To bike or not to bike?
Discussion
CoinSl0t said:
I ride 8 miles each way, 6 days a week and have pretty much done this every day for 12 months.
I started at 28 stone and am now around 20, I eat mostly healthy and rarely drink.
My fitness is a total contrast from when I started riding 18 months ago, I slowly built up the miles week by week (my first ride lasted less than a mile with me puking my guts up).
All I can say is do it, enjoy it and feel great at what you are doing.
Edit, I ride a Cube fullsus with Nobby Nics, makes a man out of you rather than those skinny tyred girls bikes
)
Fantastic, keep up the good work I started at 28 stone and am now around 20, I eat mostly healthy and rarely drink.
My fitness is a total contrast from when I started riding 18 months ago, I slowly built up the miles week by week (my first ride lasted less than a mile with me puking my guts up).
All I can say is do it, enjoy it and feel great at what you are doing.
Edit, I ride a Cube fullsus with Nobby Nics, makes a man out of you rather than those skinny tyred girls bikes
) Edited by CoinSl0t on Thursday 16th October 12:17
Daveyraveygravey said:
Wolfair - I would also get a front and rear back up light set, in case your main one dies on you. If you look on Ebay you can get some small plastic body jobbies for about a fiver. I also carry a head torch - I'm paranoid about having a puncture or other minor mechanical when I am miles away from lights, and trying to fix one by feel would be awful.
Haha I have no idea how to repair a puncture on a bike. I have never needed to but you make a good point, I will look for one now. My cree light came, which is superb really bright, but what do I do with the battery pack? Where do I keep it whilst connected to the light?
Pit Pony said:
My 21 year old son was knocked off his push bike last night at a mini roundabout. Very slow speed collision. He has a few cuts. Bike is bent. Driver "didn't see him" despite high vis, 3 headlamps and 3 rear lamps.
Just Be VERY careful.
I am very sorry to hear this, I hope he is well. This is exactly the same reason my wife and mother (my father is pretty cool when I do stuff like this) are not happy with my pedal bike or my scooter because of the dangers. Just Be VERY careful.
Hey all. A little update with my biking. Thought i'd bump this one instead of starting a new one.
Well bought my excellent bike cannondale sl3 29'r. Seeing as i was alreasy riding my commute on my exercise bike i thought it was a piece of cake, jump on and ride to work. Turns out its very different. It is alot more effort. Wind resistence, rolling resistence, constant braking because of stupid decisions other people make.... I love it.
I changed jobs and now have a commute of 5 miles each way. P*ss easy i hear some of you cry out. First time no it wasnt. Second i think i got about 3 miles before i came home on the bus (shout out to stagecoach manchester) i then took a few days off before finally doing a full dummy run to work and back 10 miles in a day. Was a very invigorating ride. Took me an hour.
I have been using runtastic bikerider app
and toying with the idea of strava. Not sure which is better?
That all said i love my mtb but a big part of me does wish i would have listened and got the cyclo. Look soo much cooler when riding on road in tight lycra.
Well bought my excellent bike cannondale sl3 29'r. Seeing as i was alreasy riding my commute on my exercise bike i thought it was a piece of cake, jump on and ride to work. Turns out its very different. It is alot more effort. Wind resistence, rolling resistence, constant braking because of stupid decisions other people make.... I love it.
I changed jobs and now have a commute of 5 miles each way. P*ss easy i hear some of you cry out. First time no it wasnt. Second i think i got about 3 miles before i came home on the bus (shout out to stagecoach manchester) i then took a few days off before finally doing a full dummy run to work and back 10 miles in a day. Was a very invigorating ride. Took me an hour.
I have been using runtastic bikerider app
and toying with the idea of strava. Not sure which is better?
That all said i love my mtb but a big part of me does wish i would have listened and got the cyclo. Look soo much cooler when riding on road in tight lycra.
WolfAir said:
Hey all. A little update with my biking. Thought i'd bump this one instead of starting a new one.
Well bought my excellent bike cannondale sl3 29'r. Seeing as i was alreasy riding my commute on my exercise bike i thought it was a piece of cake, jump on and ride to work. Turns out its very different. It is alot more effort. Wind resistence, rolling resistence, constant braking because of stupid decisions other people make.... I love it.
I changed jobs and now have a commute of 5 miles each way. P*ss easy i hear some of you cry out. First time no it wasnt. Second i think i got about 3 miles before i came home on the bus (shout out to stagecoach manchester) i then took a few days off before finally doing a full dummy run to work and back 10 miles in a day. Was a very invigorating ride. Took me an hour.
I have been using runtastic bikerider app
and toying with the idea of strava. Not sure which is better?
That all said i love my mtb but a big part of me does wish i would have listened and got the cyclo. Look soo much cooler when riding on road in tight lycra.
Awesome update, good to see you've stuck with it, it does get easier the more you ride and if you time your rides then it adds an extra dimension and gives you something to aim for. I record every single ride I do, I always wear my heart rate monitor and I've got cadence sensors on the peddles to work out exactly how many calories I'm burning and how hard I'm pressing on a ride.Well bought my excellent bike cannondale sl3 29'r. Seeing as i was alreasy riding my commute on my exercise bike i thought it was a piece of cake, jump on and ride to work. Turns out its very different. It is alot more effort. Wind resistence, rolling resistence, constant braking because of stupid decisions other people make.... I love it.
I changed jobs and now have a commute of 5 miles each way. P*ss easy i hear some of you cry out. First time no it wasnt. Second i think i got about 3 miles before i came home on the bus (shout out to stagecoach manchester) i then took a few days off before finally doing a full dummy run to work and back 10 miles in a day. Was a very invigorating ride. Took me an hour.
I have been using runtastic bikerider app
and toying with the idea of strava. Not sure which is better?
That all said i love my mtb but a big part of me does wish i would have listened and got the cyclo. Look soo much cooler when riding on road in tight lycra.
But, I've had a few ups and downs with my weight and dodgy knees, but I've persevered and it's all going back in the right direction again.
I'm also tempted to go down the cyclocross route, but I hate drop bars and don't really want a hybrid.
I'm also tempted to buy another mtb and a fatbike and I really like the new 27.5+ bikes as well, infact cycling is just addictive and expensive
Oh and Strava all the way
WolfAir said:
The above screen shot is my dummy run over last weekend. Below is todays ride. Shaved a nearly 3minutes off
Those times will keep going down and down. Before you know it you will have it down to 20 mins, then aiming for more! 5 miles seems like a lot now, but in a few months, or possibly weeks, you will be seeing it as an easy run. I know I went from 8 miles, 4 each way to the station, in a day (It was very hilly!) to 30, going all the way to work and back, quite quickly. At first 15 miles each way was a killer, now I go out and do 30+ in one go at the weekend plus riding to work twice a week, and I am far from fit.As an aside, do you still have knobbly tyres on? If so get something more road biased and you will go much faster (I'm assuming it is all on road). A proper city tyre will be faster, give more grip on road and more puncture protection. More comfortable too as your wheels will be round rather than bumpy. Keep the knobblys for playing off road where they do their job.
Edited by SteveSteveson on Friday 15th May 12:07
CoinSl0t said:
Awesome update, good to see you've stuck with it, it does get easier the more you ride and if you time your rides then it adds an extra dimension and gives you something to aim for. I record every single ride I do, I always wear my heart rate monitor and I've got cadence sensors on the peddles to work out exactly how many calories I'm burning and how hard I'm pressing on a ride.
But, I've had a few ups and downs with my weight and dodgy knees, but I've persevered and it's all going back in the right direction again.
I'm also tempted to go down the cyclocross route, but I hate drop bars and don't really want a hybrid.
I'm also tempted to buy another mtb and a fatbike and I really like the new 27.5+ bikes as well, infact cycling is just addictive and expensive
Oh and Strava all the way
Appreciate the support there coinslot. I know exactly what you mean about bikes being addictive and very expensive, I'm already trying to work out a budget to see if I can afford a proper roadie/cyclocross without getting divorced But, I've had a few ups and downs with my weight and dodgy knees, but I've persevered and it's all going back in the right direction again.
I'm also tempted to go down the cyclocross route, but I hate drop bars and don't really want a hybrid.
I'm also tempted to buy another mtb and a fatbike and I really like the new 27.5+ bikes as well, infact cycling is just addictive and expensive
Oh and Strava all the way
SteveSteveson said:
Nice going Those times will keep going down and down. Before you know it you will have it down to 20 mins, then aiming for more! 5 miles seems like a lot now, but in a few months, or possibly weeks, you will be seeing it as an easy run. I know I went from 8 miles, 4 each way to the station, in a day (It was very hilly!) to 30, going all the way to work and back, quite quickly. At first 15 miles each way was a killer, now I go out and do 30+ in one go at the weekend plus riding to work twice a week, and I am far from fit.
As an aside, do you still have knobbly tyres on? If so get something more road biased and you will go much faster (I'm assuming it is all on road). A proper city tyre will be faster, give more grip on road and more puncture protection. More comfortable too as your wheels will be round rather than bumpy. Keep the knobblys for playing off road where they do their job.
Cheers SteveStevenson, I'm looking forward to the tumbling times Those times will keep going down and down. Before you know it you will have it down to 20 mins, then aiming for more! 5 miles seems like a lot now, but in a few months, or possibly weeks, you will be seeing it as an easy run. I know I went from 8 miles, 4 each way to the station, in a day (It was very hilly!) to 30, going all the way to work and back, quite quickly. At first 15 miles each way was a killer, now I go out and do 30+ in one go at the weekend plus riding to work twice a week, and I am far from fit.As an aside, do you still have knobbly tyres on? If so get something more road biased and you will go much faster (I'm assuming it is all on road). A proper city tyre will be faster, give more grip on road and more puncture protection. More comfortable too as your wheels will be round rather than bumpy. Keep the knobblys for playing off road where they do their job.
Edited by SteveSteveson on Friday 15th May 12:07
. Yes I have the knobbly tyres on. I went into evans cycles to check out a change in tyres but unfortunately, because I have the 29inch wheels they only had what seems to be a small selection of cyclocross tyres. What would you recommend?
Craikeybaby said:
Another vote for Strava (and fitting some slicker tyres if you haven't already).
I've found that in the 6 months I've been riding, my fitness has improved a lot, I've shaved almost 20 minutes off my regular 10 mile off road route.
I have taken the strava route, signed up to the free version I've found that in the 6 months I've been riding, my fitness has improved a lot, I've shaved almost 20 minutes off my regular 10 mile off road route.
. How many guys here actually pay for strava? I have been looking for people on my route to race lol, I can understand how some guys are addicted to it. I have been guessing my calorie burn for the rides and both ways amount to around 700ish. I have already lost around 3kgs and that bloated feeling from too much eating not enough exercise lol.I just hope my arse can get used to saddle quickley so its not killing me after a ride
WolfAir said:
Cheers SteveStevenson, I'm looking forward to the tumbling times .
Yes I have the knobbly tyres on. I went into evans cycles to check out a change in tyres but unfortunately, because I have the 29inch wheels they only had what seems to be a small selection of cyclocross tyres. What would you recommend?
29" is the same as 700c, which is what most road bikes use. To confuse things even more, I understand that 28" touring tyres will fit 29er MTB wheels, as the 29er wheels are not 29" and the 28" tyres are not 28". It's down to the way historically wheels were measured. Other people will know much more than me.. Yes I have the knobbly tyres on. I went into evans cycles to check out a change in tyres but unfortunately, because I have the 29inch wheels they only had what seems to be a small selection of cyclocross tyres. What would you recommend?
I have looked up your bike and I see it comes with 29x2.0", which is, I think, about 700cX50 and also 28x2.0" in some touring tyres. I'm not sure what size the rims are though so don't know what size you can fit on it. There is a wide selection of tyres that will fit, but the different sizing conventions and standards makes it a bit of a pain. You will be able to get a range, once you work out what size you need.
The best standard to use would be the ETRTO number, which should be on the side of your tyre. It is in the format 12-345. This will tell you exactly what size it is without the sillyness of different "standards" which are not actually standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Tyre_and_Rim...
Edited by SteveSteveson on Friday 22 May 10:52
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