New job, new commute...new bike!
Discussion
After having got "relatively" into cycling a couple of years ago, a job move into London proved to be enough of an excuse that meant I slowly stopped.
A pending job move and on-going attempt to shift some fat however, will have me back cycling to work (around 8 miles each way) regularly in a couple of months so I've started an 8 week or so programme that theoretically will have me ready to do a 50km ride by it's end. That should be more than enough to have me ready to commute 2/3 days a week (initially at least) on the bike, aiming to be every day by the end of the summer.
I've really enjoyed being back on the bike again and I've decided to take the plunge and move away from my commuter/hybrid and buy my first road bike. Not going all in/all-carbon race machine but am pretty excited about getting this within the next few weeks:
It's a Mango Point R which is an aluminium bike but with carbon front fork (I ended up price-walking myself into the full 105 groupset and Vision 35 wheels with the Continental tyres because...bloke!) and it seemingly has a comfortable/relaxed ride which seems ideal for me.
Quick review of the bike is here: http://road.cc/content/review/166302-mango-bikes-p... I know it's not what it's all about, but personally I think it's a great looking bit of kit as well, even if a little...bright!
Can't wait to get it and see how different it feels to my hybrid
Happy man
A pending job move and on-going attempt to shift some fat however, will have me back cycling to work (around 8 miles each way) regularly in a couple of months so I've started an 8 week or so programme that theoretically will have me ready to do a 50km ride by it's end. That should be more than enough to have me ready to commute 2/3 days a week (initially at least) on the bike, aiming to be every day by the end of the summer.
I've really enjoyed being back on the bike again and I've decided to take the plunge and move away from my commuter/hybrid and buy my first road bike. Not going all in/all-carbon race machine but am pretty excited about getting this within the next few weeks:
It's a Mango Point R which is an aluminium bike but with carbon front fork (I ended up price-walking myself into the full 105 groupset and Vision 35 wheels with the Continental tyres because...bloke!) and it seemingly has a comfortable/relaxed ride which seems ideal for me.
Quick review of the bike is here: http://road.cc/content/review/166302-mango-bikes-p... I know it's not what it's all about, but personally I think it's a great looking bit of kit as well, even if a little...bright!
Can't wait to get it and see how different it feels to my hybrid
Happy man
Edited by Mannginger on Monday 8th May 14:53
Mannginger said:
I know it's not what it's all about, but personally I think it's a great looking bit of kit as well
It pretty much is what it's all about 
I think it was the great philosopher Bertrand Russell who said that you are likely to ride a bike you like the look of much more regularly than a munter.He might not have said that.
Yeah I thought they represented pretty decent value based on what various reviews were saying. Honestly much of this passes me by but it's quite cool getting into it all and researching more about the sport / hobby.
Was out again this morning on my old Specialized in the rush hour traffic. Bum bones were a bit achy initially but that soon passed. I spent much of Sunday adjusting saddle to be better for me and actually felt that a bit today so that's all good.
I think I also need to practice flat changing etc as I only just avoided a broken bottle in the cycle lane this morning and I can see that being a major PITA if I'm stuck in a rush.
I think I'll get a maintenance frame to practice on (and have ready to clean the new bike etc etc)
Good to hear that vanity / looks is a good reason for purchasing! I feel this N+1 thing could be an issue in the future!
Bike arrived yesterday and I took my time trying to get it set up well enough for me. Colour me embarrassed but I even had to use YouTube to understand how the 105 gears worked! Very different from all my previous bikes.
Went out this morning for a quick blat around to get an initial sense of it and I'm really pleased. I wasn't expecting it to feel so very different from my old hybrid (not withstanding the obvious riding position) but it's so much more comfortable! It just absorbs the bumps and vibrations of the road surfaces around here and just gets on with it! It's also meaningfully lighter as well (about 30% lighter comparing basic "clean frames" and probably closer to 40% as I don't have the big D-lock or panniers etc on it which is clearly noticeable.
I'm super happy with it, now I just need to slowly build up the mileage over the next 6 weeks or so ready for my commute and ambitions of doing a few charity / organised rides out with it now as well given how comfy it is out of the box!
Quick pic after I'd just about finished putting it together:
I lifted the handle bars after taking this pic as realised they were slightly drooped. Water bottle overkill as well but I mounted them both to ensure they fitted / ease of getting them in and out as on the 100km type rides I've done before I go through fluids like no-one's business!
Went out this morning for a quick blat around to get an initial sense of it and I'm really pleased. I wasn't expecting it to feel so very different from my old hybrid (not withstanding the obvious riding position) but it's so much more comfortable! It just absorbs the bumps and vibrations of the road surfaces around here and just gets on with it! It's also meaningfully lighter as well (about 30% lighter comparing basic "clean frames" and probably closer to 40% as I don't have the big D-lock or panniers etc on it which is clearly noticeable.
I'm super happy with it, now I just need to slowly build up the mileage over the next 6 weeks or so ready for my commute and ambitions of doing a few charity / organised rides out with it now as well given how comfy it is out of the box!
Quick pic after I'd just about finished putting it together:
I lifted the handle bars after taking this pic as realised they were slightly drooped. Water bottle overkill as well but I mounted them both to ensure they fitted / ease of getting them in and out as on the 100km type rides I've done before I go through fluids like no-one's business!
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