| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 683.1 | Cycle shoes/shorts recommended | RDGENG::MACFADYEN | Roderick MacFadyen | Tue May 24 1988 13:39 | 22 |
| I think you should rethink your approach a little. If you're talking
about three months cycling, and coming to Europe, then that's a fairly
big commitment of time and money. So why not spend a little bit more on
equipment to make it easier?
First, I wouldn't use a mountain bike for that amount of travel. The
sitting up position causes a lot of wind resistance, and randonneur
type drop bars, like touring bikes have, offer a variety of riding
positions - you might appreciate that as the hours go by! Also, fat
tyres have more rolling resistance. So a touring bike would be a
better choice. 700C wheels are a better choice than 27", easier
to get spares for them on the Continent.
Cycling shoes and shorts: definitely use them! Cycling shoes have very
stiff soles, which makes a big difference to the power you can apply to
the pedals; use toeclips too. Your feet will get tired in bendy running
shoes. You can pack your running shoes as luggage, it's good to have a
change of footwear anyway. Cycling shorts will help protect your groin:
chafing here can be very problematical...
Rod
|
| 683.2 | Shorts: Yes, Shoes: Maybe | MOSAIC::WASSER | John A. Wasser | Tue May 24 1988 15:10 | 16 |
|
I would recommend getting some cycling shorts. The main
reason would be the soft lining more than any padding...
regular pants and underwear are likely to cause more
wear on your inner thighs.
If your bike has big, wide, flat pedals and you will be doing
alot of walking, I would stick with comfortable walking
shoes. The main difference between a walking show and a
riding shoe (that I know of) is that the riding shoe has
a stiff sole (or sole insert) to distribute the pressure
of the pedal. With most bicycle pedals you are standing
on the EDGE of a steel plate. The mountain bike pedals
that look like an open bear trap might provide enough
pressure distribution without a stiff sole.
|
| 683.3 | Mtn vs Touring bike | LEROUF::WILSON | John in Valbonne, France | Wed May 25 1988 03:10 | 16 |
| I am inclined to agree with Rod McFadyen that if you are going to cycle
that sort of distance you would be better off with a conventional
touring bike. Mountain bikes are slow on the road, and the road
surfaces are rarely that bad. However, if you intend to do a lot of
off-road travelling, that is a different matter.
As regards the shoes, you will probably want to do a lot of walking as
well, but you would probably bring a second pair of shoes anyway.
If you are mountain biking in the mountains, you will certainly
need to ride in shoes that you can also walk in.
Hostelling: France has good hostels, but not many of them. You could
not rely on them exclusively like you could in England, for example.
John
|
| 683.4 | I'D BRING TOURING SHOES | CHEAPR::NORTON | | Wed May 25 1988 12:29 | 11 |
| A couple of years ago I went to Switzerland and brought my Avocet
biking shoes. They were pretty well broken in at the time, and
I wore them everywhere. We did lots of hiking - not real rough
trails, but plenty of walking, and they were very comfortable.
In fact, they were just about in shreds by the time I got home.
We didn't do much riding over there, but they're good for riding,
too, especially when you need to be able to walk as well. It's
better to have 2 pairs of shoes, but if you're trying to cut down
on weight, I'd recommend a pair of biking shoes.
Kathy
|
| 683.5 | No-bok | RICKS::SPEAR | MYCROFTXXX | Wed Jun 08 1988 13:05 | 8 |
| As far as I have heard, Reebok's cycling shoes are not being made, in spite of
all the advertising they have shelled out. They are having troubles with
their South Korean suppliers (or visa versa).
I have Avocet touring shoes which are comfortable to walk in, and have ridges
in the sole to grip the pedals.
chris
|