New Road Bike Rider

[jyyanks]

I'm a beginner at road biking and the salesperson at my LBS knew how nervous I was about making the switch to a road bike.

He set up my bike so that my seat is lower than my handlebars and told me *not* to buy clipless yet. He told me to go out and get used to the bike, ride it around on less trafficked roads and the bike path, and when I was good and ready and comfortable with my riding, he told me to come back so he could raise my seat and then show me the clipless pedals they had available.

Honestly, it was the best advice he could have given me. I'm still not comfortable riding in a group ride but have made great progress at my local bike path and just recently joined a bike club. I don't think there is any "Set" amount of time when you "have" to do something. Its dependent on your comfort level and only you will know when you're ready to raise your seat and ride clipless, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Good Luck.

[Sahasara]

I think I chose the wrong bike shop. I wish my experience would have been like that. I will lower the seat. Have you raised it yet or still practicing ?

[Maye]

Great advice here from the other TE members!!
This is from my experience: Get rid of the clipless pedals for now, install some platforms pedals and change them back once you have built a "relationship" with your new road bike. There's a lot to take when you change from a mountain to a road bike so one step at a time will help you by not overwhelming you with all the new things to learn. I changed to platforms since I fell three different times because I forgot to unclip while waiting in a huge intersection and two different occasions in different areas around my neighborhood. I was so afraid to the point of thinking of selling the bike. But NO, I decided that I was going to put platform pedals(after a lot of trial and error with other clip less systems) and went back to basics; which was learning to handle the new bike, learning to ride it, learning the differences between a mountain and a road bike, building a "relationship" with it (I know I'm dramatic). Since the pedal switch, I had put more than 80 miles (local trails) on my new road bike!! Oh, and I spent a s*h*t load of money on pedals that I'm planning to use later but ONLY when I'm ready :-) I actually created a thread about fear of clipping and unclipping (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=46967). Read it when you can since Indigoiis, another Team Estrogen member, gave me GREAT advice that I followed and it had helped me a lot. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Koronin]

I agree with the others, take the clipless pedals off. I've been riding a road bike for almost 2 years now and have pedals that are clipless on one side and platform on the other side. I still have issues with confidence clipping my right foot in. I'm fine with my left foot clipped in, but not my right. At this point I doubt I'll ever go full clipless.

[Pedal Wench]

I'm gonna be slightly differing in my opinion. 100% agree with swapping pedals - you might never switch to clipless, but at least you're riding!

Now, about being able to reach the ground from the saddle... that's where I'll differ. Most people can't touch their toes - they have to rise up off the saddle and step down with one foot as the bike slows - in front of the saddle. So when you're stopped, you're straddling the top tube, not the saddle. I would love to say to practice this with the seat in that lower position, but it's actually much harder to do this move when the seat is too low. Do you have a trainer that you can use to practice this? If not, go ahead and lower the seat until you're more confident on the bike, and maybe practice stopping this way, even though it takes more leg strength.

[Savra]

Pedal Wench is right as far as the seat goes but I think the point is that if having the seat up makes you not want to ride - lower it down till you are comfortable. But I don't think any of us would recommend keeping it there for too long. It will mess up your knees and it does make it harder to ride with it down.

[featuretile]

I can't believe anyone (like a bike store and Husband) would tell you that you have to have your bike set up like an experienced road biker before you even get used to the bike. When I switched from a hybrid to a road bike, I used flat pedals and had the seat low enough that I could reach the ground with my toes. I got comfortable on the bike really quickly.

I slowly raised the seat up 1/4" at a time as I got more comfortable. I also added half toe-clips with no straps (which I still use). They keep your feet in the right place on the pedal and your feet come off easily, so you do not feel trapped. Maybe some day I'll go clipless. But I am recovering from a bike accident and am really glad I did not have clips at that time.

Then I finally learned how to get off the bike with the seat at the right height. It entails (for me), putting the right foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke and hopping off to land on my left foot. Once I got this down, I was no longer worried about falling over when I had to get off and did not need the lower seat height. It took over a year to figure this out and get comfortable.

So, don't give up or feel like a failure. Take your time and do what feels right for you. Don't listen to those other people and have unrealistic expectations of yourself. After 3 years of riding, I can ride pretty well. It takes time. I have gotten compliments from experienced club riders as 'most improved'.