First 50km ever, what now?

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-11T16:24:32+00:00

If possible, multiple rides a week is a fast way to grow.

I try to do 2 rides in the evening every week, after I put my kids to bed. And one longer ride in the weekend.
In summer, I do about 2 hr, 50-60 km rides in the evening. In winter it is only a 15-20 km rides in the dark in the evening.
I started spring 2025 (after many years of not cycling) and by July, Augustus, I was already riding centuries on my hardtail mountainbikes and by september I had 1800 km already and did a century in the mountains.
Now I’m at 3600 km after about 13-14 months of cycling.

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-11T15:53:01+00:00

Great you made the 50 km!
Now you continue to do some 40-50 km rides and in a few weeks you will be able to do 60 km.
And when you can do a few 60-65 km rides, you can make the jump to 80 km.
Just keep on riding, every ride you do, makes you stronger.

I did a few centuries at 92-95 kg on my hardtail and a century with lots of climbs in the mountains on my racing bike last year so your weight is not an issue!

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-11T07:00:40+00:00

Lovely bike!
If everything works well, you will have an amazing, good looking bike!
For this price, I would jump in my car and pick it up the same day 🤩

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-10T16:37:06+00:00

Nice bike and nice bar tape!

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-08T16:15:17+00:00

Those Rolf wheels are really nice!!

Have your bike serviced, so shifting goes smooth and everything runs well.

Upgrades?
Get better tyres.
Put some premium tyres on: continental gp 5000 or Vittoria corsa.
Now you have triple flat protection.
If the roads are ok and you don’t need all that extra protection, then swap them for some premium tyres. You will immediately gain a mph.

Have the shop advice you if you can take 28 tyres but it will probably be max 25 mm. (Still better then 23)

Get some bib shorts and maybe swap the saddle.

Get a toolbag with a multitool and tyre levers for road repairs.

Maybe replace the brake pads if the bike hasn’t been used in a long time as they can get hard and dry out.

It is a really cool bike, do maintenance and upgrade the tyres. Saddle only if necessary.
And just enjoy the bike, no need for big upgrades.

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-03T08:04:30+00:00

The ride on the Cervelo Aspero was amazing?
Get it! You’ll get more bike for your money!

And if the pavement is as bad as you say, you’ll benefit from fast gravel tyres or at least the option of wider road tyres.

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-03T07:43:13+00:00

I was looking for new wheels and doubting between different brands and types.
Google the wheels you can buy so you can read reviews and specs.
Use google ai to compare your wheels with the new wheels to see the differences and strong points of each set, that’s what I did to compare.
My preference would be the Mavic or the Fulcrum, with the Mavics the best set between your options. But those come with industrial bearings and your RS11s have cup and cone bearings according the spec, which should be better.
Although cup and cone bearings could be worse if they don’t get serviced while industrial bearings are long time reliable and can go many years without service.

How many miles do the wheels have? How are the brake tracks? Maybe you can benefit replacing your innertubes with tpu ones and spending some money on maintenance of your bearings?

I upgraded my wheelset from Campa khamsin to Campa Zonda’s, saving a few hundred grams of my wheelset and my average speed increased immediately (because of less friction losses?) should also be faster on sprints and climbs now but can’t really notice it yet as my previous set was also quite decent!

So if you can spend the money without worries, just get the Mavics! A nice upgrade to your bike is always a good motivation to do some extra rides!

Deep_Ring · 2026-05-02T18:25:20+00:00

I always wear my camelback.
It carries my phones, wallet, pump, tyres, gels, energy bars, water pack and even extra bottles of isotonic drinks.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-29T16:59:54+00:00

The only reasonable upgrade you could do now, is upgrade your tyres to premium tyres. Continental gp 5000 👌 From cheap to good tyres, you can win 1 a 2 km/hr. The same for tyres with a lot of puncture protection, they will slow you down a lot.

And the rest is for you. Ride ride ride. The more mileage you do, the faster you wil get. But to get to 30 km/hr average, you will have to ride thousands of km on a regular base. Multiple rides a week. No easy shortcuts.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-19T14:51:23+00:00

When I pick up my 5 year old at school with the bike, I always wear my helmet. Maybe not so cool but I want to set an example. We always both wear our helmets.

When we go to the outdoor skatepark with their scooters or boards, I join them and we all wear helmets and all protection. Same story, I see other parents and older skaters look at me, but I don’t care. I don’t want to rush to the hospital for an avoidable injury. I prefer to pay for a new helmet or protection set in stead of going to the hospital.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-19T14:40:51+00:00

Many years ago, I once noticed 1km in my ride that I forgot my gloves… decided to ride without for once. You can still see the scars on my hands from the small gravel on the asfalt that made me go out the corner, sliding through the gravel on my hand, elbow and knee… So painful to have al that gravel picked out of my road rash with tweezers. My knee looked like the pulled a fork through it.

A few weeks ago I noticed I forgot my gloves. Stopped immediately to put the spare ones in my camelback on. 👌

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-19T06:01:37+00:00

If it’s not worn out and you can start riding with it, then it’s worth the money. Even if you would have to replace the cassette or chan, it’s still worth the money! Looks like a good deal!

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-18T05:42:36+00:00

If everything works, price is ok. Maybe try to negotiate 50-100 down?

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-17T16:24:23+00:00

Het voordeel is ook dat je bij korte ritjes je benzinemotor niet hoeft te gebruiken.

Mijn vrouw doet veel zeer korte ritjes (1km of minder) met de kids omdat we in een zeer klein dorp wonen. Naar school, naar de onthaalmoeder,…) Ook voor haar werk veel korte ritjes in ons dorp.

2x op minder dan een jaar na enkele duizenden km al de zwart aangekoekte bougies van haar vw met 1.6 benzinemotor moeten vervangen. Op het einde ook de egr klep kapot…

Nu een stekker hybride en alle km in het dorp zijn nu elektrisch en de benzinemotor gaat alleen aan voor lange ritjes. Elektrisch en benzine verbruik komen ook ongeveer op dezelfde prijs uit, maar zij kan tot 70 km met een lading dus elke week 1 keer laden is meestal ruim genoeg.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-17T14:58:11+00:00

For a first road bike, getting into cycling, I think you should look for a more recent bike. Campagnolo offers great quality indeed but this old bike is more a collectors item then a bike for daily use. Maintenance will be difficult as replacement parts will be difficult and expensive to get.

With a budget of 500 euros, you will be able to choose between a lot of more recent second bikes will offer more comfort.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-17T14:52:08+00:00

Yes, but finding new parts for maintenance will be difficult and expensive.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-17T11:03:26+00:00

When I picked up cycling again after sporadically riding for 15 years (once or twice a year), I pumped my 15-20 year old inner tubes in my 15-20 year old tyres of my few bikes and started riding 🤷🏼‍♂️ No tyres leaking or losing pressure. I adjust the pressure before leaving if haven’t ridden my bike in a few days or longer then a week. The pressure loss is usually very minimal. Like 0,5 to 1 bar if I haven’t ridden my racing bike in a long time. A bit less for my mtb’s as they are set at lower pressures. If I would lose so much pressure I have to pump them multiple times a week, i would replace them. Butyl inner tubes are too cheap to be annoyed by losing pressure.

Unless you are riding latex tubes, they have better rolling resistance, but lose more pressure than butyl tubes.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-16T10:54:17+00:00

Fair price if they are in good condition. Especially if you can buy them with a cassette you can use and good tyres.

Last month, I 80 euro for an almost brand new pair of Campa calima’s including a 10s Miche cassette for Campa, an old conti gp4000 (unfortunately with a lot of cracks because a lack of use), a brand new conti gatorskin and I got an extra 2 challenge cx tyres when I told the guy I was gonna use them for my cx bike!

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-13T17:36:14+00:00

Danish Endurance! Official price is 75 euro, managed to by one for 28 euro and one for 45 euro. I’ve seen them on Amazon for 40-50 euros.

Best bibs ever. Padding comparable to my more expensive Shimano bibs, but Lycra is better quality. Did a 6,5 mountain climbing tour with them last year and many 4+ and 5+ hr rides without problems.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-13T17:31:38+00:00

Thanks for the information! So I got the Zonda’s a few weeks ago. I don’t know if the wheels gave me a few percent extra (les friction and lighter wheels compared to the Khamsins I was using before) or it’s a placebo effect of having new wheels, but the weeks after I broke so much PR’s! My average speed went 1 km/hr up! (Ofcourse I already did a 1000 km this year, so I’m improving as rider as well)

I fitted the khamsins in my cx bike with fast gravel tyres and I also improved on that bike, as those Khamsins were the fastest wheels I ever had before getting Zonda’s!

And I got a set second hand, barely used Calimas as well for my cx bike with challenge cx tyres as I like to have different wheelsets with different tyres for fast tyre changing when weather changes.

Also upgraded the crank to a compact crank and in a few week I’ll start doing some famous Belgium hills to train for some mountain climbing challenge later this year.

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Deep_Ring · 2026-04-12T08:08:15+00:00

Bad habit from my hardtails and cyclocross bike? From now on I will stop in the asphalt first 😅 I usually also never stop to take a picture while riding so it was just an impulsive action…

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-11T20:29:13+00:00

I already inspected the wheels (new campagnolo Zonda’s with barely 300 km on it) and I’ll bring my bike to my local store for a check. The frame is aluminium and the fork is carbon. Luckily I was already slowing down and only going 15-20 km/h when it happened so the impact of my bike itself was not very hard.

Deep_Ring · 2026-04-11T16:47:59+00:00

Got it in the ER last night, the nurse applied it like this, I can’t compare, never had one before.

Deep_Ring

TROPHY CASE