anyone afraid of their road bike? (Page 2)

I'm grateful for this thread.  It's time to come clean.

When my road bike was stolen in June 07, I didn't have $ to replace it for several months, I was training for a half-marathon, winter came... long story short, almost never rode the new bike.      Meanwhile, I've gotten used to the 45-pound ancient steel Schwinn cruiser I use for transportation (basket & pannier racks, I can ride with books, groceries, whatever!) - upright position, can see around me clearly for traffic, completely stable, can ALMOST track-stop.

So... last summer when i got back on the road bike, I was terrified.  It felt unstable and twitchy, my new clipless pedals never seemed to work right, I was SURE I was going to topple over if I had to slow down below 7mph -- which on the crowded Multi-Use-Trails around here is sadly often.  And I fell.  A lot.  My then-boyfriend was very alarmed at my multiplying collection of scrapes and bruises, and even begged me to take off the clipless pedals.  (He rides a hybrid.)

So... I gave up.    Confession: though I still hang around BT hoping one day this will change, right now I'm a former triathlete with a lovely road-bike-sculpture-thingy adorning my bedroom.  With fewer than 300 miles on it.

QUESTION:  Assuming I get brave enough to put air in the sculpture's tires and take it outside, do you think I should buy new pedals -- switch to the kind I had on my prior road bike?  Those were "hybrid" pedals, flat on one side & clipless on the other, and i never had a problem with them.  The bike is otherwise pretty much the same as my old one.

ALSO:  Any tips for working on stability/twitchiness issue?  last summer i would sometimes FORGET I wasn't on my cruiser and sort of turn my whole body to look for traffic, swerving wildly of course!  Huge adrenaline shots every time (what if there HAD been traffic?)

Thanks all, and thanks OP for this topic.

I'll chime in.   til about 2006 I rode an old aluminum road bike with clip ons.  Then I went to a tri bike, which I have been riding exclusively for the last three years.

just bought a carbon road bike.  It seems so light and fragile, I am not afraid of it being twitchy, I am afraid I am going to break it!   I've had it for two weeks and have yet to ride it (not solely for that reason)... 

Yup. I've become a decent enough cyclist to place in my AG consistently, especially on the bike segment of small local tris, and I admit that I'm STILL anxious when I get on my tribike to do some solo training with LA traffic around. I almost never ride on the roads on weekdays out fear of getting hit! (Bike trainer, stationary bikes, for me.)

My entire first 6 weeks of owning my hot Cervelo consistent of 1 ride per week of <20 miles. And not because I was too weak, but because I was afraid to ride for longer. Especially with a run background , where training is "safe" and easy even in dense traffic, cycling can be unnerving.

You'll get used to it. Best way is to find a group of similarly-abilities riders (local bike/tri club) and do group rides with them. You'll feel MUCH more confident once you see other folks of your ability not only riding well, but chatting it up and enjoying themselves the entire time.

wow hey guys, thank you all SO much, i feel 100% better reading all these responses.

until now, all i had thought of day and night was saving the money to buy this bike, and how i would be an unstoppable road warrior on it, and then the first thing i felt was...fear? it was a real let-down. but you've all made me feel like it'll just take some seat time and this bike and i will be as tight as i am with my hybrid!

i think i will re-think the routes i usually do...i don't have a rack for my car so i've been limited to what's directly accessible, which is a fast and busy major thoroughfare that goes through towns, has major potholes, lights, and busy traffic. when i first moved here and rode that on my hybrid, i was quite scared the first several times. i'll have to look into rail trails and quiet streets in my neighborhood.

i am also terrified of the water bottle - i don't think i can even do that on my hybrid, since i've been riding with camelbaks since i started biking. how dumb is it to ride my 27mi bike leg of the race with a 1.5 L camelbak rather than relying on bottles? it's not a lot of extra weight...

also, how crazy is it to ride with others during a race? that's part of what scares me with the new bike, i've only ever biked by myself...i am actually totally new to running and am doing several 5K's and 5 mi city road races before the tri so i can experience running with tons of people, so maybe i should make sure i do the same and get in on a local riders' group.  part of what worries me is that being comfortable with my bike on a dead-end street won't translate into being comfortable with 4000 other tri participants and their bikes.

Glad I'm not the only one then! And I don't know what it is! I went with Turtlegirl one time to practice riding a hill. Every time I went down, I rode the brakes more and more and got more freaked out. Practicing is supposed to make it BETTER, not worse!!

I'm with ya.  I'm fine on a mountain bike.  The other week I took my road bike out for the first time in many many years - almost fell over in the first 1/4 mile!  It feels unstable, 1st gear feels like 5th on my mb, and I'm sure those skinny tires are gonna pop at just the wrong moment.

I ride on country roads, but still the cars, wind, dogs, and "potential" speed freak me out.  I guess it just comes with time.  But for now...  yikes!

I'm not that far off from this sensation as well.  I like riding outside.  Ride to work when able.  Things like that.  I've had my road bike for about 4 years now. 

But going downhill, speeds getting 35mph and up, scare the heck out of me.  I'm fully cognizant that a little pot hole, a blown tire, unseen road debris, whatever, and I'll be moving down the asphault on my skin. 

I'll say that experience at higher speeds does help some.  First part of the yrea, I hate getting over 30mph.  But that gets adjusted to and the fear speed increases. 

I've gone upwards of 50mph on the bike.  I was gripping hard for dear life.  Of course, that was probably the worst thing I could have done as a loose body would likely react more easily to a bump or whatever.  

I guess comfort at speed just comes with experience.

Agreed! Totally normal...I was there just about 10 weeks ago (never got on a road bike before then.)  Now I'd say I'm very comfortable!  My advice:

• stay away from the aero bars for awhile...give it a few weeks

• if you're having pedal trouble (I did BIG TIME) try Speedplay Pedals.  That was the one upgrade I did and I can't even tell you what a huge difference they made for me! 

• stay away from traffic for a few weeks if possible

• get a trainer and use it for intervals/tempo

I was able to improve from a totally green road biker who averaged about 14 mph and was scared at every cadence to a somewhat confident cyclist averaging almost 19 mph over 40k in my first tri in just about 10 weeks.  You'll get there too!  The learning curve in my experience is very very friendly.    Good luck!!!!

Some hills are like that. I've topped out at 60+ in Colorado, but a hill here in phoenix I'm all over the brakes at about 35. For some reason that hill just scares the bejeeburs out of me. (What is a bejeebur, anyway?)

Edited to add: Oh, and on the pedals. I recommend Look, or any other pedal where you can adjust the clip tension. You can make the Looks so easy to slip out of you come out if you breathe wrong. Great for learning clipless.

John

I find this thread interesting as being afraid is not part of me just learning where to ride and gaining the skills.

I struggle with swimming and see a correlation..those of you that swam as a kid it comes back quickly and you feel comfortable in the water. Me I played in the water as a kid. We spent summers on an island spending hours a day playing in the water. As a kid I had two road bikes and did a 500 mile week bike trip in rural Minnesota when I was 14. I grew up with the goal to ride my bike across the country. I haven't yet but I'm only 47 and I will. For me riding a bike is natural and I just feel comfortable doing it.  When I ride I feel one with my bike, I think where I want to go and I do..no real thought to what to do/why.

I started bike racing last couple years and love cyclocross as it is a high effort intense, a little dangerous sport that rocks.

It will come..riding is amazing and rocks..honestly I love riding and any day riding is a better day. I hope that comes for you. I day dream of places to ride and imagine most roads I drive on what it would be like to ride on. It is how I'm wired cycling is just part of my core. It makes me sad so many folks are nervous or uncomfortable.

Find folks that can help you. My bike race team has a class/clinic with 4 3 hour sessions of riding that you get advice, instruction on basic riding skills and those needed to race including pacelines and such. It would be helpful for anyone wanting to be more comfortable riding even if you have no desire to race.

You need pedals you can get in and out of easily.

My husband had a brain tumor and lost the balance nerve on one side so his balance is not very good. He has double sided pedals with mtb pedals on one side and flat pedal other side. I thought they were a good idea but I see them harder to clip in than standard double sided mtb pedals I use on my cross and winter bikes. 

I hope you will perserve to feel comfortable. Anyone live near MA and want someone to ride with them to get comfortable and give you some tips, PM me, I'd love to help out if I could.

Practice makes perfect.  I've been biking forever, and I was terrified to bike down here in northern WV.  You'll be fine by June!  If you're really scared, find a parking lot and practice some drills.  Going from a hybrid to a true roadie is like going from a Camry to a Corvette.

Don't get discouraged!  And good luck racing!

I'm in the middle of the same transition. I currently have a Trek hybrid, and I am waiting for my Cervelo S1. My first tri (sprint) is in late June with another planned in August (oly). 

I went ahead and switched to clipless pedals a few weeks ago to get used to them. I have done several rides with them. They still make me nervous every time I have to stop, but I'm getting much more comfortable with them.

Can't wait for the new bike! I am glad, however, to not be making the bike and pedal change at the same time.

 Thanks for this inspiring post!  I wish you had logs so that I could see how you did it, but instead I'll just ask here:

*how often have you been riding these 10 weeks?

*how long at a time?

*flat/hills?

Thanks!