New to biking...

[Mia]

Hi Girls,

This is my first thread here, but I have already learned so much from you all! I have been riding for a couple of months now. My hubby has been riding since March when he bought a road bike to help him get into shape for racing dirtbikes. He liked his bike so much that now he's thinking about selling the dirtbike to buy a new better bicycle! ha! :p Anyway, he talked me into getting one and now I just love it! I am very much not athletic, so this has been a big lifestlye change for me. I had a lot of trouble at first, but through reading all of your posts I have learned that I definately had the wrong saddle. I have a Specialized Dolce and was using the big cushy "women specific" saddle that came on it. After having a very sore bottom for about the last 100 miles or so :mad: I went to my Specialized dealer and had my sit bones measured and now have a new Avatar saddle. Yea :p I have lost 12 pounds in the last couple months, so this bike is my new best friend. Thank-you all for the great info. Looking forward to getting to know you all better.

[DirtDiva]

Woohoo! Another convert! ;) Nice to have you Mia. :)

[BIKEAWAY]

They measure your bones? That sounds like something very useful..
How was the seat different?
I bought a Butterfly(think that is what It is) with an opening in the middle and now that I am adding miles, it is not as comfy as it use to be..
What was the brand that they gave you?
Learning everyday here...... ;)

[Mia]

They have you sit on a stair with a little pad under your butt, (you sit on the lowest stair with you knees kinda high so your sit bones stick out) and after a couple minutes your sit bones leave little indentations in the pad. Then he measured how far apart my bones were and and found a seat where the pads were the same distance apart. It is different from my other seat because it is not so cushy. The cushy seat was so big that it was putting pressure on areas and that you don't want pressure on, and also the backs on my legs, (thighs?). This new one lets me peddle without restriction, so everyplace has just the right amount of cushion.

It is a mens Specialized Avatar 143 seat. Also with a cut-out in the middle. 18.5 is the most miles I have put on it, so I hope it is as comfy when I can do a few more miles! :D

[Trekhawk]

Hi Mia

Welcome and I look forward to hearing some of your riding adventures. :)

[caligurl]

i've been riding on the stock dolce saddle for over a year.... i tried the butterfly and hated it! i'm afraid to try a different saddle now cuz i know i can do long rides with the dolce!

but they are so cheap and rip easily at the seams :mad: but at least they are cheap to replace! lol!

one of these days i'm gonna be brave and try another saddle... but my experience with the butterfly was so awful... i'm leary of trying something else (cuz that one is supposed to be most peoples favorite!)

so which dolce did you get? which color! :cool: (mine is a 2004 elite.. so dark blue w/lighter blue accents)

welcome to cycling and welcome to TE!

[mary9761]

I could see where that would be easy to do with someone who doesn't have a lot of extra weight on them, but wonder how easy it would be to measure sit bones on someone with extra padding to start with without getting INVASIVE?? :confused:

[caligurl]

there is nothing invasive about the measurement... you put this little cardboard thingy with a squishy area on it... on the step/stool.. and you sit on it (like she described)....

you stand up and they see where your sit bones indented and the distance between the two and that is your seat measurement....

they don't actually get down "there" and do any measuring! it's all hand-free! :D

[Mia]

My Dolce is a pretty dark purple (they call it lavender) with silver accents....so pretty...I'm a girly girl at heart :p . Your elite is one step above mine, I think. This is actually a more expensive bike than I wanted to get, because I didn't think I would enjoy it so much. We are already talking about upgrading my components. This is much more addictive than I thought! :p

I was a little worried about measuring the sit bones also. When I first read the post about doing that, I thought no way am I going to let those guys measure anything down there! :eek: Ha Ha When I went to check into the new saddle, the guy we always talk to brought it up and when he brought out that little cushion thing I was pretty relieved.

[caligurl]

i debated between my elite and the next one up.... but i, too, was undecided if i would even take to cycling (uhm.... 8175 miles later... i'm hooked!) i actually thought i should get the next one down... to save money.... but at the time liked the color of the elite better! :rolleyes:

another reason for not getting the more expensive one was if i wanted to upgrade... i would have to wait longer since i paid more!

they changed the components from 04 to 05... mine is mostly ultegra.. whereas the 05 elites are 105.... but they left the price the same :mad:

i wonder what they'll do colorwise this year for the dolce? and components?

i really have had a good time on/with my bike! (even the stock seat! lol!)

i got it all matching and cute (blue tires... pretty blue marbled handlebar tape... blue underseat bag!) i'm very blue! (blue helmet and blue accented shoes and blue gloves too.. oh.. and tons of blue jerseys! i like blue! blue oakleys... blue noise dampener on my road id.... if i can get it blue.. it's blue! even got a blue TE keychain when they were giving them away!)

of course... when i get a new bike.. i'll have to get all new stuff cuz all mine's blue! (my MTB is blue too.... so i didn't have to get all new stuff... i.e. helmet, etc) for that! lol!

[Mia]

Wow..that's a lot of miles..I'm impressed! How long did it take you to put that many miles in?

I have a matching purple helmet, and a purple jersey and silver oakley's to match, but I have blue clipless shoes. (That I have not yet mastered, so they sit here in their little box while I ride with my old walking shoes on!) I'll get there eventually, though. :o

[SnappyPix]

Hi Mia

Welcome to the forum and great to hear you're enjoying your new toy. Addictive isn't it?!
Interesting what you said about the saddle - I got a new Specialized bike this year (not a women's specific), which came with the Avatar saddle. I hated it - persevered for weeks and it was still really painful, so eventually had to go back to my trusty old women's specific dolce saddle.
I was sad, as the avatar matched my bike, but my backside was so relieved it wore a smile for weeks!
Funny old world!

[Mia]

I haven't put a whole lot of miles on this saddle, but know it is already more comfy for me than the dolce. I never would have thought it made that much difference which saddle you rode on! My longest ride is only 18.5 miles. I had to take a couple of weeks off because of the immensely sore bottom, and when I got back on I had lost some of my progress. So, we'll see how comfy it is when I start doing longer rides. I would like to get at least a 30 mile ride in before we start getting snow.

Is is just me, or does it seem a lot harder to ride on the indoor trainer? (also a lot more boring! :p ) Or, do I maybe have the trainer adjusted wrong? My husband always sets it up for me.. he said the book/dvd that came with it said to adjust it where it touches the wheel and then turn two more rotations. It just seems harder than outside. I'm dreading the winter, I'll ride outside as long as possible. I'm really looking forward to fall, though. We live in a very rural area and I think it will make for some beautiful rides. :)

[RoadRaven]

Welcome to the forum, Mia...

Hmmm, is the trainer harder?

Yes, I think so... I find it very hard to motivate myself to go on the trainer... I always put music up very loud to help me focus on rhythm and less on how many more kms/minutes I have to keep doing it for.

Also taped some races from TV coverage... and riding with The Tour up the alps, or doing the cycling leg of this country's Coast to Coast is a good way to keep going to.

You'll find a trainer is not only boring it is also much hotter - no wind to cool you down... but, on the other hand, if you pop a cycling computer on it (magnet on the rear wheel) you can make things more interesting too... you can set your resistence to emulate different conditions and practice cadence and all sorts...

Good luck, turn that music (Beth Hart or melissa Etheridge or the Indigo Girls are great!) up real loud and go for it!

[Mia]

I have a little portable DVD player that I watch while on the trainer and that helps, but what a great idea to tape cycling races to watch while riding! Can't wait to try that while I have some Sheryl Crow or Melissa Etheridge playing :D .

Thank-you everybody for all the help and encouragement....I'm so glad I found this site! You're all just the best :D

[snpdragn]

I'm glad I'm not the only newbie!
Sounds like I might be making the right change in my lifestyle after all... the only thing I have to do now is find a bike.
And judging by this... get measured so my butt hurts less too! Right?