# New to the road biking hobby



## BakerT474 (Nov 29, 2015)

New guy here and figured I'd introduce myself. For some time I've been looking to pick up a hobby that actually gets me some exercise outside of work. I sit behind a desk all day and it's going to kill me eventually. I began thinking about road biking a few months ago, and it became a quasi-obsession as something I just had to try.

The first step of course was overcoming the spousal objections: 1: I'm liable to be hit by a car. 2: I'm picking up another expensive hobby. Luckily, I was eventually able to bring her over to my side (more on that later.)

After a decent amount of research, I decided to go for a cyclocross bike. I'm currently living in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY, and in addition to some beautiful roads we have hundreds of miles of gravel/grass public trails in the area. A cyclocross bike should give me the flexibility to ride on both.

After reading lots of recommendations on various forums to purchase via a local bike shop vs a large retailer (REI etc..), I stopped by a local Cannondale dealer a few weeks ago hoping to get a discount on a 2015 leftover model. I'm glad I went this route, as I'd have made a terrible purchase decision otherwise. Per Cannondale's sizing recommendations, I'd have purchased a 54cm frame based upon my height. After going through the fitting, it turned out that 51cm was a much more comfortable fit. I ended up picking up a 2015 Cannondale CAADX Sora at a decent discount. 

Ironically, my wife decided she wanted to join in on this hobby as well. She walked out the door with a CAADX Rival. I'm still not sure how she managed to get a much nicer bike than I. I was concerned about buying her a men's bike, but the shop was able to make here very comfortable on it (different stem, saddle etc..)

A few pictures. We actually had a chance to ride these last weekend owing to the unseasonably warm weather.

My Sora










The Rival










Initial impressions:

- Very happy with how the bikes perform on grass and gravel. It's a bit of a bumpy ride, but certainly manageable. 
- On the road they are fantastic. The Sora components are "good enough" until I put more mileage on and can justify upgrading. I was initially concerned about these.
- I dislike the cable disc brakes. These calipers are getting changed to TRP Hy/rd calipers as soon as possible. The Rival hydraulic discs perform much better.

Looking forward to any advice/knowledge the experienced riders can impart. So far the forum has been a great source of info.


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## Fajita Dave (Dec 1, 2015)

Welcome to cycling! I've been mountain biking for five years but just got into road cycling a week ago.

I can't really comment on CX disk brakes. I'm sure they're similar to my MTB disk brakes but can't say which models are good or bad. Hydro brakes are excellent if you get a good brand. Otherwise they can be a huge pain with needing to be bled often with no real gains over a good mechanical set. So do your research before buying a set.


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## kjdhawkhill (Jan 29, 2011)

The number one rule of which bike to buy is - get the one you'll ride the most and I applaud you for getting a bike that can handle the roads and trails in your area. 

I wouldn't worry about Sora not being good enough. Ride it until it breaks. Then replace it. I just took the 9spd 2007 tiagra off my CX bike, but only because I broke a shifter. And for some eBay patience I was able to go to 10spd Force for little more that it would have cost me to replace the shifter and the soon to be worn out cassette. 

And as far as having the more high end stuff for the wife, if it means she enjoys it more and will ride more because of it, then great. 

I haven't spent much time in western NY , but I would love to ride in eastern upstate where my family vacations Lake G/Ticonderoga. I imagine your part of the state to be similar. 

Welcome to the forum and remember, there are a lot of keyboard warriors with strong opinions here. Some are worth reading for their knowledge and some are worth reading for entertainment value.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

Hobby? If you use these devices for fitness, not sure hobby is representative of that which you are new to in this case. Id jogging or hiking really a hobby?

Having blathered that, enjoy! Maybe there is a tandem in your future. My wife has a road, MTN, and we have a Tandem. I love having my sweetie for 35 year as a riding partner. She actually got pretty avid in 2014, but an non cycling related injury made for a less usable 2015 season for her. She likes it better when I am tired from a hard ride the day before, except maybe when we are riding the tandem.

Again, you guys enjoy the activity and each other.


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## BakerT474 (Nov 29, 2015)

kjdhawkhill said:


> I haven't spent much time in western NY , but I would love to ride in eastern upstate where my family vacations Lake G/Ticonderoga. I imagine your part of the state to be similar.
> 
> Welcome to the forum and remember, there are a lot of keyboard warriors with strong opinions here. Some are worth reading for their knowledge and some are worth reading for entertainment value.


I spent quite a few summer vacations as a kid at grandparents place across the lake from Ticonderoga. Beautiful area up there. And yes, in prepared for the keyboard warriors that populate these places. Several years on car forums have prepared me well.




robt57 said:


> Hobby? If you use these devices for fitness, not sure hobby is representative of that which you are new to in this case. Id jogging or hiking really a hobby?
> 
> Having blathered that, enjoy! Maybe there is a tandem in your future. My wife has a road, MTN, and we have a Tandem. I love having my sweetie for 35 year as a riding partner. She actually got pretty avid in 2014, but an non cycling related injury made for a less usable 2015 season for her. She likes it better when I am tired from a hard ride the day before, except maybe when we are riding the tandem.
> 
> Again, you guys enjoy the activity and each other.


Good advice. Hopefully she enjoys it as well and it becomes something we can do for a while. Time will tell.

Took another short ride yesterday and the rear derailleur was bouncing a bit between gears. The low and high gears seem fine, mostly in the middle of the range it gets confused now and again. The bike shop gives me three free tuneups in the first two years, looks like I'll be taking full advantage.


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## ColaJacket (Apr 13, 2015)

BakerT474 said:


> Took another short ride yesterday and the rear derailleur was bouncing a bit between gears. The low and high gears seem fine, mostly in the middle of the range it gets confused now and again. The bike shop gives me three free tuneups in the first two years, looks like I'll be taking full advantage.


Congrats on the bikes! You might end up suffering from N+2 disease instead of N+1 like the rest of us.

Also, regarding the derailleurs, check with your bike shop, as there is often a difference between an adjustment and a tuneup. 

A tune up normally just about breaks down the bike into its components to make sure that the wheel bearing and bottom bracket are cleaned and lubes.

An adjustment is a quick 5-10 minute adjustment of the derailleurs, cables, and brakes. A lot of shops will give you pretty much unlimited adjustments, but a limited number of tuneups. 

And it is normally recommended to take the bike into the shop after about 100-200 miles, because it is normal for new cables to stretch. As they stretch, that means that the bike won't shift quite as well, so you'll need some adjustments to fix that.

GH


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## respro100 (Jul 15, 2014)

Congratulations on the new bikes. They both look great. They will provide both of you many, many miles of enjoyment!


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Congrats on your purchases and welcome to RBR! Good choice on bikes and even better choice going to a LBS (local bike shop), not a big box sport store. Granted that REI is actually one of the better big sports stores, you will never get the service you get from a LBS.

Developing a good relationship with your LBS is extremely valuable. A good LBS knows a whole lot more about fitting than a general sports store. Most will recommend you come in after 200-300 miles to check things out. More important than adjusting shifting is checking torque on bolts - especially in critical areas like stem and crank arms. If anything works lose, it will usually be early on.

There is nothing wrong with Sora. The Rival version was probably last year's (2015) model as I don't see it on Cannondale's website. 2016 CAADXs are all Shimano groupos. And FYI, the only difference between a men's and women's frame is the top tube is proportionally longer on a men's frame. Most women have proportionally longer legs, though not all. Many women fit better on a men's frame.

If you can tolerate the cable brakes, I would ride them into the ground as an upgrade in this area will necessitate new shifters - that will be expensive.

You say the ride off-road was very bumpy. If you are going to be riding on dirt and gravel a lot, you may want to carry less pressure in your tires. Remember that the number on the sidewall is the maximum pressure, not a required pressure. I believe your stock tires are 700x35c. At my weight including my bike, 50 front, 70 rear is plenty of pressure. Here is a link to a site where you can put your weight and tire size and it will come up with recommended pressures. Remember that your weight has to include everything - you, bike, water bottles, etc.:

Bicycle tire pressure calculator 

Wishing you and your wife many fun miles of riding!


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Get rid of the wheel reflectors and spoke protector on the rear wheel. They scream NOOB!


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## BakerT474 (Nov 29, 2015)

Lombard said:


> Congrats on your purchases and welcome to RBR! Good choice on bikes and even better choice going to a LBS (local bike shop), not a big box sport store. Granted that REI is actually one of the better big sports stores, you will never get the service you get from a LBS.
> 
> Developing a good relationship with your LBS is extremely valuable. A good LBS knows a whole lot more about fitting than a general sports store. Most will recommend you come in after 200-300 miles to check things out. More important than adjusting shifting is checking torque on bolts - especially in critical areas like stem and crank arms. If anything works lose, it will usually be early on.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the good advice here, you're right the bikes are both 2015 models. The LBS gave us 25% off as they were leftovers. They seem to be good people there, so I plan on giving them more business when I can.

I'll probably check the torque on the fasteners myself periodically. Plenty of experience working on the various cars so I don't foresee having a hard time with the bike.


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## ex_machina (Oct 20, 2015)

As far as work, how about a standing desk? You can burn several hundred more calories a day, every day, by standing at work. 

Some people stand half a day, others stand the entire day. 

This is one extra way of burning calories without any additional time investment.

Very nice bikes btw.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

pmf said:


> Get rid of the wheel reflectors and spoke protector on the rear wheel. They scream NOOB!




Yeah, and they weigh so much and will slow you down to a crawl.


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## BakerT474 (Nov 29, 2015)

ex_machina said:


> As far as work, how about a standing desk? You can burn several hundred more calories a day, every day, by standing at work.
> 
> Some people stand half a day, others stand the entire day.
> 
> ...


I've thought about a standing desk. It's an option I've been considering.


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## bigjohnla (Mar 29, 2010)

I bought both of my bikes as last year models. The Sora will do just fine, it is quality stuff. My first bike was a Trek 1.2 with 9 speed Sora. I put 4 years and lot of miles on it. Right now, the best thing to do is just get out and ride that puppy as much as you can. I recommend finding a local bike club. We have one in Baton Rouge that is very active and has several rides going every day. We also do a lot of destination rides. We meet at a nice place like a state park or country restaurant and ride. Then we meet back at the start for a meal. My wife enjoys that at lot. It is a fun way to meet people in a nice environment.

In a year or two, if you are still into cycling you can retire it to backup status and get something else. That's what I did. A tune up is usually a thorough going over on the whole bike. Might include new cables, wheel truing, bottom bracket inspection and regreasing. Whereas an adjustment is usually just to a quick trip to the shop to fine tune a problem. I thinker, so I learned how to do minor stuff on my own pretty quickly and am now building wheels and rebuilding old bikes. Great way to detox from the workday rat race.


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