11 Most Useful Beginner Bike Tips Seasoned Cyclists Will Preach to You

a cyclist we can be extremely opinionated and not be afraid to tell you that we think that your opinion is flat out wrong and when people first get into cycling we all do this we all make mistakes and oftentimes more experienced cyclists have to tell us what we're doing wrong but that doesn't mean they're going to be nice about it so I'm here to try to be nice about it because a lot of times what experience cyclists have to say are actually useful but it's not useful if it falls on deaf ears so here are 11 useful beginner bike tips that experienced cyclists will incessantly preach to you well this first one might even just be from your mom but wear a helmet biking is one of the hobbies that can actually kill you well usually it's not the biking that kills you it's getting hit by a car that kills you but semantics accidents happen I don't plan to have them well that's why they're called accidents and sometimes when you're on your bike and you have an accident your head hits something harder than your head like the pavement or a car more experienced cyclists might also tell you that your helmet straps are too loose and that you need to tighten them because a helmet is not going to protect you very much in a crash if it's all bobbling around your head it's got to be snug so that I can protect the delicious juicy brain inside of your Noggin we might also tell you that your saddle is too low and it's called a saddle not a seat because a seat fully supports your weight in the saddle only partially supports your weight but a lot of beginner cyclists like to keep their Saddles lower than optimal because it's more comfortable to get on and off the bike but when you're doing that you're not fully extending your leg during the pedal stroke you're not activating all the muscles that you can be doing basically if your saddle's too low it's going to feel like your bike is a lot heavier and a lot more sluggish and you're going to be a lot slower than you should be but if you raise your saddle so they appropriate height and you're able to get a complete downward pedal stroke with all the muscles in your legs it actually feels like your bike is getting lighter and that you're just automatically going a whole lot faster and I know it can be uncomfortable at first to get used to having a high saddle or you have to essentially jump on and off the bike depending on your bike fit but it's definitely worth it in the long run if you can get used to it it just makes cycling a whole lot more fun and I take a very trial and error approach to bike fits so the way that I find my correct saddle height is by starting it off a little too low which is what most people will be doing and then just riding my bike around for about five to ten miles at a time and raising it by maybe an inch two centimeters at a time and keep doing that until I feel like I have to over stretch to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke and then I'll go down maybe half an inch to an inch long to two centimeters if you just do that you'll be at your pre the optimal saddle height and be going as fast as you should be your frame set is too small and sometimes and not as often your frame set is too big fit is the most important aspect of your bike when it comes to how fast you are and how comfortable you are a lot of beginner cyclists oftentimes get on frame sets that are too small for them myself included my first frame set was one size too small for me because a lot of people's incorrectly uh choose a frame set size on standover height which is how much clearance you have between your crotch and the top tube when you're standing over it and a lot of people like to have about two inches I know forgive me for being so crass but you're getting a sneak peek of my only fans that doesn't exist a lot of people like to have about two inches of standover height from their junk to their top tube so that makes it more comfortable getting on and off the bike but this is entirely incorrect way to size the bike the correct way to size a bike is the top tube length this is the most important measurement on the bike because if you're standing over a bike say out of red light or just getting on and off you could just lean the bike and get a lot more clearance between junk in the top tube it's not a big deal but the top two blank is a lot more important because you have a lot more adjustability with your seat post up and down than you do with your stem you have to completely replace your stem if you want to change your stem length which is the most important measurement for Comfort your reach and even then there's only a limited amount of length rather than raising your seat post which has a lot of adjustability top tube length also affects the biomechanics of your bike your pedaling angle all this good stuff and the best way to find out whether a frame set actually fits you is to go through this bike fit calculator I have Linked In the description I've used it for myself I've used it for a lot of friends it works out pretty well every time you do need a friend and a tape measure to help you with it though but if you solely base your frame set size on your standover height you're probably going to get on a wrong sized frame set it's like buying a pair of pants just from the leg length and not considering the waist size at all it's like yeah it might work out but probably not but if you can't afford another frame set at the moment it's fine just keep riding your bike keep having fun and that should be a upgrade to consider down the line once you can afford it but it's also possible to get a frame set that is too big for you this happens a lot of times for shorter Rider to say like five foot two and under a lot of times these Riders have difficulty finding frame sets that are their size because I don't know why but the bike industry just doesn't really make bikes for riders that size but if you're on the shorter end of the spectrum it's is kind of hard to find a frame set that fits you appropriately and it kind of sucks and they should really fix that bike makers or Wabi Cycles the sponsor of this video does make a smaller frame set for people five foot and under check them out Linked In the description experienced cyclists might give your tire a good old squeeze and tell you your tire pressure is too high or maybe even too low if you're just not pumping up your tires at all but the way a lot of beginner cyclists pump up their tires myself included when I was first starting again I've made a lot of these mistakes too is that we look at the tire sidewall where it says max PSI and this one says Max 73 PSI and then just pump it up to that but that is an entirely wrong way to pump up your tires because tire pressure is another super important factor to how comfortable and how fast I mean how much fun you'll have when it comes to riding your bike because when you're over inflating your tire a lot more of the road buzz and vibration and bumps will go from your tire into your bike your handlebars your but and in certain cases it can even lead to less grip on the road having the right tire pressure can also lead to less Flats as the tire is able to squish and deform over something that might puncture your bike will become a lot smoother you'll go just as fast you'll be a lot more comfortable and you'll have better traction it's just win-win-win and it's free so I mean get a pump with a gauge but other than that it's free figuring out what's tire pressure is right for you on your bike with your tires with how much gear you're carrying it's trial and error it's personal preference but a good starting point is using a bike tire pressure calculator that I have Linked In the description clean your bike one of the most fun things about riding is having a bike that is clean in Tip-Top condition well maintained as buttery smooth to ride completely silent down the road and everything that you're doing with the bike just works as God intended I know it sounds cheesy and overstated but it really allows you to forget that you're riding a bike and just become one with a bike and Achieve Blissful zen-like moment on the bicycle and the best way to prevent mechanical issues and to keep your bike super buttery smooth to ride is just to keep it clean I have a whole list of videos on maintenance for lazy people let's see how clean my bike is nothing nothing a little bit but like like this is how clean your drivetrain should be but my maintenance the most important thing to keep clean is the drivetrain so I will degrease my drivetrain wipe it all off with a microfiber cloth let it dry and then put on some tri-flow by the way all this stuff will be linked in the description run the drivetrain around and then dry off the excess Lube to keep it really buttery smooth I do that every about 150 miles or every week to two weeks or so and then for the frame set I use this finish line or sometimes muck off waterless bike wash or just spray it on wipe it off and then it leaves a nice silky glossy shine on your bike you use a different shine if you have a matte bike but when you look on your bike and it's all bright and shiny and then when you ride your bike and it's silky smooth and buttery and everything's just working and you just forget about creaks and crunches because they're just not there it makes riding a lot more fun and it makes you want to ride your bike a lot more you should have brought fruit and water pardon the children screaming is a preschool Ivory recess one of the biggest Show Stoppers to riding your bike and having a good time is bonking and bonking is hitting the wall hard where you just don't have any energy anymore and you're just completely exhausted it's a lot easier to prevent a block than it is to recover from a bunk so bring food and water if you know that you're going to be doing a lot of miles in the saddle or if it's really hot one of my buddies Justin he's he's only been riding for a baby two years at this point and he just never eats also eat before you ride if you're not gonna bring food with you he just never eats and so I have to bring snacks for him whenever we ride bikes together because every time even if we're just doing like 10 miles it bunks don't leave the group ride if you don't know where you're going when you're in a group ride it could be really fun and exciting and just get all hyped up from the energy of other Riders around you and to just bolt off the line and then realize that you're in the front and you don't know where to go if you're at a group ride a lot of people don't know the route and if you don't know the route it's the blind leading the blind they're following you you don't know where to go and then the whole ride gets derailed people get dropped people get lost it's a bad time if you don't know where you're going don't know the route it's fine stay in the middle or at least not first on top of that draft if you're a beginner cyclist you're probably not going to to be as fast as people that have been riding for a really long time and if you want to keep up with these people you're going to have to draft even if you're an experienced cyclist we all draft all the time it's free speed it's free Energy savings if you can get comfortable riding less than one bike length running behind somebody it feels like there's a whole pocket of air behind them where you can just sit in you can go faster you can go farther draft if you're in a group ride stay in the middle that's where the best draft is this one's an inside joke for fixed gear Riders if you've ever seen Joseph gordon-levitt's greatest movie of all time Premium Rush but there is some Merit to it and it's breaks our death if you ever get hurt on your bike and it doesn't involve crashing into another person whether it's a car another Rider or a pedestrian it's probably because you squeeze deer brakes too hard if you panic and squeeze your front brake too hard your front wheel will lock up and you'll go over the handlebars and it could be a trip to the dentist and none of my brakes on my bike mostly because it's fun when you're riding brakeman's fixed gear but there was a time when I was riding down a mountain in Thailand and I put brakes on for that ride and it was a pretty steep section and I thought that I could just rely on my front brake for it [Music] dude should have backpedaled more see brakes are death yo brakes are actually deaf if I was back peddling I would have been fine if you don't know how to use your brace properly or you put too much faith in your brakes that they can stop you in time it can be very dangerous A good rule of thumb to go by is that 70 of your stocking power should come from a front brake and if you have a rear brake if you're not riding fixed gear use the remaining 30 on the rear brake most of the stopping power should come for the front because that is more effective because how physics work but just be sure not to panic and grab your front brake lock up the wheel and send you flying over your handlebars ride your bike bikes are supposed to be fun it can be easy to get caught up in the minutiae of what is optimal for your bike and looking at the shiny brand new thing that a lot of reviewers and cycling Outlets will convince you that you absolutely need and that this is the new way and this is the future of cycling but ever since the 1800s people have been riding bikes just because they're fun and you probably bought a bike just because it's fun so have fun in your own way whether that's being as fast as possible or riding a break was fixed gear like a Maniac or just going around the neighborhood biking and pedaling over to the bar to the restaurant whatever you can have fun in all of these different types of ways there's no correct way to ride your bike despite what Roadies May preach to you the correct way to ride your bike is to do it in a fun way and if I may be so crass as to speak to you other fellow experienced cyclists and to give you guys unsolicited advice on giving unsolicited advice there's a good way to do it and a bad way to do it look I studied communication I have a degree in what is essentially how not to be a dick first ask and second frame it in a way where it benefits the person that you're giving this advice because you want to help them and then just tell them why it's better hey bro can I give you some advice it might make cycling a whole lot more fun for you and it might even make you faster if you raise your saddle maybe like an inch or two you'll be activating a lot more muscles in your leg and your bike will feel a lot lighter and you'll be going faster automatically if you frame it that way if you tell them that way they're much more likely to do it they're not going to feel bad about doing something the wrong way and they're going to have more fun biking and be more likely to be your bike buddy in the future cycling is a whole lot of fun but oftentimes the experienced Riders can turn people off from cycling just because of how opinionated and how brash unwelcoming we can be hopefully this video helps with that hopefully you've learned something from this video whether it's how to give advice or something that you can make better on your bike to allow you to have more fun on your bike and speaking of having fun on my bike this video is sponsored by Wabi Cycles so now I've got a question for you why do you ride bikes why does anybody ride bikes the answer is because it's fun and why do I ride my bike a Wabi special well simply put it's the most fun bet I've ever had throwing a leg over a bike having a really fun and beautiful bike something that's just puts a smile on your face whether you're just looking at it or whether you're actually pedaling it is a really powerful thing if you want to get big meaty fast fixy thighs like me you gotta ride your bike a lot and riding your bike a lot becomes effortless when it is something that is legitimately the best part of your day and while he's able to do that with their bikes because they're all made out of top tier lightweight steel tubing from rental 725 to Columbus Spirit tubing which is some of the lightest steel tubing that money can buy and wobby's a legitimate Bike Shop based in Denver Colorado they're not just some Warehouse to ship and bikes to you they want to make sure that you get on your dream bike right out of the box so you can choose the fine details of your lobby down from your stem length crank arm length gear ratio while these bikes have literally changed my life they're so good that I don't even own a car and they're so good that it's the only bike that I care to own and they encourage me to ride my bike every single day which just makes every single day better if you're interested in getting one for yourself be sure to check out wobbi Cycles Linked In the description fixy family shout outs to Julian Corona Brandon black tan Auntie Brent David and Mario Perez are helping to make these fixed gear and cycling videos possible for support on patreon remember that oh too much talking life is short but don't make it shorter so be sure to ride your bike every day to be reasonably dangerous

Channel: Zach Gallardo

Views: 95,860

Keywords: fixed gear bike, fixed gear bike review, single gear bike, best cycling, fixed gear, fixed gear cycling, fixed gear track bike, fixie bike, bike, fixie, fixie review, fixed gear road bike, beginner bike tips, beginner cycling tips, best beginner bike advice, best beginer bike tips, useful beginner bike tips, most useful beginner cycling tips, best beginner cycling advice, things i wish i knew when i started biking, 10 tips i wish i knew when i started cycling

Id: cbgHzpQ0888

Length: 16min 47sec (1007 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 16 2023