reece2

Hello! I'm a very new rider of less than 1 month. I'm almost 50, and haven't been on a bike for about 30 years. My family recently gave me a new bike, to supplement my other fitness activities. It's not fancy, but it's enough to try this again. I'm riding about 15 miles a week - 5 miles, three times - mostly on pretty flat terrain at a local park.

I'm trying to figure out the etiquette of biking. I'm sure my bike doesn't fit me properly. Will a local bike shop help me a fit a bike that wasn't purchased there, or would that be seen as an inappropriate request?

Any other advice would be more than welcomed.

MsVicki

Welcome to Bikeforums!

jyossarian

Welcome reece! Any LBS that wants repeat business will help to make your bike fit, but there's only so much they can do. Typically they'll adjust the saddle height and reach and handlebar height and reach using what you have or they can sell you a new stem and saddle if needed. Most fit issues have to do w/ comfort so finding the right saddle is important and setting up a comfortable riding position equally so. Good luck!

RonH

Don't feel bad. I didn't get back into riding until I was 55. I'm 61 now.

Take the bike to any decent bike shop and they'll get you fitted. If it's an x-mart bike they'll probably do you a big favor and try to sell you a new bike. Bikes are like anything else you buy. You get what you pay for.

What part of Georgia are you from?
There are lots of Georgia folks here.

Have fun.

reece2

I'm from Atlanta. Actually, from a suburb to the East. I work on the Northside, off Lake Hearn Drive.

RonH

Glad to have you here.
I live in Decatur and work in the Virginia-Highland area, close to Piedmont Park.
Do you do any group rides on the weekend? There are several with lots of "older" cyclists. Course I'm not old so don't fully understand what that means.
Do you bike commute?

reece2

I think any kind of "group ride" at this point would be a little intimidating! Still trying to figure out where all the levers are, if you know what I mean! But I think I'll get there.

I'm signed up for a community school class on trail biking and general bike maintenance, but that's not until December.

I don't bike commute to work - I'm 25 miles from work, and at my current pace, that would be about a 2.5 hour ride. I do, however, bike to church, the grocery store (if the items can be carried in a backpack), my kids' high school for football games, stuff like that. Mostly I'm riding at Yellow River Park. If you're not familiar with it, there's an article on an event that took place there on the SORBA website.

Thanks for the kind welcome!

RonH

The kind of group rides I'm referring to are "social" rides. The riders, usually a mix of ages and abilities, meet at a bike shop, school, pub, etc. and ride 10-25 miles. Great fun.
Look at the ride calendar on the Southern Bicycle League's website, www.bikesbl.org, for a ride near you.

We (Atlanta Bicycle Campaign) offer Bike Ed classes every Saturday. Look at our website (www.atlantabike.org -- click on "Bike Classes") for a class near you if you're interested. I'm one of the instructors. Scary!!!

That's a great start to bike commuting. Maybe you can find a way to do a combo with public transit and bike or a car-bike combo someday.
See the Commuting forum for other ideas, answers, and any help may want.

DnvrFox

Please drop by the 50+ Forum which was specifically designed to help the returning or new mature bicycler get into the cycling scene.

Even though you are not quite 50, we have a number of folks who "cheat" a bit.

We are a supportive, although a bit crazy, group.