DarrenW
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| posted on 27/1/08 at 11:00 PM |
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Any cyclists on here
Went out on my bike for first time in ages today. Rather enjoyed it but mountain bikes are hard going on the road and mine needs some attention (gears
dont select smoothly etc). I was just thinking though that maybe a road bike would be a good idea. What would you recommend as a good novice bike?
Im also puzzled about frame sizes - what size would you go for if you are 5'11"?
Im also wondering if i might as well just save money and get some thinner wheels for the mountain bike - if thats possible?
Any one use turbo trainers, can you fit a mountain bike to them?
I saw an awesome full carbon italian make racer this weekend, but perhaps £5K is a little excessive. Cant remember the make (maybe began with
'C' , i think it was a tour de france replica. Sure was a work of art (red white and carbon)
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Peteff
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| posted on 27/1/08 at 11:04 PM |
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Get some 700C wheels and road tyres if it will take them or just road tyres, I used to have to pedal downhill with knobblies on. Ciocc are Italian
frame makers.
[Edited on 27/1/08 by Peteff]
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 27/1/08 at 11:22 PM |
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Second the idea of fitting road tyres to your bike. Makes a big difference.
I used to use tyres that were half and half, just tiny bobbles in the middle with rugged edges, bit of comprimise, but saved changing tyres whenever I
wanted to go off road.
Frame sizes are a bit mad. I used to run a 17" frame and I'm 6ft 1. You often see 5ft 5" guys with 24inch frames, looking like total
idiots because they didn't want there 16 year old lad with a bigger frame than them or some similar rubbish. Not sure if it is different for
road bikes, but I'd go somewhere really good that knows there stuff to buy, rather than a box merchant like halfrauds.
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bigrich
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| posted on 27/1/08 at 11:28 PM |
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i have used my mountain bike on the turbo trainer before without problems but they hum like an old landrover on knobbly tyres.
you can get slicks in mountain bike sizes or smooth city tyres, which help average speeds increase for no more or less effort
.JPG)
A pint for the gent and a white wine/fruit based drink for the lady. Those are the rules
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adithorp
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| posted on 27/1/08 at 11:29 PM |
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Narrower tyre will make a big difference on the road. Find a local bike shop (not one of the chains) and they'll give good advise. If your
5'11" then you'll be looking at a 55-56cm frame.
Italian fram starting with C; that'd be Colnago!
adrian
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bigrich
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| posted on 27/1/08 at 11:47 PM |
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if you want to borrow a turbo trainer for a week or two to see if it suits your needs Darren then just say the word and its yours.
Rich
A pint for the gent and a white wine/fruit based drink for the lady. Those are the rules
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Daimo_45
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 01:04 AM |
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I race road bikes and have one of them said shiny carbon bikes and wheels as it happens, probably nearly as expensive as the locost I want to build
but then again I do race twice a week and train 3 days a week and it's my life. Definitely get a road bike and not just change the wheels on
your bike as you will not gain from the stiffness, gearing and geometry like you would from a road bike. If you still want to hit some muddy paths
and unpaved stuff you could always get a cyclocross bike what look likes a road bike with slightly relaxed geometry and slighty bigger tires. Drop me
a U2U for more info.
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Davey D
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 08:05 AM |
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I use my bike quite a lot for commuting to work on. Its a 20mile round trip to and from.
I use a mountain bike that i have modified. It started life a claud butler Trail Ridge, but ive fitted different wheels, tyres, and brakes. Ive also
fitted a pannier rack to the back as wearing a backpack used to make my back very sweaty 
When i want to go offroading i have another bike that i use.. it is more expensive doing it this way, but it is MUCH less messing around not having to
swap things over depending on what your doing on that particular day
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Rosco
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 09:23 AM |
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Definitely buy a road bike. I have both and there's no comparison.
You could take a land rover and put good road tyres on it, drop the suspension and change the brakes, but it would still be a Land Rover - and crap on
road. Bikes are a bit like that.
If you want to keep the cost down, try second hand or go to the US on holiday this year and buy one there - they're 30% to 40% cheaper.
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bigandy
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 09:37 AM |
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I usually have two sets of wheels for my mountain bike, one with the nobblies on, and one setup with narrow slick type tyres. It is surprising how
much of a difference the slick tyres make to your avergae speed, and the effort it takes on the road.
That said, my mate I go biking with once a week or so, recently bought a road bike (nothing too expensive, will ask for more details today!) and we
went out for a 20 mile session down the coast path. I had a go of it, and the difference between a road bike and a mountain bike with slicks, is
about the same as the difference between using nobbly tyres and slick tyres on a mountain bike.
Suffice to say, I am now seriously tempted to swap my second set of wheels with the slick tyres on, for a proper road bike!
That said, if you are on a budget, going for a cross country mountain bike with two sets of wheels, is a good compromise, especially if you want to do
a bit more than just road riding. Throwing in some fire roads, single track, and foresty downhills into a ride makes it sooooo much more interesting
IMHO!
Cheers
Andy
PS. How's the rowing going?
Dammit! Too many decisions....
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DarrenW
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 09:41 AM |
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Some decent advice, many thanks.
I do like the idea of getting out on the old lines during summer with family (nice and safe for the kids) so probs best to keep the mountain bike as
it is. I have fitted some narrower tyres many moons ago (hardly used ) and there was a good difference but i know its hard going and puts me in a
negative mind about going any distance before i start.
A guy at work has a hardly used turbo trainer for sale so i might find out what it is. I think he paid £350 or so for it so must be half decent. The
guy with the nice bike i know also has hSd old bike set up on a Tacx trainer with fancy computer jobbie. He was saying something like you can play
videos whilst training but it went over my head (sounds suitable techy though).
Daimo - thats a seriously nice looking bike.
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Paul TigerB6
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 10:04 AM |
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Totally agree with Daimo - get yourself a road bike for the road. I used to road race too and now ride nearly £2K worth of mountain bike which even
with fairly slick gravel track tyres is no comparrison to a half decent road bike.
I'd definately have a look on ebay for a nearly new road bike to see whats about, but first of all i would have a look in a decent bike shop to
see if there are any deals on 2007 spec bikes and get yourself fitted up properly. I used to find the top tube length more critical than the frame
size (which is taken from the seat tube) and frame design has changed a lot since i bought my last race frame with its horizontal top tube. Once you
have an idea of size then ebay might well throw up a few deals - i sold my road bike on there and bought a £1k mountain bike frame with the money,
nearly new for £300.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 10:07 AM |
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Andy,
The rowing is going very well indeed. Considering i started on the wrong side of lard and rather unfit, after 3 weeks ive managed a 8:39 (2:10 splits)
for the 2K. I had a rowing lesson at the weekend (the guy with the bikes is an official C2 instructor), whilst technique wasnt bad he has fine tuned
it so i reckon ill be under 8 minutes soonish. Im really trying to do steady paced longer HR capped sessions (fat loss) and these are helping general
fitness. Ive clocked up 70,000m so far, longest session 30 minutes (6250m) (in first week 10 minutes nearly killed me so whilst these times arent
Olympic im happy)
Im pretty fired up on losing some weight. The rower, especially using Rowpro, is good (i really need a projector for my laptop though so i can row in
big screen) and i enjoy it but of course you dont get the outdoors feel. The advantage is i can jump on while kids are occupied and im not leaving the
house. It would be nice to take advantage of breaks in the weather for some outdoor activity though as well so i reckon cycling would compliment it
nicely (everyone says its good to cross train so body doesnt get used to a routine). In 3 weeks ive lost the sum total of nowt but am starting to feel
much better.
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02GF74
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 10:29 AM |
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I think the question boils down to whether you want to predominantly on roads?
If answer is yes, then either:
a) get a road bike
b) fit slicks to the mtb (I could be wrong but I thougt you can't fit road wheels due to the difference between the drop outs but would need to
build a set of wheels with mtb hubs but with road rims).
I used to do loads of miles on the road and time trailling but then saw the light and bought a mountain bikes (plural is deliberate). The amount of
traffic and bad attitude of drivers accounted for the change plus off road there is another dimensionb of obstacle negotiation skill that you donlt
get on the road.
Up north where you are there are about 5 or 6 cars plus I think the folks are more cyclist friendly so you are lucky in that respect, not to mention
some nice scenery.
Frame size: for road frame the seat tube with a horizontal top tube (nowadays trend has gone to sloping tube so you need to account for that) is:
1/3 of your height or inside leg trouser measument less 10 inches.
For mtb frame you would subtract antoehr 6 inches.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 10:57 AM |
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I can recall when i bought my mountain bike the shop was very helpful indeed. My mates at the time bought theres mail order and got 21" etc
frames. i actually bought a 17" frame (iirc) and it was far better for me.
I was talking to a guy in the office last week and he has a good carbon road bike and his older 2nd bike. He has just told me that this is now for
sale with a trainer. The bike is an ali framed Bianchi, £900 ish new, wants £300 for it, and will take £150 or the trainer which was over £400 new.
The trainer has the rear arrangement where the wheel runs against a roller which controls the drag. At the front you remover front wheel, sit forks in
a 'holder' and there is an upstnd in front of you with the controls on. Does this all sound like a decent set up?
I know what you mean about traffic, but as you say where i live its not long before im in semi rural areas with minimal traffic (albeit narrower roads
and twisty bits in places). My thinking is road bike for longer distance and mountain bike for fun (god knows where the money will come from
though)
[Edited on 28/1/08 by DarrenW]
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DarrenW
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 12:07 PM |
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I might have got the italian frame name wrong - ive just seen Pinarello's website - the bike looked very similar to the Prince. The curves were
rather distinctive.
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Hellfire
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 12:52 PM |
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If you've already got the Mountain bike, just get out there and ride it with the tyres it has fitted. So what if it it takes a bit of extra
effort on the road, that's what you want isn't it.....a good workout? It also gives you the opportunity to go off-road whenever you want.
If you want effortless riding just buy a motorbike........... 
Phil
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Bob C
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 01:36 PM |
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I spent the weekend building up a new road bike. In the summer months I use it for a 15mile commute 3 times a week. My new bike has a shimano nexus 8
hub gear instead of deraillieurs - I'm itching to see if there's a significant efficiency downside to this, it's otherwise fairly
equal on weight, better for user friendliness & worse for "close ratio" gearing. Nobody uses them on road bikes - I guess I'll
find out why! Anyway the bike has cost about £440 - mostly getting wheels built (the nexus comes as a bare hub for £100.
Ebay, wiggle and chainreactioncycles are all MUCH cheaper than the local bike shop (20 to 40%) but you have to be really careful as there are lots of
threads fittings and sizes of almost all the parts! My new frame was £36, aluminium, stock frame on a bike that retails for £450.
In true locost spirit I've made a few parts from aluminium bar stock on the lathe......
Bob
PS sheldonbrown website is a goldmine of information for anyone into bike hardware - worth reading right through. I've not found him wrong about
anything (yet)
[Edited on 28/1/08 by Bob C]
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DarrenW
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 03:50 PM |
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I agree whole heartedly Phil and the days i fancy running up the old lines id certainly take the tougher bike, but if you are going to do something
theres no harm in making it as efficient as possible and getting some enjoyment out of it. There comes a time when youve done all the local partial
off road stuff and fancy a change in scenery or fancy going a bit further in the same time.
Im also thinking a road bike might make a decent indoor trainer for some variation on the rowing. Then again o may be able to connect the mountain
bike to a trainer and use that indoors to save some cash in the short term.
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Marcus
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| posted on 28/1/08 at 10:09 PM |
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Just a quickie her, I ride both Mountain and road bikes - it's horses for courses. I really enjoy the freedom of offroad, my house backs on to
the trans pennine trail, so I can almost get to either coast without going on the road (not that I would - it's bloody miles!!).
The road bikes make far more efficient commuters, fit straight bars if you want to be a little more upright.
I also have a trainer which runs on the wheel rim rather than the tyres, ideal for both bkes and knobblies make no difference (it's a Minoura
RDA).
Marcus
Because kits are for girls!!
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DarrenW
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| posted on 29/1/08 at 11:24 AM |
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OK, ive just been offered a bike and trainer. How does this sound?
Bike - Its a Bianchi Gold Race 900. Red forks and front of frame, silver the rest. i dont know what gears / brakes it has (whatever was standard on
this bike). Has reversible pedals (cleats one side - flat the other), lights, cycle computer, puncture resistant tyres. Looks to be in extremely good
condition, recently serviced. The guy bought it, did just over half a season on it (inc london to York ride) then bought Carbon bike. He says he paid
£800 for bike and extrs were £150 - 200 ish. He wants £300 for bike.
The trainer is a Cateye Cyclosimulator (CS-1000). Its the type with 2 fan flywheels and the magnetic bit to simulate hill loads. Long frame with fron
forks secured into front section and a PM on an upstand (rather than on handle bars). He wants £150 for this.
Im not sure about the trainer. I like the idea of using rower for indoor work and bike to get outdoors.
Have you heard of a Ciclo CP10 heart rate watch monitor and chest belt? Same guy has one for sale at £20 which sounds cheap enough.
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Guinness
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| posted on 29/1/08 at 11:42 AM |
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Does this mean you'll be turning up at the Church Mouse tomorrow night in lycra 
Mike
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DarrenW
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| posted on 29/1/08 at 12:15 PM |
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Now thats a bloody good idea Ill have no bother getting us a table or 12 if i do
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