LOVED IT!

Big_Ste

Im soo soo happy, i thought i'd post here and share my happiness!

Some background info...I've been commuting to work on and off for the last 1.5 years on my Kona Hoss MTB fitted with 1.5 slicks. The idea was, to lose weight (my dad had a heart scare, which meant he needed a quadruple heart bypass). Seeing my dad lying in a large room unconscious post-op with about 15 pipes attached to him gave me the wake up call i needed! So there i am, 32 stone commuting 32 miles a day, first day i rode the journey it took me 1hr 30mins :? . Within a few months, my weight was falling and my fitness was increasing. Managed to get my time sub 60mins, clocked in at 57mins for the 16.7mile trip into work. Fastest i've ever managed was 54mins, that was after a week on holiday in Gran Canaria, drinking pretty much non stop for a week! :P

The Kona has been a very reliable companion, it carried my lardy arse on the C2C i did with a few mates last year. Admittedly in my ownership, i have had 3 new bottom brackets. I put this partly down to my weight and the fact i love getting out of the saddle and mashing those peddles! YEAH!!

My best mate who is also a very, VERY keen roadie and has quite an impressive selection of bikes hanging in his garage/house kept telling me, get a road bike Steve, you'll love it! But i was conscious of my weight and what it would do to a tiny, light, fragile road bike! Well a month or so ago and my weight at 22stone, i saw a Focus on Wiggle reduced from £1000 to £600....i thought thats it! Im buying it! Its a sign! I got home and they sold out of my size, i was gutted.

So i thought, o well...nevermind, ill keep my eye open and see what else appears. Then i saw her...a Specialized Allez Comp 2010. I fell in love with the matt black paint scheme immediately and thought, I NEED TO HAVE IT! So i placed my order and anxiously waited on delivery....in the mean time i tore some ankle ligaments whilst out on a night out (not a nice sound when those ligaments go is it! ) . I've had the Spesh sat in my house for the last week whilst i heal up. Today was the day, ankle was feeling alot better and so i thought, its time for her maiden voyage...

First things first, i slacked the dodgy ankle SPD side release way off as i didn't want to aggravate my ligaments. Clipped in and away i went....i was anxious at first. I was expecting all sorts of creaks, groans and cracks as the frame/wheels attempted to carry my 6ft5", 22stone bulk....but nothing, not a sound! Within a few mins i was blasting along, loving every second of it! The pinpoint precise gear changes, the tight handling...everything about it was just immense. Then the real test, quite a steep hill which normally has me out of the saddle on my MTB and stomping on those peddles...i thought, this is where the wheels get a work out! I get to the top, ALOT quicker than normal without any incident whatsoever! Wow these road bikes arent so fragile afterall are they!

Now im not naive, i know i'm going to be replacing bottom brackets and wheels in the not to distant future! It goes without saying, afterall it is effectively carrying 2 people everytime i hop on! But regardless, i love it!

So after being off a bike for 2 weeks, i put in a 40mile trip on the new Spesh, i loved it, she loved it! IM HOOKED! :twisted: Thanks for reading, sorry i waffled on a bit!

Radioactiveman

Well done on making the change to get fit. SOunds like you are bitten by the road bug

Good luck in the future,maybe make a foray to the dark side of MTB

Big_Ste

I've done my fair share of MTB ing. Ive got the scars on my chin and knee from the faceplant i successfully performed on Afan black trail haha!

Peddle Up!

That's an inspiring story, and a great example to anyone who is tempted to "get on a bike".

3Pears

Nice read Steve, great weight loss and great to hear you are really enjoying your road bike

Hope your Dad is on the mend

Good luck and go for it :P

RDB66

All the best Steve, keep riding mate.

Hope your Dad gets better soon.

Garrigou

Tre-mendous! Welcome to 'The Brotherhood' & happy pedaling.

carrock

Excellent stuff!!

10 stone weight loss is huge achievement- no wonder the hills are easier

Big_Ste

I cant wait for the next 5 or 6 comes off. Ill be like a rocket!

Just for everyones info, my dads heart bypass was 1.5 years ago so hes over it now and healthy.

AndyWalker1985

Well done!! Ive lost seven stone in 9 months and have just got myself a spec allez sport and lovin it.

chunkytfg

Congrats on the journey you have taken so far and the journey you are carrying on with.

Regards to your bottom brackets and wheels.

I'm just shy of 21st atm and have had issue with rear wheels not lasting. The fronts will be fine but the rears not so much.

The best thing you can do is get a rear wheel hand built with 32 or 36 spokes.

I'v just had a Shimano 105 hub built onto a mavic open pro CD rim with 32 spokes and it was ~£150.

So far it's done about 200 miles and is still perfect.

gregster10217

Well done mate, a real achievement getting rid of 10 stone.

Enjoy the bike

AndyF16

10 stone lost is an amazing feat, genuine congratulations steve - i started around 19ish this spring and got down to 16ish on an MTB with 1.95 tyres, so treated myself to a road bike

like you I was sceptical about the carbon frame being man enough, but it seems to be and I LUUUUURVE it like you too 8) good luck with the next 5 or 6 you're aiming to shift

Headhuunter

You were 32 stone and 6'5"? That's impressive! Good luck with the further weight loss. I doubt you will need to replace the wheels that often, they're built strong these days. You may need them re truing every now and then but completely replacing? Nah surely not. Even the bottom bracket should be able to take the pressure on a decent road bike. I wouldn't be so quick to throw money away replacing things unnecessarily before you've had them checked for repairability. A decent road bike will have pretty robust components.

Big_Ste

Thought i'd post a bit of an update.

Still loving the bike, have covered 350 miles on her now.

Now when i origianlly got the bike i had my concerns over durabillity of certain components. The wheels are still as true as the day i got it. The only thing i do have an issue with is the bottom bracket. During a ride a few days ago i noticed a *click" under load when the drive side crank arm was at about 2 o'clock. Got home and removed the bottom bracket, regreased and refitted. Went out for a ride and the sound had disappeared...for 5miles then it returned. So i'll be needing a new bottom bracket at some point (there's some cheap Ultegra 6700's knocking around at the moment ill probably replace with). There isn't any play in it just a bit of noise. But other than that she's (and me) doing well!

...and the weights dropping off and my fitness is getting better and better!!

Peddle Up!

Top man! Keep it up.

briantrumpet

Big_Ste wrote:

The only thing i do have an issue with is the bottom bracket. During a ride a few days ago i noticed a *click" under load when the drive side crank arm was at about 2 o'clock. Got home and removed the bottom bracket, regreased and refitted. Went out for a ride and the sound had disappeared...for 5miles then it returned. So i'll be needing a new bottom bracket at some point (there's some cheap Ultegra 6700's knocking around at the moment ill probably replace with). There isn't any play in it just a bit of noise.

I've got some clicking noises too on my Tiagra Cannondale CAAD9, but am sure it's not the bottom bracket - I suspect it's one of the crank arms. I wuss out on the servicing and have mine done, and at the first service the click disappeared completely, and though it's come back a bit, it's nothing like as bad. I know it shouldn't be there at all, but it does seem to be an issue with Tiagra (there's a mention of it somewhere else in these boards), but one which doesn't necessitate changing the bottom bracket.

markos1963

A lot of Shimano cranks click like this, people often mistake it for the bottom bracket when it isn't. Given your size its probably the cranks loosening slightly. Remove LH crank, clean splines on axle and crank, smear with some coppaslip(ordinary grease melts away and leaves it slightly loose) and reassemble making sure you tighten up the pinch bolts to correct torque evenly. Should do the job.

wlshyd

Yeah congrats on getting into a fitness drive, lord knows it isnt easy.

I will second your thoughts on the venture into road biking. Got my first only yesterday and have already done about 20 miles and loving every single rotation!!

Having made the jump from MTB to road (Specialized FSR XC to Speciaized Allez 16 2010) I was curious if I'd actually get to grips with the racy riding position, 'odd' gear changes and super-stiff ride, but goodness what a superb, adrenaline fuelled ride! Got myself some spesh/shimano shoes/clipless pedals that i havent had the balls to try yet but cant wait to get out on them and cover some serious mileage.

Nice to see other people making the transition into roadies and loving it as much as me, i'm absolutely thrilled and wondering why i never bought one years ago!

wlshyd

Yeah congrats on getting into a fitness drive, lord knows it isnt easy.

I will second your thoughts on the venture into road biking. Got my first only yesterday and have already done about 20 miles and loving every single rotation!!

Having made the jump from MTB to road (Specialized FSR XC to Speciaized Allez 16 2010) I was curious if I'd actually get to grips with the racy riding position, 'odd' gear changes and super-stiff ride, but goodness what a superb, adrenaline fuelled ride! Got myself some spesh/shimano shoes/clipless pedals that i havent had the balls to try yet but cant wait to get out on them and cover some serious mileage.

Nice to see other people making the transition into roadies and loving it as much as me, i'm absolutely thrilled and wondering why i never bought one years ago!

SDK2007

I'm also buying an Allez to use on the road instead of my FSRxc. Looking forward to increased speed.

wlshyd

Oops apologies for the double post last time around, no idea why it did that.

I was sad to see the FSRxc go as it was a great bike, if not slightly compromised in the shock area but for a starter MTB it did me grand.

The Allez just seems like a huge bargain to me, the weight, quality, feel ,handling, smoothness and ease of ride just stood it out to me. Some days i could take it or leave it if i went out on the FSR, but now all i want to do when i get home is go for a blast on the Allez and it's a great feeling.

Properly hooked

Big_Ste

Markos1963...did as you suggested, click didn't raise it's head on the 34mile commute! All sorted!!

I feel stronger and faster everytime I'm on it now, it's just amazing!!

markos1963

Big_Ste wrote:

Markos1963...did as you suggested, click didn't raise it's head on the 34mile commute! All sorted!!

I feel stronger and faster everytime I'm on it now, it's just amazing!!

Make the cheque payable to................
Good for you and keep up the good work

Big_Ste

Thought I'd give a quick update. This week I've done the commute to work everyday this week, totally 167 miles! Legs feel good, I feel good. It's amazing! Now I know I can do it everyday my aim is to continue with it! Yeah!!