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RACE & toURing bikEs
The riding position on a race bike looks uncomfortable but isn’t, if you
adjust the riding position correctly. The ball of the foot should just reach
the ground when you’re sat on the saddle and your feet, hands and bottom
should each support about a third of your weight.
Minimum weight is very important, so the tyres are very thin and light. In
fact the whole bike looks fragile besides a mountain bike. However, with
careful adjustment of the riding position, these bikes are very comfortable.
They also have more precise and agile handling than any other adult bike.
Provided you use this built-in agility to avoid all potholes and keep the tyres
pumped up hard, the wheels fitted to your sports bike will last as long as the
ones fitted to any mountain bike.
Lower-priced sports bikes have indexed gears controlled by levers on the
down tube. Top-of-the-range bikes have dual control levers with the gears
operated from the brake levers, which is much more convenient. However,
the gears themselves, though, are very similar, to mountain bike gears,
except in detail, and they’re adjusted in the same way, as shown on pages
30 and 31. The only real difference is that most sports bikes only have two
chainrings, not three as mountain bikes do.
Clipless pedals are fitted to all top sports and racing bikes and to top
mountain bikes. They’re more efficient for racing and fast riding generally
because the cleat on the sole of the shoe gives you a positive connection to
the pedal. But there are several different designs of pedals and cleats, so you
have to buy cleats that match your pedals.
Long distance touring machines are similar to sports bikes but have
mudguards, luggage carriers and lower gears, perhaps with a triple chainset
to cope with their different role.
Some sports bikes do not have such a
wide range of gears as on a mountain
bike so the gear mechanisms may be
are more compact, with a shorter chain
cage on the rear mech and a lighter front
mech. But they’re still adjusted as shown
on page 28.
On top road bikes, the brake and gear
levers are combined. To change up, you
move the brake lever sideways. To change
down, you operate the smaller lever.
Keep the cable well lubricated with multi-
purpose lube but don’t lube the shifter.
Basic sports bikes are fitted with a gear
lever on the frame. But the gears are
still indexed, so you change gear by just
clicking the lever up and down. There’s
a similar lever on the other side of the
frame that operates the front gear
change.
Top sports bikes and mountain
bikes are fitted with clipless pedals,
only usable with the correct shoes
and cleats. Both the pedal and cleat
must be kept clean to ensure that
the device that binds the shoe to the
pedal works reliably every time.