Cyclocross - tall fat guy on a little bike...

All right folks. Newbie needs guidance. I tried a mountain bike but really liked the feel of the cross from bianchi. of course for 2300 I should like it. I also tested the kona jake the sanke. I was wondering what you all would do. i need to lose weight at 6'5 255 I will break most bikes. I will be mostly road but since i am not confident will be on sidewalks and getting hit by the pot holes and sidewalk ramps. I want to ride longer periods but am not cooridinated enough for a pure road bike yet. do you think the cross concept is worth the money. i don't mind spending money but i want good stuff for it not just pinache. you all know more then me so what is a tall fat guy to do. the folks at a bike shop said that the cannondale and the trek frames will be too small and recommended a scott bike which i never heard before and i also was told to do the GT nomade. please offer guidance. i wanted the hybrid but at this point the 3 8 shifters are not fast enough down hills and i coast rather then pedal. so now you know me what do i do. please help. i would love to be 6'5 210.

Hey, in the Road Cycling Forum, near the top of the first page is a sticky Clydesdale thread. That's what guys like you call yourselves! Anyway, read up! Lots of good info in there.

I'm 6'5" 217 lbs & have ridden a Giant mt. bike for the past year. Dropped 10 lbs and have kept it off. Yea, the gearing is not great but I didn't spend a lot of money on the bike ($ 225?) and have put about a 100 bucks 'improvements/modifications' on it to make it more comfortable to ride. Now I'm ready to spend about $ 1200 upgrading to a cyclocross bike and since I've been riding steadily for a year, have a MUCH better idea of what I want in a bike.

The issue for me was not money but how many versions / options / etc. there were out there for bikes with the clearest info being: I couldn't know until I rode something steadily for a few months what fit me and how & where I would actually ride. Now I know the cyclocross bikes are really attractive for how & where I ride (on country roads with variable surfaces, etc.) and I'm dreaming of a Surly CrossCheck or something similar.

I don't think you have to spend a bunch of $$$ to get a comfortable bike to ride to see what your own style & pace may be. Bike Forum has wonderful threads on all kinds of items: frames, seats, pedals, etc. but until you actually start to ride something, anything, you won't know how to relate all that to your own experience.

I think you will want to look carefully at some good strong wheels whatever bike you decide to buy. A lot of off the shelf bikes come with wheels that are pretty marginal for big guys. My recomendation is to have a decent wheelbuilder put together a wheelset with minimum 36 spokes, front and rear, and a beefy rim. A bike that will accomodate 135mm axle spacing, like the Surly Crosscheck, will help too.

Thank you all bery much for your replies i appreciate all your input.

I'm 5' 9" and about 220# and I ride a kona JtS...it had held up amazingly well to my abuse.....watch some cyclocross vids and see what kind of abuse they take...

i bought the bianchi veloce. thank you all for responding and helping me understand things. i am really excited to begin this journey.

Trek makes a 25" Hybrid Frame (Trek 7200). I weigh more than you and just recently surpassed 1700 miles on it (Stock) without breaking a component.