New to road cycling............any advice for a big lad?

andyc182

I've been riding mountain bikes for a few years now. Once a year I do the coast to coast which is mainly on country roads. My solution was to ride with semi slicks on. This year my brother got a Felt Z95 and has been raving about it so I thought I'd take it out for a ride and see what all the fuss is about.

Although it is a bit too small for me (56cm frame and I'm 6 foot 2 and 17 and a half stone!) I really enjoyed myself today in the gale force winds and am considering ordering one for myself. I did have a few concerns before jumping in though.

He has had a few niggling problems with it since purchase, one is the gears but they seem to be properly setup now. The other one is the spokes. After cycling today I found that 4 of the spokes (two on the front and two on the back) were loose. I was instantly worried that my weight and 'bullish mountain bike riding style' caused this. Could that be the case?

What I'm really asking is, will I need to change the wheels for something more heavy duty to take my weight if I get a Felt Z95? Are there better bikes out there that can take the weight? My budget is about £450 for the bike, tight I know.

Thanks all.

JayKosta

If your brother has also had trouble with the spokes, that is a good indicator!

I would look for a bike that has wheels laced with 32 spokes, 'crossed 3' - those wheels should be durable and reliable without being too heavy.

Low spoke count wheels (and radial front spokes) can be quite lightweight and fast, but they are usually less durable.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Cupras

Buy a 2nd hand Giant Defy 1 if you an find one they go for around that money (you may need £500)
You would get so much more bike for the money and I know a few people who ride them and some are 20 stone.

macleod113

Hi there, i am also 6'2" and 17.5 stone (i have been over 20st). i have had the odd spoke issue over the years and have now opted for some 32 spoke wheels from planet x (£150 new) and they seem pretty bomb proof so far. i have had 2 Trek 2.1's over the last 5 years. the first had 16 spokes front and 18 rear (ish) and i hardly had a problem with it (2 spokes in 2 years). this years model has more spokes and i have had just one popped spoke leading to the mrs to rescue me. i did a bit of research and not being able to afford hand built wheels shopped around and saw the planet x for £100 on fleabay. as stated above with a tight budget you might want to consider second hand? cheers