heavyweight's first bike

[Jman]

My first post ever!



My name in John and I am trying to get fit – 55 yrs young, was 328, now down to 250 (doing weights and cardio) – so I thought I would add biking to try to remove another 50 lbs. Totally new to biking but have been lurking on this site for about 4-6 weeks , just finished reading the Allen and Goggan book and I got the bug.



Got a Cycle-Ops Pro 300PT in mid December and have been doing 3-4 workouts a week, 1-2 hours each and I bought my first road bike Saturday. I bought a 05 Roubaix Pro. I have two questions:



1. They are removing the Dura-Ace crankset and bottom bracket and installing a compact shimano 700 crankset – so maybe I can make it up the hills. Is this a reasonable thing to do?



2. Will the Dura-ace rims hold up under my current weight?



TIA

 

[tfstrum]

The crankset shouldn't be a problem. Are those Dura Ace rims 20 spoke for the rear? They may be a little light for 250 lbs. You may want to get some heavier trainer wheels until you lose that 50. 32 spoke Mavics Pros would work....

 

[Jman]

Thanks for the heads up, I will have to check with LBS as to how many spokes

The crankset shouldn't be a problem. Are those Dura Ace rims 20 spoke for the rear? They may be a little light for 250 lbs. You may want to get some heavier trainer wheels until you lose that 50. 32 spoke Mavics Pros would work....

 

[jakefm]

I agree about the wheels I got up to 240 after I broke my leg and was hard on wheels until i got the weight down. Id say good call on the crank I hate the look of a triple but needed it in the past on hills

 

[daveornee]

My first post ever!



My name in John and I am trying to get fit – 55 yrs young, was 328, now down to 250 (doing weights and cardio) – so I thought I would add biking to try to remove another 50 lbs. Totally new to biking but have been lurking on this site for about 4-6 weeks , just finished reading the Allen and Goggan book and I got the bug.



Got a Cycle-Ops Pro 300PT in mid December and have been doing 3-4 workouts a week, 1-2 hours each and I bought my first road bike Saturday. I bought a 05 Roubaix Pro. I have two questions:



1. They are removing the Dura-Ace crankset and bottom bracket and installing a compact shimano 700 crankset – so maybe I can make it up the hills. Is this a reasonable thing to do?



2. Will the Dura-ace rims hold up under my current weight?



TIA

A compact crank is a good idea.
Also use a cassette with the largest cog that your rear derailer will handle. Most road derailers will work with 28 in the large cog.
The Dura Ace wheels are not suitable for a 250 pound rider, but I see very large riders on them very often.
You will be much better served with 32 or 36 spoke wheels with strong rims like Velocity Deep V. You may get by with less, but you will likely find the the strength and stiffness provided by well built Deep V wheels will allow to stay on course with your riding, fitness, and weight loss. I build wheels and know that heavy riders place demands on wheels when used in the real world.

 

[tfstrum]

The crankset shouldn't be a problem. Are those Dura Ace rims 20 spoke for the rear? They may be a little light for 250 lbs. You may want to get some heavier trainer wheels until you lose that 50. 36 spoke Mavics Pros would work....

I meant to say 36 spoke. Sorry

 

[hd reynolds]

For a nuke proof wheelset I suggest Mavic CXP33 - 32h.

 

[big Pete]

I am also a big (250 pounds about, ok an a good day I might be in the high 230's) rider and 36 spoke 3 cross wheels with double walled rims are the best. I have that as my back wheel my front wheel is still the stock one.

Pete

My first post ever!



My name in John and I am trying to get fit – 55 yrs young, was 328, now down to 250 (doing weights and cardio) – so I thought I would add biking to try to remove another 50 lbs. Totally new to biking but have been lurking on this site for about 4-6 weeks , just finished reading the Allen and Goggan book and I got the bug.



Got a Cycle-Ops Pro 300PT in mid December and have been doing 3-4 workouts a week, 1-2 hours each and I bought my first road bike Saturday. I bought a 05 Roubaix Pro. I have two questions:



1. They are removing the Dura-Ace crankset and bottom bracket and installing a compact shimano 700 crankset – so maybe I can make it up the hills. Is this a reasonable thing to do?



2. Will the Dura-ace rims hold up under my current weight?



TIA

 

[PeterF]

The crankset shouldn't be a problem. Are those Dura Ace rims 20 spoke for the rear? They may be a little light for 250 lbs. You may want to get some heavier trainer wheels until you lose that 50. 32 spoke Mavics Pros would work....

Good suggestion on the wheels. Besides, it's good for a big cyclist (like myself) to have a couple sets of wheels (or two rears at least). Use the training set, while you are doing base miles and when the time is right, switch over to the Dura Ace ones. It will be a nice treat.

 

[Jman]

Thank you all for the info -- sounds like the best thing for me to do is buy another set of wheels and use the Dura-ace when I lose some more weight.


Again Thanks