Ready to start!

[Dogtrousers]

6 pages, blimey.

I think if you're riding on the roads you may be better off locking the fork out completely, rather than setting the preload. But as I have never owned a bike with a suspension fork my advice is probably rubbish.

 

[LibraRider]

6 pages, blimey

Great isn’t it?! Everyone is so encouraging!

 

[BigMeatball]

Or just watch them on youtube for free without even leaving home. You can watch various different videos and get slightly different takes on the same issue. Personally I find the tutorials on the Global Cycling Network very good.

sure, why taking up swimming classes when you can just watch a tutorial on youtube?

 

[BrumJim]

Thanks so much for all of your advice so far, I’m feeling fairly confident in getting going now. Planning to have my first ride tomorrow and see how it goes.

I was wondering if you guys could help me with a few questions though.

I have a carrera vengeance flat bar hybrid bike. Managed to get it second hand from EBay for £140 so I thought that’s a pretty good deal just for my start out bike. Since being on here and browsing various other forums I’ve noticed that Carreras get a bit of stick. Is there any reason for this?

Not a great bike to do 100 miles on. I would struggle to do that sort of distance on a Mountain-bike type hybrid, especially with front suspension.

However, as much as you are concerned about nutrition and bike, just concentrate on cycling for the moment. Get out as much as possible and enjoy it.

With regard to nutrition, use it as an incentive. I have met cyclists who regard themselves as cake addicts first, and cyclists as a consequence to prevent weight gain. The big problem is that calories burnt relates to mileage and speed rather than effort. After your first ride you will feel exhausted and barely able to get back in the house again, despite having burnt only a handful of calories. Meanwhile the person who passed you like you were standing still, despite being 2 hours into their ride, and will get home without breaking sweat, will have earned themselves a big slice of sticky cake.

 

[BrumJim]

Ah i never thought of that! Great idea!

I live in south west Birmingham, if anyone would like to help me out



I'm planning on the Birmingham Velo....
If not that, then RideLondon in August
Or both - if I can make the Velo and I recover by August haha

Thanks so much for all your advice.

I will definitely keep you updated

Birmingham Velo is a tight timescale for this year, starting from zero. Not impossible, but will take a good chunk of commitment.

Some good riding south west of Birmingham, although there are always the North Worcestershire hills to negotiate before you get back home. Beyond that, though, are the Evesham plains and some lovely countryside. Up for a group ride when you have built up a bit of stamina.

 

[mjr]

Speaking on the topic if flats. As OP is a newbie I would be inclined to suggest changing the inner rather than patching up at the side of the road.

While it's useful to be able to change the tube, it's necessary to be able to patch a flat, especially for those lovely rare cases where you suffer a triple puncture (like I did last weekend) and don't get all the sharp bits out first time (hey, I thought I'd found the cause...). I don't usually carry enough spare tubes for that. I think it's also much easier if you don't have to mess about removing wheels, but I know some people disagree about that.

 

[CXRAndy]

Its a basic type bike, absolutely nothing wrong with it to ride and begin your quest.

However, when you're reasonably fit in a few month's time, have a try on a road bike with drop handlebars. You will think its a rocket. It will be much faster to ride

A road bike will be much more suited to doing a hundred mile sportive

 

[mjr]

[...] Carreras get a bit of stick. Is there any reason for this?

They're a Half-odds shop brand these days and their quality has varied widely. Some are OK. Others are a bit awkward or heavy.

Also, this morning before setting out to work I was having a mess around with the preload on the front wheel. I read last night that if you are a heavier rider (which I am) it’s better to have the bike at a high preload, so I decided to turn it right the way up. Only now I’ve found that the front wheel jerks around. I didn’t have time to look at it properly this morning so will have another look when I get home - but any ideas why this might be?

Which preload did you change? There's steerer, hub and sometimes suspension. Generally, steerer and hub bearing preloads either work smoothly, flop around or drag and jam, so there's almost only one right setting for those. I think suspension is a matter of taste and gnarliness of surface but it's been a while since I adjusted one.

More generally, always double-check what you read on the internet, unless it's from a really reputable source like Park Tool or Sheldon Brown. I sometimes wonder if some people are posting duff advice to try to injure cyclists...

 

[Reynard]

I have a carrera vengeance flat bar hybrid bike. Managed to get it second hand from EBay for £140 so I thought that’s a pretty good deal just for my start out bike. Since being on here and browsing various other forums I’ve noticed that Carreras get a bit of stick. Is there any reason for this?

You've got a bike, and it will more than do to get you started.

It's not so much Carreras that get the stick as the retailer, as the in-store service is patchy at best. But they're better than a good bit of stuff out there. As long as it's well maintained (CC has a brilliant bike maintenance sub-forum if you need to ask stuff) your bike should serve you well for now.

You may well find that you'll want something different for a sportive - I can't help you with advice there there as sportives aren't my thing - but on the other hand, you may not. Only time in the saddle will tell you whether you'll want something else. IIRC, there's someone on here that's done the London to Brighton on a folder, which just goes to show you don't absolutely *need* a road bike for a sportive.

If you do want to trade up at some point, there are loads of options around, but you wouldn't go far wrong with Decathlon. Their bikes and kit gets good rep on here.

FWIW, my two rideable bikes (yeah, the other two are in bits) are from Halfords and most of my kit is from Decathlon. My bikes are Wiggins ones, as I'm a wee bit... undertall.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

All of Halfords stuff gets some stick, especially Apollos. Some of it is just cycling snobbery, some of it has some basis in truth due to poor assembly and set-up out of the shop. Strangely though, I have an Apollo MTB that cost me bugger all, is well over 20 years old, and has carried me around for hundreds and hundreds of trouble-free miles. Halfords sell plenty of OK bikes, but often employ a monkey to prepare them for sale.
Tyres and maintenance are the two critical issues if contemplating a really long ride. You don't want blow outs or punctures spoiling the day, and you don't want to waste energy just so you can listen to knobbly MTB type tyres make a humming noise like an old Army Land Rover. Maintenance is about making sure everything works freely, nothing is going to break or seize up en-route and makes a big difference to confidence. it's no different to having a reliable car versus an unreliable one.

 

[I like Skol]

I did my first 100 mile ride (Bike Events Manchester 100) about 15-20 years ago on my MTB with a set of fat slick tyres. I loved it, was passing lots and lots of tired riders on 'proper' bikes.
At the time I was obviously a lot younger than I am now and reasonably fit and active due to a physical job but didn't ride more than 2-300 miles a year at the time and didnt do much in the way training either.
Your bike will be just fine if it is working well and has the right tyres pumped up to a decent pressure.

 

[nickyboy]

@SkipdiverJohn and @I like Skol probably make the most important recommendation and that is tyres. If you get these right, within reason the rest of the bike doesn't matter much. You're riding on the road so use tyres designed for this. Slick (ie no tread or absolute minimal tread) and designed to be pumped up to high pressure; 6-7 bar (about 85-105psi). If you have tyres not like this then I suggest you change them. Wrong tyres (ie knobbly ones that run at about 4 bar) will require loads more effort to ride on and aren't suitable at all for long distance road cycling

 

[mjr]

Slick (ie no tread or absolute minimal tread) and designed to be pumped up to high pressure; 6-7 bar (about 85-105psi). If you have tyres not like this then I suggest you change them. Wrong tyres (ie knobbly ones that run at about 4 bar) will require loads more effort to ride on and aren't suitable at all for long distance road cycling

The optimal tyre pressure is a function of tyre width, rider/luggage weight and rider position (how much they lean forwards, mainly) more than slick/knobbly. Blindly pumping some 2 inch tyres up to 105psi will probably be uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I run my roadster's semi-slick-but-medium-wide front tyre at 45psi and it rolls easily for 100+ miles, thank you. Even my road bike only has its front at 65psi.

There was a tyre pressure chart at https://www.renehersecycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BQTireDrop.pdf or there are various calculators online.

 

[RoadRider400]

sure, why taking up swimming classes when you can just watch a tutorial on youtube?

Thats an excellent counter point. Alhough I dont personally know of anybody who has died whilst attempting to change an inner tube in their garage without adequate supervision. If this has happened to anybody you know then you have my sincere condolences. May they rest in peace.

 

[RoadRider400]

While it's useful to be able to change the tube, it's necessary to be able to patch a flat, especially for those lovely rare cases where you suffer a triple puncture (like I did last weekend) and don't get all the sharp bits out first time (hey, I thought I'd found the cause...). I don't usually carry enough spare tubes for that. I think it's also much easier if you don't have to mess about removing wheels, but I know some people disagree about that.

Wow thats some pretty awful luck. Good point for a beginner right there, if changing or patching always check if the cause of the puncture is still present.