Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - clydes and LBS

Well, went to the LBS today and was treated exquisitely! He didn't really care how big I was. Test rode a road bike for the first time. What a nice feel, a little scary cause all I have ever ridden was a MTB. It was a Trek 1500 SL, very nice bike, he said the wheels would have no problem holding up, he said that trek put a 400lbs person on the bike and sent him out for a ride with no problems...now to start saving for the road bike

Well, went to the LBS today and was treated exquisitely! He didn't really care how big I was. Test rode a road bike for the first time. What a nice feel, a little scary cause all I have ever ridden was a MTB. It was a Trek 1500 SL, very nice bike, he said the wheels would have no problem holding up, he said that trek put a 400lbs person on the bike and sent him out for a ride with no problems...now to start saving for the road bike
what's the name of that shop? See if you can find if they have a website too! I have been planning to put together a Clydesdale friendly bike shop list anyway!

Olympia, Washington, Bike Tech http://biketechonline.com/index.cfm
Infact they were helping an older couple...well older than me with a pair of townies..the help there is great in my opinion

Olympia, Washington, Bike Tech http://biketechonline.com/index.cfm
Infact they were helping an older couple...well older than me with a pair of townies..the help there is great in my opinion
Cool! They go into the list then!

I'm going to give some props to my local dealer as well. Good service and good wrenches: http://sarasotaschwinncyclery.com/

Mine too, although their website is still a work in progress. http://www.bicyclesetc.net/

Mine too. No matter what you look like or what you are buying everybody gets the same respect and friendliness.

Cross Country Cycle (http://crosscountrycycle.com/)

Hmmm... I actually went to two lbs shops today. The first one tried everything he could to steer me away from a road bike and toward a hybrid instead. It was a vey small shop and a really young guy working there so maybe that was a factor. The second shop was great though the only thing he did not recommend was a 4000 dollar Orbeca. He showed me alot of entry level bikes and told me of all their services. I liked this guy a lot better and more than likely it's where i'll go.

That's great. I went to the Cycle Loft in Burlington, MA last year before my birthday and walked around the store for 15 minutes looking at bikes. I would have sworn I was invisible. I think it was more being middle-aged than anything else. The folks at REI in Reading, MA manage to be attentive without being obtrusive by comparison.

I left and wound up buying a used bike from a guy in Cambridge, who spent quite a while discussing the fit of the bike and how it would work for me.

Well, went to the LBS today and was treated exquisitely! He didn't really care how big I was. Test rode a road bike for the first time. What a nice feel, a little scary cause all I have ever ridden was a MTB. It was a Trek 1500 SL, very nice bike, he said the wheels would have no problem holding up, he said that trek put a 400lbs person on the bike and sent him out for a ride with no problems...now to start saving for the road bike


It's great that the shop treated you well. I hate it when I go into a shop and I get treated like a second class citizen cause I weigh 225.

Not sure of your weight, but I hardly doubt you won't have issues with the stock wheels. At 225lbs, stock wheels on my Lemond Tourmalet (identicle components to the 1500) only lasted 11 months (6,000 miles). That was on mostly smooth roads.

I built a Velocity Deep V's for the rear,32 spoke,3 cross pattern. Strong wheel. Get what you can out of the stock wheel but be prepared to replace it with a stronger set up. Front wheel lasted about 1 1/2 years.

BTW, don't fall for that story about 400 lb dude on a test ride!:D

Add "GT Wheels" and "The Bicycle Shop" In Findlay Ohio to the list of good shops, also "Bike Route" in Toledo Ohio is another great small shop, all smaller operations, all nice people.

These are not the monogramed shirt, look down their noses at a big guy kind of shop.

BTW, don't fall for that story about 400 lb dude on a test ride!
I was a little skeptical but its the third time I have heard this story.

I was a little skeptical but its the third time I have heard this story.


I just think it's funny cause you you can't tell a thing by a short testride about the durability of a product. My wheels were great on the testride but failed after 11 months of riding. There is a big difference.

I could probably give a 300 lb guy a piggyback ride for 5 minutes. But tyring to lug his butt aroud all week would be hell!:D

Add my favorite shop, Silver Cycles in Silver Spring, MD. (http://silvercycles.com/index.cfm) to the list. They're not huge, but they work with a lot of commuters and more than a few bigger riders. I've never gotten the hard sell and they are willing to say "I don't know" rather than make something up.

Roswell Bicycles here seems to be pretty customer-service oriented. I did not feel at all ignored, or pressured in any way (thanks, Taylor!).

There's a couple of other LBS here, but mama always said if you don't have anything nice to say, well.....

I've never had issues with shops treating me poorly, except maybe clueless individual employees here and there. I would expect that LBS owners would be more concerned about the size of my wallet than the size of my belly.

I was out for a ride today and a small pick up passed me, stopped and backed up. It was the guy who sold me my bike 5 weeks ago just stopping to say Hi and glad to see me riding. It was kind of cool, he even remembered the ss I was considering and mentioned the geared I bought probably served me better in this hilly terrain.

Roswell Bicycles here seems to be pretty customer-service oriented. I did not feel at all ignored, or pressured in any way (thanks, Taylor!).

There's a couple of other LBS here, but mama always said if you don't have anything nice to say, well.....


Ditto on Roswell Bikes - DJ in there came from Peachtree Bikes, another good shop here in Atlanta. He has always encouraged me, never looked down on me cause of my size, and loves to talk tricked out bikes.

Ooops...

http://www.peachtreebikes.com/catalog/

http://www.roswellbicycles.com/

A lot of it also depends on the person who helps you at the store. I remember when I first got into biking, I went into a shop and the guy didn't have a clue how to help me look for a touring bike. I wanted to look at a Trek 520. He kept insisting I meant a 5200 (a racing model back then). He'd never heard of a 520! Generally he spent most of the time talking about his club rides and why Dura Ace is important since you can shift just before the top of the hill and put a hurting on your club mates. uh, yeah.

I wound up getting the 520 at another shop. After just over one year, I got upgrade-itis caused by a fit problem (I'm all torso). I went back to the first shop since they sold the brand I wanted and got another guy. He, listened, made good suggestions, and was very helpful. I still ride that bike today.

I just think it's funny cause you you can't tell a thing by a short testride about the durability of a product. My wheels were great on the testride but failed after 11 months of riding. There is a big difference.

I could probably give a 300 lb guy a piggyback ride for 5 minutes. But tyring to lug his butt aroud all week would be hell!

Agreed

The most important part of the Bike is you, I just noticed Proform is closing out the GT30, it is a heavy duty exer-cycle that will handle heavy riders. I have had mine for about 4 years and I ride the thing a lot ,,,,,,
http://www.mysportsequipment.com/Pro...Store/10029859

The only problem I have had is I had to tighten the belt, after riding it hard for 4 years, that ain't to bad.
Its priced good now.

what's the name of that shop? See if you can find if they have a website too! I have been planning to put together a Clydesdale friendly bike shop list anyway!

Put Revolutions Cycler on your list http://revolutionscyclery.com in Melbourne, FL.
The owner is Jim and his hair is much thinner after putting up with my fat a** for the last couple of months. I just picked up my new Trek Pilot 5.2 with the Project One paint job Trek is now offering for $99.
I have been going in there for the past 3 months with a list of questions and he has answered everyone and when possible walked over to a bike and pointed out the answer.

I have watched him put together new bikes and the extras he does to them I'm sure very few if any dealers do. I am 6' 2'' and 295. He has discussed with me all kinds of biking info, from rims thru seats and helmets thru shoes. Even told me what make shoe to order because the ones he carried did not fit me.

I've listened to him while he was selling to other customers and he is really interested in helping the customer find the right choice rather than just pushing any bike on them.
I most definitely will send him some customers.

BTW the bike and the ride are SWEEETTT!

Well, went to the LBS today and was treated exquisitely! He didn't really care how big I was. Test rode a road bike for the first time. What a nice feel, a little scary cause all I have ever ridden was a MTB. It was a Trek 1500 SL, very nice bike, he said the wheels would have no problem holding up, he said that trek put a 400lbs person on the bike and sent him out for a ride with no problems...now to start saving for the road bike

cohos--I don't know if you know it but Trek is having a sale on certain models of their bikes and the 1500 is one of them www.trekbikes.com also check out the special $99 Project One paint job special.

You might want to check out the Pilot series (not on sale) I'm 6'2'' and 295 and just bought one and it rides very nice.

what's the name of that shop? a Clydesdale friendly bike shop!

Aggieland Cycling in College Station, TX. http://www.aggieland-cycling.com/

The owner Rod is a Clyde and after fitting me out, has used me as a reference to several guys bigger than me (i.e. taller than 6'4", heavier than 220 lbs.). What I appreciate about Rod is that he'll figure out what kind of riding you're probably going to do then sell you a fair-priced mid-range bike to do it, telling you to go ride and come back after you've gotten some miles under you. Also free labor and tuneups for life for any bike you buy from them.

They built up my 62 cm Surly Long Haul Trucker that I commute to work on every day - I take the Surly in every month or so just to have them fuss over it for a quarter hour!

My LBS, Lowcountry Bicycles, has always treated me with respect. The owner and his one full time employee are older, the employee a retired teacher and one hell of a wheelsmith, and know their stuff and respect anyone that know what he or she is talking about. There are a few other Clydes that frequent the shop and their rides, and no one says anything about us big guys hanging with them. Heck, we provide the leadouts for the ride sprints with beer the popular currency.

When I got back into riding I went ot a place called TOGA bikes in Upper Nyack NY. I got a personalized fitting and there was no hard sell. They spent a ton of time with me. I ended up getting a Specialized Roubaix. The shop ordered larger wheels and put on Armadillo tires. I started out with regular pedals and finally went clipless. The shop helped me find riding shoes and other Clydesdale sized stuff.

The staff has been pleasant and I have taken several other people to the shop for bikes and repairs.


http://togabikes.com/index.cfm

BTW, don't fall for that story about 400 lb dude on a test ride!:D

No doubt! That's not even how bike manufacturers test out weight maxs