spinner

Hi Folks
I have a friend who is 6'8", probably 350 lbs, who is looking for a road bike. I was wondering if any of you have any experience with the Bike Nashbar Alu C or their Cyclocross frame and if it would be suitable for someone of his stature? Also , could you recommend some rim/hub combinations. Thanks in advance
Cheers, Spinner

txvintage

Hey Spinner,

One of our forum members who lives in my area has a Nashbar Touring frame, affectionatly known as the Flying Avacado, that is a nice ride. His around your friends stats.

I would think either of the frame sets you mentioned would work, it's all about the wheels. The touring frame is spaced 135mm at therear drops, I think. I also think he has gone with some tandem wheels, or was looking at the idea anyway.

Hopefully he will chime in with what his latest gear specs are. His tourer is a nice looking bike, btw.

LarDasse74

I am only 6'4" and when I look at the geometry on the Nashbar website for those frames I figure they will just barely be big enough for me. At 6'8" your buddy is going to be pretty bunched up, I'd guess.

I currently have a 60 cm touring frame that seems to have similar geometry to the XL Nashbar Cyclo-X frame and I find my frame to have barely adequet space for me.

LarDasse74

I looked on the Specialized website as I recalled a model called the 'Sequoia' having an extra large model... the Sequoia seems to be gone but I looked at a model called the 'Secteur' and it is also very large.

Another big frame I am aware of is the Salsa 'Fargo' touring bike... 700C wheels with disc brakes, and comes in an XXL model.

Getting your friend comfortable on his bike should be the first step... if he is not comforatable he likely will not ride it.

sstorkel

I recently purchased a Nashbar Double-Butted Aluminum Touring Frame. The spacing at the rear drop-outs is 132.5mm, so it can accept either 130mm road hubs or 135mm mountain bike hubs. Wheels are 700c, though. I used a coupon and bought during a sale, so I paid a bit more than $100 for the frame. It appears to be well-made, though there were some chips in the paint when I received it. For $100, I didn't figure it was worth worrying about. Nashbar's claims about tire capacity are a bit inflated: my frame fits 700x35 tires without fenders; the 700x38 that Nashbar claims would be a bit tight, I think. With fenders, I'm limited to 700x32.

I can't comment on long-term durability at this point, nor suitability for an uber-Clyde. Even with all my touring gear, I'm still a lot smaller than the OP's friend. For me, the frame feels very solid and as I said before I can't spot any problems other than a few chips in the paint. There are some big guys in the Touring forum who use this frame for fully-loaded touring and I haven't seen any complaint yet. For whatever that's worth...

Jtgyk

Hey that's me!

The Avocado (Nashbar touring frame / older design) is indeed a nice ride.
I'm hitting about 365 lbs these days and do grocery runs filling both panniers which puts to working load up to nearly 400 lbs. If you get some tough wheels (I got these from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse) and they will do the job...providing you get them properly tensioned after riding a while.
The rear spacing is 132.5 to accommodate road or mountain hubs.

I went with Deore drivetrain (21 speed) and threw on some RSX brifters. Works OK so far.

Edit: I'm running 700 X 35 tires with fenders and have no problems.

MikeWinVA

Hey sstorkel,

Do the nashbar frames come with the headtube faced and the bottom bracket tapped?

Neil_B

This thread is useless without Flying Avocado pics.

Since no photo of the Flying Avocado was provided, here's a shot of the Nashbar frame from this summer. I rode with Chuck from Pittsburgh to DC, and I was impressed with his bike. I don't have the specs, but I could contact him and ask if you like. Chuck isn't on Bike Forums, unfortunately.

Jtgyk

The Flying Avocado pics (as requested)




During the build:

old and new

Nashbar HAS Heavy duty wheels for 150 per pair, I only just checked quickly, he'll need'em. Cheaper wheels are fine for him, they were for me. He's in no possition to worry about light wheels, he'll never know the difference, only the the wheels will.
Cheaper wheels in many cases = strong ones. Customs = 3 per pair at least, more than the frame.

FlatSix911

Another option ... Cyclocross in a 64 CM framesize ...

$559.79 CrMo Cross Fork, Triple Crank
Aluminum Frame+Rear Rack mounts Ritchey Stem, R500 Wheels

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._cross_cx3.htm

sstorkel

Yes. Virtually all frames these days come ready to assemble. I've purchased 3 frames in the last 12 months that range in price from $130 to $2200 and none of them needed any work on the head tube or bottom bracket. In fact, the only frame that needed anything was the one I welded myself!

sstorkel

In my experience, cheap wheels from high-volume retailers often means: durable components poorly assembled. I've had good luck with Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. Not so much with Performance Bike, Nashbar, etc. If a wheel isn't properly trued, tensioned, and stress-relieved even the best heavy-duty components aren't going to make it last...

Homeyba

at 6' 8" your friend is beyond the size range that most mfgers make frames for. Buying an (any) off the shelf frame without getting fitted by a competent fitter is going to be doing him a huge dis-service. After fitting there may well be a standard frame out there that will work but you don't know. You are just guessing on sizing and he's going to probably end up on something that is way too small and the result will be uncomfortable. Take him to a LBS that can fit him properly. I'll cost between $75-$150 but it will be the best $ you can spend.

old and new

AGREED. was trying to steer towards NB for that reason. BWW.. skeptical...BUT if you say so.
Havng an LBS check'em or someone like YOU is in order; before and at some point later.
I put Suns from an LBS, no regrets, he routinely double checks them.

LarDasse74

+1.

Fit is the most important aspect. Almost any non-superlight bike and frame will have adequate strength, but few will be large enough.

Rhodabike

He might want to look into one of those Zinn bikes that are advertised on this site. I'm surprised the ad hasn't popped up at the top of this thread. They are specially designed for very tall people.

semperfi1970

Ya they are bomb proof. 48 spoke tandem wheels and 35mm tires with room for 38mm tires. Great frame for the bucks. This is the double butted 2nd gen frame.

Homeyba

48 spoke tandem wheels???? My tandem doesn't even have 48 spokes, it only has 32. Seems to work just fine for my fat butt...