Hello, I'm shopping for a full time commuter, part time touring bike. I also want to use the bike for fast club rides. My commute will be 20 miles round trip over rough paved country roads. I've decided a cyclocross bike would be the best route to go for me. I've narrowed by list down to a few choices. Now for my delema. I'm 6'0" and around 300lbs. A couple of the bikes I am considering have carbon forks and carbon seatposts. Is this something I should be worried about? Cyclocross bikes are built to take a beating so I don't know which way to go. The bikes I'm considering are,
Specialized Tricross Sport.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32209
And the Lemond Poprad Disk.
http://www.lemondbikes.com/bikes/cross/poprad_disc.php
The wheels will be upgraded to Open Pro/Ultegra on either bike. Should I keep these bikes in consideration or cross them off my list. $1300 is around how much I want to spend. Lemonds are known for having a longer top tube which is the reason I am willing to pay a little more for it. I'm 6 feet tall with a 29" inseam so a longer top tube on a smaller size bike would be ideal for me I beleive. Oh and the Specialized frame is aluminum and the Lemond is steel if that helps. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Randy