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What do you wish you knew?

So, my first year of being a road cyclist is drawing to a close, and it's been a pretty fun learning curve over a couple of thousand miles.

Plenty of that has been the expected knowledge - how to ride in a group, nutrition, tyre pressures, maintenance, training, that you should spin up big hills instead of grinding - but every newbie learns these things along the way.

So, what are the silly little things you wish someone told you about before you started?

For me, I wish I knew not to have white cables and a silver groupset - keeping them clean annoys me!

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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24 comments

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the_jm | 9 years ago
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That the hardest thing about cycling in bad weather is getting started.

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tritecommentbot | 9 years ago
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Winter proof has no discernable meaning in cycling.

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Simon E | 9 years ago
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That by far the biggest factor in improving, whether it's fitness, speed, cornering or climbing, is really down to how much you are prepared to try.

And that our preconceptions hold us back. To quote Ken Chlouber:
"You're better than you think you are, you can do more than you think you can".

P.S. I like what crikey said too, but it's no surprise.

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bigmel | 9 years ago
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That I should have joined a cycle club.

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IngloriousLou replied to bigmel | 9 years ago
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bigmel wrote:

That I should have joined a cycle club.

Or started your own.

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notfastenough replied to IngloriousLou | 9 years ago
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IngloriousLou wrote:
bigmel wrote:

That I should have joined a cycle club.

Or started your own.

I've a feeling I'm going to have to do that when I move house...

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kwi | 9 years ago
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How many 'brownie points' it would cost me.

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Jeroen0110 | 9 years ago
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I wish someone would have told me once you fix one thing on an old bike it will most likely break something else. Or perhaps it's just me?

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edster99 | 9 years ago
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Cyclocross is much more than a 'hand me down' version of mountain biking. Building your own bikes is one of the most satisfying things you can do.
Riding in a club is great if you use it, rather than getting in a rut.
Riding tubulars is worth every bit of extra effort.
Quality is worth buying, but that doesnt have to be ridiculously expensive.
I should have kept the Vitus framed bike I did the London to Edinburgh on 20 years ago - it was a perfect fit.

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Pointbroken replied to edster99 | 9 years ago
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"Quality is worth buying, but that doesnt have to be ridiculously expensive."

Could not agree more with this.

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NickK123 | 9 years ago
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I wish I had joined a Club many years ago rather than joining one only recently. The shared experiences, peer challenges and post-ride coffees have been fantastic (although I enjoy still the occasional solo blast).

PS. Glad I have stuck with Campag all through the years!

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badback | 9 years ago
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That it's not about riding hard and killing yourself. It's about riding at a sensible pace and enjoying yourself. (Plus the above comments about carbon and Campagnolo)

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Super Domestique replied to badback | 9 years ago
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badback wrote:

That it's not about riding hard and killing yourself. It's about riding at a sensible pace and enjoying yourself.

Despite my body full of injuries I am still struggling to learn this!!

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Kapelmuur | 9 years ago
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That road running would knacker my joints so I would have started cycling 30 years ago instead of 3.

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bike_food | 9 years ago
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That you should have a dedicated crap weather bike with clearance for 'proper' mudguards.

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AWP | 9 years ago
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You can never have too many valve-core removal tools.

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crikey | 9 years ago
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That what bikes are made of doesn't matter.
That what groupset you have doesn't matter.
That you can actually get used to a range of different positions on a single bike, and much of bikefitting is not that much use.
That the difference between climbing wheels, aero wheels, light wheels and heavy wheels is not actually very much.
That the difference between a heavy bike and a light bike is not actually very much.

Which all makes me sound like a luddite, but having been there and got the T shirt for all the above, I still like the technical development side of cycling. I'm just much better at spotting the bullshit these days.

I also wish I knew I'd break a spoke today...

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Sidi 700c replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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Do you ride a bike at all?

Material matters to a person who solely rides a bike and does not drive at all like me. I ride so much that i would "break" a carbon mono in no time at all.

If you think groupsets do not matter than compare Dura-Ace and Claris to see which one will last longer.

You can, while young, ride in any shape you wish. Get older like me and you do not recover as easy and places hurt where they did not before.

Ride a traditional 32 spoke, straight gauge, wheel and then ride a low spoke count aero set like mavic and tell me the traditional one is faster.

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bfslxo replied to Sidi 700c | 9 years ago
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Sidi 700c wrote:

Do you ride a bike at all?

Material matters to a person who solely rides a bike and does not drive at all like me. I ride so much that i would "break" a carbon mono in no time at all.

If you think groupsets do not matter than compare Dura-Ace and Claris to see which one will last longer.

You can, while young, ride in any shape you wish. Get older like me and you do not recover as easy and places hurt where they did not before.

Ride a traditional 32 spoke, straight gauge, wheel and then ride a low spoke count aero set like mavic and tell me the traditional one is faster.

Listen to this man he knows what he's talking about!!  41

Controversial - clubs are not the be all & end, in fact i'm probably leaving mine this year - just cause everyone tells u u must ride with the 'A' group!! u will just fit in after a few runs... hmm!! NO - & if u must make sure u find one that has a proper 'B' group - my club is 120 strong & has no 'B' group...!!

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therevokid | 9 years ago
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that i should have gone campagnolo at the start.

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Poptart242 replied to therevokid | 9 years ago
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therevokid wrote:

that i should have gone campagnolo at the start.

Scoob_84 wrote:

Carbon frames are not all that.

Aaaaand there's me back at square one again - about to go carbon with a Campag option....but I like the Shimano better. Argh, decisions!  102

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Super Domestique | 9 years ago
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How much it would cost me  3

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Scoob_84 | 9 years ago
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Carbon frames are not all that.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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That I should have bought alu for my first bike, then carbon for my second, rather than cheap carbon, then good carbon, then replacing the cheap carbon with alu.

That when I bought my good carbon bike, the matt plastic paint finish is a pig to clean, compared to a 'normal' gloss paint job.

That Mavics flex.

Not to sell on my self-built Reynolds 653 with Campag.

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