Newbie Intro

[aesir22]

Hello all,

I'm Daniel and I'm soon to be your newest addict

I recovered a bike from a relatives garage - not sure if it is my mums or the one my dad rode before he passed. Either way its very nice, a lot fancier than the bikes I had when I was a kid! Its full of suspension springs and the gears change themselves, which i've never experienced before! It says Apollo FS.26 on it. Not sure if its a good bike haha.

I haven't cycled for about twenty years, and went out this morning before work. It was only 5.25 miles while I got used to cycling again lol. It was fun though, enjoyed going fast on the cycle route!

I'm hoping it helps to burn some fat. I already weight train twice a week a d follow a healthy diet. I KNOW I need a better saddle - I'm so sore I can barely sit down! And anew helmet. I have my dads old one but its not a great fit :/ roll on payday! I'd go out again tonight if i didnt ache so much now from that blasted saddle!

Very happy to have found this forum

Daniel

 

[Heifer73]

 

[welsh dragon]

Hello. Welcome to the forum

 

[mjr]

I recovered a bike from a relatives garage - not sure if it is my mums or the one my dad rode before he passed. Either way its very nice, a lot fancier than the bikes I had when I was a kid! Its full of suspension springs and the gears change themselves, which i've never experienced before! It says Apollo FS.26 on it. Not sure if its a good bike haha.

but I'm sorry to tell you it's probably not great. The once-great Apollo are a Half-odds store brand these days and http://reviews.halfords.com/4028/920314/reviews.htm makes me think that bike's fairly recent. It actually has fairly good reviews on there, but well that's not an independent website after all. Typical advice on here is to avoid full-suspension bikes unless you're going off-roading because rear suspension adds another heavy part that can go wrong to the otherwise-simple idea of a bike.

The gears changing by themselves (also known as ghost-shifting or auto-shifting) might just be a problem with the indexing setup (lots of videos on youtube about how to fix that), might be because something's worn out (chain or some of the cogs) or might be a sign of a more serious problem.

Even so, enjoy it while you can! Maybe get in touch with a local all-welcome bike group so you know who are good mechanics when you do need repairs...?

 

[ScotiaLass]

 

[Racing roadkill]

 

[xxDarkRiderxx]

 

[Slioch]

 

[Ihatehills]

Hi
I had a similar experience to you, went out on a bike for the first time in years and "why aren't I doing this more often ? " since that point I've been out almost every day for the last four weeks. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in my ( admittedly limited) experience there is no such thing as a comfy saddle you just get used to it after a few rides.
Oh and I've got an Apollo, and whilst I'm sure that it's not a good bike, it is doing the job at the moment.

Ben

 

[aesir22]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone.

Yeah its a heavy bike haha but it'll do me for now. Im a student so can't afford to buy a new one, already pushing it buying a new helmet gonna try for 20 miles tomorrow. Could have gone longer today but ran out of time!

 

[jazzkat]

You'll probably find that the saddle soreness is just your nether regions not being used to it. The next ride will be less painful. Some of us never find the perfect saddle, some of us get close to it and others are in varying amounts of pain all the time! ha ha.

 

[Cyclist33]

Well done on five miles straight out the paddock.

 

[aesir22]

Fingers crossed for good weather. And fingers crossed i can sit on the saddle! I remember my dad used to have a saddle that was fitted with a gel cover? Wasn't too bad! Will have a look at the weekend while helmet shopping.

 

[jazzkat]

Fingers crossed for good weather. And fingers crossed i can sit on the saddle! I remember my dad used to have a saddle that was fitted with a gel cover? Wasn't too bad! Will have a look at the weekend while helmet shopping.

Personally I'd avoid anything that even mentioned gel! It's like that super comfy squishy sofa that at first feels great, then after ten or fifteen minutes you realise that it's not comfy at all, whereas a firm supportive chair, might not feel so nice at first, after a few minutes you stop thinking about it and are comfortable.
We actually sit on two bony protuberances at the base of our pelvis, especially on a bike saddle and the squishy material in/on gel saddles actually puts pressure on the soft tissue between these protuberances. This can cause much bigger problems with, shall we say, your intimate parts!
If I've been of the bike for any time the first ride is sore, possibly even the second but by the time I'm on my third ride everything is good.
I'd give it a few weeks before you start splashing out on new saddles, let your bum get accustomed to it's battering first.

 

[mjr]

Personally I'd avoid anything that even mentioned gel!

That's foolish prejudice and sadly widespread. Gel can be just a closed-cell foam and doesn't necessarily mean "squishy". You can get various thicknesses and patterns of gel saddles. Wearing ill-fitting padded shorts with squishy material in the wrong places can also put pressure on the soft tissue in the wrong places.

I'm a big fan of sprung saddles for those that aren't watching the bike weight... less battering.