RyanML

I believe I'll have my commuter bike finished as soon as my waterproof panniers come in. It's an older Trek 820 MTB with 26x1.25 100psi tires with strong wheels (I'm 6'0 300#, down from 328# and still going). It works awesome as my commuter, especially with the hills I have to ride. I've also been stripping it down on the weekends and taking long road rides (40-50 miles). I don't want to have to do this anymore because it's a pain to take the bags, lights etc. off and on and I don't want to take the time to remove/add fenders. Plus I would like to move a little faster so I can see more, maybe even take an overnight trip.

Believe it or not I get to 30mph give or take on the flats on this heavy thing regularly when I push, but cruise more around 21 on average on the flats. I'm a pretty strong rider despite my weight (probably from all the weight lifting I did in high school) so I need a sturdy bike for centuries and such.

LBS recommends the surly LHT 58cm because of my size. I rode it and it's very, very comfortable, but I'm thinking something like the cross check would be better. They don't have one for me to try but I'm willing to go seek one out for a test.

So can I get some recommendations for a Clyde road bike for asphalt paved bike paths? The LHT and cross check are in the right price range, around 1k and have the larger 700cc tires I want. No real huge hills either on the bike path. What width of tires should I go for, considering my size (which hopefully at this rate will be more around 250 by November)?

I might even consider grabbing a frame and start building one piece by piece so I don't have to fork out all the cash at once since I'm fairly handy.

Here's what I ride now: