Basic cycling rookie mistakes

  • Sunglasses aren’t just for sunny days, they also keep stuff out of your eyes. Also choose plastic over glass sunglasses in case of falls.

  • Where you look is often where your bike goes- this is true in the case of cornering, but also when you get distracted and start gazing off to the side of the road.

  • Sitting around in sweaty shorts after a ride is a really good way to get saddle sores.

  • The side of the bike lane closer to the road often has less debris than the far edge, and you have more space to maneuver in case of a hazard. You’re also a bit easier to see.

  • Don’t ride up on the side of trucks/larger vehicles at a stop light, it’s usually a blind spot.

  • I spent way too long avoiding group rides etc because I didn’t want to look like an idiot, but as it turns out most of us are terribly excited to find someone who actually wants to hear us talking about cycling. :joy:

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Re: trainer skewers: this might not be much of a “thing” any longer. The skewer that came with my Kickr is more robust. Back in the day, I was lazy and ran the skewer that came with my CycleOps Fluid2 (at the time a top end trainer) on the road. It was NOT the same as my normal skewers, but functioned in the same way. I sprinted during a workout and popped it loose from the dropout, locking the rear wheel at high speed. I kept it up, but wore a hole through the tire and tube as they melted on the tarmac. Never again.

To wit, the owner’s manual specifically said it was “not intended for road use”. If your trainer doesn’t have the same warning, maybe you’re fine. I don’t think Kickrs carry the warning.

It is probably specific to wheel-on trainers where they are designed to seat in the “clamp”. So Kickr Snap, et. al. probably carry the warning. If it does, I would heed it. Don’t be lazy. (Edit: Saris’ wheel on trainer skewers still carry the warning on Amazon.)

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I’ve just checked my Fluid 2 manual and it doesn’t say anything about only using the skewer on the trainer.

I keep mine in for road riding and have never had any problems. Functionally it’s identical but with shaped cones to fit in the clamp - if anything I assumed it would be stronger as clamping it in place probably means more pressure/torque/force than normal going through it.

They are simply cheap material ones and quickly become rusty, but besides that why not to use them? :slight_smile:

Anyway, more about skewers,

during one of my business trips I took my turbo trainer and my bike. In the afternoon I wanted to do my training and I found I lost one element of my front wheel skewer, somewhere in my car. Looked everywhere but it’s gone.
So I could try do Kaiser +4 with my wheel untightened any way. Luckily I found open bike shop nearby and bought a replacement. The most expensive crap, 20 EUR for front skewer, lowest quality possible, two times more than titanium set any other place. But it possibly save my teeth and face bones :slight_smile:

I found that little element in my car a year later.

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Interesting that the Amazon page for Saris skewers says “Should not be used for outdoor rides on the road” and then immediately below that says “can be used for indoor and outdoor rides.” Checked Saris’s page and it says “can be used for indoor and outpost rides.” I know my old one from 2005 carries the warning, but I’ll edit my initial post.

You guys have fun with it; I won’t ever again. I’ve only ever had one skewer fail like that in fifteen years of riding and it was the one that carried the warning! Maybe it was a one off.

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That’s probably a liability thing. The skewer would probably be fine riding outside. But that wasn’t a design consideration and it wasn’t tested for that. So they probably don’t want to tell you it’s okay and will say not to to be safe.

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I think there is some truth to this. But also, the trainer skewers i have dont seem to lock as tightly as the normal ones… so that might be another reason… there are more forces on the road that could cause the skewer to open.

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A mistake I made and I see other cyclists make is not taking the lane when necessary to keep yourself safe. I believe in being respectful to cars and not holding them up any more than necessary, but there are times when you need to move into the lane and take possession of it to avoid being pinched off the road.

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Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be that a question to the mechanic at your LBS or a seasoned rider on the group ride. Most people who work with or ride bikes love to talk about bikes and you might just save yourself a small fortune :+1:

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Change a tube. Twice. At home.

Having confidence about being able to fix a flat in a few minutes eliminates most of the stress that comes with riding around solo far from home.

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I’ve only been cycling for a year, so some things have bit me hard already:

  1. Learn how to fuel before, during, and after your rides. Eat/drink DURING the ride. Bonking is horrible.

  2. As @anon67840561 said, change a tube, at least twice, at home. Do so ONLY with the tools/parts you carry with you on the bike. Also, ensure you carry extras if possible. While a single CO2 cartridge (for example) may fill your tube, what if you make a mistake and rip that tube?

  3. Consistency and gradual progression are the two most important things to help you get better/faster. Ride a few times a week, gradually improve volume, it’ll take time but that’s the best path.

  4. Both long/slow endurance rides and high-intensity sweet-spot stuff are important.

  5. Nothing is more important than adequate sleep and recovery.

  6. Overtraining is insidious and deadly. Work hard, be disciplined, and all that… but if you feel like you’re pushing too hard, if you feel like you’re always tired, if you’re getting irritable and/or anything else that smacks of too much fatigue, then take a step back. Be kind to yourself, as Amber keeps saying. Far, FAR better to do a little less than you could than to overdo it.

  7. Have fun. I’m a data junkie… tracking all sorts of stuff makes me HAPPY and motivates me to ride. For my wife, tracking anything at all is WORK and having to even think about tracking means she’ll just skip the activity. Know you, and do what works for you. Obsess or destress: your choice.

  8. Tire pressure is the single most important factor in your comfort. Figure out a good tire choice and tire pressure for you. Wider tires at lower pressures are more comfortable and can be just as fast or sometimes faster than narrow tires at high pressure.

  9. Get a bike fit. It’s worth the money to make sure your bike suits you well, because then you can ride longer, harder, happier. If you’re uncomfortable on the bike, you’ll do less work, you’ll have less fun, and you may end up injured.

  10. Set up your routines and/or your checklist so you don’t forget any important stuff. Don’t forget your glasses, gloves, heart-rate strap, key to unlock the lock that’s keeping your bike on the car rack (!), drink mix, phone, whatever it is you feel you need to carry.

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Agree on the bike fit note above.

Focus on the bike issues that can be a dealbreaker for cycling. Pay to fix them properly if need be. The right saddle, tire pressure, and bike fit certainly fall into this category very often. Get any of those three wrong enough, for long enough, and you just wont want to ride.

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One that may not be mentioned on here.
Do not ride on newly gritted roads. Apart from the puncture risk , grit is very slippery , and if the grit has been pushed to the side of the road by cars, it can hide all sorts of nasties, like pot holes or drainage covers. My training friend had a really bad crash when he went into a hidden pothole.
If you ride in an urban area, you may encounter diesel patches from busses and lorries. So extreme cornering is not wise!!

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And dont ride on painted lines in the rain…

I went down once while riding in a straight line lol. Camber of the road was enough to make me wash out and slide 30’ on the asphalt. Was really wild…happened in slow motion. Felt like it took 10 seconds of sliding sideways before I went down. Totally fet it happening, and had time to counter steer, try to save it, but just slowly the bike leaned all the way over and I was on the ground in front of cars in traffic.

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I feel like I might as well work for a glove company by how much I promote this. We all have our own quirks, of course, but riding w/o gloves, for me, ranks nearly as high as without a helmet. A bit hyperbole, but not much. If I forget my gloves, I SERIOUSLY consider just skipping the ride.

This aversion stems from a ride about 5 years ago in which I skipped gloves and proceeded to wash out on a section of gravel. I reflexively braced for impact with my hands, and completely tore my palms open. Something like 12-15 stitches, and I had pebbles actually embedded in that needed to be pulled out. It was awful, let alone the month of both hands being very hard to use. Gloves would have changed that into just a small bit of road rash on my legs.

All that’s to say: yeah I take gloves really seriously.

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Yep. I think this also falls under “ride predictably” at times- if there’s frequent obstructions in the bike lane or it looks unsafe I’d rather take the lane for a bit than be darting in and out around parked cars etc.

I’ve also be known to take the lane pretty aggressively on roundabouts, as folk here have a tendency to try and squeeze through the middle in heavy traffic and I always found that really sketchy.

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Don’t try to lean over and pick something off the ground with one foot clipped in on the trainer…

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I would definitely agree, think I have about 6 pairs and never ride without gloves.
My epiphany was when I slipped on gravel and landed shoulder first as I knew landing on my gloveless hands would be worse, but that shoulder hurt for months
Always amazes me when you see pro racers without gloves.
Almost as bad as Tony Martin without sunglasses :rofl:

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I remember before my first 70.3 being new to cycling I told someone I was going to change the tubes weekly for the last few weeks in the run up to it and he looked at me like I was nuts. It was defo a good decision.

Gloves advice, follow this!!! Forgot once, then crashed and had unbelievable pain for a long time!