Couple noob questions...

[Guaps]

I've been riding for exactly two days now, but I've been reading this board for a while. Couple questions:

When people say their cadence is 80, does that mean each time their right foot hits the bottom = 1 or is it right foot at bottom=1, left=2, right=3, left=4?

Why are they called "clipless" pedals? I clip into them, right?

What are rollers?

What should I NOT wear that looks like cycling gear? I've read posts that talk about the benefits of cycling gear (lycra, padded shorts, nifty pockets in shirts, etc), and I'm sold - I'll bought the tight shorts. But I saw a pair of those bike shorts with suspenders and I'm pretty sure my wife would leave me if I walked into public with those on. Do people wear those?

 

[ScottishDan]

I've been riding for exactly two days now, but I've been reading this board for a while. Couple questions:

When people say their cadence is 80, does that mean each time their right foot hits the bottom = 1 or is it right foot at bottom=1, left=2, right=3, left=4?

Why are they called "clipless" pedals? I clip into them, right?

What are rollers?

What should I NOT wear that looks like cycling gear? I've read posts that talk about the benefits of cycling gear (lycra, padded shorts, nifty pockets in shirts, etc), and I'm sold - I'll bought the tight shorts. But I saw a pair of those bike shorts with suspenders and I'm pretty sure my wife would leave me if I walked into public with those on. Do people wear those?

Cadence: Revolutions per minute
Clipless Pedals: Good point, I guess they're called that because they don't have the traditional toeclips
Rollers: Posh british car, John Lennon and Phil Spectre had them
Cycling Gera: Too complex an issue to comment, personally I'm a shorts and t-shirt man but those troubled by testicular chaffage might go lycra. I know there are benefits to it but but.....I just can't

 

[rek]

When people say their cadence is 80, does that mean each time their right foot hits the bottom = 1 or is it right foot at bottom=1, left=2, right=3, left=4?

The former; cadence is a measure of (full) revolutions per minute of the crank.

Why are they called "clipless" pedals? I clip into them, right?

Yes, you do clip into them.. which makes calling them clipless pedals a bit silly. The Look company, inventor of clipless pedals, call them "automatic pedals" in their literature, but the term "clipless pedal" is the one everyone still uses. (I have a feeling 'automatic pedal' is just a literal translation of the French term they use)

Scottish Dan has it right, people call them "clipless" pedals because when they came out, everyone else used toeclips and straps.

What are rollers?

They are a set of cylindrical rollers that you put your bike on, to work as a stationary trainer.

What should I NOT wear that looks like cycling gear? I've read posts that talk about the benefits of cycling gear (lycra, padded shorts, nifty pockets in shirts, etc), and I'm sold - I'll bought the tight shorts. But I saw a pair of those bike shorts with suspenders and I'm pretty sure my wife would leave me if I walked into public with those on. Do people wear those?

Those "shorts with suspenders" are called bib shorts, which are handy (especially on long rides), as the standard cycling 'knicks' have a tendency to adjust themselves on the rides. The extra support from the shoulder straps keeps them exactly where they should be.

People in public will never know you're wearing bib shorts, because you wear your jersey on top, hiding the suspender bit. (They aren't to be worn weight-lifter style, with no shirt on! )

 

[Smilf]

I saw a guy here who had bib shorts on and a good size gut hanging out.. no jersey on.


Don't do that.

 

[Guaps]

The no shirt look is what i imagined when I saw the bibs. It gave me the shivers to think about.

I guess with a jersey they'd be okay though...