REQ: help part II: bike selection, please.

[F1]

OK, I went to the LBS, and they had a Cannondale R800 with upgraded wheels for $1295. I was very
impressed with the bike, but have yet to ride the demo. Before I fall in love with it, can anyone
give me a reason yes/no to buy this bike? I am 245lbs and hoping to get down towards 200-210lbs. I
ride (right now) about 30+ miles average per ride, and I'm trying to ride as much as possible, but
usually 3-4 times a week. I just got back into biking this spring, and since my first ride last May
of a whopping 5 miles (I was breathing hard) I now ride a solid 30 miles and feel great. I'm sure
I'll want to increase the distances, but who knows as right now I'm trying to keep my ridesat about
2 hours (go as far as possible, but keep it at 2 hours.) Anyway, I'm looking to you pros out there
to help me with my decision. Is the bike what I need, and is the price fair? I am willing to pay for
a good quality bike, but I'm at a loss of what is now a good brand. The bike I am currently on is a
circa 1980's Peugeot 103 Carbolite steel frame...nothing to get excited about, but it works for me.
I figure the few pounds I might be saving in weight with a new bike is really moot, considering my
weight, but I'm sure I'll like it when/if I upgrade. Also, my main motivation for buying a new bike
is added safety (no more reaching down to the friction shifters and less worry of mechanical
failure.) Thank you for your input!

 

[Buck]

"F1" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:85OKa.1357
> OK, I went to the LBS, and they had a Cannondale R800 with upgraded wheels for $1295. I was very
> impressed with the bike, but have yet to ride the demo. Before I fall in love with it, can anyone
> give me a reason yes/no
to

Don't fall in love with any bike before you ride it. Being enamoured will mask the flaws that will
really get to you later. The most important thing to find out - does it fit properly? If you are
already in lust after the bike, it is likely you will ignore slight problems in fit.

I have to admit some bias for Cannondales. I own two of them, one mountain, one road. But if you are
mechanically inclined and know what to look for, you can usually find a really nice used bike for
much, much less. My CAAD4 Cannondale road bike cost me less than half of what you are looking at and
has similar components.

As for durability, you should have no problems with that bike as long as the "upgraded wheels" are
32 or 36 spokes. I'm in the weight range you are trying to reach and have been riding mine for two
years with nary a problem. I wouldn't buy it with the original paired spoke wheels. I'm sure you
have seen the discussions about the problems with these wheels. If not, a quick google group search
(groups.google.com) will bring up the discussions.

Good luck in your search, Buck

 

[helen]

In article <[email protected]>, F1
<[email protected]> wrote:

> OK, I went to the LBS, and they had a Cannondale R800 with upgraded wheels for $1295. I was very
> impressed with the bike, but have yet to ride the demo. Before I fall in love with it, can anyone
> give me a reason yes/no to buy this bike? I am 245lbs and hoping to get down towards 200-210lbs. I
> ride (right now) about 30+ miles average per ride, and I'm trying to ride as much as possible, but
> usually 3-4 times a week.

Sounds like you're doing great. A lot of us adults here remember taking a bike out for the first
time in 10 or 15 years and being shocked by getting completely exahusted on a 5 mile ride. When I
first started riding I was really dismayed to be passed by everyone--the fat girls on mountain bikes
and even the old guys with the yellow plastic radios hanging off of a handlebar basket.

if the Cannondale fits you and I mean really fits you there's no reason not to get it. I know plenty
of people that put big miles on cannondales.

One thing to keep in mind is that at 245 you'll probably want at least 28's for the tires if not a
even a little bigger. Cannondales are notorious for having little space for bigger tires.

And what about these upgraded wheels? Not some cutsey-pie low spoke count wheel I hope? For you a
good wheel upgrade is a proper hand built traditional 36 spoke wheel. I rode 32 spoke wheels with
23's without problems at 220 but I think that weight is just about the upper limit for that set-up

If you want to get better/faster and you've already put on at least 1000 miles at your present pace,
drop the 30-40 4 days a week in favor of 2 days shorter but harder, one long day (at least 40-60
miles) and one day for just riding around at an easy pace.

see ya out there

Hellen

 

[F1]

Thanks a bunch!! This is the kind of advice I'm looking for, since I really have no idea of what I'm
doing. I used to be a basketball junkie (really, I did some SERIOUS hoops, hours at a time, but I
have BAD ankles and had a bad injury months ago which included an operation) so I need some advice
about training and conditioning regarding the biking routine.

<[email protected]> wrote in message news:260620032059492067%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, F1
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > OK, I went to the LBS, and they had a Cannondale R800 with upgraded
wheels
> > for $1295. I was very impressed with the bike, but have yet to ride the demo. Before I fall in
> > love with it, can anyone give me a reason yes/no
to
> > buy this bike? I am 245lbs and hoping to get down towards 200-210lbs.
I
> > ride (right now) about 30+ miles average per ride, and I'm trying to
ride as
> > much as possible, but usually 3-4 times a week.
>
>
>
> Sounds like you're doing great. A lot of us adults here remember taking a bike out for the first
> time in 10 or 15 years and being shocked by getting completely exahusted on a 5 mile ride. When I
> first started riding I was really dismayed to be passed by everyone--the fat girls on mountain
> bikes and even the old guys with the yellow plastic radios hanging off of a handlebar basket.
>
> if the Cannondale fits you and I mean really fits you there's no reason not to get it. I know
> plenty of people that put big miles on cannondales.
>
> One thing to keep in mind is that at 245 you'll probably want at least 28's for the tires if not a
> even a little bigger. Cannondales are notorious for having little space for bigger tires.
>
> And what about these upgraded wheels? Not some cutsey-pie low spoke count wheel I hope? For you a
> good wheel upgrade is a proper hand built traditional 36 spoke wheel. I rode 32 spoke wheels with
> 23's without problems at 220 but I think that weight is just about the upper limit for that set-up
>
> If you want to get better/faster and you've already put on at least 1000 miles at your present
> pace, drop the 30-40 4 days a week in favor of 2 days shorter but harder, one long day (at least
> 40-60 miles) and one day for just riding around at an easy pace.
>
> see ya out there
>
> Hellen

 

[Peter Cole]

"F1" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> OK, I went to the LBS, and they had a Cannondale R800 with upgraded wheels for $1295. I was very
> impressed with the bike, but have yet to ride the demo. Before I fall in love with it, can anyone
> give me a reason yes/no to buy this bike? I am 245lbs and hoping to get down towards 200-210lbs.

I'm sure the Cannondale is worth the $1295, as they are pretty good values. Whether you need $1295
worth of bike, or that specific bike is up to you. One thing you might not have considered is a
similar bike in a "touring" model. Modern "race" bikes are often a little more "racy" than the
typical rider needs (presuming you'll not actually race, but sometimes even then). The worst
characteristic of these bikes is the limited tire sizes they'll accommodate. Often bike shops are
staffed by young racers who will try to sell you the kind of bike they like, and that may turn out
to be limiting. "All 'rounders" are coming back into fashion in some quarters, and they're very
similar to conventional touring bikes. Remember that a bike that looks fast isn't necessarily any
faster. At your weight, wheels are critical. Again, touring wheels are a little more robust with
very little performance penalty.

One rule of thumb I've heard is that a good target weight for a bike is 12% or so of the rider's
weight. Whether that's a good number or not is debatable, but the idea that a beefier rider needs a
beefier bike isn't.

 

[Jkpoulos7]

>I wouldn't buy it with the original paired spoke wheels. I'm sure you have seen the discussions
>about the problems with these wheels.

Paired spoke wheels are far superior to traditional wheels for a <200lb rider.

 

[Buck]

"Jkpoulos7" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:20030627203653.01078.00001873@mb-

> >I wouldn't buy it with the original paired spoke wheels. I'm sure you
have
> >seen the discussions about the problems with these wheels.
>
> Paired spoke wheels are far superior to traditional wheels for a <200lb
rider.

First of all, you didn't bother to read this guy's post where he states clearly that he is a 245lb
rider. Second of all, you never bother to read my posts where I have made it clear that I am a 210lb
rider. Third of all, I defer to the expertise of those who know considerably more about wheels than
I and they say that there are clear disadvantages to paired-spoke wheels. Finally, you are hardly
more than a troll around here, so your opinion is moot.

-Buck

 

[El Senor]

"Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote:
> Finally, you are hardly more than a troll around here, so your
opinion is
> moot.

But he hooked you, didn't he?

-Mike