my58vw

Hello all,

I am starting the base stages of training for a few races I want to do this next year. (Well I will after I get back on the bike fully after my accident). Let me tell you about myself.

6'6" 230 lb, dropping fast (want to be 180 but reality says 200, not really that heavy now)

Excelent sprinter, good endurance

Medium arobic levels and not that great anarobically, the main goal of training this time

Mainly interested in road race and time trial

Very important, using this year to gain experience and get better, not trying to win races this year even though it would be nice.

Looking at the height, is it crazy that I want to try this? I know I will really need to work on hill intervals ,etc to be able to do reasonable vs the lighter riders out there.

Ideas?

ed073

Not crazy at all....Michel Zanoli was world junior champ at a similar height.



Then he went a bit nuts, though.....

MacMan

Do you enjoy it? If yes, then that's all you need to know

If you are crazy, then I can only see that as being a benefit!

fujiacerider

Dude, talk to Galen_(lots of numbers). He's about 6'4 (I think...) and he's a very successful amateur racer.

I'm in your boat. 6'6, 190 pounds down from 235. You'll look scrawny up top, but when the little guys can't see around your thighs and fall from intimidation you'll just laugh.

Cole

HigherGround

Obviously flatter courses will suit your physique better than hillier ones. But the great thing about racing is that there is so much variety to the courses that you can find almost any kind of terrain that you're looking for. You'd probably also do well on the velodrome if there's a track near you. Remember, Roberto Heras and Magnus Backsted are both excellent professional cyclists - there's not just one specific build for a good cyclist. Miguel Indurain was bigger than average and he owned the Tour de France for five years. If they can both make it at the professional level, there should certainly be enough opportunities for you to race just for fun. Just don't be surprised if everyone lines up to be on your wheel during a flat crit! (With the obvious exception of 53-11AllTheWay)

my58vw

Thanks guys, it is just interesting to see hat people have perceptions on what a cyclists should be. I hope to be 190, 200 but have some muscle up top too... want to be a police officer. How long did it take you to drop the weight?

Hard to draft people though...

On another note, I am back today from my crash... 40 minutes of E2, zone 2 - 4, first time on a bike in 10 days... getting better all the time.

my58vw

Oh ya something else...

For someone my size I have a double crankset question...

I just swapped my casette from a POS SRAM 12 - 25 to a ultegra 11- 23 in prep for a new double crankset. My heart is set on the FSA carbon compact double, but the 39 - 53 normal double looks nice. Right now I have a 30 - 42 - 53 triple with dura ace front derailuer and ultegra rear (should change). I just feel that the 42 is way to high for the hills and the 34 seems to be a good comprimise for hilly tt's for someone my size... Had a hard time pushing the 42 - 25 on a couple of the hills on my last time trial...

Thanks

jfmckenna

I'll be right on your wheel big guy

I am 6'3'' about 195lbs. If you get down to 180 that would be quite a feat. The problem is that muscle is heavy. Kind of a hard compromise.

Ryan Trebon is 6'5" and he is dominating the US Cyclocross sceene

my58vw

Ya I think 200 - 195 is going to be as low as I can realistically go...

Line of people already getting in line to draft... nice

timmhaan

some of the better riders i've seen in local races and fast club rides were people i totally underestimated. they didn't look at all like serious cyclists. guys with pudgy stomaches, long lanky dudes, tiny women, etc... they come in all shapes and sizes.

fujiacerider

As tall as you are, you may want to look into longer crankarms. I know https://www.hscycle.com offers long cranks with a compact spider. I've got a set of their normal-spider cranks in 195mm, and my next purchase for my bikes will probably be a compact version of the same.
You'd be amazed at how much difference there is between a 175 and a 195 crankset. If you've got long legs (if not, you sure would be funky-looking), you'll realize quite a gain from them.

Cole

pedal

Miguel Indurain was 6'3" or 6'4" or something like that, and he was possibly the best or certainly one of the best cyclists of all time.

MacMan

Magnus Backstedt: Pro racer at 216 pounds.

doctore

Detlef Shrempf (ex-NBA player) races in my neck of the woods and he's 6'10.

Laggard

Indurain is 6'2"

Magnus is often listed at 198 pounds.

Some interesting trivia: The average rider in this years tour was 5'10" and 154 pounds. The average resting heart rate in the peloton was 51 bpm.

skydive69

You have the ultimate body for competing in crew. My kid went to syracuse on a rowing scholarship, and the top rowers are all about 6' 5", 230.

Phatman

I would work on that power, just becuase your big doesn't mean that you cant be good at cycling. if you can get you handling skills down well, you would probably be an insane crit racer, even if you say that you want to focus on road races and TTs.

my58vw

That is true, crits scare me a little right now because of the high speed cornering. For me it is time in the gym right now and lots of time on the trainer and roads for muscle endurance and anarobic endurance.

Gustaf

Rolf Aldag is 6'3"
George Hincapie is 6'3"

Hight obviously never got in their way.

SteveE

A guy I regularly ride with is 6' 4", two times NorCal Masters RR District Champ, and is a good climber.

If you've got the physical gifts, your height shouldn't be an obstacle.

my58vw

Or a hard work ethic... just have to work a little harder to climb those hills... more intervals...

MacMan

Wow ... that HR is higher than I would have thought. Or am I being stupid here? (seriously ... I don't have a HR monitor and know little about it except that in threads here everyone seems to have a resting HR in the 40s!)

Xtrmyorick

THat's resting while resting (i.e. in bed after a full night's sleep). Laggard is talking about resting while riding (i.e. on your bike, in a draft, cruising along with a speed in the high 20s)

Now let's play a game of "Find the Magnus":

HigherGround

1) Thanks for clarifying about the resting heart rate; those were interesting stats.

2) "Find the Magnus" - That made me laugh out loud. Maybe I can start that as a game with my 1 1/2 year old nephew. Kind of like an introduction to road racing with a Sesame Street twist! A European combination of "Where's Waldo?" and "Journey to Ernie"!

MacMan

Gotcha! Should have read the " ... in the peleton" bit a tad more attentively! So that "resting" HR went from suprisingly high to insanely low!