Cycling Tips for new riders / members

One of our more experienced riders, Colin Webster, offers some sound advice for new club members and riders who are just getting started in the world of 2 wheels ...

Introduction

With the influx of new members to the club, male and female, now is the time for more experienced riders in the Woolwich to pass on some of their knowledge and opinions to them. This could help them short-cut the learning curve that we have experienced over the years. To start the ball rolling, or should that be wheel rolling, here are some of mine.

Part One : The Bike

This is the reason we all joined the club in the first place, to ride our bikes faster than we could on our own! Over the last 20 years there have been some incredible improvements in performance by cyclists of all abilities, possibly due to one material – carbon fibre. 10 years ago, a carbon frame would cost £1000 upwards, you can now buy a complete bike with carbon frame and forks for this. These bikes are now actually very good, and reliable. Quality brands like Orbea, Focus, and now Boardman, are used by members of the club over the last few years in all weathers and road conditions.

After the frame, the next piece of equipment that really matters is the wheels. In recent years, the trend has gone from hand built to factory made. Prices are so reasonable for factory built wheels, that in the unlikely event they break, it is cheaper to buy new again, than have them repaired. Top professionals have won some of the biggest races in the world, over the worst roads Belgium and France have to offer, on wheels costing under £400. Campagnolo/Fulcrum and Mavic are all good quality.

Now we move onto the tyres. Clinchers have all but taken over from tubulars for all types of riding except for time trialling and top end (ie.Professional) road/track racing. This is the last component of the bike that is what I would call essential. You really do need to buy the best you can afford here, for the purpose you intend using them for. No point having a £1000+ bike, riding ‘dead slow’ tyres, or puncturing every time you go out. Unfortunately prices in the last 12 months have rocketed on tyres. To extend your tyre use, swap front and rear tyres around after approx 500 miles. Vredestein/Continental/Michelin/Vittoria offer a good range from £15 to £40 per tyre. Go for the 700x23mm size on your road bikes.

The remaining components on your bike are less essential, and depending on your budget. Obviously the more you spend, the lighter your finished bike will be, but the frame, wheels and tyres should be where you spend most of your cash. The trend now is for manufacturers to heavily discount complete bike builds. This normally means they build to a price point, starting with a quality frame, and use differentr groupset/wheel options, to meet that point. This represents great value for money. Just remember to upgrade the tyres asap, as this is one area they do seem to use to get down to these price points.

Part Two - Clothing

Again, massive improvements in materials have resulted in better quality clothing available for us cyclists. The days of soggy wet, and ill-fitting shorts/jerseys have gone. Ask some of our older members about jerseys with front pockets. Just think yourself lucky we don’t have to use them nowdays!!!

Depending on your intended expenditure I would recommend the following;-

• Budget – Lusso offer a great range
• Mid-price – Santini give the big brands something to worry about
• Top Quality – Assos, their shorts are worth every penny on 3-4 hour + rides.

To be fully kitted out, you need a decent pair of shorts, mitts, pair of arm-warmers, knee-warmers, quality base layer, and lightweight waterproof jacket/gilet to go with your Woolwich Jersey! Winter requires a different set of apparel. Keeping warm and dry is vital at this time of the year. There are plenty of wind proof and waterproof jackets and gloves available. You also need a decent pair of overshoes.

Shoes – If you can afford them, a carbon soled pair will make a difference, but fit is most important.

Part Three - Nutrition

Often overlooked, mainly by people who knew no better. The biggest misconception is that you don’t need to drink much during the winter. Your body uses up more energy trying to keep warm than you think. When you get home, check how damp your clothing is/ how dehydrated you are. This is one of the reasons why people ‘blow up’ during the winter club runs, poor re-fueling on the ride.

There is a massive industry that has sprung up over the last ten years with more and more marketing trying to get the point across. Some of this is ‘our brand x is better than brand y’ but, the truth is, they are nearly all a lot better than water, or even worse, running out of water. Aim to start any ride over 40 minutes with at least 250ml of drink. For rides of two hours or more, you might need two bottles or more. You can buy bottles up to 1000ml.

Gels and Energy Bars are worth keeping in your pocket for emergency use on the way home. For winter clubruns I recommend Allsports Winter Training Fuel. For summer it is down to personal taste buds but Maximuscle, SIS, Powerbar, High5 and Isostar all do quality products.