Went to test ride a few road bikes just now. I'm cruising around, upshifting like a pro. I was ready for the Tour!
Until I realized I couldn't figure out how the hell I'm supposed to downshift. I sat there trying all sorts of stuff until my head started smoking. I finally had to pull into the shop and sheepishly ask the salesman.
It turns out, while upshifting is accomplished by an obvious lever, you downshift by moving the whole brake lever to the side. Doh!
Damn roadies. It's nothing like grip shift on my mountain bike 😉
Went to test ride a few road bikes just now. I'm cruising around, upshifting like a pro. I was ready for the Tour!
Until I realized I couldn't figure out how the hell I'm supposed to downshift. I sat there trying all sorts of stuff until my head started smoking. I finally had to pull into the shop and sheepishly ask the salesman.
It turns out, while upshifting is accomplished by an obvious lever, you downshift by moving the whole brake lever to the side. Doh!
Damn roadies. It's nothing like grip shift on my mountain bike 😉
First mistake,not knowing,second mistake,admitting it. Small stuff, it will make you want to learn more. Everybody started somewhere,sometime. I started a long time ago. Upside..I know a few things....downside...some of the things I learned are obsolete for a lot of people,like toe clips and tube shifts. Another downside...being older. Count your blessings, shifters are easy but ridding like an animal is tough.
Get lean, mean and get better. Best advise in the world!
I'm a pretty serious mountain biker but today was my first time on a modern road bike. So you can imagine how mortified I was at such a silly problem ;-)
I tested a Litespeed Tuscany today. I enjoyed it a lot. Very quick bike. Some may say it's too much bike for my first, but my mountain bike is Ti and I can't imagine buying anything else for the road.
I don't have the time any more to load up the car and drive to the trails as much as I used to. I like the idea of just taking off from my house on the bike.
The other thing is, there's a motorcycle hang out about 30 miles up in the mountains above my house. We get roadies up there and I am awe struck. I admire the hell out of those guys that can climb that far. That's my goal.
When I first started working at a bike shop, I was hardcore into bmx-ing and fixed gear bikes. I didn't care about shifting or road biking. I sold tons of road bikes to people but then someone asked me how to shift. And I couldn't answer his question.
It happens... Since then I've kept my other bikes and love road biking. Shifting is soooo nice, haha.
I'm a pretty serious mountain biker but today was my first time on a modern road bike. So you can imagine how mortified I was at such a silly problem ;-)
I tested a Litespeed Tuscany today. I enjoyed it a lot. Very quick bike. Some may say it's too much bike for my first, but my mountain bike is Ti and I can't imagine buying anything else for the road.
I don't have the time any more to load up the car and drive to the trails as much as I used to. I like the idea of just taking off from my house on the bike.
The other thing is, there's a motorcycle hang out about 30 miles up in the mountains above my house. We get roadies up there and I am awe struck. I admire the hell out of those guys that can climb that far. That's my goal.
We used to load up the bikes and drive ,but I have slowly broken my wife into cycling,little by little, and she is now an animal at times. So we go from home which is steep. I remember when I shifted with a club that I beat over the stone wheels of the cave bike.Just kidding! I am fortuante in a way that I live in mountain country and have the opportunity to climb always. The secret is to climb a lot and lose as much fat as possible. Every pound makes a difference. The last ingredient is to "just have fun". Pedal hard ,kick ass and have fun!
One thing you should be prepared for when moving from mtb to the road - sooner or later you will get humbled by a serious climb.
The mtb is mostly short bursts of strength - a quick sprint to the top, then coasting. On the road, you can be climbing for half an hour or more.
I thought I was hot stuff when I got off the mtb and started road riding a few years back, until a couple of roadies took me out and showed me a real hill. Before too long, I started to build up the endurance needed for long climbs, but that first hill was most humbling.
I wasn't going to volunteer this, but last time I rode we shifted from the downtube. I walked into my LBS like I was Greg Lemmond returning for another try at theTour and had to ask how the gear "thingies" worked. After ridding a few bikes I got the hang of it and was powering across the parking lot without a problem.
I have been riding with them for what? about a decade or so? The big problem I have is trying to downshift while I brake. Doing both takes some finesse. Not a natural movement.
One thing you should be prepared for when moving from mtb to the road - sooner or later you will get humbled by a serious climb.
The mtb is mostly short bursts of strength - a quick sprint to the top, then coasting. On the road, you can be climbing for half an hour or more.
I thought I was hot stuff when I got off the mtb and started road riding a few years back, until a couple of roadies took me out and showed me a real hill. Before too long, I started to build up the endurance needed for long climbs, but that first hill was most humbling.
Its interesting that you bring this up. I'm not sure what to expect when it comes to climbing on a road bike. I've done a lot of fire road climbs on my MTB and I enjoy extended climbing. I'll be honest, I'm thinking a road bike might be easier to climb on because of the paved roads and skinny tires and the momentum they allow. I could be completely wrong about that. The double chain ring does intimidate me, however. I know I'm going to be wishing for more gears for awhile ;-)
That said, even the longest fire roads are what, 10-15 miles? These dudes that climb 30 miles to the motorcycle hangout I mentioned are ridiculous. I know I won't be able to do that until I get some miles under my tires.
I wasn't going to volunteer this, but last time I rode we shifted from the downtube. I walked into my LBS like I was Greg Lemmond returning for another try at theTour and had to ask how the gear "thingies" worked. After ridding a few bikes I got the hang of it and was powering across the parking lot without a problem.
Eric
Heh, excatly. The last road bike I spent any time on had the downtube shifters. I was completely lost with those fancy Ultegra 10 things.
Once the guy told me how to use them it was ok but it really doesn't feel natural shifting that way. I'll no doubt get used to it with time.
