Originally Posted by snuboy360

Thanks again for all the great advice. The more I research the Sequoia the more interested I become with it. I would love to get the bike right now and I think that I might be able to swing it with my wife if I found a good deal or begged my wife. The Mongoose MTB I have now isn’t all that bad; it’s just a really heavy bike. Plus the tires are huge and provide too much rolling resistance on the streets.
My biggest worry with getting bike at my weight now is that it won’t hold up over time. Most bike manuals and manufacture websites have posted that the maximum weight for a road bike or Condition 1 bike is 275lbs with a luggage weight of 10 extra pounds. I’m afraid that I’ll hit a pot hole or crash the thing and crack the frame. I know that if I hit something at the least I’ll pop a tire or damage the rim; but if I crack the frame well there goes $800 dollars. To be honest I’ve never paid more than $250 for a bike before so this is a huge investment for in my mind and especially in the mind of my better half. I figure that I might be able to persuade her closer to Christmas time especially if I’m closer to at least 275lbs and found a good deal at my LBS. I know that even at 250lbs that fear is always going to be there that if I’m not careful with this thing I can crack the frame or damage this thing beyond repair.
When I was teenager I was riding my friend’s new road bike and ran into a fence damaging the frame. That also brings to mind the time five years ago when I ran my Huffy MTB into a chain link fence while riding at night. That time the bike came out just fine but I ended up with 12 external and 5 internal stitches on my face. Not a good experience at all but never stopped me from riding again. It’s not that I would just go out there tear this thing up and not be careful with it; it’s just that I have bad luck with bikes Oh well accidents happen.
I figure that a steel frame might be better for the long haul but I would rather trade longevity for a lighter and faster frame. I guess my next question is this, have any of you guys cracked an aluminum frame before?