New Here: Looking to expand my cycling hobby

[USSROSS]

[SIZE= 14px]Hello all! [/SIZE]

[SIZE= 14px]I have been doing a lot of research in online Cycling Forums and this one seems to give the most honest feedback and aid to riders of all levels. [/SIZE]

[SIZE= 14px]I am here to ask advice on purchasing my first road bike. I currently ride an '09 Cannondale F4 (with road tires) which i recently used in my first cycling mini marathon (25 miles) which was an AWESOME experience. Needless to say this got me hooked. I am fortunate to ride with a few guys who have road bikes (Trek and Specialized), however want to see what direction i should lean towards as i am clueless with all of the parts things i should be taking into consideration. My physique is 6' and roughly 235 lbs; and i am happy to say the weight is coming off (I'm already 15 pounds lighter). I will be looking to purchase my road bike when I reach 225 lbs as this is my "prize" for getting healthier. [/SIZE]

[SIZE= 14px]That being stated, I am really pleased with my Cannondale as it has supported me at my heaviest (252 lbs.), and am completely open to staying in the Cannondale family; however know there are things to consider from a MTB to a Roadie.[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 14px]Here is what i have been looking at so far (both Cannondale but i am open to options). I am looking to stay in the $2,000 range and will be using this bike primarily for training and use in regional cycling events. [/SIZE]

• [SIZE= 14px]Synapse Carbon 5 105[/SIZE]
• [SIZE= 14px]CAAD 10 4 Rival[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 14px]Any direction would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!! [/SIZE]

 

[Froze]

I know what I'm about to say will make you angry with me, but I think you should know.

Neither of those two bikes you listed are suited for a person in your weight area. All of those type of bikes with low spoke count wheels are rated to carry a person at around 180 pounds and do it with a degree of reliability. I'm telling you this so you won't get hurt, or damage a wheels costing you money.

If the LBS can guarantee that it will hold your weight with no problems and can show the manufactures maximum rated weight for the bike then do it.

Personally you either need to continue to ride your MTB till more weight comes off, or buy a bike with wheels that have 36 spokes and a frame designed for the weight. There are road bikes that can do that, but those racing bikes your looking at are not them. Most racing bikes are designed for a 180 pound rider, some even less weight. But you can get road bikes that are a bit heavier due to the beefier frame and heavier wheels that can support your weight with no problem and you still will have a road bike. If you want to stay with the Cannondale their cyclocross bikes like the Caadx Tiagra for $1,179, or the Caadx 105 for $1,389 are designed for more weight. Those are great bikes and will last a long time.

Don't let some dopey bike sales person sell you bike that won't work. Sure your going to lose weight, but in the year or two to get down to 180 pound range you might break some spokes and destroy a wheel which may or may not lead to a crash. Most of the time when a low spoke wheel losses a spoke the wheel tacos and you go down; with a high spoke wheel if you lose a spoke you won't taco the wheel nor go down.

 

[USSROSS]

Froze,

Thanks very much! These are the kind of details that sales people love to leave out! I completely see where you are coming from and really do appreciate the feedback. So is there any road bike that you might recommend for me at a lower weight? Say 215 range? If not, i am happy with my MTB. Thanks!

 

[Steve_A]

USSROSS: There are any number of good steel frames that you could ride with confidence, when equipped with the proper wheels. You might look at the Rivendell Bicycles website for a lot of general information, and also for their Sam Hillborne bike in particular. $2000 for a build on that bike is stretching it a bit, but I think it could be done with some creative parts-sourcing (i.e. eBay, craigslist, Bike Nashbar). Lower priced steel frames are available from Velo Orange, Surly, and Soma to name a few. I thinks someone also mentioned the Trek 520 touring bike in a similar thread. Good luck, Steve

 

[Froze]

Originally Posted by USSROSS .

Froze,

Thanks very much! These are the kind of details that sales people love to leave out! I completely see where you are coming from and really do appreciate the feedback. So is there any road bike that you might recommend for me at a lower weight? Say 215 range? If not, i am happy with my MTB. Thanks!

Again, without going crazy scanning the internet, the two Cannondale cross bikes I mentioned are great bikes for a 200 pound person. OR, you could go mail order if it doesn't scare you, like at Bikes Direct, they have 2 Motobecane titanium (not steel or aluminum) cross bikes starting at $1695 fully equipped with SRAM Rival, or go a bit more upscale to $1,999 equipped with Ultegra (for $300 extra it's worth it). Both of these bikes are designed for light touring, meaning you can put a rear set of panniers with about 40 pounds of gear, and a large handlebar bag, but no panniers on the front, thus with a person of 220 plus about 50 pounds of gear it can haul 270pounds more then enough for you. And they ship free, just make sure you measure yourself good if your not sure of the size. anyway see: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/road_bikes.htm Your not going to come close to these bikes at Rivendell for the cost. Of course Rivendell bikes are unusual and very well made, and can be custom component build up for your needs, and their expensive.

By the way, I have lot's of bikes and wanted a new TI bike, looked at many manufactures, but I don't race and spending $4,000 plus for a frame is just overkill, so next year I myself will be getting the Motobecane LeChamp Team TI road bike equipped with all Dura Ace for less then $3,000...I couldn't come close to that price from anyone else's ti bikes, closest was Habanero but I had to use Sora components and it still was more!!