brilliant! thanks so much for all your advice(s)...all the encouragement I needed to dip my toe in the waters of online swiss shopping.

watch this space... no doubt my forthcoming post will be hidden amongst much swearing and blinding as I try to remove my worn out blocks (methinks i'm gonna have to find a way to avoid using my breaks down these swiss hillsides).

Lysandra

I found the definitive bicycle parts translation guide on the Park Tools website here. It's an Excel spreadsheet with 450 terms in 9 different languages.

Hopefully I'm adding this to a thread that will get a response. I moved to Switzerland in January and I'm based in Villars-sur-Ollon. I was a reasonable amateur racer in the UK and would like to continue racing over here, although my winter training has been compromised by shoulder surgery. Are there any racers on this forum? If so I would be grateful for any tips on clubs local to me and also what the race scene is like. I'm always looking for training partners as well!

Many thanks, Steve

I don't know about clubs in Villars itself, but down in the valley there are two clubs to choose from - Cyclophile Aigle and Cyclophile Bex. I believe they are both heavily involved in the local racing scene in all cycling disciplines. I think the Aigle club is a lot bigger than Bex, at least I see many more of the Aigle jerseys at local cyclosportifs than I see from any other club.

Hi, I'm a total newbie to road cycling... well I know how to ride a bike and I do spinning twice a week but I don't own a road bike so far. Would be nice to get to know some people who would also do some leisure cycling? I'm looking to buy a Cannondale Bad Boy, so more of a urban/leisure bike. Definitely not interested in hours and hours of going up and down mountains in funny clothing but maybe there are some people who take it a bit more easy....

Try to find a used one at velomarkt.ch,http://www.velomarkt.ch/veloboerse.php (occasion), otherwise you can spent
a lot of money(some guys spent up to 15000 sfr for a bike), additional cost are the (funny) clothing, shoes, energy bars .....
The track around the lake (zurichsee or greifensee) is well worth a try , but at the zurichsee is more traffic(big lorrys) and the track is between 70 and 90 km(when you cross at Rapperswil it is only 70 km).
And you have to do little service(tyres, brakes) on your own, because at the shops you got a waiting time for up to 2 weeks for repairs or service(buy yourself
a floorpump and a collection of small tools).

Thanks, I don't know much about how to maintain a bike. In the past I only bought pretty run down cheap ones that I wouldn't care about whether they got nicked (I used to live in London)... and they shops there usually did anything for a 5er. I've got some shoes and funny clothing that should fit (from spinning)... not sure about 70k... might be a little ambitious? How long does that take?

The problem I have with used ones.. if I buy a nice expensive one that's supposed to last a bit longer, I don't know anything about them. There are about 6 different versions of the Cannondale Bad Boy and I haven't got a clue what makes them different, apart from their price tag. I would need someone to explain all that stuff to me so I could actually decide whether I need it or not. I don't even get the whole geometrics of how high something has to be or what... and then all the tyre sizes and stuff. It drives me insane. I'm quite short 5"2 and I have problems with a lot of bikes as they are quite big.... that's all I know. So, for me, it's sometimes easier to go into a shop and try the bikes.....

Depends on the level of fitness, but I think it should be done in around 3 hours(70 km, so you have to do around 23,4 km in one hour).
Professionals do the 90 km in around 3 hours or less, depends on the wind around the lake,the traffic(esp. in zurich bellevue and rapperswil) and the bike(if you got a bike what is less then 8 kg) and the fitness.
I did it today with my MTB (with small breaks took me 3 hours),or you can start with a trip from zurich to Wädenswil (it is around 20 km one way)

How much money a bike cost depends on the frame and the components on the bike, generally the liter a bike is being build , the more it gonna cost you.
I got a road bike (occasion) with carbon frame , mavic wheelset and ultegra components, around 8 kg , found this last year at ricardo.ch for around 1800 chf.
My MTB is also an occasion(found this at a bikeboard in vienna , austria ) for 960 euros, i changed a few parts i don't liked (cost around 500 chf), so a bargain(the frame alone was sold here in Switzerland for around 3000 chf).
For a starter i recommend for a roadbike the ultegra components from shimano, for a MTB the XT or LX Group from Shimano

At the bike shops you can pay for an hour of a worker around 60 chf........

Here is a list what size of the frame is recommended for your height(in german):
http://www.fahrradreparatur.net/fahr...rahmengroesse/

phew.... but what size do I need? I really haven't got a clue what to look for when I look at the occasiones on the web.

I was not thinking of getting a real road bike (you know, the carbon racing lookalike things) to be honest. I would use it to get to work as well, so I want to fit some really light mudguards, and I don't want it to be nicked after a few days already....

Check out the Cannondale Bad Boy and you know what I mean. I think it's just under 10kg and should be about 1500 CHF new. That's actually quite a lot for someone like me who doesn't know much about cycling... especially if I get the wrong things but I guess it's not expensive for most cycling enthusiasts.

Thanks for the tip to go to Wädenswil... 40km return sounds ok. I should survive that will probably be quite a good start for me to get into it. I really like spinning but now that the sun is out and my motorbike is still tucked away I'd really like to get out and about on two wheels.....


Edit: Thanks for the link.... So I have to get the smallest .... I thought so.

cannondale has a range especially for small women:
http://www.pedrosbikeshop.ch/mountai...66_62_129.html
You can find roadbikes (for women ) aswell

Yeah but they are mountainbikes.. and the roadbikes, I don't like them. They look too "flash" ... well, or let me put it that way... too expensive. Plus, I wasn't going to do 90km each weekend. I've got too many other hobbies as well But thanks for looking.

Maybe if I get really into cycling then I would consider buying a really really good bike. But for me, that's more like a few years down the line. I really just want to do city and some leisure/easier rides for starters.

If you are interested on finding the best fitting for a road bike, you can use the Competitive Cyclist's fitting calculator, it is a good online tool to determine a good size and the best fitting for your needs.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

You have there a video guide about how to take the measurements.

The calculator produces 3 kinds of fittings

* one for more agressive racers, oriented to performance
* another more oriented to comfort
* and a more balanced one.

For a city/comfort bike you could use higher handlebars, but the fitting measurements this calculator will give you would be useful to select the right bike size for you.

Miss Lizzy, soon there will be the first Velo-Börse in Zürich, where people gather to buy and sell their bikes

You can easily find a used bike there.

The first will be on 27.03 at Helvetiaplatz, it starts at 9:00

The best is to come very early, because the good bikes are sold quite quick.

If you wish I could be there and help you

Thanks. I'll have a look... the Veloborse sounds good.
I was going to a bikeshop nearby again today after work to have a look around again. That's where I saw some of the Cannondale bikes I liked before. The good weather is so tempting and my old bike is a bit annoying.

Thanks for the offer, I might come back to you on that one. The 27th is only a week away. Might be good

I'll be there early, I am looking for an old steel Bianchi, so If you want to come I can help you to choose.

At the VeloBörse you can get easily a nice women's Citybike for under CHF 250.-

Weight (and the tyres)are the important issues when you buy a bike.
You can try it by yourself:
Start at bellevue with your citybike and climb up to the ETH(write down the time you need).
Now , take a roadbike(with less then 8 KG weight itself) and climb again from
bellevue to the ETH(write down again the time).
A good bike cost(a lot of) money and will not be sold for 250 sfr, the components are well worth the money on a bike what is more expensive(more fun , last longer).
But it is your decision how much money you will spend.

A decent citybike can be had for ~CHF250 used or ~CHF 600 new.

an entry level road bike can be had for ~700CHF used or ~CHF 1500 new

a decent road bike can be had for ~CHF 1500 used or ~CHF 3000 new

a high end road bike can be had for ~CHF 3000 used or ~CHF 6000 new

horses for courses.

She is asking for a city/leisure bike, not for a racing one.

The Bad Boy you linked to is the 3-speed version, I would go for one of the other similar models that have a much larger gear range. Unfortunately, all but one of those has disc brakes. If you're getting it for fitness riding on the road and decent bike paths, then there is no need for disc brakes - they will just add cost and about half a kilo of weight. The only model of the Bad Boy that they make with rim brakes has big, fat, 2" wide tires, which are going to be very inefficient on the road. Also, avoid the suspension fork on the front (which some of the Bad Boy models have and some don't) - that will add about a kilo to the weight and will again be unnecessary if you're staying on the roads and good bike paths. Overall, I wouldn't recommend any of the Bad Boy models for the kind of riding that you are talking about - go for something less tough and more nimble. However, I also wouldn't recommend going straight into a lightweight racing bike like blackbird is encouraging you to do. How about a Specialized Vita?

As for size, if you're buying a new bike from a bike shop then they will help you to choose the frame size and will help you to get it adjusted so that you are comfortable.

You are right. Surely I want to try and find something more sporty and light. I'm not aiming for 250 Sfr but less than 1000 Sfr would be nice to be honest. I'll have a browse at the Veloboerse next weekend....

The Vita looks ok, but I'd prefer a totally black one...

What kind of tyres would you go for? It seems to me that tyre technology has gone totally overdrive... there's so many styles. I actually quite liked the 2" width of the Bad Boy bike.. it looks not as "delicate" as the road/race bike ones. I want something that won't break or constantly loose air if there's a bit of a small step in the pavement or anything similar, you know what I mean. I guess the tyres are still all filled with air....?