Cactusron

I have had great luck with the 32 spoke Mavic Open Pros with Ultegra hubs. Strong, ride well and reasonable. About $235 for the pair at Performance. I have seen a couple of other posts using these wheels successfully as well.

Good luck!

Cactusron

Re: your Arte Johnson stop and drops, I feel your pain and have the scars on my knees to show. 20 years off the bike, never road on clipless until last March. It's amazing how pain teaches you new talents!

jrod2143

I am a "clydesdale" 6'1" 215 and would love some advice. I currently ride a Giant Boulder Hybrid but want to also get a road bike. First question is any suggestions on a good entry level road bike for me (currently ride around 800 miles per year on the Boulder). Second is how do I figure out size (56cm, 58cm)? Want to get one on ebay buy unsure of size (inseam 31/32).

Thanks - great reading on this thread

onelung

I’m 6’3”, 280lbs, still riding the Trek 720 touring bike I bought in 1983. I’ve bought and sold a bunch of other bikes over the years, but the old touring bike just seems to work the best for a big fat old guy. I’ve kept the Trek alive by replacing virtually every component (many more than once) except the headset bearings over the years.

The current configuration has Phil Wood hubs and bottom bracket, and an assortment of Campy components that include some oddball campy cantilever brakes. I always had a problem with my 14 5E shoes in toe clips, so a few years ago I put some huge BMX platform pedals on it, best thing I ever did.

I ride about 50 miles a week, mostly going to the gym to lift weights. My goal is to someday get back down to my playing weight, 230. At my age (55) it’s all about being a good looking corpse.

I’ve never had a problem with skinny guys mouthing off on the road. They don’t do it at the gym either.

bikingshearer 

I always did hate those spindly-legged climbing farts.

IDOutlaw

I'm 6'0, 210, and just back into riding. I run three times a week and typically run a 5 or 10K every couple of weeks on Saturdays. Recently purchased a K2 Mach 2, got a killer deal at REI-- $699. Tried the Trek 1000 and 1200 and Giant 0C series...all came in under $1000...but in the end, the K2 just feels sturdy and comfortable for me.

I have a lot to learn about biking...found this forum today--pretty cool!

Keep hardchargin' and if you get a chance...come 'ride' Idaho--you won't be disappointed!

maxrep

Hello all,
this is my first post in these forums. Glad I found it Was referred from sparkpeople just today.
So August 05 I was about 292 at 5'8". As of 8/1/06 im at 210 and according to hyrdo bf % tests ive had, 12 of those lbs are new muscle.. still 5'8" though but i guess thats ok. ^_^

i am a total noob to biking and bike culture or whatever and havent really biked since i was in high school about 11 years ago on whatever old bike i picked up whereve but I really did love it a lot. now i want something that will last and will not, you know fall into pieces with a 210 guy on it.

i guess the main things are

* i want to do this for weight loss not really as a primary form of travel
* i would like to hook whatever bike i get to an indoor trainer in the winter
* i will surely take the occasional curb or less than smooth road though i dont exactly have plans to go on trails full of gravel
* looking for something that wont absolutely kill my back or a$$ as i am looking to do this 3 times a week at least in the winter on the trainer and take long rides in what little summer we have left in NY.


i guess i am wondering what my best bet is. one place told me a hybrid like the Trek 7.5 fx or Cannondale bad boy were good choices in my budget (~$500-$700) A guy at another local shop recommended the Trek 1000sl Alpha Superlight or the Allez Specialized if i wanted a true road bike but i have a feeling a Hybrid might be better to start with?

When I hit 170 or so I plan on getting a nice lightweight road bike and entering some triathlons and so I don't really wanna spend all my money now unless in my weight range there is something I can get now that I can use later on and still be well off with it.

Basically I guess I have also heard more spokes, wider wheels and all that jazz are good for me.. I mean the road bikes I saw looked like if i went over a 2 inch curb on it those wheels would be done for but maybe I underestimate their strength.

Well I will now start sifting thru all the pages in this thread but thought I would just introduce myself and ask these questions.

Would love to hear some advice/opinions on a good bike for me to get in my price range and usage. Thanks in advance!

Texas Bubba

So I'm finally in the top 1% - my folks would be so proud. I need help picking a first bike. At 340lbs there don't seem to be a lot of options. I have lost ~50lbs since April but had a knee injury and can't even walk far - bikes should be better. Heck the therapist even has me ride one.

So far the two that have been suggested are the Specialized tricross and the Bianchi Volpe. Both would probably require a tandem rear wheel and a nice steel seat post. Any thoughts or better ideas? I hate spending the $$$ if it isn't the right bike for me. I thought of the trek 520 but didn't think I would care for the bar end shifters.

Please give any thoughts - all inputs would be helpful.

Steve in Houston

instigator

Clydesdale Here. I am 6'3" 245lbs but I was at 262 on June 22nd. I just got the Roadie, but have been MTBing for years.

I resent the definition of the Clydesdale. My goal is to be 210lbs, so I am forever sentenced to Clydesdale status.

Gibbygoo

Check out the Kona Hoss

swifty

Hi all,

I'm 6'2'' and 238 lbs, trying to come down to 210, and this is the bike I use to commute to work, a 30 mile round trip. I have posted pics of my bike before in an introduction thread, but the saddle and handlebar tape have since been upgraded. I used to have an SLR saddle, but for a Clyde like me that did not work too well. My sit bones are just too wide.

After reading much on the topic I decided to go for a Honey brown Brooks Swift, and to match the handlebar tape I installed Cinelli cork in natural color.

The Brooks has been absolutely fantastic. Simply amazing what a difference that saddle has made to my cycling enjoyment. Where I used to ache after every ride, even suffering from swellings in places you really don't want them, I now feel as if I could go on for ever without feeling anything. Sure It's heavy at 380 gr., but it's the best 380 grams on my bike for sure. I have not experienced any discomfort at all. Kind of feared the break in period most people seem to have to go through. Being a Clyde helps sometimes

Here are some pics.

Hambone

I've written this several times and in several ways...

The make of your bike should be about frame fit! If you are going to be riding for exercise or for transport get a road bike. The dropped position is a little awkward for some people at first. But give it a few days and you will get over that. The way you get in shape riding a bike is by gettig on and spending a fair amount of time spinning the pedals. You won't do that as well with a mountain or a hybrid. It is really that simple.

Hybrids are the worst of both road and mountain bikes not the best. They are slower and less efficient than road bikes and no where near as bullet proof and comfortable as mountain bikes.

If comfort is your primary concern, build that into which road bike you choose. You may sacrifice a little performance but you can address this down the road when you are shopping for a new bike.

Here are the items I think clydesdales should focus on:

1. wheels
2. tires
3. pedals
4. seat
5. shorts
6. gloves

(probably in that order....

* Good gel bibs do soooo much to take pressure off the parts that contact the seat...
* A good seat is invaluable. It helps keep the tingley dingley from getting too bad. I have a Specialized with the Minkoff Wedge. I like it a lot. Others like other designs.
* Wheels -- I am down to from about 350 pounds. When I started riding my 36 spoke Mavic Open Pro Rims on Ultegra hubs -- they were perfectly round. Almost 2,000 miles and about 75 pounds later, they are still true. Excel in Colorado built my wheels. My understanding is that who builds your wheels can be as important as whet they are built with/from. Either way, the higher the spoke count the stronger the wheel.
* I shredded a cheap pair of pedals. Lets be honest, none of those spindles are made to hold up 300+ pounds. Get a decent pair, pay attention to them...
* Tires. If I knew then.... I built my road bike with a nice pair of Continental tires. They were rated for 120psi. I ran them bald faster than I thought they should have gone. So I switched to "commuter tires" but they had a lower psi. Big mistake. Tried several different tires. None of them as good as the Conti's. I have a new pair on order now!

Just to be clear. I love my mountain bike. If I can, I take it to the trails near my family and I cover it in mud. I ride it hard and I smile the whole time doing it. But the reason I have lost 75 pounds over the last nine months is diet and my road bike. Period.

Texas Bubba

Hambone,
Thanks for the idea on rims & hubs. Based on my past riding I knew the MTB wasn't going to get me where I wanted to be so that is why I had focused on the road bikes. While the tricross and volpe aren't typical choices, they seem to be beefier than most modern road bikes. Do you have any experience with either or ideas on which could be an unwise investment? The only other one I was considering is the Lemond Sarthe. With the fatter tires available for the first two they seemed like a better choice.

Originally I had considered the Hoss but I remembered riding road in Dallas and MTB in Austin and the road was much more consistent. The two types of riding remind me of boats. MTBs are like motor boats - it is more in the exploring and getting from point a to b to c to etc. Sailing is all about the ride - not so much where you are going.

What is a bib? shorts?

I was planning on suing my old spd pedals from my MTB. I stripped off the scott bar and spd pedals before I trashed it a couple of years ago.

Air

Hambone - great info; thanks!

Question on the mtb vs road bike. I'm 6' 1", 260 and ride my mtb about 100 miles a week (and swing dance many nights so I usually have to alternate riding or dancing ). Many areas in the city have really chewed up roads and bike paths. I can jump curbs, slam potholes, and basically beat it hard without worrying about anything bending or breaking. There's a long area up on the green trail on the Upper East Side where it's all chewed up bricks that. When I'm pushing it on flat terrain no wind I can maintain between 17 and 20 mph for a long time. I just ordered some Armadillo 1.95 slicks which I think will give me a little more speed and less time spent on flats (not too bad but went on a ride last weekend and got three separate punctures - the Slime tubes saved me a few miles but gave me a nice neon green rooster streak down my back in the process ). I'm planning on doing the NYC Century in September and would probably do it on my mtb.

My first 10 speed was a road bike years ago and I crumpled the wheels after hitting a pothole. It was a cheap bike I'll admit but I was lighter than I am now.

Would a roadbike really stand up to those types of conditions and weight? Or do you have to baby it more?

And with the setup you're talking about up there - about how much would a Clysdale be looking to spend to outfit a roadbike?

kyletuck

im 6 foot 6 485 pounds. I ride a 2006 Specialized Hardrock Sport

Panic

bibs are shorts with suspenders. Much more comfortable then regular cycling shorts in my humble opinion.

Can't stay under 230 on my end. I hit 225 and then we had company come in and it was an eating fest with no riding. Then hovering at 229... more company, more eating, no riding... now 232 !!!

Rode 40 miles the past two days, eating better. If I can just get a nice easy time with no company I might be able to hit 225 and stay there for a bit.

maxrep

Now you are sending me for a loop. I was all set on the Trek 7.5 FX cuz i thought I was getting the best of both worlds like all these other comments I read.
I need some feedback on this comment because I don't want to spend $700 to get the worse of each world....


I want this bike for excercise primarily but i am not always going to be on the road. i ride on the sidewalks, ill be riding over 2 inch curbs and maybe some loose gravel at 210 lbs.

Will a road bike deal with that? At the same time i don't want a big beefy mountain bike unless someone has some suggestions for it.

I thought I was on the right track. Now i am all confused again!

cypressdx1030

[QUOTE=Hambone]I've written this several times and in several ways...

The make of your bike should be about frame fit! If you are going to be riding for exercise or for transport get a road bike. The dropped position is a little awkward for some people at first. But give it a few days and you will get over that. The way you get in shape riding a bike is by gettig on and spending a fair amount of time spinning the pedals. You won't do that as well with a mountain or a hybrid. It is really that simple.

Hybrids are the worst of both road and mountain bikes not the best. They are slower and less efficient than road bikes and no where near as bullet proof and comfortable as mountain bikes.

So your telling me I have a bad bike. I have a giant cypress dx. It's a hybrid

telehort

Well this clydesdale did his longest ride to date tonight 19.8 in 80 minutes, not setting land speed records, but it was a great ride. I just got a set of bibs today and wore them for the first time, my butt and in-betwixt area has never been so happy.

superslomo

Air:

I have a bike that is built as a road/touring setup... drop bars, but the wheels are heavier-duty, and come with 700x35 tires. Haven't really had any trouble with flats, and while it may not be as fast it sure does save time with repairing punctures The other advantage (depending on your perspective) is that when the road gets rough, or turns to dirt briefly (about a mile of a loop to the Rockaways that I like doing) is gravel/sand/filth and I would be a little nervous doing it on a straight road bike without going over sideways or popping a tube.

Air

Is that the second one on the front page? And if you do hit a hard something the wheels/frame are fine? I'm also concerned with the frame flexing when I pedal - hate that feeling!

Hambone

Wow, I didn't expect this much reaction.

(First, I'm not an expert -- just a guy with an opinion and a fair amount of time in the saddle. Take what I say here with a healthy dose of scepticism!)

I ride from Brooklyn to Harlem every workday. (Give or take...) I get on/off the West Side bike trail via 125th Street fairly often which means I am going over cobblestones. NYC streets are not real tire friendly but I have only had two flats in four months of commuting by bike in NYC. I ride hard but -- I think for a big guy -- I ride pretty light. On the weekends I put in longer rides when possible. Sometimes with my kids in the trailer, sometimes just getting out there and riding. I average about 500 miles/month.

If you (Air) are concerned with too much frame flex, look into an aluminum frame. It is much more rigid and at the entry level price points it will be lighter. But that ridgidity takes a toll on your nether region. Aluminum is a harsher ride. (My current road bike is an aluminum frame. I love my bike but if I could go back in time, I'd get a steel frame. Opposite is true on my mountain bike.)

Superslomo raises an interesting option. Touring bikes are beefier "road" bikes. For a "clyde" it might be the best of both worlds. Many commuters (who are putting in lots of miles in adverse conditions) opt for these. You can also look into cyclo cross bikes. (Cyclo cross is a European dirt riding. The bikes are drop barred and somewhere between road and mountain as far as the components. I have no knowledge of makes or models. Sorry.)

Cypress..., as I said, I'm no expert. And truth be told, a good bike is one you sit on -- a bad bike is one that leans against a wall somewhere. If you enjoy your bike and ride it... it is a good bike. No offense intended.

Texas, funny you use that analogy. I have used the same about several things -- including losing weight. (Weight Watchers is sailing, Gastric by-pass is power boating...) Use your SPDs. Road pedals may be a little more comfortable on the bike (I ride SPDs exclusively) BUT they suck to walk in.

Air, in reference to MTB wheels vs. Road wheels -- I wouldn't bunny hop a log at 15 mph on my road bike but the last time I did that on my mountain bike, well I was ten years younger and that cost me a rim, too. The reality is that road wheels are less sturdy than mountain bike wheels. You should ride differently on a road bike period. But the part of the NYC Parks Dept. Greenway near Rockaway Blvd that somebody mentioned, I do that on my road bike. Get in a higher gear and spin and you'll be fine.

You will get more flats on a road bike if you ride it like a mountain bike.

Maxrep, again, I'm no pro. If you were my brother and I had no way of really gauging road vs other, I'd probably say get a used mountain bike (like from Craig's List) and put slicks on it. Ride that for a year and see from there.

(But if you were my brother, you'd have gotten the hybrid anyway and now we couldn't go ride the gnarley trails near your house with me on my mountain bike because you have a hybrid; and we wouldn't go out for a long ride in wine country because you find it too cumbersome. OK, I admit I am not a fan of hybrids. But I'm not a bike snob. It is just that if you are going to get a hybrid, I say go the extra step and get the MTB. Then you can beat the crap out of it in the dirt, too.)

Finally, I find I get a better work out and I enjoy my ride more on my road bike. If I'm just around town I'll grab my mountain bike sometimes. But for sweating or getting somewhere, it is the road bike. Period.

One more thing... (my boss distracted me for a minute) if you can, why not rent a bike? Rent a mountain for a day and a road the next.

Air

Hambone - thanks again!! My mtb is steel but there's no flex. I like the idea of renting a road bike and trying it out - do shops rent those in the city?

Hambone

yeah, several of them do. I have a NY bike friend who says Gotham or Habitat are the top shops. You could do some research. I'm in Park Slope and R&A near me has a huge selection but I get kind of a weird vibe. (Like you have to be there for a $5,000 bike to REALLY matter. This may be me more than anything... I don't know.) I used to live on Long Island and my LBS was in Rocky Point. I loved that shop! But I digress...

Some of the higher end shops even rent higher end bikes. (So I've read/been told.)

You should start with a shop you like/get a nice feel for. Then, ask about what you are interested in. The reality is, at the level of bike/budget I think we are talking about, there aren't significant differences between bikes. And even if there was a difference between one road bike and another at your price point, you probably wouldn't be able to tell. Kind of like a $10 bottle of red wine vs. a $15 bottle of red.

Texas Bubba

Hambone,
Hahaha - WW is how I have dropped 48lbs since April. It is a lot like sailing...


Others,
The cross bikes are the ones I'm looking at right now. They are a bit beefier than the road bikes but still faster than a MTB on slicks. The Specialized Tricross (aluminum/carbon) and the Bianchi Volpe (steel) are the two I have narrowed down to - the Kona Hoss on slicks is where I started. I am test riding the Volpe this weekend. For me there was a significant problem with the hybrid bikes that probably would have occurred on the MTBs also. At 340lbs I'm big. When I stood up on the hybrid to pedal I felt like I was going to flip over the front - the handle bar was too close to my legs. It was a really off feeling. On the road/cross bikes I could grab farther forward and it made a huge difference. Both of these bikes come with 32-35mm tires which are great for comfort. I met a couple of folks that use them for commuting and they love them.
My understanding on the tricross is it is fast and durable. The Volpe is supposed to be a bit more comfortable and set up more for touring. Being steel is should have a little less vibe too. They both have triple chain rings which, to me, is VERY important. Around town I think a double would be fine but I plan to use this for the local MS 150 ride that goes from Houston to Austin. Too many hills for a double. I was looking at the Specialized Sirrus and Trek 7.3fx. I think they are fine bikes and I would have kept either of them but they would have eventually been relegated to riding to friends houses or running errands. A lesser bike would have been tossed. If one were to start out on those bikes it probably isn't bad and if the riding doesn’t progress past a certain point/interest it is probably a wise investment. From when I was skinny I know I like to ride and I would eventually move to a different bike. I plan on having a good road and MTB in the future. Heck, maybe even a hybrid to putz around on - you never know.