Lesson Learned About Climbing
So today the weather was finally nice. I had a rough day and was really looking forward to riding and as I started, I felt really good. I was thinking that there was a good chance I was going to crush my best time on my normal 18-mile route. So living in central PA, I regularly run into hills. This one in particular has some meaning to me because I had my first fall on it (my own mistake, I learned that your front derailleur doesn't like it when you're climbing and you try to downshift). So anyway, I'm 6'5 and 265 lbs. I currently ride a Giant FCR 2 and I really want to get a "real" road bike this winter/spring. I'm planning to go with a compact crank on a double chainring as opposed to the non-compact/triple that I currently have. With that being said, I'm trying to stay away from my smallest chainring so that I can try to get used to not having all those lower gears.
I was really putting a lot of torque into this short, yet steep, climb. I got to the top and started to head down the other side only to find out that in about 50 feet, PennDOT had oiled and graveled the road. I slowed down and decided that I'd ride slowly across the 150 yards or so until it passed. About halfway through, I started to notice that my pedals felt weird...my left one especially. I looked down and the crank was halfway off! I started to slow down to figure out what was going on and it came completely off...just dangling there by my shoe! Since I carry a multi-tool, I was able to get the crank back on and I decided to take the "back way" home so that I could go real easy. Now, my local LBS said to come back in for a free "tune up", so I figure this is as good a time as any. I trust them, so it should work out fine.
Anyway, since I'm really into the idea of a dedicated road bike, this brings up some concerns for me. Like I said, I'm riding a Giant FCR 2 and so far my top two bikes for consideration are a Giant TCR Alliance 1 and a Trek 2.3 (this LBS sells Giant, Trek, and Masi). The Giant uses the same wheels that are on my FCR and they haven't let me down yet, plus I really like the way the Giant looks, so I'm leaning a bit that way. I also don't have much experience with Trek. Anyway, the crankset on my FCR is an FSA Omega. Here are my questions:
1. Does it sound like it's an issue with the crankset, or just my weight or riding style?
2. I know the FSA Omega is toward the bottom of the line, so would a "higher up" FSA give me more strength, or is there another crankset to consider on a new bike?
3. Being Clydes...we all know that there's more to consider than just potholes...at least I think that sometimes when I'm really spinning fast that I'm a bit harder on my frame. With that being said, is a carbon/aluminum mixed frame going to support my weight/torque? Would an aluminum frame with carbon seat stays (Trek) support it as well? Or do I need to stick with all aluminum?
Sorry for such a long post, but there seems to be a wealth of knowledge here, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this for me.
Thanks!