new bike ,and very unhappy

[Pedal Wench]

I'll second what someone else said regarding knowing which way to shift. Chain closer to the bike makes it easier to pedal uphill, away from the bike is harder, no matter if your shifting front or rear. Another easy tip is that the bigger lever is for moving to a bigger ring, whether Campy or Shimano. Little shifter (thumb for Campy) shifts to a smaller ring.

[Cyclo Kitty]

Is there a park with a soft-ish field near you? I practiced the clipless pedals a lot in field before I dared take my cross bike on the road. I love them now but still have stupid days on them. The BSG told me even he still clips out right and leans left sometimes...and he's been riding for a long time.


You do have to ease into it a little slowly; I found that shifting got a lot easier to understand after riding in the trainer. I could actually see and feel the effect of shifting gears at the same time, so if you have access to a trainer, you might try that. (BSG explained it, DH explained it, I've ridden the bike up and down hills but until I could watch and feel it made little sense.)

This is also my first light weight bike, and the responsiveness combined with the weight is still a little scary. That's where the park came in handy again. Lucky for me there's a park with pine forests and a sandy beach and I don't mind cleaning the chain...but sand and pine needles are better to land on. The car-free riding helped a lot as well, so I ride really early when it's not too cold.

Good luck...I thought I'd made the most expensive mistake a couple weeks ago, but keep pedaling and it has to get better!