xfimpg

Hi

I thought it would be interesting to ask BFers - from all the advice we give to each other on BikeForums - which one they considered the most valuable?

So here's the question:

What's the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received on BikeForums?

xfimpg

I'll get the ball rolling by a suggestion from a BFer to use baby wipes for removing grease from your hands.

SunnyFlorida

"Cotton is not your friend. Get some wicking t-shirts to combat the heat."

"Here's part 13 of the Bike Law. Get it from the horse's mouth" - not from a crossing guard.

knobster

Stop reading BF and start riding more.

mawtangent

The first thing that comes to mind that I picked up here is the concept/benefit of high cadence/spinning in lower/easier gears as opposed to "mashing" higher gears at lower cadence. Being middle-aged and overweight I knew (a few years ago when I got "back into" cycling) that jogging/running seemed to be doing me more harm than good. I had/have lower-back and hip issues. Bicycling was a good alternative for me and when I got it in my head that I wasn't "cheating" by using lower gears with higher cadence I began to ride in a way that seemed to be "in harmony" with my body without any negative effects (like having back pain or soreness from riding the bike).

Sixty Fiver

htfu

caloso

Anything that Sheldon Brown posted.

spwelton

This. Really though, it's good advice

itsmoot

+2. First thing I thought of when I read the thread title.

xfimpg

I've wondered about this before. Does it mean anything else other than taking it literally? Like your at the end of a paceline and you need to HTFU to follow?

(Don't flame me, i'm just educating myself here)

shouldberiding

Yuppers.

zacster

Don't take anything from BF seriously.

drmweaver2

"Dude, don't post that!"

Of course, I ignored the advice.

xfimpg

sknhgy 

Someone posted a quote from Lance Armstrong that said:

When it rains I just put on my raincoat and go.

I think of that when I want to talk myself out of a ride. Then, once I'm riding, I am always glad I got off my butt and got out.

Kimmitt 

no underpants under riding shorts.

calamarichris

~Getting my bikefit done by Nateloyal in Santa Monica. (I was sure knee-surgery was my only remaining option before that.)

~Get a power meter. (I'm confident that I'm faster now at 41 than I was in my 20's.)

~You'll have a better experience if you make your bike's components fit you, rather than waiting until your body becomes accustomed to a crappy saddle or bars. Cycling has gone through several ergonomic revolutions since the days of Hinault/Lemond. Try the modern saddles, bars, & shoes. (For nearly a decade I thought my well-worn Brooks B17 Ti was the end-all/be-all of comfort, but I've swapped to one of those newfangled seats with the junk-trench, and couldn't be happier.

~Don't believe everything you read on BF. There are some advice-givers who are either being sarcastic, malicious, or just innocently incorrect.

Joemess

Bag Balm

xfimpg

Don't listen to Botto; he's insane.

spock

I learned a lot about bike maintenance doing my own wrenching. Everything else is matter of opinion.

steve0257

Smiles, not miles.

In other words, enjoy the ride.

TurbineBlade

I'd say that's the worst advice I've heard on BF over and over. Crappy plastic poly-tech shirts smell like crap in about 5 minutes and don't breathe worth a darn, so they actually make you sweat and then have to wick something away .

Cotton is great stuff, especially in the summer heat when it gets damp and pulls heat from the body -- I actually pour water on my shirts for this purpose in the heat.

For what it's worth I also wear cotton on my long commute all through the winter. Wool sometimes.

Back to topic: "You can bicycle in any way that works for you"

wunderkind

"You should get a Cervelo."

SunnyFlorida

Off Topic -

Totally disagree

I use to ride in plain cotton shirts and they just soak up the sweat and when they can't soak it up anymore than you're swimming in it. Frankly I don't know how you wash your stuff but my wicking t-shirts don't smell.

Also, the wicking t-shirts seem to dry out faster, faster than a cotton t-shirt I would literally have to rinse out at work and hope would dry before I cycled home. The wicking t-shirt I just peel off, hang it on a coat hook in my cube. and long before quitting time, it's bone dry. There's no overpowering sweat smell either.

But hell, if cotton works for you than that's fine. It doesn't work for me.

On topic -

"Find your balls and ride...."

(Errrr....kind of hard to do since I'm a girlie girl but I got the idea.)

dynodonn 

There's no one single piece of advice that comes to mind, I just garner little tidbits every so often that just keep adding to my overall cycling picture.