Hello :D

wowtaylor

I have been waticng the Tour for the first time in 20 years and i'm hooked. it's mesmerising to watch and these guys make it look so easy to cycle at 40 miles an hour and i have become an overnight fan of Mark Cavendish and Johnny Hooglerland. Also the other day i was gonna be late for work so i took road route on my mountain bike which is shorter that the normal field way. Anyway i was in first gear out of the saddle and pounding away with my lungs almost detached and my thighs where on fire when this fella on a road bike cruised past me while texting and said "morning mate". I just wanna know a few things as i have a servere heart condition (Dilated Cardiomyopathy). I have noticed a post about sizing so im cool with that, is road cycling a drastic change in your body than mtbing? things like breathing heavily for too long could cause me to have an arythmia. are the budget Viking bikes anygood? would it be cheaper building my own? does it feel like range on a road bike it limitless like in the tour de france? can those bikes handle a 15 stone fatty? i dont have a lot of money at my disposal due to having 3 kids and bills bills bills. It would be hard explaining to the missus that i need a thousand pounds for another bike but £300 is kind realistic for me.
Any advice will be greatly apriciated
Andy

ShutUpLegs

stick to your mtb

noiseboyfeetman

A road bike can handle a 15 stone stone fatty no problem, I'm one (well big boned) and have no problem. As for a Viking bike, i'd personally forget about them, you'd be much better looking on ebay at second hand road bikes or even trying (I can't believe i'm going to say this) Halfords and the Carrera TDF Ltd Edition which they've got at £299.99.

Alternatively stick to your mtb, save a bit more cash and wait until later in the year when this years bikes will be reduced to make way for next years model, or many shops offer 0% finance if you can budget it in.

You could also check out the classifieds on here to find something in your price range such as:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12788592
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12788238

RonB

Regarding the Carrera...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12789821

chrishd883

Can't offer any advice re your heart condition.
How hard you ride and for how is a rider choice!
But I'd talk to a specialist Not sure I'd look for that advice on any forum!

What MTB you have? Assuming it's not a full sus jobbie
Why not kit it out for the road with a pair of slick tyres?

You mighty need a track pump for the higher tyre pressures
That's the way my I went - until switching to a roadie several years later.