New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Widget
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New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:29 am

Hey Guys,

Bought my 1st road bike some time ago (2nd hand) & currently looking to gear some gear for some rides.

My plans for riding will at first be fitness & learning to ride (rode it once.. daaaamn it felt weird lol), but I do want to get into Triathlons (basics Tris at first, then eventually longer ones like IM70.3 down the track)

First is Shoes. I'm actually eyeing off the 2014 Shimano R107, though being a newly release shoe, I haven't read many reviews. Has anyone had experience with the R107 or even the R106? I was originally looking at <$80 shoes, like the R064 or the wiggle DHB road shoe(doesn't support SPD cleats though :/ ), then started looking at the R077/R087/R088, which seem alright, they're around the $80 range, but c r c have their easter sale on at the moment & I can get the R107 for about $101. Any advice on what I should get?

Cleats - these didn't come with my bike, even though my bike came with some Ultegra pedals. I'm considering getting http://www.this link is broken/shimano-spd-sl-cleats-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; the yellow floating cleat, though I have to find out if it's compatible with both the shoe mentioned above and the pedal.

Patches/Tubes - Are there better quality over others? I don't want to spend big $ on top of the line items as I'm just starting out, but I don't want cheap (if you know what I mean). I saw on Wiggle, the "Continental Quality Road Long Valve Inner Tube" which is about $5.50, there seem to be many reviews, but are the cheaper (half the price) ones any worse ?

Tools - I'm not sure about this. I was just going to grab something cheap from ebay as tools can get a bit pricey. Same with tyre levers, I planned on ordering a few of http://www.this link is broken/Thumbs-Up-Tyre-Lever" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , or even $1 levers from ebay.. but being plastic, I'm a little hesitant on what would be strong and what would break. Do you guys have any experience with cheap levers?

I already have a pump, 2x actually. Picked them up from Torpedo7 a few weeks back, they had a sale. I got a GIYO mini floor pump w/guage & a TOPEAK floor pump (about $25 down from $40). Used them, they seem alright, though I felt as though it would of been nice if the floor pump pushed more air, just seemed a little weak.. but did the job :)
On-top of that, I also grabbed a little bag that straps to the top tube/neck of the frame which can hold my phone/keys etc..

Bike also has 2x bottle cages & a light I don't really need at the moment, as no night riding at this stage (getting rather cold :\ )

Am I missing anything else?

In your experience, is there anything you needed on the road that you wish you had but didn't?

Thanks guys :)

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Dragster1
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Dragster1 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:33 pm

The shoes are pretty well entry level which will suit you fine, I own a pair of RO77 which have been fine but I love my Sidis more. I would carry a spare tube plus a puncture repair kit and buy a good quality multi tool with a tyre lever and a chain breaker on it. The less you have to carry on a bike the better. Every one likes to carry their own little things, some people cary chain joiner links and a spare derailleur hanger
Last edited by Dragster1 on Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ozdavo
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby ozdavo » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:00 pm

With shoes I would worry more about fit than anything else. Until you know your size in a particular brand, it's best to buy from your LBS to ensure fit. (Don't try on local & buy online!)
Most tube are fine and IMO forget about patches for road tubes (someone will surly disagree), but I would recommend buying in bulk, which in my experience ensures you never get a flat when you have a bag of 10 spare tubes! Also get CO2 bottles and an adapter for when you need to change a flat on the road, no matter how good your mini pump is it is highly unlikely you will get enough pressure 80-90+psi to get it back where you want it. Cell bikes in Sydney sell them cheaply and are regularly on sale for about $1 each.



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Widget
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:30 pm

Hey, thanks guys :)

I'm planning on a wiggle order soon with that stuff :)
With shoes I would worry more about fit than anything else. Until you know your size in a particular brand
yup, all done :). It feels like a 44 in shimano for me. 45 felt comfy, but a little too much wiggle room in my toes. I haven't seen the 44.5EU, which I think is a size 10US. I wear size 10US running shoes. 44 I think is a 9.7US.
IMO forget about patches for road tubes... I would recommend buying in bulk...ensures you never get a flat when you have a bag of 10 spare tubes!
carrying 10x tubes on your bike, wouldn't that be a bit of a hassle? Why don't you like patches, would it be cheaper to patch a small hole then to buy a new tube? CO2 bottles I've thought about, and I will when I get into Tris, but I might stick with a pump for now, but will definitely keep an eye open for those $1 deals :). Are CO2 cartridges reusable & what would you recommend as the 'gun' to feed the CO2 into the tube?

Also, regarding patching, if you had a tube that received un-repairable damage, could you cut it into squares/circles and use them as patches? or are patches a special material ?

Thanks guys :)

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ozdavo
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby ozdavo » Sun Apr 20, 2014 12:01 am

Lol, I don't carry 10 tubes on the bike, used to carry two, but now usually only one. What I ment is having 10 tubes & CO2's sitting round ready to go, I very very rarely seem to get punctures. (Better touch wood). Like I'm way more likely to give a tube &/or CO2 to someone else on the road. Anyway I use lightweight tubes and find trying to patch them way too much trouble... But I so re-use old tubes for a multitude of uses, like I always have a couple in the back of the ute to use as "occy strap" substitutes.
But really I'm a bargain shopper, so a tube & CO2 costs me about as much as a coffee with way less hassle & I don't have to worry about carrying a pump.
I use this CO2 inflator: http://www.this link is broken/genuine-innovat ... -inflator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Which I find to work really well ever time. I've got another one that sits in the tool box and is not nearly as good, and a heap of times I've seen riding buddies waste a CO2 because they couldn't use their inflator correctly.
One thing to remember is oxygen molecules are much smaller than nitrogen ones (major component of "air"), therefore when inflated with CO2 a tyre will deflate much quicker than usual. So best practice is once you are home, deflate the tyre and re inflate with you main track pump.


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Dragster1
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Dragster1 » Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:48 pm

If you buy a co2 inflator have a few practices first. Have seen a few people blow tyres up and I mean blow up with a bang!. I just use a pump to get me to the servo and top it up there cant be bothered squeezing co2 bottles all round my bike. They are a good idea, quick and no need to kill yourself trying to pump a tyre up in a hurry.

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KGB
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby KGB » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:54 pm

I agree, no need for co2. Mini pump gets me rolling then if I Need to I'll pull into a servo and top up (get a presta-schraeder adaptor from ebay, $1).

I carry 1 spare tube, only a simple mini tool (unless I've fitted new parts and played with setup etc), glueless patches (pretty rubbish but easy out on the road), a pair of tyre levers (michelin or similar, the big flat wide ones) and any random mini pump I grab (blackburn airstick is my fav but at the moment I use a short little cheapie that fits in my jersey).
If I flat once on the road, new tube goes in. 2nd flat, I use a glueless patch and put in a fresh tube at home.
I buy tubes at least 10 at a time, see T7 etc for their bulk lots on special and you'll pay about $2 per tube. They're heavy and cheap quality but I haven't had any fail on me yet - fine for training.


Fit is important with shoes, go with whatever feels best. With cleats, if you haven't used clipless before, go with floating cleats. It allows you to be a little lazy or inaccurate with your positioning at the start until you can ride for a few weeks and dial it in properly.
Image

Widget
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:35 pm

Hey Guys,

TORPEDO7 have these tubes on at the moment, https://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/XC ... -23---40mm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , would they be ok ? ill keep an eye out for the bulk pack deals :)
ozdavo wrote:I use this CO2 inflator: http://www.this link is broken/genuine-innovat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... -inflator/
Doesn't look like the ones available anymore. I'll have a look into the CO2 & the inflators. Can you get one that supports both presta/shrader + threaded/non-threaded cartridges ?

here's my pump :) .. supports both schrader & presta
https://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/GY ... auge-gm-71" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
KGB wrote:glueless patches (pretty rubbish but easy out on the road), a pair of tyre levers (michelin or similar, the big flat wide ones)
Are the slime patches any good ? wiggle also have these which have many reviews
http://www.this link is broken/park-tools-punc ... per-patch/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.this link is broken/park-tools-tl1c-tyre-levers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

what are the wide levers you speak of ?
KGB wrote:With cleats, if you haven't used clipless before, go with floating cleats.
never used cycle shoes before :\. I was checking out http://www.this link is broken/shimano-spd-sl-cleats-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; they have a floating pair.

thanks again guys, really appreciate all the info :)

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KGB
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby KGB » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:57 am

Those are standard road tubes, most likely what you need as long as you don't have deep rims (30mm+). Good price.

I've used the park glueless patches and currently have a stack of muc-off brand from wiggle. Haven't used slimes but I assume they're all pretty similar. They work quickly but won't stand up to road bike pressures for more than a week or two in my experience. Fine by me, its rare for me to get two punctures on a ride so these are really just emergency use.

I'd find you a pic of the levers but my data signal is really bad ATM. Google (images) for "michelin yellow tyre levers". Pedro's "milk levers" are very similar, made from recycled milk bottles but I don't think you can get them any more.
Image

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby trailgumby » Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:59 pm

+1 for the yellow Michelin tyre levers. Better than anything else I've used, including steel-cored ones. Easier to use, better mechanical leverage, more robust. Would be nice if they had a cutout so you could lock them in place with a spoke, but it's not a show-stopper.

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Stuey » Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:34 pm

By the way, I think all Shimano branded shoes come with the yellow cleats supplied.

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ozdavo
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby ozdavo » Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:38 pm

Stuey wrote:By the way, I think all Shimano branded PEDALS come with the yellow cleats supplied.
Fixed that for you ;)


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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Stuey » Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:41 pm

Oops, indeed.

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:55 pm

thanks guys, much appreciated :)

certainly give me somethings to go by :)

any additional comments always welcome

regards,

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Tue Jun 24, 2014 1:53 pm

Hey guys,

I didnt get a round to buying those tubes I listed, but am currently looking at http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/XCT ... -23---48mm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Only problem, I'm not too sure how to read my tires/rims to see if they're compatible :oops:

I took some pics, how do the measurements work ?

Image

Image

jasonc
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby jasonc » Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:04 pm

700x23c is your tyre. you need a tyre for that

e.g. the continental tubes i buy are 700x20-25c
you'll want the PRESTA valve version

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby biker jk » Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:06 pm

Widget wrote:Hey guys,

I didnt get a round to buying those tubes I listed, but am currently looking at http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/XCT ... -23---48mm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Only problem, I'm not too sure how to read my tires/rims to see if they're compatible :oops:

I took some pics, how do the measurements work ?

Image

Image
Those tubes are fine. You have 23mm tyres (note correct spelling) and those tubes will fit tyres from 18-23mm wide. Additionally, those tubes are Presta valve (which is what you require) and 48mm long (so should be fine with your rim depth).

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:31 pm

Thanks guys :)

How does the tyres size and Rim size relate? It looks like the rim says 622/15?

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby harmonix1234 » Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:54 pm

My last two pairs of shimano shors didnt come with ckeats, but my ultegra pedals did.

FTR - I carry (in a little bidon mounted tool box)

- 2 tubes (if i get a flat, i take my punctured tube home and patch it, then put it back in bidon box)

- 2 x 'quality' tyre levers

- multi tool

- mini pump

- 2 x AA batteries for rear light

- laminated id label with emergency contacts

Thats all you need.
When you look at the situation, all you need is enough to get you through your ride, and home. Anything else is overkill.


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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby jasonc » Tue Jun 24, 2014 3:41 pm

harmonix1234 wrote:My last two pairs of shimano shors didnt come with ckeats, but my ultegra pedals did.

FTR - I carry (in a little bidon mounted tool box)

- 2 tubes (if i get a flat, i take my punctured tube home and patch it, then put it back in bidon box)

- 2 x 'quality' tyre levers

- multi tool

- mini pump

- 2 x AA batteries for rear light

- laminated id label with emergency contacts

Thats all you need.
When you look at the situation, all you need is enough to get you through your ride, and home. Anything else is overkill.


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you forgot credit card, transport card and $5 or $10 note to act as a tyre boot

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby jacks1071 » Tue Jun 24, 2014 5:33 pm

ozdavo wrote:With shoes I would worry more about fit than anything else. Until you know your size in a particular brand, it's best to buy from your LBS to ensure fit. (Don't try on local & buy online!)

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What Davo says - get the shoes from a shop that knows how to check the fit. Lower cost shoes will be okay, most important thing is the fit.
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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Duck! » Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:57 am

Widget wrote:How does the tyres size and Rim size relate? It looks like the rim says 622/15?
That's the ETRTO (European Tyre & Rim Technical Organisation)/ISO measurement. 622mm is the bead seat diameter of the rim (measured where the tyre sits on), 15mm is the width of the rim betwwen the inner tips of the beads. Converesely, the tyre says 23-622, meaning it's a 23mm wide tyre with a 622mm bead diameter.

"700c" is a rather anachronistic French designation originating from tyres with a total diameter of roughly 700mm, while the "c" actually refers to a fairly wide profile.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: New Rider gearing up! need advice please :)

Postby Widget » Fri Jun 27, 2014 12:43 pm

Thanks guys :)

Regarding shoes, I ended up getting a pair of SHIMANO SH-R241 from massive sale, about $70ish. They came with some sort of cleat already attached.. Im not sure if they are cleats or just some sort of protective thing.

Image

[EDIT] Looks like they older type of cleat that comes with Shimano shoes. SM-SH31


[EDIT #2} I noticed there's a hold in the top of my shoe (underneath), does anyone know what it's for? Looking inside I see about 3x other drilled holes. kinda like > Image

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