[Closed] Lots of newbie roadie questions...

Clothing on the road bike is very important I find, make sure you get a jersey with pockets, and stiff everything in there. You can get loads in there and they are secure and don;t rattle about unlike a saddle bag etc... Plus saddle bags look gay 😉

You'll only need the basics, so:
- Tube
- Patches
- Leavers
- Pump
- Money
- Phone
- Keys
- Allen Keys
- Food

Helmets for the road are also much better ventilated than a mtb helmet so will work far better in the summer months when you get hot.

I'd advise stiff carbon road shoes as well, really does make a difference.

Get lycra as well

From experience of just one ride... chain tool.
Or failing having a chain tool be lucky enough to break down close to the Awesome and helpful Bourton Cycles.

Your kit lists are wholly inadequate if you're intending to stop off at an owl sanctuary. There was a very large thread about this recently. Some people do. 🙂

Multitool, tubes (x2) and tyre levers in saddle bag thing. Lezyne do a neat one that doesnt rattle too much. Pump on the tube. I dont bother taking patches - road tubes are better fixed at home I find.

Phone, drink, food, tea and cake money.

I did ride with my MTB helmet but found the peak got in the way so I got one without, or just remove your peak.

Enjoy, its a different kind of fun.

Apart from the lycra shorts, a decent jersey, some coolmax socks and proper spd-sl shoes, the bits i would recommend are..

-park tyre levers
-spare tube
-small set of allen keys
-small hand pump with co2 to get the tyre up to pressure
-2x water bottles on the bike
-phone
-single form of ID (As i ride on my own a lot)
-£5 in change
-front door key

Decent jerseys have a zipped pocket on the back to put the money, phone, ID and your key.

that's it.

I never eat when on the bike, i struggle to eat it! and i only need it when im doing 50mi+.

Pump - long frame pump naturally attached to the frame.

spare tube, puncture kit, multitool, debit card and about £5 in change - pretty small saddle pack

phone - only take occasionally and goes in jersey pocket if required.

water - bottle(s) in bottle cages.

food - don't normally bother, but if I do it goes in the jersey pocket

Helmet - Again I don't normally bother, but if you're happier wearing the helmet I would wear whatever you have so long as the peak doesn't restrict your vision when you're on the drops. If your bothered about the look then I guess a road specific helmet would be better.

Shoes / pedals - I tried using my mtb shoes and pedals initially and found I was getting a sore foot, changed to road pedals (look keos) and shoes and the problem was solved immediately.

Clotheswise:
I wear a short sleeve road jersey with pockets on the back and armwarmers ( more versatile), bib shorts, nice socks and SPD-SL shoes.

Kitwise:
Mobile phone, debit card and £5 in sandwich bag in pocket, 2 x tubes, tyre levers, multitool and instant patches in another pocket, a bar or two in the last pocket, pump and 2 x bottles on frame.

I use one of the small saddle bags (Topeak) - and I'd rather look gay than have to cart all that stuff in my jersey pockets. I just keep food and money and phone in rear pockets, and the tubes and multitool etc in the saddle bag. Also would be worth getting a small waterproof which squashes up e.g. Montane Featherlite which I would also put in my jersey pockets. If you use arm, knee or leg warmers you may also need jersey pocket space when you take them off.

Suggest also take some KMC powerlinks, a pair of latex gloves for roadside repairs / p*******s, and I also take some Wet Wipes.

Your helmet will be OK if it has a removable peak - otherwise the peak may get in the way of your vision.

I'd pretty much agree with Willie except the saddle bag comment, Gay is a matter of opinion. Decent jerseys have good sized pockets and a zipped one too, but the cheaper ones are a little tight on pocket space. As for the helmet well my Mtb one does just fine and I can't justify the extra dollar on a road specific one, just take the peak off if you must.

Shoes and pedals aren't essential but do make a difference, I've just swapped form CB eggbeater pedals to Shimano 105's and they are quite a bit more comfy on a long day out, especially on the ball (pressure point) of the foot, I did have to get shoes to mind but for me that was always the plan. Ribble were doing 105 pedals for 35 quid last week.

Lycra?? At least a good pair of cycling shorts/bibs. Go easy on the shrink wrapped jersey look though, unless of course it floats your boat

long frame pump naturally attached to the frame.

you are quite clearly mad! :

you want one of these

[img] [/img]

Mammoth airstick sl. Love mine and fits in the jersey pocket and pumps to 160psi (if you need that much!)

I carry:

on frame:
pump (blackburn airstik)
water bottle

small saddle bag:
1 tube
2 levers
topeak chain tool that has 5mm allen key

in pocket on shirt:
phone
money

I wear MTB helmet with peak removed; endura mt500 in nice weather, endura cycling tights in cold weather.

and pumps to 160psi

I have a Topeak Pocket Rocket and whilst I love the jersey-friendly size, it takes ages to pump up a tire. For road use, you want a frame fitting Zefal HPX. I'm tight and use the one from my Brompton.

I generally use my camelbak, but if I don't I put all my tools plus a tube and some food in a 500ml bottle that goes into a rear pocket.

you are quite clearly mad! :

Maybe, but my choice of pump is sound. Long narrow pump gets the tyres back up to full pressure without any real effort, being attached to the frame means it never gets forgotten and keeps jersey pockets empty on most rides.

Cheers for advice people. Gratefully received and keep it coming.

I generally use my camelbak.....

I always wonder why more don't. Guess there must be reason.

I generally use my camelbak.....
I always wonder why more don't. Guess there must be reason.

Riding unencumbered is one of the great joys of road bikes, thats also why I try and keep as much as possible out of jersey pockets. It just feels so much nicer that way.

Couple of tubes, tyre levers, patches and gas inflator and couple of gas cartridges in a small saddle bag. Phone, keys, food and maybe water proof or gilet in jersey pockets. If its a sportive then gels and energy drink powder in zip lock bags in jersey pockets as well. In bottle cages- one bottle of energy drink and maybe one bottle of water as well if its a long ride. I suppose I should take a multitool but road biking is much easier on the bike than MTBing and in many years of road biking I've never needed to fettle my bike mid ride.

No need for a pack- like muppet says road biking means freedom of never having to wear a pack.

welcome to the world of road cycling.

everything you do, and will ever do, is wrong, and will upset/offend lots of people.

try stuff, go with what you think works/looks good. everyone else will hate you no matter what you do.

(you'll have the wrong shoes, your shorts won't match your jersey, you can't wear a short/long sleeve jersey in spring/summer/autumn/winter, your tyres are too wide/narrow, you can't have a bike the same/different colour as your socks, etc. etc.)

I completely forgot!

You need to read this:
http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

Camelbaks are useless for roadies.

Bottles are what you need. With a bottle, you can throw it, squirt it and use it in your defence/attack. With a camelbak your assailant can get hold of you by the straps.

More seriously, along with the stuff others have suggested, I carry a small piece of tyre wall that can be used inside the tyre in the event of a slit.

So is there any preference to pumps? Frame size ones for pushing lots of air or a mini one for ease of carrying?

Looks like I will be selling my Topeak Mountain Morph either way....

I completely forgot!

You need to read this:
http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

Heh.....

RULE 19:
No mountain jerseys or baggies when riding on the road. (Cyclocross is a middle-ground. Best to wear cross-specific kit.)

I assume I will carry this lot through mounting to the frame (pump), saddle bag and zip pockets on the back of a jersey. Is this the usual way or there better options?

spot on and Giro zen has adjustable peak, just lift it so you don't strain your neck looking under it. as for road ettiquette, if you are intending to ride with a club, turning up in mountainbike gear might well result in getting the pee taking out of you (unless you ride them into the tarmac) but solo rides or non club stuff wear what you want/feel comfy in and ignore the snobbery

Rule 29:

Saddle bags have no place on a road bike, and are only acceptable on mountain bikes in extreme cases.

Ditto for frame-mounted pumps. Either Co2 cannisters or mini-pumps should be carried in jersey pockets. The only exception to this rule is to mount a Silca brand frame pump in the rear triangle of the frame, with the rear wheel skewer as the pump mount nob, as demonstrated by members of the 7-Eleven and Ariostea pro cycling teams. As such, a frame pump mounted upside-down and along the left (skewer lever side) seat stay is both old skool and euro and thus acceptable. We restate at this time that said pump may under no circumstances be a Zefal and must be made by Silca.

It is acceptable to gaffer-tape a mini-pump to your frame when no C02 cannisters are available and your pockets are full of spare kit and energy gels. However, the rider should expect to be stopped and questioned and may be required to empty pockets to prove there is no room in them for the pump. Said Silca pump must be fitted with a Campagnolo head

When are you, me, yeti and mol meeting up for a roadie ride then? 😀

I use a tri bag on the frame for bars/energy stuff as i hate my pockets being crammed full of stuff. I usually carry waterproof, pump, tubes, food, money, phone, ipod, tyre levers and money. Depending on time of year, items such as buff, arm/leg warmers, skull cap will often be in pockets...i find the wind chill on the road much higher than mtbing.

When are you, me, yeti and mol meeting up for a roadie ride then?

Well, I am going to be getting to used to a road bike and riding clipped in all for the first time, so once I have mastered that to the point of not falling off all the time then, and only then, will I let you two speed merchants, and molgrips 😉 , have your wicked way with me.

Either Co2 cannisters

Hmm. Seems a bit minimilist.

Heh, i remember getting used to the road bike.... I couldn't make myself take my hand off my bars to get my water bottle so my ex used to hand me his bottle. In my defence, it was extremely windy on my first ride, and i almost got blown off the road.

Did you go for road pedals/shoes or mtb ones?

PS, nice edit, poor mol 😆

Topeak Power 21 multi tool, which comes with a little neoprene pouch. patches and tyre levers and a business card for ID go in there. Plus a tube, that's one jersey side pocket

Mobile, credit card and £10 note go in a little plastic bag. Plus a energy bar and a gel and dinky little pump that's probably useless, that's the other side pocket.

Map in the middle pocket.

Sorted!

I sense a [b]STW[/b] [b]A[/b]udax [b]T[/b]hing gathering...

Jamie... I've only ever done one road ride... y'all be reet.

Did you go for road pedals/shoes

Seeing as the road bike will be my only bike for a while I am going for roadie ones. Just trying to get bike sorted first.

Between a Spesh Allez Elite, Defy 2 and in the name of I WANT ONE NOW....tempted to wander over to halfords and maybe pick up a 2010 Boardman Comp if they have any left.

As above mostly.

Small leyzine multi-tool with chain splitter - small and light, to stop it dragging my jersey down
Phone in baggie
Keys
Debit card and a fiver
Spare tube
Puncture kit
Pump on frame, but mine rattles a bit and I've also lost the bracket so it can go in my jersey too
Two bottles on bike.

I don't always go like this though, sometimes I take a camelbak. Yes, I know...

I also have a different helmet for road (better ventilation) and road shoes/pedals are a major benefit.

I'll be up for a ride when I'm back in the UK unless you want to come to Bavaria 🙂

Top tip though - put a lot of effort into getting the setup right. Road bikes are far less forgiving (ie not at all) of positioning of bars, saddle etc, so be prepared to get numb nuts and then spend some time and money getting the right saddle. Then getting the bars and levers set up correctly is also tough. You may even want differently shaped bars.. it's all worth it though for effortless comfortable miles.

Re pumps, get kevlar belted tyres and you will hardly ever have punctures so you might as well get the smallest pump you can find for the number of times you're going to use it. I've worn out kevlar tyres without having a single puncture.

I sense a STW Audax Thing gathering...

Not ridden the boardman but a friend has one, good bike, light compared to mine too.

For a long solo ride I take the following.

In Saddle Bag: [url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-mini-dx-master-blaster-pump-with-gauge/ ]Pump[/url](solo rides only), [url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/innovations-proflate-16-pump/ ]Co2[/url], [url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-puncture-repair-kit-super-patch/ ]Patches[/url], Tube, [url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/crank-brothers-speed-lever/ ]Speed Lever[/url], Chain Tool, Quick Link.

Jersey is usually empty unless I need arm warmers, buff etc. Food goes in a Tri bag.

One small bottle of water and a larger bottle of Electrolyte as I sweat loads.

Phone and never leave home without [url= http://www.roadid.com/Common/Catalog.aspx?C=RoadID#37 ]this[/url] on.

Get organising then lazy bones!

Yes Boss!

Mol - when are you back in the UK?

I find the only way to be absolutely certain I don't encumber myself with items actually required for self sufficiency is simply to have a team car follow me at all times.

[img] [/img]

(Not my pic, but I do have one of the very same machine outside the cafe in Oudenaarde)

Yes Boss!

A support car would be so nice to have on rides! During my race at the weekend i carried nothing but a water bottle. Was lovely 🙂

Yeti, I'm back end of July. I can organise a Wales ride if you like, might appreciate that given Mrs Grips will be almost ready to pop...

Also back for a fairly long weekend over Easter but we've got a lot to fit in...

On the subject of not carrying much, my fave was at Bristol Bikefest a few years ago. It was hot and dry, I was running tubeless and it was a sub 30 min lap so I just necked energy drink before the lap and rode with nothing but a mini multi tool in the jersey - it was ace 🙂

Reading with interest!

After 4 months umming and ahhing and starting 8 or 10 threads on here to ask about varuious bits, I've got a bunch of roadie parts being delivered to the L(ish)BS on Friday, so I'll be joining Roadie FunTimes. I've decided to try building my own wheels, and taking the Roger Wheelpro route of making my own stand an tools, so it's not going to be rolling for the weekend!

The airstik looks good, but I was skeptical, so went looking for reviews:

The Blackburn AirStik SL is just 16cm long and weighs a paltry 60g so it’s easy to tuck into your pocket as you’re heading out of the door. Unlike many pumps of this size, this one can actually get the job done without too much cursing.

Blackburn claims the AirStik SL delivers 37 percent more air per stroke than comparable pumps and while we didn’t empirically confirm that figure, it does put out a surprising amount of volume for its diminutive length.

Still, the 16cm overall length yields just a 9.5cm-long stroke. After 200 cycles we were still only at 60psi, pump effort got pretty high and our spindly cyclist arms were running out of steam.

A little more effort would bring the pressure up to a more reasonable figure but even without, it’s enough to get you home. Don’t even think about using this on a mountain bike tyre, though – you’ll be pumping away until you can’t feel your arms any more and you still probably won’t have as much air as you want in there.

Downsides include a Presta-only press-on head that requires a fair bit of exposed valve and doesn’t seal as well as lock-on types plus an inverted pump body design that doesn’t leave much room for your non-pumping hand to hold on, especially as efforts increase – we'd recommend using caution when pumping to avoid bending or breaking the valve stem.

Overall, the Blackburn AirStik SL gets the job done in emergencies but you might want to consider something a little more substantial if you anticipate anything more than rare-to-occasional use.

Is that fair?

Blackburn air support road gets the job done for me. It's a bit longer that that airstik but gets up to pressure pretty well.

I'd really like one of the lezyne pumps with a flexible hose, but until my pump breaks I won't be upgrading.

Haha - you claiming the position as head of the convent then DirtyG??

The only way I can see this being settled is a fitness duel of epic proportions!

One of us may not survive...

I'd really like one of the lezyne pumps with a flexible hose, but until my pump breaks I won't be upgrading.

I have one. It's no longer shiny and nice looking (it sits on the commuter year round), but it's excellent and the hose is a life-saver for a perennial valve-stem breaker like me.

No, but i can't be called Boss when you have "head of convent" title can i?

*accepts duel of epic proportion, dons lyrca and drinks coffee*

May the [s]maddest[/s] fittest fair maiden or white knight win

Wow - I must ride underprepared as I seem to take very little. I have:
1 spare tube
2 patches
mini pump on frame
water bottle on frame
tyre levers
multi-tool with chain tool
phone and house key
Admittedly not out doing 100 miles each time but unless you are going so far you need to think about nutrition never found I needed any more than that...

Fopster, that's over-prepared... don't need tyre levers 🙂 Oh and enough patches might just save you a sodding long walk so you might as well take more than two, they weigh naff all.

*stretches and eats cake*

In true gentlemanly fashion... first choice of event is all yours...

I wouldn't listen to any of the posts where they say don't take food! If you're going for anymore than an hour you'll want to take something with you.

I never used o eat on the bike, but was amazed the difference it makes if you eat every 30-45 minutes or so.

I wouldn't listen to any of the posts where they say don't take food! If you're going for anymore than an hour you'll want to take something with you.

Mule bars FTW!

[img] [/img]

The first event will be.... *drum roll*.... a tickling challenge followed by yoga.

*feels sure this is in the bag to me, as i'm not ticklish and have been a yogi for years*

*Is so greatful the challenges aren't running simultaneously*

This all sounds a bit too much like fun though...

Haha, that first sentence nearly made me spit my biscuit over my keyboard 😆

I'm just lulling you into a false sense of security. Its all about the tactics innit?

Lezyne Micro Caddy carries my levers and spare tube, absolutely no rattling around.

Room in there for a multi-tool too though I rarely take one - most likely 'mechanical' will be a puncture, no need for a tool there.

Everything else in jersey pockets - key to the garage, phone, cash, card, flapjacks, inhaler, co2 canisters & inflater. Perhaps an extra tube if I think about it.

I don't keep my drink in my pockets obviously, it's in the bottle in a carbon cage 😉

Going to add a chain tool to my kit list, was out last Sunday after breaking my mtb chain the week before and got The Fear .. was mincing around for the last 15 miles.

I find patches hopeless on 700c tubes, but as said they are so light you might as well pack them.

Topeak RoadMorph for pump duties - works but is a bit bulky.. just about OK in a jersey pump pocket.

BTW, Buzz Bars - little energy bars I found in Waitrose, 3 for £2.50 and absolutely lush.. sort of fudgy nutty fruity thing. Only problem is that they are very high calorie for something so tasty and I keep eating them whilst fettling.