Bought a road bike
Discussion

...and some lycra! Never ridden on road before really, I'm literally all the gear and no idea right now ('09 BMC SLX01) . Hopefully that will change with a few miles under me bum.
I'm very excited, it must be said, so apologies for a gratuitous showing off thread - been bouncing around all week awiting it! 'Tis so beautiful in the flesh it's unreal

Everyday that I can haul my ass out of bed to cycle to work will save me £6 in petrol and burn off >1500 calories ish, so I thought I'd give myself lots of incentive to do so. Just gutted I missed out on the PH cycling tops in the group buy, maybe next time

I'm aiming to work up to averaging >18mph on the 20 miles to and from work, should be doable I think, we shall see if I'm overly optimisic or not when I try my first commute next week!
Edited by stuthemong on Friday 4th June 23:04
Lovely bike.
I was in a similar position 6 weeks or so ago. Picked up a Nero Corsa carbon jobbie and have been doing 14 miles each way since.
Bloody hard work at first, but I'm 40% or so quicker now, slimmer (less fat anyway) and generally loving it.
Having a decent bike under you makes the ride easier and flatters you. I doubt I'd have been able to stick with it on a clunker.
Good luck with it, it's worth it.
I was in a similar position 6 weeks or so ago. Picked up a Nero Corsa carbon jobbie and have been doing 14 miles each way since.
Bloody hard work at first, but I'm 40% or so quicker now, slimmer (less fat anyway) and generally loving it.
Having a decent bike under you makes the ride easier and flatters you. I doubt I'd have been able to stick with it on a clunker.
Good luck with it, it's worth it.
got my shimano shoes too today, electric blue. Niceeee. Had a first mini-play with SPD's and was all good fun - looking forward to munching some miles soon!
JYB,
Were you able to just do that everyday from a cold start, or do you alternate days you cycle? I'm intrigued as to how hard this is going to be! I'm a pretty fit lad, but dreading this! How long does it take your 14 miles? I'm going to leave myself 1:15 to do 18 miles, and 15 mins to shower&change for work - does that seem sensible?
jcosh,
Guilty as charged! I design the toys for 360P - anything you want to know / I can help you with?
JYB,
Were you able to just do that everyday from a cold start, or do you alternate days you cycle? I'm intrigued as to how hard this is going to be! I'm a pretty fit lad, but dreading this! How long does it take your 14 miles? I'm going to leave myself 1:15 to do 18 miles, and 15 mins to shower&change for work - does that seem sensible?
jcosh,
Guilty as charged! I design the toys for 360P - anything you want to know / I can help you with?
I'm guessing you're a lot fitter than me then!
Started off around 1.15, now below 50 mins usually, best 46mins.
Intended to do every day, but that was unrealistic so after first week dropped to 3 days till it was more comfortable, then 4 and now up to 5 days. I do know about it by the end of the week!
Seriously though, when I started I would not have believed how normal the ride would become so quickly.
Started off around 1.15, now below 50 mins usually, best 46mins.
Intended to do every day, but that was unrealistic so after first week dropped to 3 days till it was more comfortable, then 4 and now up to 5 days. I do know about it by the end of the week!
Seriously though, when I started I would not have believed how normal the ride would become so quickly.
stuthemong said:
got my shimano shoes too today, electric blue. Niceeee. Had a first mini-play with SPD's and was all good fun - looking forward to munching some miles soon!
JYB,
Were you able to just do that everyday from a cold start, or do you alternate days you cycle? I'm intrigued as to how hard this is going to be! I'm a pretty fit lad, but dreading this! How long does it take your 14 miles? I'm going to leave myself 1:15 to do 18 miles, and 15 mins to shower&change for work - does that seem sensible?
unless you have a secret pie addiction that you are not telling us about, you will be more than surprised just how fast you cover the ground and your estimate is probably a long way out. on a bike like that you will probably be maintaining 20 mph without even realising it. i'll bet you cover your 18 miles in around 55 minutes first time and then you have a PB.....and thats when the fun really starts.JYB,
Were you able to just do that everyday from a cold start, or do you alternate days you cycle? I'm intrigued as to how hard this is going to be! I'm a pretty fit lad, but dreading this! How long does it take your 14 miles? I'm going to leave myself 1:15 to do 18 miles, and 15 mins to shower&change for work - does that seem sensible?
lovely bike, the BMC frames are stunning.
okgo said:
I've also got a BMC never really hear people talking about them much, does anybody rate them? or is there a reason I see so few about and they don't get talked about?
Mine is the streetfire, but yours looks awesome.
similar to the likes of commencal and merida, big on the continent and barely known here. dont have the corporate muscle (and possibly the inclination) to take on the triantalizeddale monster in the UK. signed cadel evans this season so may well feature on the podium of le tour...Mine is the streetfire, but yours looks awesome.
very nice bikes, ride well, stiff and responsive.
55 minutes and I'd be VERY happy - I think it sensible to give myself a little longer on my first >5 minute ride 
I was all setup ready to go for a test spin at 6pm tonight, then the storms came
okgo,
I get the impression that BMC are a bit of a weird one in the UK, only stocked by evans so they don't get the same following that more mainstreams do, but they certainly seem to be quality bikes. BMC don't make a cheap full carbon bike at all - they just don't think they make sense. Sounds to me like engineers not marketers leading the way, which I'm all a fan of!
I also found out that the SLX09 bike I have won a red dot design award, which is pretty darn flair too - intruiging that it's the one that really called out to me ( I did look at the roadmaster/streetfires, but blew budget because I preferred the proportions </sounding like a woman>) so proves I have a good eye
I also got some swanky carbon cranks I wasn't expecting on the bike too, which was a nice surprise 

I was all setup ready to go for a test spin at 6pm tonight, then the storms came

okgo,
I get the impression that BMC are a bit of a weird one in the UK, only stocked by evans so they don't get the same following that more mainstreams do, but they certainly seem to be quality bikes. BMC don't make a cheap full carbon bike at all - they just don't think they make sense. Sounds to me like engineers not marketers leading the way, which I'm all a fan of!
I also found out that the SLX09 bike I have won a red dot design award, which is pretty darn flair too - intruiging that it's the one that really called out to me ( I did look at the roadmaster/streetfires, but blew budget because I preferred the proportions </sounding like a woman>) so proves I have a good eye
I also got some swanky carbon cranks I wasn't expecting on the bike too, which was a nice surprise 
Edited by stuthemong on Sunday 6th June 21:17
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