New to Bikes

[Pace]

...unless you count the Wal-Mart Murray mountain bike I had when I was 13. It saw a number of gravel pits and dirt mounds in its day.

Anywho, here I am nearly 25 (two days away!) and recently picked up my first road bike. I found this forum while looking up tips and gear suggestions for new riders. I've already gotten a good list gathered from this site, and figured I might as well stick around and see what else I can learn.

So a little info about me. I'm finishing up school at the local university and wanted to find a good way to keep in shape other than hoofing it across campus. A bike for commuting looked even more ideal when I moved closer to campus earlier this year. No messing with parking permits for work or class was a bonus. I originally was looking into a small motorcycle for future use, but decided I had better learn to balance and maneuver on a manually powered bike first. I can always get a motorcycle down the road. I'm also into the outdoors: I enjoy kayaking, camping, hiking, etc. I also have a passion toward cars and motorsports. If I can get a mountain bike before February, I might take it to the next rally in Missouri.

A few details about my bike... it's a 2011 Giant Avail 3. Obviously not a top notch road bike, but perfect for a learning beginner like me. My boyfriend picked it out for me at a local bike shop, which is currently part of the outfitter store I work at now. It had been incorrectly identified as a 2010 model, so I got a special closeout deal for it on top of my employee discount ($500 out the door!). The downside is my fit is somewhat between an XS/Small on road bikes, leaning more toward a Small, but a 10mm longer stem and adjusting the seat post made the XS size feel just right. Smaller means lighter too, right? My favorite part about it is that it's white with black/blue accents (and some slightly girly patterns), but isn't a pale pastel color like every other women's bike around here.

Here's a quick picture from when I picked it up:



We removed all the reflectors and the toe cages to give it a more "race-y" feel... at least until I've gotten more practice in and am ready to hit the streets. Those pieces alone took off 1lb of weight from the bike.

The goal is to hit the Katy Trail in Missouri this next spring. I ended up with a pair of slightly wider Schwalbe CX Pro Light tires (700x28) that I'm hoping will fit. If not we might have to do a bit of light shaving around my composite fork, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can avoid doing that. If not, I've already got my eye on a 2013 Kona Tika for some offroad fun.

[Owlie]

Hello, fellow Avail 3 owner! (Mine's a 2009.) That's a really pretty color.

Generally, the advice is that if you're between bike sizes, to size down. (I'm in the same boat--I'm between a small and a medium in Giant's sizing, and while I'm riding a medium, I should be on a small.) I (or, I should say, the BF) took the toe cages off mine when I got it; wheel reflectors came off last summer after one broke and I helped the other one along.

You might be able to get the 28s in there, but don't count on it. 700x25 is generally the widest tire that road brakes will take. Certain 28s might work (because there's no closely-followed standard).

[Biciclista]

congrats on the new bike and welcome to TE! nice to see some little bikes getting bought and used!

[lovelygamer]

Congrats on your new bike. The trail riding sounds really awesome.

[indysteel]

Pretty bike. Congrats and welcome to TE!

Just an FYI that you might be more comfortable on a bike with wider tires on the Katy. I did an end to end trip last year with 32s on my touring bike. A rack and fenders are pretty nice, too. I's not just the surface itself that makes wider tires a better choice but all the debris on the trail (sticks and whatnot). I would also advise against shaving your fork. I'm afraid you might void the warranty on it.

ETA: There's some differences of opinion as to how narrow of a tire will suffice on the Katy. I'm just going from my own experience and my general apprehension of riding on iffy pavement on my regular roadbike. A bit wider with a light tread was my preference on the trail. I had no flats and no problems. We had one day of heavy rain on the trail and was thankful for the fenders, too.

[Giulianna23]

Beautiful !! .... Welcome to TE and to the Giant Family

[Pace]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'm going to read up some to help mentally prepare for the Katy trail. These wider tires look like they'll just barely clear the fork. And I also queried about the whole fork shaving idea and was informed that the tires would be lightly shaved, not the fork. Phew! So crisis averted. I can keep my warranty and fork pretty. Although I wouldn't mind finding a slightly wider fork from a TCX W if it would fit. But that's another project for later down the road. For now, I'm just going to enjoy it as is.

The good thing about my work is I get a discount on many bicycle and parts brands, so if there are any "must haves" or recommended upgrades I should look into, please speak up. I know a lighter set of wheels is always a nice upgrade, but am unsure of what brand or parts are popular and what could hold up to some of the not-so-smooth roads around here. Brake pads are probably going to be my first upgrade anyway. The stock pads seem to leave more to be desired, so any recommendations on aluminum rim friendly pads would be great. After that I might see what I can do about the so-so Sora components.

[indysteel]

Although it sounds like you work for or with a bike store and that might change the cost dynamic quite a bit, I generally caution against swapping things out on what amounts to an entry level bike. Ride the bike. Get some life out of it. Wheels do make a decent upgrade and you can always be used on a future bike (I like handbuilts myself FWIW), but hold off on swapping most other components unless and until they start to wear. Otherwise, you're putting money into a bike that might end up being your back-up bike in a few years anyway. From experience, a lot of cyclists end up itching for a higher end bike soon enough and any money spent upgrading their entry level bike, is virtually wasted. YMMV, obviously.

That said, I do agree that stock brake pads are often not so great. I used Kool Stop pads with pretty good success. A lot of people end up having to change out their saddles, too, for something more comfortable.

[Owlie]

What Indy said. I'm in that boat. I started riding on essentially your bike. I'm now looking at carbon frame, Ultegra components. (I work for a bike shop. It helps!) I held off on upgrading my bike for exactly that reason. It wasn't worth it, because upgrading to 105 was the only thing that made sense (highest specs on the same frame offered by Giant), but the cost would be only slightly less than buying a whole new bike. Yes, I'll go ahead and upgrade piecemeal, and then replace everything else once the cassette wears out, but that's a while away.

[velo]

Welcome and Happy Birthday!!

[TigerMom]

Holy Moley!!! You got an AWESOME, INSANE deal! Congrats!
____________________________________

2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm switched to 145mm 2012 Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow saddle

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle

[Pace]

Thanks for the advice indysteel and owlie. I'm not planning on replacing any components until wear becomes an issue. While I'm not entirely happy with the Sora components, at least they do work.

I'll look into those Kool Stop pads. One of the bike shop guys suggested Swisstop Yellows and said they will work with aluminum wheels, but I think they're going to be too aggressive for my needs.

Surprisingly the seat hasn't bothered me yet, but I also haven't gotten more than an hour at a time in on my bike. We'll see what it's like when I get some more seat time (pun not intended).

Welcome and Happy Birthday!!

Thanks!

Holy Moley!!! You got an AWESOME, INSANE deal! Congrats!

Thanks! I thought so too.

[radacrider]

Welcome to TE, happy birthday and congrats on the new bike.

If you are going to use it for commuting, the first purchase I recommend is a very good lock. My son's friend just had his bike stolen from the local community college campus (3 blocks away) because he had a cable lock. He now has a u-lock for his new bike.

[indysteel]

I've used Swissstops black, too, I think (I don't know; they start to blend together). They should suffice with aluminum rims. I thought the yellows were for carbon rims.

[Sky King]

A good thing about Schwalbe tires is they tend to run a tad narrower than what is printed on the side, so hopefully they will fit. Of course in my world a 700 x 28 is a skinny tire ~ I am currently on Grand Bois Hetre's 650b X 42 - a super smooth ride.