Getting into road cycling: first bike, sizing, essential kit and group ride etiquette
TUREFF• •0
Road cycling looks like a sport with a lot of rules and a lot of expensive kit. In practice you need much less than the shop windows suggest, and the unwritten rules are mostly common sense. Here is how to get from interested to comfortably riding with other people.
Choosing a first bike
There are three broad types worth considering:
- Endurance road bike: drop handlebars, a slightly taller front end and room for wider tyres. The most sensible first road bike for most people, because comfort keeps you riding.
- Race bike: lower and more stretched out. Great if you are flexible and already fit; tiring if you are not.
- Gravel or all-road bike: drop bars with wide, grippier tyres. Slower on smooth tarmac but happy on towpaths, rough lanes and in winter, which makes it a good single bike for many riders.
A flat-bar hybrid is also a perfectly good way to start if you are unsure. A good second-hand bike that fits you beats a new one that does not, but have a shop check the chain, brakes and tyres before you ride it hard.
Getting the size right
Sizes are not standard between brands, so a "56" from one maker can fit like a "54" from another. Use each brand's size chart as a starting point and, where you can, compare the stack (how tall the front end is) and reach (how long the bike is) figures in the geometry tables. Two bikes with similar stack and reach will feel similar.
Test ride if possible. You should be able to reach the brake levers with a slight bend in your elbows, without locking your arms or feeling cramped. Saddle height can be adjusted later; a frame that is too long or too short cannot.
Essential kit
You do not need everything at once. In rough order of importance:
- A helmet that fits snugly and sits level on your head.
- Puncture kit: a spare inner tube, tyre levers and a mini pump or CO2 inflator, plus a small saddle bag to carry them. Learn to use them at home before you need them on the road.
- Padded shorts. Bib shorts are more comfortable than waist shorts for most people. They are worn without underwear.
- Lights, front and rear, even for daytime rides in poor weather.
- Bottle and cage, and a small snack for anything over an hour.
- A phone, a bank card and some identification.
Clipless pedals and cycling shoes can wait until you are comfortable on the bike. When you do try them, practise clipping in and out on grass first.
Your first rides
- Start with rides of 30 to 60 minutes on quiet roads and build gradually.
- Ride at a pace where you could still talk. Most early improvement comes from regular easy riding, not from going flat out.
- Get used to the gears: shift to an easier gear before a climb or a junction, not halfway up it.
- Check tyre pressure before every ride. Tyres lose air over days, and soft tyres feel sluggish and puncture more easily.
- Eat and drink before you feel empty. Running out of energy on a bike comes on fast.
Group ride etiquette
Clubs and shop rides are the quickest way to improve and to find good routes. Look for rides labelled "social", "no drop" or "beginner" for your first outing.
- Hold your line and be predictable. Avoid sudden braking or swerving; the rider behind you is close.
- Point out hazards. Riders at the front point to potholes and call "car back", "car up" or "slowing" so the group behind knows what is coming.
- Do not overlap wheels with the rider in front. If they move sideways, your front wheel is the one that gets taken out.
- Ride side by side only where it is safe. In the UK, the Highway Code was updated in 2022 and says riding two abreast can be safer in groups, while also asking cyclists to let drivers overtake when it is safe, for example by moving into single file. Rules differ in other countries, so follow the local guidance and the ride leader.
- Turn up prepared: a working bike, a spare tube and a way to fix a puncture. Nobody minds stopping for a flat; people do mind when you have nothing to fix it with.
- Wait at the top of climbs for the slowest rider, and say thanks.
Every experienced rider was once the person at the back trying to work out the gears. What was your first road bike, and what do you wish someone had told you? Share your tips and questions in the comments below.