Silas XIV

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psalm

I bought my road bike, a CAAD8, at 6' 295. Don't limit yourself just because of your weight.

Silas XIV

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psalm

Changed tires only because I ran over a nail and put a nice sized hole in my sidewall. No change on the wheels, came with 32 spokes, upgraded my saddle and dropped my bars a couple of spacers. Otherwise she is all stock.

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mkadam68

The safe recommendation is to stick with 32-spoke wheels. I'm 6'3", 265lbs. I ride two wheels: a Velocity Aerohead, 32-spoke rim with a PowerTap hub (built by Psimet, a guy here on BikeForums) for my everyday wheel, and a 28-spoke, 88mm carbon tubular rim with Novatec hub for my special events/races wheel.

Other than that, most any modern bike frame will be just fine. Even carbon fiber (ask me how I know). The CAAD 8 is a good bike, too.

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mkadam68

The most reliable, durable & best wheel would be one that's built just for you. You could get lucky with slapping on any old 32/36 spoke wheel, but why waste the money? I have purchased several wheels from Performance bicycle because the price was good ($140-150 on sale). Mavic Open Pros, Ultegra hubs, 32-spoke. The wheels eventually go out of true, and eventually get cracks in the rims. Having some wheels hand made for me by a good wheelsmith who took into account my riding needs and my size? Those wheels are lasting very well.

Also, even paved roads have potholes, cracks in the seam, rough spots, and other obstacles. At our weight, the effects on the wheels are magnified.

I'm also 6'3" and I ride a 60cm frame. Chances are good that it would also fit you. But not guaranteed.

The best way for all this is to go through your local bike shop (LBS). Be up front with them: tell them you're looking for a used bike on Craig's list (or whatever) and you would like to purchase a bike fit session (will cost some $$), in advance if possible. They would give you all the pertinent numbers to look for in a bike so that you fit the bike well. This would mean you'd be more comfortable, and you would stick with riding longer because it would be more enjoyable. Then, take the bike to them for any & all repairs. Treat them well with some loyalty, and over time, they'll do the same for you.

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mkadam68

Not sure what you mean by "get wheels done". Do you mean to have them rebuild your current wheels? Or do you mean to buy a new wheel?

You should be able to get away with just buying a good front wheel off the shelf. I use an old Mavic Ksyrium Elite with 18-spokes and have had no issues (although the hub sucks-quite noisy). Front wheels have better balanced tension than rear.

You should be able to get wheels built at the LBS. However, ask some other riders from clubs (not just some schmoe on a bike) who in your area builds excellent wheels. Ask about the local "master wheel builder". Get your wheels built by him/her, not just some apprentice. If you can wait 2-3 months, I highly recommend Psimet from here on BF's. (He's hard to get ahold of, but worth it.)

psalm

Currently, as of this morning, I weigh 238 pounds. So far I've lost almost 60 pounds. It takes about a month or two to start noticing any real difference. Just remember one thing, ride for fitness, eat a healthy diet for weight loss. Bike riding alone won't "make" you lose weight. It takes a change in your lifestyle. I love my CAAD8, and I got her at a great price. But you will learn that the best bike out there, is the one that fits you best. I test rode plenty of bikes, from different manufacturers, and the Cannondale is the one that felt best. Test ride as many bikes as you can, as for size, that depends on how your built. I'm tall with short legs. A bike for a well proportioned 6' man would not fit me. So I had to get a slightly smaller size. My CAAD is a 54, kind of small for a 6 footer, but I have about a 31 inch inseam, my bike fits me fine.

You're over thinking this, just get to your local bike shop, find a cool salesman, talk to them. Tell them your concerns, your plans, and they should give you at least a nice starting point.

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mkadam68

Your pants inseam will not be the same as a "true" inseam used for bike measurements.

Having them rebuild wheels will be financially cheaper. But, I think the better wheels would be brand new, from scratch. This way, the components (rim, spokes, etc), spoke diameter and lacing pattern, and any extras (i.e.: nipple or spoke washers) can be geared specifically to you and your conditions.

Apples & oranges. 110psi should be fine for you on a 25 wide tire. I ride a 23 tire, but pump it up to about 125psi. That's actually more than the tire's max (it's 116psi), but I like 'em a little harder and haven't had any problems.

Either frame will not be an issue at your weight, whether "road" or "touring". (BTW, a touring bike is also a road bike. You might be referring to a "race" vs "touring" bike.) If you're after fitness, either will do.

Here's a summary of the differences between the two: a touring bike has slightly shallower angles, causing it to handle a bit differently. It's more like a great big Lincoln Continental, long, swooping turns, floats over small bumps, etc... It also has much easier gearing in anticipation of you carrying some heavy loaded racks and carrying them up hills. Traditional touring bikes are getting more rare at bike shops but can certainly be found (or ordered in).

A racing bike has more aggressive geometry. They're like a quick, nimble little sports car. It'll respond to your commands quickly & decisively. It sometimes feels like a harsher ride , especially compared to a touring bike, but over time, you can get used to it (unless you have physical issues). I myself have ridden my "racing" bike on rides over 130 miles without issue. It's light-weight as it's not intended to carry heavy rack loads, and will feel as if it's jumping with your pedal strokes. The gearing usually isn't as easy as a touring bike, but with "compact" cranksets and a big 28-tooth rear cog, they can come close.

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mkadam68

There's a bit of a jump in the quality of components going from Sora to 105. But they both work fine. As a beginner, Sora should be good. Later, when you become a Road Nazi, you'll want to upgrade to 105 or Ultegra, but you can do that piece-meal. I'd only recommend staying away from a triple chainring as that has a learning curve. If you have hills in your area, try to get a compact chainring. (The LBS will know.)

To start, you'll also need the following:

• Helmet
• Cycling shorts (bibs are better IMHO, but more expensive)
• Floor pump
• Flat changing kit: frame pump or CO2 system, spare inner tube or 2 or 3, tire levers. Ask somebody at the shop to show you how to use these to change a flat tire.
• You'll want a seat bag to carry the flat-changing kit in. Anything else you carry you can put in your jersey pockets, if you get a jersey (not overly a "need" when starting, but nice to have.
• A cell phone & some way to carry it with you whenever you ride.
• RoadID. I use the dog-tags and never take it off - just easier.
• You might not strictly need it, but I'd recommend a bike computer with a cadence function (try to keep your feet spinning close to 90rpms or more - better for the knees)

.

Anybody else have something to add?

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exile

My advice is to ride as many bikes as you can and worry about components, specs, or whatever else later. Don't go into this thinking you're going to find the perfect bike. Rather, go into this thinking you are going to find a bike you enjoy riding.

Get something that fits, and you enjoy. By riding a lot of bikes you get an idea of what feels best and what you find the funnest. Get a bike that is about 80% of what you currently do or will do and keep in mind that the other 20% is for what you might do.

What that means is that you will use the bike for getting in shape or commuting most basic road bikes would work fine. Again, test ride as many as you can. Worry about components, wheels, or whatever else if they break.

Race oriented bikes tend to put you in a more aggressive riding position. However, if you are trying to get in shape and plan on spending an hour or so in the saddle then something less aggressive would probably be more comfortable.

RollCNY

Great starter gear list. For additional thoughts:

The first bike you buy prolly won't be your last, especially intending to lose weight and potentially race. Don't need to go high end components and Sora is not bad, it gets bad press compared to the race stuff, but so what.

I'm 6'3" and ride 58's usually. You can make a short bike feel bigger but you can't make a tall bike smaller. At my height, 58's get a nice seat to bar drop. If bending is an issue, you may want to start with a relaxed geometry bike (or touring as you referenced earlier) as their bars tend to match seat height.

All sub-$1500 bikes come with crappy wheels. Its where OEMs save cash. You won't get crap trading them in, so ride them til they break then get your high spoke count wheels. Granted, my heaviest was 230 so it may be more pressing for you, but I only broke spokes on Alex s500 budget wheels when I did something really stupid.

If you get an aluminum bike, try to get a carbon fork. All the comments you see about the discomfort of aluminum bikes typically comes from aluminum fork.

If you buy a better seat, which is the most common first upgrade, realize that seats come in different widths and the right width seat is more important than padding. Padded shorts trump padded seats every time.

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mkadam68

It's hard to come up with pricing because there is such a wide variation for each item. Also, for some things, you do get what you pay for (not all things, though). Here's a range from least to most...

• Helmet: $50--200
• Cycling shorts: $60--300 (bibs are ~$20 more)
• Floor pump: $40-60
• Flat changing kit: $50
• Seat bag: $15--25
• A cell phone: -- ? --
• RoadID: $16--30
• Bike computer: $30--300

Silas XIV

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