big guy needs advice



cygnusx04

New Member
Sep 15, 2004
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6"5 , 220 lbs, enjoy half century rides but wanting to progress. Currently ride a Diamond Back MTB 22 inch frame with road tyres.

Initially looked at the Treck 7700FX Hybrid - but i can`t help but think i should be going straight to a road bike.

Currently my saddle is very high, which causes a lot of pressure on my bars and thus hand pain.

What advice can you give me with regards to

i) road bike
ii) sizes ?
iii) comfort.

i`m in the berkshire area : any shops you can recommend where i will get quality advice and not just a quick sell with the wrong bike.

cheers

dave
 
cygnusx04 said:
6"5 , 220 lbs, enjoy half century rides but wanting to progress. Currently ride a Diamond Back MTB 22 inch frame with road tyres.

Initially looked at the Treck 7700FX Hybrid - but i can`t help but think i should be going straight to a road bike.

Currently my saddle is very high, which causes a lot of pressure on my bars and thus hand pain.

What advice can you give me with regards to

i) road bike
ii) sizes ?
iii) comfort.

i`m in the berkshire area : any shops you can recommend where i will get quality advice and not just a quick sell with the wrong bike.

cheers

dave

Well, these guys are right in your back yard and make some of the best bikes on the planet! May be a good place to start:

http://www.sevencycles.com/
 
I am also a big guy (6'4" ~210 and losing) and I would recommend buying any of the reputable manufacturer's bikes, and having a professional fitting at the same time. Opinions about the various fitting systems vary widely, but fitkit is a fairly inexpensive and useful one in IMO. I would look for a road bike with a lifetime frame guarantee, as you are sure to put more stress on a frame than the average thinner guy. Also try and stay away from the light race wheels, and look for some that are a little sturdier. I also rode a mountain bike on the road for quite a while, and still do on occasion, but you will be amazed at how fast you will travel while on a good road bike. Good luck with your quest, and keep riding.
 
I'm 6' even, 248 (down from 255 a month ago thanks to finding my bicycle again) and have been doing some research on a new bike. Basically any bike frame that isn't aimed at being the lightest possible thing out there will stand up to the load you put on it just fine. Obviously a custom job (like from Seven, IFab, Serotta, etc...) can be tweaked to better match your body but your starting to talk about the $3000+ range at that point.

I'd say the biggest thing to worry about with a big name bike would be the wheels. When I wrote to Trek asking what they thought about a 250lb guy on the 5000 series bikes their response was: The frame will be fine but get the shop to swap out the wheels for something stronger. A set of built wheels with something like Ultegra hubs and Mavic OpenPro 32 hole rims is probably ~$350. Figure you'll get a $150-$200 credit for giving back the stock wheels and you don't really wind up adding that much to the bike's price.

Dean
 
cheers for the advice guys : what size frames are you big guys riding ? thanks for the heads up about the wheels.

i`m looking forward to reaping the speed benefits from a proper road bike over a MTB with road tyres :)


what exactly does a professional fitting involve ? i`m from the UK.
 
I'll start with saying I'm jealous that you're buying a bike. I have to wait till Spring, and even then plead my case with the wife. For a road bike, I have been riding a 63cm regular frame (not compact frame because I just don't like the looks). A professional fitting involves the measurement of many parts of your body and working those figures into the proper sizes for frame, cranks, stem, etc. Some advanced fitting systems also involve getting on special bikes that can be changed size-wise, and experimenting. The process isn't cheap, but the benefits far outweigh the price. If this is not possible, use the net or any of the books out there to determine some ballpark figures for your new bike. Remember, it will be cheaper to replace a stem or wheels on a brand new bike, than to fix these items later. Good luck. Please post your decision on the bike you end up buying, as I am always curious as to what people buy.
 
I picked up a 2004 Trek 1200 in the sales last month. It's a 63cm frame and it fits me fine without the saddle being at full height (it's not far off mind you!).

I am the same height and weight as you and have no issues. The tires of course are at such a high pressure (provided you inflate them properly) that your weight won't be a problem. The wheels are more than strong enough and once you are used to the different riding position on a road bike as opposed to a mountain bike it's a comfortable ride. I think you are right going for a road bike as hybrids are too similar to mountain bikes for you to notice the big difference you'll notice going to a road bike. I use a Trek hybrid for "all weather" commutes and use the road bike for long rides at the weekend. The speed difference is quite remarkable.

Got mine from Evans Cycles via the net. If their customer service in the shop is as good as that over the net then you'll have no problems.
 
thanks for the reply John. I notice my LBS also has the Trek 1200 on offer - £555. I`m also considering the 1500, although it is a bit pricey - I love the wheels, but i fear they won`t be strong enough for me :mad:

i notice these frame sizes come in either a double or tripple ? what the heck does this mean ? is it the number of chain rings ?

does your UK bike have the carbon fork ? how do you find this ? creates a comfortable ride ? I`m interested to see the weight difference between my current MTB and say a trek 1200 .... hopefully there will be a BIG difference. My MTB uses a cro-moly frame.

cheers
 
cygnusx04 said:
thanks for the reply John. I notice my LBS also has the Trek 1200 on offer - £555. I`m also considering the 1500, although it is a bit pricey - I love the wheels, but i fear they won`t be strong enough for me :mad:

i notice these frame sizes come in either a double or tripple ? what the heck does this mean ? is it the number of chain rings ?

does your UK bike have the carbon fork ? how do you find this ? creates a comfortable ride ? I`m interested to see the weight difference between my current MTB and say a trek 1200 .... hopefully there will be a BIG difference. My MTB uses a cro-moly frame.

cheers

When you pick up the 1200 compared to your mountain bike you won't believe the weight difference! I nearly passed out! The courier who delivered it made me open the box cos he thought it was empty and wanted to check they hadn't messed up somewhere.

The '04 Trek 1200 that I got has the carbon fork which is a "must have". It helps iron out vibrations considerably. I think the '05 models have a carbon seatpost and a rear Shimano 105 mech rather than Tiagra, but Tiagra works great for me so I'll take the £150 discount thank you! As a minor point (for me anyway) I also prefer the colour of the 04 to the 05.

I had the option of a Trek 1000, or spending a little more on a Specialized Allez, but when the Trek 1200 came up in the sale I went for it, mainly because of the carbon fork and the Tiagra groupset over the 1000's Sora set. I had to look hard to find a bike to fit me in the sales, so if you have found one then you are lucky and I wouldn't hang around.

The double or triple debate has been well aired recently in this forum, but yes, it is the number of chainrings on the front, and I went for a double. I wanted to make myself work harder up the hills rather than always falling back on bail out gears. It's made me a stronger rider and I don't get dropped on the hills by other cyclists now. I live in Northumberland where flat land doesn't exist and I don't regret the double for a second. If I wanted to go somewhere ridiculously steep then I would take the hybrid, though I haven't needed to yet.

As said before, the wheels are still as true as when the bike was delivered and seem more than strong enough, just make sure you put the full 100psi in the tyres.
 
John Picton said:
Incidentally, I think that the 1200 and 1500 have the same frame but different components.
thanks again John - great advice.

I was talking about the 1500 wheels ... they have less spokes : look a lot nicer .. but i guess not as strong ..

whats the colour difference between the 04 and 05 ? i thought they were all red.

one last question : i really like the rapid shifter gears on my MTB : i know gears have progressed from the old levers on Road Bikes, i beleive they are incorperated into the brake levers now ? what are they like on the 1200 ?

thanks again

dave
 
cygnusx04 said:
thanks again John - great advice.

I was talking about the 1500 wheels ... they have less spokes : look a lot nicer .. but i guess not as strong ..

whats the colour difference between the 04 and 05 ? i thought they were all red.

one last question : i really like the rapid shifter gears on my MTB : i know gears have progressed from the old levers on Road Bikes, i beleive they are incorperated into the brake levers now ? what are they like on the 1200 ?

thanks again

dave

I think that the new 05 model is a two colour jobby. The UK trek site still has 04 models on it, but the US site has a picture of them.

The gear shifters are the best bit! Can't fault them. They take a little getting used to, you'll probably find that you brake when you change gear for the first couple of times, but once you have the hang of it they are incredibly easy.

In my opinion the best thing about this type of lever is the trim feature on the front chainring. As these bikes are 9 speeds it means that there is a considerable difference in the chain angle when you are in first gear as opposed to being in 9th. The trim feature lets you move the front derailleur very slightly to the right when on the small cogs to eliminate it rubbing against the chain. When you drop down to the big cogs again you can move it back to normal. You do this by moving the left lever around a third of a stroke to the right where it finds a natural notch. When you're on the large chainring you probably shouldn't be in the lowest gears anyway.

They also have a feature where moving the right lever to the left as far as it will go rather than the first click will actually bring you down up to three gears rather than having to go click - click - click. Useful when you're not paying attention and that big uphill suddenly appears! You've probably got this on your mountain bike.

The Tiagras control the shifting by either the main brake lever or a smaller lever on the inside right next to the main lever (one moves up, the other moves down). The beauty is that you can brake and change gear from practically any hand position, except when you are holding the flat part of the bars, but I spend most of my time on the hoods anyway.

The whole setup just makes complete sense. Also, as you are a big fella you probably have big hands too - the Tiagra hoods are a nice big comfy fit for me.

Whatever you go for I've heard that Tiagras are a better option than the lower spec Sora's, though I've never used them. Don't know what the more expensive 105's are like, but maybe someone else could help you out there. Tiagras do for me just fine but I am blissfully ignorant of the other options such as Campag's etc.
 
I'm a big guy as well (6'0" 225 lbs give or take a few). I ride a steel frame with carbon wishbone seat stays and a full carbon fork. I race crits occasionally and I pretty much live in the 53t chainring so I can put some stress on a bike. A couple thoughts. Look for are 1 1/8" steerer tubes (I have a bike with a 1 inch carbon steerer and it's pretty flexy unless you are using very few spacers). I have cracked a rail on my saddle (Selle San Marco Aspide) but it was after about 8,000 miles of use (I have a Selle Italia Flite that I can't kill, but I still prefer the Aspide and have bought another one). I have broken spokes on my Open Pro's and a set of Shimano R540's. I swithed to Ksyrium Elites and after about 10,000 miles I am yet to break a spoke or rim. My bike weighs about 18 lbs and it's solid under me. I would probably shy away from a super light CF frame and I hear that Ti frames can be a bit whippy (but not all and they can be custom built). My advice is don't get nuts about gram count especially with the wheels, but you don't need a tank either. Good luck.
:cool:
 
cygnusx04 said:
6"5 , 220 lbs, enjoy half century rides but wanting to progress. Currently ride a Diamond Back MTB 22 inch frame with road tyres.

Initially looked at the Treck 7700FX Hybrid - but i can`t help but think i should be going straight to a road bike.

Currently my saddle is very high, which causes a lot of pressure on my bars and thus hand pain.

What advice can you give me with regards to

i) road bike
ii) sizes ?
iii) comfort.

i`m in the berkshire area : any shops you can recommend where i will get quality advice and not just a quick sell with the wrong bike.

cheers

dave

At you weight you are at the top end of the 100 kg limit on Mavic's standard road rims. Make sure not to get MA-3 rims which are rated at 85 kg for rider + load.
Make sure the wheels have at least 32 spokes/wheel, are tension balanced, properly tensioned, and stress relieved.
I suggest you also make sure the bicycle will easily mount 28 mm tires. 28 mm tires will give you more durability and margin for road hazards such as pot holes. They cushion your ride better and protect the rims better than skinnier tires.