[blue_pulsar]

Guys, I have decided to purchase a bike. Its for daily exercise. But the problem is there are lot of steep slopes around my house. And I'm 5"10' and weigh around 98kgs. Can you guys tell me whether cycling would be a proper exercise given the above conditions. If yes, also, please suggest a bike for me. Thanks in advance!

[opendro]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Guys, I have decided to purchase a bike. Its for daily exercise. But the problem is there are lot of steep slopes around my house. And I'm 5"10' and weigh around 98kgs. Can you guys tell me whether cycling would be a proper exercise given the above conditions. If yes, also, please suggest a bike for me. Thanks in advance!

Your height and weight should not be a problem. It is important to make sure that the saddle height is adjusted according to your height to avoid KNEE PAIN and CALF EXHAUSTION. The correct is such that when you cycle, your knee gets to stretched out fully or almost fully. Otherwise, you will not be able to cycle a good distance.

Slopes are not a problem if you have a gear system. Without gear system, it is a pain to climb slopes.

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by opendro

Your height and weight should not be a problem. It is important to make sure that the saddle height is adjusted according to your height to avoid KNEE PAIN and CALF EXHAUSTION. The correct is such that when you cycle, your knee gets to stretched out fully or almost fully. Otherwise, you will not be able to cycle a good distance.

Slopes are not a problem if you have a gear system. Without gear system, it is a pain to climb slopes.

Thanks a lot buddy! Can you suggest me a geared cycle in the 5k range. Also suggest whether I should look out for thin tyres or thick(like ATB, MTB) ones? I remeber when I was in school, I had the Hero Ranger and had a hard time cycling it on the inclines and the thick tyres also contributed to that.

[opendro]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Thanks a lot buddy! Can you suggest me a geared cycle in the 5k range. Also suggest whether I should look out for thin tyres or thick(like ATB, MTB) ones? I remeber when I was in school, I had the Hero Ranger and had a hard time cycling it on the inclines and the thick tyres also contributed to that.

You get Hercules and BSA within that range. Thin tyres are easier (actually a lot easier) to cycle than the fat ones. But fat ones are more durable and better in grip while braking. Long time since I rode a thin tyre one. I'm myself thinking of changing to a thin one after the present set of tyres just to feel the difference. It may not be that bad after all.

Originally Posted by opendro

Your height and weight should not be a problem. It is important to make sure that the saddle height is adjusted according to your height to avoid KNEE PAIN and CALF EXHAUSTION. The correct is such that when you cycle, your knee gets to stretched out fully or almost fully. Otherwise, you will not be able to cycle a good distance.

Slopes are not a problem if you have a gear system. Without gear system, it is a pain to climb slopes.

opendro- the knee should never be fully straightened.
that is, at the absolute bottom of your powerstroke, the knee should be very slightly bent.
it is imperative.
too much of a bend at that position leads to knee problems, joint wear and tear, also reduces the efficiency of the stroke.
too straight a knee at the bottom of the stroke will cause hamstring trouble and back pain.

fatter tyres are better for ride comfort, and are usually sufficient for commuting within city. the drag reduction offered by the thin tyres become significant only on long trips (50kms plus)

also,think of it this way, we are all trying desperately to lose weight. that is our primary objective, a little more drag will only help us out in the long run.

[ms001]

my friend purchased hero DTB(18 gears rear and front shocks) for around 5k from khan cycle dispensary road, he says he is happy with the bike

[motorheadinc]

even a hercules WOW comes at around 5.5k which i have got.

Pretty satisfied with it.

At higher speeds it is a breeze due to the "turboDrive" thingy.

Don't know how it actually works but at higher speeds reduces the effort vis a vis other thick tyred bikes

[opendro]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

opendro- the knee should never be fully straightened.
that is, at the absolute bottom of your powerstroke, the knee should be very slightly bent.
it is imperative.
too much of a bend at that position leads to knee problems, joint wear and tear, also reduces the efficiency of the stroke.
too straight a knee at the bottom of the stroke will cause hamstring trouble and back pain.

fatter tyres are better for ride comfort, and are usually sufficient for commuting within city. the drag reduction offered by the thin tyres become significant only on long trips (50kms plus)

also,think of it this way, we are all trying desperately to lose weight. that is our primary objective, a little more drag will only help us out in the long run.

Thank you for further information. I actually keep my saddle height at the level you mentioned, mainly to allow me to touch the ground when I have to stop.

But for your information, people I know of are not cycling to lose weight. I agree to a great extent that we do it to remain fit (not necessarily linked to weight). I do it because it is convenient, quick and fun. Having said that I also prefer fat tyre. Just thinking of some change now and then.

[wanderlustindia]

Finally got my RoadPro 2200 home. Will post pics soon. The training begins this weekend.

[ms001]

cogratulations
have fun, do post the snaps soon

[asr245]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

opendro- the knee should never be fully straightened.
that is, at the absolute bottom of your powerstroke, the knee should be very slightly bent.
it is imperative.
too much of a bend at that position leads to knee problems, joint wear and tear, also reduces the efficiency of the stroke.
too straight a knee at the bottom of the stroke will cause hamstring trouble and back pain.

fatter tyres are better for ride comfort, and are usually sufficient for commuting within city. the drag reduction offered by the thin tyres become significant only on long trips (50kms plus)

also,think of it this way, we are all trying desperately to lose weight. that is our primary objective, a little more drag will only help us out in the long run.

Nice info. I have some knee problem so I will more than take note of this from now on.

[zenx]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Guys, I have decided to purchase a bike. Its for daily exercise. But the problem is there are lot of steep slopes around my house. And I'm 5"10' and weigh around 98kgs. Can you guys tell me whether cycling would be a proper exercise given the above conditions. If yes, also, please suggest a bike for me. Thanks in advance!

On a decent geared bike, slopes are not an issue. Yes you go slower, but its not tougher if you make your peace with that. In a week you'll have figured out your own "incline-strategy"

[asr245]

Originally Posted by zenx

On a decent geared bike, slopes are not an issue. Yes you go slower, but its not tougher if you make your peace with that. In a week you'll have figured out your own "incline-strategy"

I beg to differ. I have a TREK 4300D with 24 gears. Took it to D'dun (in my car) on a recent trip where I took it for a ride. In the route I took that day there was about half a km stretch with steep slopes. Actually it didn't look that steep going down but climbing up was a different story. While I went down in 24th gear (actually I didn't have to paddle much on the way down) I had to go down till 6th on the way up. How steep was it? Well.. other bicyclists on that piece of stretch had to get off and push their cycles up.

Or maybe I am not as fit as u r

[zenx]

Originally Posted by asr245

I beg to differ. I have a TREK 4300D with 24 gears. Took it to D'dun (in my car) on a recent trip where I took it for a ride. In the route I took that day there was about half a km stretch with steep slopes. Actually it didn't look that steep going down but climbing up was a different story. While I went down in 24th gear (actually I didn't have to paddle much on the way down) I had to go down till 6th on the way up. How steep was it? Well.. other bicyclists on that piece of stretch had to get off and push their cycles up.

Or maybe I am not as fit as u r

Oh no, you *do* have to switch to lows - I go to 5th and 6th all the time. But then the effort falls low enough to not really break into a sweat.

In any case - was referring to the usual Bangalore inclines. The outer fringes of Ddun are possibly tougher.

@zenx- asr245 is right.
on an incline, the geared bike will be easier and faster to propel than an ungeared one.it will not help much even if you slow down(unless its a very slight incline)

In both cases, the total energy spent on climbing the same incline will be the same. Lets say- 200kcal/ or joules or whatever.

but you can spread out that energy demand over more pedal strokes in a geared bike. so instead of expending 200/20 kcal per pedal stroke i.e-10kcal,
you can spend 200/40 or 200/100 and so forth per pedal stroke in a geared bike(depending on the gears available)

what that translates into, for your muscles is that
you can use your aerobic system to provide the energy in a geared bike up a slope. that system lasts longer, is more efficient and will cause less toxic by-products that cause fatigue.

in an ungeared bike, you are forced to come up with all that energy in a very short time, which will push your muscles into anaerobic metabolism.

simple rules for gear usage
1. if you legs are hurting, downshift
2. if you're panting- upshift.
3. if both your lungs and legs are on fire- slow down.

EDIT- I agree zenx- bangy inclines are not worth using lower gears on.