Ok bike peeps
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I really think I’m going to get myself a road bike this week. Three weeks from tomorrow I have a big bike event and everything I do is on pavement anyway.
One question - will I get used to these handlebars? They seem far less comfortable than my hybrid.
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Only you can answer these questions.
I find road bikes to be the most ergonomically comfortable bikes ever designed.
The drop handle bars give you choices as to where you place your hands. It matters to be able to move them around on long rides.
And get used to no to minimal padding on your saddle.
It takes time and miles to get used to all of it. Once you do, you will never want to ride a hybrid.
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Also, I’m bent forward even more than my hybrid. I get that’s a feature not a bug since it lowers the wind resistance.
But will my back be able to tolerate it?
@jon-nyc said in Ok bike peeps:
Also, I’m bent forward even more than my hybrid. I get that’s a feature not a bug since it lowers the wind resistance.
But will my back be able to tolerate it?
I find it way, way better than my hybrid. On two hour rides on the straight bars, I lose feeling in my hands. On the drops, you can choose from different ways of holding, so if things start tingling, you can change your hand position.
I grew up riding road bikes, so that also might make a difference. I spent hours and hours on them as a teenager.
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@jon-nyc said in Ok bike peeps:
Also, I’m bent forward even more than my hybrid. I get that’s a feature not a bug since it lowers the wind resistance.
But will my back be able to tolerate it?
I find it way, way better than my hybrid. On two hour rides on the straight bars, I lose feeling in my hands. On the drops, you can choose from different ways of holding, so if things start tingling, you can change your hand position.
I grew up riding road bikes, so that also might make a difference. I spent hours and hours on them as a teenager.
I also grew up with them. That was what a bike was, once you were out of elementary school
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If you're already feeling "oh fuck no" about it, I dunno...
But if you're like "okay, this sucks a bit but maybe I can get used to it," you can get a stem with a greater rise. Brings the whole handlebars up significantly, easy to swap out, quick, cheap.
Please love yourself.
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Welcome to the total bike club! Did you already check whether you look good in Lycra? All middle-aged men do.
Comfort on a road bike depends a lot on the bike fit, core strength, and flexibility. I for one find drop bar handle bars far more comfortable than other handle bars.
If you are not very flexible, get a road bike with a "relaxed" geometry. In particular, don't get an "aero' bike.
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If you're already feeling "oh fuck no" about it, I dunno...
But if you're like "okay, this sucks a bit but maybe I can get used to it," you can get a stem with a greater rise. Brings the whole handlebars up significantly, easy to swap out, quick, cheap.
It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
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It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Ok bike peeps:
It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
If you get a road bike, that should come as part of the process. If they charge you extra, they're assholes.
Please love yourself.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Ok bike peeps:
It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
If you get a road bike, that should come as part of the process. If they charge you extra, they're assholes.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Ok bike peeps:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Ok bike peeps:
It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
If you get a road bike, that should come as part of the process. If they charge you extra, they're assholes.
My bike fit took 2.5 hours and involved all kind of expensive tech. If they'd include that for free they'd rip people off who don't take the bike fit.
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@Mik I got three weeks. I can put a couple hundred miles on it in the mean time.
Many rent for this anyway (it’s at the Cape)
@jon-nyc said in Ok bike peeps:
@Mik I got three weeks. I can put a couple hundred miles on it in the mean time.
Many rent for this anyway (it’s at the Cape)
Once the ass pain is near-excruciating, take a couple days off. Gotta let the pubic rami rest.
Also, they make bike shorts with chamois now that don't make you look like a douche canoe.
Eschew gel pads for the saddle.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Ok bike peeps:
@Mik said in Ok bike peeps:
Yer butt's gonna hurt.
Bengay will help…
Damn autocorrect again!
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@Aqua-Letifer said in Ok bike peeps:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Ok bike peeps:
It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
If you get a road bike, that should come as part of the process. If they charge you extra, they're assholes.
My bike fit took 2.5 hours and involved all kind of expensive tech. If they'd include that for free they'd rip people off who don't take the bike fit.
@Klaus said in Ok bike peeps:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Ok bike peeps:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Ok bike peeps:
It's also maybe worth getting a bike fitting - I had one done a couple of months after I bought the bike, and they tweaked it a bit, and it really helped.
If you get a road bike, that should come as part of the process. If they charge you extra, they're assholes.
My bike fit took 2.5 hours and involved all kind of expensive tech. If they'd include that for free they'd rip people off who don't take the bike fit.
At the places I worked, we did the same. Which is why we strongly discouraged anyone to leave the shop with a road bike without scheduling them for a fit.
I never worked anywhere who'd charge you separately if you bought your bike there, that's absurd.
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Local shop showed me this in black for 1450:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/contend-ar-3-2021
And this in black for 2800:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/defy-advanced-2-2021
Thoughts? I wasn't considering carbon fiber. I figured the drop in weight from my hybrid to an AL frame road bike would be dramatic, the further drop to CF not as consequesntial.
I'm going to another shop this afternoon, but I wanted to get feedback on the above.
