What do you wish you knew?

Poptart242 · 2014-11-10T13:10:02+00:00

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!

This topic has 24 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 7 months ago by the_jm.

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November 10, 2014 at 1:10 pm #22708

Poptart242

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!
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November 14, 2014 at 10:57 am #820425
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the_jm

That the hardest thing about
That the hardest thing about cycling in bad weather is getting started.

November 14, 2014 at 10:56 am #820423
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bfslxo

Sidi 700c wrote:Do you ride a
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!! =D>

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…!!

November 14, 2014 at 8:52 am #820421
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tritecommentbot

Winter proof has no
Winter proof has no discernable meaning in cycling.

November 14, 2014 at 8:32 am #820419
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Sidi 700c

Do you ride a bike at
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.

November 12, 2014 at 10:42 pm #820417
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Simon E

That by far the biggest
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.

November 12, 2014 at 3:07 pm #820415
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notfastenough

IngloriousLou wrote:bigmel
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…

November 12, 2014 at 1:04 pm #820413
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Pointbroken

“Quality is worth buying, but
“Quality is worth buying, but that doesnt have to be ridiculously expensive.”

Could not agree more with this.

November 12, 2014 at 12:00 pm #820411
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Super Domestique

badback wrote:That it’s not
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!!

November 12, 2014 at 11:46 am #820409
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IngloriousLou

bigmel wrote:That I should
bigmel wrote:
That I should have joined a cycle club.

Or started your own.

November 12, 2014 at 11:26 am #820407
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bigmel

That I should have joined a
That I should have joined a cycle club.

November 10, 2014 at 10:48 pm #820405
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kwi

How many ‘brownie points’ it
How many ‘brownie points’ it would cost me.

November 10, 2014 at 10:41 pm #820403
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Jeroen0110

I wish someone would have
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?

November 10, 2014 at 8:22 pm #820401
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edster99

Cyclocross is much more than
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.

November 10, 2014 at 6:58 pm #820399
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NickK123

I wish I had joined a Club
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!

November 10, 2014 at 5:26 pm #820397
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badback

That it’s not about riding
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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