firesfate

I have addressed my bicycle wants a couple times on the Clyde/Athena forums. I am back at it again looking into what bike I want. I have been off and on about wanting a touring bike, specifically the Surly Disc Trucker. Every time I look at the bike and get interested, that kid in me wants the speed so I start looking at other bicycles and wondering if they will hold up to me.

I had visions of taking a tour here and there on a bicycle but the more I think on it, I am not planning to do that anytime soon. I plan to and from work for exercise and because I just love to bike. It is about 13 miles away to my station and that distance is well within my capability. I may need to carry a few things here and there or perhaps go to the grocery store and get a few things. So in my normal day of bicycle curiosity I came across this article Goodbye Trek 520: A lesson in choosing the right thing to buy and it pretty much hit the nail on the head.

So I am here to ask... will a different bike like Trek CrossRip Elite, Giant Anyroad Comax, Giant Fastroad Comax, Scattante SC650 Cross 2 and similar, hold up to a guy my size at 6'3" 400 lbs? Maybe carry some groceries on occasion? I understand that wheels are the typical weak link and I accept I will put money into them for quality hand built wheels with a high spoke count....but will the bikes hold up?

chriskmurray

Buying a bike you are excited about will only further motivate you to ride. Invest in good wheels from the beginning, sell the stock wheels before even riding them so you get a bit more out of them and ride. If something breaks just replace it with a heavier duty option.

Bikes like the Anyroad are a great option as they put you in a bit more upright position than a standard go fast road bike, can fit wider tires (I would run the widest you can fit to start) and can be made to be almost as fast as an all out road bike.

firesfate

Thank you for the reinforcement..I just don't want a catastrophic failure of the frame/fork, seat post...... I really like the Giant Anyroad. Do you know of any good places to have wheels built?

Null66

Those are marvelous bikes!

I'm running a built up DT as my only bike!
But I would not buy a stock DT, STI's or brifters are not optional in my mind. So off the shelf would have been off my list. I'll also admit to drooling over cross bikes.

Speed well that's far more up to you than the bike. So far, speed I just don't have, but it's me not the bike.

bbeasley

This thread has really been bugging me since I first read it. I didn't reply as I have no experience to offer in your weight range and there are folks here who have significant experience.

I do however have experience with my inner child or speed demon. At 5'8" and 252 lbs my LBS didn't want to sell me a road bike as I couldn't reach the hoods (brakes) and breath at the same time. Too much belly in the way. I persisted and bought a road bike. 4.5 years later I'm a cycling junkie and I'm so glad I didn't go with anything but a road bike. Despite my looks and weight I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with anything but a bike I felt fast on.

My point is I think you exploring options for a bike you feel fast on is very worthwhile and important. It's energy and time well spent. As an up thread poster wrote you need to be excited and motivated. The reality might be you need to approach this in stages as you lose the weight. If so, fine but keep turning over stones first so you know the best options.

Good luck with your search!

cyccommute 

Honestly, don't pay too much attention to the guy with the Trek 520 because he really doesn't know what he is talking about. If the goal is to have a bike that can be "use[d] for commuting, hauling stuff around town (groceries) and running errands", it is really hard to find something that would do it better than a touring bike. That's what they are built for and they have all the rack mounts you need to accomplish the task without the warts of a shorter chainstay "racier" bike. The CoMax bikes, for example, don't have rack mounts. If you want to get groceries you'll either have to wear a backpack or pull a trailer. Neither is all that conducive to speed.

The CrossRip and Scattante can be fitted with a rack but the chainstays on the bikes are short and if you have feet larger than about a size 9...I'm assuming that your feet are a bit bigger than that..., you'll be clipping even a small set of panniers with your heels on each pedal stroke. That gets annoying very quickly.

If you really want a good, all around bike, go with a touring bike. There's nothing wrong with the other bikes but they just aren't "grocery" getters. If speed is really a goal, you can pedal the touring bike faster or get a "fast" bike for those days when you don't need to carry around stuff.

firesfate

Yep I have size 14 feet. Yeah I think that the grocery getter idea may have to wait. I can still see myself purchasing a touring bike in the future but I think I will have buyers remorse if I don't go with one of the cross bikes I mentioned for just pure fun. I can still ride one of those to work, I would have to wear a backpack to carry a couple things like you said but that Giant AnyRoad just seems like it is the one. I would say that 80% of the time I would have no reason to carry anything other than a couple of water bottles in the bottle mounts...

It is all confusing when you are close to dropping around $1500 on something and you have wants that are on opposite ends of the spectrum...

firesfate

Wow thank you for that! I am really in love with the Giant Anyroad. It allows a more upright riding position which makes even using hoods easier. You said it well when you said despite my looks and weight I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with anything but a bike I felt fast on. Well that is the way I am feeling. I ride fairly regular now on my Trek 830. It is a mountain bike that I put road tires on. I may be big but I am a kid at heart and I ride that thing like I am a 13 year old. I am not bashful about a jump here and there and if I see offroad opportunities I take it. That bike is all stock. Never changed wheelsets, no broken spokes, had to replace brake pads a few times but they don't count as a failure just routine... But why do I ride it? Because I feel like a badas$ on it. I want to upgrade because it is really too small for me but I do not plan to sell that bike, rather I am putting mountain tires back on it for when I really feel like doing something I probably shouldn't hahaha.

Thank you again for your reply. It helps me know that I am not alone in feeling the way I do about the bike my "inner child" wants.

jsigone

Short answer is there will always be N+1 and cyccommute has many to pick from each day of the week

BTW my opinion of a grocery getter is some craiglist beater for less then $2-300, plasti - dipped black and krylon colored spots of the rainbow aka ugly bike. That way I'm not as wallet hurt than butt hurt to walk outta the store and see my cable cut and $2000 bike gone

chriskmurray

I am extremely biased as I build wheels for a living (see signature) but one thing I have noticed among other good builders is if the builder is willing to offer a guarantee against spoke breakage or the wheel going out of true they more than likely have enough experience to know their wheels will hold up well enough that they can offer the guarantee without loosing any money/time repairing builds that went wrong.

firesfate

Quite a good point!

chaadster

The Giant Anyroad is as ugly as the name is trite. Strike it from list of considerations immediately.

chriskmurray

The name is quite fitting for what the bike was designed for and the fact the bike is a great option for many cyclists is reason enough to consider it. Not to mention, Giant consistently puts out a great product as well as is a great company who really tries to encourage new riders to the sport more than most companies further makes me want to support them.

Any company that comes up with something like this is fine by me, and having worked at Giant dealers in the past and known many of their employees I can assure you they are genuinely good people.

chaadster

Nothing against Giant, and I was being hyperbolic, but the Anyroad is not a handsome bike, and the name is trite. It looks like a cross between a hyena and a giraffe. Anybeast?

Drew Eckhardt 

Most likely, although if there are hills where you live you'd probably be happier with a more appropriate bike that doesn't require you to get off and walk up hills until you improve your aerobic fitness and loose 100-150 pounds with the combination yielding a power-to-weight ratio compatible with the gearing possible on a compact double road crank.

Loaded touring bikes are geared to handle low power (riding 8 hours every day you have much less to give than over an hour or two) together with high weight (camping gear, clothes, etc) with the resulting poor power to weight ratio.

While you get to that power to weight ratio via a different path you still benefit from the gearing which accommodates it. Some of the bikes you're looking at come with a 36 small ring, and a ring smaller than 33 teeth won't physically fit on a crank with a 110mm bolt circle diameter. Loaded touring bikes run mountain cranks with 58mm BCD small rings available down to 20T with the Trek 520 leaving the factory with a 22 ring.

With the same cassette, minimum cadence, and maximum sustainable torque the touring bike will accommodate 50-80% more weight (400 pounds not 220-270) before you need to get off and walk.

If you live in a dead flat part of Virginia not the Appalachians that may not be an issue.

Personally I'd find a bike with drop bars, integrated brake/shift levers, mountain crank, and clearance for wide tires which is some sort of touring bike. You won't be noticeably (or even measurably - weight's impact on speed up-hill is a function of the total, with a 400 pound rider on a 20 pound bike just 2% faster than he is on a 30 pound bike) slower than you'd be on a racing bike setup for the same position with tires making the same compromise between durability/flat protection and low rolling resistance.

firesfate

Hey take it easy on the Anyroad. It is actually the choice I favor the most! I really like the design of it.

firesfate

The weight limit listed for the Giant Anyroad 2 is 330 lbs. I am assuming if I have wheels built for it I can push that. Any thoughts?

chriskmurray

Weight limits are usually pretty conservative. If it helps with peace of mind you can always throw a tandem grade fork on it and ride with peace of mind and then as you drop weight and get closer to the 330 mark throw the stock fork back on.

Dirt Road

My thought is that I really like my granny gear. I hardly ever use it, but it's comforting knowing that it's there.

krobinson103

Agree. Moving back to New Zealand soon so I've trimmed the stable some but I had a grocery getter (cheap mtb with baskets), commuter (cheap roadie), mtb (Fuji hardtail), and a tourer. Now I'm down the tourer and the grocery getter. I'd miss my ugly bike covered in baskets. Its soooo useful and no one will ever steal it. If I had $1500 to drop tomorrow I'd buy an anyroad. I think they are very pretty.

Sullalto

I have a single bike, a road bike I commute and do grocery runs on-Jamis Quest Comp. Panniers are a pain in the butt, because of the 415mm chainstays and my size 14 feet, I get heel strike. It's okay when the load is towards the back, but once it slides to the front-my heels clip, every turn of the pedals. I use a trunk bag generalyl. Fine for commuting, but no room for a change of clothes AND groceries. It's manageable if I put the middle of my feet on the pedals, but I prefer to have the balls of my feet on the pedals. It would be very very very annoying issue if I clipped in, instead of platform pedals.

I wish I had gotten the comparably spec'ed&priced 'sport touring' bike(Jamis Aurora) for the longer chainstays. It would be more practical. Seeing as how I'm on my first drop-bar bike, I'm sure I would enjoy the decreased 'sportiness' just as much as my current road bike, seeing as how I was coming from a comfort bike! Don't get me wrong, I love my bike. I might do things differently if I were doing them over, that's all.*

One other thing to note: You weigh what a touring bike is designed for, so the bike might feel better beneath you, a sporty bike meant for a lighter load might feel overwhelmed and dull. Whereas the touring bike will feel closer to 'normal'. And when it starts to ride like crap because you aren't loading it down appropriately? Well, time for a new bike!



So even though I just wrote a lot of words in favor of the touring bike...really, buy what you're going to ride. If you're spending $1500 on wall art, there are things more aesthetic than bicycles. Who cares if there is a 'better' bike for your objective situation. A bike should be ridden. Buy a bike you'll ride.

I really like the Jamis adjustable stem system. Makes it really easy to adjust the stem down as your shrinking gut allows.

*Of course, had I gotten the touring bike, I would wistfully dream of a lighter, quicker, more nimble bike...not that the 5 pound difference of bike is meaningful against me and the crap I pack in the bag.

cyclist2000

Get the bike that you want. If you want to tour later then put a rack on it and tour. Or do some credit card touring with a big saddle or frame bag

Null66

Both my SO and I use trucks with "panniers" attached. Since they start higher up, less heal strike potential.

firesfate

This post stirred quite a debate which is great. I got some great information but I am just as confused as I was before. There are those that support my thoughts on getting the bike I want and those that are set on the touring bikes.

I really don't know what I am going to do with my decision. I understand that touring bikes like the LHT are designed to carry weight which would really make my weight not much of an issue and if I want to add bags to it, then it is quite simple. I am still in the mindset that I will rarely use bags the more I think on it which makes me think I would regret buying a touring bike.

I saw a few comments about my physical endurance improving and gear ratios on the two different bicycle styles. My physical endurance is better than what you would image a 400 pound guy would have. I am a professional firefighter and yes I am big but I pass all of my yearly tests just fine and meet standards that I am required to meet. No I'm not the fastest in the bunch but my strength more than makes up for any lack in speed. That said, yes I have struggled on some steep inclines on my current bicycle which is already geared similar to the touring bicycles. One of the reasons is simply lack of experience. The first few times on the large incline near me I did not adjust my gearing properly to make life easier and yes I ended up walking my bike to the top. It isn't the first time because when I was younger I mountain biked quite regular and had a few of those carry the bike moments.

Soooo what do I do...flip a coin? hahhaha Surly Disc Trucker (Which will have to wait until Surly changes it from that fugly maroon color), or Giant Anyroad or similar. Anyway. Thank you to everyone for your advice....I am pretty discouraged right now though on buying anything.

chriskmurray

When in doubt, go with what will make you excited to hop on and go for a ride! It will be a much better investment if you use it more. I have went the route of "this makes more sense than what I really want" before and in the end I sold the "sensible" purchase to buy what I really wanted in the first place.