Want to ease back into it...

[groomi]

Hi all. Here's the rundown.

I'm now aged 28 and borderline overweight. Although this is not good, I'm gradually losing weight which is generally speaking staying off, the problem is that I don't exercise. I'm currently 14 1/2 st.

Between the ages of 12-21 I used to road race and timetrial competitively, was an active club member and clocked up circa 500 miles a week when I was at my peak. I also weighed 10 1/2 st.

Last year I got the bikes out of the shed, serviced them and started riding a little. The road bike was (and still is) out of the question as my dodgy back and lack of suppleness makes it virtually impossible to ride at the moment. I did a few rides on the (old and heavy) mountain bike, then packed it up for the winter and my business expansion.

So here I am, back to square one but wanting to get started again - riding, not racing - that's firmly in my past I fear. Over the winter I have acquired an old (but light) aluminium carrera mountain bike. Nothing special, but as I say, light. I'm thinking about stripping the road bike down and rebuilding the Campag groupset onto the carrera frame for a 'relatively' lightweight sports tourer. I feel the smaller frame, more laid back geometry will make it more comfortable to do some decent mileage and encourage me to get back into it. The heavy mountain bike will stay as is ready for when I feel mad enough to tackle some terrain. the road frame will either sit and wait to be rebuilt when I can ride it again, or will be sold.

The incentive for all this is not just losing weight...



...I've promised myself a brand new Bianci if I get fit enough to join a club again. I used to have an old one when I started out, rebuilt it with modern gears, built my own wheels (several sets) and have thoroughly regretted selling it ever since. It wasn't the lightest or stiffest bike around but it was so comfortable I could train for 6 hours in the saddle no problem.

Anyway. My question is, does my plan sound sensible.? Will the Carrera transform into a reasonable sports tourer?

[Rednut05]

I think that everyone has to have determination to gain their goals and if you have it you will.

It helps to cycle with others as then you can pace and compete (even if friendly) with others to cover bigger distances and within a certain time.

If you have this dedication to get fit and loose the pounds then I think any bike will do as long as it's ridable to a certain existent.

Set yourself a goal for this Bianchi road bike. Very nice they are too in that Bianchi green colour.

Find yourself a riding partner, I think it would help you long term.

[justin s]

for starters the wheels will be wrong.The front mech will be wrong and shifting will be a problem too.Your best bet is to put a pair of slicks on the carrera and see how you get on.The more upright position will help get your back more comfortable and as you progress and run out of gears,maybe a set of larger chainrings will get you up to the level of your roadbike.I used to have a roadbike but due to personal back ache,decided to stick off road with a mountainbike.

[groomi]

Thnaks for the comments Guys.

No probs with the bigger wheels as I will be changing the centre-pull ATB brakes for the campag single pivot calipers (prefer the extra feel to dual pivot). Front mech should be fine as I'm putting a very nice Sugino crankset on which I acquired some years ago and ha ve used on the road bike before. It uses a 52 outer and 36 inner if I rememer rightly, which with a fairly close ratio 8-speed cassette give a good spread of gears with little overlap.

If I'm honest, it's probably the building up of the bike which is the exciting part, with the riding of it being the justification.

[justin s]

bit confused as to what bike you have.Standard MTB wheels are 26 inch and standard road wheels are 29 inch,so swapping wouldn't happen.As for front mech,the diameter of the clamp would be different.If you are using Campag bits and shimano bits,the indexing may be an issue to set up.Be aware that campag might be an 'italian' threaded BB,so changing that and the chainset may be an issue to,as MTB chainsets use a longer BB length with the obvious need to clear 3 chainrings.

[groomi]

justin s said:

bit confused as to what bike you have.Standard MTB wheels are 26 inch and standard road wheels are 29 inch,so swapping wouldn't happen.As for front mech,the diameter of the clamp would be different.If you are using Campag bits and shimano bits,the indexing may be an issue to set up.Be aware that campag might be an 'italian' threaded BB,so changing that and the chainset may be an issue to,as MTB chainsets use a longer BB length with the obvious need to clear 3 chainrings.

Standard road wheels are 700c (near enough 27inch). MTBs have loads of clearance around the wheels because of the fat tyres. I'll only be running 28mm tyres so no problems with them fitting.

Front mech should fit OK as both bikes are oversize aluminium and there is a degree of adjustment in the clamp. All components are Campag apart from cranks (Not using the Campag items in favour of Sugino).

Both frames are english thread BB, although I'll probably need a new BB anyway due to the wider MTB frame - although I'm only using two rings, so it may fit.

Happy with the techy bit, it's the riding which worries me - too much like hard work!

[justin s]

its only hard work if you want it to be.I'm sat at home,third week without riding with a virul infection and the others are going to murder me,when I eventually get back out there........

[JPJ]

Also while all the biking will undoubtedly be good for you, you should also concentrate on building up some core muscles. Try and do some pilates/swiss ball exercises to strengthen the lower back, and also do lots of stretching. It will all pay off in the end, as so much of biking is controlled from that central area.

If the pats swap fails as outlined above, don't forget there are a lot of very cheap parts on eBay which might be able to help you to get a bike together at minimal cost, and will still challenge you with building it up.

One last thing - if your back is a real problem initially, perhaps look into a shock absorbing seatpost. Avoiding the initial jarring while getting back into it will be a real benefit.

[Roman]

I'd recommend entering a couple of Audax / Sportive events too - plenty of people ride on hybrid type bikes. More sociable & less competitive than club riding but will still give you something to train for.

[Nick_F]

A lot depends on the root cause of your back problem - I found tribars really helped for long rides, once I was used to them, because although I'm lower my back and shoulders are much more relaxed.

Not much help for group rides, though, and if you're a former roadie then you may have objections to them on religious grounds...

[groomi]

Nick_F said:

A lot depends on the root cause of your back problem - I found tribars really helped for long rides, once I was used to them, because although I'm lower my back and shoulders are much more relaxed.

Not much help for group rides, though, and if you're a former roadie then you may have objections to them on religious grounds...

On the contrary, I was riding tri-bars from the age of 14 in time trials and loved the natural balance it gave and the ability to really concentrate on cadence and heart-rate without having to worry about holding your body up. Definately not for group rides though. Also, although I could ride them OK at the moment, it's the transition from tri-bars to handlebars which i think would be a huge strain on my back.

Incidentally, it's a squashed disc which I did at the age of 14. Being quite tall for my age and very fit from cycling i naturally thought I was superhuman, so when asked to help dig a parking space in my parents front garden (1m high clay soil), I naturally gave it everything -including any prospect of a pain free life.

Hey-ho, one of my Chiropractors had huge tits and had to climb all over me to crack my back, so it's not all bad!