SUMLON summaries some issues that beginners should pay special attention to when riding on the road bike and provides 10 corresponding cycling suggestions.
1.Go find a local bike shop to buy your first road bike.
For beginners, buying a bike at a local bike shop can have many benefits. The bike shop owner will help you choose a bike for you. He or she will adjust the vehicle to the best state for you according to your body parameters. In most cases, the bike shop owner also offers your vehicle free maintenance for some time. When you have cycling problems or need any bike parts, you can also ask them for help. Finally, they will recommend more suitable road bikes to you according to your needs and budget, so as to avoid some of the losses caused by frequent later bike changes.
2.Before starting the ride, adjust the bike to the best state for you.
It is important for any road cyclist to adjust the right cushion height and angle if he wants to be more comfortable and avoid injury. Sit on the bike seat in the most comfortable position, and then place your right back foot on the pedal and turn the lowest point to ensure that your legs are fully straight. In this way, when you are riding on the sole of the front foot, the joints still have room to bend, and the arm elbow also needs to be bent properly, not very straight. Go do a fitting if possible.
3.Buy some necessary riding gear.
Road cycling looks like it’s a very expensive hobby, but we don’t have to dress up like a Navy SEAL. We recommend that beginners start out by buying a limited range of cycling equipment, including helmets, headlights, gloves, cycling pants, cycling clothes, and portable pumps, which are the basic tools you need most when riding.
4.Join a local cycling club.
This will not only help you get a lot of local news and good cycling routes, but also let you learn a lot of cycling skills and cycling experience as a team. Talking with more professional cyclists will also help you improve your cycling level and ability as soon as possible.
5.Learn to replace the inner tire.
A flat tire is a problem that any rider will encounter. You’re still looking at your own broken bike tire. You don’t know what to do, right? Then you have to learn how to mend the tire and do many exercises at home until you can master it.
6.Learn to use lock shoes and lock tread early.
Lock shoes and lock steps are very helpful for cycling in road cycling sports. Lock shoes and lock steps are almost a sign of whether you are a novice or a veteran. Because of the high speed of road bikes, it is very dangerous if your foot falls off the pedal on a bumpy road, and your body will instantly lose its balance, resulting in a fall. Avoid lock shoes and lock tread. Of course, this is not to say that you use lock shoes and lock after you will not fall, always pay attention to your safety.
7.Learn to use the derailleur gears to assist you in your riding
Speed change during cycling makes cycling more efficient, while protecting the knee from sports injuries. You spent heavily on the road bike variable speed kit and you have to learn to use it. Here’s a speed change tip, where you need to shift gears when your bike doesn’t want to move forward, or when you find yourself stepping on the ground tired.
8.Look for suitable cadence.
The cadence of a road bicycle refers to the number of turns per minute. Because each road bicycle enthusiast’s physical quality and sports foundation is different, it is the most important to find their own cadence. Avoid sports injuries to the knee joint due to excessive force. Studies have shown that the optimal cadence of road bikes should be kept at around 90 per minute, when the lactic acid accumulation of leg muscles will be significantly reduced. You will often see someone riding two hundred miles in a day and still continuing their training the next day, as if their legs didn’t hurt at all. Because the high tread frequency reduces the lactic acid accumulation in the legs when riding, that is to say, as long as you can maintain the high tread frequency, your legs will not feel tired at all, and on the contrary, if the tread frequency is very low, you use a lot of effort every step pedal, this time the lactic acid accumulation will be very severe.
Cadence too low is a special mistake that many novices are prone to make. Veterans will use high frequency for a period of time, so as to discharge the lactic acid accumulated in the legs as soon as possible, so that their leg muscles active again. So, if beginners want to ride farther and smoother, they must find their own cadence, which is very important.
9.Practice some basic skills of cycling.
Most of us have never achieved the professional and physical qualities of the Tour de France competitors, but learning some basic cycling skills is helpful. For example, you should habit yourself to gently pinching the front brake rather than the sudden brake. Always slow down before turning and lift the inner knee, which is more beneficial to keeping your body in balance when turning. Learn some simple team riding gestures, even if you can’t do it yourself, at least you should be able to understand what your teammates are trying to say.
10.Don’t choose a long distance for the first few rides.
After getting a road bike for the first time, many novices often choose a cycling distance beyond their physical limits. Doing this is very harmful to the body. In the geometric setting of the road bicycle, the rider needs to lie prone for a long time. At the same time, the body of the road bicycle does not have any shock absorption device. If the novice, choose the cycling plan of nearly 100 kilometers, often will not have good results.
