Finding or buying a bicycle for the first time

Look in your garage and see if you can find an old bicycle. Do you have a mountain-bike that is up in the attic? If you do, then you will need to take it down to the bicycle shop to get it looked over. Your mechanic will check the brakes, oil the chain, check the steering, refresh old tyres and give you extra tips on how to get started. Don’t forget that you will need a helmet too.

Biking will take you to new places...

If you plan to buy a new bicycle, I recommend going along to your local specialist shop. This is probably better at this stage than buying on-line because you need some good personal advice about what to buy. The most important aspect of successful and fun bicycle riding is to find a bicycle that fits you properly.

Your local bicycle store will advise you which type of bicycle is best for your level of fitness and budget. I suggest a mountain bicycle in the beginning stages if you are really new to riding a bicycle. This will give you a more upright position and you will feel more stable than on a thin-wheeled road-racer. Your dealer should explain to you how to use the gears. This may seem daunting, but believe me it is much easier than driving your car!

If in the distant past you’ve ridden a road bicycle, or feel you would like to upgrade to one, then go ahead! A road bicycle is made specially for the road. It has those classic curly handlebars and very thin tyres. Road biking will take you further; it is also faster and lighter than a mountain bicycle. The only real difficulty is ensuring you fit such a bicycle well.

A reputable dealer will be able to give you a proper fitting test. Usually the price is absorbed within the overall cost of the bicycle. If you have to pay, it should be no more than £30 or $45. You will be weighed and you will have various measurements taken. You may then be asked to sit on a model of a bicycle linked up to a computer which sets up your calculated position. Remember that a computer is only a computer and that it is YOU at the end of the day who has the final say on your bicycle set up.

What price range should I look at to begin with?

The cost of a new road or mountain bike for a beginner could be in the range of £400-600 or $600 to $900. For this money you should get a reasonable quality bicycle with a full 9 ‘cog-wheels’ on the back wheel, and two durable wheels. This may seem a lot of money, but top of the range road racing bicycles cost in the region of £1,800-3000 or $2700-$4500. Just a pair of racing wheels could cost around £600 or $900 in total, which are bought separately by the racing enthusiast! OK, I hear you muttering, “But that’s almost the price of a second hand car!”

What about the pedals? How do I cycle being fixed to the pedals?

Pedals are quite an issue with all ability-levels and types of cycling. As a beginner your bicycle shop will probably select your pedals automatically for you. But in part it will depend on how confident you are about riding your bicycle. If you are totally new to riding a bicycle, then I suggest normal flat pedals and you wear trainers whilst you take time to learn to ride the bicycle safely.

If on the other hand you want to have your cycle-shoes attached to the pedals, then that’s fine too. Pedals like this may confusingly be called, “clipless pedals”. This term is used because in the old days the pedal arrangement was that the foot was strapped in using leather straps with clips, which you unfastened when you wanted to put your foot down.

Cafe stops - part of the fun of the Sunday bike ride!

Nowadays the pedal function has changed and we don’t use straps with clips, but we ‘click in and out’ of a shoe-to-pedal binding, similar to a ski binding. As there aren’t any ‘clips’ any more, they are called “clipless pedals”!

If you chose clipless pedals, you will need special cycle shoes to use with them. Your dealer should show you a range of shoes that are compatible with the pedals. He should explain that the underside of the shoe has a plastic plate attached to it. This plate is attached by metal screws that fix the plate to the sole of the shoe. You can adjust the plate to fit your foot position, although nowadays the shoes and plate are becoming more flexible to allow for free lateral (twisting) movement.

Cycling in clipless pedals takes a little getting used to. But once mastered you will not even notice being fastened in. You need a quiet road to practice in, and even room to fall – so wear your helmet. Your bicycle dealer should explain to you how to click in and out. It is easy to understand, but you will need to practice. I suggest concentrating on one side first with the other side wearing a trainer. Once you’re confident about the one side, try both sides clipped in. You will get it together by the end of the week, although you’ll have to make an effort to remember to unclip one side before coming to a halt.

A good tip is to always look up to watch where you are going when putting your foot in the pedal – remember your car driving lessons when the instructor told you never to look down at the gears. This is the same principle! Keep practicing…. Note that with clipless pedals you can pedal along with one foot only – and as you’ll need to do this from time to time, practice it.

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