Getting started.

[Longhorn]

This group couldn't have been more timely for me. Just last week, I took my late 80's Raleigh Talon in for tune-up, new tires, chain, grips, seat, and helmet, to the tune of about $180. My husband had originally spent in the neighborhood of $400 for the bike so I thought it was worth it, though I saw some used models advertised online for $50 -- don't know what condition they were in.

Anyway, my plan is to get more exercise and I'm trying to ride around in my neighborhood. I say "trying" because I live in the Texas Hill Country and my neighborhood is full of hills. One hill is so steep, we nicknamed it, "The Wall," because that's what it looks like from below. So far, I'm afraid to go DOWN it, let alone try to climb it on my bike. ;)

So far, I've been riding around on the most level parts of the neighborhood and occasionally getting off and walking my bike when I can't make it up the hill. Not only is strength an issue but I have had knee problems in the past so I'm concerned about overdoing it.

I have an elliptical trainer and a home gym with a leg press attachment. What's the best way for me to get in shape for biking? Should I exercise apart from riding or just keep improving on the bike?

Thanks!

[jandrok]

1. Hiya there, fellow Hill Country rider!

Personally, I've found that walking is a great way to build up cardiovascular and leg endurance for riding. Walking is just good exercise all the way around. It gets the whole body involved and is especially good if you can keep the heart rate up for a sustained 35-45 minutes.

Definitely stay on the bike, but walking will do a lot of good, too.

Just my $.02

[Longhorn]

5. I'm in luck, then!

Because my other new exercise goal is 10,000 steps a day as measured by a pedometer. So now I'll know that I'm also building up my legs for biking. Thanks and HOWDY! :D

[BiggJawn]

2. As the great Fausto Coppi said...

When asked how to become a great champion like himself:
"Ride your Bike, Ride your Bike, Ride your Bike...."

Do some resistance/weight training for your upper body, too. Holding handlebars doesn't do much for that part of us.

Make sure the bike is set-up properly for your leg length. Nothing will screw-up those knees faster than an improper position and "mashing" the pedals at a slow cadence. Learn to spin and save your knees.

[Longhorn]

6. Your advice (and Coppi's) makes a lot of sense.

I figured I could measure my improvement by how far I can get up a hill each time until I don't have to get off the bike at all.

Is there a trick to learning to "spin?" Thanks!

[BiggJawn]

10. We benchmark the same way! LOL!

I have a few hills that I use to check for improvement. There's one near here that I used to have to walk up that I can now climb...

It's not hard to learn to spin. the 2 things that you're striving for is a cadence of 85-105 RPM on the pedals, and you want a nice circular pedal stroke, not choppy, not "Pedalling in squares". You pedal in circles by, as Greg LeMond, 3X Tour du Frnace winner says, "by pulling your foot back at the bottom of the stoke like you're scraping mud off your shoe." and you keep the cadence up by not "mashing" too high a gear. If you can't keep it at at least 85 RPM, shift down. if there's no lower gears left and you still can't maintain a higher cadence (like on a hill) then it's time to walk.

You will also want to learn to use some sort of retention on your feet, be it old-fashioned toe clips and straps, or the new "clipless" systems like "Look" or Shimano "SPD" pedals. This is not because you are going to "pull up" as well as press down,(that's sort of a myth) but is to keep your feet on the pedals at higher RPMs. With retention you can hit 110-120 RPM or more. I can hit 120+ in a sprint. I think Lance can spin at 150, but that's what he does for a living, and he rides more miles in a week than I do in 2 months.

[Longhorn]

11. I just noticed you're in Indiana.

I'm a Hoosier by birth, born in Rochester in Fulton County. When I was just a couple of months old, we moved to Kalamazoo and then Battle Creek, but at ten, we moved to Indianapolis, where I lived for nearly six years until moving to Texas. If you're riding up hills, does that mean you live in Southern Indiana? Though Northern Indiana seems a lot more rolling now that I've seen the Texas Panhandle! ;)

I have a speedometer on order that hopefully also measures RPMs so I can get a feel for it. I'll also check into the peddle contraints as I have experienced the feeling that my feet are going to fly off!

Speaking of Lance, he's a hometown boy (I live just outside of Austin and work in Austin. Maybe Lance and I can train together one of these days. :D

[BiggJawn]

13. Oh, I know where Rochester is...

I live over toward Monticello, and the hills I'm talking about are the ones that drop into and climb out of the Wabash and Tippecanoe valleys.

I have cyclometers that measure cadence, they come in handy.

you probably won't be seeing Lance until this fall. His work season is getting into full swing.

[dean_dem]

3. I can't add much more to what was said...

...because it's all good advice. The key is just to keep riding and enjoy yourself. I would add that as long as your seat is adjusted correctly and the bike is the right size for you, your knees shouldn't be a problem. Cycling is actually good for bad knees, much better than jogging.

Just make sure the bike/ seat/ handlebars are adjusted so you are comfortable.

[Longhorn]

7. I'm glad to hear that cycling can be good for my knees.

I'll definitely check out the adjustments on my bike to make sure I'm riding correctly. Thanks!

[mike_c]

16. I started riding again about 5 years ago...

...after an 8 year or so hiatus specifically because I was having knee problems that were beginning to impact my ability to exercise other ways. No more-- my knees are MUCH better now. 'Course now I'm not really as interested in other forms of exercise-- I'd rather just ride my bike!

[welshTerrier2]

4. a few tips ...

first, never ride without a helmet ... i've seen some very horrible things happen to some very, very skilled cyclists ... don't assume that because you ride slowly you'll be safe without one ... and make sure you wear the helmet correctly ... most people don't ... the front brim should be about 1/2 inch above your eyebrows ... and the straps should be tightened almost to an uncomfortable degree ... you should only be able to insert one finger between your chin and the strap ... more than that and your helmet is too loose ... also, if you ever hit your head with your helmet on, you have to replace the helmet even if you can't see any visible damage ... it won't protect you once it's been involved with an impact ...

now, about your knees ... the advice in the above posts was right on the money ... here's a little more detail:

when you're sitting on the seat of the bike, your knee should be just slightly bent when the pedal is at the bottom of its cycle ... if your knee is either very bent at that point (seat too low) or totally straight (seat too high), you'll do some real damage to your knees ...

when you first start riding, i'd pretty much avoid any serious uphills ... if you're not in adequate condition, that can also kill your knees ... walk up the hills if you don't have other routes available ...

the goal is to get stronger gradually ... it's not usually a good idea to add more than 10% a week to either speed or distance ... slow and steady wins the race ...

a good bike shop could take a look at how the bike "fits you" and could make some recommendations ... of course, they might just try to sell you a new bike in the process ...

now, here's another really important tip for your knees: it is much better to use your easy gears than your hard gears ... at first, spinning really fast may seem a bit awkward ... but crunching along with a slow revolution in hard to push gears is a perfect recipe for knee problems ... stick to the easy gears ... a high cadence, maybe between 60 and 90 rpms is much better than the low cadence in higher gears ... especially in the beginning, stick to the easy gears and spin faster ...

one last idea ... gearing ... you mentioned many of the upgrades to your bike but didn't mention the gearing system ... if you're an old geezer like me or just very out of shape, i really recommend a triple chain ring ... that means you would have 3 rings in the front instead of two ... this usually enables you to get a much lower "gear ratio" ... for those big nasty hills, a ratio around 1:1 is just great ... to determine the lowest gear ratio you have (a little technical but not too hard), count the number of sprockets (the little things the chain hooks onto) on the smallest front gear and then count them on the largest rear gear ... so, for example, if you have 30 sprockets on the smallest front gear and 15 on the smallest rear gear, your lowest gear ratio is 30:15 or 2:1 ... don't worry about the math ... just change the gearing (it can be expensive) to approach a 1:1 ... then you'll really have a "wall climber" ...

and one last, last idea ... always ride in the direction the traffic is going ... never ride against the traffic ...

oh, and never ride at night ... even with all the right equipment, it just isn't safe ...

[Longhorn]

8. What a treasure trove of good advice!

Thanks so much! I don't know if I'm an "old geezer" but I'll be 50 in August. I just checked out my bike and it's a 21-speed with a triple chain ring and the ratio is 1:1 just as you suggested. Great! I'm still figuring out how to shift, though. There are two shifters on each side on the handlebars, a big one and a small one. I know that moving the big one makes it easier to peddle (higher gear?)and moving the smaller one makes it a little harder with each click (lower?) But I'm not really sure when to click the left or the right and I read something online about being careful not to stretch the gears but I didn't really understand the article.

I definitely agree about the helmet and have not ridden without it. I know I'm wearing it at the correct angle but I'll doublecheck the tightness.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain all of this to me! I've been needing just this kind of advice!

:yourock:

[welshTerrier2]

9. shifting

your bike has 3 chain rings in the front and seven gears in the rear ...

in the front: big = harder to pedal (good for downhills)
in the rear: big = easier to pedal

while you actually have 21 "speeds" in that 3 times 7 is 21, there are many duplicated gear ratios ... if you made a chart of all the possible combinations, you would see that many of the ratios are repeated ... it's not a problem though ... you have more than enough gears ...

the most important thing to know about shifting is that if you get too distracted by doing it, you're not paying attention to your riding ... so the first rule is only shift when you're in a safe situation ... a large schoolbus riding alongside you on a narrow road is not a good time to start fooling around with gears ...

until shifting becomes second nature, i would limit the number of gears you use ... the shifter on the left side of your handlebar controls the "front derailleur" ... it controls which of the 3 front chainrings the chain is on ... again, in the front, large = harder to pedal and small = easier to pedal ... a derailleur is a little metal housing that the chain passes through ... the derailleur is connected by a cable to your shifting levers ... when you shift, the cable is lengthened or shortened causing the derailleur to move left or right ... one way moves the chain to a larger gear; the other way to a smaller gear ... so, the left shifter only has 3 possible positions; one for each chainring ... my advice in the beginning is to either only use the middle chainring or use the middle one and the smaller one ... if you've just got to try the big dog, use it on steep downhills ... if you have fear of downhills, it makes no sense using the large chainring because you won't be peddling anyway ... if anything, you'll be using your brakes ...

so, in the front (left shifter), use the middle chainring the most and maybe the small guy for uphills, riding when you're tired, riding into the wind, or riding on bad surfaces ...

most of the actual shifting you'll do will be on the right side shifter that controls the rear derailleur ... again, the derailleur is a metal housing that the chain passes through ... it moves either left or right as you shift ...

shifting is a little bit art, a little bit science and a little bit individual preference ... good riders shift constantly, especially over changing terrain (i.e. up and down hills), to keep a constant cadence (i.e. rpms) ... don't confuse rpms with speed ... you are not trying to maintain a constant speed ... if you turn the pedals at 80 rpm, your speed will (and should) be different on an uphill than a downhill ... the goal is consistent pedaling cadence ... and that's what shifting is really all about ...

if you're riding along on a flat surface maintaining your cadence with the chain on the middle ring in the front and one of the middle gears in the rear, you might think of this as your baseline setup ... now, imagine that you encounter a very slight uphill incline ... if you push on the pedals with the same force as before and stay in the same gear, there will be more resistance while you're expending the same energy ... the result is that your cadence will decrease (as will your speed) ... you can either increase your level of effort to maintain your cadence OR you can shift to a slightly easier gear ... shifting is preferable ... the goal is not just a consistent cadence but a consistent level of effort as well ... just before you start the slight uphill incline, shift the right shifter (rear gear) to the next larger gear ... this gives you a slightly lower gear ratio (easier) to adjust for the slight uphill ...

as you reach the top of the hill, you need to reverse the process for your descent ... you may find that returning to the original gear position (i.e. the one before you started uphill) would leave you in a gear that provides no pedaling resistance because of the downhill ... this is where familiarity and experience come into play ... perhaps you'll need to move to a gear (in the rear) 2 or 3 gears smaller ... ideally you would shift once, go a few pedals, shift again, go a few pedals, shift again and so on ... most people just jump over a bunch of gears all at once ...

so that's the basics of shifting ... here are a couple of loose ends ...

let's say you're riding on your middle chainring in the front and your largest gear in the rear when you encounter an uphill ... to make the pedaling easier, you usually would shift to a larger gear in the rear ... but you're already on the largest gear ... in that case, you need to shift into a smaller chainring in the front ... and, if the combination of the smallest chainring in the front and the largest chainring in the rear (i.e. your lowest gear) results in inadequate pedal pressure (i.e. you're spinning like crazy and because there's no resistance, you're not getting anywhere), you might have to also shift the right shifter (rear gear) to a harder gear ... that's a "double shift" situation ... to review, if you're on the middle chainring in the front and the largest gear in the rear, you might have to shift to the smallest chainring (easier) in the front and a smaller chainring (harder) in the rear ...

reading this is probably pretty hard to grasp ... when you're off on a flat, no traffic country road, give it a try ... that's the best way to learn ... just remember, large gear in the front is harder; large gear in the rear is easier ... you should be able to actually look at where your chain is on the gears while you're riding (if you're in a safe place) ...

bad gear combinations: some people recommend against using the following gear combinations:
largest in front and largest in rear
smallest in front and smallest in rear ...
they consider it a problem because these combinations put the chain at a very steep angle that can either cause the chain to rub or possibly even come off the gears ...

and finally, it is not a good idea to shift (or to have to shift) while you're crunching on the pedals (especially going uphill) ... when you're applying a lot of force to the pedals (and going very slowly), shifting can result in the chain coming off the gears or even breaking ... sometimes you have to do it but it's better to plan ahead before you end up in too high a gear on an uphill ...

and the safety tip: always apply both brakes with equal pressure to avoid skidding ...

hope this helps and wasn't too confusing ...

on edit: i just reread your post and noticed that you said you have a large and a small shifter on each side of the handlebar ... haven't seen that setup before ... i wonder if the small one shifts the rear derailleur and the large shifts the front ... that would give you full control (i.e. front and rear) on both sides of the handlebar ... let me know how it works when you figure it out ...

[Longhorn]

12. This is so helpful for me!

You should write articles for beginner cyclists like me! I will print your comments and practice on my driveway. I understand the ratio concepts (I teach math at community college) but I've never been strong on physics. ;)

Thanks again! :toast:

[Longhorn]

17. Update.

As I reread your post, WT, I am even more impressed that you took the time to write such helpful and informative instructions for me! Thanks again!

:yourock:

Now that I have a few miles under my belt, what you wrote makes even more sense and I have a pretty good understanding of how the entire shifting thing works. But I'm glad I reread because I picked up even more info that I didn't remember from before. For example, I've found myself trying to stay in the highest front gear as some sort of "badge of honor" while riding my route. But yesterday, I wasn't feeling as strong and did more spinning. I felt a little guilty about it until I reread your advice!

By the way, is there better terminology for all this gear talk, rather than "big one in front and little one in back?" I know you were making it easy for me and I appreciate it but I think I'm ready to learn the proper lingo, if it exists.

My gear set-up is that the big shifter on the left causes me go to to higher gears on the front and the little shifter moves to lower gears. The big shifter on the right goes to lower gears in the back and the little shifter to higher gears. I still have to stop and think about the terms "higher" and "lower" because it's just the opposite of shifting with my car! Why is that? And because of this linear brain of mine, you will never catch me trying to drive cars in England! ;)

Finally, how do I measure cadence? Unfortunately, my bike computer does not measure it. Do I need another contraption? My computer does have a timer so I guess I could try to count for a minute and get a feel for it.

Thanks again! I'm looking forward to my first real ride, 28 miles at the Armadillo Classic on May 8!

[welshTerrier2]

18. data for "crazed cyclists" and my childhood spelling adventure

hi Longhorn ...

it sounds like you're really doing great with your riding ... thanks for the kind words about my earlier post ...

Correction
btw, i found an error in what i wrote ... my original statement on how to determine your lowest gear ratio was:

so, for example, if you have 30 sprockets on the smallest front gear and 15 on the smallest rear gear, your lowest gear ratio is 30:15 or 2:1

the correct statement, however, should have been:

so, for example, if you have 30 sprockets on the smallest front gear and 15 on the largest rear gear, your lowest gear ratio is 30:15 or 2:1

to determine your lowest gear ratio, i.e. the gear you would use on very difficult uphills, divide the number of teeth on the smallest (i.e. easiest) front chainring by the number of teeth on the largest (not smallest) rear gear ... i like to go with a ratio of 1:1 ... some even go with ratios of 1:.75 or lower ...

as far as riding around in your largest chainring, it's fine if you can handle it but just make sure you're not hurting your knees ... remember, the best riders shift constantly to match the terrain and maintain a consistent cadence ... just because you can ride in a high gear doesn't mean it's the best gear ... spinning faster with lower pedal pressure is better than spinning slowly with higher pedal pressure ...

Gear Names and Gear Inches
i'm not really sure of the "official" jargon but i generally call the front gears "chainrings" and the rear gears "gears" ...

as far as "naming" different gear combinations, e.g. middle chainring with 3rd smallest gear, some people use the concept of "gain" or "gear inches" ... they say things like "i use a 40 inch gear on Blueberry Hill Road and a 90 inch gear on the downhill to the lake" ... "gear inches" is the distance the bike will move forward with exactly one revolution of the pedals ... if you want to see a custom gear chart for your bike, go here ==> http://www.bikeschool.com/gearcalc/gear_calc.cgi ... it's important to know the exact size of your wheel when you fill in the information ... btw, for both the chainrings and the gears (i.e. front and back), enter the smallest chainring first and enter the largest gear first ...

most bikes have a range that goes from roughly 30 gear inches up to around 100 gear inches ... if you really want to get that "crazed cyclist" reputation, show the following test to a few friends ... place the bike on a level surface and make a mark just in front of the front wheel to indicate your starting point ... put the bike into your easiest gear combination ... now, using your hand (walking next to the bike), move the pedals exactly one revolution letting the bike move forward ... make another mark just in front of the front wheel as before ... with your 1:1 gear ratio and a 27 inch wheel, the distance the bike moved forward should be exactly 27 inches ... now put the bike in your hardest gear and repeat the test ... if your highest gear ratio is say, 4:1, that gives you 108 (4 times 27 inch wheel) gear inches ... that's the distance the bike should now move with one full revolution of the pedals ... stuff like this usually appeals to "math types and engineers" so i thought you would find it interesting ...

and what's the point of all these metrics? the point is that if you wanted to actually name all your gears, you would rank them according to gear inches or gear ratios ... first gear would be the lowest gear ratio, second gear the next higher and so on ... as indicated in a previous post, you will have a number of identical, or nearly identical gear combinations ... the bottom line is that i don't really name my gears ... about as fancy as i get is to say i'm on the middle one in the front and the second smallest in the back ...

Cadence
very few bike computers have the ability to provide your cadence ... mine does but i broke the cable that goes to the cadence sensor and haven't bothered to replace it ... i'm not sure you really need to get a new computer just for that feature ... incidentally, the way bike computers work is that there is a sensor that "senses" when it passes a magnetic field and there's a separate magnet ... the sensor is usually affixed to part of the bike's frame and a little magnet is usually attached to one of the spokes in your wheel ... this defines the setup to measure your speed and distance ... to measure cadence, you need a second sensor and a second magnet ... the cadence sensor is again attached to part of the bike's frame (i.e. it is stationary - story to follow - see below) but this time the magnet, instead of attaching to the wheel, attaches to one of your pedals ... it's not the speed your wheel is moving but rather the speed the pedals are turning that determines your cadence ...

so, if you're going up a hill in an easy gear at a cadence of say, 60 rpm (pedal revolutions per minute) compared to riding on a level surface in a harder gear at the same cadence, your bike speed will be faster on the level surface (same cadence with higher gear = faster) ... if you think about your gearing in terms of letting the gears "handle the terrain" as much as possible and you try to maintain a consistent cadence, the only variable will be your speed (not your effort). most people don't ride like this however ... most people ride in gears that are too large and at too slow a cadence ... this leads to more rapid fatigue and puts more stress on the knees ... as you get stronger and more aerobically fit, you can go faster by using larger gears or increasing your cadence ... fwiw, great cyclists like Lance Armstrong ride at a very high cadence ... it probably all comes down to striking a balance ...

finally, as far as actually measuring your cadence, a computer is great but probably not really necessary ... once you learn what it feels like, you'll know whether you're spinning in a comfy gear or crunching away with too much force on the pedals ... for starters, it might be good to aim for a cadence of 60 rpms ... you can probably measure this by using a watch or some type of clock on a building or whatever and just counting every time your foot gets to the bottom (or top) of a pedal cycle ... measuring for 30 seconds or a minute should probably give you a pretty good idea ...

i've only done 3 short rides so far this year ... i'm not working right now and i still have no free time ... sheesh ... but starting next week, if it doesn't rain all week, i'll be out there everyday ...

The Great Spelling Test of 1959
and my story about the word: "stationary" ... when i was in third grade, we used to have to memorize "spelling lists" ... one of the words was "stationary" ... the teacher explained that there's stationary with an "a" and stationery with an "e" ... she further explained that the way to remember which one was which was to remember the word "letter" ... you write a letter on stationery with an "e" ... when the day of the big spelling test came, i sat there trying to remember the special word ... did i remember the word was "letter"? nope ... all i could come up with was "paper" ... 50-50 shot ... i blew it ...

[Longhorn]

19. Thanks again, WT!

I really owe you! :hi:

I was hoping there was something like the "Dewey Decimal System" for bikes! If I were to invent one, it would go like this 2-5 means second chain ring, 5th gear. But I guess that would mean different things on different bikes, huh? Oh, well -- so much for the "Longhorn Gear System." ;)

I can't wait to get started counting my cadence and get a feel for focusing more on cadence on my rides. I've been trying to increase my average speed but I always end up making exercise so torturous that I no longer want to do it! So I'm going to "back-spin" a little and give myself some time! How's that?

[Hoping4Change]

14. You may find the following link about knees and biking helpful.

http://www.bicyclesource.com/body/pain/knee-pain.shtml


I had an interesting discussion with a physiotherapist after I injured both knees doing step exercise classes. I expressed surprise to the therapist that my knees would be injured doing step classes given that I am an avid cyclist, my daily round trip commute to work is 16 miles and I've never had knee problems. She said that most knees injuries stem from weak quad muscles and biking doesn't target the specific muscles that stabilize the knee.

She said the reason why step classes were so dangerous to anyone with weak stabilizer muscles is that full body weight gets exerted on each knee during an unnatural movement done at a fast pace which places extreme stress on what is in fact a fragile joint. Lucky for me after doing the prescribed exercises and stopping the classes my knees got completely better.

I mention this because you might perhaps benefit from exercises that gently target the muscles that stabilize the knee.

[Longhorn]

15. Very helpful and informative!

Thanks! I will pay close attention to the suggestions for preventing knee problems! :hi: