New Here, Looking For Some Bike Advice
 

Hey all, Just signed up for the forums and was really happy to find this section for the larger guys. I'm 6'3 about 270. I've been riding a hybrid bike occasionally for the last year, but after about 10 miles or so it get's pretty brutal, so I'm looking of getting into a road bike and stepping up my riding a lot in order to trim down some. I want to stay in the cheaper end of things since this is my first road bike, and have been looking into a couple of different models and was wondering if anyone had any input or suggestions into something better/similar in my price range. The two that I have looked at are:

1) Raleigh Sport - $599 - I really like the Raleigh. This is the top of my price range as well.

2) Fuji Newest 4.0 - $399 - The thing with the Fuji is that it has it's shifters on the frame instead of the handlebars and that just seems odd to me.

Thanks for any suggestions/opinions.
Matt

The Raleigh Sport would be good.

What is brutal? What is the problem area? Hands, rear, feet, etc.? What are you riding right now? Maybe post some pictures. What is your price range upper limit $599 or will you go higher?

it sounds like the bike you have now must not be the correct size or is not adjusted to fit you. if you have been riding for a year the style of bike shouldnt matter for 10 miles without pain. it was definately easier for me to put miles on after switching from a mountain bike to a road bike. make sure what ever bike you get fits you if it hurts to ride you will find reasons not to ride.

now for the bike dont just look at the price go to the lbs and test ride several bikes. go to several lbs and test ride several bikes. you will find the bike that wants you. i really like the way the specialized bikes ride and handel and the entry level allez is not to much above your upper limit. the mountain bike i had was a raleigh and i have a older raleigh road bike they are good bikes. good luck on your journey and buy what feels good. and go ride......

Just about to say it but see the others covered it. A hybrid if correct size won't be much different from a roadie in the "keeping it from being brutal" department.

The bike I have now is a Schwin Trail Way. I picked it up on sale at Target.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...GL._SS500_.jpg
I guess brutal isn't quite the right word. I just kind of feel beat up after a while and it doesn't seem as smooth a ride as on some road bikes I've been on. I'm sure it's not quite fitted right for me, seeing as I'm pretty tall, and basically I've just moved the seat. I'll be giving it to my wife since she is tall enough for it to fit her comfortably. I've ridden friends' road bikes and they just felt so much smother and easier to ride to me.
The guy at the bike shop was very helpful and after looking at some bikes and deciding my budget, he said that the 62cm Raleigh Sport would be a good fit for me.

Sounds like the bike is just plain too small for you. The Target Schwinns are essentially a "One Size Fits All" concept, marketing wise, and they are specced for someone about 5'10"- or so. (Think like a 55 CM road frame). You need a 62 CM according to your shop.......do the math. ;)

one of the guys from work have one of these and they are ok but i felt very awkward on it even with the seat way high. you will definately do better on a road bike with your height than a one size fit all style bike.

I'm pretty sure I'll be going with the 62cm Raleigh Sport. Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap-ish computer for the bike? Something that can store my times and mileage and act like a odometer/speedometer for the bike? Something sleek that wont have me putting zip-ties all over my nice new bike.

You can buy a cheap one at Target and it will work fine. It will require some zip ties (with a bit of care, it won't detract from your bike's lines too bad). Or you can go wireless. Wireless is great but the less expensive ones tend to have issues with interference and the expensive ones are, well, expensive..

If you don't want to use zip ties you can use some hose clamps from the local hardware store. Gives it a real industrial look. Use a rubber gasket if you are attaching them to any painted surfaces to protect your finish; strips cut from an old tube work great for that.

While Raleigh still has some iffy box store offerings, their LBS level roadies are a great value. Did you look at a Fuji 3.0 or 2.0? Another good value.

Honestly, at $599 the Raleigh may be hard to beat price wise at the entry level. All of the comparable Treks, Specialized, Felt, etc I have seen are a couple of hundred more.

Any suggestions for a decent wireless computer? Brand name/model #/links? I had one of the target ones with the wires but I wound up returning it because I wasn't very fond of it.

I was interested in a Cannondale or a Trek, but the $700+ prices are kind of out of my range. My wife would kill me. The Fuji I looked at was the Newest 4.0, and while I liked the $399 price was nice, I was a little uneasy about the shifterrs being on the frame. I haven't looked at the 2.0 or 3.0. What are the prices like?

Not sure what the pricing is on the 3.0 and the 2.0 but they are incremental up the food chain so to speak. It's worth checking into.

As far as a good wireless computer try the Cateye Strada. You should be able to get one for under $40.00 of so. The only thing I don't like about them is that the cheaper ones do not have cadence, but it's not that big of a deal. There is a model ith cadence if you want it.

I recently bought a bike with downtube shifters, so it's a pretty big reach to get to them. The first short ride you take you will feel like you're about to crash/die every time you shift, but you get used to it pretty quickly.

The Cateye Strada is $38 @ Amazon and it looks pretty cool. Thanks for the suggestion. Any others??

I was just in my lbs the other day and was really surprised by the Raleigh offerings. First off, because I haven't seen Raleigh in a local store before, but also many of the models had a classic style about them. They looked like a pretty straight forward good value ride.