Getting A Road Bike

So, i have decided that running is starting to grind down my old bones to much now i am approaching the big old 3…0 … and have decided to give road cycling a crack. After coming to the decision of this i needed to get my first bike and decide how much money i was willing to spend. From looking around at bikes, some second hand and some brand new it seem that i would probably need to spend up to a £1000 to get started. I looked at second hand bikes on Ebay and i did not feel confident in buying a used bike as i would not be able to determine if there was anything mechanically wrong with it or if it was even the correct bike for me. 

So I opted for a new one 

Giant Defy 2 Compact XL Frame

I was getting impatient, tired of running and losing motivation with my cardiovascular training as a result of this so I acted quickly. I live around the corner from a a shop called “Tri UK” in Yeovil and decided this will be a good starting point. Tri UK  has a huge amount of stock with a variety of brands of well known bike manufactures in there such as Giant, Scott, Trek and much more. The range of bikes in there is massive from low budget all the way to the serious cyclist or Tri Athlete. The guys in there were very helpful, after chatting to them about my situation and and my budget they recommended that I start with the Giant Defy Compact 2. I opted for the 20 speed as anything less around this area would struggle on the hills when out cycling. So the man I brought the bike from, Christian said that it was best I come in to have a fitting done on my new bike so  i  would  be set up and ready to get cycling. Prior to the fitting, I needed to get the essential accessories to get started, I was going to need a helmet (Zerorh+, zw blue), pedals (Exlistar) with cycling shoes (Foor) and shorts (Zeroh+ White, Red and Black). After selecting the ones I liked that are within in my budget, I was ready to get started with my fitting. The fitting is not necessarily essential but it will give you a good understanding of the best way to set up your seat and handlebars for your body size. They take  measurement from the floor to your crutch to work out the best place for you to be seated. They get you on the bike and get you cycling with bike attached to a turbo roller to see your riding technique. During this time they give you some cycling pointers and make any adjustments to the bike if needed. Then you are good to go and give it a go for your self outside.

Zeroh+ ZW Road bike helmet

RH + Cycling Shorts

My First few rides

I kept my first few rides local, riding through my local cycle paths, quite roads and country lanes. This is just so I could get use to to the bike and get a better understanding of how the mechanics of the new bike. Starting with flat surfaces I then progressed onto some small hills to try out the gears and brakes. Once my cycling confidence improved I started to increase my distances starting of at about 10 mile round rides and now working at 20-30 mile round rides. The reason I took it steady to begin with was I wanted to gain confidence cycling with clip on shoes as this was completely new to me.

Clip on Shoes

Foor size 11 Clip on Cycling Shoes

The clip on shoes take some getting use too, I start with clipping my left  foot in whilst stationary then cycling a few metres before clipping the right foot in. Always clip in your dominate/strongest leg first as this will help with powering away from a stationary position. When coming to a stand still you just have to remember to un clip one of your feet so you can safely put one foot on the floor to balance you and the bike before you stop. If you don't do this then you will topple over,  which I have managed to do twice which created some amusement for pedestrians and car drivers. Im glad I went with the clip on shoes despite the few early hiccups. Cycling with clip on shoes give me far more control of the pedals and helps to generate more speed and power whilst cycling.

Exlistar Clip on Pedals 

The Gears

Having rode mountain bikes when I was younger, I didn't feel the gears would be to much trouble. Having said that the gears on a mountain bike and road bike do seem to slightly differ. The Giant Defy compact 2 comes with Shimano Tiagra gears. The best way to understand the gears which seems to work well for me is gears 1-10 (front crank on small cog, back cog big is gear one and smallest cog is ten) work best on flat and up hills. Gears 11-20 (Front crank/cog is at the top, then back big to small are 11-20)  work best on down hill to flat and cycling on flats where the tarmac is nice and smooth. As cycling fitness and power increases, the gear ratios used will change, i tend to keep the front Crank/cog high and use gears 11-20 for most of the ride  now as I can comfortably go up small hills/gradients in 11th gear. Then i go back down to gears 1-10 when the hills get steeper or if i am unable to get a good run up to the hill.  

Shimano Tiagra Gears and Cranks

Brakes, Tyres and Punctures.

Draper Mobile Tool Kit

Brakes on the Giant Compact Defy 2 are great, they are quick to break and they are easy to adjust too. The tyre pressures need to be regularly checked, i keep them at recommended maximum of 120 Psi. This is the optimal pressure that will allow you to cycle faster with less risk of a tyre blow out. You can have it higher than 120 psi (although not recommended by the tyre manufacture, which will make you go faster however the risk of a tyre blow out does significantly increase.With choice of tyre pressure its worth bearing in mind the conditions of the roads/paths you cycle on. If you are finding the ride to bumpy, then lower the tyre pressure, this will help you with handling the bike. Ideally you want to avoid the bumps and holes as best as you can so if you ride about 2-3 feet away from the kerb, the tramcar here is a lot smoother. Body weight also plays a part in tyre pressure, the lighter you are you can run at a lower tyre pressure too. Always take a puncture repair kit and small bike pump with you, as i found out the other week 2 miles is a long walk with cycle shoes on! I brought a small mobile Draper bike repair kit which does the job perfectly and bought Red Devil self adhesive patches. The draper kit does come with patches but they are not particularly great. The rest of the kit is fantastic, there is small pump, tyre levers and a small tool set which is in the style of a swiss army knife which allows me to make adjustments whilst i am out and about cycling. 

Draper Kit attached to the bike

Pump, Tyre Levers, Puncture Patches, and Tools.

I can see how cycling as a hobby/sport can become very expensive, which I wouldn't say is a bad thing as spending money on something that is a great lifestyle choice is a positive move. I can definitely see myself upgrading my bike in the future whether thats just small upgrades on my current bike or buying a full carbon frame bike. If you just want to get into cycling just as a hobby and don’t want to spend to much money, then you really can get a lot for under £1000. This level of spending will be an ‘entry level’ bike if you did want to enter Triathlons and road races, so if you did want to take it more seriously the giant Defy Compact 2 is a great starting bike,