Buying First Road Bike

Pedals. If you are getting "clipless", then you will also need a compatible pair of shoes. If you intend to do any adjustments or maintenance on the bike yourself, you will need to get a set of torque wrenches in both foot-pounds and inch pounds and find out what the torque specifications are for all of your fasteners. A carbon composite frame is easily broken by over torquing fasteners, especially at the seat post clamp area and on the water bottle cage bolts.

Of course you will need to equip your new bike with the same things that you are currently using on the bike that you are riding now. These should include a flat tire repair kit including an inflation device (pump or CO2 inflator), some sort of multi-tool with allen wrenches and screw drivers (and more things that you feel you might need), and a bag or jersey with pockets to carry it all in. Of course I am sure that you already have a helmet and padded cycling shorts. If you don't have a pair, you might consider getting padded gloves. They make a big difference when you start riding long distances as I am sure you will be doing on your Giant.

It sounds like you are getting this bike from a bicycle shop. I hope that they fitted the bicycle to you. Make sure that they throw in a free 30 day tune up to adjust the cable actuated components because the cables will stretch and they will need adjusted. Good luck to you, you won't be disappointed with the Giant Defy 3 you are getting.

Thanks a million for the information. As for the 30 day tune-up, they did throw that in with the purchase of the bike. And a plus, the good Lord smiled down upon me today and I will be picking my bike on 07/22/2011.

You need a saddle or seat bag. Then you need a flat repair kit including glue-less patches from Park, and tire boot patch also from Park, and tire irons. Make sure you know how to fix a flat on the road!! You need a spare tube to keep in the seat bag in it's original box to protect from something in the bag puncturing it. You need a mini tool like the Park MTB3 in case of a mechanical problem. So make sure the bag is large enough to accommodate that stuff. I have a expandable wedge seat bag that carries all that stuff plus an ultralight 700c x 20mm folding tire! I carry an extra tire because I like to ride in far remote areas and in case of a tire failure I don't want to be walking. I also carry spare AA and AAA bats for my flashers, along with ID card and medical ID cards, and $40 cash just in case I need food or whatever. I do carry a cell phone, but my first reaction is not to call home to my wife to come get me, my first reaction is to fix the bike; and after 30 years of riding and marriage I've only had to call her twice, once in the hospital after an accident and once when I got diarrhea really bad and after 13 or 14 bouts I was too weak to make it back home. I've used the phone to help motorists in trouble though and to answer in case my wife calls. I also carry meds for diarrhea, allergy, and pain.

You also need a on the bike pump, don't even bother with cheap pumps they won't reach their claims of 160psi...in fact they won't reach 60 not alone 160! Topeak Road Morph G is a great pump as is the Lezyne Pressure Drive, but Topeak is the better choice because it cost about $30 less and works I think better, and the Topeak comes with a built in air gauge whereas the Lezyne does not but you can spend about $22 for an optional hose with a air gauge but there goes the price up even more.