Bigbandito

Just picked up my 2012 Fuji Cross 3.0. I think this 60 cm beauty is the perfect bike for this 6'6" 350lb 50 year old who hasn't ridden a bike since 1986 - sturdy cyclocross frame, relaxed geometry, 35mm tires on 32x28 rims. First ride tomorrow morning. Sunday afternoon group ride in a couple of months (?).

road1bike

nice

bassjones

That will be perfect for you.

TrojanHorse

Very nice, now go ride the rubber off those wheels.

Bigbandito

Yikes! I may have been a little overly optimistic about what I was going to do with this. The first ride was rough. I tested the shifting on the cassette yesterday, but failed to shift the front ring. This morning I found I was stuck on the small front ring. I'll have to take it back for adjustment tomorrow. What a pisser.

Regardless of the bike's issues, I found I had my own. The area I live in is fairly hilly and I found myself chugging before too long. I only made it about half a mile before I had to turn around. Wound up walking the bike up the last hill. Luckily, the last bit to my house is down hill, so at least I could end it like a man (as if anyone might be watching at 7:30 am). When I stopped and put my feet down I almost collapsed because someone had removed my quadriceps while I was riding.

Oh, well I guess it might take an extra few days to be ready for that Sunday 30 miler. I'll just have to be satisfied with working up to it slowly.

skidder

Suggestion (this worked for another Clyde I work with): buy yourself an inexpensive cruiser bike, single or multiple speed, your choic depnding the hilliness in your area. Use that for a while to get in some slow, short rides for basic conditioning. If you try to push yourself with the new Fuji you may get discouraged and abandon it to the corner of your garage. In the end you'll have a good road bike and a bike for shorter trips around your neighborhood.

TK LP

Give yourself a little bit of a break, it's going to take some time to build up the mileage, but if you stick with it, you will get there. I looked the bike up, and am a little surprised to see the gearing, a 36/46 crankset and 11-25 cassette. Seems a little steep for a novice on hills. You may want to look into a cassette with a 30 tooth or larger cog, that will give you some more gear on the hills, provided your derailleur has the capacity.