NBD - Cannondale content

[w00dsy]

NEW BIKE DAY. The good lady wife gave me the thumbs up to go and get a proper road bike today, so i was out the door like a cartoon cat. I don't know a whole lot about it but it seems to be a Cannondale Synapse, which is Latin for Better Than The Last One. I also got some funny looking pedals and clippity clop style shoes, high pressure pump, couple of new tubes with fancy nozzles on them, and rear light that blinded me when he flicked it on. Anyway some of you guys will probably know more about it than me. I do know it's got a compact front gear thingy, 50 instead of 53 teeth.

[Hz-Lab]

Theres no suspension? is it broke?

[norbs]

Most excellent!

First thing. Put the shoes on, and practice clipping in and out. Do it heaps. I can nearly guarantee you will still have some hair raising moments. Fuck, I did this arvo at the end of my ride.

53 teeth just means you wont be able to keep up with Flinty.

Oh, and get riding it. We are going to be doing some big rides when I am down there. Make sure your date is used to the seat.

[w00dsy]

i'll be able to keep up with Flinty, as soon as i can get my cadence to 180.

[CLP]

looks to be this one

nice buy first ride report required!

[w00dsy]

did a little first ride, only 9km's. Was planning a bigger ride but i had a minor headache that became a major headache when i started pumping the blood around my body. The bike is light and fast, very smooth too. The gears and brakes are taking some getting used too. It's not second nature yet but i'm sure it will be, i got to the roundabout just near my place and forgot what i was supposed to grab My only real issue at the moment is the clippity clop shoes are giving me some foot cramps. Obviously i'm not used to my foot being in one locked position so i can't stretch them. No doubt i'll get used to it but it's taking my concentration away from riding. I'll keep doing some smaller rides during the week and everything should get better. But so far pretty much everything is different to what i'm used to, so it's a lot to take in at once. One good thing is clipping in and out of the cleats is pretty easy, i went outside last night and sat there for about 20mins just going in and out without looking and now it's not an issue.

[CLP]

Nice work

Good to hear that you have worked out the clipless pedals.. real test will be in an emergency situation.. which hopefully won't be for a while yet! I've seen a few people jump right in from old mountain bikes and grab a road bike with clipless pedals.. their story sound pretty much like you describe.. steep learning curve but over come it quite quickly

where in your foot are you cramping? there are ways to stretch on a bike.. though usually you need to be comfortable with your bike handling first!

sounds like you enjoyed it though

[w00dsy]

i'm not sure if the shoes are a bit tight or if it's related to my foot being locked in one place. They are leather Shimano shoes with 3 velcro straps and they felt fine in the shop, even when i clippity clop around the house in them they feel ok, but when riding it gave me some issues. Hopefully the leather will stretch a bit and i'll get used to it and it'll all be good. I'll go for another ride later today and spend a bit more time adjusting to it all. I can see the advantages with the shoes though, the feeling of being locked in certainly seems to make pedaling smoother, but it's also a tad unnerving knowing i can't move my foot as easily before. The seat is smaller and harder than i'm used to but it seemed fine over a short distance, no doubt a 40-50km ride will test my arse callouses. And a minor thing i'll have to also get used to is not knowing what gear i'm in, my old bike had numbers but this has little needles so i've got no idea where i am, at the moment it's just all by feel. It's a bit of an overload on the senses at the moment.

[CLP]

i'm not sure if the shoes are a bit tight or if it's related to my foot being locked in one place. They are leather Shimano shoes with 3 velcro straps and they felt fine in the shop, even when i clippity clop around the house in them they feel ok, but when riding it gave me some issues.

quite possibly you're just doing them up too tight! your feet will swell a bit during exercise.. I know i can get aches and pains in the feet (especially on the outer sides) if i have done up the fasteners too tight. I might not notice to begin with, but a couple of km down the road my feet will start complaining!

The seat is smaller and harder than i'm used to but it seemed fine over a short distance, no doubt a 40-50km ride will test my arse callouses.

seats are a bit of a personal thing.. what works for me won't necessarily work for you. It pays to shop around and purchase something up front that your arse agrees with rather than trying to make yourself fit the seat.

And a minor thing i'll have to also get used to is not knowing what gear i'm in, my old bike had numbers but this has little needles so i've got no idea where i am, at the moment it's just all by feel. It's a bit of an overload on the senses at the moment.

just look down at the gears all the information is right there

[w00dsy]

stupid fuckin lock in pedals, forgot i had them on didn't i. Pulled up to the train line in front of a bunch of people and cars and went to take my right foot off, and all i did was pulled myself over. I didn't bother looking around to see who saw it cos i figured everyone did. I'm sure there's an advantage to having them but tonight i didn't see it Apart from that, the bike is good. Got a bit of a back ache though towards the end of the ride, i'm not used to being hunched over for so long. Took Norbs' advice and loosened off my shoes a bit and they didn't hurt this time, did a 30km ride and they were fine.

[CLP]

stupid fuckin lock in pedals, forgot i had them on didn't i. Pulled up to the train line in front of a bunch of people and cars and went to take my right foot off, and all i did was pulled myself over. I didn't bother looking around to see who saw it cos i figured everyone did. I'm sure there's an advantage to having them but tonight i didn't see it

that didn't take long! :P

keep practicing... the unclipping that is.. not so much the falling, i think you have that one down pat

[Hz-Lab]

Throw some clips on a MTB and go hit some singletrack and rock climbs, you'll soon learn to get out of them in a hurry

[w00dsy]

it wasn't so much not being able to unclip them, i'd just forgotten i had them on, so as i took my foot off the pedal i went down. I can unclip them easily when i remember i have them on