# Just bought my first road bike- Trek 1.1 and pretty excited!



## agrats84 (Mar 17, 2012)

I'm new to road biking, but have been mountain biking on and off for years. I decided it was time to buy a bike exclusively for the road. I went down to the LBS on Saturday and they fit me on a 58cm. I purposely didn't bring my wallet so it would force me to think about it. I couldn't sleep last night thinking about the amount of riding I hope to do and it's not just a phase. I have been averaging 8-10 miles on my mountain bike and that keeps my interest so I figured it was time to pull the trigger.

I'm on a tight budget so what are the must haves? I definitely want some sort of rear LED light, but can they work with an under-seat bag? I have been riding in my MTB shorts and they don't feel all that bad. I'll use them as long as I can until I can get some real shorts (suggestions?), or until my arse get's ridiculously sore. The only gloves I have are for mountain biking so I'll try to figure something out. 

Other than that I'm pretty excited to pick it up tomorrow afternoon and try to get in a 10 miler.

:thumbsup:


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## Tucson_2011 (Nov 10, 2011)

If the MTB shorts were made for biking, they will be just fine. Most bike lights have a clip to go on your belt, backpack or underseat bike bag (since most of them have the fabric loop for the light.)


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

Congratulations!

Around here it's pretty standard for dealers to offer a discount on clothing and accessories at the time of sale, and some dealers extend that to 30 days. And make sure you get the customary free bottles and cages. Won't be the best of either, but it's a start.

Lights are nice and will work with a seat bag depending on how much exposed seat post you have. Some will also mount to a seatstay. Think about the front too.

You'll probably want some sort of onboard pump or CO2 inflator. Your MTB's pump may not get up to sufficient pressure for road tires. Check before you have to fix a flat on the road. And if you're on a budget, a pump is a better value, long-term, since the air is free and so are your efforts pumping. 

Topeak Road Morphs are nice and not too awfully expensive. You can also get extra mounting clips. I have one pump that I switch between my four bikes. (I do the same with their seat bag.)

Don't forget the usual spare tube and patch kit. Your MTB tubes won't work. Patches in road patch kits are a little smaller for the skinnier tubes, but in the end, a patch is a patch. Any will work.

Do you use clipless on your MTB? If so, think about pedals. Many guys, and I'm one of them, use SPDs on their road bikes to avoid having to buy different pairs of shoes.

Gloves are gloves for the most part. Yes, the padding is in different places between road and MTB, but I've never found long-fingered road gloves, so I use MTB gloves for half the year. I really can't tell the difference when nice weather comes and I switch to half-finger road gloves.

You're right about shorts, if you have something, those can wait a bit. When the time comes, AeroTech Designs has nice stuff, inexpensively priced, and made in the USA.

Hope this helps!


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Pics?


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## agrats84 (Mar 17, 2012)

Just picked it up. Since it is an '11, he threw in Shimano pedals to match my current cleats. Road it 5.5 miles home and man what a difference compared to my MTB. I had trouble getting the front to shift but eventually figured out the technique. I'm going to try for a 10 miler tomorrow after work to break it in. 

I forgot to ask the guy- when should I bring it back for its first tune up? 

PS- I need to start accessorizing.


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## TTigg (Sep 9, 2011)

Great looking bike congrats. We're still new to this but have been quite hooked on Trek!


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## heybrady (Jul 3, 2011)

I made the mtb to road move last summer. There is no better feeling than that first time you stand and hammer, the road bike feels like you are being shot out of a cannon. 

If you were doing 10 milers on a mtb you should be able to do 15 no problem on a road bike, maybe more. One bit of advice is to get a computer with cadence and focus on a higher cadence 80rpm+. I found coming from mtb that my cadence was way low.


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## agrats84 (Mar 17, 2012)

Just finished my first real ride EVER - 19.8 miles. My usual afternoon rides have been 8 miles and today I just wanted to get to 10 with the new bike. I got home and my gps said 19.8 and man am I feeling good. I only had to stop at 2 stop signs and it took me 1:26. I'm thinking my next purchase will be a nice set of shorts since I don't have a riding pair.


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## tipstall (Jan 14, 2012)

Looking good. Have fun.


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## MyaLover (Aug 8, 2011)

Excellent! The 2011's are very sharp. You should probably bring it in for a check up after 500 miles just to check on anything that might have stretched or whatever.


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## Andy2302 (Mar 23, 2012)

Interesting thread. Handsome bike. 
Some info here may influence a MTB friend to try road bikes.


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## blitzo (Jun 12, 2011)

That is a nice looking bike. Congrats! I am sure you will enjoy it. I also came over from mountain biking. When I started riding road bikes I also used my mountain bike shorts. Once you start going on longer road rides you will feel the need for real shorts.


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## alien4fish (Mar 3, 2012)

I also added a road bike to the mix,I just picked a pair of CANARI road bike shorts in XXL at sports authority and they are either run big or I am loosing weight cuz I gotta take them back and exchange them for XL. The point being once you get a pair of the road bike shorts OMG whata difference, You dont get all hung up in the saddle like you do with baggy MTB shorts. its just a matter of the right sizing.......


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## karnage (Mar 30, 2012)

nice bike bro.


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## JPinJC (Mar 27, 2012)

Hello all- thank you for the advice and nice bike to Trek owner!

I stopped in a few more stores and found one in on Rt 9 in NJ where they answered my questions about bikes but said they could not recommend one with out a proper appointment with their fitter. I need to give them (Giant/Cannondale) 2 hours and arrive with bike shorts. They will fit about 4 bikes to my size and we take them all for a spin- I pick whichever fits best. I got a very good feel and hope to see them sometime next week and be riding a week from now.

Thanks for the help- it's great to read all of the insight and see others who are also going through the process.


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## tipstall (Jan 14, 2012)

JPinJC said:


> Hello all- thank you for the advice and nice bike to Trek owner!
> 
> I stopped in a few more stores and found one in on Rt 9 in NJ where they answered my questions about bikes but said they could not recommend one with out a proper appointment with their fitter. I need to give them (Giant/Cannondale) 2 hours and arrive with bike shorts. They will fit about 4 bikes to my size and we take them all for a spin- I pick whichever fits best. I got a very good feel and hope to see them sometime next week and be riding a week from now.
> 
> Thanks for the help- it's great to read all of the insight and see others who are also going through the process.


Sounds better than "step a leg over and let me have a look."


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## magic6435 (Mar 31, 2012)

Cool beans. I'm looking at the 1.5 in the very near future.


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## rider9 (May 27, 2011)

Congrats! I hope you've read some safety tips for the road. The rear blinky is a good start, but there are specific road tips that can save your life.

Be visible! - Bright clothes and lights.

Let the cars know where and what you are doing. Use hand signals when changing lanes or turning (or sometimes to let them know you are going straight).

Obey signals and traffic controls (stop signs - I do a California stop [barely stop rolling]).


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## mattky (Jul 9, 2012)

how do you like the shifters on your 1.1?


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## agrats84 (Mar 17, 2012)

mattky said:


> how do you like the shifters on your 1.1?


I dont have anything to compare them to, but they work fine for what I need.


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