new roadie tips?

been lurking around, but cant really find anything about the specifics i want to know about and some stuff i am going to do.
1. wearing mtb shorts over my lycra, mtn shoes and hydropak, i dont care if it looks funny on a roadbike.
2. proper posture on a road bike, i rode 18 miles this morn and my back hurts, sign of things to come?
3. i noticed that my new road bike has a less robust selection of gears... is this because i wont need them for the road, or because these bikes are made to inflict the most pain possible?
tips? links? trash talk?
thanks in advance.

 

Wear what you want. You may find you're more comfortable in lycra (gets in the way a lot less, more aero, you should save too... er, nevermind )

If your back is uncomfortable you may need to go in for a fitting. Fit is more important on a road bike.

Mostly on the road you need the harder gears. People do put mountain cassettes on roadies, though, so that's always an option. Especially if you're planning on taking it offroad.

You can also head over to RoadBikeReview Forums - Powered by vBulletin for a ton of info and other silliness.

 

Hey, I'm newly back to road riding too.

And back to lycra too believe it or not. I agree with Allison above. But heck, wear what ever you want. Baggies, or 'shants' are fine. That's bike messenger style.

As far as your back, Fit is big on the road bike since you don't change positions as often as on the mountain bike.

Here's a some reading if you want, I've been reading a lot of Steve Hogg's stuff from cyclingnews.com and found it helpful.

cyclefitcentre further reading

Also, initially, your back maybe hurting because you're not used to the position on the road bike either. But maybe if it still is hurting you after a week or so a professional custom fit session might a good idea.

What kind of bike do you have? Anyways, the bigger gears on a road bike will get you to stand and hammer more too. So stick with you got for now, and if it's just too much you can consider going to a 27tooth in the back or even a 34tooth(mtn cassette) but you might have to switch to a mtn. derailleur with a longer cage. (Assuming of course you've got a 9speed grupo)

C

 

Do you have triple or double crank? My road bike has a triple. It's nice for the climbs, but I tell you, even in the "granny gear" you still can't spin up the really steep stuff. You just gotta push. Hurts!

My back hurts some too. Gets stiff. Could be fit and could just be the position. I try to stand on the pedals and stretch my back periodically. My hands also hurt some initially because of the weird position on the hoods. Oh, and because I grip my bar too tightly since I get all scared when we go fast.

Wear what you want, I say. When I commute I wear mtb stuff. But, if I'm going for a road ride, I put on the lycra. I also bring three water bottles instead of the hydration pack. Two on the frame and one in the jersey. It's easier to get water on the road than on the trail. I've found you can get a lot of stuff in your jersey pockets (if you wear a road jersey). Bottom line, I never feel really comfortable in the roadie gear, except when I'm riding. Then it's great for all the reasons stated above. Don't worry about it for now, but if you really enjoy road riding and you go on some longer rides, you'll likely want the lycra. The way I look at it, people look pretty retarded in whatever sport clothes they wear. Have you seen football players? Nice tight pants. Wrestlers? Oh, and baseball uniforms are totally rediculous, too. So, yeah. But, you'll be comfortable on the bike.

 

rediculous C'mon now teah.Spell check broke?

Good points all, but I think you should ride a few weeks before making any changes. Small, very small adjusts make a big difference in road riding. You might hit up your LBS for a semi custom type of fit. Most guys owning bike stores can usually size you fairly well. If you do decide to get fitted, don't look for the best price ask around and find someone who has references and has been doing it a while. Some of these clowns will tell you the bike is all wrong for you and then try to get you to buy a new bike from them. Watch out for these "trainers", they really are not interested in much, but how much they can get you to spend.

I've had one professional fitting on my last road bike and it helped a lot, but it was made for tri's and not for long distance and distance is what I love to do. My LBS set up my present bike and I've logged close to 20,000 miles on it with only a few adjustments.

 

Lot's of good points in there. I'm basically down with everything that's been said.

If your back hurts, it could just be your body getting used to the new position. That being said, it's worthwhile to pay $75 or so from a shop for custom fit. Bargain em down if you can. See what they'll do.

For your gear, I'd definitely drop the camelback and commit to wearing a jersey. Use two water bottles in the cages, and pack CO2s for flats. That saves space and weight. I recomment the Air Innovations Air Chuck. It's tiny. Arm warmers I find are an essential item. They're cheap, but can really keep you warm if the morning rides are chilly, or if you climb up some mtns and it gets cold. And when you take then off, they fit in the jersey. It's all about having nothing on your back. It's a liberating feeling, not to mention keeps you much cooler. And speaking of cool, just get the Lycra shorts. Baggy mtn bike shorts flap around in the breeze or get caught on the saddle. I agre with an earlier comment, you're gonna look a little dorkey no matter what you wear. And i think you'll look like you don't know what you're doing if you wear mtn bike gear.

As for those gears, just give it time. You'll get used to it. Stand up on climbs when you need to. Happy riding, and be safe - [-o-]

 

Get a computer with cadence. I try to keep mine at about 80-85rpm.

 

Don't get to wrapped up in the attire (we know we look like clowns), you'll find it's more about function and most the roadie stuff you see works for it's intended purpose. They may not look comfortable, but the lycra tends to keep things in their proper place and you will see why people will prefer to wear thses over other types of shorts.

 

On the issue of back pain, I have two suggestions:

1 - Ditch the Camelback, for all the reasons above, plus the fact that it's weight on your lower back. In the dropped position of a road bike your core muscles, arms, shoulders are supporting that weight, and as others have said, there are better alternatives on the road.

2 - Put some real attention into stretching, especially your hip flexors, hamstrings, and lower back. Staying in that hunched over position for a long time on the road could be tightening things up and causing muscle spasms.

Good luck.

 

Number one thing that helped with my back pain was seat height. I had it to low.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. yeah my front is only 2 ring...today has been hectic with med. recert stuff, 2 cars to smog and 3 term papers due, so no ride today. i have a real good feeling its just the new position. i do 100 push ups and 60 sit ups and a good stretch each morning, and this bike made my arms hurt in 18 miles, guess i need to stretch a bit more too.. lol. ahh well, ill get stronger. i DO wear lycra, under my mtn shorts, and i wear a roadie type jersey with the pockets aswell, just not on the road bike yet. the jersey, i wore it DH @ southridge. also, my mtn shorts arent super baggy. from the waist down im in great shape, i tend to store weight up top, looking like an upsidedown triangle, ill eventually go in just lycra.... i guess ill have to become a minimalist when it comes to road too. mtn i carry:
3 tubes, leavers, new chain, chain breaker, 2 cables, small btl. of hyd. fluid, spare pads, spokes, nipples, spoke wrench, sram links, and a first aid kit, im probably forgetting something. also, i ordered a cyc. Computer, it will be here monday. lookin in to a HRM aswell. heres a big of the jersey ill wear for road.

 

There are a million factors that can contribute to back pain: improper stem length, stem height, seat height, frame size, cleat position. Having someone who knows what they are doing make the nessecary adjustments might help a lot.

As for the lycra shorts, you'll come around to it, trust me

 

get fit properly. that is key. dont complain about having two rings, i have a fixed gear SS that i ride, now that is a trip

 

hey sherberty, never complained about 2 rings. today was my 3rd ride, totaling about 40 miles so far. feel fine now, must have been the initial break in. on a side note, i had my first blow out this morning.i never thought about it, but the guy who owned it before me forgot to put rim strips in #-o..
well coming around a long lefty down hill i hear, POW, flap-flap-flap-flap.... got loose but kept it up. unfortunately i had no spare tupe and the hole was to big to patch, i walked 5 miles home. waaa waaa waaaaaaaaaaaaa.

 

sucks a fat left nut.

 

Are we in the Great Depression here? Save your patches for blown mtn tubes and just use fresh tubes on the road.

And I highly recommend one of these, instead of a pump...

Innovations Air Chuck SL @ Performance Bicycle

 

Buy yourself a wedge, stuff a couple tubes some levers and a couple C)2's and you're good to go. Seems like everytime I leave the house without a spare I get 20 miles from home and P O W, I'm calling the family for someone to bring me a tube or a ride home.

 

I currently have two tubes in my jersey pockets, 6 Co2's, a mini patch kit and two levers. I'm not taking any chances, haha. I ride the first bag on this page Sci-Con :: Seat Bags/Travel Cases :: Competitive Cyclist It's really small, but it carries my Co2, patches and levers. The tubes go in my jersey pockets.

 

well i bought a bag, and tubes yesterday. i have big cx tires that are Kevlar lined and have been running all kinda of sh*t over with awesome results. 0gravity, i didnt know, i figured i could patch anything i ran over, i know better now. whats the advantage of a chuck and co2 over a pump?

 

The big one is this: whether you use the chuck I pointed out or some other CO2 cracker, you can inflate your tire instantly VS pumping away by hand and trying to reach 120 PSI -- which is no fun. If someone's got a pump when I flat while mtn biking (lower PSI needed), I'll use it to save my CO2s, but for road riding, I only use CO2. Instant ~120 PSI!

Plus you don't have the weight and (more so) the bulk of a pump in your jersey or strapped to the bike. I don't need even small saddle bag on my bike. Everything I need, including arm warmers and a very light vest, can all fit in my jersey pockets with my flat change stuff.