Cyclists please help....

[Footy66]

Yo.

I have barely done any fitness stuff over the past god knows how many years....I am of slim build, must have high metabolism as I don't eat the best either......anyway...

Went out for a Bike Ride today.....what was supposed to be a 3 hour bike-ride turned into a half hour bike ride....hit a very long and steep hill and practically died. I had to stop and I was dizzy, my legs were like jelly and I threw up.....

Probably tried to push myself too hard too early but.....

I was riding a cross country style bike....which did not help. My mate was on a road bike. He seemed to be pedaling pretty effortlessly, whereas I felt I was pedaling against a weight. I definitely felt I was having to exert much more effort than he was. Plus my front tire wasn't fully pumped up.


I was just wondering if anyone could make an educated guess as to how much more effort I would have had to put into riding a cross country bike with a slightly flat tire compared to if I was riding a racing bike? 10%, 20%, more?


Cheers.

[murf]

Try lifting both bikes up. The weight difference could be huge.

[unc.si.]

It's not about the bike...


(A lot more than 20% extra effort probably though)

[Footy66]

I did drink the night before......so it was obviously dehydration that led to me puking up.


"A lot more than 20% extra energy"......I definitely need to invest in a road bike.

[Footy66]

Anyone know what an ideal bike weight is - if that makes any sense, what kind of weight is ideal for ease of cycling?

[unc.si.]

You don't need a road bike
You don't need a light bike
You need to get fit.

Once you're fit, you might want a road bike (or you might want a mountain bike), and you'll have done enough cycling to know what sort and how much you want to pay.

Road bikes start at 6.8kg (UCI minimum weight, although you can get lighter if you've got the cash and don't race) and go up to about 11kg. £1k will get you a sub 10 kg bike, £5k will get you a sub 8kg bike, £10k will get you down to the weight limit (rough estimates).

MTB's start at about 11kg for a cross country hardtail up to about 18kg for a long travel downhiller.

If you can't go fast enough or far enough on the bike though, the answer isn't to get a different bike....

However, if all you've got is a shitty Halfords special Bike Shaped Object, you might want to get a cheap road bike or hybrid otherwise you'll give up after a few weeks and never go back

There's a thread about cheap bikes somewhere - Tribon 3 (I think) from Decathlon was a decent starter for not a lot of cash (about £300?, maybe even a bit less than that)

Pump your tyres up to the max recommended pressure as well - makes a huge difference (and you'll get less punctures)

[stevejtr]

Just before xmas I bought an exercise bike.

I haven't done any real exercise for the past 25 years. Weight has been gradually coming on - exacerbated by working away during the week.

Messed around with it until the end of Jan. Now I do an average of around 12km a day. I work away 4 nights a week and make sure I book hotels with a gym. I'm in there at 6am each morning and if I can fit it in half an hour or so each night before dinner. I track my time, mileage and calories burnt in a spreadsheet.

First time I got on I lasted 2 minutes

Friday morning I did 11.2 miles on the bike in the hotel before breakfast.

Make it normal habit to do it, and something exceptional not to.

Doesn't take too long to rebuild some endurance.

[john89]

I think also it is not about bike....