A Beginner’s Guide to Cycling Gear – What (Not) to Buy

I remember my first real rookie cycling mistake. I had just bought a Schwinn road bike at Salvation Army, and my mom gave me a little cash for my birthday. I spent hours looking up cycling gear on eBay, and was determined to get all set up to ride like a real cyclist with a limited amount of money. I assumed I would need sweet cycling shoes–but what I did not understand all those years ago was that I couldn’t just hit the road as is–on old standard strap pedals. I slipped and slid along the surface of the flat pedals in my brand new pair of hard-soled Diadora’s (cue excessive pointing and laughing). At one point, I nearly crashed when my foot slipped straight to the ground as I stood out of the saddle. I got off the bike wondering how the heck people were supposed to go faster in those stupid shoes–only later did I realize that I needed special clipless pedals and cleats to go along with my fancy Diadora’s. I look back today, and I will hang my head on that mistake, but it makes for a pretty awesome anecdote just the same. As a new cyclist, you’ll probably run into a situation that will make you laugh years later, but you’re already way ahead of me because you’re looking up tips for how to get started.

In a series of posts, I’ll help get you started out in the right gear by listing all the necessities you’ll need as a new cyclist. Hopefully, we can work through your rookie season together, and you won’t have to share many embarrassing beginner’s stories like the one I revealed above.

 I remember my first real rookie cycling mistake. I had just bought a Schwinn road bike at Salvation Army, and my mom gave me a little cash for my birthday. I spent hours looking up cycling gear on eBay, and was determined to get all set up to ride like a real cyclist with a limited amount of money. I assumed I would need sweet cycling shoes–but what I did not understand all those years ago was that I couldn’t just hit the road as is–on old standard strap pedals. I slipped and slid along the surface of the flat pedals in my brand new pair of hard-soled Diadora’s (cue excessive pointing and laughing). At one point, I nearly crashed when my foot slipped straight to the ground as I stood out of the saddle. I got off the bike wondering how the heck people were supposed to go faster in those stupid shoes–only later did I realize that I needed special clipless pedals and cleats to go along with my fancy Diadora’s. I look back today, and I will hang my head on that mistake, but it makes for a pretty awesome anecdote just the same. As a new cyclist, you’ll probably run into a situation that will make you laugh years later, but you’re already way ahead of me because you’re looking up tips for how to get started.

In a series of posts, I’ll help get you started out in the right gear by listing all the necessities you’ll need as a new cyclist. Hopefully, we can work through your rookie season together, and you won’t have to share many embarrassing beginner’s stories like the one I revealed above.

 http://www.slocyclist.com/what-gear-youll-need-to-start-cycling-right-a-beginners-guide-to-cycling-triathlon/