Stupid and obvious things you did not know as a new cyclists

[spacecat]

Also that the front mech had a trim adjustment and wasn't broken!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

set off on my bike for first time with new clipless pedals and we live on a hill in the wrong gear and fell off with wife watching she shook her head and shut the door

It's all learning. Set off down the hill next time!

 

[Deleted member 20519]

That you should learn to use clipless before venturing out onto the roads.

 

[simmi]

To cross railway tracks at 90 degrees(4th clipless moment)
When climbing a hill that you are not going to make give up before you reach the point of total exhaustion(5th clipless moment)

 

[Black Country Ste]

I had trouble with brake shifters as well. Damned near broke the right thumb shift trying to change down. I finally worked it out half way into my first ride on it. I say ride, it was a terrified roll down the hill as compared to my hybrid the riding position was alien and the steering so twitchy.

When trying out your new pump it's good to know that the tube needs to be encased within a tyre in order to hold enough pressure for the gauge to give a reading...

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Ditto the switching gears down on a road bike.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

It upsets the rider.

And potentially - given the lack of available valve control, and potential fluidity of bowel contents - it can upset the following rider and / or pedestrians.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Why not?

Have you ever tried to stop an exploding bottle of pop by putting your hand over it?

 

[Richard Ball]

I also didn't realise I had a presta valve and had completely the wrong pump with me when I got a puncture!

 

[Kies]

I did not know cycling would change my life for the better in SO many ways!

 

[ColinJ]

Brakes don't work properly on wet steel rims! (Not as bad a problem with alloy rims, though remember to apply brakes early in the wet to dry off the rims before effective braking is required.)

(As a teenager, I was nearly killed when I accidentally ran a red light at the foot of a hill in the rain ... )

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Brakes don't work properly on wet steel rims! (Not as bad a problem with alloy rims, though remember to apply brakes early in the wet to dry off the rims before effective braking is required.)

(As a teenager, I was nearly killed when I accidentally ran a red light at the foot of a hill in the rain ... )

Got caught by a downpour last summer on a steel rimmed bike: almost fell in the river

 

[Gravity Aided]

I learned bicycle frames come in different sizes. My size is stepladder. I had no idea this was true. As a kid and youth, you just rode whatever bicycle you picked up. Proper fit and position on the bicycle was something I only learned about at school, as there were fellows who mainly seemed to be majoring in Cycling , Cycling Engineering, and Cycling History around my dormitory.

 

[mcshroom]

That you need to unclip v-brakes before the front wheel comes out. I discovered this after fighting with the wheel for a good while in the pouring rain while trying to put the new bike in the back of a car

 

[paul04]

First up: changing gear on a road bike on the 2300's, quickly realised how to how to change up, but took 2 miles to change down using the brake

Yes same here, just glad we have "you tube" to show us how