How To Set Up Your First Road Bike: Beginner Series Ep. 2

In this episode, Manon goes through everything you need to know about setting up your first bike so you can ride comfortably! 🚴 Do you want to start cycling? Then welcome to our new beginner series! In these 5 videos, we will help you: find your first bike, set it up, maintain it, know what to wear, build confidence on the road, and find people to ride with. 🚴
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Pedals
1:37 - Handlebars
5:32 - Saddle height
7:20 - The right saddle
8:39 - Tyre pressure
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What’s your best advice for new cyclists? 🤔 Let them know in the comment section below! 💬
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📹 How To Choose Your First Road Bike 👉 • How To Choose Your Fir...
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#gcn #cycling #roadcycling #roadbike #bike #bikes #bikelife #beginnercyclist #firstbike #bikesetup
📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sprint Cycling Agency
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[@gcn]

What’s your best advice for new cyclists? 🤔

[@MrSuperb]

That pedals don't follow the lefty loosey righty tightly rule depending on the side, I've seen too many crank shafts ruined from that simple mistake

[@davehollingworth5537]

Bib shorts and chamois cream. 🎉

[@gcn]

@@davehollingworth5537 Say it louder for those at the back 📣

[@MTBScotland]

its more addictive than crack and more expensive.

[@almassengale]

Be prepared to spend a lot more money than you think (helmet, clothes, tools, maintenance, lights, etc, etc, etc, etc) The cost of the bike is only the start. Also be prepared to have more fun than you think.

[@MartinBBB]

Probably worth mentioning to novices that pedals have left and right- hand threads depending on which side you're working on.

[@paulgibby6932]

!!

[@MrSuperb]

Especially as they say left loosy right after, you can ruin a crankshaft if you mess up pedals

[@endcensorship874]

Here’s how I remember it, and how I teach it: *back off* With the pedals level, and the pedal wrench pointed up, move the wrench toward the back of the bike to get the pedal off.

[@gomeri]

Also maybe apply some grease in the threads so you can one day remove the pedals a bit easier...

[@gcn]

Good point Martin! That can be an expensive mistake to make 👀

[@laconfreriedesimbeciles8249]

For the beginners, when you are tightening your stem screws, don't forget to tighten them crosswise.

[@memucanhunt1]

Good advice for any item that has more than 3 bolts/screws.

[@cherriagana]

Best advice I would give myself back in the days is that a bikefit is really worth the money. Little things kept adding up causing neck/knee and ITB problems: Bikefitter adjusted the angle of my SPD cleats on both planes, fixed my arch support, made small adjustments to my bar and extended my reach on the peddals. Now I'm not only riding fully painfree but also allot faster for longer!

[@shauncasey8295]

I ordered my Scott road bike online from their website. It was then sent to a dealer near me and assembled there by the pros. All i had to do was go pick it up. The bike shop owner fitted me to the bike, explained everything to me about the bike, even took a short ride with me to help me get the feel of it and answer any questions i had before i left. Also, he offered a free break in tune up after i put 50 miles on it. I'm all for hands on and learning new things, but that really made for a great experience. Fast and easy out the door riding it as soon as i got home.

[@DarkHawk360]

Don't forget to put some grease on the pedal threads to help prevent corrosion.

[@gcn]

Great pro tip 🙌

[@yonglingng5640]

​@@happydogg312 This is ideal, but grease is better than nothing.

[@daveeeed]

Fore and aft saddle position makes a difference. Also angle. I have a slight rise in the saddle. Helps with stability

[@bengt_axle]

1) As numerous commenters note, left (NDS) pedal is reverse threaded. Turn (rotate) the pedal axle towards the FRONT of the bike to INSTALL; towards the back wheel to remove. Grease the threads and do not over tighten. 2) By far the most tricky saddle positioning is set back. It has nothing to do with how far away the bars are, but rather how well your weight is balanced. The proper setback will allow your palms to just float on the bars when pedaling moderately hard while seated. Once you've got the setback right, then choose the stem length. Hopefully, your frame size is correct and a stem between 70-120 mm will put the bars in the right place. For this reason, it may be worthwhile to do a bike fit before buying a bike, and let the fitter suggest which model and size to buy. 3) Don't cut the steerer before giving yourself 1000km of riding for your body to adapt and feel perfectly natural. You can always add or remove spacers or invert the stem, but once the steerer is cut, you have less range of adjustment in handlebar height.

[@marctestarossa]

I just got my first road bike after several years of not being able to ride at all

[@SweetappleC]

Good stuff. I am 'playing' with tyre pressure at the moment, and Manon's view is an easy way to understand a tricky topic. On saddles, setting them up flat (use a spirit level) is important too.

[@Kakirax]

My big tip for a beginner is to invest in a good bike fit from a reputable person! I purchased a road bike based and tried to set it up myself, but this resulted in lots of aches and pains. After I got a bike fit (luckily the bike I bought was a good size for me), it got dialed in based on my body and now it's surprisingly comfortable. Not to mention if you are an adult, a single bike fit will give you the knowledge on what bike measurements are good for you for life!

[@robertneild3772]

Super helpful! Thank you!

[@Didyoureallythinkaboutit]

I always enjoy the content and your presentation even when the intended audience may be very new and everything is an effort to absorb. It’s a good start to the basic checklist. There are myriad top shelf GCN videos to get into the nitty gritty. See you on the flip side.

[@jennifercash1093]

remember to straighten your saddle up to the frame if you have a tubular saddle post rather than a non-round one like the one Manon had here! Similarly when adjusting handlbars/stack, make sure it all goes back to square so you don't feel like you are permanently riding round corners or sitting wonky

[@Aeysir]

Bought a Ragley Trig this week from Chain Reaction and it turned up with a spare multitool, a pedal spanner and a cheap set of pedals. Pretty useful 🙂

[@mancello]

Tighten stem faceplate bolts in a cross pattern.

[@chris1275cc]

Stem bolts should be tightened up evenly. If you whack one bolt up too tight while the others are too loose you will damage the bars. Bring them up to torque a bit at a time crossing the bars every time you change bolts in a kind of a bowtie pattern. I go TOP LEFT - BOTTOM RIGHT - TOP RIGHT - BOTTOM LEFT - (back to) TOP LEFT and repeat. Keep an eye on the gap between the face plate and the stem it should remain roughly even while tightening and be even when you are done.

[@BarryJones-wt3et]

Very useful 😊

[@Redmire44]

Beginner series brilliant idea !!

[@gcn]

Let's get more people cycling 🙌

[@johnstrac]

I would always advise to use a torque wrench on anything involving carbon fibre, be it bars seatpost etc. That cracking noise would be terminal.

[@gcn]

Great point! If it doubt get the the torque wrench out 🔧

[@craigpavia8943]

Seriously. A beginner adjusting bars at home? GCN should remind buyers that a decent shop should give u a basic fit and that moving your bars requires tape removal and replacement of the shifters.

[@johnstrac]

@@craigpavia8943 I think Manon was just showing the basics of bar adjustment but you make a good point, bar angle could be spot on but shifters all wrong or vice versa.

[@jonnybegood1544]

Love tour vids ))

[@davidhenry5925]

Best advice for a new cyclist. Get on your bike and ride as often as possible, even if it's a short ride. Also, try to find other people to ride with. There is safety in numbers (on the road) and the encouragement of friends keeps you going.

[@johnderickjardin5273]

Amazing tip

[@newoldsteel]

I build vintage steel bikes with vintage parts because there’s way more fudge factor when doing your own maintenance/builds because they are so durable. BUT I will ALWAYS have modern cycling shoes and saddle because no vintage shoe or saddle is worth potentially having knee/saddle pain! So that’s my advice!

[@emmabird9745]

Hi Manon. You missed a bit. When tightening the 4 bolts on the handlebar clamp, you should finger tight first then diagonal tightening. ? that seat post bolt on your bike is into carbon. Adjust it on the road with a multi tool, use a torque wrench? There ae mixed messages there. saddles? Try one bring it back etc. That is not the policy in all bike shops. You should make that clear. Pedals, not all are allen key fixing, I've had several that need a narrow spanner. Also its worth mentioning (for the beginner) RH thread on the right and LH thread on thr left.

[@loscrows1836]

Finding the right saddle was an odyssey for me. The answer came out of frustration after spending too much money on a bunch of saddles. The answer was a 35 dollar(on sale) mountain bike saddle.

[@cleekmaker00]

Excellent video, Manon! This will definitely help newbies out! 🖖🙂

[@gcn]

What is your one piece of advice for new cyclists? 🚴‍♀️

[@kenswan6838]

Worth noting that it is pretty important to put some sort of anti seize on both pedal threads and seat posts. I recently bought a second hand bike from a guy who obviously thought that Grease was just a musical!

[@donaldduck5731]

I’m convinced now, there’s no difference between designing and building spacecraft and designing and building bikes, the engineering is exactly the same, pure physics, form and function and efficiency.

[@packepuck]

I'm quite new to road bikes and I found the most difficult parameters to set up to be the angle and the longitudinal position of seat. I think it took a couple of months before I settled...

[@Vixen1525]

Yes I can relate to that but making your handlebar "symmetrical" is way, more bummering in my opinion.

[@jeffogar]

Throw some grease on those pedals before threading them on - nothing worse than trying to free them up when they’re seized. I did it once and vowed never ever again after my knuckles healed up.

[@matt.3.14]

Probably worth mentioning that when you loosen the stem and take off the cap, the fork isn't attached to the bike any more. If it's not sitting on the ground, it'll fall out.

[@jason-white]

I have to go back and rewatch, Perhaps I missed it but you showed how to make these adjustments on a specific bike but I heard no mention of how to tell that you need to make them.

[@tamarastrulik5996]

Caution when u do the pedals there is a left and a right pedal and they have a left-hantread and a rightgandtread just don't force it and u will be fine

[@event4216]

If I'll use track pump to inflate road bike tires will I be able to coast or have to spin all the time?

[@BadHorsie1]

She didn't mention that the crank on the opposite side to the chain ring usually had a left hand thread. Oh it's so easy just pop the pedals on😂

[@emiljarengrim2536]

My rides got a lot more comfortable when I finally gave in and accepted just how wide my ass is and bought a saddle correct to that size. That was a good and rough day at the same time...

[@brian2066]

Hello GCN team,I have a question I hope you guys can answer. Should I use a time trial or road bike on my indoor trainer?. Which will give me the best results on my VO2 and muscle strength?… Thanks….

[@craigpavia8943]

Saddle height on any bike also requires a torque wrench...especially on a $10,000 "entry level" full carbon aero bike LOL.

[@yonglingng5640]

Many riders still don't have a torque wrench or any torque tool for that matter. I only know less than 5 riders who aren't mechanics that have a torque wrench.

[@fwod1867]

Would buy some new parts for all my bikes, if Manon helps me attach them to my bikes 😊 Manage to build your own bike is not so easy as it looks. Need some knowledge, good tools and passion 😅

[@yonglingng5640]

Most importantly, mechanical aptitude, an attribute that's seemingly not as common as it was in the past. If it's absent, a good job can never be achieved.

[@fwod1867]

👍

[@MultiQwerty9]

>explains how to work with spacers >demonstrates on a bike without spacers

[@McBofh]

This was very informative Manon, thankyou very much. While I've been cycling for a long time and consider myself to be reasonably well informed, it's always nice to see a different way of explaining things.

[@tenpennyguy]

I understand that it is tricky to balance how much to say, how to encourage new riders, provide enough "how-to" info but not too much. Alas, as others have commented, this video left out some important items on pedals and torque for handlebar. For me, there wasn't enough here to be useful and more than enough gaps to be problematic.

[@truthseeker8483]

If your handlebars are wider then you will be leaning forward more...the opposite of what the "expert" said at 4.45.....but what do I know?? 🤪

[@malcolmgraham9462]

Do not forget the opposite thread on pedals - RH installs clockwise - LH installs anti-Clockwise!

[@innerlocus]

Are flat seats like the ones that come with the bike more comfortable than a rounded padded seat?

[@gcn]

Great question. Saddles are a always a tough one to get right and often it comes down to the person. Flatter and harder saddles tend to offer more support on longer rides. Maybe head to your local shop and see if you can try some saddles out.

[@innerlocus]

@@gcn It's good I kept the flat seat, and I will switch the padded out to try the flat one out again, today, thx.

[@emil5459]

​@@innerlocus I saw an infographic from Fizik where they recommended flatter or more curved saddles based on your back, hip, and leg flexibility as well as your fitness level or style of riding. If I remember correctly, the gist was the more flexible you are (and the more you had an athletic or performance oriented riding style), the flatter your saddle can/should be. The curved saddles were supposed to compensate for a stiff back and a further forward tilted hip, so you can still properly sit on your sitbones instead of putting pressure on your soft tissue

[@alfabethev2.074]

Hahaha ! I just love the three beautiful Felt bikes in the background😄 .. Felt, a company that you are not sponsored by.. ooh, that must sting !!🤣

[@PawnScum]

Setup (noun) is one word. Set up (verb) is two words. You got it right this time in the title, but not so much in the thumbnail (unless you were emphasizing that it was a simple bike getting set up).

[@GOLTEB]

Don't be cheap on buying tools!

[@yonglingng5640]

This is especially true for hex wrenches. When I bought my Bondhus set, I initially couldn't really swallow the relatively high price, but it turned out to be one of my best purchases ever. Very, VERY well worth it!

[@chrisparent4660]

No grease on the pedal threads? Eeks!!!

[@michaelb9664]

I don’t mean to be negative guys, but this video was poor - and that’s being polite. If this is aimed at people new to cycling you need to cover things in more detail. Pedals are opposite threads. Tighten pedals towards the front of the bike and loosen towards the rear of the bike no matter which side of the bike you are working at. Grease the threads so the pedals do not seize in the cranks. Tighten stem bolts in an alternating diagonal pattern gently one at a time until they are all getting a hold and then do a final nip/or torque them up in the same diagonal manner and then double check them as the first one can slacken off once you’ve been around all 4 bolts. Demonstrate a steerer tube with a conventional set up and actually show taking it apart and moving the spacers instead of just briefly describing it. This is the the area of the bike which if you get it wrong can be very dangerous. Discuss the importance of having a correctly tightened headset with a carbon steerer tube. Talk about using the correct grease on the seat post to suit frame and post material as again these can seize solid. Come on GCN this is really basic but very important stuff.

[@craigpavia8943]

"Go off feel" is the advice seconds after a casual mention of a torque wrench ($100)...GCN?!?!?!

[@sfoot3882]

You need to edit out the part about the steering tube spacers! “just screw it back together like you took it off” is going to get someone seriously hurt. It’s a specific order, screw down the cap to compress the stack. Then tighten the stem. Otherwise your stem is floating on the steering tube and you’ll rattle apart at speed. You guys are better than this, but you’ve been real sloppy in your education videos lately.

[@techliso]

You don't need to set up your first road bike if you don't have it. Mtbs rule!

[@gcn]

Did the GMBN team send you 👀

[@techliso]

@@gcn 😂😅

[@robertmyers5269]

Manon, I usually really like your videos, but this pretty quickly got me hitting the thumbs down. Pedals 1) where is the grease on the threads? 2) this is one place where righty tighty, lefty loosey doesn't apply - this is a bad place to mention it, as well as this is the place to demonstrate this exception. 3) some pedal don't have allen fittings, you need a wrench. 4..infinity, WHERE'S THE GREASE?? Stem height, if your are going to describe it, show a bike with spacers. Didn't watch further.

[@vongdong10]

How many times are you guys going to make the same kind of videos??? I want to unsubscribe because of this but staying for the good videos...

[@larrylem3582]

They've run out of material, are looking for suggestions. They need the subscriptions and likes to stay in business.

[@dongoat4232]

Thats coz road bikes ddnt change that much since. but because there are people who are new to cycling, they needed this kind of vid.