Originally Posted by
LesterOfPuppets
Beautiful bike. Might be a tad small for ya. I ride a 54 and I'm 5'7".
Might try a taller stem, like a Technomic, to get your hands higher. It'll reduce weight on hands.
+1 to this. I'm 5'11" on a 58. Additionally, consider some cycling gloves with gel inserts in the palms. I use some Pearl Izumi ones and they help with hand pain, sweat, snot, etc. (Wash them frequently.)
Another thing to think about is keeping your hands moving. If you find yourself with your hands (or ass, for that matter) in the same place for more than a couple of miles, move them to a different position. Stand up on the pedals for 10-20 seconds. Put your hands on the tops of the bars for a little while. Try them out down in the drops. It makes all the difference, IMO, even if you try some other position for even a very short time.
Your wheels look fine -- and the large number of spokes ought to keep them alive for a while. I'd just see about getting spare tubes, maybe some tougher tires if those are truly worn out. I have continental gp 4000's on my bike, but see the other current thread for debate on the subject of those. Flats happen, it's not necessarily the tire's fault. Just carry a tube (or two?) and a small pump (and/or some CO2) and you'll be good.
Congrats on making the leap to road. I started riding my mtb around 275 lbs and got into road riding around 245 lbs and am now down to 215 and feeling great!