augiedogie

I currently ride an off road oriented hybrid, which is heavy bike, but its comfortable to me as I am 200+ and 6'4". But I've been getting stronger and would like to go faster, so I tried out a couple of road bikes in the last couple of days. Finally decided a road bike is not for me. Why?

1. Too twitchy on the steering.
2. Even though the salesmen claimed the second one would be just right for me, it still felt too small and cramped. I like the lighter weight, but it felt like I was riding a bike much too small for me.
3. It may sound weird, but it was almost seemed too light for my comfort.
4. Being bent over that far was bad for my back.

I did learn they changed the configuration on the road bikes completely, compared to bikes 30 years ago. I don't know why but I didn't care for their new designs. I used to ride a 25" frame and that was always fine.

So I would still like to ride a faster bike.

So? A should I buy lighter components to my current bike which is very comfortable for me to ride? or Maybe try a fitness bike, like a Sirrus from Specialized? Then I could customize it to my liking.

hefledthescene

what bikes did you try out, out of curiosity? I find traditional roadbikes cramped/awkward as well. I had a CAAD10 for 6 months and at one point was averaging 30+ miles per ride. Never did get comfortable on that bike.

I think you and I had the same problem in that the bike didn't really inspire confidence- At 6'3" 265, I felt like I could break the thing if I wasn't careful.

Call up the local dealerships and see if they have a Sirrus in stock. No point in looking at road bikes with racing geometry if that's not your thing.

For my own preferences, I've started looking at the Specialized Diverge, GT Grade, and C'dale Slate.

bikemig 

Keep looking. There are a heck of a lot of different bikes out there and it looks like the ones you looked at weren't a good fit. I'd check out gravel bikes and endurance bikes as well as road bikes.

TrojanHorse

Find a better shop.

mikescooling

They need to do a fitting, and during that time they are going to ask you "is this better or this? How about this? Now let me put on the adjustable stem". It should take at least an hour. I like touring bikes, because they are road bikes, have a more upright sitting position, and they have that heavy duty frame that I like so much.

jsigone

MTB style handle bars, you accutally turn them, roadies, you lean as you turn the bars. They only need to turn at small angles for most riding, unless low speed parking lot stuff.

Try more bikes, different brands and sizes even if they are NOT in budget, if you find one you like, than you can start narrowing it down to that style in that price range.

ShortLegCyclist

+1

Touring geometry is much more comfortable for long days in the saddle and touring tubing and chainstays lead to a less fragile feeling and more stable handling.

Willbird

Riding a road bike is an acquired taste, it will feel a little strange at first, but that design evolved because it works with the human body :-).....you cannot really feel the mesh until your 20-30 hours in over some weeks, then it is almost like a magic feeling :-). The twitchy steering feeling to some degree is due sometimes to a sloppy pedal stroke that heavy wheels and tires and sluggish steering mask....even though those sins are damped they are an inefficient waste of power that could be moving you forward :-).

The more upright position on hybrids and MTB actually puts more strain on your back and sit bones......road bikes are not fragile creatures, they are designed and built to transmit three times the power many of us can put out, and to survive doing it over cobblestones even :-).

Blue Belly

If you drive a Ford F-350 4WD & you are looking at Porsche 914, are you expecting to sit, look over the hood & sAy to yourself, "yup, feels the same"?
its going to take time to adjust. But, when you do, & you go back, you'll wonder why this old bike is so slow....

intransit1217

Does your crosstrail have a fork lockout? A set of thinner tires will make it easier to go faster. I'm guessing you are still kind of new to this.

If your doctor says it's ok. try some on the bike intervals, then take the next day off. There are many roads to speed. When I started two years ago, 5 miles was a workout on my dual sport. And holding 13 mph ....I couldn't. I spent the winter on a trainer doing intervals and other cycling drills, and emerged a much stronger rider. I can clip along at 18 now if I want to. And 16 is a leisurely stroll.

Plus, heavy bikes make you stronger. I say, tires, and practice. Speed will come.

bassjones

I'll add my voice to the try more bikes out chorus. If you were on an aggressive race geometry bike, they're made like that for a reason and you may find you prefer an Endurance geometry like the Synapse, Domane, Roubaix, etc... And I'll also agree that you should try and find another shop or work with somebody else at the shop you were at. Out of curiosity, what bikes did you test ride?

augiedogie

I tried both a Giant Defy and a Trek 1.1. I think I will try a different shop. I definitely got the feeling they were trying to get me to buy their close out stock from 2015 before the new models come out. That is, they wanted to sell me a bike, not find a bike that would be good for me.

I also think I'm going to look at a Cannondale Quick or a Sirrus.

ciderguy

I second the suggestion to look at touring bikes. You may also want to look to vintage bikes and new bikes that are built to be used like the bikes of 30 years ago. My dream bike is a Rivendell (I'll decide on a model when I have the budget). I dislike the super skinny tires, short chainstays, and twitchiness of modern road bikes.

My basic requirements in a bike are:
- Accommodates a minimum of 32mm wide tyres w/ mudguards
- 445mm chainstay minimum
- "long" wheelbase
- right size

andr0id

Go to a different store. They are going to try to sell you what they have in stock. Most shops carry very few bikes in your size. Therefore the salesman is going to give you 10" of seat tube and try to send you on your way.

At 6'4" you should easily be riding a 60cm or 63cm, nothing smaller in my opinion. Probably with a 110 or 120mm stem. Then you won't feel cramped.

That's a good guess based on the fact I'm 6'1" and have a few friends that are taller and ride even bigger bikes than me. I ride a 59cm.

Drew Eckhardt 

They make road bikes in all sorts of geometries, from criterium bikes that turn if you think to stable touring bikes that don't wobble for hundreds of miles a day with 50 pounds of luggage.

They make road bikes in all sorts of sizes. Lennard Zinn is 6'6" and specializes in bikes for tall people. He also makes road cranks up to 220mm long not the 175mm limit most component manufacturers stop at.



Some people selling bikes keep nothing in stock so they can't try to sell you something which doesn't fit.

You can have a road bike with bars at any reasonable height, even above the saddle. Unlike a hybrid the default position where the brake and shift levers are will have your hands approximately parallel to your body which is more ergonomic than facing the ground.

So get a road bike which works for you.

Jarrett2

+4. Find a better shop and you will find your bike.

If you really want to go faster, possibly do some fast group rides, start chasing Strava segments, don't get a hybrid.

bassjones

The Defy is Giant's relaxed fit road bike, but the XL is likely still a touch small for you. I ride a 60cm race geo bike, and it's a tad small but I've adjusted to it. Try a Synapse 61cm and if it feels a tad small still, ask them to put a longer stem on it and see if that helps. My guess is a 61cm endurance fit bike with a 120mm stem with +7 or more degree rise will be in the ball park, depending on your torso length and arm length.

dr_lha

Firstly, I'm surprised that at 6'4'' you would have issues with twitchy steering. I suspect this could be down to two things: 1) The wrong bike, 2) Your unfamiliarity with how road bike feels. The reason I bring your height into it is that for a 6'4'' guy, you're going to be riding a large bike, which would typically have a longer stem. The longer the stem, the less twitchy the steering feels. I would guess that they are putting you on bikes that are too small, which is common with bike shops because a) They like to sell what they have in stock, and they typically have 56cm bikes in stock and b) the trend for riders to ride a bike as small as possible so they can get a bike that feels "responsive".
Yeah, I'd trust yourself honestly. As I said, bike shops know that to get a bike that really fits you at 6'4'' they're going to likely have to order it for you, and most customers will walk out the door when told they'll have to wait a month for a bike that they might not like.

You'll get over that, trust me. Soon it'll be "maybe I should upgrade, this bike is way to heavy for climbing".

Again, this is something you'll get over. However, you might want to try a road bike with a more upright geometry, something like a Salsa Vaya.

Well you can get bikes that are more like old style road bikes, it's pretty uncommon these days to get a flat top tube like the old style ones though.

I'd keep looking at road bikes until you find one you like. IMHO flat bar "fitness" bikes are a transitional bike. If you really get into cycling, you'll want a road bike within a year. That means buying 2 bikes instead of 1 if you go with the road bike straight away.

FrenchFit 

It's an acquired taste, and may never become a daily rider. I have heavy utility/touring/cc bikes, and fast racing bikes, the heavy guys get more road time. One thing you can do to ease the transition is get slick, light 28mm tires for a fast bike, it will eliminate the twitchiness and make is seem more substantial. You might want to avoid all road bikes that will accommodate only 23 or 25mm tires, as suggested above look at touring and cyclocross bikes. I road a pretty fast cyclocross bike for a year or so; nice, fun bike. You have the advantage of going for fast with a light-weight wheelset, or using them for touring with racks and hi-spoke wheelsets...versatile. Cyclocross Bikes - Trek Bicycle

Fangowolf

My son is in Lubbock currently and when I was in town I went to Velocity on 50th and Broadway on broadway. Seemed to be a good shops. Course sometimes its only as good as the help at the time.

CliffordK

What size of bikes did you try out? Were they setup for you with the right frame size, saddle height, stem size?

At 6'4, you don't need a HUGE bike, but probably somewhere in the 60cm to 64 cm range, give or take a bit.

Perhaps start prowling Craigslist for a good used road bike, large frame, with more "classic geometry".

Cranks up to 180mm are commonly available, and frequently show up on E-Bay (usually expensive )

IRD has 200mm cranks at a reasonable cost (probably don't need anything bigger than that), although they go up to 220.
IRD Extra Long Crank Arms

Some of the "twitchyness" feel may go away with riding more, but it could be an expensive experiment.

sstorkel

As others have suggested the answers to all of your complaints are either "You'll get used to it" or "You need to ride a road bike that actually fits you". FWIW, I took a 10-year hiatus from bicycle riding. When I rolled my old road bike out of the garage for the first time it felt so twitchy I didn't think I was going to make it around the block! After a couple of rides, however, I was completely used to the bike again.

If you're really concerned about the twitchiness, look for a bike that comes equipped with wider tires. Something like a 700x30 or 700x32 is significantly larger and generally more stable than the 700x23 or 700x25 tires that most road bikes use. If you want a bike that uses drop bars and accepts large tires you might need to look a cyclocross bikes or "gravel" or "adventure" bikes. Touring bikes might also be an option, since they tend to feature geometry that enhances stability when carrying a load as well as clearance for large tires. The only downside to touring bikes is that most bicycle tourists are Luddites, so designs and components aren't terribly modern.

dagray

the bikes on the floor are most likely set up in a more "race" geometry with a 110 degree angle stem; being a big guy with a belly I did a bike fit and we found the 125 degree stem was best for me to pull the my weight to the center of the bike and sit me in a more upright position. We put a 140 degree stem on as an interim measure as we had to order the 125 degree stem. Changing stem angles made that bike comfortable and easy to ride longer and longer each ride as well as giving me the confidence to stand and pedal.

My Orbea has a flatter (less upright positioning) stem, but is a longer stem so it feels right (and after 300 miles on the Raleigh with the 125 degree stem I had lost weight and gained flexibility).

All bikes will ride differently from one brand to another and from one model to another, but you will find one you like if you keep at it.

Pamestique 

Boy is that a key... transitioning from a hybrid to a road bike takes some doing... with your height and the fact you have been riding and are comfortable on a hybrid, you might want to look at something like the Trek Domane instead of the Cannondale Caad bikes; the geometry is more forgiving but bikes come well equip and are plenty fast...

beakersbike

See if there's a Surly Long Haul Trucker or Disc Trucker in your size anywhere you can check out. It's going to come in somewhere between your hybrid and the lighter material bikes, but the geometry could be a really good fit. I'm 6'4 and have a 60 cm frame, LOVE it.