Things that should have been obvious, but I've recently discovered

[thekarens]

I will begin this by saying I've only had my road bike since Sept and it really didn't get any love until this spring. Before that I was completely infatuated with my MTB.

1) Yes, you can get sunburned on your forehead through the vents. I now have attractive tiger stripes going across my forehead.

2) While you won't get shinburger on a road bike you can get a giant goose egg near your tendon by trying to forcefully clip in, missing and having the pedal smack you.

3) "Comfortable" shorts are as varied rider to rider as saddles. My new favorites are the LG Zone 3K. Part B) Once you are hot and gross after making a pit stop the shorts will never go back on to where and how you had them settled when you put them on before the ride.

4) Camelbaks may look dorky on roadies, but the water stays cool longer, holds more and is extremely helpful for the uncoordinated, like me.

5) Reaching the brakes/shifters from the drops is a challenge. I have very long fingers and it never occured to me that it would be an issue.

6) A good fitting here costs $250. It's best to quit avoiding it and just suck it up and do it.

7) Bonking is real, not something they make up to scare new riders. Learn how to avoid it instead of experiencing it!

[ny biker]

re: #5 -- I had trouble riding in the drops with my old road bike. With the current one, it's easy and comfortable. The difference is the size of the handlebars. I believe modifications are also possible for the shifters themselves, to make them easier to reach.

[thekarens]

I'll have to ask the fitter about that. I'm finally going to suck it up and make an appt.

[OakLeaf]

Probably just re-positioning the shifters could be enough, if you can reach them fine from the hoods and just not from the hooks. Or even just changing the tilt of your bars. But if you have long fingers, my guess is that the brifters are just too high up on the bars.

[thekarens]

That makes sense.

[luvmyguys]

Let me know how the fitting goes!! (Tad Hughes??)

I love my Camelbak. Hey, it was invented for a road event (that would be HHH), so I use it without shame. I'm finally at the point where I'm really comfortable drinking from my water bottle, but until then, the Camelbak was my best friend. And yes, it does keep the water cooler for longer, and I credit that with keeping me cool on some of these hot rides.

[thekarens]

Let me know how the fitting goes!! (Tad Hughes??)

I love my Camelbak. Hey, it was invented for a road event (that would be HHH), so I use it without shame. I'm finally at the point where I'm really comfortable drinking from my water bottle, but until then, the Camelbak was my best friend. And yes, it does keep the water cooler for longer, and I credit that with keeping me cool on some of these hot rides.

Yep, Tad. Karen and I are both going to get a fitting. Everyone in the club raves about him, so I figured he would be the go to guy. I'm fine on the bike until around mile 40 and then my knee starts to hurt and/or foot and my shoulder. I have no doubt he can fix these issues. I just need to find a day and time that he's available and I'm available

I do still take the water bottles for electrolytes and if I just need more water, but the Camelbak is just easier until I'm more coordinated. After all, how many months has it been and I'm just now trying out the drops?!

[murielalex]

Funny how we're all different. I tried a Camelback, but hated having anything on my back.

Here are the big ones I learned:

1. How you position yourself on your bike will change over time. Don't be afraid to constantly tweak your fit.

2. I had been having a lot of trouble with wanting to pull back my hands/arms, had three fittings, and still couldn't figure it out (shortened my stem, moved my saddle, etc.). After a year of riding, I finally figured out that my 40 handlebars were too wide. i switched to 38s and my hands fell naturally where they should have been the whole time. I'd been pulling back to compensate for too much width. Doh.

3. If you lose weight, buy new shorts asap. I, more than once, got my chamois caught on the nose of my saddle when remounting after a stop, or standing to pedal because my shorts were a tad loose. Tight shorts are safe shorts

4. Don't be afraid to try men's gloves. My hands/fingers swell in the heat on long rides. I finally switched to a men's medium glove and am happy, and tried five not cheap women's gloves before I figured that one out.

5. My fav thing I learned to bring in my jersey on long rides: an old, thin washcloth in a ziplock. I don't know how many times I've used it to wipe my face in the Florida heat, and especially before reapplying sunscreen. Also, bring those wet wipes in the little packets. Great for the face and for hands after changing a tire.

[ny biker]

2. I had been having a lot of trouble with wanting to pull back my hands/arms, had three fittings, and still couldn't figure it out (shortened my stem, moved my saddle, etc.). After a year of riding, I finally figured out that my 40 handlebars were too wide. i switched to 38s and my hands fell naturally where they should have been the whole time. I'd been pulling back to compensate for too much width. Doh.

Very interesting. I tend to turn my hands in and my elbows out, which hunches my shoulders. A few years ago I was having problems with elbow pain caused by the too-small mouse that I used at work, and the pain was also evident when I rode my bike. I mentioned it to the fitter at the LBS, who grabbed a tape measure and measured my shoulders. He said if the pain didn't go away I could consider getting narrower handlebars, because I the ones I have (which came stock on the bike) were borderline-wide for me. I bought myself a nice ergonomic mouse for work and learned a good hand/wrist stretch from my trainer, and that solved the elbow pain so I kept my handlebars. But maybe I should reconsider getting narrower ones.

BTW I also do not like using a Camelback when I'm riding my road bike. I don't want anything on my back when it's hot. I don't even want anything in my jersey pockets, except maybe a bag of ice.

[lgibster]

Funny how we're all different. I tried a Camelback, but hated having anything on my back.

3. If you lose weight, buy new shorts asap. I, more than once, got my chamois caught on the nose of my saddle when remounting after a stop, or standing to pedal because my shorts were a tad loose. Tight shorts are safe shorts

Amen to #3!! I asked here a while back about comfortable shorts. I had lost weight (about 30 lbs) and everyone was telling me to get smaller tighter shorts.....glad I listened to the wise ladies here. I purchased a pair of Pearl Izumi In-r-cool pro shorts and couldn't be happier (except for a little sausage leg look) with the difference.

[thekarens]

Here's another thing about weight loss (or gain) - check your seat height! If there are a couple fewer millimeters between your sitbones and your saddle, then there are a couple fewer millimeters between your sitbones and your pedal spindles, and if you're prone to knee issues, that can make a difference.

I agree wholeheartedly! During our ride on Saturday during our stop I raised the seat and felt better afterwards. I have a fitting on Friday so we'll see what he has to say.

[mariacycle]

5) Reaching the brakes/shifters from the drops is a challenge. I have very long fingers and it never occured to me that it would be an issue.

Maybe compact bars with shorter drops would help (as opposed to standard bars which have longer reach and a deeper drop).

[OakLeaf]

That would still present lever positioning issues though (although it would likely be easier to find the sweet spot on shallow bars than deep ones). No one brakes from the drops, she's talking about braking from the hooks.

[ny biker]

I brake from the drops.

[OakLeaf]

How in the world do you reach the levers???