Just getting started

[sadieme]

Wow, I am a bit overwhelmed by the responses here.

Thanks for all the info on the gears and how to use them. Tons of great tips and advice here! Velocivixen, your explanation was great! Painted a picture for me of whats going on! Now.. one more stupid question, do I change gears when I am peddling , or do I need to stop peddling, change, the start peddling again? I seem to remember being told one way or the other years ago.. but I forget which way to do it. (or does it even matter? )

I prefer trails and the one I am on at this point, is a combination of gravel and dirt. Its an old railroad line that stretches across the state. I dont mind being alone, actually I prefer it. (easier not to make a fool of myself! LOL) I really enjoy being our of the mainstream and away from people. I actually went out this morning for a ride, but the trail I ride on was covered with fallen trees from a nasty storm last night, so I finally gave up after only 6 miles.

But, I did raise the saddle a bit after reading some things here. I was amazed at how much difference it made! I was much more comfortable and the whole ride was easier. Now, I am thinking about moving it forward a bit. I kept scooting my butt back so I was sitting more comfortably. Maybe that will help? Advice and suggestions gladly accepted!

I recently had to move across the country and had my bike shipped by REI and when I opened the box, I realized there was no way I could put it together so searched out a bike shop here and had them put it together. Come to find out the owner of the shop was a guy I used to work with about 10 years ago, so there is a bit of a connection there which is nice. I'm sure I could ask him questions if I needed to. I need to ask him about a club, but I sorta doubt there is one. This is a small town and I was lucky to find a shop, let alone a club! But he would be a good resource.

I have no plans to make any new bike purchases. I am going to have to make do with what I have until I win the lottery! What I have isnt great, but its ok and works well for me at this point.

I'm going to like this place!

[Sardine]

Hello there. It sounds to me like you're doing pretty well already. I just wanted to add that for years I rode bikes that like yours, just did the job. In fact, because I'm small, they were mostly too big for me since I could only afford 2nd hand bikes and there wasn't a huge amount of choice - it was the early 90s when I started commuting. But I enjoyed cycling all the same and it became a part of life – both transport and leisure.

A few adjustments like the ones you've mentioned can help make the bike more comfortable. If you know the chap at the bike shop, maybe you could ask him for help.

On changing gears, maybe this will help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_05Eic7KgcA , but treat it as a guide only. As others have said, don't get hung up on being in 'the right gear'. That depends on what you feel comfortable with, certainly at this stage. But the explanation in the film about what should happen during the act of changing gears is useful as are the pointers relating to particular scenarios.

[Serendipity]

... do I change gears when I am peddling , or do I need to stop peddling, change, the start peddling again? I seem to remember being told one way or the other years ago.. but I forget which way to do it. (or does it even matter? )

I'm going to like this place!

Keep pedalling. I believe - and others may clarify this - that you need to keep pedalling for the chain to carry into the gear - if you stop pedallling the chain may slip on you......

[sadieme]

Thank you Serendipity! Thats how I have been doing it, but wasnt sure if it was right or not.

Sardine, yes, I am going to get with him and pick his brain a bit! And I will watch that video later. I am on dial up, so it takes forever to get youtubes to load! LOL

Thanks again

[RubyTuesday]

Watch a couple of You Tube videos on changing a tire. I have now changed four flats (only one was my bike) and the You Tube videos were very helpful. Carry a spare tube and CO2 cannister.

Have a great time riding samieme! We are the same age and I just started riding last month.

[sadieme]

I do carry a tube. Already ran into trouble with a flat a year or so ago and had to walk 3 miles home!! I did change that one in the house.. never had to do it on the road. Not looking forward to the first time! LOL

ummm.. whats the CO2 cannister for? Fill the tire I assume? I've never seen that.

[Velocivixen]

@sadieme, when you shift gears you do what is called "light" pedaling, meaning you keep pedaling but you decrease the pressure you are putting on the pedals. A good thing to know is that as you see a hill coming, don't wait until you're halfway up the hill and realize it's too hard to keep pedaling, but ANTICIPATE that the hill will be more challenging and shift to a lower/easier gear just as you begin to climb. You can still shift gears when you are pedaling strongly, but the increased load on the chain while shifting is not optimal. The idea, in general, with pedaling is to get into a comfortable & sustainable cadence (revolutions per minute) and be able to maintain that whether on the flats, going up or down a hill. So going up a hill you'll need a lower gear, and since going down a hill is easier due to gravity, you would shift to a higher/harder gear. There is a trick to shifting if you're already going up a hill and you're pushing down on the pedals really hard: you slightly turn to the side and give 1 hard pedal, and because you're turning perpendicular to the hill it takes pressure off the chain for a split second and that's when you shift down to a lower gear. It's easier if you see it vs reading about it.

Regarding your saddle (seat, but call it a "saddle"), if you are sliding forward I would try slightly tipping the nose of the saddle up. My saddle uses a 5mm Allen wrench with 1 bolt attaching the clamp to the rails beneath the saddle. I loosen up this bolt (not all the way, but enough so you can tip the nose up or down), and as I move the nose I hear and feel "clicks" and I move the nose only 1 or 2 clicks, tighten and go for a ride. So etimes moving a saddle too far forward will cause you to put more pressure on your hands resulting in sore hands, wrists, shoulders.
Also check your tire pressure daily prior to each ride. The pressure (usually a range) is listed in the side of your tire. Using a lower pressure in the range makes for a softer ride. Tubes naturally can loose 3 or so psi per day.

[Velocivixen]

Sadieme, yes the Co2 canister is under very high pressure and you use that instead of pumping air to fill up your tube. Some canisters must screw onto your Valve stem (so you need to know whether your stems are Presta or Schrader) or come sort of clip on using a special trigger activated "gun". pumping air into a tube on the side of the road with mini pumps like you would carry with you is difficult because those pumps are so tiny. They don't pump as much air as a floor pump. So Co2 with a trigger device that attaches to the valve takes like 1 second to inflate a tire. The downside is that if you get a bunch of flats on a ride and run out of cartridges. Some folks carry both.

[sadieme]

I spent two hours trying to watch that video, and only got 2 min downloaded. (Gotta love dial up!) So i gave up. However... I did check out that link to Sheldon Browns page. TONS of great info there. I will spend a lot of time there educating myself. It also has a glossery of terms that is going to be a great help!

Oh, I also picked up a co2 cannister and some 'Monkey Butt' stuff. I think I had read that name here somewhere.. as something that would help chafing, which has been an issue for me. I hope it works!

And all your posts have a wealth of information! Now to absorb it all!

I took the bike to my LBS today and he is going to look at it and do whatever adjusting needs to be done so hopefully it should be good to go when I pick it up this afternoon.

[tytbody]

Monkey but stuff.? Hum .. I've not gotten riding pants yet so I may need this when I do start. The names people give their products. You'd never think to look under a name like that for something for riding chaffing...

[goldfinch]

But, I did raise the saddle a bit after reading some things here. I was amazed at how much difference it made! I was much more comfortable and the whole ride was easier. Now, I am thinking about moving it forward a bit. I kept scooting my butt back so I was sitting more comfortably. Maybe that will help? Advice and suggestions gladly accepted!

I kept scooting back on my seat. It turned out that my seat was too far forward and by pushing myself back I was looking for a position further back. You might try moving it back a bit. I would try back and forward positions before messing with tilt.

[sadieme]

wow... thanks again for all the great information! I will have to play with the saddle and see how it feels. I imagine its going to be trial and error but thats part of the fun I guess!

I had no idea that tires lose air that easily. I have a small hand pump , but it sounds like the co2 cannisters are the way to go. Will have to pick up one of those too!

Thanks!

[jusdooit]

Also changing the front (either up or down) one ring is approximately the same as 3 rings in the back. I mention this beacause before changing the rfont front you wwant to change the rear in an opposite fashion app 3 rings first. For example if you're going to make it easier to pedal by changing the front to a smaller ring, the change the back to a bigger ring followed immediately by changing the front. This takes a little (maybe a lot) of practice. It wil keep you from "spinning" or "mashing" when chainging gears. (Hope all that made sense.)

[sadieme]

I just spent some time trying to figure out the gears and doing some saddle adjustments.

Not sure whats wrong, but the chain wont move to the outer (largest) chainring. It just goes from the small one to the middle one. Sometimes it 'rattles' when on the middle one. Not sure if thats because its trying to get settled in, or what. I dont know the terminology but the piece that seems to be 'moving' the chain maybe isnt allowing it to move as far towards the outside as it should? Although it is moving to the outside. But when it 'rattles' it appears to be because the chain is hitting that piece when its on the middle ring.

Thought and suggestions appreciated.

Does that make sense?

sorry for the ramble.

[tytbody]

I had similar issues as you had
Sadime, when trying out my bike. I was scooting back also. Didn't know why. it was good reading that i would need a seat adjustment. I'd love to ride along side someone that knows what's going on and what to try.

Even though I looked at the video, when I read you all say shift down, does that mean in the numbers on the right-hand gear?

Which gear do you use more often? Seems you all are referring to the left one. I've always only used the right because I don't know when to shift. When I would shift, I'd use the right one.

so down shifting is making the number larger or smaller on the front or the back?

Sadieme - I do hear what you are trying to say and I don't know what is happening but I understand, the clanking. Something is not catching on the gear thing. What do they call that when the chain is on the thingy? lol. boy do I need to learn parts. If they have a detailed picture of parts, I could talk more sensibly, (I hope at least) lol