- Oct 16, 2020
- 3 min read
GCN in general is a good resource for ANY cycling related question or issue you have ever had!
Things to consider
What kind of cycling should do you want to do? Long distance? Short and punchy? Big climbs? Nature or trails? Commuting only? All of the above?
How comfortable do you feel riding with traffic?
Learn how to change a tube! You will get flats, and will be left at the side of the road!
Quick and cheap but impactful things to get
Bib shorts
Gotta protect those perineal vasculature and nerve bundles! Every now and then you will hit an unsuspected pothole and you'll sustain a little bit of blow down there. Bib shorts with padding makes all the difference! Rapha is a great place to start -- I know that they are expensive, but honestly I'd rather have one good pair of bib shorts than 3 eh shorts.
Less essential and might take some time, but in the same vein... Comfortable Saddle
Saddles, or bike seats, come in all shapes and sizes (some of which even have cut outs for a "perineal channel"). Finding a comfortable might take time, but one that I like and recommend is the Specialized Power saddle.
Get Strava
Strava is a cool fitness tracking app to track your speed, distance, etc.. but most importantly, help you both find and compare times on segments. ;)
Clipless pedals
Kind of a weird misnomer as you actually clip into these pedals to then have your foot fixed into the pedal. This is not as big of an investment as it seems (since you do have to purchase a pair of cycling shoes and new pedals) but it is more of a personal commitment. Clipless pedals are pretty much better in every way you could want out of a pedal except for a single drawback -- overall convenience, since if this bike is a commuter bike it will be hard to have your cycling shoes on you at all times.
You could compromise, however, with flat mountain bike pedals that are flat, so you have a platform to push on with normal shoes, but also have a "clipless" portion in the middle.
Fall/Winter/Early Spring Colder Riding
This obviously depends a lot on how much you realistically think you anticipate riding in actually cold temperatures, but being prepared to go out at moments notice for this cold mornings or cooler evenings on those last days of "summer" or those early hopeful days of "spring," will give you back a lot more potential nice ride days!
Apparel
Gloves (can be any glove really, I actually use running gloves most of the time)
Rain Shoe Covers (never under-estimate the combination of wind + extremities as it will make you feel like you have Raynauds)
Rain Jacket (ideally small + lightweight to pack in the back pocket of your cycling jersey) Gillet is not absolutely necessary, but it is basically a vest and could be nice on long rounds with varying conditions.
Other stuff
Ass Saver is self-explanatory. Removable plastic insert to have around that can easily be removed just in case you expect some slick roads.
Last but not least...
Saddle bag
Bag that goes underneath your seat to carry the following:
Tube
CO2 canister OR mini-air pump
Tire levers (2)
Bike multi-tool
Emergency cash
Energy gel (emergency)
And whatever else you want to fit in there...
Tired of stuff YET?
I hope this doesn't give you a sense of anxiety or of friction to get into cycling. Nothing really is necessary except for working legs and the motivation to hop on your bike and explore! These are just a list of things that I wish someone had told me to consider when I was getting into cycling on my own because they were and continue to be the most useful things that I think about whenever packing or planning a cycling trip or long ride and to me, are the essentials.