so because of the lockdown situation a lot of people are turning to bikes for exercise
and as a mode of transport this means more people on bikes amazing
but this also means more beginners so i wanted to highlight in today's video
a few things which i wish i'd known when i started riding number one
buy your first bike from a bike shop a local one to you if possible if they're a good shop they're
going to help you choose the right thing so you don't end up making the mistake of buying the
wrong thing online and then bringing it in because it doesn't fit properly or work properly most
local bike shops will be really helpful look for the smaller independent ones if you can they'll
probably be more friendly than a bigger chain shop my studio is actually in a bike shop right now i'm
buying my friend james this is what he thinks someone buys a bike from you instead of online
what they're gonna get a smile from me we get first free service because things like you know
you get like a like nuts and bolts settle in cable stretch that's what i defensive warranty on most
products we actually provide a service for direct consumer customers where they pay 50 quid and we
build the bike they have the bike delivered here we both buy from and then we offer free service
afterwards cool option but i mean you know i guess buying a bike from a shop means that you've got
something to go back to when it goes wrong all the technical supports warranty issues compatibility
of of parts that we quite often get people who turn up and they they buy a frame from us and
then they they turn up with a group set and it's got like a campag rear mech and sram shifter and
shimano frontal radio and it's like oh no this isn't going to work that's a slight exaggeration
but we do get that you're paying for expertise and knowledge and understanding rather than you
know just paying for some kid to package it in a warehouse and send it out to you when you get a
brand new bike all the cables are going to stretch and all the parts that are nice and tight will
start to settle in most local bike shops if you buy a bike from them will offer a tune-up service
so you can bring it back in a few weeks later and tune up all of those things free of charge in
most cases that alone will cover the discount that you might make buying a bike online so go to your
local bike shop support them you'll be thankful that they're there when you need them number two
eat more cycling is very low impact and it's very easy to go riding for two or three hours even
when you're new to it it's not like going for a 20-minute jog you need to take food with you
and you need to eat it regularly as well as keeping on top of drinking eating regularly
in small amounts is key try name for every 20 minutes to half an hour having a bite of a bar
a banana jelly beans a bit of serene i've done a video on this i'll uh link down below nutrition
don't feel like you have to do this while riding if confidence is an issue you can definitely just
stop by the side of the road have a bite to eat it might feel unusual at first and quite difficult to
eat while you're exercising but the more you can do it the better you'll get at it if you don't eat
you're going to experience a thing called bonking runners will call it hitting the wall
it's not a nice place to be if you're a regular viewer of this channel and you've bumped before
let us know in the comments what it's like it's not nice foods you should be looking to take
with you should be all high in carbohydrates so think sugary stuff don't be afraid to put a bit
of squash in your drink as well if you have to drink your calories do that you're still going
to get trim fit and healthy even when you're eating on the bite and if you do eat properly
you're going to get more out of yourself and more out of the session that you're doing number three
here in the uk our weather isn't perfect for cycling for a lot of the year we're gonna be
in winter kit but even in winter you see a lot of people riding with their knees out cycling is not
like running you don't work out your temperature by adding 10 degrees or whatever the funny rule is
you can get really really cold while cycling because you're moving faster so you've got
the windchill to contend with so proper kit is really important you see a lot of people
riding around in shorts if it's 15 degrees or less i would say at least when knee warmers
knee warmers and leg warmers are fairly cheap and they're small enough to put in your pocket
so if you leave the house with them on you can always take them off again cycling kit can be
expensive but you definitely get what you pay for when you're choosing kit look at layers so
think adjustability you don't always have to wear a really thick winter jacket you can go
g-lay jersey base layer underneath and that will cover a vast array of riding conditions
you can then adjust your temperature on the fly with your zippers definitely the way to go
number four you want to make sure your bike fits or the rule i like to go by fit first buy later
now it doesn't have to be the most comprehensive bike fit in the world but it does help if you get
the right frame size and paying a small amount for a bike fit will save you money further down
the road if you get into it more you do have to be careful who you take your advice from
make sure it's a reputable bike shop and they should have a pretty good idea to put it into
perspective when i bought my first proper bike in my teens i was on a 56 centimetre frame that's
what the bike shop recommended to me i now ride a 51 that's a lot smaller so find a shop you can
trust or take some advice from a friend who really knows his stuff we see this trend with
people coming in here with the wrong size bike and it's always too big and we feel like the key to it
is that sizing charts and geometry charts are incredibly misleading like there's a certain
uh there are a couple of brands on online brands actually but i'll start one in particular whose
medium bike is enormous i mean look for examples a brand that we sell and their medium is like a
56 and a half it's huge i mean i would ride a small um and so you've got anyone that would
you know take uh you know consider themselves as a mean i wear a medium t-shirt for example
i would automatically assume like logic would dictate that i would ride a medium bicycle and
in most brands i probably would be but there are certain brands like look whose size instructors i
find to be quite misleading i can't iterate enough how important it is to fit first and
then buy a bike based on those measurements and i think one other thing the i forgot what's going on
it wasn't that bollocks is gone
last tip from me today is going to be in two parts first join a cycling club this
is gonna let you meet other riders that are enthusiastic about cycling as well so it'll
help you get excited about your new hobby and it will help with motivation when it comes to
committing to group rides and that sort of thing you'll also probably end up meeting riders who are
much more experienced than you are so you're going to learn a lot from them whether that's
local routes which you can then use yourself later without them or skills that are harder to
read up and learn about yourself like group riding etiquette it's way easier to just join a group
ride with people who know what they're doing and you end up learning off the back of it now part
two to this one i realize not everybody has access to a cycling club depending on where you live in
the world but the last piece of advice here i would say is get a coach if you're serious about
it that's the way you're going to make progress the most quickly you can find paid coaches online
discuss your goals with them work out what you want to do or a coach might just be a friend who
you ride with a lot and a person you can discuss your goals with and they can give you feedback
it's really valuable to have someone look at your training as a whole who's not you because you can
be very biased sometimes and trick yourself into riding too much or too little there's a lot of
psychology involved in a sport like cycling so don't be afraid to talk about it with a coach
or friends so there are my top five things i wish i'd known when i started cycling if you're new to
cycling feel free to put any questions in the comments and i'll do my best to answer them
equally if you're an experienced cyclist and you want to put any tips in the comments section for
other people please go ahead thank you for watching please subscribe and see you soon