Too Chunky for Carbon

benno the red

ok here is the dilemma

ive been into this crazy bike lark for 6 months , bought a boardman hybrid initially as i wasnt sure about drop bars , riding position etc

any way about three weeks later managed to get a s/h spesh secteur off here and not looked back since, love it to bits , never ride the boardy any more

so now im gonna sell the boardy ( if anyone s interested ) to help fund an upgraded road bike for the summer and keep the spesh for the winter

the question is do i go carbon frame with better spec, or stick to alu /carbon with better spec...my concern is i weigh in at just over 16st so combined with our shitty roads should i avoid carbon at all costs..

any one who been in a similar situation or can offer advice?

sjacob33

I'm just under 16 st mate and I ride a full carbon. The carbon frames are just as stong in terms of weight bearing.
Their main issue is that if you get a crack/break they are a write off usually. That and if a part does fail it won't go slowly and just bend or warp it will most like shatter or just snap.

All that being said go carbon I love to reduced road buzz it provideds, others on here would sugest a Ti frame so that's something to tthink about.

Monty Dog

There are relatively few frames these days with a weight limit, typically just being ultralight frames designed for racing. You bigger concern should be the quality and durability of your wheels which take the brunt of the abuse - fitting larger tyres 25 or 28mm will help too.

izza

When I started cycling 3-4 years ago, I was over 16.5 st.

Went straight for carbon and further purchases have been carbon as well. No worries.

Biggest limitation I have seen for weight has been with carbon saddles and certain wheels.

rick_chasey

No-one's too chunky for most carbon frames.

You should really ask yourself what's the value in getting a carbon frame. If you can justify that to yourself then go nuts.

fludey

I am ahem a little over 16 and more like 18st and my Felt carbon frame is still in one piece and going strong, so wouldn't worry too much about carbon.

MatthewBulmer

Your weight won't be an issue. If you like the carbon bike the most, buy it.

benno the red

Thanks for the replies lads , time to start shopping around

My LBS has a Felt z6 for £995 thats caught my eye ..watch this space

Monty Dog

By all means get the carbon bike you want but you may want to consider paying extra to upgrading the wheels, or budget for something better in the medium term. The wheels that come with most bikes at your price-point aren't typically build with the best components or the highest degree of accuracy - a decent bikeshop should be able to keep them sorted for you as they are likely to be the 'weakest' link.