Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Holy crap...new goal, weight-smeight I want this bike!

I have a hybrid that I love to ride. I bought it for fun, to get active, and to lose weight. I had an idea in my head about eventually getting to a road bike when I got fit, but I learned that my weak core and big belly prevented me from getting one right off. So there I was, loving my new hobby and my new bike, lost a few lbs, feeling good. Then I take a little trip without my bike and, missing the feel of wind on my face, headed to a bike shop to rent a bike for a ride. Turns out this shop has a Felt F5 carbon road bike available for just a bit more than the hybrid...who could pass this up? HOLY CRAP. I could not believe how FAST and FUN this machine was. At 265 I am well into the clyde-range, but I felt like a friggin fighter jet zipping around the the curves on the trail...long gentle curves became a tight slalom course and I found myself playing a game in which I was trying to find the perfect race-line through the turns so I wouldn't have to slow down!

I know losing weight is still a major focus of my health goals...but now a principal motivator to keep working out is to whip my body into shape, and train it to eventually be able to handle a bike like the one I just tried. Never thought I would be a racer, but now that is my new goal.:thumb:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and you don't have to wait.

I have a Hybrid that I use as my 'Utility/Long-Distance bike', to pull my trailer, go to the store, work, and general transportation. But I also bought a used Cannodale Criterium that I ride when I want. It's light, fast and maneuverable. Like you said, it feels like a rocket.

I am over 50, and over 200 lbs, with a bad hip, and I still ride. You don't have to be a professional athlete to enjoy the performance of a well-made machine. Is everyone that drives a Mustang, Camero, or Corvette a NASCAR driver? Of course not. And if it gets you on the bike more, you'll lose some of the extra weight by default.

My advice: Go get that bike before someone else does, and ride the wheels off of it......You deserve it....

I felt like a friggin fighter jet zipping around the the curves on the trail...long gentle curves became a tight slalom course and I found myself playing a game in which I was trying to find the perfect race-line through the turns so I wouldn't have to slow down!

I know losing weight is still a major focus of my health goals...but now a principal motivator to keep working out is to whip my body into shape, and train it to eventually be able to handle a bike like the one I just tried. Never thought I would be a racer, but now that is my new goal. :thumb:

So you "rode the bike like a fighter jet, zipping around the curves". But you don't think you can "handle it" now? C'mon.


Go get that bike before someone else does, and ride the wheels off of it...+1

well, two things keep me from buying it RIGHT NOW:

1) after biking for an hour my back was real sore. I have a long history of back problems, so i need to get stronger before i can start riding long rides regularly in the road-bike position.

2) $2000 bike....on sale. I'm a grad student still recovering from the cost of my hybrid. Give me a couple years and a teaching position, then I can justify the expense (as long as I don't get a car).

1) after biking for an hour my back was real sore. I have a long history of back problems, so i need to get stronger before i can start riding long rides regularly in the road-bike position.

Mmmm... understand. Make sure, though, that the fit is dialed in, too.


2) $2000 bike....on sale. I'm a grad student still recovering from the cost of my hybrid. Give me a couple years and a teaching position, then I can justify the expense (as long as I don't get a car).

Oh, well... in that case... I completely understand (married w/5 kids, teacher's salary).

well, two things keep me from buying it RIGHT NOW:

1) after biking for an hour my back was real sore. I have a long history of back problems, so i need to get stronger before i can start riding long rides regularly in the road-bike position.

2) $2000 bike....on sale. I'm a grad student still recovering from the cost of my hybrid. Give me a couple years and a teaching position, then I can justify the expense (as long as I don't get a car).

www.bikesdirect.com is your friend. not as cost prohibitive as you would think. you can get something like what you rode for around $1000 most likely

I bought a road bike from the start, and it certainly a different experience than most bikes. I too hope to race when I drop the pounds. I'm already fast enough on the flats and decents, I just need to drop the weight.

I'm 5' 6" and 230 right now (was 245). If I get down to 160 or so I'm sure I'll be much better uphills and will be willing to race some road races.

No matter what weight I'm down to I'm doing some crits on flat courses next year.

Since you are from the nyc area there are plenty of group rides and clubs to join if you get a road bike and want to race.

For now, I will continue with my Cannondale Quick3, working on endurance mostly but I'll try to be as quick as I can on a hybrid. Come spring I might look into a drop-bar conversion for a century ride next summer. I'll have race on the mind though....I won't soon forget what carbon feels like!

I had a similar experience with a 2011 Trek Madone 5.2. I own a 2010 Trek Fuel EX 8 Mtn Bike that I love. I live in mtn bike heaven with a trail right out my back door. I used to ride an ancient Peugeot road bike for years and enjoyed it. But in the back of my head I always dreamed of owning an excellent road bike. Don't get me wrong I still love a day on singletrack with a full suspension ride. Last spring I weighed 240 plus pounds on a 6'-2" frame.

But one day last month I rode the above mentioned Trek Madone. OMG!! I had no idea it would be that AWESOME! LOL!! It really is like a hot Mustang or Corvette! Yup I bought it, and a 2009 Trek Madone 4.5 for my wife - we got a rockin good deal on her bike. From the same LBS I bought our mtn bikes from and because of that we got a great deal.

Last Sunday we rode in the local Tour de Peaks ride. My wife and I did the 50 mile ride in just shy of 5 hours!! That included stopping to fix someone else's flat (new riders who were clueless - hey we've all been there right?), several breaks for us and at mile 45 my wife's front derailleur popped off it's cable! My fault actually. I had readjusted hers and didn't tighten it up enough.

Oh to add to the joy, my weight is now down to 212! Cycling is both FUN and good for ya folks!! Some of our fellow 50 something friends think we're completely nuts! I tell them this is my mid-life crisis. One that is vastly cheaper than a spankin fast Porsche eh?

I would love to have a swoopy doopy sexy bike, but my REI purchase and I have grown rather close..... and it seems only to get more comfortable beneath me. It's steel, it's heavy duty, has wider tires with heavy innertubes, and a lugguge rack on the back. Between the ugly matt green and all the stuff hanging off it, it's not svelte nor sexy.

So my dream will be progressive. I plan someday to buy some quality wheels not as heavy nor as wide as my current wheels, and put some high psi tires on 'em. The difference between the rolling resistance of my innertubes with 63 psi, and freshly pumped up to their max' of 75 psi is staggering! Yep, wheels, tubes, and fast tires....

BUT if indeed I keep this new hobby up, and can return to riding as much as I was before this diet I'm on (no more than 45 minutes every other day on the bike....), AND if I reduce my once 255 lb's to under 160 lb's..... there is a bike shop that makes custom frames/bicycles; and THAT'S what this body with it's 24" inseam 5' 2"ness needs.

HERE HERE, a new bicycle should be in the wings of all who accomplish what they set out to complete!

Well put RandoneeRider!!

Meh. Just sell a kidney to fund the bike purchase. Doesn't even have to be yours. Become a "broker." :D

When the time comes, make sure you get the bike fit to you. A lot of shops will do this for free when you buy from them, and the ones that don't, might be talked into it if you try. That will help a lot with your back. So will practice, though; like all things, you get used to it. At least that's been my experience.

good advice. thanks.

Good advice? What are you talking about? You can't really sell somebody else's kidney to buy a new bike! Didn't they tell you the rule when you joined here? Never take anything I say seriously!

Oh, wait. Maybe you meant the good advice from other people. :D

I have often pondered the idea of a dedicated "road bike" but always wondered about the durability for a rider my size (280) I currently ride one of two Cannondales: an older H300 hybrid and a newely aquired CAD2 T-700 touring, the t-700 seems more dificult to ride ( I find myself shifting more, and less compfortable) so I have been hesitant about spending big bucks on a carbon fiber, high tech machine, after all its just a bike, right? Two wheels, chain drive, and a frame, I always wonder if the high dollor bikes are truly worth the price, unfortunatly we dont have a local shop that rents ( I may look a little harder now) In any event your post has renewed my interest in a higher end road bike.

Good advice? What are you talking about? You can't really sell somebody else's kidney to buy a new bike! Didn't they tell you the rule when you joined here? Never take anything I say seriously!

Oh, wait. Maybe you meant the good advice from other people. :D

Don't tell us you already forgot that your post had a second paragraph. And it was full of good advice.

[B]I know losing weight is still a major focus of my health goals...but now a principal motivator to keep working out is to whip my body into shape

i wasn't able to private message you so i'll post it here. we both live in brooklyn, where do you ride?