Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Want to buy a Roadbike

Hey all,

So I'm not new to biking but I am new to road bikes. I guess I am a "Clydesdale" (I definitely LOLed when I read this). I hadn't thought too much about factoring in my size (6'3'' and 250 lbs) and I don't know what I need to look for to carry my weight. I want to buy a bike that is not ridiculously expensive, yet I don't want to have to buy a new one in a couple years because I bought "just a starter bike." I have looked at a few bikes in shops, but each shop sells what they sell and "their brand is best." (I've looked at Giant, Specialized, Mercier.) What do you all think? I have no set amount of money I want to spend, but I'd like to keep it less than $1600. Thanks for any help you can lend to a noob :thumb:

Broad question. Specialized, Giant, Trek & others.. fine CO.s .. so you've at least looked. To help you catagorize your selection click on www.jamisbikes.com (http://www.jamisbikes.com) Just for comparison if for no other reason. It's a clear, simple informative site. Focus On the Codas for instance. When I check some other sites, It's like my head wants to explode, a reason to look at that site. I read you on the weight, no biggy. Many bikes from many CO.s will suit you as they have me in the past. CO.s you've considered ought to be in the running. I don't care for MER... that's another story.

I would expect that just about any road bike produced today could handle a 250lb rider assuming it has decent wheels. I would avoid wheels with a low (16-20) number of spokes. Best thing to do is test-ride some bikes. Specialized is a good brand to test-ride, because they have comparable bikes at a number of different price points. Some things to thing about:

1) Do you want an aggressive geometry, or a relaxed geometry? Compare the Specialized Tarmac (=aggressive) to the Specialized Roubaix (=relaxed)

2) Do you want a carbon fiber, aluminum, or steel frame? Compare the Specialized Allez Double to the Allez Double Steel to the Specialized Tarmac

3) Do you want a standard crank (53- and 39-tooth chainrings), a "compact" crank (50- and 34-tooth), or a triple crank (52-, 39-, and 30-tooth rings). Allez Sport vs Allez Compact vs Allez triple

4) Do you want SRAM or Shimano components? Test the Tarmac Comp Double vs. the Tarmac Comp Double Rival. I'm a big fan of SRAM, but not everyone likes it

5) What level of components do you want? Shimano's 105-series components used to be the benchmark for good, durable, and relatively inexpensive. That said, prices on 105 components have been creeping up and quality of the lower-end Tiagra and Sora components has been improving. Again, test-ride some bikes and try to get a feel for what the differences are

Edit: once you get a better feel for what you want, then start branching out and comparing one brand to another, price shopping, etc.

Hi, I am 6'4'' and now 245 down from 295. I ride a vintage 1987 Specialized Allez with modern Campy drivetrain and a Surly Cross Check with a campy set up. Both great.

Bought Surly first as I thought if I wanted to go faster later it would be great winter bike and/or set up as a tourer.

I did want to go faster and then did the Craiglist thing for a frame and had a great road bike built up.

Spend less on great all rounder and look for your upgrade used after you get a sense of what you want from the experience of riding.

or

for 1600 or less there are great closeouts on Kona Jake the Snakes and Specialized Allez. Good Luck

I would look for a Giant OCR1. Especially the years they equpped 'em with paired spoke wheels, Ultegra gruppo, carbon seatpost and fork.

Those Zero X-3 paired spoke wheels are absolutely BOMBPROOF! People race cyclocross on 'em and they hold up fine.

I rode my XL OCR1 for a couple of hundred miles and only loosened a spoke, tightened it up and its perfectly true (I weigh 375). Try that with some Mavic low spoke wheels...

You can't go wrong with the relaxed geometry, you can ride a century on it and still be comfortable. Stiff as anything not a Cannondale...