New to biking

[abc]

If you have Shimano brakes (most likely), the brakes can be open.

There's a little dog-ear thingy right on the one side of the brake caliper that you can rotate, which would open the brake.

Wait, is that a mountain bike or a road bike?

On second thought, I think it would be a better idea you ride the bike to a bike shop and have them show you how to take the front wheel off and put it back on SAFELY. I'm getting a queazy feeling about your front wheel falling off while you're riding it... :(

The front wheel quick release is a deceptively simple thing that has the potential for terrible consequences if you don't put it back on right! Teeth, nose and collar bones are the usual casualty...

 

[Consuela]

Hmmm... yes, putting the wheel back on and rehooking the brake properly is more difficult than taking it off. I still give mine a test spin for rubbing and a good pounding while lifted to make sure it's safe before getting on.

But, once you have the hang of it, it is awesome to be able to throw your bike in the trunk.

 

[SnowHot]

I'm sorry I should probably make a new thread about my tire too.

To clarify:
This thread is likely to be a great thread, in fact I can see it becoming a standard for us to point others to when getting started on a bike.
Anything added that reveals stuff a new biker may be interested in, is a good thing, including but restricted to, gearing, components, tires, saddles, stems, tools..........etc...
The thread drift about sunscreen, though a good discussion, is waaaaay off topic and deserves its own place.

Carry on..........

 

[ski&bfree]

No worries, girl! I found a very cool video for you!

https://www.mountainzone.com/videos/playvideo.asp?vid=28134

Thanks Connie - exactly what I was looking for!

 

[ski&bfree]

Just saw this in another thread:

BTW, BFree, are you getting the "biker tan" by now? That is the front knee to mid-quad and the back calf get tan, while the front shin and back hamstring area stay pale... as well as the lovely sock tan line...

And once you start wearing gloves, you will have that nice tan line, too!

PS. If the others haven't convinced you to wear gloves yet, I will be happy to tell you a story about the first time I got to play trail-medic that will make you get in your car and go buy some tomorrow. That's probably for the "New to Biking" thread, but couldn't resist the shameless plug for safety equipment.

I don't have a need for gloves [yet]. But I am getting the sock tan ha ha! I am also getting a nice tan on my arms...I love it.

I would also like to add I can now, safely and successfully, remove my front bike tire.

 

[SnowHot]

Just saw this in another thread:



I don't have a need for gloves [yet]. But I am getting the sock tan ha ha! I am also getting a nice tan on my arms...I love it.

I would also like to add I can now, safely and successfully, remove my front bike tire.

Pssst, when you invest in your first pair of pitard style gloves, you'll never go back to "no gloves"

 

[Consuela]

Just saw this in another thread:



I don't have a need for gloves [yet]. But I am getting the sock tan ha ha! I am also getting a nice tan on my arms...I love it.

I would also like to add I can now, safely and successfully, remove my front bike tire.

Hi BFree,

Congratulations! That is awesome! So, now we know you are mechanically inclined. Nice!

Please do get some gloves soon. They can even be the kind that have the fingers cut off. Think about what your natural reaction is when you fall. You put your hands out in front of you, right?

Okay, now for my trail-medic story... I did warn you, right? hehe Okay, so I'm riding with a couple of guys from work back in the day... I was a fairly new rider, as was one of the guys. Well, he was a macho guy and "didn't need" helmet, glasses, or gloves. We only had 2 miles left to get back to the car and I was bringing up the rear. I came around a corner to a big huge cloud of dust that I couldn't see through. So, I broke like crazy and stopped just short of the other newbie sprawled out on the ground. Total yard sale, mountain bike style. He was covered in dirt and kind of out of it. So, I carfully hose off likely wound areas with my water bottle to see what the damage is... He's had a huge star shaped gash in his forehead that was starting to swell his eye shut, road rash all over the place, his back, chest, legs, arms, etc... Well, these two guys ride up and hand me a tube of Neosporin and say, "squirt this into his forehead and anywhere else. You need to really press it in there with your finger, okay?" And they ride of... After tending to most of his wounds, I get a look at his palms. The skin is basically flapped open. Dang! We took him to the ER, etc, etc... I was so proud that I kept it together to give him first aid and get him proper medical attention that he needed. But I will tell you, that night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, it was the reoccuring vision of his palms flapping out and packing them with neosporin and then hearing him scream from the waiting room while they scubbed them out that made me shudder and wince half the night.

He was out from work for a couple weeks. And, seriously, if he had been wearing a helmet, glasses, and gloves, he would have been in a lot better shape. These three are all more important that a bike computer, if funds are tight.

Okay, preaching over.

 

[ski&bfree]

The skin is basically flapped open. Dang!

.....ugh! I just got a shiver. Live and learn, right?

He was out from work for a couple weeks. And, seriously, if he had been wearing a helmet, glasses, and gloves, he would have been in a lot better shape. These three are all more important that a bike computer, if funds are tight.

Definitely. I see the importance in them. I am currently using my brother's Trek helmet (he used to bike) but w/out gloves I'm slowly building up my bike gear and such (clothes etc...). I can't seem to stop spending money ha ha and I'm currently looking for a pair of roller blades too...it never stops!

 

[Consuela]

Definitely. I see the importance in them. I am currently using my brother's Trek helmet (he used to bike) but w/out gloves I'm slowly building up my bike gear and such (clothes etc...). I can't seem to stop spending money ha ha and I'm currently looking for a pair of roller blades too...it never stops!

Yeah, it's hard to keep the buying at bay sometimes, huh? I want a new bike so bad, that I even had a dream about practicing carving corners on a cool burm with a sweet full suspesion bike last night! All night long, too! hehe It's in next year's budget, but I'm obsessed with searching Craigslist.com for a good deal anyway. Sometimes I'm a silly gal.

Rollerblading, too? Wow, you are totally getting off the bench, aren't you? That is so awesome!

 

[Robyn]

Haha, s&bfree you have the bug. I am currently obsessing over a new road bike. Not in the budget until holiday bonus time but eventually it will be there. Tomorrow I'm trying out my aunt's roadie (a LeMond steel for anyone who cares) and just keep picturing myself blowing by all the other bikes that have been passing me on my mountain bike. :D My group leader/coach is soooo excited for me 'cause she knows this means I have SPEED!

As much as I love my cyclometer there are things I put before it in importance for sure.

1. Helmet. Won't mount my bike without it on. Period.
2. Gloves. I have sensitive hands with tendonititis issues so these are a must. Just bought a new pair with extra padding a few weeks ago.
3. Sunglasses. I can't stand the wind/dirt/sun in my eyes so I don't ride without these either.

Isn't it fun when you discover a new passion? :D

 

[abc]

If I'm in a hurry to get on my bike to go somewhere close by, I might skip some of the stuff...

So, this is the order of priority of my "stuff":

1) Glasses - clear or dark but definitely UV protection. Can't stand dirts/sands in my eyes. Can't ride without them. Not even a couple blocks.
2) Padded shorts - anything but to the corner coffee shop
3) Helmets - anything longer than a mile that has traffic. Usually, if I go to the trouble of changing into cycling shorts, I'll bother with a helmet.

The above are for short "jaunts". For longer, "real" rides, add:

4) Bike shoes - I have a platformed SPD so I can ride with normal shoes to the corner store. But any REAL ride, I'll use "real" cycling shoes
5) "full kit" - which includes jersey and gloves

6) At this point, water bottle and sunscreen are a must. So is the rest...

7) The pump "lives" on the bike, so does a small repair kit in a saddle bag, which has also a spare tube and a copy of my id and health insurance card.
8) Add a banana and a power bar, grab some moeny out of my wallet, and the appropriate maps, I'm golden for 100 miles!

If I'm mountain biking, there're a bunch of things (mostly tools and first aid kit) that also "lives" in the camelpak. Grab that, I'm all ready to go for a 20 miles spin of single tracks!

 

[Consuela]

Tomorrow I'm trying out my aunt's roadie (a LeMond steel for anyone who cares) and just keep picturing myself blowing by all the other bikes that have been passing me on my mountain bike. :D My group leader/coach is soooo excited for me 'cause she knows this means I have SPEED!

Yea! You are going to be sooo fast! I hope you post a Trip Report for us.

 

[Robyn]

Yea! You are going to be sooo fast! I hope you post a Trip Report for us.

:D I'll post something this afternoon after I get home from my open water swim this afternoon.

 

[SnowHot]

Ski&B....
Just thinking of the trail rash I'd have had on my hand during my recent crash, had I not been wearing gloves, Ugh!
Not to mention that I got my black eye from the impact of my sunglasses against my face. Good news is that, without sunglasses, my eye would have been filled with sand and crud. Black eye = good
Eye filled with sand = Bad

 

[altagirl]

Appropriate clothing (including gloves, eye protection, etc) is always a good idea.

Makes me think about how last year my husband was out riding a local trail - it's got a long descent that's like a gravel road with some bigger rocks in it. He came up on a girl who had apparently been riding in a tube top... and endoed, flying over the bars...

The top slid down to her waist the second she hit the dirt and she stood up with gravel embedded in her boobs, bleeding all over the place. I can't even imagine. I mean - I've had to dig gravel out of my knees and elbows before but OMG.

Wear real clothes. And get a pair of gloves (I strongly recommend full fingered ones). You can find them cheap - it's worth it. Looks like there are plenty on ebay that would be $7 shipped.

 

[itri]

OMG. Bloody boobs?? And who the heck rides in a tube top anyway?

I will confess that I have a super-cute halter top, but it IS a cycling top, at least!

 

[Consuela]

He came up on a girl who had apparently been riding in a tube top... and endoed, flying over the bars...

The top slid down to her waist the second she hit the dirt and she stood up with gravel embedded in her boobs, bleeding all over the place.

Ouch! There is so much that could be said about tube tops, that I will just leave it at that... Ouch!

 

[ski&bfree]

Good news girlies -- I bought my first cyclometer (and attached it myself, too...wooo hooo!)

It's a Bell brand, very basic (according to the sales guy) and excellent for my needs. I was looking at a "better" one that had a calorie counter and all that extra jazz, but it just seemed too complicated and too much involved for what I was looking for. The one I bought has an odometer, trip meter, max & avg speed and trip timer. I was so amazed that it had all that too. I was basically looking for one that counted how many km/miles traveled (I guess they don't make them THAT basic haha). And as I stated above, I put it on myself! I am going to give it a spin in about 15 mins or so!

 

[itri]

Excellent! That's really all you need. That's all mine has, and I haven't ever needed more. Of course, about a month after I got it, I got a Garmin Forerunner (GPS) so half the time I forget to even turn my bike computer on now , I just look at the Garmin.

 

[ski&bfree]

Yeah, it's hard to keep the buying at bay sometimes, huh? I want a new bike so bad, that I even had a dream about practicing carving corners on a cool burm with a sweet full suspesion bike last night! All night long, too! hehe It's in next year's budget, but I'm obsessed with searching Craigslist.com for a good deal anyway. Sometimes I'm a silly gal.

lol @ the dream! I haven't gotten that far with my rollerblades but I know it's coming...I've never been on craigslist.com. Is that an American thing (no rudeness intended)? I know kijiji and a few local sites but not "craigslist".

To answer the other girls: it seems like the most important things to have on you while biking are your helmet, glasses and gloves. Although a small first aid kit and a road id seems like it belongs in that list as well (not to get TOO off topic, but awhile back I think I saw someone post something about that road id thing. I am really interested in getting one, do you know if you can buy just one or do you have to put in a multiple order?)
I don't have my own little bike pump, but I do have one in the car that plugs into the gas liter and will pump just about anything.