go and get a plushy, soft, highly padded saddle. It will eventually make you have MORE saddle sores. Saddle and saddle fit
are very individualistic, and it may take several different saddles and different adjustments until all feels fine.

Anyway, I am sure you will get more responses. ALso search the web site. There have been many, many similar discussions previously.

A good steel frame can't be beat - such as Reynolds 853. Aluminum is ok also, but you will find more choices in steel. You should be able to get a good used bike in your prive range, but please have a good bike shop involved. No sense buying a bike where the chain, chain rings and all related cogsets and other stuff is all worn out and you need to replace them - at a pretty substantial cost.

Have fun.

Go to your LBS and get a moderately priced road bike that fits you well. Frame material is very subjective, I started with cheap steel and a MTB set up for road, this is supposed to be the most forgiving fram there is. Next, I moved to a slightly used Diamonback Aluminum road bike with 700 X 23 tires. Excellent. I could tell the ride was somewhat more firm than the steel, but the new position and MUCH lighter frame were pure joy. I'm now enjoying a spanking new TREK 2300, full Ultegra, Al alloy...sweet. Be careful this thing will grow on you fast. I've only been at it a year!
Chances are that you will have to try out saddles, shorts, shoes and all the other associated hardware in several forms until you get comfort down just right. However, I can tell you that in my own experience this year, I started out with a gel saddle and gel shorts. After a short trial with both, I realize that less is more. A firm saddle and a pair of shorts with a good thin chamois.

Howdy Roto!

The site that Denver was referring to is http://www.riveldellbicycles.com I personally subscribe to thier ideas...as a less-than-athletic individual I like their comfortable fit ideas!

Also, as Denver said, fit is critical for your cycling enjoyment. I ride on a saddle that was one of many I tried, and I ride with padded shorts. On more than one occasion I have spent over 6 hours in the saddle without any problems at all.

You will get many ideas on this, but for me, steel is the only choice! All 3 of my bikes have chro-mo frames, and I love them. Strength, style and comfort, how can you go wrong?

Oh, by the way, all 3 of my bikes are used! They were terrific values, and have served me well indeed! I put over 1000 miles on two of them with nothing more than the normal maintenance you would do to any bike! Good deal, and keeps the bride happy.

If you are lucky enough to find a good bike shop, they will make your life a lot easier, as well as encouraging you to ride! Good luck!

Originally posted by DnvrFox


Your height is not very important. What IS important is your leg length and upper body length

Huh? Let's see, total body height minus legs and minus upper body equals...

So, DnvrFox, what you are saying is that the height of rotopsycho's head is not important.

Originally posted by mike


Huh? Let's see, total body height minus legs and minus upper body equals...

So, DnvrFox, what you are saying is that the height of rotopsycho's head is not important.

You get an "A" for correctness. Congratulations!!

roto,
Welcome to BikeForums. :thumbup:

my wife wouldn't appreciate me dropping over $1k for a dust collector
Dust collector??? I hope you are kidding. :) :( :)

Another thing you can do is visit a couple of reputable bike shops, not just one. If you have any cycling friends, get recommendations from them about bike shops.
Tell the manager/owner how much you plan to ride, where you'll ride, how much you want to spend, past riding experience, etc. He/she will be able to help you with all your cycling needs.
He/she will also make sure the bike you get "fits".

Good luck. Let us know what bike you get.

Advice:

Wear Chamois shorts and WEAR THEM NEXT OT YOUR SKIN WITH NOTHING IN BETWEEN

Try lots of saddles 'till you find "the one"

Adjust the saddle fore- aft adjustment to the cranks not the
bars, your knees need to be over the pedals not behind or in front of them ( your Tibial Tuberosity should be over your pedal axle when the crankarm is level and pointing forward)
Fit Apx, 1 or 2 inches, part of the choice depends on the top tube length, between your "tenders" and the top tube, more if the tube "slants", switch stems if you need to.
There are fit formulas I can't remember- READ LEMOND, HINAULT, EDDY B, Chris Charmichael, John Howard etc for the formulas and much, much more.

Find a good used STEEL frame- more comfortable, repairable and will last longer than aluminum, despite what everyone says- steel is not that much heavier unless you're getting into the sacrificing durability for weight. Columbus, Reynolds, True Temper, Prestige, Dedacci (sp), Vitus all make/made good tubing of varying types and qualities

Learn to SPIN BEFORE YOU WORK ON YOUR POWER, at least 90 rpm- 100 is better. Limit yourself to the small, ( double) or middle ( triple), chainring on the "flats" in the beginning of every season.

Warm up before you "go hard"

Stretch AFTER every ride

Do sit-ups/crunches, push-ups and hamstring curls to prevent injury and strengthen unused muscles, at the very least

Keep your knees covered below 60 to 65 degrees to prevent tendonitis. It CAN develop from ONE cold uncovered ride!!!

Ride Often
Pat

Thank you Pat for all that great info.

:beer:

Im a rider of steel steeds, but other materials can be fine, esp for the kind of riding you envisage. If you buy a 2nd hand Al frame, though, get it from a trusted source, because Al has a memory for knocks.
High quality frames are better than low grade frames, whatever the material. A cheap steel bike will not ride like a custom or quality steel bike.

When it comes to fit, length is far more important then height, and fit is more important than frame material.

There are lots of formulae , myths and some sound advice when it comes to fit. Peter White at
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/
sorts the wheat from the chaff.

Try finding a local road club. Riders often have spare bikes you can try out, and regular "upgraders" may need to find a good home for an old steed.