[ghporter]

Considering that it's pretty much impossible for someone of my height to be able to efficiently use a bicycle that you can get from a sporting goods store (Huffy, Murray, etc.), and that my favorite exercise activity is cycling, I've decided to get serious about it, including getting a serious bike. I'm looking at some sort of cross-trail bike from Specialized, not sure which one.

I already understand the need for a real helmet (those sporting goods store helmets from Bike scare me!), decent gloves, and even the padded shorts. But I've never had anyone explain how they wear the shorts-are they specific to a particular kind of undergarment, or do you just not bother? I'm looking at gel-padded gloves, because I'm pretty big and I'll need to control the pressure on my hands-is there some kind of glove that is "best" for a relatively top-heavy (think football player) build kind of guy?

I can do about 8 miles on my Murray off-road bike (using it on the street, mostly) in one run, and by the end of next month I plan on doubling that. Any training advice? What sorts of intervals, combination of flat and hill (I've got plenty of hills around here!), distance drills, etc. work best to go from "can pedal slowly for a long time" to "can pedal pretty fast for a long time"?

[subego]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

are they specific to a particular kind of undergarment, or do you just not bother

Undergarments in bike shorts is a serious no-no.

You go commando or not at all.

Edit: Oh, FWIW, I always imagined you as a more short, slim jet-fighter pilot type than a top-heavy football player type.

[keekeeree]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I'm looking at gel-padded gloves, because I'm pretty big and I'll need to control the pressure on my hands-is there some kind of glove that is "best" for a relatively top-heavy (think football player) build kind of guy?

Gel works pretty good. It allows the padding to be efficient without being too thick. If the padding is too thick, it can be almost as bad as too thin since it can interfere with circulation in the hand.

I can do about 8 miles on my Murray off-road bike (using it on the street, mostly) in one run, and by the end of next month I plan on doubling that.

Simply getting a real bike will probably be enough to get you to this level. It'll be lighter and should be the proper size and adjusted to your fit making you much more efficient.

Any training advice? What sorts of intervals, combination of flat and hill (I've got plenty of hills around here!), distance drills, etc. work best to go from "can pedal slowly for a long time" to "can pedal pretty fast for a long time"?

For a beginning cyclist, I'd recommend the following: in the beginning, the exact intervals or drills aren't as important as you having fun. If you find a good course that offers a variety of terrain and little traffic that you really enjoy riding, you'll be more likely to ride regularly and the getting-in-shape part will happen naturally. Once you have a good base of fitness, then you can explore intervals and drills.

Two pieces of equipment that I'd recommend:

1. a computer for your bike that measures your cadence (revolutions per minute of your pedals)
   - Practice using your gears to find the right resistance level while being able to maintain a cadence of 85 or 90.
2. a heart-rate monitor.
   - if you're serious about getting in shape, this will allow you to be certain that your heart rate is at a level that you'll see benefits without over stressing your heart.

[subego]

Originally Posted by keekeeree 

Four syllables, sounds like "chilly coffee".

Chillicothe? In Illinois?

[vmarks]

Specialized, Cannondale, Klein, Trek, and others all make fine cross-trail bikes.

Consider the material you want, and the fit, more than the brand.

Consider buying a new-old-stock bike for considerable savings. Bike dealers need to make space for new stuff.

Suspension can add some comfort, but it also adds weight. Depending on the design of the rear suspension, you can bio-pace, where the suspension moves with your pedaling, meaning you aren't expending energy efficiently (like, moving forward.)

[Lateralus]

I'm 6'6, so I feel your pain Glenn.

I've been cycling for years. And my steed is a Giant Sedona. Love the little beast.

Actually, I hesitate to even call myself a cyclist. As far as stamina, I have no doubt that I qualify. But as far as equipment... FAIL.

I don't read any cycling material. I don't know any cyclists. I don't have any understanding of regiments or workouts. I don't wear a helmet, special shoes, gloves, have any monitoring equipment, nor do I wear any special clothing. I just throw on a t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants and pedal off for 30 mile runs.

The heart monitor mention has me thinking though. If it is possible to strain your heart, I have no doubt that I've probably done it. I've spent more than my fair share of time on my living room floor trying to recover from sharp pains and funky beats after a stint on the bike.

Something to look into maybe...

[brassplayersrock²]

this might be a good read for those in need of information.

CYCLING PERFORMANCE TIPS - heart rate monitor

[tomato71]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

But I've never had anyone explain how they wear the shorts-are they specific to a particular kind of undergarment, or do you just not bother?

You don't wear underwear with cycling shorts. The point of padded shorts is not so much to provide a cushion but to wick moisture away from your bum. Underwear, especially cotton underwear, tends to hold moisture and as it dries it becomes stiff and rough, causing that ultimate cycling bane, chaffing.

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I'm looking at gel-padded gloves, because I'm pretty big and I'll need to control the pressure on my hands-is there some kind of glove that is "best" for a relatively top-heavy (think football player) build kind of guy?

Gel padded gloves will help, but not as much as shifting your hand position over the course of a long ride. This is in some part why road cyclists use drop handlebars -- because you have lots of places to put your hands: on the top of the bars, on the hoods of the shifters, 'in the drops' etc.

You should really join the forum over here: RoadBikeReview Forums - Powered by vBulletin

[mduell]

For gloves I like my PI Gel Lites.

Padded shorts are supposed to be worn without undergarmets, but it's not really a problem to put boxers under them for short rides. I wear lightweight cargo shorts over them just so I'm not "that guy."

Don't waste your money on a cyclecomputer. A watch or phone and gmaps-pedometer is all you need. You can feel cadence just fine.

For speed, do short (20-30 min) fast rides on flats or moderate hills (sit your butt down!). My current tempo is 7.mumble miles of flats in 25 minutes (3.5 minute mile) and I'm trying to build that to 10 miles (2.5 minute mile) as an end goal.

[Yose]

The best decision I made in the last few years was to never again buy another pair of cycling gloves. Checkout your local sailing store and see what sort of gloves they have - I find they are more comfortable and offer better protection (and last longer, I seem to shred gloves from MEC all too quickly). Also it means I have to buy less stuff between sailing and cycling.

Oh, and I'm a big guy too, on long rides I find my hands get num regardless of the kind of glove I'm wearing or the bike I'm using (Roadie or MTB)... I usually try to shake them out every once and a while to get the blood down to my fingers again.

[Don Pickett]

Large echoing what others have said:

1) No undies under the cycling shorts. The main advantage of cycling shorts is actually lack of chafing and not padding. Wearing undies with the shorts defeats that. Additionally, a trick to make your shorts last longer and remain comfy: after a ride (unless you wash them after every ride) let th soak in a sink full of cold water for about 20 minutes. It is the bacteria which grow in sweat which make clothes smell bad and break down fabric. Additionally, wash the shorts in cold water and let them line dry. Never throw them in the dryer.

2) When you get your new bike, have the bike shop do a Fit Kit on you. They will make sure you are positioned properly on the bike, which will make it more comfortable to ride and help ensure you don't develop any RSIs from improper position.

3) As for training, any cycling mag will have a section on training. That's probably the best place to start.

[OreoCookie]

Bike
It's hard to get a bike without front suspension these days (save for race bikes, of course). If you don't plan on doing trails and trials (which I think you don't, considering the type of bike you're interested in), rear suspension will only waste your energy and add to the cost and the weight of the bike.

Equipment
(i) Helmet. Don't save on this one. Get a new one after each fall (there is a 50 % discount if you send in your old helmet).
(ii) Gloves. I got some nasty scars, because I didn't wear any at one point. Plus, it's more comfortable. I don't have gel-padded gloves, the cushion on mine consists of rubber mesh (= better air flow).
(iii) A bike computer.
(iv) In my experience wearing (tight) underwear is just fine. I use tight boxers, not the tighty wihities my grandfather has. Plus, I find cycling shorts equally comfortable with non-padded regular shorts. In my book, this one is optional.
(v) A bubble for water. This one is only crucial if you do longer tours (2+ hours), otherwise a bottle of water is fine.

[dingster1]

Another suggestion- bikeforums.net.

[Eug]

Agree with most of the above. I'm totally out of shape nowadays, but I used to bike a lot... If you are going off road in terrain that's the least bit technical, I'd get an off-road bike, keep a separate beater bike for the roads. Or you can get a separate pair of wheels for the off-road bike. I did that for many years. (Actually, what I have now is a dedicated mountain bike and a dedicated road bike, but I realize that is too expensive.)

It's basically impossible to get an off-road bike without a front suspension these days, but that's because it's so useful to have. Rear suspension is something I'd avoid, unless you have tons of money, and even then, I'd consider avoiding it. It robs you of power, and adds weight, especially if you're at the lower end of the market.

Do NOT buy the bike online. Get fit at the store. Even then you may have problems getting dialed in.

Get clipless pedals. It makes a huge difference in your riding style and in power transfer, both for off-road and on-road biking. However, clipless pedals make it that much harder to fit the bike.

A bike computer is very helpful. They're relatively inexpensive too if you install it yourself. You can monitor stuff like max speed and average speed, but what is much more useful for me is pedals per minute (cadence). My friend does best at around 80/min, whereas I'm more efficient at 90, even when climbing up hill (sitting down). I also got a heart-rate monitor. It's a bit of a pain sometimes because the sensor may slip, but if it is worn correctly, it can be very useful. I remember when I went on my very first 100 km ride (just about killed me), I went with a couple of hard-core guys who ended up waiting for me all the time. So I kept on speeding up to catch up, and then got fatigued and had to slow back down. Using the heart rate monitor I noticed it was because my heart rate was going well above 170. So, I went back to 160 or less and I could keep a constant pace, even if it wasn't a super fast pace.

P.S. For me, even if I'm just going 45 mins, water alone isn't enough for me. I need to use some source of energy/electrolytes. What I usually do is use diluted Gatorade half-half with water.

[ghporter]

Thanks for the info, folks. I am definitely getting my bike fitted; the store I'm looking at is very much set up for fitting the bike to the rider, and hopefully we'll be getting an appointment this afternoon to have that fitting done. I'm looking at a hard tail bike, and the line I'm looking at seems to all have locking front suspensions, so street/speed work will be more efficient.

In all the years I've been riding with a helmet I haven't had a single spill-though as a kid I was very good at falling and getting myself thrown. But I have recently had an opportunity to spend some time with a few young men who had suffered head injuries from auto accidents, and my old "never touch the motorcycle without already having your helmet on" training has been thoroughly reinforced; I'm not only getting a good helmet, I'm getting one that's going to be very effective in protecting my noggin.

My current bike shorts are showing some age-they are looking faded, but they are still in great condition-having worn "tidy-whities" under them on some rather strenuous rides, I can say that I never suffered chafing from that practice, but did enjoy the (apparent) extra sweat wicking that cotton afforded. However, I can also say that these shorts don't stay in place as well as I'd like when worn over undies, so as soon as I get my new bike, I'm going to change my practices. It also seems that the mundane saddle I've become accustomed to seeing on cheapie bikes is completely unknown at the serious bike shops around, so proper support for the proper spots on my butt is not going to be a problem, but the thicker, padded spots on those shorts will be helpful too.

The glove thing is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. I have carpal-tunnel syndrome, or more properly, I have the after effects of CTS. That makes me very aware of nerve impingement and ways to protect myself from causing it. I already move my hands around on the handlebars on a regular basis-mostly whenever I change from one sort of surface to another, or from level to hills. I'm looking at the gloves as an extra level of protection.

A few years ago, when I was regularly riding my Huffy "trail" bike, I'd do 8 miles on the street in about 30 minutes, three times a week. I'm going to be pretty cautious in this, but I hope to get back to that level pretty quickly. Hopefully that will be a lot easier with a "real" bike, even one that's not really optimized for the street. But it gets hot and dry here, so my 50oz Camelback is going with me whenever I hit the street. I've seen a major difference in my physical performance when I'm properly hydrated compared to when I am not, and I'm not interested in stressing myself that way-I'm going out equipped.

I am going to get a minimal bike computer-not the fancy kind that tells you when to stroke, what your thrust vector is and what the Kowloon stock market is doing at the moment, just a speedometer/odometer device-and I have only just become aware of wireless bike computers. WOW! I've installed wired speedos on a long list of bikes in the past, and they've always been a pain because of that stupid wire. Hallelujah!

Oh, and when I get the bike, I'll post all the specifics here. Thanks again!

[Eug]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

just a speedometer/odometer device

YMMV, but as I said earlier I find the cadence feature equally important to me. And it adds maybe 5-10 bucks to the cost.

[ghporter]

Well the wireless devices I saw are more than minimal speedometer/odometers, I just don't know how much else they do. A cadence function is something I've had to deal with on exercise bikes (used for "fitness testing" in a.... I don't want to go there right now; it wasn't pretty), but I've never used one on the road. If I can get that sort of function then I'll certainly play with it, I'm just not counting that as one of my "must haves."

[MarkLT1]

Another (road) cyclist here, with some opinion for ya.

Many of the decisions you make should be based on what type of cycling you want to do. All road? Get a dedicated road bike. ~75% road, ~25% crushed gravel-type trails? Get a dedicated road bike, with fatter, textured, leak resistant tires (i.e.- specialized All condition Armadillo's). Mostly crushed gravel type riding? Go for a hybrid. Anything more extreme (double track, single track, etc.. ) go for a full on mountain bike. You want to do time trials and/or triathlons, get a tri bike .

When it comes to cycling on the road, you'd be amazed how much more efficient a true road bike is over a hybrid or mountain bike. I mountain biked for years and years, but when I moved to a place that had little good mountain biking terrain, but wonderful areas to road bike, I switched over, and have been having a BLAST since. In fact, my wife and I enjoy road cycling so much, that we are planning on a cycling tour of Scotland this summer- doing 50-70 miles per day, stopping at various castles, etc.. and taking all of our gear in rear-mounted panniers. Once you get the road cycling bug, it is hard to shake!

But back to your questions. As others have mentioned, getting a bike with the proper fit is KEY. Some buying tips:
1) Buy your bike from a local BIKE shop. Not a sporting goods store, not a Ski/patio furniture store that happens to sell bikes (there are many of these), but from a true cycle store that focuses on bikes. You will probably pay slightly more, but they are a) going to have better selection, b) know how to get you into the proper bike, c) usually offer good mechanical services/support for your bike. One thing to take time doing is bike store shopping. Find a place that you are comfortable, and like the people there. See what kind of service they offer along with the bike. I'd cross any shop off the list that doesn't at least offer a free 30-day tune up, as after 30 days, you WILL have to have the bike tuned, as the shift and brake cables tend to stretch as you break the bike in. Build a relationship with the shop- it will make your future purchases/mechanical fixes/etc.. go much smoother.

2) Don't buy the first bike you like, right away. Try out a large assortment of frames/brands. Various bike makers have different opinions on frame geometry. This is why some brands are better for some riders than others. Since you are very tall, this will definitely play a role, as you aren't the "average" biker body. Personally, I have a longer torso than average. Thus, frames by LeMond and Merx tend to fit me very well, as they both use longer top tubes. Something like a Specialized frame will feel cramped, and almost like a time trial bike to me. So get out there, go to good bike shops, and ride everything they have in your size. You can go out and drop $5k on a high end Colonago frame, but if it isn't comfortable, you wont want to ride it. On the other hand, you could spend $400 on a '01 LeMond steel frame (which is heavy but soft) and if it fit you well, would love it. I.E.- fit is KEY.

3) As others have mentioned, after you purchase the bike, do yourself a huge favor and get a professional fitting. They will adjust your seat position, cleats (if you have clipless pedals), handle bars, stem, etc.. This usually runs ~$50 (at least around here) and involves you sitting on your bike, on a trainer for a good 45 minutes to an hour, while they tweak all of the settings on your bike.

4) Seats. Most bikes under about $1200, come with crap seats. Most bikes over $1200 come with the wrong seat for you. Seats are a very personal choice, but can make a WORLD of difference when it comes to longer rides. You really dont want the big, overstuffed, gel padded seats. They just bunch up under your butt, make pedaling difficult, and become uncomfortable to sit on after 30-45 minutes. When you sit down on a bike seat, you will sit on what bikers refer to as your "sit bones". And this is where you will get sore while riding. You want to first find your sit bones (go for an hour long ride, with the stock seat your bike came with, and you'll feel them soon enough). Next, you want to buy a seat that offers good support, and adequate padding, right where your sit bones are, but doesn't have extra padding elsewhere. Many bike seats will allow you to use a bike seat for ~14 days, and be able to return it if it isn't comfortable for you. I went through 6 seats before I found one that works well for me. Now that I have a good seat for my sit bones, being on the bike is MUCH more comfortable.

As for extra gear, I think others covered it pretty well. Padded shorts == good. Underwear under padded shorts == VERY bad. If you are doing slower speed, hybrid/trail biking, you might want to consider mountain biking shorts. They have the padding, but look like a normal short. This lets your bits "breathe" a bit. If, however, you are going the road route, the baggier shorts become a nuisance, as they flap in the wind, slow you down etc.. this is where the tight bike shorts are great. Also, if you are road biking, I always recommend people buy the loudest cycling shirts they can find. People on the road are much more likely to notice bright clothing rather than some dark, plain shirt.

Once you buy all the stuff, you want to do a good training schedule. My suggestion would be this- get a heart rate monitor, and for the first 250-500 miles or so, bike what I refer to as "Guiltily" slow. Try to keep your heart rate under 130 or so (well within your aerobic range, in the prime "fat burning" zone), and just get comfortable on the bike. Try to bike shorter than the distance where you start to feel uncomfortable. The first few weeks you'll probably be having a sore back, etc.. But you'll soon become more comfortable on the bike.

Once you get through these body adjustment miles, then there are countless ways you can go. Pick a goal- do you want to ride some crazy trail? Bike a century? Climb some mountain road near your home? Try to structure training to attain that goal. For example, I am about a week away from being in "comfortable bike shape" after the winter. My wife and I are going to do this Scotland trip in August, and so we set a training goal of doing a fully loaded (30lbs of gear) century (100-mile ride) for the first weekend in July. We are starting to build up miles, get in shape, etc.. Having a goal, weather it be to bike 20 miles, climb a huge hill, or do a 1000km Brevet really helps when it comes to training.

Ok, I've blabbed on enough for now. Just remember- get a bike that fits you, find a comfortable seat, and HAVE FUN!