Totally new to road bikes all/any help much appreciated
Discussion
Its not a what car oh sorry bike thread its a I have the bike sorted what now type of thread!
I’ve bought a 2007 Specialized Allez Sport and am due to get it at the end of the week. So what I need to do now is ‘kit up’. I’m starting from afresh really. I’ve done a little Mountain biking but last time out came off, shattering my shoulder and putting paid to the pump and helmet I had!
Firstly the Allez comes with a set of Look KEO pedals. As stated I’m starting from scratch here with no knowledge at all so sorry for asking the blindingly obvious but I take it I need SPD’s or some sort of clip on/cleet. Leading to my next question just how easy is it to adapt to riding with spd’s/cleets, for example is it handy/even possible to stick a foot on the ground when at lights ect? As a final not in this I assume I can just stick on a set of conventional pedals? If so can anyone point me in the right direction of a decent set?
On to gear I need a new helmet. One that would kind of multi task between the MBT and the RB would be good. Keeping with the cross over theme a onboard pump would probably also be a wise idea so any recommendations on that also would be helpful.
I’ve bought a 2007 Specialized Allez Sport and am due to get it at the end of the week. So what I need to do now is ‘kit up’. I’m starting from afresh really. I’ve done a little Mountain biking but last time out came off, shattering my shoulder and putting paid to the pump and helmet I had!
Firstly the Allez comes with a set of Look KEO pedals. As stated I’m starting from scratch here with no knowledge at all so sorry for asking the blindingly obvious but I take it I need SPD’s or some sort of clip on/cleet. Leading to my next question just how easy is it to adapt to riding with spd’s/cleets, for example is it handy/even possible to stick a foot on the ground when at lights ect? As a final not in this I assume I can just stick on a set of conventional pedals? If so can anyone point me in the right direction of a decent set?
On to gear I need a new helmet. One that would kind of multi task between the MBT and the RB would be good. Keeping with the cross over theme a onboard pump would probably also be a wise idea so any recommendations on that also would be helpful.
In the box with the bike I bought (with Keo pedals) were a pair of cleats to screw to some shoes. This SHOULD be the case with yours too.
As for kit to buy, a good track pump is essential. You'll never get the 100-110psi with a hand pump, nor would you know what psi you had either.
Clothing? Shoes of course. Waterproof jacket, shorts, bottles and cages, computer, lid and glasses.
I ride mine with a bag under the saddle containing my door key, ice cream (beer) money, phone, tube, levers and emergency pump. Enough to fix one puncture during a ride, and then call for a lift / cab if anything more serious breaks.
Until they wore out and got replaced, I didn't realise how rubbish the standard tyres were on mine. You might as well wear yours out too, but then an upgrade gives so much more grip in the dry and the wet, and are loads smoother and faster in a straight line.
Take the right allen keys to do the bars and saddle on your first few rides to tweak your setup until you are comfy too. Getting everything in the right place makes all the difference.
Get some mates with bikes too. Good to have the company and conversation, and the fat ones are great to hide behind when you want a rest
As for kit to buy, a good track pump is essential. You'll never get the 100-110psi with a hand pump, nor would you know what psi you had either.
Clothing? Shoes of course. Waterproof jacket, shorts, bottles and cages, computer, lid and glasses.
I ride mine with a bag under the saddle containing my door key, ice cream (beer) money, phone, tube, levers and emergency pump. Enough to fix one puncture during a ride, and then call for a lift / cab if anything more serious breaks.
Until they wore out and got replaced, I didn't realise how rubbish the standard tyres were on mine. You might as well wear yours out too, but then an upgrade gives so much more grip in the dry and the wet, and are loads smoother and faster in a straight line.
Take the right allen keys to do the bars and saddle on your first few rides to tweak your setup until you are comfy too. Getting everything in the right place makes all the difference.
Get some mates with bikes too. Good to have the company and conversation, and the fat ones are great to hide behind when you want a rest
M3_chaz said:
Firstly the Allez comes with a set of Look KEO pedals. As stated I’m starting from scratch here with no knowledge at all so sorry for asking the blindingly obvious but I take it I need SPD’s or some sort of clip on/cleet. Leading to my next question just how easy is it to adapt to riding with spd’s/cleets, for example is it handy/even possible to stick a foot on the ground when at lights ect? As a final not in this I assume I can just stick on a set of conventional pedals? If so can anyone point me in the right direction of a decent set?
I have the Look KEO pedals on my Bianchi - the cleats (grey ones i think) are supplied in the box assuming they are the same KEO Classics I bought. You will need shoes that are compatible with the Look cleat system.It's pretty easy, especially if you have the classics as they have the lowest spring tension
You just need to remember to twist your foot out BEFORE you get to lights if you think you're going to need to. It would be a shame to stick conventional pedals on such a nice road bike - the extra power and directness in going from conventional to the Look pedals is very noticeable. I would advise to at least try the Look pedals first - it took me an hour at most to get the feel for them. The only difficult bit at first is getting into them without looking when starting at lights.mat205125 has covered most of it
has a "clip on" peak for MTB, removes for Roadie and doesn't leave unsightly holes
M3_chaz said:
On to gear I need a new helmet. One that would kind of multi task between the MBT and the RB would be good.
Scott Fuga is highly rated......i'm treating myself to one soonhas a "clip on" peak for MTB, removes for Roadie and doesn't leave unsightly holes
Thanks for the advice. As I said every little helps.
You’ve kind of confirmed what I was thinking. I thought I’d be missing a trick if I opted for conventional pedals. A friend of mind had told me that you can get so much more power into the bike with a proper fixed set up.
Thankfully my route is fairly rural so I think I’ll just bite the bullet and get out there and see if I can get the feel of them, worst case I either fall off kid style when I come to a stop or I cant get it back in and I’m stuck for a bit.
You’ve kind of confirmed what I was thinking. I thought I’d be missing a trick if I opted for conventional pedals. A friend of mind had told me that you can get so much more power into the bike with a proper fixed set up.
Thankfully my route is fairly rural so I think I’ll just bite the bullet and get out there and see if I can get the feel of them, worst case I either fall off kid style when I come to a stop or I cant get it back in and I’m stuck for a bit.
I'd never used clip in's until I bought my road bike with Keos this year. Clipped one in whilst stationary, bit of a wobble and weave whilst I got the second in, and only one "Oh f
k" scare when I nearly toppled. Now they feel perfectly natural and dead easy to get in and out of. Would never consider anything else for the road.
Have a few goes getting in and out in your garage. They really are that easy to use.
Note regarding fixing on the cleats, start with a "straight-middle-middle" position on the bottom of the shoe, and tweek position / angle if necessary. It's important that your foot points the right way for your legs / joints else your ankles and knees could be working at funny angles. The standard KEO pedals are quite free as mentioned by a previous poster, and there is a good amount of movement in them without coming out.
k" scare when I nearly toppled. Now they feel perfectly natural and dead easy to get in and out of. Would never consider anything else for the road.Have a few goes getting in and out in your garage. They really are that easy to use.
Note regarding fixing on the cleats, start with a "straight-middle-middle" position on the bottom of the shoe, and tweek position / angle if necessary. It's important that your foot points the right way for your legs / joints else your ankles and knees could be working at funny angles. The standard KEO pedals are quite free as mentioned by a previous poster, and there is a good amount of movement in them without coming out.
I always get asked by the DH'ers/Jump/Freerider boys how I can ride/jump with SPD's - they don't seem to know how you can set up SPD's to be loose enough to release easily;
I've always ridden SPD's, and run mine quite loose in order to ensure that in the unlikely event of a malfunction
that I'll always come out.
My mate runs them tighter and doesn't seem to have any issues, so YMMV and all that, but they are perfectly safe once you get used to them.
For reference: I click my tension clicks 2 clicks looser than the standard when new.
I've always ridden SPD's, and run mine quite loose in order to ensure that in the unlikely event of a malfunction
that I'll always come out.My mate runs them tighter and doesn't seem to have any issues, so YMMV and all that, but they are perfectly safe once you get used to them.
For reference: I click my tension clicks 2 clicks looser than the standard when new.
mat205125 said:
Clipped one in whilst stationary, bit of a wobble and weave whilst I got the second in, and only one "Oh fk" scare when I nearly toppled. Now they feel perfectly natural and dead easy to get in and out of. Would never consider anything else for the road.
Personally the first few times I would either practice getting in and out which completely stationary (and grabbing hold of someone/thing!) or be moving properly... barely moving and trying to clip in is a recipe for getting a faceful of ground and being very embarassed in front of your neighbours (I may have experience of this).k" scare when I nearly toppled. Now they feel perfectly natural and dead easy to get in and out of. Would never consider anything else for the road.If you're a MTBer, it may be worth going for regular SPD pedals, along with some shoes towards the stiffer/racier end of the XC shoe market. You can actually walk in the things, you still get 95% of the benefit of clipless but will be able to use them on either bike. I generally find them easy to release too. Start off with very light spring tension to get used to clipping/unclipping, then maybe increase it on one side only - so when you're coming up to some dodgy lights/traffic you can use the lightly-sprung side.
I use an MTB helmet too, just take the peak off (or don't, I keep mine on most of the time!) and don't pick something too freeride-y.
I've got a small/thin Topeak pump that I use on both road and MTB - as said, you'll need a track pump though to get 120psi in your tyres. At that pressure they go down slowly over time too, so check before each ride.
At this time of year windproof kit is worth having as the chill of 20+mph wind can exceed the heat you're generating. A gilet is nice to have, keeps your front warm but back cool on the climbs - I use mine pretty much any time it isn't hot summer weather.
I use an MTB helmet too, just take the peak off (or don't, I keep mine on most of the time!) and don't pick something too freeride-y.
I've got a small/thin Topeak pump that I use on both road and MTB - as said, you'll need a track pump though to get 120psi in your tyres. At that pressure they go down slowly over time too, so check before each ride.
At this time of year windproof kit is worth having as the chill of 20+mph wind can exceed the heat you're generating. A gilet is nice to have, keeps your front warm but back cool on the climbs - I use mine pretty much any time it isn't hot summer weather.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff