I ride a roadbike and ride clipless. I haven't made the switch to tubeless yet but I don't flat often and a tube change on the road is pretty quick and easy. Do it at home before you venture out so you know what you're doing. I'd probably suggest flat pedals until you get comfortable on the bike. Studded flats are cheap enough to use for a while or forever. Adidas Five Ten shoes at the minimum, not regular sneakers unless your rides will be short. Definitely some type of short with a chamois in it and if you're not used to a bike saddle your ass will probably hurt initially. First instinct is to buy a wide padded seat but that's not what you want. Hop on, be safe, and enjoy being a kid again.

Seventy percent of drivers don't know that bicycles exist,
25% know but don't care.
F.y.i.

Yeah, I am not a bicyclist but as far as safety goes, be super vigilant when traveling on country roads.

I live about 5 miles from the nearest freeway or well maintained road with shoulders. Our country road ends up down on the Lake where there are several resorts and homes on the lake. More and more people are bringing their bikes with them while visiting there.

Like most rural roads in Missouri, our road has ZERO shoulders and can be very curvey with blind spots all along it. The posted speed limit is 55. These tourists on their bikes seldom travel more than 25 mph. Its easy enough to go around them but there are places where you can't get in the other lane due to hill tops or sharp curves. I can't believe no one hasn't been killed or badly injured yet. They don't ride on the grass or gravel but stay on the blacktop. I get it, but the danger is there nonetheless.

My advice for riding on these roads:

Where high visibility clothes. Neon green or something.

Make sure you have good rear view mirrors. If there are cars in the other lane, a driver behind you has no where to go if he comes up on you around a curve. If you can see this developing you can take action.

Bright reflectors or a blinking tail light could be a life saver.

Others have mentioned being vigilant about drivers, cars, trucks, and other hazards.

I'm on a triathlon bike, so I'm mainly in bike lanes and rural roads. I know most drivers are not expecting a cyclist and respond at the last minute.

Hence, I've installed a Garmin Varia to pair with my Garmin 530 computer. It senses cars approaching within 150 yards and shows up on my screen as a blip moving closer to me. It also has a camera built in to the flasher, so it records on a 90 minute loop.

At least I'll have video of the car that eventually runs me over.

Helmet... yes a helmet ... Not some cheap one but a good quality one to protect the "ole noggin"... current ones have different ventalation designs and can actually be cooler than no helmet at all..... falling over even at a dead stop when your head hits the roadway/driveway/hard ground with the same force as riding directly into a brick wall at 20miles per hour.... Be safe and enjoy the exercise. ........... drill sgt.

Visited my local bike shop today. It is a small one but the employees were helpful. I picked up my helmet.

A Bontrager Starvos WaveCel helmet in "radioactive yellow".

https://www.rei.com/product/17...vecel-cycling-helmet

There are a half dozen riders on our two lane county roads that use flashing front and rear lights.
Even on sunny days my eyes are drawn to those lights,
They really work well.

I see you already have a bike, and lots of good advice so far!

My two cents are just a little different.

I’ve had road, mountain, cross, recumbent bikes, and now recumbent trikes.

For absolute fun, comfort, and good leg exercise, my recumbent trike blows away anything else.

It weighs in at 35 lbs. most cruising as 9-12 mph.

I’m low, and not single track, so better on paths than road. Right about 32 inches wide between front wheels.

I can ride for hours, it’s is like sitting on a couch. No back pain, hand or wrists falling asleep, neck is fine. I can climb at .10 mph and go all day without falling over.

Down hill, or flat is like riding a go cart. I feel like a kid again.

I’m 51, not riding trikes because I had stroke or worried about falling. Just love being comfortable, and being outside.

Yes, it is more expensive than a bike, but, everyone who has ridden it, wants one of their own.

Go to a pro bike shop, and ride anything you are thinking of buying.

I will warn you, once you try it, it may ruin you from ever wanting to ride an upright bike again.

Saw a biker from 1/2 mile away today, at 1: p.m.
It was a blinker, but had three mode options.

It was awesome
Stopped him to ask what brand headlight he had.

Garmin rechargable.
$130.00.

Bicycle tire . Com

No that's wrong but something like that.

With that price and those features ,
I'd get one for the front And the back

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
Others have mentioned being vigilant about drivers, cars, trucks, and other hazards.

I'm on a triathlon bike, so I'm mainly in bike lanes and rural roads. I know most drivers are not expecting a cyclist and respond at the last minute.

Hence, I've installed a Garmin Varia to pair with my Garmin 530 computer. It senses cars approaching within 150 yards and shows up on my screen as a blip moving closer to me. It also has a camera built in to the flasher, so it records on a 90 minute loop.

At least I'll have video of the car that eventually runs me over.

I finally broke down and bought a Varia a few weeks ago and wish I'd bought one long ago. It hasn't missed yet and gives me a lot more notice than my ears ever did.

The bike arrived yesterday. I finished the assembly bars, seat, and front tire. Took her out for the shakedown cruise around the block to make sure everything works. She passed with flying colors.

It is true that you never forget how to ride a bike but you sure do get rusty. The disk brakes were a new twist but they work well. Shifting is push lever and very smooth. Now to work up to some actual rides.

There is a fella here in tiny town that has massive black frame tubes.
But road tires .
But it's ultra light weight because of the composite carbon or whatever material.

We have a couple of nice bike path options here near home. Both offer about 40 miles RT of riding with minimal road time so casual biking has become my favorite activity.
I use simple mountain bike flat pedals that are good with any shoe I care to wear.
Saddle shape and size seem more important than padding.
A simple Cateye will keep you up to date on miles and time per ride and not be a distraction.
I don’t care for the ultra simple CO2 inflators due to the one shottedness of them.
I rarely carry water unless it really hot. It’s only 3-4 hours unless you have to walk it back one day.
If you have presta stems carry a Schrader adapter.
I carry a tube, levers, patches, glue, zip ties, tiny pump, and Allen wrenches in a saddle pack.
The main thing is to keep it enjoyable.

quote:

Originally posted by daikyu:
The bike arrived yesterday. I finished the assembly bars, seat, and front tire. Took her out for the shakedown cruise around the block to make sure everything works. She passed with flying colors.

It is true that you never forget how to ride a bike but you sure do get rusty. The disk brakes were a new twist but they work well. Shifting is push lever and very smooth. Now to work up to some actual rides.

The pre-assembly/pre-build of bikes like the one your ordered almost always leave a lot to be desired. I recommend you take it to a reputable bike shop for inspection. At the very least, it should pass safety inspection, as in, the bike is assembled well enough that it is safe to ride. I can't tell how many times I see riders who don't even have their quick-release hub skewers closed properly.

If you're OK w/ your bike working good enough, then ride it as-is. If you want operating optimally, then pay a bike mechanic to assemble it. Most likely, the wheel hubs and headset are adjusted too tight, and the wheels need truing. Better yet, if you're the DIY type, then take some classes on how to maintain your bike yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
Others have mentioned being vigilant about drivers, cars, trucks, and other hazards.

I'm on a triathlon bike, so I'm mainly in bike lanes and rural roads. I know most drivers are not expecting a cyclist and respond at the last minute.

Hence, I've installed a Garmin Varia to pair with my Garmin 530 computer. It senses cars approaching within 150 yards and shows up on my screen as a blip moving closer to me. It also has a camera built in to the flasher, so it records on a 90 minute loop.

At least I'll have video of the car that eventually runs me over.

I mentioned in my post to get a red blinking light. I ran with a cheap one for a while that worked fine. I'll be the 3rd person to vouch for Garmin Varia. I have radar/ red light version (no camera) paired with Garmin 530. The radar talks to the computer on your handlebars and shows up as a dot on the screen to represent cars moving behind you. It works really well and was worth the $150 to me (I already had the model 530). If you ride with other road cyclists, guaranteed there is someone on the group that has been hit by a car.

So I have had the bike out a few times. Completed two 3-mile trips this week on lightly traveled residential roads.

I have not gotten it to the bike shop yet but it will go in soon to have it looked over and sized. I think I have the size correct but not sure of the angle of the handlebars.

Pretty happy so far with the purchase and my hip has not started complaining about the exercise as compared to running.