first ride on my road bike(Trek 1500)

[jrtalon]

umm I think I need training wheels!!! I just went for a short ride.....very short as in less then 100yards. I felt like a drunk driver making little s-curves to get the bike balanced and me from falling over. And this whole strapping your feet into the petals makes me very uncomfortable too knowing that I might not be able to pull my feet out to stop from falling over if I need to make an abrupt stop. Also as far as saddle height goes, right now the LBS set so if the bike is perpendicular to the ground and the saddle is between my legs I can just touch the ground with my toes...is that normal height. Any tips appreciated....at least tell me Im not alone when it comes to first time on road bikes.

 

[djk202020]

haa, this was how I was also I started about 7 months ago. I felt so unstable on my bike at first. It is really different than the ones we rode as kids. As far as falling over becasue of the pedals, it will happen. It happens to all of us at one time or another. Dont worry about it ... to help out, get use to snaping in and out and when coming to a stop just remove one foot and stand on the other pedal if you are stoping you should be off your seat most people can't touch the ground with their feet while seated, or it is extremly uncomfortable ( pointing the toes and killing your goin) if your lbs adjusted it I would bet that it is right, you will gain confidence and stability as you ride more. I found out that alot of steering is done though weight transfer on the bike, leaning to one side or the other you shouldnt have to turn the bars that much to make a turn. Good luck and have fun...

 

[frenchyge]

If you're that uncomfortable with the height and feel of the bike, I probably wouldn't worry about strapping your feet in at this point. Just let the pedals hang upside down at first and put your feet on the sides without the straps. Even after that, you don't have to cinch the straps down tight either. Just put your feet in the straps, but leave them loose enough that you can get them out quickly.

You'll definitely have to come off the seat to stand over the bar when stopping. Practice a few times before going out near traffic.

Road bikes are built for speed, and they're very comfortable and stable at speed. Ride fast.

 

[Arathald]

As far as falling over becasue of the pedals, it will happen. It happens to all of us at one time or another. Dont worry about it ... to help out, get use to snaping in and out and when coming to a stop just remove one foot and stand on the other pedal if you are stoping you should be off your seat most people can't touch the ground with their feet while seated, or it is extremly uncomfortable ( pointing the toes and killing your goin)

Actually, I havent yet (mostly because I usually coast the last 100 ft to the stop and take one foot out)..... I know it's coming at some point, though. I'm gonna have nightmares about it now I hear it's funniest when you are at a traffic light with cars and you just kinda slowly tip over. That's honestly one of the funniest images I can think of.

I actually usually stay in the seat while stopping, but i lean the bike quite a bit over to met my foot touch thw ground comforably (still just toes). Maybe I should try coming out of the seat.... That might help.......

Yeah, don't worry, you'll get used to it. I love my clipless pedals, and I have a hard time imagining riding more than 10mph (by far the vast majority of a normal ride) without them. The did take getting used to though.

 

[Archibald]

go to a quiet park and practice your stopping and taking a foot out. that way if you fall it's on soft grass.
same goes for practicing to balance on a stationery bike.

i went from a hybrid to a road bike and did find i felt unstable on the roadie. it didn't last for long though...

 

[jrtalon]

thanks, feeling much better knowing a lot of people experienced the same thing. Also I was gripping the bars underneath(fast position), controlling the levers from that position rather then gripping up top(resting the butt of the lever between my thumb and index finger). So i was going too slow to be gripping the bike in that way....at least that my theory.

 

[Arathald]

go to a quiet park and practice your stopping and taking a foot out. that way if you fall it's on soft grass.

I read this exact same thing somewhere-- could swear it was word-for-word. I never did that, i just got used to it on the sidewalks near my house (I actually picked it up right away, fortunetely), but nevertheless, this is very sound advice.

 

[valkis]

The above position (where the butt is between your thumb and finger) are known as the 'hoods', and the lower down position the 'drops'. Most of your riding will be done on the hoods, and for low speed control you shouldn't be in the drops. Road bikes are normally not as easy to handle at low speed because they arent built for it. They're built to be ridden at 30, 40, 50kmh.

Until you get used to the narrower handlebars (making the handling twitchier, coming from a mtb), remove the straps off the pedals and get used to the handling using flat pedals. Once you're used to a road bike, skip over straps and move to clipless pedals, where you wear shoes with a cleat on the sole that clicks into the pedals, practicing in a carpark first. I've just moved to clipless pedals a month ago (from flat pedals), and once you get used to them, they are the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[frenchyge]

go to a quiet park and practice your stopping and taking a foot out. that way if you fall it's on soft grass.
same goes for practicing to balance on a stationery bike.

Plus, seeing someone falling off a stationary bike provides a great deal of entertainment for the other park visitors.

 

[jrtalon]

ah well just got home from my first real ride on my bicycle, just took it for a nice round trip around my block and the next block, through the high school path and back....probably around 1.5miles total....nothing big. holding the 'hoods' it was much much much much easier I got the hang of that right away. I just did nice big turns and such but I did try leaning into them a bit more on the return trip. there was a straight away and where I picked up some speed and did one transition into the 'drop' position for a few seconds and then went back. Also practiced shifting through the gears, got confused for a second since when u down shift on the right it goes to the larger gear but when u down shift on the left it goes smaller....the bike started yelling at me and the shifter wouldn't move, i hit the up shift leaver and it unlocked itself or something and was back to normal. oh and stopping, no problems there, i didn't fall over lol.

 

[Caden]

I actually usually stay in the seat while stopping, but i lean the bike quite a bit over to met my foot touch thw ground comforably (still just toes). Maybe I should try coming out of the seat.... That might help.......

Yeah, don't stay in your seat. I just unclip (I've got clipless pedals, but the idea is the same) from ONE pedal (my left) and move myself up over the top tube with my left foot on the ground and my crotch pretty near the handlebars. I'm never stopped and also in my seat. Not even sure how I'd manage that.

 

[Arathald]

...with my left foot on the ground and my crotch pretty near the handlebars...

Somehow, I missed "the ground and" when I first read this..... i was thinking that that must have hurt.... it took a read-over or two to make sense of it......

Anyhow, I'll try that on my next ride (didn't get out today, gonna go tomorrow for sure). Thanks for the advice. And I do actually use clipless myself.

and jrtalon, just keep up like that and you'll be riding dozens of miles comfortably before you know it. Was this with clipless pedals?

 

[fiend]

I'm never stopped and also in my seat. Not even sure how I'd manage that.

I'm always seated when I stop. I do have to lean to one side a bit and balance on the toe of my shoe, but I never get off the saddle when stopping.

If you're in the city then try to unclip your curb-side foot so that you don't have to put it down as far. Just try not to build up an imbalance where you only ever unclip (or "unstrap") the right foot because when the day comes that you have your right foot out and start to tilt to the left, you're going to want to get that other foot out of there fast!

 

[jrtalon]

no I was using the stock petals with the straps and such, I just removed one foot when i was about to stop and just balanced the bike for a second when i stopped and leaned over a bit till my foot touched the ground and then removed my over foot and got off or if i was just pausing kept my other foot in. It was harder for me to fumble getting my foot back in as I was going then to stop.

Fiend- thats funny because I like removing my left foot first rather then the right...even though I am right handed. I find it easier to balance with my right foot still straped in.

 

[frenchyge]

Fiend- thats funny because I like removing my left foot first rather then the right...even though I am right handed. I find it easier to balance with my right foot still straped in.

Yeah, but practice what he said, because once you get going on the bike you'll want to look super-cool by rolling up to a stoplight, staying on the seat, and putting your right foot on the curb, instead of the street. With the extra 6 inches of height to the curb, your foot should comfortably reach while you're still on the seat.

 

[Arathald]

Yeah, but practice what he said, because once you get going on the bike you'll want to look super-cool by rolling up to a stoplight, staying on the seat, and putting your right foot on the curb, instead of the street. With the extra 6 inches of height to the curb, your foot should comfortably reach while you're still on the seat.

This can, however be hard if there's cars turning right from your lane -- might block you in depending on traffic, lane arrangement, and right-on-red laws in your state (and on the direvers themselves -- the drivers I got around here aren't complete jerks, but I have seen maybe 2 cars ever follow correct right-of-way, that is, give me the right of way when I'm supposed to have it).

 

[Archibald]

I read this exact same thing somewhere-- could swear it was word-for-word. I never did that, i just got used to it on the sidewalks near my house (I actually picked it up right away, fortunetely), but nevertheless, this is very sound advice.

i did a clinic on triathlons and the guy had us in a park going back and forth to practice the transition onto the bike and into our shoes while riding.
i haven't actually done the park thing otherwise.
i've been clipping in on the mtb for a while anyway.
although, have have stalled and fallen over on that - atop a small steep climb i ran out of momentum and didn't get out the pedals quickly enough. ended up on my side with my feet still clipped in like some spastic turtle. the guy behind fell off too, but that was more from laughing...

 

[trainee champ]

Don't forget to keep looking along the road well into the distance, not down in front of you a few metres or so. This will help with your balance. It's like driving a car - if you focus on the road just in front of the car you will end up all over the place, especially when going around a corner.

 

[Arathald]

Don't forget to keep looking along the road well into the distance, not down in front of you a few metres or so. This will help with your balance. It's like driving a car - if you focus on the road just in front of the car you will end up all over the place, especially when going around a corner.

Fortunately for all of us, cars don't have much of a risk of losing their balance. Could you imagine?

 

[trainee champ]

Fortunately for all of us, cars don't have much of a risk of losing their balance. Could you imagine?

Cars don't.... and neither do bikes. It's the people who lose balance. That's why accidents happen.