Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Aluminum Frame ok?

Im 6'3" and 230 lbs. Is an aluminum frame ok to buy? Am I gonna crack that thing? I have my eye on this aluminum bike, but I dont want to buy it and break it. Should I just stick to good old steel?

I just weighed myself this AM...225 lbs.

I ride an Aluminum Cannondale (Road Warrior Optimo frame). Aluminum will not be an issue. Make sure you have good wheels, though. Mine are stock 32 spoke (700 x 25C tire).

While I prefer steel for the ride qualities, I also own and ride an aluminum bike. I'm 220 and have never had a problem with any aluminim frame. The wheels will be the weak point here.

What bike are you looking at?

I am thinking of this bike:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/corvus_al8.htm

I like the geometry and the components. The paint job sucks, but I have a friend who does powdercoat so I will get him to trick it up nice for me.

Aluminum...no problem, I am 310 and ride an aluminum roadbike. Regarding Bikes Direct, you may get quite a few differing opinions about dealing with them. If you do buy from them take the bike to the shop and have it put together.

Unless it's a POS, you will not break ANY frame made of ANY material at your weight. I started at 6'3" and 230 on a Specialized Tarmac Expert.

Frame material isn't nearly as important as wheel build quality. The wheels support the weight, not the frame.

Frame material isn't nearly as important as wheel build quality. The wheels support the weight, not the frame.

Tru dat! :D

I weigh 350 and ride aluminum... It hasn't failed me yet...

Neither has steel...

I haven't had the nerve to try carbon yet.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this bike? Specifically the wheels?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...corvus_al8.htm (http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/corvus_al8.htm)

Shimano makes good wheels--I know their top-end stuff is really good. The tires are low-end, cheapo stuff. Nothing to brag about, but they'll get the job done. Specs don't say what the hub is... might be the lowest model Shimano they make. Might be 105. Dunno.

Hard to tell, but looks like (from the photo) to be 20 spokes front and 24 rear. May be a little low for your size. Depending on what you're going to do with them, I would think at the least to go with 24/28. That said, I do have 24/28 Mavic Elite's... but I only use them for special events/races. My daily wheels are 32h, Mavic Open Pro's. I weigh in at 255-260 lbs.

Contact Bikes Direct. They try to keep a positive image, so they'll more'n likely give you the info you need, and maybe even swap out the wheels.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this bike? Specifically the wheels?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...corvus_al8.htm (http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/corvus_al8.htm)

I really wouldn't worry at 230 pounds like I do at 300 with that wheel set. Don't count on bikesdirect.com to swap wheels, as all their bikes come prepackaged from the factory in the Far East and distributed out of Houston. You may be able to get a swap at a bike shop or another cyclist.

Bikes Direct has two Corvus Models, the Steel and the Aluminum. It looks to me like the Aluminum version has far better components. Is that an accurate judgement?

Here is the aluminum:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/corvus_al8.htm

Here is the steel:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/mercier_corvus.htm

I weigh about 250, and while both my road bikes are steel, I've had a Cannondale aluminum mountain bike for 10 years. It's been ridden often and hard (I live a mile from a national forest), and it's had zero problems. Assuming you're talking about a name-brand bike and not some department store cheapie, I'm sure you'll be find.

I started at 6ft 371 lbs and have never ridien anything but an aluminum bikes since I started back riding last Fathers day .... It a hold you just fine NO PROBLEM ....UNLESS its some cheap piece a crapola ....

Just remember, shopping at bikesdirect is a gamble - might be worth it though. They certainly do not pretend to care about the customers as soon as they have received the money. Try calling them? Good luck.

Aluminum should not be a problem; the wheels will likely not last very long.

I agree with the wheel being the weak link. You will pop spokes long before you crack a frame.

Even if you get up out of the saddle, and crank down on the pedals, twisting that frame with the force of a dozen Lance Armstrongs, you aren't going to do dammage to the frame.

I rode a stock Trek 7200 (alum) frame for 7,500 miles with no issues at 340#. Don't worry about the frame, worry about the spoke count/quality. That (and possibly the seatpost) is where your issues will occur.

Probably depends on the the design of the frame. I have an older 1998 Cannondale CAAD3 with oversized tubing at the bottom bracket area, no problems. MY 2005 Lemond ($1300) had smaller diameter tubing and flexed more thn the Cannondale.

After 13000 miles, the frame went "snap crackle pop" on a seated climb!:eek:..I rode it at 220-245 lbs for nearly 3 years.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/broke.jpg

The only issue with bikes Direct is that you don't have a local shop when warranty issues and set up is needed. If you know someone who is familiar with light tune up work on a bike you can be set up and good to go in less than an hour. A good LBS shouldn't charge more than a tune up fee to put the bike together if you are not sure how to do it.

Most of the stories I have heard about warranty issues with BD see to work out in the end. I would not hesitate to order from them, but I have a Spectrum Cycles locally and it is the brick and mortar store front for BD. I would just go there and get my bike if I was looking at one of their bikes. Do web search for Spectrum Cycles. they have a few stores in different parts of the country. You might get lucky.

One thing other than wheels to consider is that the bottom brackets on BD bikes are very low end. It's a quick and easy, and not expensive, switch. I would highly recommend doing so down the road, but get all the miles you can out of the stock unit first.

I wouldn't worry too much over an FSA bottom bracket.

im 340# on aluminum and carbon with stock rims Alex AS1, 24-hole/28-hole so far nothing but good to say about them.2008 Specialized Sequoia Elite

After 13000 miles, the frame went "snap crackle pop" on a seated climb!:eek:..I rode it at 220-245 lbs for nearly 3 years.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/broke.jpg

Wow! I would not have thought something like that would be possible from just regular riding.

Remember, aluminum has a better strength:weight ratio than steel...consider the number of aluminum airplanes you see compared to the number of steel airplanes...

I ride an aluminum CAAD9 and i'm at 275. I ride it hard and have had no problems. I've only put about 1600 miles since Dec. but it can handle more than i can dish out.

Wow! I would not have thought something like that would be possible from just regular riding.

Yup! I could tell that the frame flexed more at the BB area than my Canni. So I rarely stood on this frame while climbing or hammering. Just never felt safe on the flex! Now I'm glad I didn't!:D

Aluminium's been good for me at ~95kg/220lbs, excluding all the stuff in the backpack.

Probably depends on the the design of the frame. I have an older 1998 Cannondale CAAD3 with oversized tubing at the bottom bracket area, no problems. MY 2005 Lemond ($1300) had smaller diameter tubing and flexed more thn the Cannondale.

After 13000 miles, the frame went "snap crackle pop" on a seated climb!:eek:..I rode it at 220-245 lbs for nearly 3 years.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/broke.jpg

jeez, thats some crack! can't imagine the force needed to rip it like that.

I am 261 lbs and have a alu and 2 steel. feel like i will snap the aluminium bike sometimes. probably wont but would prefer to lose a bit of weight before i ride it to be sure. spent too much time, money and effort making it up to break it like that;)

jeez, thats some crack! can't imagine the force needed to rip it like that.

I am 261 lbs and have a alu and 2 steel. feel like i will snap the aluminium bike sometimes. probably wont but would prefer to lose a bit of weight before i ride it to be sure. spent too much time, money and effort making it up to break it like that;)


I was always worried about snapping the frame but after Trek/Lemond took care of me during the waranty issue, I'll be happy to try snapping a few more!:D...They upgraded my alum frame to a 3/4 carbon frame and beefed up the fork in the process which usually isn't in the warranty deal. All free of charge!:thumb: I love the way some of the other bikes look but their warranty made me a believer.:p

HI,
I realize that your pretty sure about buying that bike its probably as good as anyone would need.
Here's the really important issue, if it dosen't fit you perfectly you will hate ridding.
I have made a some real mistakes trying to fit my bike, and its been more expensive than if I bought a 1200.oo bike at the LBS.
They will measure you correctly with a special inseam tool.
Most bike derailers are works of art, unless your a bike expert tunning one can be a little unnerving not to mention out right a pain. most bike shops will take care of any adjustments for a t least one year and longer for some models.
Frames have cracked due to stress and fracture things like pot holes, sidewalk seams canplay havoc on 120 psi tires
if your body is a little off on your chest abdomen lenght to leg lenght they can adjust your handle bars by changing out the stem or adding or removing lenght. this is critical to your back and prevents hand pain and fatigue. IF your bike fits you can ride for hours I usally ride 2 hours a day and if it wasn't a good fit I couldn't walk.
Fianlly if your entry level seat isn't your liking the lbs will apply your new seat to a better seat of your choice from the shop and allow some credit towards the better seat..
Bike fit is very difficult its alot more complicated than inseam lenght.:(
they can adjust your clipless shoe for your specific needs to prevent knee hyper flexure and pain.
doug
finally most bikes have lots of little adjustments Ive had my used new bike in the shop three times this year already , 1 time for tire upgrades,2nd time had to respoke the rear wheel due to spoke failures. And I ve tried three different seats till I found one that didn't take a bite out of my ars...


here's a link about fitting a bicycle to each individual.

http://www.harpethbicycles.com/aboutfit/fitprocess.html

As Mr. Beanz has already highlighted, aluminum can/will eventually fail. But, don't worry about it. I own steel as well as aluminum frames(Caad4 road, Eddy Merckx Columbus SP, Cannondale Caad mtb, Bianchi Grizzly, etc) and can say that I really enjoy the ride and stiffness of aluminum. Ridden hard, frequently, and long it will slowly work harden with each flex cycle and eventually crack. On a well engineered, quality welded and heat treated frame it will take a lot of miles and a lot of hammering before that happens. I've only experienced this on mtb frames, 3 of them, over the last 20 years, all cannondale, all warranteed, 1 seat tube to bottombracket joint, 2 rightside chainstays to bottom bracket or stay bridge.

Of more concern on the BD bike you've identified are the wheels. 20 front/ 24 back on a lower end shimano wheel are probably insufficient. After your first few rides or a couple hundred miles make sure to take them to a good wheelsmith and get them tensioned. They may, then, work just fine for you. If you wait too long to get them retensioned and allow them to go out of true too far, you may never get them to come back true with good even tension and without breaking spokes. Alternately, flog them on ebay and replace them with a set of bombproof clyde wheels (32 or 36, 3 cross spokes, shimano ultegra hubs mated to your choice of Velocity Deep-V, Mavic Open Pro, DT Swiss 1.2, or similar rims).

As others have pointed out, if this is your first bike and you're not entirely comfortable with assembly or sizing, you may find that an lbs provides reasonable return on the additional investment.

dont under estimate aluminum. be sure it's double buttee