Bonjour from Montreal!

[Helene2013]

Hi everyone,

I've just joined in. I lurked a little bit for the past 2-3 days and thought it was a nice place for women to chat, without the boost of testosterone I saw on another board I was (which I dropped just as quickly - too many machos there!). You girls (and guys) seem like a good group without all that bashing of who goes the fastest, who is better, blabla. I like that!

I'm from the Montreal (Quebec) area and just about to turn the big 50. Yeah!!!! Closer to retirement and more times for my hobbies.

I am new to road bikes and trying to enjoy it. For me it was much easier with my old hybrid.

I have a 2013 Kuota Karma Glamour road bike. It is pink (with some black and white). Wheels have a lot of pink too. Love my Pink Lady. Of course my kit had to have some pink to it. Not easy to find though! It is a very reactive/nervous bike. Takes some getting used to.

I had a hard time riding with those road handle bars and I ended up in July converting them to flat bar (with some incline to it). I'll spare you the tears and frustrations through it all. Feels much better to me but it lost the "hot" look it had. Maybe one day when confidence is back in, I will have my bike shop put back the real handlebars and those flat ones. For now, it will have to do. Safety first!

I also was injured (knees and left elbow) and in physiotherapy from January to last week. Now I have the real go to cycle...but make sure I really warm up those knees (at least 10km (approx 6 miles) before hitting hills. I listen to PT as I don't want to have to remain on sofa for 2 more seasons! hihi And no more running. Used to love jogging but this is no longer a possibility. Oh well...you can't have it all they say!

Anyway, I'm here to learn/share about cycling experiences. My husband belongs to a bike club (he has a Cervelo R3) and loves to ride fast...I'm not into clubs...and ride slow. hihi But that will change with time and physical endurance is back to normal at some point. He has a ton of patience with me and my cycling "loser" attitude sometimes. We know how PMS can hit us big time! haha But overall, it is fun cycling!

Fall is just around the corner (with winter not that far away) and I will be looking into buying a roller and a trainer. I'll be up and ready for the spring of 2014 for sure!

Will be back later on when I'm not on a work computer (slap on fingers!)

Talk to you soon.

Helene

[tulip]

Bienvenue, Hélène! Montréal is a great place to cycle. I recently rode from Québec City to Ottawa and was impressed with the cycling infrastructure in Montréal.

[Helene2013]

Thank you. Yes our "route verte" or greenbelt for some, etc is very nice. Our "normal" roads, not so much (now we know why with all the corruptions we've been watching on the news for the past year or so). You really have to watch the road ahead of you for holes, etc. In province of Quebec you also have to watch for motorists/motorcyclists. Too many are not friendly to cyclists. I'll spare you for now all those horrors we go through on a daily basis. But we do have good drivers too. Let's applause them!

My husband does not mind the roads but I do. Again last night he did a 45kms ride with his club and a rider in his team had a flat tire. It is almost like this with every outing. When it is not 2 flats on same hole, same rider! Just to say for road conditions. You must have been lucky. hihi

Congrats for that ride from QC to Ottawa. Must have been quite a ride. How long did it take you (cycling time) to hit it?

But our bike paths are really nice overall. We still prefer to ride in Ontario (mostly Ottawa area). Roads are nice, driver super courteous, etc.).

[Crankin]

I had a Kuota Karma, which was too big and I exchanged it for a Kebel after 2 years (that's another story). I am not familiar with the model you have, but overall, it's an aggressive frame, so I can understand how it would be a tough transition from a hybrid. I had 2 other road bikes before I had the Kuota.
You might think about drop bars that have a short and shallow drop (there are a couple of different companies that make them), as well as short reach brifters. When I put the short and shallow bars on my Kuota, it made a world of difference. Something in your story tells me that you are around around a lot of male "racer types," who might not understand the importance of this. I did the research myself and insisted the shop put the bars on; I bought them elsewhere. I also just recently switched from 23 to 25 tires on my Kuota, which also improved what I call the twitchiness of the bike immensely. I had the 25s on my other road bike, which has a more relaxed geometry and I knew some of the difference in my confidence came from wider tires.

[Helene2013]

I had a Kuota Karma, which was too big and I exchanged it for a Kebel after 2 years (that's another story). I am not familiar with the model you have, but overall, it's an aggressive frame, so I can understand how it would be a tough transition from a hybrid. I had 2 other road bikes before I had the Kuota.
You might think about drop bars that have a short and shallow drop (there are a couple of different companies that make them), as well as short reach brifters. When I put the short and shallow bars on my Kuota, it made a world of difference. Something in your story tells me that you are around around a lot of male "racer types," who might not understand the importance of this. I did the research myself and insisted the shop put the bars on; I bought them elsewhere. I also just recently switched from 23 to 25 tires on my Kuota, which also improved what I call the twitchiness of the bike immensely. I had the 25s on my other road bike, which has a more relaxed geometry and I knew some of the difference in my confidence came from wider tires.

When I returned to my LBS and the mechanic saw my handles and told him I was coming to have them changed to flat ones, he said...yep...they may be a bit too narrow for you. I was boiling inside. Why telling me this now?? How come the store owner, their bike certified fitter did not notice this? Sure the fit may be prefect. But it does not mean that riding is perfect. There is a whole difference between sitting on my bike on a machine vs riding on the streets right?

I have an XS bike (which is ok for my height) and handlebar was already in the box (so they did not change it I suppose from what I understood afterwards) for that but my shoulders are a wider (I'm a big-framed - bone!) girl. So maybe if I had had the "right" - if they were not - handles, may be I would have liked my bike control a bit more. I don't know and at the time, I no longer cared. I was too afraid of riding. I never had pain or numbness while riding it. Just no control over steering. I figured it was me who was too stressed over a new thing (there is always a learning curb - but how dumb can someone be!!!! Millions of people ride road bikes - arggg). Now with the flat bar it has some curb in the middle (not sure the term but it looks very much like a hi-rise with minimal curb). I should take a picture of my "modified" bike. So I feel more secure and in control riding it. It's more me controlling the bike than the bike taking me somewhere.

The LBS is very nice, accomodating (they never charged me for many visits as I did not like this or that), and oh so patient with me, etc. BUT! Now I keep wondering, what if they had put the right one instead of what came out of the box???? I'll never know until I changed my handle again. And right now, nah! Maybe in winter when I train on rollers and trainer I may give it a shot...again. But it is hard to find the right person, who will do it the right way as everyone (shops/experts) their own mind/experience and who to believe! argggh

I also asked if I could put wider tires on mine (I have a set of American Classic - don't know width) and they said nope. I did not question more as they are the pros and I'm all new to this. I can argue easily when I know I'm right. But in this case, I'm too green. I'm learning.

I could go to my hubby's bike shop (where he purchased his) to see what more could be done but let's say they are not too happy about me getting a bike elsewhere (another story) but they did not have what I wanted to start off with. I wanted a Bianchi and they do not sell it. And the Bianchi I wanted was not even sold in Canada (would have to go through USA), which meant customs fees and lost of warranty unless I returned to USA to get it fixed if needed. So one afternoon, we walked into this reknown shop and I saw Pink Lady. That was it. I wanted it! hihi Fell in love head over heels. And I think the husband even more!

For me $3000 is a lot of money to spend on a bike. And honestly, if I had known all those issues I am experiencing, before purchasing my Kuota (which I love - but not to pieces) I would not have spent the money on it. It is a nice carbon bike, beautiful, rides very well....but hard for me to control. I'm sure with time (I only have about 350kms on it) I will get to learn and enjoy that baby of mine. Need to tame it first. hihi I did test drive a few bikes before (Giant Avail, etc). But not that one. Big mistake. I figured a bike is a bike (at least in the same category of bike!) WRONG! HAHA

But I will seriously look in the winter (when things are slows at shop) to see what type of road bike handles would really suit me and the bike....and if I can have wider tires. But that would probably mean changing my wheels right? If that is the case, I'm not sure it is worth it all. Those wheels are already $1000. Not sure I want to "re-invest" at this point. Time will tell.

[ny biker]

Welcome aboard.

Some cycling clubs have rides for slower cyclists who just want to have fun in addition to fast aggressive rides. So you might find a group you'll enjoy cycling with. Of course there's nothing wrong with just cruising along on your own, if that's what you enjoy.

[Helene2013]

So far, the groups we have in the area are all too fast paced for me. Maybe one day when I get stronger (I'm just back into training from injuries) it may be something to look into. Time will tell.

[ny biker]

My current tires are 700x23. I know I can switch to 700x25, because last year I spoke to someone at the LBS who had measured the frame for another customer who had the same bike, to see if she could put 700x25 tires on it. However I could not go wider than 25. I think the issue (and what he measured) is the amount of space inside the forks. I would not need new wheels to make the switch.

It may be possible for you to use a wider tire than what you have now, just not as wide as the ones you asked about. And you would not necessarily need different wheels.