Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Advice and Help needed for bike selection, Please

Ok,
I know it is posted in here and there are probably a hundred threads that have the info I am after but after searching around for awile I am just going to ask for some advice. (that plus every thread has 10 replies...
I am returning to cycling after 25 years off a bike or so. I am 5'10 245 lbs, I dont want a MTB, I want a road bike. I have been told a 3 to 400 dollar internet one is fine. Then I am told it wont hold up. I have been sold on steel and then sold on Alu. I have seen bikes from 700 to 1200.
I did like the Bianchi Brava I looked at yeasterday but then reaf that SHimano SORA compnents suck.
Rims and frams seem to be the biggest difference that I can see. Derailers work the same then as now from what I can tell, just more gears and tighter spacing.
I will most likely buy from a local shop. I dont mind paying a little more for the support and knowledge and helping the local economy.
Is there a site, thread that braks all this down?
Thanks,
Lee

Bikes are like owmen, what works for one, another hates.

That being said, I am about the same size as you (5' 10", 260#). I have a Lemond 04 Reno, stock except for the riser stem, the pedals, and I put on Ultegra brakes (the stock brakes are pitiful). I have had no issue with the bike related to me being a Clyde.

Happy Hunting.

Ok,
I know it is posted in here and there are probably a hundred threads that have the info I am after but after searching around for awile I am just going to ask for some advice. (that plus every thread has 10 replies...
I am returning to cycling after 25 years off a bike or so. I am 5'10 245 lbs, I dont want a MTB, I want a road bike. I have been told a 3 to 400 dollar internet one is fine. Then I am told it wont hold up. I have been sold on steel and then sold on Alu. I have seen bikes from 700 to 1200.
I did like the Bianchi Brava I looked at yeasterday but then reaf that SHimano SORA compnents suck.
Rims and frams seem to be the biggest difference that I can see. Derailers work the same then as now from what I can tell, just more gears and tighter spacing.
I will most likely buy from a local shop. I dont mind paying a little more for the support and knowledge and helping the local economy.
Is there a site, thread that braks all this down?
Thanks,
Lee
At 243, you have a lot of potions! The type of riding you want to do will determine the choice of bike and wheelset you want. The most important component to be sure of with a Clyde rider is the wheels and I recommend hand built rather than machine and if you wind up with machine built, have the spokes checked for tension equilibrium. I'd also recommend butted spokes rather than straight gagw.

That said, build up the bike for safety, forget about ultralight weight bling, that's for the 150 pound stick people! A good 36 hole wheelset will do you fine, and pretty much any frame will do. I don't recommend a carbon fiber frame or fork, not because of issues with structural strength, instead, if you crash the bike, you can have hidden frame damage that GREATLY increases the risk of catastrophic failure.

Steel gives a better ride as does Titanium. Steel has a virtually unlimited fatigue lifetime. Aluminum is lighter, but you will eventually suffer from metal fatigue and frame failure, it's the nature of the beast. Get a proper fitting and get the right size frame and a well built set of wheels and after that it's what you like! If you enjoy riding you will stay with it. There's you basic breakdown, boiled down in a nutshell, and welcome to Clydes and back to cycling!:D

ps: The difference between a $500.00 and a $1000.00 bike is far greater than the difference between a $1000.00 bike and a $5000.00 bike!

Hi,
pick a budget. I suggest a grand, or more, but that choice is yours. It will focus your search.

You will need to test ride some bikes. One you should try is the Specialized Sequoia.

I suggest getting a sport model Many bikes today are aimed at racers and wannabes. A sport is a road bike with relaxed geometry. There are quite a few out there, I prefer the geometry to be quite relaxed. Here's mine...
http://www.gunnarbikes.com/sport.php

With it's large tires, and high handlebar, my Sport is more of a lite tourer.

Which is something else worth mentioning, after 25 years, you ain't used to bending over and bouncing up and down. I suggest you start with a bike that has the bars at least as high as the saddle.

A lot of wheels on stock bikes won't cut the mustard on a guy as heavy as we are. If you get a whole bike (as opposed to buying the frame and then buying parts or a parts package) then you can ask to upgrade the wheels at the time of the sale. I suggest getting CXP33 rims on Shimao hubs. If I can't destroy it, few people can. A dealer will find a way to make this work. There are cheaper cyclocross wheels that will work, etc.

Don't forget to get a helmet.

One last thing, your butt is going to hurt. After a month, if it still hurts, start trying saddles. Brooks is a good choice, but I ride a SelleAnAtomica Titanico.

Ok, one more last thing :)
You need cycling shorts. I only use Boure Pro.

this summarizes the collective wisdom: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=228851

more info would help us help you -- what kind of riding? (distance, surface, weather, commute or no, etc.). What budget?

Agree that $1,000 is a good price point, and that you should go LBS all the way.

Another option to a sport model is a cross bike with slick tires for the road. Tougher build, often tougher wheelset, a little more upright than a typical road bike.

Thanks for the info.
My plan is to ride 20 min a day on a trainer on my work days (I work 13 hours a day with a 2 hour commute 3 days a week) and then on my weekends maybe 20 to 30 a day 2 to 3 times a week.
Now that is my plan but who knows what reality will be. I have a nice wide road with nice ups and downs that I can go 15 miles on before I need to worry about turning around.
My budget is around 800 or so. maybe more maybe less but I definitly have not liked the looks of the sub 600 doallar bikes.
I did see a Trek 1000 (on paper, store did not have them out yet) for 675 and a Bianchi Brave for 700 (for some reason I really liked that bike) and one shop has GIant OCR's from 500 to 800 (05 and 06 model close outs).
I need to ride them before throwing that much money on them but of course we just got a foot of snow.
LJ

You're not THAT heavy to be concerned about road bike durability. Check out THIS THREAD (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=268941). Any of these bikes, including the wheels they come with, should suit you.

Steel gives a better ride as does Titanium. Steel has a virtually unlimited fatigue lifetime. Aluminum is lighter, but you will eventually suffer from metal fatigue and frame failure, it's the nature of the beast. Get a proper fitting and get the right size frame and a well built set of wheels and after that it's what you like! If you enjoy riding you will stay with it. There's you basic breakdown, boiled down in a nutshell, and welcome to Clydes and back to cycling!:D

ps: The difference between a $500.00 and a $1000.00 bike is far greater than the difference between a $1000.00 bike and a $5000.00 bike!

I was with ya up to this point. I've said this once...or even a hundred times;) ...my experience with bicycles (27 in the last 30 years) has been that steel and aluminum are even in the breakage department. I've broken 6 frames...4 steel and 2 aluminum...2 of the steel ones don't count because I slammed one into a car and one into a hole but the others broke because of use. One of the steel ones even broke 3 separate times. As for parts, I've broken pedals with steel axles, steel axles in hubs, an aluminum/carbon fiber crank (won't have one of those again:mad: ) and about a dozen aluminum rims. In terms of breakage, rims are my number one problem. But I would no more put a steel rim on my bike then I'd ride a Wally World bike!

Bottom line: Don't worry too much about the frame material. At a $500 price point, you'll find far more aluminum bikes than steel ones. And an aluminum bike has it all over steel in terms of weight at that price. Over $1000, they're about the same.

I agree with cyccommute EXCEPT aluminum is inherently stiffer. At cheaper price points I think you get much stiffer bikes. If you are mountain biking, this can be a non-issue. The stiffness really helps when you are hammering up a hill and you are spending much more time out of the saddle, etc. It is also less of an issue if you are a more experienced rider.

I bought my current bike because after a lot of time MTBing, I thought I wanted a really stiff bike when I moved to the city and started spending my time road riding. Now I go on long rides and "my boys" pay for it. The alumnium frame is much tougher on the jewels.

I agree with cyccommute EXCEPT aluminum is inherently stiffer. At cheaper price points I think you get much stiffer bikes. If you are mountain biking, this can be a non-issue. The stiffness really helps when you are hammering up a hill and you are spending much more time out of the saddle, etc. It is also less of an issue if you are a more experienced rider.



As a material, steel is much stiffer (resist flexure) than aluminum. The difference is that aluminum frames tend to use tubes with a larger diameter which makes the bike stiffer riding. For cheap steel frames they don't use the same alloys as you'd find on a much more expensive frame. That's why a cheap steel frame can be kinda noodly while a cheap aluminum frame can be as stiff as an octagenarian on a Viagra bender:D

I am with cyccommute on ignoring the frame material. I am a lightweight in this forum at 6'7" 235 but I put on 10,000 + km a year using both aluminum and steel frames and find the only significant difference to be in the amount of vibration transmitted to my hands if I have an aluminum fork (never again). My current favourite commuter is a Kona Dew Deluxe, aluminum frame with chromoly fork. As for the mistreatment of the jewels, I find the saddle and the angle it is set at to be more of a concern than the frame material.
I would also agree that you will want to try to avoid machine built wheels, if your bike comes with them then ride them until they die and then have them re-laced by hand. I have had a few few machine built wheels in the past couple years where the spoke tension was even and the wheels true but the spoke on the rear drive side were too long which resulted in the machine crushing the top of the spoke as it tightened it. This weakens the spoke in a manner that is not visible and caused a few broken spokes at the most inopportune times

Buy what you like in your price range, if you ride a lot you will soon convince yourself that it is your equipment that is allowing some kid to blast by you like you are standing still and before you know it you will have four bikes and a cupboard full of parts.

I would avoid buying a first bike over the internet, mainly because you won't know if it will fit you or not. If you buy from an LBS, you can test ride multiple bikes and sizes, and be more certain of a good fit.

Ok,
I did like the Bianchi Brava I looked at yeasterday but then reaf that SHimano SORA compnents suck.


Sora isn't as bad as the perception given in these forums. For an entry-level bike, it will serve you just fine. Tiagra is the next step up and would make it easier to upgrade to 105 or above later if you desired.

If your LBS handles Raleigh, you might want to check out the Cadent 2.0. I bought one for my brother and another for my gal and they both love them. My brother is about your size and weight. If I recall it is Tiagra equipped, or a combo of Tiagra & 105, and in your price range. You may want to swap out the saddle...but I'm a spoiled Brooks nut, so YMMV.

Lee,

You and I were in the same boat till about two weeks ago. I read a lot of different threads and came to this conclusion. Test ride test ride and test ride as many bikes as you can. Set a price point for me (my wife) that was nothing over 1000.00. With that in minde i rode felt, Lemond, Giant, Specialized both 06 and 07 models. I had a slight inclination to go with Giant (my dad swears by his OCR1) but after riding a lemond, well it just fit me best. Im 5'8 210 +/- and i have a 29 inch inseam and a long torso. I couldnt not look and consider bikes direct, but again my brother in law and father both strongly emphasized the importance of the lbs support esp during your first rode bike. So settling on the Lemond geometry all it really came down to was the component group. Honestly i could not tolerate the sora group, the tiegra group was better but the bottom line was a 200 price jump for 105 (and slightly better wheel set) which was an easy decision. I will say that I did an "extensive level of research", even visited lbs's in neighboring states, and i eventually bought from a store 10 mins from my house. They did a rought fit before i bought and a fine fit after the bike was assymbled. Your weight probably isnt as major concern as if you were over 300lbs wrt the wheel set. I guess all i can say is meet the local shops figure out what bike fits you best, follow your price point and be ready to flex the decision to what is right for you.

Thanks again for all the adivce. I have been to 5 shops so far an plan on hitting 2 more to day for "just looing and asking questions". I want to buy now and I have to keep my impulse personality in check till it thaws and I can actually go ride around on some of the bikes... Up here in NH that will probably be 10 weeks from now and I will have lost my urge to start. haha
LJ

I went to two more shops today. The first I was there 15 min and no one even said hello and there was only one other person there. I was in a bit of a rush so I did not bother to ask questions. THen had Connondale and they looked pretty decent.
The next shop I spent probably close to 1/2 hour with the manager talking bike and general BS. I liked the shop, they had a lot of bike to try and a very good selection. To bad there was to much snow for test riding cause they had some good deals on close out...
I looked at the Treck and the Lemonds.
Soon...............
LJ

I recently started doing my Research on finding a good roadie for me. I'm similar weight to you but a couple inches taller. I started researching the 'net for HOURS and Hours (I have a boring Desk job), came to the Conclusion that $700 is about the Minimum cost of entry into a Decent Road bike (if you're buying new).

I narrowed down some bikes that interested me based on the Specs Needed for a BIG GUY (Thanks Clyde Forum:) ) Basically Steel Frame and High Spoke Count Wheels being the 2 big deal items. Found which Shops Carried the bikes and went down to look at and Ride.

One bike that might be appealing based on Specs and Internet reviews, might turn out that you don't really like it in real life. I tested the Jamis Nova (Really appealing bike) but after Riding it, back to back with an Aurora I really liked the Aurora more. The Aurora is priced nicely too! Just get out there and test some bikes out, based on the Advice of this forum. If you can find a Used bike that fits, buy it! You can save a lot of Bucks going used. Unfortunately there's not much of a Used market here (on anything really).