a new beginning.

Comment by Kim on January 20, 2013 at 7:45pm

Hi Jigs, welcome to the wonderful world of cycling. What's your budget, what type of riding do you think you'll do (road biking? riding to the shops? riding around the park? riding around the world?). 

Comment by Bob Moore on January 20, 2013 at 8:47pm

Drop into Wentworth Park on 24 th
http://sydneycycleways.net/get-riding/try2wheels

Comment by Jigs on January 21, 2013 at 11:40am

Thanks kim n bob.
Kim - to start with biking in the park and then eventually joining bike tours to diff places . I m a new beginner and almost have nil knowledge on how to start ( bike to buy, gear required, paths to start on etc ) your advice wud b helpful.
Bob - thnks a ton for d link .., this sounds great . I will surely come on 10th feb . Wud u be there ?

Comment by Bob Moore on January 21, 2013 at 1:26pm

http://www.cyclingpromotion.com.au/get-into-cycling/women has some good info.

BikeWise ( same crowd as try2wheels) runs courses for beginners. Then can move on to do their city riding skills course. Can book on line. Bike North are running beginner courses too, see Events on Sydneycyclist. Bicycle NSW is running a workshop on 2 Feb at Olympic Park for women, in preparation for the Gear Up Girl event in March.

As for buying a bike, I would recommend a mid priced hybrid. About $500 to $1000 would get you something that works well and is comfortable. Sometimes there are good specials. Try a few bike shops that have staff that are willing to spend some time rather than doing the hard sell. Hesitate to recommend anyone, best to just look around. Can always come back here for advice if you find a bike you think might suit.

Comment by Bill Parker on January 21, 2013 at 2:45pm

There are more than 4,000 members on this site probably with more than 12,000 opinions about the ideal bike (let alone the perfect bike), many prople can never make up their minds so have many bikes, for diferent activities.

As Bob says, do the free courses/trial activities, go to many bike shops, try many bikes, many styles of bike, sit on them, have test rides, spend as much time as yon can, read a bit on this and other forums (but don't get too confused), talk to people who ride, come back here with questions.

You can get "cheap" bikes which are not really worth the little money and you can get inexpensive bikes that might be last years model etc which will be worth what you spend. You might though find your first bike needs replacing after a year or two as you learn more, become more experienced and skilled or as you learn that you enjoy a specific type of cycling more than other types. You will also need a bit of equipment, helmet, lights, rack/basket/carrier, you don't really need "special clothing, just something confortable, suitable for easy movement, a little activity.

It can be a lot of fun but like any skill takes a little time to gain confidence, experience and technical ability.

Take it easy at first and Good Luck

Comment by Dabba on January 21, 2013 at 4:08pm

One of the real put off's for beginners is a badly fitted bike, and in particular, the saddle placement.  I'd encourage you to buddy up with a really experienced cyclist - preferably female in your case - and ask them to join you in your bike hunt.  Before you walk out of a bike shop with your lovely new toy, make sure that they fit the handlebars and saddle to suit your comfort, and don't be talked into a skiny men's saddle just because that's what they sell with the bike.  Try a number of saddles before you walk out of the shop, and take the one that allows your sit bones to sit comfortably on the widest part of the saddle, and where your genitals are not under lots of pressure.  If they want to stuff you around about the fitting just walk out of the shop and go somewhere else.  You're the customer, and you want to be able to ride in comfort.

Comment by Aaron K on January 21, 2013 at 4:17pm

I second what Kim, Dabba, Bill and Bob have said.

The other reason to make sure you have a correctly fitted bike, is to avoid Injury, specifically a RSI.

The Knee's are the most common one to take a beating, the Pattela Tendon being one.

It's better to start off easy on the bike, and remember the mantra: 'Higher Cadence i.e. peddle strokes and lower gears', rather than the opposite 'High (hard) gears and low peddle cadence'

I don't want to put you off riding, but I thought it was important to let you know. Many of us, whom have suffered knee injuries, want to make sure it doesn't happen to others learning to ride.

Comment by Jon on January 21, 2013 at 7:16pm

the green living centre in newtown has a few bikes which you can hire on the cheap, might give you a bit of an idea about more... unique bikes.

Comment by Bill Parker on January 21, 2013 at 7:41pm

And once you have settled on a bike there are heaps of great, mostly off road cycle paths around you including Parramatta Park, M7 cycleway, Windsor Road cycleway, Parramatta-Liverpool Railtrail and many great cycleways to the west of the Railtrail. These should provide a lot of safe and interesting exploring options for your first year, there are hundreds of kms of these and most off road, when you are ready we can suggest some mapping sites to identify these paths. The Bycle User Group (BUG) that covers your area is called CAMWEST (http://www.sydneycyclist.com/group/camwest) and they might have some thoughts on cycling in the area.

Comment by Snowy_5 on January 21, 2013 at 8:31pm

Agreed with all and Bill on cycleways. CAMWEST (BUG) is not active on rides at the moment.

As you live in Westmead and I`d recommended that you practise in safe area to ride first to get the confidence on how do you ride before venturing on public roads. I don`t know what kind of bike do you want but I think it`s better to get the 21 speed bike first after that you can progress to bigger gears. Parramatta park is closer to your area for safe riding and to build up your confidence.

Which bike do you want do use? New or Second hand bikes.

See if you can afford the cheap new bikes at www.thebikebarn.com.au/home.php?cat=312 which they`ve got one year unlimited free services but apart from parts and ask them for more information.There are helpful staff to help you.

Or you can get the second hand bikes from www.westernsydneycyclingnetwork.com.au for free loan of bikes after paying one off $25 fee plus $25 for new helmet or bring your own helmet. Any problems with WSCN loan bikes are being serviced by WSCN bicycle mechanic volunteers in which I am part of the team who will happily fixes it for free only on loan bikes. It is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays in Fairfield showground at Prairiewood.

And they offer easy rides for beginners on Thursdays on Share Use Paths for free and it do first Sundays monthly easy rides too.

And there is off road cycling maps at the shed if you need it to explore so you will not get lost when you ride out to new areas for the first time.

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