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What To Expect When Buying An Entry Level Road Bike

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! 

So, today I want to talk about what you should expect when buying an entry level road bike.  And when I say entry level I mean a road bike that costs 3, 4 or $500.  These bikes are generally purchased online although it may be possible to find one in a big box store like a Walmart. 

When you purchase a bike online you should expect to have it delivered in a box and that you will be required to complete the build of the bike, which is to say putting on the front wheel, handle bars, pedals and the seat.  Typically the bike is 90% assembled in the box having all control cables connected for you and the rear wheel mounted along with the chain installed.  Generally, you should have no difficulty finish building the bike.

The one thing you may not be able to accomplish is adjusting the derailleurs and brakes, but your local bike shop will be happy to handle that for you and usually charge you less than $50.00

Once the bike is built and the seat and shifting mechanism are adjusted you should expect to have a road bike that operates without problems and will function as well as any bike costing hundreds of dollars more.  That has been my experience and you should expect like wise.

The video below will tell you a bit more.  Enjoy!

#roadbike #cycling    

Road Bike Ride Along Scenic Curves And Roadways

Hello all!  The Road Biker here. As we come to the end of the year, but certainly not the end of the riding season for some of us, I wanted to take a few moments to look back on a few places I rode during what many consider the best time of year to ride, the Autumn.

So, I put together some video clips of curves, turns and roadways I enjoyed riding this year and yes, pumped up the speed to keep things moving in the following video. I invite you to come along for the ride and enjoy this short and colorful video.

#roadbike #cycling

How Often and Why I Ride My Road Bike

How Often and Why I Ride My Road Bike

One of the YouTube channels I watch provided a tip for us road bikers that said we need to learn to relax when we ride.  The tip even mentioned that professional bikers use depressants to help them to relax. Well, don't think I'll be popping any pills anytime soon, but sometimes to help me relax on my ride I will ponder certain questions.  Questions like, "How often and why do I ride"?

I suppose this habit I have of letting things bounce around in my head as I ride is my way of getting to my "moment of Zen", or maybe I just have an active mind.  Anyway, I try to ride 100 miles a week and if I can get in 2 to 3 rides a week I'm happy.  Of course, weather and obligations and previous rides kind of dictate if I hit that mark and sometimes motivate me to ride more or less.

I ride for the exercise, or at least that's how I started out.  Lately, I've let go the idea of "training" rides and now I'm more about just enjoying the ride and reaching a destination that I haven't been to by bike before.

So on this holiday as so many of us reflect on all that contributes to making our lives happy and fulfilled, I know that road biking adds a good measure to my contentment and joy for being alive.

Road Bike Plan Your Ride MapQuest MapMyRide Google

Road Bike Plan Your Ride MapQuest MapMyRide Google

One of the first things we learn as road bikers is to plan where to ride before throwing a leg over our bike.  And in a digital world we rely on the internet, a smart phone app or a GPS device to view, plot and track routes we want to ride. 

I recently wanted to expand a route I sometimes take and decided to check with MapQuest to review a possible additional loop of about a mile and a half to include in my ride.  I had a general sense of the area and wondered if there were roads that I could ride and sure enough MapQuest showed exactly what I hoped to find.  So, I headed off to explore this newly discovered loop only to find that I either missed a fork in the road or a turn I should have taken and ended up on a dead end and on a private road.

I didn't have my phone with me at the time as I was absolutely certain that I knew where I was going and as soon as I got home I pulled up the MapQuest map only to be even more confused.  I thought to check Google Maps and discovered MapQuest was completely wrong.  MapQuest was showing a road that did not exists!

So, the next time you plan a ride and blindly rely on the information provided to you by your choice of technologies I suggest that you might want to check with one other source before taking off. 

 #roadbike #cycling

Road Bike Adjust Saddle Could Use A Tweak

Road Bike Adjust Saddle Could Use A Tweak

If you are a recreational road biker like me and somewhat new or returning to the sport here's a tip for you regarding your saddle position. 

When you first got your bike undoubtedly you had the seat and handlebar positions set for your optimal riding position and comfort.  However, what did you use at the time for determining a base line of your comfort or riding position?  You may have been fortunate to have someone at a local bike shop guide you through the process of fitting the bike to you, or perhaps like me you did a bit of research and adjusted the saddle and handlebars on your own.

Regardless, you are the one who provided the feedback to the shop techie or to yourself as to what felt comfortable to you.  I know I did and without much knowledge back then as to what is correct or comfortable for me. After all this was all new to me at the time.

So, today my tip is to revisit the process you used to set your saddle position back then and don't be afraid to tweak previous settings that you made. I found that after riding for a while I begin to "scooch" forward on the seat because my sitting bones were too high up on the saddle. By moving the saddle away from the handlebars I now have a lot more riding comfort, and I feel like my pedaling has more power,  Its a win win!  You may benefit from doing the same.

 #roadbike #cycling

Road Biker Wheels In Place Of Wings

Road Biker Wheels In Place Of Wings

Any kid growing up who gets his or her first bicycle instinctively knows that this event signals their crossing of some mythical threshold into freedom. Once balance has been mastered and a child first escapes a parent's guiding hand the freedom to fly away takes hold and their journey thru life begins.

There is no invention like that of a bicycle and poets will tell you that the wheels of a bicycle are given to use in place of wings. Every child who rides a bike imagines that they are flying and can travel over the ground ever faster and farther than before, that its possible to sail passed the moon as though they are Elliot from the movie ET.

For us all the sense of freedom and flying that we gained from riding bicycles as children will never be lost.  For those of us who continue to ride we renew our sense of freedom and enjoyment with every turn of our pedals, every spin of our wheels. We still believe we can fly.

 #roadbike #cycling