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Be gentle with me….

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  • November 5, 2013 at 11:48 pm #20166
    JudgeDreddful

    Hello all,

    I am a 40 something (well, 48) year old bloke with no real previous cycling experience other than childhood cycling and have decided to dip my toe into road cycling for health and fun reasons and have a couple of questions for you good folk.

    My questions are;

    Should I? I’m slightly – but not morbidly/dangerously – overweight and want to lose some weight. I reckon I need to lose at least a stone, and could probably do with losing 2 (if you listen to my wife) Is cycling a good way of losing weight? Is it a good trade off of time v health gain/weight loss? I have a car/desk based job so commuting go work is not an option. I would be able to ride evenings and weekends, and would consider a turbo trainer thingy for winter week time training, if they are to be recommended.

    Bike-wise, I have read the reviews online here and elsewhere and done a little homework. I am very much in the ‘beginner’ bracket and the Triban and TDF look like the best bets for someone like me. Not least of which because I will have a much better chance of getting a £300 bike past She Who Must Be Obeyed than a £500 bike. Not having a Decathlon near me I am more drawn to the TDF seeing as there are Halfords everywhere and if something should go wrong with it I would rather take it 3 or 4 miles across town to be sorted than 50 miles up the M5 to the nearest Decathlon. Is that sensible or is the Triban better than the TDF and worth the risk?

    All answers and advice greatly appreciated!

    Cheers,
    JD

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  • November 6, 2013 at 9:08 am #762309
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    daloriana

    I was much like yourself, was
    I was much like yourself, was into cycling in early teens, had 25 year ‘holiday’ then got back into cycling.

    If (on a very basic level) you enjoy riding a bike, don’t fret too much about what bike you’re riding (mine’s an old steel framed racer I got when I was 13, now turned into a fixie), just make sure you get out on it plenty of times.

    As advised above, if you’ll be on busy streets, get some training. Cycling is safe, but there are some ‘counter intuitive’ measures you can take to make it safer, and when you’re confident, you can start to ramp up the milage, which is where the real weight loss will kick in.

    For me the best and worst thing about cycling is all the other ‘kit’ you end up wanting. Again, as mentioned above, puncture repair is vital, as are lights if you’re starting now. If you’re planning on doing some longer journeys, then a pair of padded shorts will help your comfort no end.

    Happy spinning!

    November 6, 2013 at 8:35 am #762307
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    Super Domestique

    Having just had a quick look
    Having just had a quick look on the decathlon site, the triple gearing, carbon fork and lower weight would win out for the Triban to me.

    November 6, 2013 at 8:23 am #762305
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    Super Domestique

    Welcome. Both to the forum
    Welcome. Both to the forum and the slippery slope lol.

    Both bikes have a good rep. I think the triban took over from the TdF as the entry level bike of choice. Currently I think the TdF is sitting at nigh on £600 which is what halfords do so they put it ‘on offer’ at the price it should be 🙂

    I’m not sure what weight the triban is (anyone?) But I know a bit about TdF. Not the lighest obviously (no carbon fork plus heavy wheels) and the gearing is high for entry level (52 / 39 so no compact).

    That said, it rides well and I like the look (a personal thing). The gears are 2300 which work well. The brakes come with cartridge brake blocks which means they seem to have more bite than the solid rubber block variety (again IME).

    How good halfords are seems to depend on your local store but that is with any chain. Although the online comments seem to point to more negative than positive build up experiences. I can’t comment, I bought ‘ours’ as last stock / display model at huge discount then rebuilt it at home!

    Hope this helps.

    BTW, allow extra in the budget for helmet, gloves, padded shorts, shoes, etc.

    November 6, 2013 at 8:20 am #762303
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    Argos74

    To answer your questions –
    To answer your questions – and some more general but essential advice…

    First thing up is training – have a scout around on the [url=http://bikeability.dft.gov.uk/what-is-bikeability/]Bikeability[/url] for training courses near you. Most important thing is that you come home from a ride (am sure SWMBO will agree on this one), and getting yourself genned up on road awareness and positioning from a cyclist’s perspective will help.

    Getting on to a cycle repair course wouldn’t be a bad idea either, if only to brush up on knowledge from 30-40 years ago.

    For a returning cyclist, my thinking is that a hybrid would be ideal. The recently reviewed [url=http://road.cc/content/review/97861-hoy-shizuoka-city-bike]Hoy Shizuoka[/url] looks pretty tasty if you can squeeze £700 out of the family budget (added a bit for lights, lock, miscellaneous bits and bobs). But there’s plenty of decent similar bikes out there at a more budget friendly price – previous year’s models and so on. Spend as much as you can, nothing worse than crawling around on a beast that needs repairing every 2 days (this from personal experience).

    Once you’ve got a few thousand miles under your belt, time to starting getting an n+1 bike, or moving up to a full on road/cross/mtb bike, depending on what you fancy doing.

    Take puncture repair kit – mini pump, sticky patches, tyre levers, spare tube – everywhere. And a chain repair tool.

    Cycle with friends. Load up lunch in a pannier or backpack, take wife and/or children. Join a local club. Have a look at [url=http://www.goskyride.com/]GoSkyRide[/url], and turn up to collect yellow bib and a couple of hours of fun. Or just find a cafe in a village 10-15 miles away, ride out, have some coffee and a slice of cake, come home awesome.

    Turbo trainers are okay..ish. I use one when it’s vile and wet and windy, and watch old episodes of Star Trek or some Sufferfest. But road is where the heart is, for me anyway.

    On the fitness side of things, cycling is a pretty good (and amazingly fun) way of improving general and cardiovascular fitness, and for weight control. Eat a sensible, varied diet with loads of fresh stuff and fruit and veg. And just pile on the miles in the saddle (some core work is a handy complement – I think there’s some articles on yoga somewhere on this site).

    November 6, 2013 at 4:55 am #762301
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    arfa

    Yes, yes and yes. Next
    Yes, yes and yes. Next question please (just kidding). Just the simple process of getting out there in the fresh air, building your distance and fitness will sort the surplus pounds out. It is important to have a think about what you put in the tank as beer and fast food will not help the situation (you Don’t mention if it is a factor and I’m not assuming it is). What you will find is that as you build your distance, you will naturally start to think about what you eat etc.
    The health/wellbeing benefits alone make it worthwhile as the more you get into it, the leaner you will become. Do you have a local cycling club as they tend to be helpful, friendly and a good source of advice ?
    Turbo training has its fans but it’s not for me as I would rather get out on a mountain bike in crappy weather than remain indoors. However if you can cope with the monotony there is a reason why people use them !
    This probably is the hardest time of the year to get started (shortening days and worsening weather) but if you’re enthusiastic go for it. Perhaps set yourself a goal of entering a shortish sportive for the spring ?
    As for bikes you broadly get what you pay for with better quality components that will last better as a general rule. That said, I have heard good things about the btwin as an entry level bike. Do you have a local bike shop (LBS) ? Another good source of advice and worth supporting as I would recommend going there for servicing over and above your other thoughts….
    In your shoes and if you could stretch things a little further I would look at some of the 2013 clearance models reduce to the 500 pound level as you will get a lot more for your money – some retailers are cutting 20-30% and if Halfords is your choice, have a look at Boardman bikes – all fine bikes in their own right.
    Good luck and go for it. Just one cautionary word, if you get into it, you never buy just one bike…..

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