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Even if you get an elite setup for your first ride (which may or may not be one of the common mistakes of new cyclists), it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re not going to skip past the growing pains of the sport. Photo: Nigel Roddis\/Getty Images for IRONMAN<\/p>\n
A lot of new triathletes and cyclists think that riding a bike is a pretty easy thing to do. If you\u2019ve known how to ride a bike since childhood, the act is almost second nature, and so it\u2019s fair to assume that getting from T1 to T2 is going to be a simple task \u2014 maybe not easy, but simple. Well, no matter how long you\u2019ve been riding a bike, it\u2019s a completely different game when you get into bike-specific training and racing. <\/p>\n
Slowtwitch spoke with Jesse Moore, a former professional cyclist and triathlete and current cycling and triathlon coach<\/a> who had plenty to say on the matter of rookie mistakes that he has seen so many athletes make on two wheels. If you\u2019re new to the sport, keep these mistakes in mind so you can avoid them yourself. You\u2019re still bound to make a few, but maybe you can at least learn from the error of other people\u2019s ways on these notes.<\/p>\n Gear Mistakes<\/p>\n Gear is where Moore says he sees \u201cthe biggest mistakes\u201d from new cyclists, and these can come before people even buy their first rides. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard countless stories from people where they walk into the shop and they end up coming out with whatever bike the shop has versus what they actually need,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re just new riders who are a target for a bike shop, and they can end up with something they don\u2019t need and they can get upsold a lot, which I don\u2019t think is great.\u201d<\/p>\n To combat this, Moore says getting a bike fit is an excellent route to take before ever stepping foot in a shop to make a purchase. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s worth the money to get a fit so that you\u2019re shopping for the bike that fits you,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n Another mistake he says he sees often from new riders is the need to get expensive gear. He points out that, when you\u2019re first getting started in cycling, \u201cthe equipment is usually not the thing holding you back\u201d from fast times. <\/p>\n \u201cThe learning curve is so steep when you\u2019re first starting out that you don\u2019t need the high-end stuff,\u201d he says. \u201cYou don\u2019t need it to be super lightweight, you don\u2019t need it to be the fastest aero bike, you don\u2019t need all of the bling features. You should look at buying a used bike.\u201d <\/p>\n Your bike may be the most expensive piece of gear you need to buy, but it\u2019s far from the only purchase you\u2019ll be making as you get into the sport. Cycling is such a flashy endeavour in which all of your equipment is on full display at all times, and Moore says many new cyclists feel the need to \u201chave everything in place\u201d in order to impress their fellow riders. <\/p>\n \u201cThey try to have the Garmin, the right kit, the right socks, the right bike, everything before they get started,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I think about that saying, \u2018Don\u2019t let perfect be the enemy of good.\u2019 Just get started however you can.\u201d <\/p>\n Moore says it is completely fine to ride \u201cin your tennis shoes on the cheap pedals that came with the bike.\u201d <\/p>\n Contrary to popular (and misguided) belief, riding isn\u2019t about how you look while doing it, it\u2019s about your experience, your enjoyment and your fitness as you work to get stronger and faster day by day. <\/p>\n Ignoring Handling <\/p>\n Moore says he sees far too many cyclists \u2014 both new and experienced \u2014 ignoring the technical side of riding. If you\u2019re sticking to the roads, you can certainly opt to only ride on straight, flat, simple routes for your entire career, but if you plan to race or even just ride with groups, there will be times when you need solid bike-handling skills. <\/p>\n Moore recommends getting out for rides with friends who are more experienced cyclists (if possible), so they can show you the ropes of the sport. <\/p>\n \u201cFind people who will take the time to explain to you, you know, not to grab the front brake super hard, how to centre yourself on the bike, how to fuel and drink while riding,\u201d he says. On solo rides, you can practice fuelling and drinking as well \u2014 taking bottles out of the cages without stopping or looking down and reaching around to grab things from your rear pockets are key skills that can easily be overlooked. <\/p>\n \u201cYou just need to make them second nature by putting in the time,\u201d Moore says. <\/p>\n A gaffe that virtually every cyclist will make at some point in their riding career (usually early on) involves clip-in pedals. After a lifetime of riding basic flat pedals, it\u2019s a foreign requirement to clip out in order to step off of your bike, leading to many people falling over at stop signs and traffic lights. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s usually where people crash,\u201d Moore says. \u201cThey don\u2019t know what to expect and they can get really tense, which then amplifies small movements into big ones.\u201d <\/p>\n The obvious way to avoid these accidents is to practice clipping in and out over and over, even when you\u2019re not moving, but Moore says it also comes down to \u201ca lot of planning\u201d while on rides. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re coming to a stop sign, it\u2019s not a bad idea to just go ahead and unclip before you get there instead of right at the stop,\u201d he says. \u201cOver time, unclipping will become second nature, but early on you want to give yourself time to get your foot out.\u201d<\/p>\n Lack of Maintenance Skills<\/p>\n A lot of cyclists have no clue how to take care of their bikes. Many people can\u2019t even change a tire. This might not be an issue for months or even years of riding, but there will inevitably come a time where you get a puncture or a popped tube (or a different mechanical issue) and you\u2019re all alone. It\u2019s best to be proactive with this and to take the time to learn at least the basics of bike maintenance so you can tkae care of your ride when problems arise.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many great bike basics YouTube videos that somebody could watch,\u201d Moore says. \u201cBut there\u2019s nothing better than hands-on clinic, which you can find at a lot of bike shops.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore points to a cyclist he knows who recently travelled to Europe with his bike. He hadn\u2019t taken care of his brake pads, which led to \u201cmetal on metal coming down these huge descents,\u201d destroying his rotors and turning what would have been a rather simple fix into a \u201cvery expensive mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n It is easy to procrastinate when it comes to learning the basics of bike maintenance, but you\u2019ll be happy you did when you eventually need the skills to get yourself out of a mid-ride or mid-race jam. <\/p>\n Nutrition Woes<\/p>\n The final mistakes Moore mentions relate to nutrition and hydration.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never worked with a new athlete who is actually eating and drinking enough on their rides,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that\u2019s pretty key for enjoying the experience. There\u2019s nothing worse than being bonked out or dehydrated.\u201d<\/p>\n He notes that you don\u2019t \u201cneed to eat Maurten gels at $4 a pop,\u201d but that you definitely need to take \u201csomething to eat\u201d on your rides. <\/p>\n \u201cReal food is great,\u201d Moore says. \u201cIt could be fig bars, a sandwich, bananas \u2014 anything. Just make sure you keep fuel going in and that you\u2019re hydrating enough.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to hydration, he says he follows the simple rule of \u201cone bottle an hour.\u201d <\/p>\n This can of course change if you\u2019re riding in extremely hot temperatures, but he says it shouldn\u2019t be any less. <\/p>\n Tags:Beginner Triathlete<\/a>bike<\/a>Training<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even if you get an elite setup for your first ride (which may or may not be one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":728670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-728669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/728670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lanzarote-Training-2026-15-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Kona-2025-Gallery-11-1024x682.jpg\")
Photo: Kevin Mackinnon <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Unbound-Gravel-Friday-MiscKM132537.jpg\")
Photo: Kevin Mackinnon <\/p>\n