Road bike for the heavier gent?

McTiger

Hi all

I am a middle aged, robustly built rider who is considering adding a road bike to the stable.
I have recently returned to cycling after a gap of oooh, too many years and have been getting some miles in on a hybrid Marin. It's a nice enough bike, quite comfy but heavy and sometimes it feels like I'm riding with the brakes on.
As my fitness increases and the waistline (slightly) decreases I have a hankering after a lighter & faster machine that will be more comfortable over longer distances...which of course will increase fitness, reduce waistline etc.

I am 6ft 3 and weigh in at around 125Kg and was wondering if my bulk will limit me to what frame material I should look and which to avoid, whether the narrower wheels will cope with my weight and will things like carbon seatposts, forks will be ok for me?

Any advice greatly received.

Thanks!

saladdays

My first thoughts are:

Get strong wheels, at least 32 spokes.
Consider frames with BB30 bottom brackets as these are stiffer and stronger.
Make sure the frame has good clearance to accommodate larger tyres (28mm+) to stop pinch punctures.
Steel frames and carbon seatposts are good for vibration reduction.

skyd0g

You should be fine with nearly all factory frames and to a large degree wheels.

I would say however that the wheels would be the potential weak link - as mentioned above look out for stronger wheels - hand-builts (see Paul Hewitt cycles) or as a budget option Planet X model C's and 25mm / 28mm tyres pumped to iro 100 psi.

night_porter

I bought my 1st road bike when I weighed in at over 120kgs and regularly carried an extra 15kgs on a fitted rear rack so I will give you some of my experiences.

Unless a bike specifically says a weight limit then assume it will be okay for you, this was the advice from my lbs. I still believe it to be true. I used a 7005 alloy frame with no problems at all.

As far as wheels are concerned when rolling along normal roads you will have no problems at all. You may encounter problems if you do not avoid potholes or bump up and down kerbs. The problem is that the tyre compresses but so does the rim and the spokes flex accordingly. When they snap back you run the risk of breaking a spoke so as already said 32 spoke or 36 spoke wheels are more advisable as a lower spoke count renders the wheel unusable when a spoke breaks.

I have always used narrow rims with 23mm tyres and have never had a pinch flat.

I did break a few spokes but got my lbs to rebuild the rear wheel completely and never had a repeat of the problem. Maybe this was the rebuild or the mechanic explaining the dangers of potholes.

Carbon forks will be no problem but I cannot comment on carbon seatpost as I have never ridden one. Incidently I now weigh 90kgs and have a carbon bike but still use an alloy seatpost (mainly because it is a bling red one).

I did dip my toe in the water by buying a 2nd hand bike first but it proved to be strong enough, much faster, much lighter and more comfortable than my hybrid. Incidently the bike I used was a Carrera Vanquish and I still use it as my winter commuter.

I did consider buying a tourer as they are specifically designed to carry lots of weight but I thought I would try a lighter but still robust roadie instead.

Hope this helps?

McTiger

Thanks for the advice, it gives me some reassurance that I'm not going to crush the lighter skinnier machines. I'll be sure to spec a bike with 32+ spokes and avoid potholes while out on the road, but this may lead to some very erratic weaving as I try to find the flat bit of road amongst the potholes!

Thanks again

MattL30

I'm 6 foot 7 and my weight fluctuates between 110 and 125kg. Add to that a full pannier rack on my commuting machine and the bike must be carrying around 140-145kg.

Never had a problem with my bike, made of 7005 alloy (Kona Jake). I've had a couple of bikes before and since (all alloy but with mixtures of carbon forks) and never had an issue.

As mentioned previously, wheels are a problem. I've got 3 sets that I trust.

Mavic C319 on the commuter (tyre size can't be lower than a 28 I think). Simply unbreakable. 2 years, not lost true once.

Mavic Open Pro. Again, solid as. Both these and the 319 built onto Deore hubs which seem to do a solid job.

Mavic Askim which I use only for longer summer rides (and make a big effort to avoid pot-holes) and have never had an issue with (12 months old and going fine).

brh77

I'm 6'3" , 105kgs and ride a Giant full carbon bike with reaasonably solid wheels- no problems to date. i have ridden a Giant alloy frame and a planet x carbon frame before too- both ok even if the fork on the planet x was a bit vague......

I concur with above that as long as the wheels are strong enough, you should be fine......

lostboysaint

6'4", was 115kg, now down to about 98kg.

First roadie was an XL WIlier Escape with Ambrosio wheels. The frame was great (stiff, direct) carbon forks were fine (only a whiff of deflection if I really cranked it) and the wheels have been awesome, even though I've never gone larger than 23mm tyres (Continental Gatorskin Hardshell, completely puncture resistant and roll superbly!).

McTiger

Thanks again for the input, now I know I'm not limited to a Hybrid or cyclo-cross style, there's a whole lot more to choose from :-)