Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Switching Gears from Mtn to Road.

I recently may have made a mistake. I purchased a Trek 6000 for paved trail riding, since we have umteen million miles of paved bike/walk/run path here at home. I bought it becuase the wife had purchased a mountain bike and wanted me to ride with her, which I have. Fast forward to my first day on the bike and I put 12miles on it. The second day I put 18 miles on it and by the third I was pushing 20.

I'm 26, 5' 10' and weigh 250 lbs. I'm a police officer and really can't see myself dropping much below 210 lbs or so. I don't know if thats even physically possible for me. I've been attempting to chase a 150 lb friend firefighter on a road bike. Thank goodness for it being an older/heavier frame otherwise there would be no keeping up. He's done a fine job of setting a great pace to chase and I want to ride longer and more comfortably beside him. My mountain bike isn't cutting it. Not to mention I would like to get into some local tri events and push my luck with the clock!

I'm wanting a road bike, I believe I will prefer a 10speed, that will be good for long climbs, on some East Tennessee Mountain Rds. I enjoy logging long rides and pushing myself. I would love a bike that would be up for the same challenge.

I used to ride a mountain bike daily and have gotten out of the habit for several years, hence the extra 50lbs! I have never set foot onto a roadbike to this very day. For some reason it seems to be an overwhelming transition, lots to choose from! I have no idea on the fit or feel and intend to pay to have a proper fitting and spin for about 30mins on each.

I've been looking at four bike co.'s; Trek, Felt, Specialized, and Cannondale. The two bikes I'm looking at in particular right now are the Trek 2.3 and the Specialized Allez Elite Comp. Both are in the $1500 benchmark and should be falling here sometime soon as the 10's come into play.

So I'll start off by asking if there are any local East Tennesseans on this forum that would allow me to come hang with them for a day and spin a few miles beside them? I'm also an avid fly fisherman and would hook a person up for some help on the proper fit and trying a few of thier bikes out for a spin! I've got a drift boat, will float!

I have back read these forums and have gained some good knowledge on various aspets of road biking, bikes, etc. Props to this forum, and with that in mind what's the reccomended bike to keep pace with my 250lb rear. Is there any other bike manufacturors I should take into consideration? My LBS carries Trek, Felt, and Cannondale. I really like these guys too, but then again they like me because I've already spent my entire salary for the year on one of thier bikes and misc gear!:cry:

Recap; Need fellow East Tennessean to show me the road ropes. 250lb clyde, need road bike to keep up with long rides, steep climbs, and quick decents while balancing a $1300 to $1500 budget!

~Brett

I'm not in East Tennessee, so unfortunately riding with you is unlikely, but I think either of the bikes you mention will be fine for you. Like everyone says, just keep an eye on the wheels and if they cause you problems, you might want to have some new wheels in the budget. You might also want to look at the Cannondale CAAD - I believe it's in your budget and it seems to be a popular Clyde road bike.

The test ride will probably be the key for making your decision - buy the bike that feels best to you and if you can get a nice long test ride in, all the better. When I was looking for a road bike, I was considering a Specialized and a Trek. The Specialized dealer only let me ride around the parking lot while the Trek dealer put the bike I was looking at in the trainer, did a quick fit, took my DL and set me loose. I bought the Trek. The Specialized was probably a fine bike as well, but I just couldn't get a feel for it doing a 6 MPH loop in a parking lot.

Nice place to ride. I have family up that way and get up there when I can. Unfortunately none of them cycle so I can't help you there. I second the opinion of trying to get a good test ride. I bought a Lemond about 5 years ago, and when I did the test ride was a big part of my decision. At that price point you should get a good mix of components and a decent frame. The main factor will be what feels best to you.

I'm wanting a road bike, I believe I will prefer a 10speed, that will be good for long climbs,


What is meant by this statement?

I've been looking at four bike co.'s; Trek, Felt, Specialized, and Cannondale. The two bikes I'm looking at in particular right now are the Trek 2.3 and the Specialized Allez Elite Comp. Both are in the $1500 benchmark and should be falling here sometime soon as the 10's come into play.

Think about whether you want a road bike with an aggressive, racing-inspired geometry (e.g. Specialized Tarmac or Allez) or a bike with a slightly more relaxed geometry (e.g. Specialized Roubaix or Sequoia).

In the Specialized line-up, the "endurance" road bikes like the Roubaix and Sequoia have a slightly longer head tube which allows for a more upright riding position. They also tend to have a slightly longer wheelbase and slightly less aggressive steering geometry, which makes them very stable. The trade-off is that they steer into corners a bit more slowly. Many manufacturers have similar distinctions in their product lines. Felt F-series bikes are racy, while their Z-series bikes are more relaxed. Cannondale's Synapse bikes are relaxed, while the CAAD9, Six, and SuperSix bikes are more aggressive.

If you're going to do any hill climbing, I'd suggest buying a bike with a "compact" crank. These typically have 50- and 34-tooth chainrings. They're call "compact" because the Bold Circle Diameter (BCD) of the attachments points between the crank and the chainrings is 110mm versus the 130mm used on "standard" cranks. The smaller BCD allows for smaller chainrings. I've found that a 50/34 crank combined with an 11-28 or 12-27 rear cassette makes for a good climbing setup. A "triple crank" or triple chainring setup can also work, but you pay a bit of a weight penalty and the gearing usually ends up being pretty similar to a compact crank anyway.

Before you spend all that money on a road bike, have you tried switching to slightly thinner, smooth tires? The rolling resistance that knobbies have is huge if all you are riding is pavement. Try switching for a bit and at the very least if you decide that you still want a road bike you'll have a nice rolling bike until you make the purchase. And if you decide you like it enough (the more upright geometry vs. the agressive geometry of a road bike) then you can save the money.

Mtn bikes also typically have better gear ratio's for climbing anyway. I've found that even the granny gear on my road bike makes going very tough up steep hills on the greenway, where I can tackle any of the hills with relative ease on any one of my mountain bikes.

You can't go wrong with a Cannondale CAAD9-5, some will say it is not comfortable. I have done 3 century rides this year on mine and it rides wonderfully.

Other than on climbs, your friend's bike weight is probably not slowing him down. Bicycle weight is a hindrance when climbing, accelerating or lifting the bike... otherwise it is a non-issue.

Don't worry much about the specific brand of bike, each brand will make slightly different trade-offs on each bike, but for a given price, a racing bike in one major brand is very similar (component wise) to a racing bike from any other major brand. The same applies to the more relaxed bikes mentioned above.

Go for the one that you like the test ride best... and even then the difference may be a tweak of position. ;)

I don't think you can go wrong by finding the best bike shop in your area, and picking from whatever line(s) they offer.

Before you spend all that money on a road bike, have you tried switching to slightly thinner, smooth tires? The rolling resistance that knobbies have is huge if all you are riding is pavement. Try switching for a bit and at the very least if you decide that you still want a road bike you'll have a nice rolling bike until you make the purchase. And if you decide you like it enough (the more upright geometry vs. the agressive geometry of a road bike) then you can save the money.

Mtn bikes also typically have better gear ratio's for climbing anyway. I've found that even the granny gear on my road bike makes going very tough up steep hills on the greenway, where I can tackle any of the hills with relative ease on any one of my mountain bikes.

+1
He is talking about climbing, *and* he is 250 lbs.
Odds are if he gets a road bike, he won't have the gears he needs for climbing.

Due to my climbing bike being down for major repairs, I just put a pair of 1.25" 26" (85PSI) slicks on my old mtn bike, and I have been really pleased with the results. It is remarkable how easy it rolls, and how nimble it is through highspeed hairpin turns on fast mountain descents!

I got the tires from Perf/Nashbar and they were dirt cheap.

What is meant by this statement?

I was referring to the double compact rather than a triple compact. <--I think that's right!? I guess less gears, I was thinking I would be able to handle it. I went by the LBS today and spun around the parking lot on a Trek 1.5, that was all they had in a 54cm in the Trek line, within my budget. Wow, I will now being looking even harder at road bikes.

Here's another question for you all. What do you all say to saving money on a 1yr old used bike? Locally, there is a 4.7 Madone for the same pricemark. Less than 1k on the bike? How would one know how far/hard it's been riddin? Any pointers on things to look for in road bike wear? How important is it that they haven't had the bike in the rain? I've seen several bikes advertised this way? I like the thought of a warranty though! A year from now I would probably have lost a couple o' notches in the belt and be looking at possibly upgrading to something else. Which adds to the dillema of saving the dough on something used, losing the weight, and putting away for what I wanted a year from now. Suggestions?

I've also heard folks talk about nothing less than 105 components...I guess my thinking on the price benchmark has started there! I don't want a bike that will spend more time in the shop than on the road. Coupled with my wieght, I wanted to make sure the components would hang tough even with a larger frame guy. Is my thinking wrong here? Should I be more concerned with wheelsets rather than components?

I have also thought about changing the tires out on the mountain bike to something with less rolling friction. I just hate the thought of putting slick tires on something that's meant to run in the dirt, sand, grit, over logs, and generally doing dumb things on a bike. Plus, I have every intention of joining our bike squad here and would like to play around on something similar to what I will soon be working on! I guess my original post was a little misleading. That's why I got back into biking, nothing like sneaking up on joe blow trying to sell a rock while on a mountain bike! That's a whole other topic though! I like the mountain bike, but I really enjoy long rides on the road. I have a feeling I will like it even more now that I've had an oppurtunity to ride a road bike.

Thanks again for the replies guys!
~Brett

At 250 pounds, don't worry about the wheels. As long as they have a reasonable amount of spokes (28, 32, or 36) they will be fine. At your budget there aren't any bad bikes as long as they fit. Don't be overly concerned about component level, they all work. Tiagra will last as long as 105, but will weight a few grams more, not enough to worry about if you are a clyde.

Suggestions?

Be very, very, very careful when buying a used carbon fiber frame! If the frame shows any signs of being crashed, you don't want it!

If you want a bike with a carbon fiber frame, you're probably better off to buy new. I'd take advantage of the current Pedal Force special (http://pedalforce.com/online/product_info.php?cPath=101851&products_id=13684) before I'd buy a used carbon fiber bike...


I have also thought about changing the tires out on the mountain bike to something with less rolling friction. I just hate the thought of putting slick tires on something that's meant to run in the dirt, sand, grit, over logs, and generally doing dumb things on a bike.

What type of off-road riding are you doing? For steep (> 10% grade) climbs and technical descents, you'll want true knobby off-road tires. If you're just riding on gravel paths, fire roads, or non-technical single-track you might want to consider a "semi slick" tire. Something like the WTB All Terrainasaurus. More traction than a slick, but rolls better than a knobby. I have the All Terrainasaurus on my commuter/gravel path bike. They work well!

The other option would be to buy a cheap set of wheels and mount slick tires on them. I bought a set of wheels from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse on sale for around $100. Mounted some Continental Sport Contact slick tires, threw on a cassette from the parts bin, and I can now make the commuter super-efficient for longer road rides. Of course, if you have to buy a cassette, disc brake rotors, etc. this can become an expensive proposition...

I recently picked up a trek 1.2 and other than having to change out the rear wheel am really happy with it.

I rode 4 bikes before the purchase and came back the next day to re try the trek, since I was new to road bikes. Each ride was at least 10ish miles, second ride on the trek was 20ish.

If the store won't let you ride a good ride to make a dissension, find a new store.

Have fun shopping.

+1 on sstorkel's comment. Even if the guy swore on a stack of Bibles, I wouldn't spend my money on a used carbon bike. Just me, I'd go lower line than take any kind of chances.

I'm not sure if you know this, but some people lie!. Especially some dude at a shop trying to sell his buddy's racing rig after a crash.

If the store won't let you ride a good ride to make a dissension, find a new store.

Have fun shopping.

+1

Ok, so I dont have much to add....but when I was looking for a road bike, I went to three stores. The first one was a Specialized only dealer, and their test ride consisted of riding in the parking lot...i never test rode the bike or went back. The second store I went to was barely any help at all. They had Raleigh, Jamis, and one other that escapes me right now...but they acted like they didnt wanna help me out because I was new to road bikes. Finally found a good store, and when they let me test ride the Six13 that I ended up buying (was going to ride a CAAD 9-5 but they didnt have my size, but they had a few Siz13s from last year marked down a few hundred) all the guy that I was working with told me was.."The only thing is, you have to come back with the bike, at least this time." :lol:

I ended up buying from the third store because they let me test ride, and they were super helpful when I told them I was new to road bikes

+1
He is talking about climbing, *and* he is 250 lbs.
Odds are if he gets a road bike, he won't have the gears he needs for climbing.



Wow, very supportive and motivating bunch here!:D He's talking about a compact crank. That will have enough gears for climbing. There is no way an old mtn bike would be more efficient climbing mtn roads than a roadie.

If the OP wants to climb, he will climb!:thumb:

At 260, someone told me I was too big too climb (he was 180). Some training and I'm down to 230. Still close to 250, I beat that guy by over an hour on this timed event. 100 miles and 10,000 ft of climbing on a standard double 39/25 low gear. He won't ride with me anymore!:p

Me at mile 85,still smiling!:D
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/3623998990_19741cb9f9_o.jpg


My Athena wife and another Clyde friend in the mountains. Wife has done 4000 ft straightup climbs on a roadbike. She's done it on a double and triple crank. She didn't think she could climb either! But she did!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3540/3393953302_1833a1558f_o.jpg

Beanz was that the Big Bear or Mullholland Challenge?

Beanz was that the Big Bear or Mullholland Challenge?


Ride Around the Bear. The Gina picture is on GMR behind TomBunn form the Socal forum.