SO YOU’VE BEEN bitten by the cycling bug, pretended you knew more than you did when you bought the bike, and were too proud to quiz the guy in the shop about what happens next.
Now you’re in rush hour traffic with a bike that’s squeaking and rattling and if you’re only answer to remedy this incessant noise is turning up the sound on your iPod, then you’re in major danger.
Here are five mistakes every beginner cyclist makes.
Improper bike fit
This is a crime. It looks bad and it feels bad and is the number one reason why beginner cyclists don’t go any further than the 5k commute to work.
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A proper bike fit is the single most important thing you can do when you buy a bike and if the shop where you bought it won’t provide one, then go seek help and advice from someone who will. Spending €100 on a bike fit might seem a complete waste of money, given you just throw the legs over the crossbar and pedal, right? Incorrect. If you’re comfortable riding the bike, that is, not feeling any pain anywhere, you’ll go further, get fitter, enjoy it more and save money.
There are several ways to adjust the bike, be it changing the stem, seat height, handlebar angle or position of the saddle. So if you’re unsure, go to a bike shop and pay the money. There is a science behind it.
Tyre pressure
This has a huge bearing on how your bike will feel when you ride. Tyre pressure is directly related to how well the bike handles on corners and how fast you can go. The correct tyre pressure also lengthens the life span of your tyre and makes them more resistant to punctures. On each tyre there will be a number (40-120psi, generally) which tells you how much pressure it can tolerate. The lower number is the minimum, higher is maximum.
A lower pressure will provide less rolling resistance so you will need to pedal harder to go the same distance as someone with a tyre pressure of say 120psi. On the flipside, a harder tyre provides slightly less grip, especially in the wet and you will not get as smooth a ride. A good idea is to go softer on the back tyre than the front because you have more weight on the back, as you’re sitting down on it. You will need two types of pump as a cyclist; a track pump and a hand pump. The former is much more robust and can give the tyre the hardness the latter won’t. Though it will get you home if you puncture.
Not learning how to fix a flat tyre
This probably happens everyone and it’s only when it happens and after you’ve made the dreaded phone-call home that you pledge to learn how to repair your own tyre. To fix a tyre you need a spare tube, a set of tyre levers (two will suffice) to pull the punctured tube out from inside the tyre and a hand pump which fits neatly into your pack pocket, handbag, or straps nicely to some part of the frame of the bike.
Fixing a tyre should take no more than seven minutes and for the best tutorial on how to do it, watch below:
By looking after your bike you’re ensuring it works smoothly every time and by far the most important components to keep clean are the chain and the cassette (the series of toothed sprockets on the back wheel that propels the bike). A dirty chain will wear easily because think of it, you’re riding in the wet and the mud, grit and grease on the road gets picked up by the wheels and spat onto the chain.
This constant friction with the cassette wears down the chain and it becomes ‘loose’, thus gear-shifting becomes hindered and before long, if untreated, the chain will start ‘skipping’ and you risk an accident. Clean the chain by spraying it with a good degreaser, working it in with a toothbrush, give the degreaser 3-4 minutes to work its magic and finally, rinse off with a sponge and warm bucket of water. Dry the chain afterwards and apply a ‘wet lube’ liberally, wiping down again afterwards. Job done in five minutes.
Loose helmet
Okay so they’re not the most stylish things you can wear and the cheaper ones can be particularly awful, resembling something out of the film Groundhog Day. But spend the money on a good helmet because it’s one of the best things you can buy for the bike. And when you buy it, make sure it fits properly. Finally, ensure the helmet is resting just above your eyebrows and it cannot rotate around your head or slip sideways.
there’s no need to waste money on a “good” helmet. they all meet the same crash test standard. With more expensive helmets you are only paying for style, not safety. Proper fit is important obviously.
How about just not cycling and being a general hindrance and menace on the road, the downside is of course your eco ego and self righteous view of yourself will dwindle but at least the roads will be safer and used by tax paying citizens
Jeez I dunno, less cars on the road means less traffic to deal with when driving. Plus safer to walk on road. And I’m only an occasional cyclist. There should be more off road cycle tracks anyway. Taking your like in your hands on some of our roads, the cycle lanes here are beyond a joke, there’s a lamp-post right in the middle of a new one near me! and they just stop in the middle of nowhere as well!
Stoping at a red light
Not cycling three a breast
Not cycling on the footpath
Not complaining about cars and trucks
Not wearing black and cycling at night with no lights.
Is that close to their five mistakes
Back in my day, a puncture repair kit, a pump and 2 spoons would have been the norm.
Does anyone know how to actually fix a puncture these days?
A new tube can be fairly expensive. A good puncture Repair kit costs €1.49 in Dealz.
You can get tubes relatively cheap from the likes of wiggle and chain reaction cycles. I bought 6 for about €17.00. Local bike shop was a tenner a pop.
How about the fact that of all the cyclist’s I see on the road everyday the only ones who stop at lights or use hand signals are causal cyclists and none of the lycra brigade obey the rules of the road
I was nearly trying out cycling on a lovely bike my son left behind when he went away to work. After reading the Rules, I am totally overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy and fears of embarrassment. Bike will remain in shed.
I know cyclists who when driving a car will give out like fluck about a slow tractor or other slow driver holding up the traffic and not pulling in, but, they see no problem cycling 2 a breast holding up the traffic and not pulling in, when questioned on this the response is “it’s legal to cycle 2 a breast”, this may be true but it is quiet ignorant.
I drive and also cycle to work and i can tell you after 2 weeks of cycling i can see how ignorant the majority of the public are against cyclists.
This bullshit about not paying road tax, one of the main reasons cycling is popular is because of the bike to work scheme , (Yes, cyclists also work and pay taxes too). They have as much right to use the raod as anyone else. Its no wonder we have so many road deaths every year in this country. If we could educate some of those lunatics on road safety we could all get from A to B on a safe manner.
Do the guys who complain with religious zeal about law / rule breaking people on bikes on paths etc never see people in cars parking on paths, speeding, mobile phone use, pushing a red light, jumping a red light, speeding, drunk and drugged out of your face driving. The list goes on and on, it’s a people thing breaking rules. It’s a bit like complaining that the rain falls. Idiots
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6. Wearing underwear under padded cycle shorts.
7. Not taking on enough water and food
Forgetting to buy an engine with it
there’s no need to waste money on a “good” helmet. they all meet the same crash test standard. With more expensive helmets you are only paying for style, not safety. Proper fit is important obviously.
Riding three astride ,pains in the a€se
How about just not cycling and being a general hindrance and menace on the road, the downside is of course your eco ego and self righteous view of yourself will dwindle but at least the roads will be safer and used by tax paying citizens
Ha ha clown
Lol. Fully agree too !
Jeez I dunno, less cars on the road means less traffic to deal with when driving. Plus safer to walk on road. And I’m only an occasional cyclist. There should be more off road cycle tracks anyway. Taking your like in your hands on some of our roads, the cycle lanes here are beyond a joke, there’s a lamp-post right in the middle of a new one near me! and they just stop in the middle of nowhere as well!
* life
Where do you think there cyclists are going?work usually.therefore they are paying taxes.
Hang on, as a cyclist I don’t have to pay taxes. Why did nobody tell me about this?
No taxes? WOOOHOOOO where do I get the form for this?
Probably right beside the Road Tax forms!!!
Oh wait……
Tool
Cyclist, menace? In my Lycra on skinny Tyres. Ha ha ha ha.
A village is missing its idiot
Get off the pavement you morons.
Stoping at a red light
Not cycling three a breast
Not cycling on the footpath
Not complaining about cars and trucks
Not wearing black and cycling at night with no lights.
Is that close to their five mistakes
8 . They don’t have a bike !
No glue?! No spoons for taking off tyre,!
What sort of evil patch is this?
Back in my day, a puncture repair kit, a pump and 2 spoons would have been the norm.
Does anyone know how to actually fix a puncture these days?
A new tube can be fairly expensive. A good puncture Repair kit costs €1.49 in Dealz.
You can get tubes relatively cheap from the likes of wiggle and chain reaction cycles. I bought 6 for about €17.00. Local bike shop was a tenner a pop.
Wow – 6 tubes for €17 is great.
I think I’d still fix the punctured one when I got home all the same, even if it’s only €3 or €4 saved.
Oh the testosterone flows repairing a puncture.
As good a feeling as poking a fire!
Brings me back to my schooldays when four of us were cycling to school…..”daddy used to be sick at fixing punctures.may God rest his gentle soul.
How about the fact that of all the cyclist’s I see on the road everyday the only ones who stop at lights or use hand signals are causal cyclists and none of the lycra brigade obey the rules of the road
8. Thinking they own the road at the weekends
Drivers seem to think they own the roads all the time to the exclusion of all others.
Well they are primarily for the use of motorised vehicles…. It’s Friday, calm down and pick the spandex out of your hole!
Actually, roads are primarily for the use of… road-users.
Turning into a cycle spa after two weeks
I’m just gonna leave this here
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/
Anyone who buys a bike should read that first. Then they should stick to the rules religiously
Refer to rule#5… Always
I was nearly trying out cycling on a lovely bike my son left behind when he went away to work. After reading the Rules, I am totally overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy and fears of embarrassment. Bike will remain in shed.
I know cyclists who when driving a car will give out like fluck about a slow tractor or other slow driver holding up the traffic and not pulling in, but, they see no problem cycling 2 a breast holding up the traffic and not pulling in, when questioned on this the response is “it’s legal to cycle 2 a breast”, this may be true but it is quiet ignorant.
Not enough food & water defo but you’ll learn to fix a tyre fast enough if your stuck in the lashing rain !
Where’s his spoons, glue, bucket of water, cement block, chalk and screw driver to fix the puncture? He hasn’t a clue :P
I drive and also cycle to work and i can tell you after 2 weeks of cycling i can see how ignorant the majority of the public are against cyclists.
This bullshit about not paying road tax, one of the main reasons cycling is popular is because of the bike to work scheme , (Yes, cyclists also work and pay taxes too). They have as much right to use the raod as anyone else. Its no wonder we have so many road deaths every year in this country. If we could educate some of those lunatics on road safety we could all get from A to B on a safe manner.
Putting tri bars in a road bike.
Not having the stem slammed
Not shaving your legs
Wearing any kind of sleeveless top
Wearing runners and toe clips
buyin a warhorse
A lower tyre pressure will create more rolling resistance…not less.
Good article.
High visibility top, cat eye lights dog tags & scapular medal.
What about not taking the correct steroid mix!
Do the guys who complain with religious zeal about law / rule breaking people on bikes on paths etc never see people in cars parking on paths, speeding, mobile phone use, pushing a red light, jumping a red light, speeding, drunk and drugged out of your face driving. The list goes on and on, it’s a people thing breaking rules. It’s a bit like complaining that the rain falls. Idiots
9 Spending any more than €1300 on everything.