My lovely new bike.

[Savra]

I got my new 1st road bike yesterday!! She is a beautiful 2006 Specialized Dolce Elite. I have one question. I seem to have problems shifting up on the front derailer. The bike shop told me I just don't hold the shifter long enough. I think it should shift up faster. I especially have this problem going into the top third gear but today the chain almost fell off going from the 1st gear to the second. Am I doing something wrong or is it the bike?
And, for my first day out on my lovely new bike - I almost broke my hand falling over on from a dead stop trying to use the clipless pedals. The left hand is not working so well right now. My neighbor keeps asking me - Why are you purposely attaching yourself to the bike?????? and I'm having a hard time answering her.

[KatyLady]

I can't help with your shifting question - but I can say welcome to TE.

As for your cleats, I'm impressed that you are using cleats immediately after buying a road bike. It took me a year to break down and give them a try. (But then I'm sort of old and clutsy.) When I first switched to cleats I used Speedplay Zeros but I always felt like it was just a matter of time before I fell. I recently switched to Speedplay Frogs and can't believe how easy it is to get in and out of them.

Hope your hand heals quickly. And I bet someone will be able to give you the shifting information you are looking for.

[DDH]

Welcome to TE!!! The shifting, I have found is a delicate art at times. I drop my chain at times to, and sometimes I can work the shifter to get the chain back on, and sometimes I have to stop and put it back on. I don't do it nearly as often anymore. I have found on mine, it's particular about have a quick smooth motion. I seem to only have trouble with the 3 front rings and my problem is usually going from the the small ring on the front to the second ring. I don't know all the trerminolgy so I may be confusing everyone but myself. LOL Anyway, I say all that just to say that you aren't alone, and if it's not something wrong with the bike, then you will learn with practice.

Same thing with the clipless peddles. I would practice cliping in and out of them several times before I went out on the road again. I think everyone or just about everyone has fallen at least once when going to clipless peddles.

I hope your hand gets better quickly, and I would love to see pictures of your new beauty!!

[boy in a kilt]

I got my new 1st road bike yesterday!! She is a beautiful 2006 Specialized Dolce Elite. I have one question. I seem to have problems shifting up on the front derailer. The bike shop told me I just don't hold the shifter long enough. I think it should shift up faster. I especially have this problem going into the top third gear but today the chain almost fell off going from the 1st gear to the second. Am I doing something wrong or is it the bike?

Shimano shifters require a long, steady pull to get the derailleur to move from smaller to larger gears. I'm not sure how you are numbering your chain rings (front gears) so I can't say too much more about it.

[koala]

LBS is right -- hold it until you feel it move, then let go. You'll do just fine, you just have to get used to it. Yes, it takes a little longer to shift. You have to go a ways up in $$$ level of componentry to get quicker. I have a Dolce elite, and it is the same. But I love my bike! What color is yours?

And we all have our embarrassing moments trying to learn clipless pedals. I crashed into the curb going uphill about 2 mph. I saw it coming, just couldn't get out! Oh well..

[Savra]

Thank you for all of your encouragement! The hand is doing better today. Someday there will be no more falling, right. Thank you for the advice on shifting. I'm sure it will help. I will post pictures of my bike a little later today. She is powder blue with a black seat. I must say, there is a world of difference between riding a road bike and riding a mountain bike. I went up hills in the last two days at speeds I never could have on my mountain bike. I can cut through the air like butter. I love it!!!! And along the same vein, this is a great community of bikers.

[Ana]

Does your bike have Tiagara or 105?

I have Shimano 105 and have less shifting issues than you describe but I still do have to look down when I do bigger shifts to make sure I'm not stressing my chain/cogs too much :P (i.e. big ring on big ring, etc). When I was starting out on my road bike, I had to look down every time I shifted to verify my shift and what it looked like. Which was kind of dangerous as a beginner because that meant I wasn't always looking where I was going. Then again, I was very cautious about where I rode because I was so unsteady in my shifting. Some people remember which gears they are in but I like to just shift and enjoy the ride

Plus I am hyper-vigilant about cars around me--I have to know where they are at all times! So knowing where the cars are takes priority over what gear I'm in!

So maybe you'll want to upgrade your front or rear derailleur as you become more proficient at shifting

Just curious: did you ride any other bikes with upgraded componentry? Did you notice a difference?

[Ana]

Oh! And don't forget that the tension on your clipless pedals is most likely adjustable! That means the amount of force required to clip in or swing your foot out to unclip! If you find the tension that is right for you, you will have less accidents

I had a more experienced cycler help introduce me to cycling so they loosened the tension for me when I first started out so my feet wouldn't be trapped onto my bike in case I fell because I couldn't detach my pedal

But there are all kinds of things I learned as I rode more about my bike

[Savra]

The derailer is a Shimano 105 for both front and rear. I did notice on my ride today that if I change what gear I am in in the back then I have less problems shifting up in the front (I hope that makes sense). And your right, I do need to release the tension on the left peddle (the side I fell on). I can unclip from the right much easier than the left.

[CindyVA]

Savra,

I just picked up my first road bike last week after riding a hybrid for a long time. I also went to straight to clipless pedals.

You may get a chuckle out of the thread that I posted yesterday on the very same subject!

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=22751

I made a lot of progress in one day of practice! We CAN do this!

Cindy