20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Vorpal »

I also suggested a bike hub or similar. Though I don't know the Bristol area to make specific recommendations.

I doubt that the OP is ignoring the advice, however. They've got lots of information to process.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Paddywan
Posts: 15
Joined: 3 Apr 2019, 4:35pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Paddywan »

Vorpal wrote:I also suggested a bike hub or similar. Though I don't know the Bristol area to make specific recommendations.

I doubt that the OP is ignoring the advice, however. They've got lots of information to process.


^

I did look and saw friday/saturday sales/auctions every weekend. I will be paying a visit to see what is on offer.
landsurfer
Posts: 5327
Joined: 27 Oct 2012, 9:13pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by landsurfer »

Just ride .... park all the detailed advice ... just ride on a steel bike as much as you can ... eat less .. do more... the only reason i am over weight is because i eat more calories than i burn ... and i burn a lot ... and you have the same issue ... because cycling is a fuel dependant sport / pastime / hobby do not expect to lose a lot of weight if you cycle hundreds of mies ... you will become a member if the "fat but fit" society ... which masks all sorts of serious medical conditions ...

But as His Majesty Merckx says .... Just ride !


:D
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Vorpal »

The other thing about weight, fitness & cycling is that when you start exercising, you will build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Some people actually *gain* weight as a result. A better measure is how you feel and look.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
landsurfer
Posts: 5327
Joined: 27 Oct 2012, 9:13pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by landsurfer »

Vorpal wrote:The other thing about weight, fitness & cycling is that when you start exercising, you will build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Some people actually *gain* weight as a result. A better measure is how you feel and look.


++1 ...
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by thelawnet »

Vorpal wrote:The other thing about weight, fitness & cycling is that when you start exercising, you will build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Some people actually *gain* weight as a result. A better measure is how you feel and look.


Muscle is about 18% denser than fat. Not that much difference.

Even the most extreme muscular cycling physique

Image

designed for pure power on the flat is about 15 stone (at 5'9").

If you continue to eat more than you burn then you will gain weight, but as long as there is a calorie deficit you are going to lose weight.
Paddywan
Posts: 15
Joined: 3 Apr 2019, 4:35pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Paddywan »

So, from what I can tell, If I want a rigid bike then I'm out of luck with Decathlon unless I drop the disc breaks too. Can't say I'm too fond of this option, but the Carrera Subway 1 or 2 supposedly meets these criteria, however there does seem to be somewhat negative feedback from this community. It is cheap enough new that I would be able to afford it and do away with any second hand hassle & me being a novice and not knowing what to look for / how to check the bike over. But similarly, both the Decathlon Rockrider 520 & the Carrera hellcat appear to be a very reasonable price offering front suspension alongside disc breaks.

I'm not entirely sure which I should go for, on one hand it has been recommended that front suspension may do my weight a disservice, but on the other hand I would like a bike to be capable to allow me to try all that cycling has to offer as it has been clearly pointed out that as of this moment, I do not know what I will enjoy the most. Perhaps more to the point, would a bike with front suspension, carrying my sort of weight even be more capable of tackling off-road terrain (nothing extreme)? I feel I am close to making a decision and with these options / price range I would feel most comfortable purchasing new rather than pre-owned.

ohh and a small side note... About these hard soled shoes... I honestly only want hard soles but it seems that they all come with this fancy clip system, which as a complete novice, am rather anxious/afraid of being clipped in and not being able to take my foot out when needed. I honestly don't think this clip system is suited towards me, so what hard-soles would be the best fit for myself, or can i just choose anything to use with normal pedals?

#edit: forgive my ignorance, but even after researching, i'm not entirely sure what the difference between a hub and freewheel is and how that effects me. Do any of the bikes I listed conform to your suggested specification Vorpal?

Again, thanks for the constant advice and guidance. You guys have been a godsend.
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Brucey »

Most past versions of the Subway 1 have had a rear wheel with a screw-on freewheel. This tends to make the rear wheel troublesome if you ride hard/far. I don't know if the current Subway 1 falls into the same category or not. The worst thing about a Subway is often how it is assembled; IME the hubs will not be correctly adjusted , the wheels won't be stress-relieved, and anything else that can be adjusted may not be correctly adjusted. Very many bikes from big outlets are like this; it usually takes a couple of hours in the workshop to turn a POS into a bike that is worth riding.

I'd suggest that for your purposes, suspension is best forgotten about; it will just add cost and weight without providing much benefit.

Re shoes; use what you have to start with, and if that isn't comfortable enough, then look to get something different. If you buy SPD -compatible shoes, you can use these on 'normal' pedals if you like and/or convert to SPD pedals at a later date if it takes your fancy.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by thelawnet »

Brucey wrote:Most past versions of the Subway 1 have had a rear wheel with a screw-on freewheel. This tends to make the rear wheel troublesome if you ride hard/far. I don't know if the current Subway 1 falls into the same category or not.


The current version has a 12-32 8sp hg200 cassette.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/ ... -22-frames

Perfectly serviceable.

Looks like the 2015 model had a cassette as well

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/ ... -18-frames

Previous models (2009) had an SRAM X4 r/d with a cassette

Image

I don't think the 2007 model had a freewheel either

https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category ... ay-1-8831/

Possibly the predecessor 'Carrera Subway' (without the following number) had a freewheel.
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by thelawnet »

Paddywan wrote:ohh and a small side note... About these hard soled shoes... I honestly only want hard soles but it seems that they all come with this fancy clip system, which as a complete novice, am rather anxious/afraid of being clipped in and not being able to take my foot out when needed. I honestly don't think this clip system is suited towards me, so what hard-soles would be the best fit for myself, or can i just choose anything to use with normal pedals?


There are in fact shoes without the cleat system.

E.g.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-gr7-mtb-shoes/

Possibly you can find some shoes in your size reduced to clear, but otherwise £75 seems rather steep to me.

They are called 'flat pedal shoes' and are marketed to MTBers who don't want to be clipped in to pedals.

There doesn't seem to be anything for less than £50

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycling-shoes/ ... -type/?o=2

You can just use a pair of hard-sole trainers for £20 though....
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Jamesh »

Once you get the cycling bug you can buy a pair of flat / SPD combi pedals.
I use them on my winter bike.
Any mtb will need adjustment and maintaining but will be up to carrying you.
The carrera bikes are value tbh and the Halfords staff are generally helpful.

Cheers James
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Vorpal »

Regarding front suspension, it is somewhat down to opinion, but I have several bikes & only one of them has front suspension. I need the front suspension for rough surface and/or long distance off-road. I lock it out otherwise.

For most leisure & utility cycling, it simply isn't necessary. That doesn't mean it's useless, and I expect that quite a few folks find it reduces fatigue on longer rides. But balanced against the extra weight and maintenance, most experienced cyclists only use suspension on off-road bikes. If you add to that, that at lower price points suspension does not have a very good reputation for durability, and you come to why I recommend against it. But like anything else on a bike, if you like it, you can replace it with something better when it breaks. If you don't you can look for a bike without it.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by thirdcrank »

I'd recommend not over-complicating this. The success of your plan to improve your fitness will be decided by your personal commitment rather than the choice of bike. A feasible short-term goal imo would be cycling for all your local journeys. It's easy to spend somebody else's dosh when making recommendations but if you give up the fags, you should be feeling better off immediately. If you can get into the habit of doing local journeys by bike, then very quickly you'll have a much better idea of what suits you in terms of things like on or off road. Pizzaman has been mentioned and he did the End-to-End so anything is achievable - subject to the rider's determination.

On that basis, I'd recommend some sort of hub-geared utility bike. Then, even if you found you enjoyed cycling so much you wanted to ride around the world, you'd still have something suitable for shopping trips at home. I've no knowledge of what's currently available - my catalogue-drooling days are long-gone, but this is the general idea:
https://www.edinburghbicycle.com/shimano-nexus-bikes
Oldjohnw
Posts: 7764
Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Oldjohnw »

thelawnet wrote:
Paddywan wrote:ohh and a small side note... About these hard soled shoes... I honestly only want hard soles but it seems that they all come with this fancy clip system, which as a complete novice, am rather anxious/afraid of being clipped in and not being able to take my foot out when needed. I honestly don't think this clip system is suited towards me, so what hard-soles would be the best fit for myself, or can i just choose anything to use with normal pedals?


There are in fact shoes without the cleat system.

E.g.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-gr7-mtb-shoes/

Possibly you can find some shoes in your size reduced to clear, but otherwise £75 seems rather steep to me.

They are called 'flat pedal shoes' and are marketed to MTBers who don't want to be clipped in to pedals.

There doesn't seem to be anything for less than £50

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycling-shoes/ ... -type/?o=2

You can just use a pair of hard-sole trainers for £20 though....


When I cycled from the 1960s to 1980s I had pedals with leather strapped toe clips. When I resumed cyclng in the early 2000s I had old fashioned ordinary pedals and no fastenings, clips cleats or anything. I wear goretex walking shoes that I use for other activities and have happily remained that way.
John
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: 20st. mid-20's Beginner "cyclist" looking for advice on where to start

Post by Brucey »

thelawnet wrote:
Brucey wrote:Most past versions of the Subway 1 have had a rear wheel with a screw-on freewheel. This tends to make the rear wheel troublesome if you ride hard/far. I don't know if the current Subway 1 falls into the same category or not.



…..Possibly the predecessor 'Carrera Subway' (without the following number) had a freewheel.


I've had about half a dozen subway 1s and they all had screw-on freewheels. The model goes back about 20 years and virtually unused ones of all ages come up for sale quite often. I think that, as a rule, if a subway has disc brakes, it also has a cassette hub.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post Reply