Cycling (Road Bike) Thread

Last time I took my road bike out the gears were having some trouble shifting. Shifting slow, stuggling to get into gear ect....Anyone know any tips as to fix the problem? How much would it cost for a shop to fix it?

My old shop would do it for $10, but here they want a complete tune-up for $85 and up.

 

Sounds like derailleur adjustment is needed. You could adjust them yourself or take it to the LBS which should charge no more than $20 each derailleur and that is on the high side.

 

Fell over today . Only my second time riding being clipped in, and after the first ride went good I was way too confident this second time. Was coming up to a stop light near the bike trail I was headed to, and I was hitting the brake with my left hand and messing with my headlight with my right hand. Completely oblivious to the fact that I was clipped in. Get to the light and come to a complete stop, still clipped in. I tell you I must have looked like a tree being cut down in a forest, timber I fell over to my right. Got helped up by a jogger on the trail, he told me how he also just went clipless on his bike and he coincidentally fell over directly across the street from where I did a few days back. Scrapped my knee and elbow a little but nothing hurts more than my ego

 

Yeah, clip-ins are OK on the road bike. Have had a coupla near falls too but no way in hell will I go with any on my mt bikes. Forget that.

 

I can get out of my SPDs on my mt bike alot quicker than on my road bike so it isn't as bad as one would think. I could see if you were doing alot of downhill but when it comes to climbing the trails clipless is nice.

 

i ride with SPD's on my mt. bike as well, i just have them set pretty loose. They're great, don't think i'd ever go back to paddles unless like ^ said, i was doing crazy downhill.

 

For me on the trails, it's nice to not think about clip-ins. When I want off for any kind of "situation" that might arise, I want off that second without any delay. Falling is one thing but falling tangled up with the bike is not anything I want any part of. Once your calf has been gashed badly by the chainring and you have to ride back with an open wound and deal with bandages for a few months, it makes you rethink riding with gusto...somewhat. That was without clip-ins too. A freak occurrence but have escaped may other times without issue for me or the bike not being clipped-in. Can't imagine escaping split second oh-shit situations being clipped-in.

 

Got a few more goodies for it Still need to get a new seat and change the wrap to another color.

I have a question, would something like wd40 or a degreaser dish soap take the chain grease off the frame? Or do i need something special? It REALLY stands out on the white.

 

Nice bike! I'd give simple green a shot, should take the grease off no problem.

 

Thanks man! I actually asked my hot neighbors if they had any dish soap and it came right off. I might pick up one of these



Also, has anyone ever heard of a resistance training jacket or something along those lines? Such as something to catch the wind to up resistance.

I am either not searching for it right or getting trolled on another forum

 

Never heard of such a jacket. I wouldn't need a jacket like that, I am on the heavier side and my body does a damn good job of catching the wind and slowing me down.

I totaled up my miles for this year. Given this was my first year of riding I think I did pretty good. My total mileage for 2012 was 853 miles. I did not ride a single day in January or March, so it is really 853 in ten months. My best month was September with 200 miles, and my worst month, other than not riding Jan or March, was February with 33 miles. My goal this year is to get a minimum of 1500 miles. I would need to average 125 miles a month to get that, seems doable. Did just about 27 today, only need 1473 more to go!

Did you guys keep track of you mileage this year?

 

I want to keep track of mine. I believe my mileage is overt pathetic due to school and work gotta start somewhere though

My new years resolution it to try and hit 50 miles on a single rose, currently I do ~20.

As for the jacket, I asked a few bike shops and they looked at my like I am crazy I might try one of the parachutes runners use, but I think a solid gust may blow me into traffic.

 

I've never heard of a jacket like that, I do believe you're getting trolled. If you are posting in the road bike section of Bikeforums, there are a few real beauts in there. I tend to stay out of that area, they are pretty snobbish and tough on new people. Anyway, for 2012 I rode 3160 miles. This was my first year back on the bike after a couple of decades of steady weight gain. I was able to ride just about every day over the winter because I was unemployed and spent the winter in Florida, then came home to Connecticut and rode three or four times a week. My rides started getting fairly long, maybe 30 or35 miles a ride. I won't get near that this year, I'm back to work and putting in 10 hour shifts at night. I'll get out there when the weather is above about 45 or so. Any colder than that and I tend to stay on the couch.

 

Why would you need a jacket for wind resistance?

When I was training to race, my workout consisted of 15ish "easy" miles, about 7 of interval training, then 15ish easy cool down miles.

 

Fresno, California is as flat as a pancake. When I come home for breaks to my parents house the hills pretty much kill me I was told increasing resistance when I am in non-hilly areas will help with the hills.

I was also told to ride into the wind, which I will give a go.

 

Floriduh = no hills

Intervals will be your friend, trust me

My previous interval training:
1 Full minute all out

cool down for 30 secs

Then sets of 5-10 of

1 min on 20 off

30 secs on 10 off

20 sec on 5 off

 

I'll give that a try, thanks!

 

no problem

be sure to rest for like 2 mins before each set

Also to get stronger on the bike I recommend doing power lifts (ie: leg press, squats, dead lifts, etc...) with your riding as well. Power workouts will help increase your endurance

 

Other than ebay, does anyone know where I can get a good price for Shimano 105 5700 Black Group Set?

Thanks

 

you can try www.probikekit.com. They have good prices and free shipping to the US. They are a UK based company, so at least they are Allies!