Where can I find a good/cheap road or racing bike, and best way to train?
I am a student at Indiana University and we have a world famous bike race every year in April, the Little 500. I have been asked to race next year, but I have no racing experience, only some time on a mountain bike. I am considering training to race over the summer, then seeing how good I am and how much I like it. But since I just want to give it a try and I’m a college student with not very much money, I don’t want to go all out and buy an expensive bike. I don’t care if it’s used or not, as long as it works for what I’m trying to do. Also, I have no idea the best way to train, and will be very busy working over the summer. Any tips? Thanks a lot.
try your local craigslist.com
I personally recommend that you do not go to a department store, because they usually have low quality bikes. Just because it is cheap doesn’t mean it you should get it. There are loads of sights on the Internet such as www.bikesdirect.com what have great deals on great bikes. One really important thing is to print out a list of all of the parts of the bike and take it to a local bike shop. They can tell you whether the bike is really good or not.
There are many ways to train, but the best is doing sports like running, swimming, and weight training. Biking requires you to use many muscles, so if you want to compete you need to be fit. The lighter you are the less energy you spend, and the better/faster you go.
You can buy a cheap racing bike from
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=racing%20bike&tag=search0d8-20&index=sporting&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
Good luck!
For the first part, I’m going to give you similar advice to someone who asked about buying a cheap mountain bike.
Most department stores and chain all-sport stores do not have trained employees to help you with these things. Even if you don’t buy at an actual bike shop, that’s the place to go to look and have all of your specific questions about bikes and cycling answered. This should be your first stop.
Second, don’t settle with what any 1 bike shop may have to say. If you don’t feel comfortable with the cost, fit or advice of a shop, go to another shop.
Third, take whatever bike you are interested in for a test ride. Ride it more than just around the store parking lot. See if the store will allow you to rent it or to take it for a demo ride. Many shops do this and will allow you to ride the bike for a weekend for cheap or free on a credit card imprint (in case of damage).
Finally, don’t rule out used bikes. Many people get into cycling every year only to find that they didn’t get a good fit, don’t have time or that they are now so into it that they want a newer/better bike. Craigslist (http://craigslist.org) is a free resource that can be use to purchase slightly used bikes, sometimes for a small fraction of what they originally cost.
I’ve heard it said “Light, Strong, Cheap – pick 2.”
For the second part about how to train with a busy schedule, I suggest working cycling into your life and daily routine by using it to commute. Even if you live on campus, biking from dorm to class to work gets some distance worked into an average day.
Check to see if your local bike shop has a regular group ride or if you have a local road riding group that you can join, do it. Having peer support will reinforce your riding habits.
You can also look for riders in your locale here: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=65
and find more information about training, nutrition and such here: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=53
Good Luck!
As I understand the Little 500, racing will be on a single speed bike provided by the race organizers. Thus, you don’t need to worry about having a top notch bike for the race. All you need is a bike to train on. Here is the wonderful news: you can train on your mountain bike or on nearly any other bike you can find. A real clunker may not be a joy to ride, but it’ll suit your purposes.
A single speed bike with the same gear ratio used on the race bikes would be very helpful, but you can also ride a geared bike at close to the same ratio.
With respect to getting in shape, you, of course, need to develop an aerobic base, but the ability to crank out the power, at high speeds, for short periods is the key. Since you have in excess of a year to prepare, I recommend you spend the next several months simply developing your aerobic base. To this end, the more riding you can do the better off you will be. The miles do not need to be intense. You will want to be able to ride while carrying on a conversation and not be huffing and puffing. In fact, long duration, low intensity miles are best for developing your aerobic base. You should aim to do 3-4 rides per week over the next 6-8 months lasting 1.5-2 hours each. Then try to do one 3+ hour ride per week. You will find you are riding faster as your aerobic base develops. If you get bored with low intensity rides, you can add some sprints on occasion, but you do not want to overdo the sprints especially early in training.
Once you have established your aerobic base, you need to develop your power and your ability to ride flat out for short durations. Forget the peaceful rides while carrying on a conversation with your buddies. Beginning in January, you need to transition over to interval training. During interval training, the duration of your rides needs to decrease, but the intensity will go through the roof.
On interval days, plan on riding 10-15 minutes at an easy pace to warm up. Do your intervals. Then ride 10-15 minutes to warm down. Intervals should focus on maximum power two times a week. For maximum power, I suggest the following. Do 10, 1 minute flat out sprints one day. Do 10, 2 minute, low cadence sprints one day. On your third interval day do 3 repetitions focusing on riding at your maximum sustainable pace for 8 minutes. Every couple weeks, you need to do some very high cadence spinning. Do your 2 minute intervals at the fastest cadence you can sustain with a smooth stroke and no bouncing off the seat.
On days between intervals, either rest entirely, or take very slow, gentle rides to spin the kinks and soreness out of your muscles.
About 2 weeks before the event, roll back on intervals and just ride gently to rest, but maintain your condition.
For more info on training, I suggest you get Joe Friel’s book, “The Cyclists Training Bible.”
This is a very unique type of race. You are riding as a team, and you must trade off a minimum of 10 times. Thus, one exceedingly important aspect of training will be smooth, fast exchanges between riders. No amount of conditioning will overcome fumbled exchanges.
Hope this helps you out.